Hello friends! My name is Chelle. I’ve been scrapbooking forever, & I LOVE it. My first scrapbooks were made using typing paper, with construction paper mats and titles cut from magazines, or drawn on with markers…all held together with rubber cement. (No, really. The first scrapbook class I took…the teacher TOLD us to use those things.)
Scrapbooking has changed a lot over the years, but I’ve always enjoyed creating my own supplies. In my “paper” days, I had a large collection of stuff…not just papers & embellishments, but tons of ink, paint, dyes, fabric, clay, acetate, & other crafty things so I could modify my stash. When I was working on scrapping these sledding photos, I couldn’t find anything winter-y with lime green, navy, & turquoise (imagine that). So I taped off sections of white cardstock, and made my own striped paper with acrylic paint. A tiny denim pocket with raffia “straw” seemed like the perfect embellishment for our “We’re from the Country” parade float memories. Since I couldn’t find one, I sewed my own..including silk flowers with a button center.
Frustrated with too much stuff on layouts (the paper couldn’t support it) and the expense of re-making each layout 6 times (one for me and one for each child) I quit. Totally quit. Sold some of my stash and gave away the rest. I started printing “plain” hardcover books with just my photos & journaling. Then two years later while recovering from surgery I was surfing the internet looking for something to use on an album for my daughter and stumbled onto digital scrapbooking. I was immediately hooked. It was a merge of my photos & journaling printed in a hardbound book (with multiple copies) and my love of creating. Now I could decorate my memories again!
Just like before I found myself tweaking supplies to fit my needs, so I started putting my collections together, and offering them to friends. After winning a design contest in 2009, Chelle’s Creations was born.
Remember how I got rid of my supplies? Well, I now have more crafting supplies than before. I make most of my designs from scratch. People often comment, “You make those felties on the computer, right?” No. I cut out each little piece of felt, then sew, tape, & glue them together. After scanning & extracting them, I do use the computer to enhance the final product. My box of felt is one of my favorite designing tools. My other tools are: a MacBook Pro, Photoshop Elements 9, Photoshop CS4, Illustrator CS4, a Wacom Cintiq, a Canon Scanner, & my Nikon D5000.
I have a master’s degree in mathematics education and taught for 5 years. Now instead of teaching algebra, I enjoying teaching others how to digi-scrap & digi-design. I hope you enjoy using my products to preserve your memories. If you have questions about digital scrapbooking or digital designing, check out our tutorials pages…then if you are still wondering, please contact me.
