Hi All,  I am back with the second installment of My Favorite Scrapper and I have to say I love this series.  Not only do I get to introduce you to some amazing scrappers, I personally get to know some wonderful people who inspire me with their talent and impress me with their kindness, like this month’s favorite, Susanne Liedtke, better known as Sucali in the galleries around digi land.

I was first introduced to Susanne’s work through Scrap Stacks late last year.  Time and time again as I perused the Stacks, my eyes were drawn to Susanne’s clean, crisp layouts with their deceptively simple composition and amazing photos.  It wasn’t long before I was both a follower and fan of this amazing artist.

Lorie: Susanne, please tell our blog readers a bit about yourself.

Susanne: My name is Susanne.  I am SAHM of three boys.  My family lives in the South of Germany near Stuttgart, home of the Mercedes and Porsche cars.  Besides Scrapping, I love photography and reading thrillers.  Two of my sons are playing baseball, which is a very rare and unpopular sport here in Germany, so I also spend a lot of time at various baseball fields.  

L:  How long have you been scrapping?

S:  I started scrapping in 2010 and can’t stop.  Since I started CT-ing, this hobby is taking more and more of my time.

L:  Why do you Scrap?

S:  For me scrapping is not the way to preserve family memories, I do this in extra Photobooks.  For me it is a hobby.  I have so much fun when I see a finished layout and like it.  Because my sons are older, 12, 14 and 18, they don’t like it when I take pictures of them, so for many of my layouts I use pictures from friends.  Since I don’t have a daughter, this is my chance to live my “girly side.”  I try to search for the right picture for each page so that each layout is a little work of art for me. 

S:  What I also like is the life in the communities and the chance to meet people from other countries.  As English is not my native language, it’s some times a bit hard to talk about the “normal daily life” (you don’t learn this at school!) but it’s also a chance to improve my English. 

L: How would you describe your scrapping style?

S:  I think my style is eclectic.  It has changed a little bit lately.  I started with layouts full of elements, (still do layouts like this), but now I love clean and simple with a lot of white space.  Some times it takes me more time to create an “empty” page than a “full” page because here, every little element counts and must be in the right place. 

L:  Susanne, throughout this interview, I have posted some of my favorite layouts of yours, but if you had to choose a personal favorite, which one would it be?

S:  I have a hard time choosing a favorite, but Once Upon A Time and this one, a scraplift I did in November, are two that I love. 

L:  You already know you are one of my favorite scrappers, but I want to know, who is your favorite scrapper?  Who is someone that inspires and amazes you?

S:  I have a lot of favorite scrappers, so it’s hard to pick only one.  Hmmm, there’s one lady who creates outstanding pages, most with a lot of white space.  It’s Amy Martin (alb52). Each of her layouts has something special and is so inspiring in the details. 

L:  I discovered Amy and her designs, AM Scraps, through your layouts Susanne.  I do love what you are able to do with her wonderful templates.

L: What do you look for in a scrap kit: what are your favorite elements?

S:  Oh, I love the girlish things, (maybe because I live in a “Boy’s World’): flowers, ribbons, word art and some paint splatters for the background.  

L:  Susanne, in your opinion, what are three things every good scrap page should have?

S:  That’s not easy to answer.  I like different pages.  There are scrappers who cluster full pages, that look great, but I can’t do such layouts.  I also love pages with lots of white space.  I think the most important thing about a layout is that it is appropriate; that every thing fits together depending on the style. Shadows are also important.  Each page needs shadows, all in the correct direction and each element need the matching shadow size to look more realistic. 

L: Susanne, you mentioned CTing in a previous answer.  What Creative Teams are you a member of and why do you CT?

S:  Oh, that is quite a lot.  I create for Amy Martin, Sahlin Studio, Paislee Press, One Little Bird, Pink Reptile Designs, Sugarplum Paperie, Crystal Livesay , creashens, Jimbo Jambo Designs, Erica Zane, Dunia Designs, Sugary Fancy, Karah Fredricks, The Artisan Notebook and Scrapflower. Last week a dream came true for me! At The Lilypad I did the Month of Challenges in January and I’m one of the two winners who got a permanent Polly Spot!I can’t tell how happy I am!!!

Being in Creative Teams is a challenge for me.  I get the stuff and have to look to create a beautiful page. “My” designers have different styles and so it’s always a new challenge for me.  I can try new techniques and can develop my scrapbooking. 

L:  Finally, what are your scrapping goals?

S:  To create layout which I like and which my designers like.  I feel honored when I get a nice comment for a page.  And just to have fun with my hobby!  

I want to thank Susanne for sharing her time and her talent with me.  When I asked her to be part of this feature, we were strangers, but she graciously accepted my offer and worked with me the last few weeks answering questions and sharing ideas and layouts.  She has been patient, kind and funny and I have enjoyed getting to know her.  I hope you have as well.

The layouts you see here are just a small sampling of Susanne’s wonderful work, so please take a moment to visit her galleries at The LilyPad, My Scrapbook Art, and Sweet Shoppe Designs.  Trust me, once you do, Susanne, aka Sucali, will become one of your favorite scrappers too.