Guest Designer's Space: Lisa VanderVeen

Hey there! Yesterday, our guest designer Lisa VanderVeen shared a couple of layouts with us. Today, we get to take a peek into where she creates! We peppered her with a few questions...

Lisa with her hubby Shak (not the basketball player), and daughter Sophie

Do you have a dedicated scrap space?

Yes. I recently acquired my husband’s home office, which is a loft over our bedroom. I love it because it’s my own dedicated area (previously, I shared a room with our guest bed and elliptical trainer) and it feels like my own private scrapbooking treehouse. I love that I can make a mess and no one can tell me to pick it up.

When do you scrap?

During the day while my daughter is at school. I try to scrap in the evenings but, unfortunately, I turn into a pumpkin at around 8:30 p.m. and am thereafter creatively useless.

How do you start your layout? Photos? Story? Product?

I generally start a layout with photos. I take way too many of them (who among us doesn’t?) and have trouble cutting them down so 80% of my layouts are 2 page layouts. Once I’ve chosen the photos, I consider the design I want to use and then choose product. My stories are generally closely tied to the photos, because I am more of a photojournalistic type photographer. 

Are you a fast or slow scrapper?

I’m fairly fast. I try not to get bogged down in getting it perfect and I try to embrace happy accidents.

How do you organize your stash?

Paper (including scraps) and alphas by color, embellishments by style/material. I have a ton of clear plastic bead boxes and I store all of my buttons, brads, etc. in there by manufacturer. Tall sheets of alphas (12x12 sheets) and chipboard stickers, etc. go into large standing baskets that slip into my shelves. My scrapspace isn’t as fancy as some others, but I love it. Over the years, I’ve learned what organization works for me.

Do you listen to music while scrapping? Eat?

I LOVE ‘70s music. I am also a total news junkie. So, since I don’t have a TV in my scrapspace but I do have a computer, I either listen to ‘70s music on Pandora or I listen to CNN on my computer. I rarely eat while scrapping, but a cup of coffee is never far away.

Do you have a go to technique?

I am ADDICTED to punches. It’s a problem. I rarely complete a layout without a punch.

Dream travel destination: Egypt

Favorite food: Cheeseburgers and fries.  If they weren’t bad for me, I would eat them every day.  And tostadas from Poquito Mas. Well, and sushi. And Greek yogurt. Oh. You said “food”, not “foods”. Sorry ;).

Superhero power: That I want? Or that I have? I guess I have eyes in the back of my head where my daughter is concerned. But I would rather be invisible… Or be able to fly. Flying would be cool.

Favorite color combo: Right now, muted colors (yellows, blues, oranges) and ALWAYS neutral backgrounds (kraft, cream, white, black).

Perfect weekend: Staying home. We travel a lot and I really love just spending weekends at home, catching up on reading and scrapping and working out and hanging out with my cats.

Thanks Lisa for sharing your beautiful creations and lovely home with us. And thank you for dropping by today!