About
Hi! My name is Clair (clairbug) and I am a 26 year old stay at home mom to my charming, yet rough and rugged, 2 year old son, Trent. I’m a country girl from an itty bitty town hidden in the northeastern region of North Carolina. I guess you could call me a “jill’ of all trades”. I have had a taste of many things such as teen counseling, music ministry, youth ministry, photography, banking, dentistry, telemarketing and retail management. And while I’m still not sure what I want to be when I grow up, my passion lies in scrapbooking.
I started scrapbooking about 3 years ago. I had just started attending a new church and out of the blue I asked the pastor’s wife if she scrapbooked. Her eyes lit up and she said, “YES!!! Do you?” My reply, “Yep”! In reality, I owned lots of cardstock, stickers and glue, but I had never scrapbooked. So, in the summer of 2003 I completed my first LO! I carefully cut my pictures into various shapes, decorated my page with tons of stickers and completed the “look” with deco scissors. While I still have a love for stickers, shape templates and deco scissors, I have learned to use them in a way that is more pleasing to the eye. I am infatuated with design and I have notebooks and notebooks of magazine advertisements and clippings that I use for inspiration! I love to scrapbook. Period.
In those beginner years of scrapbooking, I really didn’t have a reason to scrap. I was married to a die-hard bass fisherman who spent tons of money on lures, boats, rods and reels. I needed a hobby and scrapbooking became that hobby. My layouts were all about events, trips and holidays. There was no feeling behind my work, I was just documenting. Then in November of 2004 my life took a tragic turn. My husband of almost 5 years committed suicide in our home. Here I was with a 9 month old son, having to move in with my parents and feeling so incredibly alone. It took me several months to get back into scrapbooking. For me it was easier to avoid scrapbooking because I knew it would bring out those emotions that I was trying so hard to suppress. Slowly, but surely I started creating again and surprisingly, my layouts were taking on a whole new look. I started journaling and the more I would journal, the better I felt. Instead of scrapbooking events, I started scrapbooking moments. Losing my husband made me realize that life is short and I wanted to leave behind something more than documented events. I wanted my son to know what made me laugh and what made me cry. I wanted him to know how I felt when I saw him smile and how crazy life was when he started walking and talking. A picture ISN’T worth a thousand words…some one has to tell the story. I wanted to tell my story.
So here I am…a single mother to a toddler, trying to make it on my own. Well, I’m not completely alone….I do have my friends and family and my WONDERFUL boyfriend, Gary! When I’m not playing with Trent, I’m scrapbooking. I am definitely a doodle-freak! I love the freestyle look and frequently scrap 1-photo layouts. I love things like paint, chipboard, alphabet stickers and RIBBON! And I hoard each and every one of them! I have been scrapping 8.5x11 since the beginning, but within the last year have started doing more 12x12. I have been published a few times, but I often get so caught up in scrapping that I forget to submit.
So that's it for me. Nice to meet ya! :)
I started scrapbooking about 3 years ago. I had just started attending a new church and out of the blue I asked the pastor’s wife if she scrapbooked. Her eyes lit up and she said, “YES!!! Do you?” My reply, “Yep”! In reality, I owned lots of cardstock, stickers and glue, but I had never scrapbooked. So, in the summer of 2003 I completed my first LO! I carefully cut my pictures into various shapes, decorated my page with tons of stickers and completed the “look” with deco scissors. While I still have a love for stickers, shape templates and deco scissors, I have learned to use them in a way that is more pleasing to the eye. I am infatuated with design and I have notebooks and notebooks of magazine advertisements and clippings that I use for inspiration! I love to scrapbook. Period.
In those beginner years of scrapbooking, I really didn’t have a reason to scrap. I was married to a die-hard bass fisherman who spent tons of money on lures, boats, rods and reels. I needed a hobby and scrapbooking became that hobby. My layouts were all about events, trips and holidays. There was no feeling behind my work, I was just documenting. Then in November of 2004 my life took a tragic turn. My husband of almost 5 years committed suicide in our home. Here I was with a 9 month old son, having to move in with my parents and feeling so incredibly alone. It took me several months to get back into scrapbooking. For me it was easier to avoid scrapbooking because I knew it would bring out those emotions that I was trying so hard to suppress. Slowly, but surely I started creating again and surprisingly, my layouts were taking on a whole new look. I started journaling and the more I would journal, the better I felt. Instead of scrapbooking events, I started scrapbooking moments. Losing my husband made me realize that life is short and I wanted to leave behind something more than documented events. I wanted my son to know what made me laugh and what made me cry. I wanted him to know how I felt when I saw him smile and how crazy life was when he started walking and talking. A picture ISN’T worth a thousand words…some one has to tell the story. I wanted to tell my story.
So here I am…a single mother to a toddler, trying to make it on my own. Well, I’m not completely alone….I do have my friends and family and my WONDERFUL boyfriend, Gary! When I’m not playing with Trent, I’m scrapbooking. I am definitely a doodle-freak! I love the freestyle look and frequently scrap 1-photo layouts. I love things like paint, chipboard, alphabet stickers and RIBBON! And I hoard each and every one of them! I have been scrapping 8.5x11 since the beginning, but within the last year have started doing more 12x12. I have been published a few times, but I often get so caught up in scrapping that I forget to submit.
So that's it for me. Nice to meet ya! :)
Recent Submissions
