Getting to Know You: LeAnne

When I saw the recently posted AKA card posted by LeeAnn (aka Digishoes) I said, Wow, isn’t she lovely? I am so proud to introduce one of our Designer Digitals members from my home state of Minnesota.

I asked LeAnne to tell us about herself by way of introduction and here’s what she had to say:

I grew up in a small town in Minnesota and was blessed to have both sets of grandparents and all of my aunts, uncles and cousins living within ten miles of each other. I have so many fond memories growing up of family holidays, birthday parties and time spent at my Grandma’s neighborhood grocery store. Following high school graduation, I went to college at Gustavus Adolphus College in an even smaller Minnesota town. I majored in International Business with a Japanese emphasis. I was fortunate enough to be able to spend a year living in Japan while in college and even more fortunate to meet my husband while at college. After college, I spent several years working for a Japanese import/export company. But, I soon realized that I wanted to pursue a career in a different field. I returned to graduate school at the University of Minnesota and received my Masters degree in Speech Pathology. Over the years, I have worked in several school districts, helping children to improve their articulation, language and fluency skills. I currently work for a private speech company, which allows me to be flexible in my scheduling of clients and allows me to spend the majority of my time being a stay at home mom for our three children. My family currently resides in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

LeAnne, you mentioned in the description of the first layout you posted here at Designer Digitals that you were originally a paper scrapper. When and how did you get started creating digital scrapbook pages?

In 2009, my husband planned a birthday scrapbooking event for my 40th birthday. He invited many of my friends who scrapbook, including Jana Morton. The majority of us made many trips to our cars hauling in our paper and other scrapbooking supplies. As we were sitting there recovering from our heavy lifting and organizing,  in walks Jana just carrying her laptop and some of her completed digital albums. I was intrigued, and after looking at her gorgeous pages and hearing more about digital scrapbooking, I knew I had to make the switch to digital. It took me another year and a half to make the leap and learn how to digitally scrapbook with online classes, but I am so glad I took the time to learn all about it! I also remember Jana mentioning to me that she bought her digital supplies at Designer Digitals and what a wonderful community it was. So, I put that information in my memory for future use. I finally gained enough courage to post a layout at DD in January 2011. I nearly had a panic attack when I hit the submit button the first time, but all the members of DD have been so welcoming and encouraging.

I am not surprised at all that it was the talented, Jana Morton, who intrigued you to try out digital scrapping! We have your very thoughtful husband to thank for hosting a scrapbook birthday party for you so that now we get to enjoy having you in our community at Designer Digitals. It’s very obvious your beautiful children are the reason you create digital art. Do your children willingly pose for photo shoots, and, if not, what are some tips you could share for getting the great shots you get?

I laughed when I read this question! If only you could be with us on a photo shoot, you may not be asking me this question. I would say that through trial and error, my husband and I have learned over the years to let our kids be an active part of the photo shoot. So, after we choose a location or pose, we ask them to pick a new location or pose that they would like to try. Many times, their ideas might be better than ours and it lets them have some control in the situation.  If everything else fails, my husband can usually get them to smile by doing something goofy. I also am so thankful for a digital camera so I can snap as many pictures as I want and hope for a good shot!

Well, I am going to try your method of involving the children the next time I photograph my grandsons. I’ve got to remember that my DH is good at acting goofy to get kids to smile, too.  What do you consider to be your essential tools you use for memory keeping?

I use a MacBook Pro laptop and I love that it gives me the freedom to scrapbook or organize when I am waiting for kids at dance or sporting events. I store all of my digital supplies on a EHD. I have always used PSE and I recently upgraded to PSE 10 for Jana’s class and I have loved this new version of PSE. I also have recently started using ACDSee and have been working each evening to tag all of my supplies. I can’t wait to give it a try!

For my photography, I use a Canon Rebel XT. It is getting a little on the older side and has been giving me a few problems lately. So, I think I will be in the market soon for a new camera. Before I make the big jump to a new Canon, I am hoping to take some photography classes at a local photography store to try to get off of automatic mode and also to have a better idea what I am looking for in a camera and lenses. I have recently purchased a 50mm f/1.8 lens and it has been a wonderful addition to my photography.

How are you preserving the scrapbook pages you create? Do you print at home or use a service? Do you create separate albums for each child and do you have any projects related to memory keeping on your to do list?

I just ordered my first batch of 50 prints from Persnickety Prints and I am so excited to receive the order in the mail. I have heard so many wonderful comments about their print quality. So, I can’t wait to get the actual prints in my hands. I am planning to organize the layouts similarly to when I paper scrapbooked. Each child will have their own scrapbook for their layouts. I have not been scrapbooking chronologically since I switched to digital so I am sure there will be plenty of rearranging of pages as I go along!

Do you have ideas for scrapbook projects you’d like to complete in the next months?

I have so many projects I would like to accomplish that I am not sure I want to see them all in a list…but here it goes. When I paper scrapbooked, I made a scrapbook for each child documenting their preschool years. So, I would like to start an album of digital layouts for each of their years in elementary, middle and high school. I would love for it to have their school picture as well as some of the highlights from their school year. There have been so many wonderful examples of school pages on DD and I am sure I will be referring to them as I go along.

Finally, I would like to complete a remembrance book of my dad. My dad loved to cook and so I am hoping to combine pictures of him throughout his life, along with some of his treasured recipes. I loved Carollee’s cookbook that she made for a friend and will with no doubt be referring back to her beautiful pages as I embark on this project!

Those are all worthy projects and I’m sure you will do a beautiful job when you create the pages because your style is classic and beautiful. What are some of the kits from Designer Digitals that you love to use again and again?

Oh, this is a tough question to answer! There are so many beautiful products at DD and I feel that I can always find the right product I need for any page I am working on.
These are definitely some of my favorite products that I go to again and again….

Ali Edwards
All of her Quotes and Titles (Always the perfect addition to a page!)

Thank you, so much, LeAnne, for taking to time to be interviewed. You bring us much inspiration from your scrapbook pages. You chose this wonderful example from your gallery to feature and I certainly agree with your choice because the photo shows us your three very beautiful children. I also invite all of you reading this to visit LeAnne’s gallery for even more wonderful inspiration.

digishoes gallery