It's May and we've added some amazing members to the Sweet Shoppe Team! As you can imagine, it's a really exciting time for us and it's also a great opportunity for us to reflect on and celebrate one of the people who has meant so much to us on our journey in the digital community! I don't think there is anyone out there who doesn't know and love this month's Treat of the Month because she is a constant source of encouragement, friendship and inspiration in the forums and galleries community wide. All of us love her so much and can't wait for you to get to know former SugarBabe, Karen Wong, a little bit better!

When asked what her biggest inspiration is when she is scrapping, Karen mentioned her two beautiful little girls and as you look through her gorgeous gallery, you can see that inspiration and love leap off her pages. Her photos capture their everyday moments and sweet expressions and her title work and journaling record her thoughts and emotions where her girls are concerned. Her pages are packed with gorgeous colors brought out by perfectly selected papers and elements and each page offers so many little details to look at and soak in. Buttons, flowers, swirly things and more, if you're a fan of elements, there is tons of inspiration in Karen's gallery to get you excited about layering them on your pages with style! She is a master!

Karen is a California girl who has been scrapping since August of 2005. She creates all of her pages using Photoshop CS2 and shoots all of her photos using the Rebel XT.

All of us at here at the Sweet Shoppe hope you enjoy learning more about Karen this month as you read her interview below.

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

Karen Wong: I am a stay-at-home mom of 2 girls: a 3 and a 5 year-old. My husband is an Insurance Agent and I help him out in a limited capacity by taking care of his Payroll and the Employee Bonus Program. When I’m not with my family, I can be found at church. I’m one of the pianist for one of our choirs.

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

KW: I first had an interest when becoming a mother…you know, like you ought to be documenting this stuff. At DD1’s 1-year-old, birthday party, we gota 12x12 scrapbooking album, some pens, and a tape rolling thingy. So I decided to look into scrapbooking. I think the first thing I checked out were fonts/alphas on QVC (or some other TV shopping network) and the price just shocked me. It was so expensive and that was just ONE font/alpha. Then when I became pregnant w/DD2 I got into the birth boards over at BabyCenter(ParentCenter). Some people talked about a Scrapbooking forum so I wend over there. They had a weekly digi-scrapping thread and that’s where the addiction was born!

SSD: What inspires you? Where do you get inspiration for your pages?

KW: My main inspiration = my girls! They’re the reason I take photos and the elements/papers are layered and placed around them. I’m constantly thinking about the photo (and what was going on) when I’m scrapping that LO.

SSD: How do you approach a blank page? How long do you spend on a page? What is your favorite "must have" element to use or one that you find yourself using over and over again?

KW: I plop my photo down first. Trying to decide exactly where I want that photo on the page. Next I pick a background paper. Then I create a folder and use the shape tool (Rectangle/Ellipse) to outline different shapes which represents potential paper layering. For some reason I find it intimidating to plop the patterned paper on my layout and cut from that. I find it easier to have white shapes/outlines of potential paper layering and then I will cut the paper with that. I just love FLOWERS! Flower and swirls are my favorites.

SSD: What do you start with when you create alayout - a striking photo or would it be a kit you may have?

KW: Up until recently, I had been on several Creative Teams so the kit would come first and then I would find photos that would work with them. Because of more time constraints now, I’ve resigned from Teams so that I no longer have any layout commitments at all. Which, unexpectedly, has made it more difficult for me to scrap! I guess I like ‘assignments.

SSD: Your photographs are always so stunning- do you use any actions to make them look so perfect? Have you had any formal training with photography? What do you recommend for enhancing photos?

KW: Awww..thank you :) For the most part I don’t use any actions. I’ve used actions on my photos maybe 5% of the time…or maybe less. Since I’m the photographer and I’m there when the moments happen in real life, I tend to like my photos to beas true to real life as possible. One of the main reasons why I hardly have B&W photos in my LOs. Even in a Christmas Card 2 years ago, there was a big bruise on DD2’s forehead and I just left it in deciding NOT to clone it out. It’s those little things that I love…I love remembering all the little things that other people may not notice and I love knowing the story behind the little things in the photo. I’ve never had any formal training inphotography. My training came from being with my girls so much (such an interesting subject, don’t you think :D)and just taking my camera often and taking a lot of photos.

SSD: Your layouts tend to highlight the every day moments in your children's lives and your journaling is so truthful. Do you have any tips for scrappers who struggle with journaling?

KW: The first tip that came to my mind was to just talk…just type…just ramble. In the beginning I would worry about bad spelling, bad grammar, and being too cheesy. After awhile, I just didn’t stress about it. So what if it sounds cheesy…geez…I’m their mother, of course I’m head over heals in love with them. I’d rather have the complaint in the future that my journaling was too cheesy versus the complaint that they wished I would express my feelings for them more. And I mainly love journaling because I love reliving the moment.

SSD: Do you have any crafty hobbies outside of digital scrapbooking?

KW: No – I’m not crafty at all! Seriously lol.

SSD: And for a little fun question - tell us a little known fact about you!

KW: Hmmm…I was voted Most Athletic in Middle School. Oh…and one year in Middle School I was part of the Yearbook Committee and I took most of the pictures, though with some old Point-and-Shoot.

Sweet Shoppe Designs also asked Karen 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 Karen's delectable work, be sure to visit her Digi Shop Talk 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! Those layouts will be featured throughout the month on our homepage so be sure to check them out each time you visit!

Also, don't forget to Scrap with our SugarBabes the entire month of May by picking out a layout you want to lift from Karen's gallery! Once you're done, come back and share it with us in our special forum & gallery... just for playing along, you'll earn sweet rewards points which can be redeemed for awesome discounts in the shoppe. Thanks for coming home and sharing your gorgeous work with us Karen, you've been a part of the Sweet Shoppe family for ages and it was so much fun shining the spotlight on you!