Guest Designers

Outta This Funk is proud to introduce you to six incredibly talented designers! These ladies are full of enough passion for paper-crafting and inspiration to pull you out of any funk you might find yourself in! Check them out for yourself!

Toni Boucha

Hi everyone, I am Toni Boucha (aka Toni-SBDreaming) and I am so excited to have been selected. So you all want to know what gets me out of my funk. Well if we are talking about scrapbooking then it is one of two things………going to my room and just letting myself find inspiration either from photos that touch my heart, yummy products that just scream create with me or some kind of random combination of photos and papers/embellishments that get my imagination flowing. I have been known to just throw some of my new/old favorite papers and products on the floor and let my eye run wild with the colors and combinations. Then of course if this should fail me, there is shopping. I am an old-fashion kind of girl who loves to drive to my local scrapbook stores and immerse myself in the atmosphere. I love to admire other people’s creations and see what they have done with new products.
As for myself, I have been scrapbooking for 10 years and have seen it change in so many ways. Like many others, I started with a home party and quickly discovered that I wanted more. And that feeling of more has never left me. Over the years, I have taught classes, designed for different local scrapbook stores and manufacturers; and lastly, lucky enough to have been published in several different magazines. Right now, I am just doing my own thing for my family.
I am looking forward to meeting,learning and creating with others that share the same passion.

Suzanne Austin

Hi! My name is Suzanne Austin. I’m a SAHM living on the Gulf Coast in Mobile, AL. I’ve been married to my wonderful, but sometimes “joyfully unstable” husband for 12 years. We have a soon to be 2yr old son named Kennedy (KJ) and expecting a baby girl due in February of 2009. I started scrapbooking 5 years ago when my husband and I built our home here in Mobile; I wanted to document the process and thought that a scrapbook would be the perfect way to do so. Little did I know it would quickly become an addiction. I stopped for a couple of years, but quickly picked up interest again when I found out I was pregnant with our first kiddo. I’ve been a lost cause ever since! I’m thrilled that OOTF has given me this fun opportunity!
What gets me out of my scrapping funk:
I am so not the planned scrapper, therefore, it’s almost imperative that some form of inspiration is present in order to scrap a page I deem decent. There’s nothing better than a great picture to jump start the scrapping mojo within. Candid photos of my son and family are by far my favorites. Other things that motivate me out of my funk would include using color combinations in everyday life and challenging myself to implement them on a page, lyrics to a favorite song, board crops and challenges.

Sara Repinski

Hi my name is Sara Repinski, but my scrappy friends call me Bunny. I am an Acquisitions Librarian at the University of South Carolina School of Law as well as a scrapbooking and card making addict. I am married to my wonderful husband, going on ten years now, no children other then the furry kind so they are the main subjects of my scrapping. Some other things about me, I love football, all sorts of music and watching forensic type shows.What gets me out of my funk? Challenges!!! I love how they make me step out of my box and try new things.

Danni Reid

I am a sahm to 4 incredible babes, whom I absolutely adore. My children range in age from 14 to 4, so it's never dull :)

While I love ALL aspects of scrapbooking, cards are my passion, and I feel so blessed to share the reason behind that passion with you. I began creating cards 15 years ago, after receiving a gift from my grandmother. A gift for Christmas. A gift from her. It was a set of stamps, markers and embossing items (it's all they had back then), so that I could create the cards to send to her instead of having to buy them. My grandmother. A woman, who lived 2 states away from me and whom, if I was lucky, I was able to see once a year. BUT, she was my soul. I KNEW her, I LOVED her and I MISS her more than I can begin to tell you. I wrote to her, religiously, 2-3 times a week, sharing every big and little thing and she KNEW me. She would write back and I'd feel like a kid on Christmas, I could hardly wait to open the letter, and while turning it over and over in my hands, would finally do so. I would read those letters and "feel" her, "feel" my heritage, "feel" my soul. She's my grandmother and I miss her so much it hurts. I always create my cards with her in-mind, as if when I am finished creating the card, I can seal it and send it back to that place in time, a place of love, laughter and so many happy memories.

I generally find that a day spent looking through magazine ads takes care of any/all "funks", so inspiring.

Kristy Cox

I am currently a SAHM (former Army nurse). I started scrapbooking 4 years ago. I would call my style "real" and still evolving. my true passion has always been photography, so that is a main focus with my layouts. I love making homemade gifts for people and am always up for a good trial of altering something. I live in upstate NY (snow country). I have 2 little girls (abby-6, ella-3) and they are my everything. I married a soldier boy who is currently deployed for the next year. What gets me out of my scrapbooking funk: usually I need time to veg first. A good movie, a good book. Something to step away from the layouts and pictures. Then I look thru my paper. All my paper. Every. Sheet. And that starts the juices flowing. Then I start looking at pictures. I usually start looking at ones that are 6 months or older (because I tend to forget about those unscrapped ones)...and I usually come across many that are calling out to me to tell their story. So, that's how it starts for me. (new pretty stuff can make this process happen quicker many times:)

Megan Peacock

I've been stamping and scrapping for about 10 years now. My main love is stamping. I've been a demo for a couple different stamp company which has been a great learning experience in building up my stamping skills set. I love trying new techniques- bringing fine art supplies into crafty endeavors. I am currently a SAHM to my 17 year old son. My husband travels on business a lot which gives me a lot of time in my stamp cave.

Question- I find the best funk blaster for me is to start blog surfing ("blurffing").
I'll see a cute card or SB LO and think OK- I am just going to try to lift this.
I'll sketch it out, take it into my scrap room/stamp cave and start pulling out supplies. Usually by the time I am done ,it doesn't look much like the original but it gave my that nudge to get me going!

Look for inspiration from these designers in the upcoming month!