The Simple Sketches Design Team

Amy Allred

I am: 38 years old, Christian, wife and mom, scrapbooker, sorority alumnae, mommy-group member, stay-at-home mom, Californian, dreamer, architecture/home lover, hiker, volunteer, pedicure lover, old-soul, friend. Scrapping is my passion and creating art though memories brings me joy. My playful style focuses on my two sons, my awesome husband, our dogs, my active social life with girlfriends, heritage memories, vacations and outdoor adventures along with anything else that tickles my fancy. I'm a super fast scrapper. My go-to style is thematic but I like to stretch myself with a bit of everything- distressed, masculine, clean and simple, classic, artsy, or whatever the photo or my whim calls for. I have been scrapping forever, specifically since 1993. Admittedly, I relish trying out the latest trends (like washi tape or banners) while still using tried and true favorites (paint, stickers, sewing). Recycling items like random kitchen trash, office supplies or old clothes onto layouts is a specialty for me.

Mandi Holmes

My name is Mandi.  I am in my twenties and live in Michigan. I have had the honor of working on several design teams. I have been crafty ever since I was a little girl. I love to do scrapbook pages, cards, altered projects, sewing, etc. I really started getting into all paper crafts  when I was a tween.   I consider my style shabby and cute with a little artsy thrown in. My go to items are pom-pom trim, twine, washi tape and mists. Besides crafting, I love to spend time cooking, reading and being with my family.

Martine Labelle

My name is Martine Labelle and I am from Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. I share my life with my boyfriend, my three cats, and more scrappy supplies than I’ll ever be able to use!I have always loved photos and crafty things, so when I discovered scrapbooking, it seemed like the perfect hobby for me! I was bitten by the scrapping bug in 2005, after my first trip to Europe. We love to travel, so many of my layouts are about our trips (with some kitty pages in there too!). More recently, I've enjoyed doing heritage family pages from old pictures and slides that were given to me, as well as personal pages for my "Book of Me". I love scrappy supplies, especially stamps, punches and patterned paper! In fact, I don’t often use cardstock on my pages because I love all those pretty papers too much! I love distressing, inking and layering on my layouts. I love finding just the right papers to match my photos and the right embellies to balance everything out. But most of all, I love the escape that scrapbooking allows me.

Kristy MacKeen

Hi! Kristy MacKeen here. I am very excited to be a part of the Simple Sketches team. I started scrapbooking about 4 years ago, using sketches to get me started. They are such a fun way to spark the imagination! Today, I find my crafting time to be my sanity. I am very lucky to have a wonderfully supportive husband. Without him, I wouldn’t be able to sneak a few hours here and there to craft. I am a stay at home mom to 2 bundles of joy (…and energy).  Both my son and daughter like to get into my scrap room and play with my stamps, papers and buttons – especially the buttons! I love that I can make a record of memories – and not just holidays and special occasions, but everyday moments too! I will continue to create, mostly just for this Mama’s Sanity.

Brittany Morgan

Hi there! I'm Brittany and so very excited to be part of the Simple Sketches team! I started scrapbooking about 9 years ago when I wanted to scrapbook my wedding and now there is rarely a day that goes by that I'm not creating something by hand. I love texture and dimension in my crafts, so I tend to lean towards sewing, distressing, and adding mixed media to my projects...especially buttons and twine.  I feel that my "style" of scrapbooking is still evolving, but I still enjoy linear, clean and simple pages, so having sketches is a win for me to stretch outside my comfort zone.

I was born and raised a mountain girl in Utah, but now live in Washington with my very supportive husband, three amazing kids, and a crazy Blue Heeler. I work full-time for a non-profit in Seattle, but the rest of my time is spent with my family or crafting. I LOVE spending time outdoors, especially hiking or biking, and I am a coffee, wine, and licorice fanatic.

Valerie Reyes

I am a 31 year-old wife and mother of the most wonderful little collection of colorful people (and puppies) I could have asked for.  Having just graduated  (in May) with a Ph.D. in Human Genetics, I'm taking the awesome opportunity I've been given to stay at home with my kids for a year (or maybe a little more). I love photography, wine, travel, and all things paper!  I began scrapbooking in 2005 and I added in digital to the mix in 2008, and since then I've begun designing layered digital templates. I am a confessed tool junkie, and my favorites are my Silhouette Portrait, my heat tool, and Photoshop Elements 11.   My style (in both paper and digital scrapbooking) tends to be clean and linear with lots of flat layers.   My scrapbooks are diaries that I keep for my daughters, so my layouts tend to be heavy on the writing, with only a few photos.

