BR (Blog response as opposed to a video response LOL) to Kitty Scrapper's TAG video

Happy Sunday my scrappy friends.  This is one of those days when I really wished I was tech savvy enough to make videos.  I have had such fun watching all your lovely responses to Nancy's TAG video!   (aka Kitty Scrapper on You Tube, if for some reason you have been under a rock or on Mars and don't know her, stop reading and head on over to her You Tube channel - you will love it - and her).  Nancy made a wonderful video last Sunday I believe, where she came up with 7 great scrappy questions which she answered for us (with a cocktail of course ... and I watched with a martini of course LOL) and then she tagged everyone to respond.  I have been watching Nancy's videos since she started making them and she is my friend so I really wanted to participate in her TAG.  So, it will be a Blog response.  But, my friends I promise that the next one will be a video... Yes, you read it here (more about that when I answer question 6 below).

YES THERE WILL BE A PROMISE .....

So, let's get to it LOL .... before I bore you to tears, or keep you here all day ;)

Why did you start your channel (in my case blog):  It is a two-fold reason really.  I have family and friends that live far away from me (elsewhere in Canada, in Ireland, Spain and France, mainly) and they asked me to start a blog where they could see my scrapbook pages but where I could also tell the story behind the layouts.  After a false start in early 2013 (three lame posts, and then a year hiatus), I finally got it up and running in early 2014 and I would say that the real reason was to participate in this lovely community we have on YouTube and Facebook.  I wanted somewhere where I could give a little more detail about my layouts, from the supplies I used to the stories behind the layouts.  I also wanted somewhere where I could participate in all the lovely challenges that we have. And one of my very first posts was a response to one of Nancy's early challenges!

What is your scrappy style and how has it changed.  I love this question, and it got me looking back through a few albums of the week, which by the way I don't do often enough!!

Like many of you I don't know if I can easily put a word to my style - fairly clean I think, a little eclectic since I like to try new techniques that I see a lot of you doing so beautifully. Someone made me notice lately that I often do "detached embellishment clusters" as opposed to the layered style.  I also cannot make a page without wood veneer, flair and enamel dots.

Probably the best way to show my srappy evolution (LOL), is in photos.  

My first pages, after taking a class at my local LSS in 2007 :

Then I discovered Two Peas and took Shimelle's Hitchhikers class .... and many of her other classes.  Here is my Shimelle phase (see the butterflies Nancy?) : 

I still love Shimelle's style and love taking her classes.  Her style still influences my basic style (one or two photos, rules of thirds ....) but then the YouTube world exploded and so many of you started making absolutely beautiful layouts, using fun techniques and all sorts of media.  My scrappy world opened up !!!  Thank-you to each and everyone of you.  I am a total You Tube addict (I don't own a TV, my TV is process videos, with the occasional foray into the tennis watching world LOL).  Thank-you Nancy, Nicole Jones, Irit, Victoria Calvin, Hannah, Jenny Box, Lisa, Sandra, Jen Stokes, Mari Clarke, Alicia Tillman, Crystal, Jen Schow, Juliet Sherriff, InkieQuill, Suse Fish, Tanya Hubbard, Elisabetta, Gretchen, Sue, Sarah, Iliana, Sheri, Mandy, Missy, Tuesdae, Robin..... and so so many more.  I know I forgot to mention many of you ... I subscribe to about 250 channels and love them all.   

 Here are a couple of my latest layouts : 

What project have you been meaning to start :  In my case, it is more a case of projects I want to finish :

• My backpacking trip albums 
• My December Documented 2014 (not even close to being done with this one LOL)

And then there are a couple of projects I want to start :    A book of me, or rather documenting my life before I started scrapbooking.  That is a bit of a daunting project since I am almost 60 years old LOL .... as you can see I will have a long retirement and live to a ripe old age to finish that.  Since I am divorced, at least I won't have to do (rather redo) the wedding album ... that should save a little time ;)

What collection new, and old, would you save from your burning craft room?  Which collection, or paper, do you regret buying :

For the favourite current collection, until this morning, I would have answered Crate Paper Craft Market, but I got a few pieces from Shimelle's latest collection, True Stories, this week and absolutely fell in love.  It is brighter and bolder than my normal style, but it is so cheerful.  I think I will have such fun with it this summer.

As for an older collection, I loved the My Mind's Eye, Lost and found 3 - Oliver collection.  I was one of the first for me that used all shades of blue with a lovely golden yellow and a taupey (yes that is a shade) brown/grey.  I bought at least 2 of the 6X6 pads, and I don't really want to say how many of the enamel dot packages.  

Now, I was "talking" with Crystal, after watching her video response, and we both had the same opinion about Basic Grey's Grand Bazaar.  It is a beautiful collection, great patterns and colours BUT it is so very hard to use.  I had bought it thinking I would use it to document the few months I lived in Andalucia, Spain.  But in the end, I really could not figure out how to use it at all and wound up giving it to my great-niece, who had no qualms about cutting it up and having a grand ol time with it.  I on the other hand, felt I should just frame the paper itself LOL.

Now I am going to switch the order a bit and answer the last question :  Who would you like to collaborate with :

That is easy .... any, and all of you.  I have made such lovely scrappy friendships!  I do so enjoy participating in all of the challenges that I can (in fact, I do need to catch up on some of the fun challenges on the Victoria Marie Facebook group).  But  a few of you have already mentioend me so of course I am on board with you Hannah, you Megan ....  

Also, in the near term, I want to try and do a few tags like Jenny Box is doing on her channel recently - I love them

I would like to try my hand at a 4 X 4 album like Nancy did as well - looks like fun

OK SO NOW DRUM ROLL ..... TA DAH DUM DUM DUM TEE HEE LA DEE DAH!!!

WHERE DO YOU WANT TO TAKE YOUR CHANNEL:    I, MOIRA O'REILLY, YOU TUBE ADDICT, LOVER OF ALL MY SCRAPPY FRIENDS,  SOLEMNLY SWEAR TO HAVE A VIDEO UP BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR - YES I WILL START MAKING VIDEOS .... I WILL LEARN.... I CAN DO THIS .... I WON'T LET A MACHINE BEAT ME!!!!  WITH WINE AND CHOCOLATE (PLUS THE OCCASIONAL MARTINI :) I CAN DO THIS !!!!!!  I WILL, I PROMISE, YES I DO

Climbs off soap box and makes a martini .....

So there you have it !!!  My BR  (because I am a doinker and can't yet do a VR LOL).  Before I leave you for the day, I just want to take a moment to thank-you all so so much.  You Tube and our facebook groups are just such a lovely community, filled with great talent, creativity, respect, fun and games.  I feel blessed to be part of it.  And, even though I don't make videos yet, you have taken me into the fold.  So many lovely comments on my pages, and so many of you have mentioned me in your videos (I always feel like a little girl ... "that's me, that's me she is talking about" LOL)

Hugs to you all xoxo