Meet our Designers - Natalie Strand

I wonder how many scrapbook design teams can boast of having a Doctor on their team? Well, we can! Yes, Natalie Strand recently completed her PhD in ASTROPHYSICS and is now working as a postdoc in the field of physics education! (Wow...I had to withdraw from Physics 10 in high school because the big numbers scared me so much!) And who says the fields of science and the arts can't peacefully co-exist - Natalie is proof. In her spare time she loves to scrapbook, create a variety of sewing projects and work in her balcony garden. She recently wrote an eloquent post on why she scrapbooks and she often posts her layouts on her blog - Vegetablog. 

I was instantly in love with Natalie's clean , yet detailed style when I saw these layouts that she submitted for our design team call: 

[caption id="attachment_1210" align="aligncenter" width="289" caption="Fall Farrago - Natalie Strand"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1211" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Oregon Zoo - Natalie Strand"][/caption]

And look at what she did with our Valentine Cut-Outs and Artisan Journaling Spots! Natalie loosely based her first layout on Page Plan #5, but says it "morphed a bit"! That's what so great about page plans and sketches...they give you a place to start and then your own creativity can take over! I love how Natalie used several of our journaling spots and tags and continued her writing from one tag to another. I also love the dimension she gave them by layering them and popping two tags up with a foam adhesive.

[caption id="attachment_1212" align="aligncenter" width="299" caption="Brotherly Love - Natalie Strand"][/caption]

 (Supplies used: Sharing Memories Scrapbooking journaling spots:  Valentine Cutouts & Artisan Journaling Boxes (neutral), Paper Reflections navy, brown, and red plain cardstock, Making Memories blue polka-dotted PP,  Autumn Leaves (Rhonna Farrer Flourishes) clear acrylic stamps (used to make the brown "patterned" paper for the circle), Stampabilities brown pigment ink, Making Memories felt flowers, Paper Studio red rhinestones, ribbon, Scrapbook Adhesives white photo corners, GelWriter brown gel pen, Silhouette SD with fonts Arial and Honey Script (welded)).

In her second layout she used a Artisan Bracket journaling spot as a background for part of her title, and repeated the bracket shape down the side as an eye catching border.

[caption id="attachment_1214" align="aligncenter" width="291" caption="Christmas 07 - Natalie Strand"][/caption]

 (Supplies Used: American Crafts PPS "The Goods: Stocking", SMS journaling tag (neutrals) with red marker added to inner border, American Crafts Thickers (Cream Soda), Silhouette SD ("'07"-- font Windsong), buttons, black string, white ribbon, red ink, black & red marker, edging scissors, plain cardstock)

I hope you enjoy Natalie's work as much as I do, and I know we'll have lots more to enjoy in the future! Thanks Doc!

Next up: Amber Goble