Misty Rushlow

Hello, my name is Misty and I am so excited to be here!  I am 37 years old and am married to one of my biggest fans, Steve and we have been married since 2003.  We don't have any kids of our own but we do have an adorable niece, Rylee and 2 beautiful Godchildren, Kobe and Braylee!  We also have 2 cats, Gizzy and Louie, who both RULE the house and let us share it with them.  I am a Store Manager at A Paige 2 Remember, which is our local scrapbook store, where I also am a teacher and a designer.  I teach a varitey of different classes that range from monthly card classes to a variety of other projects.  I am also on the design team for Moxxie, which is a scrapbook paper company and I enjoy it so very much!  I have been scrapbooking since about 1998 and I would say that I really don't have a certain style.  I just pretty much go with the flow and do whatever "mood" I am in at the time!  I just love to create and use art to express myself in a variety of different ways.  Recently I have learned how to do zentangle and am really enjoying creating some fun designs, in which I hope to share with you all in the months to come!  Again, I am happy to be here and can't wait to share my creations with everyone and get to work with this wonderful group of ladies!!  I am definitely lucky to be on this AMAZING JOURNEY!

Cassie Schissel Barber

My name is Cassie and I live in Thornton, Colorado.  I work full time in a law library and enjoy reading, crafting, cooking (especially baking), and lifting weights.  I'm a huge Sci-fi/fantasy fan and frequently let my Geek flag fly.  I've been married to a wonderful man for 5 years and I've got an 18 month old son, named Kirk.  I've always enjoyed crafty stuff, but scrapbooking has had the most staying power for me of any other craft.  I started when I was 17 when my first nephew was born and have been scrapping on and off since then.

Genie Smith

My name is Genie Smith, and I live in Michigan (isn't there a support group for that?).  I have a wonderful husband of 12 years, two daughters aged 10 and 3, a dog, two cats, and a few fish (I won't swear by the fish as they live in the 10-year-old's room and it makes my blood pressure too high if I go in there too often).  I work part time as a portrait and wedding photographer and have degrees in photography and fine art. I've been scrapbooking since high school but traded my magnetic albums and shaped photo templates for patterned paper, dimensional embellishments, and messy techniques around the time my oldest was born (2003). My style tends to be bright and modern with a little boho/country chic. I love working with sketches and am excited to be part of a new sketch team!

Lee Thompson

Hello there! My name is Lee and I sometimes work under the name “Violent Kittie.” I am her and she is me. I am not violent, nor am I a cat. I really am a stay at home mom that tries to stay in my craft room as much as I can, except when I am forced to emerge for shopping, cooking or cleaning. I am married to an army pilot and have traveled to many places with him and our two children. I have been scrapbooking for 13 years, but have taken many long breaks from my beloved hobby due to deployments and moving around the country.

Bobbie Trost

I'm Bobbie Trost. I grew up in WI, but now live in MN with my husband of (almost) 13 years and our 9 and 6 year old girls. We have two dogs and a cat also. I'm a teacher by education but was lucky enough to stay at home with the girls. The youngest will be in school full time this year so I hope to do some subbing to get my feet wet again. I'm lucky to have a family that supports my paper addiction! I was a hoader for many years until I discovered Stampin' Up. I love the coordination of the colors as I would describe myself as a Type A. As for my style, I stick to what I like. I love a banner, bright colors, and the chevron trend.  I have two girls but I rarely use pale pink or flowers.  I love a good sketch-just look at my Pinterest board-so designing for this blog seemed like a great opportunity! I also enjoy "meeting" people all over who share the same passion for patterned paper as I do!

Melissa Williams

I am a mother of 2 boys, living in Michigan. An all-around crafty-type person, I love, love, LOVE, color.  I am especially drawn to primaries, turquoise, and pink. I put all of this into my designs and love to try new things, so my style is always evolving.  I really like using techniques on my pages - from sewing, to painting, to inking and grunging it up.  My designs are fairly uncomplicated - I try not to put too much on a page so that the focus still rests with my photos, yet I try to add small touches to give my pages interest. But, that's pretty much what I try to be: uncomplicated, bold, and dynamic.

I started Simple Sketches because I really felt like it was time to branch out on my own as a sketch designer... be my own boss, so to say. I love working on a team, though, so I knew I couldn't go on this journey alone. I'm so grateful to have the support of so many since before I started to bring Simple Sketches to fruition, and I can't wait to provide inspiration to others!