Each month we get a glimpse behind the scenes of our Scrap Girls Club designers, and this month’s designer is Melissa Renfro!
When you started working on your club, what was the first thing you did?
I bought a sketch book and started drawing things that I liked. What is funny about that is I don’t ever draw. I mean, I draw on the computer, but I had to actually buy a pen with my sketchbook because I didn’t have a drawing pen. I don’t think I used a single thing from those sketches, but it got the ball rolling. I always have a hard time with word art and this time I had kept some of those phrases that I liked in my book so I wasn’t sitting there staring at a blank page.
What inspired the colors in your club?
Am I the only one who spends January dreaming of sitting on a beach somewhere in the warm sun? There were a lot of beach house interiors with these colors. I knew the club would be for January and I really wanted to keep it light and bright to lead into spring. I love the orange and aqua combo, but I really wanted to throw in that orangey-red color too, and so I expanded it out from there. With the grays and the neutrals, there are so many different looks you can get from this club!
Photo Credits: Beach House
Photo credit: Oceanico
Where did you find the inspiration for this club?
After I had the colors down, I designed the papers right away, but where a club really starts to have personality is in the word art. When I started thinking of January and the new year it was just natural to think of the motivation type word art. Not just resolutions or goals, but the hope of it all, the idea that a new year holds promise for the future and a renewed zest for life. That is kind of where I went with the word art and the rest just fell into place.
The club includes several products. Did you start and complete each one before moving on to the next?
I usually can sit down and do 10 or so papers very quickly. That is usually where I start. I will sometimes get that up to about 20 and then pare them down. Once I have a few papers going I will put them all on a page and start working on embellishments right on top of the papers. I usually know some specific things I want to include and I will do those first. Usually when I get about half the embellishments together I hit a wall and move on to word art. Then when I hit a wall I will start making layouts and figure out what I am missing and then go add those things in.
(work in progress!)
What was your favorite thing to design?
I would have to say that the papers are my favorite on this one. I loved making the patterned papers and putting together the colors and patterns. Then, to see them all together and work with them all on a page was very rewarding. I like to challenge myself to learn new things when I take on a club, so I jumped out of my Photoshop bubble and played around a bit in Illustrator. I have always had a hard time learning Illustrator, but there are so many resources around to help out it was fun.
If you could pick only one word to describe your club, what would that word be?
I would say “hopeful”, I was very hopeful when I made it, that this year is going to be great! I have always been one to look with hope on the “Endless Possibilities” of a new year.
Thanks so much for sharing Melissa!
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