You can call me Alexis, although most of the people who know me just call me crazy I’m a 31 year old mother of one darling daughter and one pampered pooch. My husband works as an attorney and does all the serious things in our lives that need taking care of. I’m more of the free spirit that would rather spend all day with my daughter, some good tunes, yummy snacks, and anything involving art or shopping (for the inspiration of course

I started scrapbooking after I got married seven years ago. I cut shapes out of my photos, used deco scissors and anything else that was crucial to scrapbooking back then. I was also teaching 3rd grade in Bayside, Queens so those scrapbooking skills really came in handy when creating those bulletin boards! Once my daughter was born, I became a stay at home mom and used scrapbooking as a way to unwind at the end of the day. It let me express myself in mediums other than strained carrots and formula stains

Over the years, I let my formal artistic training guide my layouts and my own style began to shine through. I love fun mixes of bold colors, clusters of small photos and embellishments, and hand cut elements to add that extra dimension. You won’t find me scrapping without my 3-d foam adhesive or my Cutterbee scissors. I’m usually a 12×12 scrapper but I love making minibooks as well. Digital scrapping is another obsession of mine. It allows me to scrap wherever and whenever with little to no clean up. Gotta love that

I have a real admiration for the art photography. My daughter is usually the subject of most of my shots since she’s the only one who will let me photograph her on a daily basis! I love scrapbooking a special photo that captures daughter’s personality. I’ve found that a well taken photo can transform your scrapbooking. Most of the time, I work with black and white photos simply because it allows me to use any colors I like. And trust me, I like color….a lot.

After finding my style, this crazy world of scrapbooking as taken me down many exciting roads. I’ve been published in magazines (both online and paper), books and catalogues. I’ve designed for some pretty awesome manufacturers. And I currently design my own pattern paper line through Dream Street Papers. But the most rewarding part of this hobby is the connections I’ve made with fellow artists and scrapbookers. And that is one of the reasons I am so happy to be a part of this truly inspiring team!

It is an honor to be a part of this amazing store and design team. Kim’s vision is both inspiring and exciting. NYC has been long overdue for a store as special as this one proves to be. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt quite as inspired as I feel when I’m around anything to do with Portrait Bug. I simply can not wait to meet the community and get started!

If this wasn’t a long enough post (I guess you can add long-winded to my list of attributes) and you’d like to learn more about me or see some of my work, check out my blog