Interview with Tasra from “Lessons from the Scrapbook Page: Create the Life and Layouts You’ve Always Wanted”

“Lessons from the Scrapbook Page: Create the Life and Layouts You’ve Always Wanted”

http://www.realwomenscrap.typepad.com/

You can see a post I wrote about why I blog called Scrap-Happy Blog-Hopper.* New friends! The older I get, the more I miss the close friendships I had in school. These were friends you saw every day and you were part of their lives. Blogging has given that back to me.* Scrappin’ sisters! I’ve met more scrapbookers online than I could ever meet in person. Scrapbookers in small towns, large cities, with lots of kids and lots of pets, or none of them at all. But we all have at least one love in common: scrapbooking.* Published writing! I’ve always loved to write. (Guess that’s why I’m an author.) Blogging allows me to share some of my ideas, which are always overflowing, with the general public.* Connecting points! In this go-go world where few people have time to meet for coffee or a leisurely dinner out, blogging allows me to find connecting points with others. Although we may not be sipping coffee together in the local Starbuck’s, we could each have our own coffee mugs sitting next to our keyboards as we type and read.

I’ve been scrapbooking over ten years not, but my style and skill has definitely evolved from those first collage pages that I created. The longer I’m involved in scrapbooking, the more committed and passionate I become about it. It’s absolutely the most rewarding hobby I’ve ever had and it not only blesses me, but it also blesses my family and friends as well.How much time do you spend scrapbooking?
Never enough! I’m committed to a crop night at my lss every 2 weeks. In between that I find snatches of time to do some scrappin’ but I’d really love to have more time.

I love offering readers something of value for taking the time to stop by my blog so I blog about the lessons we can learn from scrapbooking. These lessons can be about creativity, sisterhood, balance, perspective, focus, and so much more. If we slow down and open our eyes to the world around us, we can find lessons in anything that we do. I also like to offer creativity workshops to help others liberate their creativity.

http://melodyross.typepad.com/http://stacysbigpicture.typepad.com/http://angiepedersen.typepad.com/http://creativeorganizing.typepad.com/creative_organizing/I connected with all of these scrapbooking experts through their blogs and they’ve all been part of my book, Real Women Scrap. It’s such an honor to have endorsements from big names like Stacy Julian, Melody Ross, and Angie Pedersen. And I loved connecting with Aby Garvey and reading her book, The Happy Scrapper.

My advice is easy: just start! Blogging can be intimidating at first because there is so much to learn and so much out there, but you’ll get “on-the-blog” training once you get started. The best part is the people you will meet along the way.

I always try to respond to visitors either through a personal response or through their blog. Everyone likes to get mail, whether email or blog mail and I appreciate anyone that takes the time to read and comment on my writing.

Absolutely. For some of my family and friends, my blog was the first one they ever saw or read. So I was able to introduce quite a few people to the blogosphere. I’ve even convinced my husband to start a blog for his business.http://www.cinematicstudios.com/

Scrapbook.com is the primary forum that I read and respond to. I love the women there. They are friendly, passionate about scrapbooking, extremely talented, and real-just real women dealing with real issues and we’re all brought together by our love for scrappin! I’m also impressed with the founder Jill Davis who gave an endorsement on the front cover of my book and the president Drex Davis, who shared a story about moderation in scrapbooking for my chapter on simplicity. They really have their philosophy right and I admire that!http://www.scrapbook.com/profiles/15663.html

I had heard rumblings about blogs and blogging for a while, but first really connected with blogging at the Mount Hermon Writers Conference. Laura Christianson, a very successful adoption blogger, led a class on blogging and shared her experience and expertise. She made it seem so accessible that I went home and tried it. Since then, she’s been a valuable resource whenever I run into problems or have questions.http://adoptionblogs.typepad.com/

Life around me inspires me and the people that I meet. I’m always amazed at the story each person has to tell about their life and experiences. When women submitted stories for my book, Real Women Scrap, I was often either laughing out loud or wiping away tears. We all have so much to offer each other.

RealWomenScrap.com is the website for my upcoming book. We just launched it and are having contests and giveaways all month. CinematicStudios.com is the media production company that my husband and I own. It’s really his forte and area of expertise. I offer my input, organizational and planning skills and eye for detail. He’s the mastermind and genius filmmaker. We produce wedding and event films for personal and corporate clients.