It’s Monday which must mean that it’s time to meet another of our subscribers. This week, Gemma Steele tells us all about her love of Disney. Over to you Gemma…
1. TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.
Hiya! My name is Gemma Steele. I’m 31 and a full time carer for my husband Mark, mother to our two kids Cameron (8) and Caitlin (7) and our fur baby Scamp.
2. WHEN DID YOU BEGIN SCRAPBOOKING AND WHY DO YOU LOVE IT?
I got into scrapbooking originally as a form of therapy. Whilst Mark has been ill since his teens it was really bad around the time I was pregnant with Cameron and really hit a low after Caitlin was born. Suddenly I was a young Mum with a one year old who never slept, a newborn and a husband who needed round the clock care. A friend suggested I take up card making but in my sleep deprived stupor I bought a copy of Scrapbook Magazine by mistake! I loved that I was recording memories of us as a family and really felt I was doing something for Mark and the kids whilst I was doing it. The fact that it let me escape for a little while and enjoy something for me was a huge bonus too.
3. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE SPOT WITHIN YOUR SCRAP SPACE?
My scrap space is basically a fold down desk in my bedroom but I love all of it. I used to keep all my craft stuff packed away so it didn’t look messy but then I thought ‘It’s my bedroom, who am I keeping it all minimalist for?!’ So now I keep my kits and die cutting stuff in the wardrobe and as much as I can on or around my desk.
4. WHAT’S YOUR ALL TIME FAVOURITE CREATION?
While it’s not my most impressive, or even scrapbookish, I love the canvas display I made to show the pins we got in Disneyland. I’m a huge Disney fan and on our last few trips we’ve taken up pin trading so have quite a few now. Each one has a memory attached and I love to look at them and think of how we got them.
5. DESCRIBE YOUR SCRAPPING STYLE IN 5 WORDS.
Ohhhh that’s hard. I’d probably say ‘Layered’ as I like layers. ‘Deliberate’ as I can’t manage to get to grips with all the mixed media stuff no matter how hard I try! ‘Personal’ because, well it is! ‘Simple’ because they’re not very complicated and I’m really stuck now so I’ll just say ‘Mine’ as the last word.
6. WHICH LIKE FOR EVER KIT HAVE YOU ENJOYED THE MOST AND WHY?
Another hard one! To be honest I’ve loved them all. I always get one and think ‘Oh, this is my amazing!’ but then I get the next and its so pretty too! If I had to pick, though, I’d probably say ‘English breakfast’ as I’ve made some of my favourite layouts from that kit.
Click to view slideshow.7. JOURNALING SPOTS OR PUFFY STICKERS?
Puffy stickers! I have journaling spots coming out of my ears but I tend to just journal in a blank area of the page so don’t use them too much. Puffy stickers – you can’t ever get enough in my opinion.
8. BEST CHARACTER TRAIT?
I’m a good friend. I’m loyal, determined and very, very protective of the people I care about. I like to help people and have done lots of charity work. My favourite being when I worked on a helpline at university. I had to deal with some pretty difficult calls but it was worth it.
9. WHO WOULD YOU BE FOR A DAY?
I’ve literally sat here for almost half an hour trying to think of answer to this one. I suppose I’d be whoever the richest person in the world was. I could donate a load of their money to charities and maybe a little into my bank account too!
10. WORST CRAFTY ERROR?
I love the smell of cinnamon and apple candles. Once I was crafting with one next to me and I leaned over to pick up a punch and managed to set fire to my fringe and my eyebrow. Thankfull, my layout was ok though!
It’s lovely to meet you, Gemma, and thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us today. If you’d like to see more of Gemma’s creations, you’ll find her over at her blog. Please do hop on over and pay her a visit!