Awesome Lady Spotlight: Christine

Hello and welcome to another Awesome Lady Spotlight – a fun opportunity to learn more about our ALP members and take a look into their creative process and some things they are currently working on. We hope to make this a regular column so do please send me a message if you would like to participate @shannanmm – I hope everyone will!

Today we have the awesome Christine – Christine_P at the Awesome Ladies Project and cp_scraps on instagram.

Where are you from Christine?

I am from Northern NJ.  Born and raised!

What kinds of crafts do you do?

I’ll try just about anything, but currently my main crafts are Scrapbooking (traditional, digital and hybrid) art journaling, and painting – acrylics and watercolors, mostly.

Have you always been crafty? 

Yes!  As a kid I loved to paint and draw, and I was in a program for artistic students in elementary school.  I loved that program because our teacher encouraged us to think outside the box – using materials you would not think of to make art, or using traditional materials in different ways.  For example, two of my projects included a mosaic of a cat made entirely out of edible dried foods (like beans, peas and pasta) and a realistic colored pencil drawing of my sneaker (my actual sneaker, which she literally took off my foot, put on my desk and told me to draw 😊) with flowers growing out of it.  It opened my eyes to art being more than just drawing faces or fruit.  As I got older I would try different things – I did ceramics for a long time, made lots of DIY home décor like wreaths, made my own cards and wrapping paper – like I said, I’ve tried a lot!  I found scrapbooking many years ago – maybe the mid 90’s – and once I started, I was hooked!

What craft supplies could you not live without? 

This varies depending on what I am into at the moment.  I don’t know if it’s technically considered a craft supply but I definitely could not do what I do without my computer and printer, to edit and print photos or digital products, or to do digital layouts.  I love my drafting table and I always have good scissors and a million tape runners close at hand.  I LOVE patterned paper.  It’s definitely a go-to, must-have.  New frequently used favorites include washi tape, solid washi in particular (thanks, Kristin!), stamps, a typewriter, watercolors (REALLY loving metallic watercolors), and a great set of watercolor brushes.

Tell us about your craft space!

My craft space is in a portion of my finished basement.  I have a Kallax shelf/desk combo, some built-in counters with cabinets for my computer and supplies, an Ikea Alex rolling cart with drawers, a drafting table with good lighting and a drafting chair, a larger Kallax bookshelf for various albums and supplies, and then a few other assorted Iris carts and a shelf to hold my patterned paper and misc. supplies.  It’s a lot but it’s fairly well organized.  You can find me here many evenings and weekends working on Daily Pages or projects.  The nice thing about it is it is about half of the finished part of the basement, and the other half is a living space with a sofa, chairs, tv, etc. so I can watch TV or be with my family and still work.  It’s also next to the laundry room/bathroom, which means I can do laundry while I craft, and I always have access to water/paper towels, etc. for painting.  It’s really convenient and I love it.  When we renovated, we designed the built-ins and furnishings with my craft area in mind.

Tell us about a recent page or project you have made?

I work on Daily Pages regularly.  They are in a field-notes sized book and they vary by day – they usually contain journaling cards, stickers, stamps, photos, or bits of life.  It’s one of my favorite new-ish habits and I currently have 20 completed monthly books! 

I recently completed my second December Daily, a 6×8 Ali Edwards album that had a little bit of everything – pocket pages, outside the pocket pages, flip ups, flaps, memorabilia, all the things.  I really enjoyed putting it together.  I also participated in Ali Edwards’ Week in the Life for the first time last year.

Last year I made my first ALP Book Of Me (Chapters) – 8.5×11 digital/hybrid.  My 2022 Book of Me project, which I just started, will be a 4×6 album with double page spreads.  I also make traditional scrapbook pages at 8.5×11.  My daughter is my favorite subject, though I have been working hard to get myself into my books more often and that’s been really fun. 

My art journaling varies depending on the medium I am using.  My main book is a 5×7 mixed media book, sometimes I work directly on the pages but sometimes I will use different paper (such as watercolor paper) and then adhere it to a page in the book.  I also just started a smaller 6×6 art journal, and I really like the square layout. I am also working on a One Little Word journal, and a 30-day art journal class from Alisa Burke.

What do you love about the Awesome Ladies Project? 

So many things!  The first thing that comes to mind is the sense of community.  These are women from all over the world, all ages, all walks of life.  Everyone has different styles, different ways of doing things, and each and everyone has a unique and interesting perspective and a different story to tell.  They are genuinely supportive and kind.  I truly feel I can be myself here, without judgment.  I love that we can talk about anything – politics, family, TV shows, mental health, cooking, and of course, crafting!  I feel so at home here, and I feel like I found my people.  As I have said before – the ALP was one of the silver linings of COVID for me.  

And finally, tell us what you are currently doing (using Kristin’s Currently Card)

https://theawesomeladiesproject.com/currently/

Watching:  I just finished the Euphoria season finale – speechless!  Just started the new season of Top Chef, a favorite I have watched with my husband for years.

Reading:  Just finished Untamed – amazing!  Just started Red, White, and Royal Blue, because Juli and Vanessa recommended it.  Re-reading Big Magic by Liz Gilbert.

Listening: Podcasts – We Can Do Hard Things, Show Up or Shut Up, Get Messy. Music – Depends on the day but right now it is usually AltNation on Sirius XM or Stories (I usually play it on YouTube but I think it’s also on Spotify) which plays acoustic covers by an eclectic group of musicians. 

Making:  Art pages with a new Alisa Burke Class, Book of Me pages, Daily Pages, and traditional scrapbook pages.  Oh, and lots of food – I love to cook and bake.

Feeling:  Pretty heavy this week, to be honest.  The world is a bit of a mess right now.  But personally, things are OK, and I am holding on to hope for the rest of the world.

Planning:  Our first real get-on-a-plane vacation in well over two years.  Scary but exciting!

Loving:  E-books and audiobooks, chocolate-covered almonds, my crazy perfectly imperfect family, having the time and ability to be creative on a regular basis, and my #ALPGirlGang!

Thank you so much Christine! See you all back here soon.