Member Spotlight-Gail Connor

1. Tell us a little about yourself and your family.
I am married to Michael. We have 4 children, Erica (33), Nicholas (22), Anthony (21) and Meagan (14). One grandson Hunter (7) and a dog Casey.We also have a hermit crab and a beta fish. Only Meagan lives at home. Anthony is home for the summer, going to college. Nick lives an hour and 15 minutes north and Erica/Hunter live in the same town as us. We live in Rindge, NH which is a beautiful, small country town. We have a lake and a mountain- we have all 4 seasons, but we do not have cable TV, high speed Internet or local shopping!
2. How and when did you start scrap booking?
I started scrapping about 9 years ago. My niece was very scrappy and always wanted me to try it- but my kids were older and I have few pics and the ones I had of them were not good so I avoided it. Finally she dragged me to a card class, I loved it, I was making cards and altering gifts for a few years and then I decide to scrap a box of honeymoon pics I had and I got hooked! That album, by the way, is still not completed.
3. How would you describe your scrap booking style?
Always evolving and changing, I am most comfortable doing shabby/chic stuff.
4. How often do you journal? Is it important to you?
I journal not nearly enough. It is important to me. I know I need to get better, I hate my handwriting and that is a real big part of why I do so little.I am getting better and I am the master at hidden journaling!

5. Do you have a dedicated scrap space ( room )?
Yes, it is a 8x8 closet and mostly for storage- it is a MESS right now.I usually scrap on the dining room table and that is really neat at the moment despite my three active projects.
6. What are your "go to " tools or supplies when you scrap?
THICKERS- I love them and can never get enough and inks-I love to distress everything and ink things.
7. Where do you start when you get ready to create- sketches, supplies, photos...?
I start with the papers. I find a collection of pattern paper or something that speaks to me. It usually screams out, "Please scrap last years Christmas pics/vacation/birthday/etc. pics with me" -So I start there. I do not scrap in order- I found that process very frustrating, I just create-

8. Are you a scrapper or an artist?
I think I am an artist. I want to make great pages and feel it is an expression of myself to create. It is not important to me to have every detail and every event in a book on a shelf. I have many incomplete albums going. I have a honeymoon one, a vacation one and a family one, and I have one for each of the children always going. When I complete a page it goes into the "correct" album. The kids like to compare books and count pages and tease me about who has more.

By: C. Mercer