Guest Designer of the Week: AnnaMarie Mondro

I'm excited to annouce the Guest Designer of the Week: AnnaMarie Mondro!

Her flowers & butterflies layouts, cards, and project are so beautiful and inspiring. I won't ramble any longer, I'll just let you take a gander:

Supplies: Blithe Paper (35416) – Hello Sunshine, Breezy Paper (35406) – Hello Sunshine, Delicate Paper (35413) – Hello Sunshine, Brilliance Paper (35415) – Hello Sunshine, Sparkle Paper (35410) – Hello Sunshine, Daybreak (78049) – Details, Daylight (78048) – Details, Sunny Side (72010) – Delights, Dawn (58620) - Boxed Ribbon, Good Afternoon (42195) – Remarks Books, Good Morning (42194) – Remarks Books, Doll Waterfall (53169) – Thickers, Vera Taffy (42931) – Thickers

"I fell in love with Hello Sunshine as soon as I saw it online and it did not disappoint in real life! The colors are bright and happy and scream warm weather and big smiles, just like the photo of my youngest daughter!! :) The paper flowers found in the Delights embellishment pack work wonderfully for random placement of elements and/or lined up to create a border piece. The premium ribbons also have patterns that are as lovely as their patterned paper counterparts!"

Supplies: 12x12 Cardstock Sunflower (71038) – AC Cardstock, Bliss Paper (35395) – Hello Sunshine, Breezy Paper (35406) – Hello Sunshine, Blithe Paper (35416) – Hello Sunshine, Daylight (78048) – Details, Metal Rimmed Tags (85546) – Bits, Dawn (58620) - Ribbon, Lullaby Sunflower (42959) – Thickers

"Even though Hello Sunshine is filled with yummy bright colors, I found that I could pull out certain sheets of the patterned papers and layer them in such a way as to create a soft card counterpart to the brighter layout shown above. There are also some wonderful phrases or words to be found on the Bits metal rimmed tags and this card was actually created around that same tag. I also added pop dots to the Remarks stickers to add further dimensionality to the card."

Supplies: No Sweat Paper (35378) – Peachy Keen, Sweet on You Paper (35374) – Peachy Keen, My Darling Paper (35390) – Peachy Keen, Fancy Free Paper (35377) – Peachy Keen, Baby Doll Paper (35384) – Peachy Keen, Sunrise Borders (53185) – Thickers, Twist (72008) – Delights, Just Dandy (82304) – Mementos, Doll Waterfall (53169) – Thickers , Daiquiri White (42743) – Thickers

"Who says boy layouts can’t have flowers, butterflies, or pink on them??!! :) Again, the softer color palette of Peachy Keen  gives just the right amount of softness to complement these super sweet black and white photos of my little guy J, and yet it doesn’t end up feeling girly at all. I also gently bent and creased the chipboard border accent piece to allow it to form more of an arc shape, which complements the soft curves already throughout the page (clouds, scallops, etc.)"

Supplies: 12x12 Cardstock Chestnut (71408) – AC Cardstock, Peanut Butter Benny Paper (35322) – Confetti, Lucy Lemon Twist Paper (35331) – Confetti,  Pin the Tail (42186) – Remarks Dimensional Stickers, Bows (87648) - Boxed Ribbon, Party Favor (72007) – Delights, Doll Waterfall (53169) – Thickers

"The Confetti line is such a fun and happy collection! I often try to keep birthday cards on hand for the many birthday parties that my kids are invited to throughtout the school year and I really love how bright and yet boyish this card turned out. American Crafts cardstock is SO easy to trim and score as well! The dimensional stickers added to the front of the card help balance out the dimension from the Thickers at the top, and I love how the candles easily line up with the pattern on the paper."

Supplies: 12x12 Cardstock Kraft (71464) – AC Cardstock, Fancy Free Paper (35377) – Peachy Keen, Sweet on You Paper (35374) – Peachy Keen, Thing of Beauty Paper (35370) – Peachy Keen, My Darling Paper (35390) – Peachy Keen, You’re a Peach Paper (35381) – Peachy Keen, Metal Rimmed Tags (85542) – Bits, Twist (72008) – Delights, Forest Vanilla (53162) – Thickers, Meadow Black (53163) – Thickers, Doll Waterfall (53169) – Thickers

"I love the softer color palette of the Peachy Keen collection. Because I was using a smaller photo of my oldest daughter on this page, I wanted to create a layout that was simple – I cut random strips of the patterned papers and arranged them around the photo in a way that manages to keep the eye drawn to the picture – one of those layouts where I like to play with just 'bits and pieces' so they don’t overwhelm and instead bring the photo to the forefront."

