Last Tuesday I skipped work and headed off to Lidcombe Spotlight to meet a scrapping idol of mine, Becky Higgins. This is certainly not my usual Tuesday morning, but was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.
You may be familiar with Becky through her industry-revolutionising scrapping system Project Life. I'm only new to Project Life and pocket scrapping this year, but I've been a fan of Becky's for over 10 years.
When I first started scrapping, the goto source of inspiration was definitely Creating Keepsakes Magazine (which is sadly no longer published). I can remember spending hours pouring over the submitted layouts, copying the ones I liked, and wondering why I couldn't get my scrapping to look as 'finished' as the published layouts.
Remember, this is way before blogs, Instagram and Pinterest. It was way harder to find great sources of scrap inspiration than it is today. I was also the only one I knew who scrapbooked - it was before I found my lovely scrapping community.
Then I discovered Becky's sketches. Each month she would have an article in CK featuring one of her sketches, and different interpretations of the sketch.
CLICK!
It was like a light bulb seeing those sketch designs! They guided me through my first steps into page design, and pretty soon I was doing my own rough little sketches in my sketch book. As Becky said, 'that was what worked for you at the time!'
Of course, now I've come full circle and get to see my sketches come to life at the Dizzy Izzy Crafternoons & Retreats. It's always such a thrill to see how others interpret something I've created!
I took along my copies of Becky's Sketches books for her to sign. These books were like my scrapping bibles, and are now quite well used/loved. It was so exciting to sit next to Becky, and chat with her about my scrapping journey, and about Dizzy Izzy Scrapbooking.
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| I love this! A pic of Ness taking a pic of Becky & Kell |
Kell & Ness were also there, and I got to meet some other lovely scrappers, including Ruth from Polly! Scrap Kits. Becky was gracious enough to answer all of our questions, and then she got stuck into signing goodies like journal cards and core kits.
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| The first of many days of signing for Becky on this trip |
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| Ruth from Polly! Scrap Kits |
I had seen her on Creative Live, and I'm familiar with her mantra of 'Cultivate A Good Life & Record It', but I was pretty blown away. With Becky, what you see is what you get. One question I asked, as a scrapping entrepreneur myself, was how many hours a day does she work on the business. She spoke about when they first started the business, and the kids were smaller, that they would put them to bed, and she & David would be working until 3am. Every Night. Now, she said, she has a bigger network and support team, but she still feels like she puts in hours & hours. Every Day.
Becky also mentioned there were some big announcements coming in April and then in a few months - I can't wait to see what she has planned next!
As a scrapper, and as a woman, I completely admire Becky for both her business sense and also her work/life balance. It's something that I hope to work on and I definitely aim to be more like Becky.
Here is to Cultivating a Good Life, and Recording It.
Tracey xox
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