Interview by Amy Kingsford
Username: Larkensnanny
Posts: 1,778
Most Active In: Non-Scrapbook Related Forum
Joined: April 2008 Alum of: More than 30 GIS classes, from at least 10 of our teachers!
Linda’s Blog: Coffee Chat
Linda Bizjak (aka Larkensnanny) lives in Columbus, Ohio with her sweet husband Edward. They are fortunate enough to live right next door to their oldest daughter, her daughter’s partner, and three grandchildren. Linda has four grown daughters and one stepson. She has eight grandchildren who she loves to spoil and spend most of her time with. In addition to scrapbooking, Linda also keeps busy with crafts and sewing. Linda has worn many different hats throughout the years, holding jobs that include running a fashion business, a certified daycare, and 25 years of teaching sign language. Crafting has always been her favorite way to spend her time. She especially loves making dolls and other sewing projects.
When we asked Linda some questions about her hobby, here’s what she had to say:
- I have been scrapbooking for about 15 or 20 years now. I started out with the Creative Memories format and have evolved from there. I have been a consultant for both Creative Memories and Close to My Heart products.
- My favorite subject to scrap is usually my grandchildren, but I also enjoy doing heritage pages of my family and distant relatives. I especially love telling the stories and hope that my current stories of my immediate family will someday be enjoyed by future generations.
- I have a lovely scrap room in the basement of our house and and now that I am retired I find myself in my craft room at least part of every day. I also love going out to crops and retreats and do that as often as I can.
- My style of scrapping has changed drastically over time. I started out with the little triangle cardstock in the corner of every page and all the photos cut either in a circle or oval. Now I love the grungy look and I use a much more planned sketch to make the layout interesting and put the focus where I really want it. I have learned so much from being a part of this GIS site and just know I will continue to learn and my style will change again and again.
- I don’t think I could possibly do a layout without my two cutters. I have a small one for trimming photos and a large one for cutting cardstock and printed paper. I love my Cricut Expressions machine and use it constantly for making titles and other die cuts.
- I always have a wish list of cartridges that I want for my Expression, but I also love trying new gadgets and the latest one that I am wishing for is the i-rock tool for attaching bling to a page. I really think my biggest wish is for a new computer so that I can have Photoshop and other cool editing programs for my photos and pages.
- The technique that I wish I knew how to do is to edit and alter my photos better. I would love to be more savvy in using Photoshop and other tricks like making a collage of photos into a word. On a simpler line, I really wish I knew how to work with masks to get more interesting effects on a page.
- My inspiration comes mostly from seeing other people’s work. GIS is a gold mine of inspiration and instruction. I love browsing through the gallery just to find something that tickles me that day. I also love books that have been published by Debbie Hodge, Sherry Steveson, as well as the Page Maps and other sketches. I really love sketches and it helps me get started so much faster. I don’t always stick to the sketch, but it gives me a bit of direction in a concrete way.
- My very favorite class here at GIS is Page Parts. I feel like I really learned the basics from that class and I could go to any extreme that I wanted to after I got down the basics. However, I have to say I have taken nearly every one of the classes offered here and I have never had a bad one. They are always so clear and so instructive, encouraging me to put my own flare on to it. (Editor’s note: While Page Parts is no longer offered here, much of the material from that class is covered in our free class Where Scrapbooking Ideas Come From.)
- It was very hard to decide on one particular layout that I call a favorite. I tend to put a great deal of sentiment into my pages and at the time of construction, they are all favorites. I am choosing for now the latest layout that I did of my brother Beetle. I just like the way it came together with the rustic look and the old newspaper article. The dog tags were a fun addition because I thought of this layout as the Making of Beetle Bailey.
A big thank you to Linda for sharing with us this month. Linda has been a dear friend to many of us for a couple of years now and I hope you enjoyed taking a closer look at some of her work, while learning some new things about her!
