Special Guest - Rebecca Ludens, Guide at Scrapbooking.About.com

We at FaithSisters.com are pleased to present Rebecca Ludens from About.com's Scrapbooking website!

She an industry veteran and has tons of experience in the scrapbooking world, especially online!

Rebecca, can you tell us a little about yourself?

I will be turning 40 later this year, hard for me to believe. My husband and I met at Wheaton College (in Wheaton, IL). We married during Christmas break of our junior year and have been happily married for over 19 years now. I have a B.A. in English. We have two daughters ages 16, and 11, who are ours biologically, and we also have a wonderful son, age 7, whom we adopted from Russia when he was 3 ½ years old. I have been the Scrapbooking Guide for About.com for just over 9 years now and have been scrapbooking seriously for probably about 12 years. In the last few years, I have written three books. The last two were for Wiley publishing and are called “Teach Yourself Visually: Scrapbooking” and “Visual Quick Tips: Paper Crafts.”

What are some of the life lessons that scrapbooking has taught you?

Scrapbooking is so integral to my life that I really had to think about lessons learned. I think the level of busy-ness in my life because of my scrapbooking is actually what has taught me the most lessons. A few that come to mind are:

1) Be thankful for the little things – dinner with the family around the table, children that want to be tucked in by you at night, being able to take some time to snuggle in with a good book;
2) Scrapbook those “little things” so that I will always remember them; and
3) Life (like scrapbooking) is less stressful when I am organized.

Are you a paper scrapper, a digital scrapper or both?

I am a paper scrapper. I have dabbled a bit in digital scrapbooking, but I love all of the “stuff” (papers, embellishments, and tools) involved with paper scrapbooking.

Can you share a favorite scrapping tip with our Faith Sisters?

My favorite tip is the silliest little thing, but I use it all the time:

Put a small piece of a mouse pad and an office push pin in your scrapbooking tools. Place the mouse pad upside-down beneath your layout where you want to add a mini brad. Press the push pin through the cardstock or paper leaving a hole that just happens to be the perfect size for a mini brad. A chunk of mouse pad with a pin stuck in it is the least expensive and most used tool in my scrapbook tool box.

How do you find time for your scrapbooking hobby?

Since scrapbooking is part of what I do for a job, I have to make time to do it. I have a day set aside every week that is my “scrapbooking day.” My husband and I teach Sunday School for the high school age kids at our church and one of the things that we are constantly reminding them of is that “you make time for the things that are important to you.” It’s so true. Now the other thing to remember is that there are definitely stages in life that you will not have as much time to scrapbook as other stages. Right now, for the first time ever, all of my kids go to school full days! That has changed my schedule tremendously.

What is your favorite scripture verse?

Isaiah 30:21 (Today's New International Version)

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”

My husband and I have always loved this verse. We have a framed copy of it hanging by our front door. A year ago, my husband lost his job and it was a devastating blow. But, this verse really spoke to us. The Lord led us the way He wanted us to go and brought us to an even better place.

What is your favorite Christian Song?

This is a tough one, since it totally depends on my mood. My favorite hymn is “Be Thou My Vision.” My favorite contemporary bands include Third Day, Newsboys, Jars of Clay, Audio A, and Reliant K. We have an awesome Christian radio station out of Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, MI. You can listen to it online on your computer while you are scrapbooking at www.way.fm

Have you ever faithbooked?

I really haven’t. I think that it is an awesome idea, though.

Link to my web site is:

http://scrapbooking.about.com/

The layout titled “Growing” is about my middle daughter and how amazing it has been to see her grow in her knowledge of the Lord. The journaling is simply Colossians 1:9-10. Patterns for the trees and bird can be found here: http://scrapbooking.about.com/od/freepatterns/ig/Free-Patterns---Bird-and-Trees/

All paper on this layout is from Close to My Heart, circle punches from EK Success, and title die cut font from Quickutz - Eliza.

The second layout is called “Love at First Sight.” It is all about how each family member felt the first time we saw the photo of Mikhail. I don’t usually convince the other members of the family to add journaling to the scrapbook pages that I create that this time I was so glad that I did. It gave each of them the chance to express their feelings and for us to capture that time of our lives on this layout. My husband’s journaling reads: “After praying for you for so long, I am very happy to see what you look like and to know a little more about you. I can’t wait to see you face to face.” - Papers used are all from Bazzill.