Kicking off Fascinating Fridays with Alia

Finally time has come to showcase some wonderful artists that we are unaware of. Every Friday, from today, will get to know an awe-inspiring crafter who will share with us her crafting journey. Now please help me welcome today's artist:

Name: Alia Mohammed

Blog: Straight from the Scrap Loft

1.   When did you first decide to make a page/layout/scrapbook and why? (for eg. any significant event that drives you to make an LO/album?)

I created my first scrapbook after returning from a trip to Egypt to visit my family during the winter of 2004-2005. I had taken so many special pictures and wanted to do more than place them in a regular album. I roamed into the scrapbooking section of a craft store, purchased a basic collection of materials, and created my first scrapbook.

2.   What process do you go through to create a layout? (for eg. do you take out all your embellishments and papers and start or you usually just hit and go?)

Sometimes I am inspired by a special photo, and I seek out papers and embellishments to match. Other times, it’s the scrapping materials themselves that drive a layout. I first try to match papers with my photo, and pull out a variety of materials that I think I may want to use on the page. As the design develops, I often get up to grab some additional materials for finishing touches or extra details. 

3.   How would you describe your scrapbooking style?

I would describe my scrapbooking style as typically girly, cheerful, clean, and bright, with little details thrown in.  I try and add a bow onto every layout I create, and I love using border punches.

4.  What are your favorite scrapbook products and manufacturers?

I absolutely love Martha Stewart border punches and have a huge collection. I also adore American Crafts Thickers – they give a page great dimension and make it fun to create titles! As far as paper lines go, American Crafts, October Afternoon, and Cosmo Cricket always seem to release collections I love; however, I seek out any line that matches my style!

5.  As you probably know, scrapbooking is an expensive hobby. What drives you to continue scrapbooking and any tips for crafters with low budgets? 

With all of the beautiful and fun new products that are always coming out, scrapbooking does become an expensive hobby. Even so, I love that scrapbooking helps to preserve memories in a special and lasting way. A scrapbook is a long term investment that I feel is worth it. I always like to save bows and ribbons from packages and gifts to use later on my layouts, and I frequently browse the dollar sections at craft stores, too!


Here are some of her wonderful creations:

6. From the 3 layouts you have shared, describe the most creative design you used.

Of the three layouts I’ve shared, I would say that my “Seaside Splendor” page demonstrates one of my most creative designs. I used a picture from a trip to Punta Cana, in which my best friend and I were on the beach in front of the beautiful water. I wanted to recreate the feeling of a relaxing and endless beach in my layout, so I gathered a variety of textured materials in order to do so. I used burlap to represent the sand, and topped it with an assortment of buttons and stickers to represent seashells on the beach. To create the foam of the ocean, I crumpled white tissue paper and gave it some dimension. For the calmer turquoise portion of the water, I used a matching colored tissue paper, crumpled it, and then flattened it back out to represent the calming waves. For the sky, I dug out an old DCWV paper pack and found a page of a darker ocean, which matched the color of the sky in my photo. Cotton balls were used to mimic the white fluffy clouds in paradise!

A big thanks to Alia for sharing her talent with us. You can view more brilliant layouts in her blog!!!
Thanks for passing by and come back to see another talent soon....