Layout by Ronnie. Supplies: Happy Little Bluebird by Sugarplum Paperie.
Layout by Lauren. Supplies: Happy Little Bluebird by Sugarplum Paperie; random doodles and hexagon shapes by me.
Layout by Kimberly K. Supplies: Happy Little Bluebird by Sugarplum Paperie; Hero font; Tape, Zoe Pearm, A Beautiful Thing kit(modified); Sunburst shape.
Layout by Katie. Supplies: Happy Little Bluebird by Sugarplum Paperie; Scribbled font. Scrapbook Lady Skiwampus template.
Layout by Sula. Supplies: Happy Little Bluebird by Sugarplum Paperie.
Hello! My name is Nicole Seitler and I design under the name Sugarplum Paperie. I was born and raised in sunny Florida. After college, I decided I just had to get out of this hot, tropical climate. I moved up and down the East Coast for ten years (living in TN, MD, PA and OH), only to end up moving back home to Sarasota, Florida with my husband and kids in 2009. The summers are hot, but we love getting to enjoy so many warm and sunny days during the rest of the year–like right now! My husband, Travis, and I have been married for 10 1/2 years. I am also a momma to four wonderful children: Katie (9 1/2), Joshua (6 1/2), Penny (3 1/2) and Benjamin (who just turned 2).
In addition to being a SAHM and a graphic designer, I am also a homeschooling mom. Katie is in the 4th grade and Joshua is technically in the 1st (but he's ahead in a lot of things, so he's kinda in 2nd). Penny wants to do everything her older siblings do, so I'm also doing Kindergarten with her this year! So much for having a little downtime. But at least I'm far from being bored. Ha!
This year I began doing Project Life (all done in paper–not even hybrid!). In a rare moment of "spare time," I decided that I would attempt to do something for 2011 with the same feel. I haven't had time to get very far with all the designing I've been doing this year, but I still have high hopes for the project. This layout is my favorite for 2011 so far. I love this picture, snapped by a photographer at the circus. It is totally my kids in action… one all joyful, the other just a crazy blur. Ha!
My journey started when I stumbled on to the wonderful world of Digital Scrapbooking one day in 2006. Immediately, I had a nagging urge to learn how to make my own beautiful papers and elements. In the summer of 2007, I started up my own Sugarplum Paperie blog as a place to share some of the things I made as I discovered more and more and more about digital design. My husband is a web developer, so I was able to talk him in to building me a personal store! I opened my own little shop on Digital Scrapbooking Day, November 3, 2007. In August of 2008, I joined the Digichick as a guest designer and loved it so much, I begged to stay.
In February of 2009, I was invited to take over the reigns of the shop. I ran the Digichick for three wonderful years. In December of 2011, I was contacted by a paper scrapbooking company and I began to design for them–my all-time biggest dream come true. That was my goal when I started down this road, all the way back in 2006! But trying to design for the digital world, the paper world AND run a large digital scrapbooking shop… all while homeschooling two kids and trying to live a normal life… well, it was all too much for me! I had to lay down the insane belief that I could do it all after having a mini-meltdown last January. In April of last year, I joined the Sweet Shoppe and focused on designing full-time.
My inspiration comes from random places. Maybe it's a color palette that I see. More often, I think that it's a feeling that I want to capture and translate into pixels and papers.
Program: I only use Adobe CS5 (Photoshop and Illustrator).
Camera: I use an iPhone 4S. (Don't faint!) When I started Project Life last year, I was making good use of Instagram on my iPod. I kept wishing that my iPod was an iPhone and my husband spoiled me rotten last year for my birthday by getting me an iPhone 4S… mainly for the camera. I have a Pentex K100 DSLR, but last year I really only used it when we went to Disney World. My phone, on the other hand, is capturing little "real life" moments every day.
My favorite tip is a quick and easy one: I love using this magic little button in the Layers window that will lock the transparent pixels on your layer. I use this button to easily change the color of a brush or a painted overlay. This trick only works for flat elements (it won't recolor buttons or flowers for you, for example). But it works magic on other .pngs and saves you from having to add another brush to your collection for use on one layout.
I have a hard time creating themed kits. And I have a big heart for recording the little moments that make life what it is. This kit captures all of that for me. It's general enough to use for any page and the word art inside is perfect for use in any monthly project you might be working on.
"Survey says!" it's this kit, my first venture into the world of including more of an art journaling style into my designs.
Here are some more inspirational layouts using Sugarplum Paperie's products. All of the layouts are linked to the originals with credits.
Save 35% off any order at SSD or SPP with coupon code spp-lovesTDD.
Go have a look in Sugarplum Paperie's store! We will randomly select a winner from the comments to win $10.00 in product from her store! (Comments must be posted before midnight EST to qualify)!