Getting to know Bonita

We are so very thankful for our design team that puts their heart and soul into each layout. They are here to provide you with that extra shove and inspiration that is needed to guide you in digging deep into your own heart and creating with all you are and with all you have. I am so pleased to have Bonita on our team. I asked her a few questions, in an effort to get to know her better and she has a layout to share as well.

What is your philosophy when it comes to scrapbooking? 

My philosophy is pretty simple really. I create what I want to say, when I want to say it. I don't suffer from guilt from not scrapbooking everything in my life. Instead I pick and choose the photos and the journaling I want to leave behind, mostly for my children. I want to leave a legacy. I want my two teenage daughters to really know their mom. To really know her. The woman I was. How I felt. What my days were like. What was important to me, and what wasn't. After I'm gone, I want them to go through the photos, the journaling -- and know -- what really made me, me.

How do you apply that to your Inside Out layouts?

Usually when I receive my Kit, I look through all the colors and the patterns of the papers first, and decide on a few of my favorites. The ones that appeal to me at that time in my life. When I work on my layouts for SFTIO, I decide on that day, at that moment, what I want to share. What do I want to talk about today? What do I want to get down in writing. And I start from there. I always start from my heart first. For me, finding a photo comes last. First, I decide what I want to say. What it is that I feel I'll want my girls to know in the years to come.

Dream by Bonita Rose

Share with us a little bit more about this layout and how it encompasses your philosophy and SFTIO.

For me, scrapbooking and saving memories on paper has always been about my heart. About my life, in my own words. It's never been about the perfect photo or the perfect paper or embellishment. First and foremost, it's been about the things I'm feeling deep down in my heart, in my soul. 

In this layout, I chose the pretty teal and gold paper first, and built this layout from there. I was playing around with some silver glitter sticks, and made a heart. Then I realized the large grey flower that was part of my SFTIO kit this month, would be perfect with this! I added some of my baby blue vintage paper lace and just started placing things on the paper, deciding where it all should go. 

We recently moved my daughter into her own apartment, she'll be 19 later this month - and she's been on my mind so so much. I found a beautiful photo of her taken in our back yard last summer.

For me, this layout is all about sharing my heart and my dreams for her. It isn't about the glam or the pretty things. First, it's about what I want for her, what I dream, what I wish for her. I want her to read this years from now, and know how much I thought about her, how big my dreams are for her and her life.

What advice would you give to someone who is dipping their toes into "emotion-based" scrapbooking?

First and foremost, remember it's not always about the products. The products in the Kits are there for you to build upon, but first and foremost, it's about your heart and what you want to say. What is happening in your life, right now. How you are feeling. Good or bad or ugly. 
The best advice I would give is to not hold anything back. Be real in your layouts, in what you create. Be the real you. The real you... not just what others may expect you to be. Share the real you. It's so freeing. Just so freeing. xo

Make sure you visit Bonita's Blog: Bonita Rose, Life.Love.Color.Art a life unrehearsed

Have you seen something created by one of our design team members and you are burning with a question? Come join us on the forum. We are chatting and always welcoming new "family" members. :)