TLP Member Spotlight – dvhoward

Hey all, Polly Jewelle here! I am back to bring you another TLP member spotlight!  This month I asked the other Polly’s here at the Pad to help pick a member to spotlight.  Diane instantly came to mind.  Diane is an active member both in the forum and the gallery.  Lets sit back and take some time to get to know more about Diane.

Jewelle: What is your IRL name and your user name?

Diane: My name is Diane.  I am dvhoward in most places in digiland.

Jewelle: Where do you call home?

Diane: I live in the beautiful state of Washington outside of Seattle.

J: Digital or Hybrid? Both?

D: I am strictly a digi girl.  I’m kind of messy and I get glue EVERYWHERE.

J: How long have you been scrapping? 

D: I started traditional paper scrapping about 9 years ago when I inherited the family archive of photos.  I took lessons by Jessica Sprague and I was hooked.  I learned so much about PSE (Photoshop Elements) from her which I definitely needed as I was a real novice when it came to things “computer”.

J: What is the starting point for your pages – photos, the story, products? 

D: In my CT work, it is the products that are my launching point.  I also happen to be a challenge junkie (LOVE THEM) so the challenge parameters usually get me started.  I scroll through my photos in Lightroom pretty regularly, so when I start a page I know which photos I’ll use pretty soon into it.  I have been known to be swayed by a really pretty patterned paper.

J: How would you describe your style? 

D: I am all over the place.  I love them all.  I don’t tend to do clean & simple designs often.  Art Journaling is a style I love and when The Lilypad started the M3 Subscription program, I really dug into it.  I’m drawn to giant photo layouts and clustery banners seem to be a hot button for me.

J: Any must-have items or techniques on all of your pages? 

D: I really like bold background papers (especially giant polka dots, crazy huh?).  I usually use staples and stitching to hold things down.

J: Do you have a favorite tip or trick you can share with us?

D: I have finally developed a work flow for good shadows in PSE.  I put my thread, tag and ribbon shadows on their own layers.  I sometimes use a layer mask on that layer to further tweak the shadow, especially if it’s an item that would be partially close to the paper with part of it away from the paper (like a hanging tag).  I’m pretty fussy about my shadows.