Supplies: Radiant Paper (35396) – Hello Sunshine, Delicate Paper (35413) – Hello Sunshine, Breezy Paper (35406) – Hello Sunshine, Illuminate Paper (35412) – Hello Sunshine, Daylight (78048) – Details, Dawn (58620) - Ribbon

"Both of my daughters play soccer and when they have a game the jewelry has to come off. My youngest daughter usually likes to put it right back on afterwards and so we’ve talked about having something that she could easily hang a bracelet or two without having to dig constantly in and out of her jewelry box. The Hello Sunshine line also happens to coordinate nicely with my girls’ existing room décor so when I saw this little birdhouse at the craft store, I knew it would be a perfect little dresser décor piece that could also hold a bracelet or two. Again, I love that with this line, you can pretty much mix any of the papers and the patterns coordinate together so nicely!"

Stunning projects AnnaMarie! Each one is so beautiful and unique - wow! Here's a bit more about her:

How did you get started scrapbooking?
I had a close friend who was a scrapper and she was always trying to get me interested in it, but it wasn’t until after the birth of my second daughter that I became more interested in the idea of preserving memories on paper rather than simply filing away pictures into a photo album. I signed up with my friend for a couple classes at the LSS and quickly fell in love with patterned paper and embellishments… the rest is history!

What would you say your scrapbooking “style” is?
That has always been a hard question for me to answer because I honestly don’t know the answer! I love color and details and I enjoy creating a more simplistic layout as much as I do one that has lots of layers and bits and pieces. One of the things I love most about scrapping is that you are not restricted to any “set” way… you are always free to evolve your style by experimenting with different things, and if you’re happy with it, that’s all that matters!

What is your favorite technique?
I’ve been playing a bit more with misting – I love the little splashes of color and pop it gives to an otherwise neutral background, especially when combined with masking techniques. However, my favorite technique right now is using border punches – I LOVE my border punches! J

When do you find time to scrap?
I have four kids ranging in age from 9.5 to (almost) 16 months, so my days are pretty busy! I am a night owl by nature, so the bulk of my scrapping usually takes place after the kids are in bed, when I don’t have to worry about interruptions and/or little hands getting into anything they shouldn’t. :) However, during the day, I will try to take time to jot down ideas, sketch, and/or print out pictures so that I am making the most of my time later that night when I am finally able to sit down and play with paper!

On average, how long does it take you to complete a project?
I feel like I am the world’s slooooooowest scrapper! On average, a project can take me anywhere between 1-3 hours depending on interruptions and/or my need for perfectionism that day. :-P I also try to challenge myself to make each layout a little bit different than the last one.

What is your favorite thing about American Crafts?
I kid you not when I say that I may have just about every set of Thickers ever made :-P LOVE my Thickers!! Also I love the fun, bright colors of the papers and embellishments, the fact that so many of the lines coordinate nicely with one another, and if they don’t, simply flip to the reverse of the patterned paper and you will find another lovely option for colors and/or pattern choice. I also love that American Crafts’ new releases are always in step with current trends and that it is a company I can rely on for releases that offer something for momma scrappers of both girls AND boys!

Visit AnnaMarie's blog to see all the scrappy things she's created and to learn even more about her!

Comments

[Ursula]

These are just beautiful AnnaMarie! TFS and if you end up with too many Thickers, feel free to send them my way, my collection isn't quite as complete as yours, LOL

[Kristin]

Beautiful! Love love all your projects, the first is my favorite. I love all the brightness!

[kelly]

love your projects! this collection is so fun.

[Lexi Bridges]

wonderful projects!! The "so blessed" layout is BEYOND precious!!

[sylv]

Love the projects, love the color selections, love your style!

[Karen Imes]

Love the fun feel to these projects...you did a fantastic job!! Linked over from SC...see you over there!!!

[Jen]

Gorgeous, gorgeous stuff. Love that butterfly house. :)

[Michelle Bertuzzi]

Woohoo for this gal! Love her & her style. Awesome projects here Anna Marie!!

[jamie long]

Love it all anna marie.

[TheScrapbookprincess]

so beautiful!!! really nice

[ArlaMo]

Great layouts! And love the cards - so pretty!

[lisa truesdell]

looooooooooooove, miss annamarie. these are all beautiful!

[Ellie A.]

Super sweet :) Love it!

[DonnaBryantDurand]

gorgeous projects anna marie. just gorgeous.

[Britta Swiderski]

These are such gorgeous projects, Anna Marie. Eee! AC should add you to their DT even. ;) Congratulations on being featured!

[Silvana]

Georgeos , especially the bird house so cute1!!!!!

[Cassi]

fabulous job annamarie! just beautiful :)

[rosalie]

just gorgeous annamarie!!!

[reyanna]

Beautiful work! Love seeing you GD at AC! So cool! :-)

[Suzi M]

All of your projects are so gorgeous!! :) I am sooo pleased and excited to see your AC debut!!

[Asia Pratel]

Awesome job on the projects whooooooooooo
could ever done this nice of a job great job aunt anna yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh