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SHARON VIRTS-MOZER Sharon has been scrapbooking for more than 10 years. She has a passion for patterned paper -- tearing it, layering it, inking it and cutting it into page embellishments. She often incorporates poetry into pages as well as creating her own unique embellishments using “found” objects to add dimension to her layouts. She is a published designer with Basic Grey. Most recently, her work appeared in the February 2008 issue of Memory Makers Magazine. She is an instructor at Scrapbooks Plus and teaches a Basic Grey class that she designs each month. She has an engineering background and runs a small professional services firm. She is the mother of four boys who provide her much inspiration -- and subject matter -- in her work.
What's your favorite scrapbooking item? Quick Quotes Powder Puffs chalk ink in every color under the rainbow. Vellum for journaling. Small scissors for hand cutting any and every thing. And did I say Basic Grey papers??? What kind of a designer are you (traditional, vintage)? What's your favorite thing to make? I have a hard time describing my style... Kind of grungy with lots of torn paper and inked edges and having something sitting crooked, but do I like my designs to be clean -- meaning some embellishment but not so much that you miss the photos and the story. I like to use circles in my designs, too, especially if everything else is sitting straight (title, journaling, a circle of brads or buttons, anything to mix with the symmetry). I like bling on a page, so mixing bling, glitter and pearl brads with inked, torn edges makes my work recognizable, I think. I love 12x12 two-page layouts...just love them! I like single-page 12x12 layouts also. I use vellum on most every page for the journaling. I love to make 12x12 ABC albums to tell a story about a person. For example, I give these as gifts to my nieces and nephews when the graduate from high school or college...with all the large chipboard monograms on the market these days, I have great selection now as opposed to in years past, when I had to cut my own letters (because what monograms there were on the market were for baby books!). What's your biggest challenge (Projects? Two-page spreads? Single pages?) Projects...I've used scrapbook paper for years in decoupaging children's furniture -- rocking chairs, toy boxes, hope chests, etc., but minibooks really give me a hard time. I'm definitely a layout kind of gal. And really girly paper. I have a hard time with feminine layouts, projects etc. That's why I've been taking Anna Griffin classes for the past eight months -- trying to reach outside my comfort zone. If you were to write a book about scrapbooking, what would the title be? "Anything but Basic" The title would refer to the love of the Basic Grey papers and the "adult look" of my designs -- even those designs meant for children's photos. I think my designs look hard to put together, but in fact are easy once you understand the technique that gives it that look. What's your favorite color? Believe it or not -- that salmon, pink, peachy-pink color as hot as it can be! (even though I rarely use it in scrapbook layouts). I'd prefer to wear it than scrap with it! What's your favorite scrappin' snack? I don't snack when I scrap, but I do drink a ton of Coke Zero. Are you go-to-a-crop kind of gal or a scrap-at-home woman? Scrap at home. What do you listen to while scrapping? Rock -- Red Hot Chili Peppers, Train, The Black Crowes, Nickelback, Rolling Stones, Heart (my son works for them!) and occasionally some Johnny Cash or Patsy Cline to mix things up. What's on your wish list? The new Cricut Expressions Is there something you've always want to try? In scrapbooking, maybe a digital design (can’t do it when I've tried on my own). In life....when I think of it, I'll do it. What are your favorite blogs and magazines? I've had a subscription to Memory Makers Magazine since they first started. This blog thing is very new to me, so I don’t have any favorite blog sites.

What's your favorite scrapbooking item?: Quick Quotes Powder Puffs chalk ink in every color under the rainbow. Vellum for journaling. Small scissors for hand cutting any and every thing. And did I say Basic Grey papers???
What kind of a designer are you (traditional, vintage)? What's your favorite thing to make?: I have a hard time describing my style... Kind of grungy with lots of torn paper and inked edges and having something sitting crooked, but do I like my designs to be clean -- meaning some embellishment but not so much that you miss the photos and the story. I like to use circles in my designs, too, especially if everything else is sitting straight (title, journaling, a circle of brads or buttons, anything to mix with the symmetry). I like bling on a page, so mixing bling, glitter and pearl brads with inked, torn edges makes my work recognizable, I think.

I love 12x12 two-page layouts...just love them! I like single-page 12x12 layouts also. I use vellum on most every page for the journaling. I love to make 12x12 ABC albums to tell a story about a person. For example, I give these as gifts to my nieces and nephews when the graduate from high school or college...with all the large chipboard monograms on the market these days, I have great selection now as opposed to in years past, when I had to cut my own letters (because what monograms there were on the market were for baby books!).

What's your biggest challenge (Projects? Two-page spreads? Single pages?): Projects...I've used scrapbook paper for years in decoupaging children's furniture -- rocking chairs, toy boxes, hope chests, etc., but minibooks really give me a hard time. I'm definitely a layout kind of gal. And really girly paper. I have a hard time with feminine layouts, projects etc. That's why I've been taking Anna Griffin classes for the past eight months -- trying to reach outside my comfort zone.
If you were to write a book about scrapbooking, what would the title be?: "Anything but Basic" The title would refer to the love of the Basic Grey papers and the "adult look" of my designs -- even those designs meant for children's photos. I think my designs look hard to put together, but in fact are easy once you understand the technique that gives it that look.
What's your favorite color?: Believe it or not -- that salmon, pink, peachy-pink color as hot as it can be! (even though I rarely use it in scrapbook layouts). I'd prefer to wear it than scrap with it!
What's your favorite scrappin' snack?: I don't snack when I scrap, but I do drink a ton of Coke Zero.
Are you go-to-a-crop kind of gal or a scrap-at-home woman?: Scrap at home.
What do you listen to while scrapping?: Rock -- Red Hot Chili Peppers, Train, The Black Crowes, Nickelback, Rolling Stones, Heart (my son works for them!) and occasionally some Johnny Cash or Patsy Cline to mix things up.
What's on your wish list?: The new Cricut Expressions
Is there something you've always want to try?: In scrapbooking, maybe a digital design (can’t do it when I've tried on my own). In life....when I think of it, I'll do it.
What are your favorite blogs and magazines?: I've had a subscription to Memory Makers Magazine since they first started. This blog thing is very new to me, so I don’t have any favorite blog sites.

SHARON VIRTS-MOZER