Today on our blog, we welcome Karen Hach, a really talented scrapbooker who designs for scrapbook stores in Edmonton.

Hi there! My name is Karen Hach and I am so thrilled that I was asked to share a little bit about myself with you. Let’s get to the personal stuff first. I have been married for 13 years to a wonderful man who not only supports my complete and utter addiction to scrapbooking, but also understands it. He also is cool with my need to get away for crops and bonding time with my scrapbook gang. Yes, that is a real thing. When we built our new home, he encouraged me to take up a large chunk of our basement with a custom-designed scrapbook studio. I am lucky enough to be a stay-at-home mom to four very active boys, aged 10, 6, and 3 year old twins. Two of them play hockey, so any free time I have is usually spent in an arena (when I’m not in my studio playing with paper, that is!) And this summer, it looks like I’ll be hanging around at soccer fields and baseball diamonds…sigh. Er, I mean, awesome!

I have been crafting with paper my whole life, but I guess I would say the official start of my passion for scrapbooking began (cough)teen years ago while I was in University. I was in the process of making my portfolio for my Education Degre,e and I decided I wanted something different, something prettier and less businesslike. So I began to search all over the Edmonton area for stationery and paper stores and discovered a place that, quite literally, changed my life: Treasured Memories. I walked through the doors and I knew I had found my happy place! Rack after rack of paper – both patterned and plain, in all colours of the rainbow – buttons, ribbon, albums, tools, pens, inks, embossing powders, stamps, eyelets (kind of a big deal back then), stickers and more! I realized that my little hunt for some pretty paper had turned into so much more!

My scrapbook style has definitely evolved over the years, thank goodness! The scrapbook industry is a lot like the fashion world: you look back after many years and think, “Oh my! Did I actually wear/make that?” I used to draw fancy alphabet letters onto cardstock, fussy cut each letter and decorate by embossing or chalking – it was quite a process! The scrapbook revolution was just beginning, so the selection and availability of embellishments was much, much smaller than it is today. Often, I would make my own embellishments because I had an idea in my head that wasn’t on a shelf or in a package. Lucky for me, the industry exploded with ingenuity, so I don’t have to spend time (that I don’t have) making little tidbits myself!

I would say that my scrapbook style is fairly modern and clean, but I have been known to dabble in shabby-chic from time to time. Because I have four sons, the majority of my work is in boy related colours and themes.   This layout is made using Echo Park’s newest boy line, Jack & Jill.

However, making boy-themed layouts becomes difficult after a while because the majority of scrapbook product available is very feminine in colour and style. And also, I’m so bored of blue, yellow and green! Quite recently, I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible for me to avoid all these beautiful feminine papers any longer. Don’t get me wrong, I have always been a fan and purchaser of them, but to be totally honest, they often go unused and end up sitting in a nice, neat pile on a rack in my studio until someone I know has a baby girl, or it’s a girlfriend’s birthday, in which case I will use these girly products to make a card or a mini album. No more!! I have resolved to use these gorgeous papers on layouts with my boys…yes, you read that correctly. There is no reason why I shouldn’t use pink paper on a boyish layout. After all, it’s not like any of my boys are going to be showing off my pages to their friends, right? Holy cow, wouldn’t that be awesome?

Some of my favourite manufacturers are typically known for making very beautiful papers, but not very masculine in design: My Minds Eye, Crate Paper, Kaiser, and Heidi Swapp, to name a few. In this layout, I used My Minds Eye’s newest paper line, Fancy That, as well as some pieces from their other new line, On Trend. My husband and I took our two older sons to an Oilers game and for some reason, when I went to scrapbook this photo, the paper just seem to say, “Go ahead, use me!” So I did…and I love it!

I have always adored gallery walls, especially in a home. They are such a great way to put together a collection of photos or other memorabilia that don’t necessarily match or coordinate at all. I have made 5 walls like this in our house so far, and I’m working on my sixth (I may or may not have a small addiction to gallery walls). This is one I just finished this week, but it is much more feminine than my others, mostly because of the product I decided to use. I used a lot of Heidi Swapp, MME and the frames I chose were quite feminine (by the way, I do not spend a fortune on frames…most are from Dollarama, IKEA, Walmart or Target clearance). The banner is especially feminine and it just might be my favorite part.

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy life to read a little about a girl who shares a common addiction/hobby with you. If you would like to see more of my work, I am so lucky to be on design teams for two stores in Edmonton: The Urban Scrapbook  and Treasured Memories.  Both of these stores are responsible for enabling my addiction to scrapbooking because they always have the nicest and most current product in stock. Happy crafting!

Thank you for sharing your wonderful layouts with us!! And now I think we will all want to set up a gallery wall in our homes! BEAUTIFUL!