Happy New Year Sweet Shoppers! We are sooo excited to be kicking off 2010 because not only do we have an incredible new challenge system and inspiring daily blog posts, we also have an amazing new Treat of the Month that we are sooo excited to shine the spotlight on! Jaclyn Bernardo, also known as mrs_jb, has been part of the Sweet Shoppe community for a very long time, and her clean, straightforward style is one we know everyone can find inspiration from.

Jaclyn lives in Pennslyvania with her family and has been scrapbooking since January 2008. She uses the awesome Canon Rebel XTi to take her beautiful photos and creates her layouts in Adobe Photoshop CS4. When you browse through Jaclyn's extensive gallery, you can't help but take notice of how much her pages 'say' with very little journaling. She's really taken the motto of 'a picture says a 1000 words' to new heights and we find that incredibly inspiring!

As a mother to three boys, Jaclyn is also a HUGE inspiration for other moms with boys on how to inject your layouts with color, personality and a touch of whimsy too! She anchors her designs with strong backgrounds, and then brings her family's memories to life with close-up photos and just the right mixture of elements and titles. We know you will enjoy reading more about Jaclyn this month, and are absolutely positive you will be inspired to create when you browse through her gallery. Here's to another wonderful year of inspiration here at Sweet Shoppe Designs!

Sweet Shoppe Designs: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.

Jaclyn Bernardo: I am a 28 year old mom to 3 boys (8, 5, 2). I've been married to my husband Ron for 6.5 years. I currently own my own business, Sweet Baby Designs. I specialize in custom birth announcements, invitations, and holiday cards. I also am blessed to work with my best friend, SugarBabe Jamie (newfiemountiewife).

SSD: What's your scrapping story? How did you begin?

JB: I started scrapping because I was looking for some sort of creative outlet outside of my work. As much as I love my job, it can be a bit restrictive and I really wanted to do something that was more about my style and taste. Scrapping instantly allowed me to express myself and think outside the box, which actually helped me with work.

SSD: What's your favorite thing about digital scrapbooking?

JB: I have very perfectionist tendencies, so I could never ever be a paper-scrapper. I LOVE that with digi-scrapping I can make a perfect circle, I can center something exactly, I can move and reposition over and over again, and I can store so many more supplies than I ever could in real life!

SSD: Tell us about your scrapping environment. What's your workspace like, do you listen to music, watch tv?

JB: I currently scrap from my "office" at home, which is my spare-room converted to an office/craft room. It's a work in progress at this point, but it holds my huge desk, which is the most important thing to me. I like to have space, open clear space around me. I also have a laptip that I scrap from at times, more often than not when my children won't allow me in my office... LOL! I love music, but I very rarely get to listen to it while I scrap. More often than not I will have the TV on just for background noise... it's usually tuned to Disney or Nickelodeon!

SSD: You have been scrapping quite a long time, have you ever found yourself struggling to create a layout? If so, how do you find your inspirations again and do you have any tips you would like to share with others suffering from "scrapper's block"?

JB: I've hit a few huge instances of scrapper's block and it really stinks. I've found a couple of things that help me.... challenges are my first go to. I like not having to think about what I'm scrapping about, but just following the prompts, etc. The other thing that I typically will do is to just scrap anyway... open a window, find a photo and just start putting things in. Many times I don't like what I create, LOL, but it gives me a spark or idea to create something I do like. Also, I've found that the more I say I've lost my mojo, the more I won't find it... It's like the saying about smiling even when you don't feel like it and soon, you'll find it's real! Scrap, even when you don't feel like it and eventually your mojo will find you!

SSD: If you could choose one scrapper to scrap a page for you, who would you choose and why?

JB: Oh this is so tough... I can't choose just one, I have two. SugarBabe Cindy or Ali Edwards. I would LOVE Cindy to scrap a page for me because she is just amazing. I have never seen someone that can layer the way she does or who can pull so many pieces from so many kits and have them look so cohesive! I have said it many times, but I definitely want to be Cindy when I grow up! Ali Edwards I love because of her amazing memory based style. She has a way of really focusing her pages on photos and journaling (something I'm not good at) and I love the way she makes her pages so simple, yet so beautiful. I think she has an incredible talent for choosing a few perfect elements for each page.

SSD: What's your all-time favorite layout? Why?

JB: This is tough because I'm very critical of myself, but this is definitely a LO that I love. This LO has three things that I value in any LO, I just normally don't get them to come together all at once... I love the photo, it's one of my favorites of my youngest son. The sentiment is so incredibly true and it is also words from a song by Dave Matthews Band, who hold a VERY special place in my heart. Lastly, I like the composition and the movement that the page has.

SSD: How would you describe your scrapbooking style? Do you have a favorite "go to element/brush" that you find yourself using on your layouts from time to time?

JB: I'm not sure what exactly what style scrapper I am, but the one thing I find consistent on all of my layouts is layers. Layering paper and elements, clustering, is what I find myself most comfortable doing. I absolutely love ribbon and string and use them on almost every LO.

SSD: What do you like to do when you aren't scrapping? Do you have any other hobbies you like to do?

JB: I love photography and am trying to learn and broaden my skills as much as I can. I also love to read and have a bit of a Facebook addiction, LOL!

SSD: If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only bring one designer's products with you, whose would you choose and why?

JB: Ahhhh.... just one? For me, there is absolutely no way to choose between my two favorite designers... Zoe Pearn and Shawna Clingerman. I love both of them, not only for their immense talent and creativity but also because they are two incredible women who have been so wonderful and supportive through some really tough times.

SSD: Do you have a favorite snack you keep handy while you scrap?

JB: Coffee... I am a coffee junkie and it's very rare to find me without a cup nearby.

SSD: Do you have any New Year's Resolutions for 2010? If so, can you share a few of them?

JB: I have a few... which isn't typical for me because I normally don't make them at all. But this year I have some very important goals that are very close to my heart. I would like to become more disciplined about spending daily time reading my Bible and in prayer. I am also trying to make healthy eating and exercise bigger priorities this year.

Sweet Shoppe Designs also asked Jaclyn to share some of her favorite creations with our visitors. It's fascinating to look through someone's gallery with our own eyes but seeing what an artist particularly enjoys from her own collection is always intriguing...

If you would like to see more of Jaclyn's wonderful layouts, be sure to visit her My Scrapbook Art Gallery where you'll find her amazing collection of inspiring pages. It's been such a pleasure to see the fabulous layouts our SugarBabes have created after spending some time looking through her gallery, and you'll be able to take a closer look at their gorgeous pages each time you visit as they'll be featured throughout the month on our homepage!

Finally, creating a lift of a page from Jaclyn's gallery is the very first task in our new monthly portfolio challenge system! Scrap along with our community as we create a meaningful monthly portfolio and earn points towards sweet rewards while you're doing it too! Thanks for sharing yourself and your beautiful work with us Jaclyn, it was such a treat getting to know one of our favorite scrappers better!