My Favorite Scrapper: Loni Young

Hey Everyone.  I am back with another edition of My Favorite Scrapper.  I just love this feature.  Month after month I get to bring you beautiful layouts created by amazing artists and this month’s favorite, Loni Young, best know as lingovise around the digi world, is no exception.

I first noticed Loni’s work in the gallery at My Scrapbook Art.  I was initially attracted to her awesome clusters, but as I became more of a fan and a follower, I began to see how truly  versatile her layouts are.  She seems to be able to do it all and do it well.  That she is a fellow quilter absolutely sealed the deal for me!  Let’s meet her and learn a bit about her and how she makes those awesome layouts that always stand out in a scrapbooking gallery.

Lorie:  Hi Loni!  Welcome to Let’s Just Scrap!  Please tell our readers a little about yourself.

Loni:  Howdy.  I’m Loni and am currently living in South Carolina.  My Sweetheart and I will be celebrating 21 years together this year and I am a SAHM to our 3 gorgeous little boys who are 7, 4 & 1.5 years old.  I adore that all of our boys seem convinced that I am a retired Professional Wrestler with x-ray vision and an uncanny ability to read their minds while performing magic tricks.  In a previous life, (aka: before kids) I was a Mixed Media Artist and owned a Quilt Shop.  We’ve moved 12 times in the past 20 years and I told the hubster after this most recent relocation, that our next move is going to be the cememtery.

AMM LayoutLorie:  How long have you been scrapping?

Loni:  I’ve been digi scrapping for 3 years.  I have never paper scrapped.

PRNEFLorie:  Why do you scrap, and why digital scrapping in particular?

Loni:  I scrap as a creative release, with the fringe benefits of preserving precious moments with my family.  I love all things art and craft related, but truly relish in the mess free creativity that digi-scrapping provides.

SCKOTWLorie:  How would you describe your scrapping style?

Loni:  Random? Eclectic? A hot mess? Like a bachelor with commitment issues?  I do love to stack, layer and cluster. But I’m so all over the place, that mostly I feel as though I’ve got Scrapper’s Tourettes.

SCMICLorie:  I love your clustering and your scale.  Can you describe your process for building an awesome cluster and talk a little about how you resize your elements for a cluster?

Loni:  What a lovely compliment, Thank you!  Unfortunately, my creative process is such an erratic mess, that it’s tough to offer much insight.  lol  I never begin a page with any sort of idea, or preconceived plan.  I just sit down and start.  I digi scrap in much the same way that I approach art quilts and art journaling.  I amass a huge collection of scraps to first create the foundation and let the pieces lead the way. or most of my heavily layered paper stacks, I cut all the wonky paper shapes by hand and rarely use plain/solid papers because I simply love the contrast of both color and visual texture the patterned papers create.  Usually the paper layers come first and are followed by the addition of the elements, and the scale is influenced by the size of the overall cluster.

CVTIASLorie:  In your opinion what are three things that every good scrap page should have?

Loni:  That is like the million dollar question isn’t it?!   I really wish I knew the answer!   I never know how well my own pages will be received by others until I publish them… and often times pages I’m head over heals for get little to no response while pages that I feel are good, but nothing spectacular receive loads of love??  I find it’s all so subjective.   I, myself am drawn to a huge variety of styles, but greatly appreciate the aesthetic values of pages with a lot going on (I love clustered pages!) that allow my eye to travel a great distance and discover a plethora of delectible details highlighting terrific shadows and a strong composition with a confident use of pattern and color.  Though, I don’t think all of these need to be present to create a wonderful page.  And personally, I’m  just out to create pages that I love.  If someone else enjoys and appreciates them, well, that’s just icing on the cake for me.

CVIBISC_QPPLorie:  What is the best kind of compliment you can receive on a layout?

Loni:  When the galleries are absolutely bursting at the seams with gorgeous pages… the fact that I receive a comment amid all of that beautiful chaos is a huge compliment in and of itself.  It touches me that something I created gave someone pause to stop and take notice and to be told they were inspired by it amazes me every single time.  I truly find it humbling.

CVIBISC

Lorie:  Throughout this interview, I have been highlighting some of my personal favorites of yours, but I’d like to know which layout is your own personal favorite.

Loni:  Goodness.  All of my pages hold some special sentiment to me.  I love’ em because of what was going on while I was working on them or the memories the photos conjure up or just because of how much fun they were to create.  I’m not very objective, and couldn’t possibly pick just one, so how about my top three for today.  Because if you asked tomorrow, the list would surely be different!

SCH_lgCVIBSESCBAWLorie:  Loni you already know that you amaze and inspire me, but I want to know who inspires you.  Who is your favorite scrapper?

Loni:  I honestly don’t have just one.  There are so many fantastic scrappers out there, all creating with their own special sort of magic and movin’ to the own unique groove.  I will note that five pages I saw today that are still resonating with me were created by Lita Bloomer, Valorie Brown, Liahra, Jenn (Catgoddess) and Ona (Wombat146).

Lorie:  Loni, I did some gallery stalking based on your answer and they are all fabulous scrappers.  I can see what caught your eye and interest. 

So tell me, On average, how long does it take you to scrap a layout.  What is your process; your steps in putting the entire page together?

Loni:  I’m a ridiculously sllloooooow scrapper.  Seriously.  Like a snail approaching rigor mortis.  Most of my pages take me at least 2-3 hours to complete [and shamefully longer at times].   I am almost always inspired by the colors and papers of a kit and rarely know what photo I’ll use till I’m about 3/4s of the way finished.

FJFTRLorie: Is there a part of the scrapping process that you struggle with? If so, why?

Loni:  Journaling & templates.  I have a very difficult time journaling on scrapbook pages.  Journaling is a very personal experience for me, and is usually reserved just for my real life art journals, where most of my text gets painted or collaged over.  And as silly as it sounds I find it nearly impossible to work with templates.  I think for most people they are a wonderful catalyst to spark their creativity, but for me, I often struggle against the prearranged composition and feel completely restricted and bound down by them.   I figure that it must boil down to how I work.  I’m the same way with other projects; I cannot follow or stick to a quilting pattern for the life of me.  lol  Oh & mini kits!  I really, really struggle to scrap with mini kits because they’re just so… small.  I need me a whole lot of patterned papers and an offensive amount of ellies to be content and happy!  🙂

TRLIB

Lorie:  What is your favorite color palette to work with?

Loni:  I don’t really have a preference and love color.  Pastels and primaries aren’t palettes I’d decorate my house with (which is comprised entirely of earth tones), but I can scrap with just about any color that’s thrown at me.

CVBIBLorie:  Why do you CT?

Loni:  I’m a SAHM to 3 little boys who has moved around a LOT in her adult life, in other words, I don’t get out much, so opportunities to venture out and make friends is often a difficult task for me.  I love the sense of community and friendship my creative teams offer me.  It is truly a blessing to have the support of other like minded artists who can relate to and share this creative passion.

FJPRLorie:  Final question Loni.  What are your scrapping goals? 

Loni:   I simply want to have fun, be inspired, and hopefully have the chance to work with some of my favorite designers along the way.

LDHSSSI want to thank Loni for agreeing to step outside her comfort zone and answer all my many questions.  I appreciate the time and the guts it took her to open up about herself and her artistic process.  I enjoyed getting to know her and taking an in depth look at her amazing body of work.  I hope you did as well.

The layouts I have shared with you here are only a small sampling of Loni’s work.  To see more be sure to check out her galleries at My Scrapbook Art and Digi Shop Talk.  Once you do, I know Loni will become one of your favorite scrappers too.

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