We are just thrilled this month to be bringing back one of our former SugarBabes for the first time ever as our Treat of the Month! Kate Hadfield made such a lasting impression on us while she was here with her incredible style and sweet personality that as we were trying to decide who to invite this month, she immediately popped into our mind as being fresh and on the cutting edge of what's hot in digital scrapbooking right now. Add to that the fact that she has recently found TONS of success as a new designer at The LilyPad, we couldnt wait to showcase her work and get to know more about her!

Kate's scrapping style is colorful, playful and she is an absolute master at using embellishments and multiple photos! There is so much whimsy and wonder going on her in gallery that one could spend hours upon hours trying to soak in all of the details. We are absolultely enamored with the way that Kate is recording her family's memories and know that you will find tons of inspiration from her gallery this month.

Kate is a natural as she has only been scrapbooking since May of 2006 and she creates all of her stunning pages using Adobe Photoshop CS. She lives with her family in Cheshire, England and shoots all of her photos with the Fuji Finepix S9500 which may be a european model!

All of us at here at the Sweet Shoppe hope you enjoy learning more about Kate this month as you read through our interview with her. She has inspired us to be spontaneous and playful in our pages and embrace our personal style and we hope she inspires you to do the same!

Sweet Shoppe Designs: Who are your sources of scrapping inspriation?

Kate Hadfield: Definitely my children. I love to scrap those little everyday moments that otherwise get forgotten! My kids are very young and at this age they change so quickly, I love that I can go through my layouts and remember all the things they used to say and do, all their favourite things and all their little quirks.

SSD: How do you organize your digital scrapbooking stash?

KH: I store my stash by designer and I use ACDSee to catalogue it all (and The Font Thing for my rather large collection of fonts!). I’ve been using organising software for a couple of months now and I think it has halved the amount of time it takes me to complete a layout. I’m a big element user and used to spend a long time just searching for the right element to finish off a page, I really don’t think I could cope without it now!

SSD: What's your secret for combining so many varied elements and photos on your pages? How do you make it all work? And how do you know when enough is enough?

KH: I don’t think there is a secret really, although being organised definitely helps a lot! It’s just trial and error but I usually just “know” when a page is finished to my eye, although there have been times when I have stopped because I just can’t fit anything else on! I think that taking regular breaks from looking at the layout really helps, when I come back to it with fresh eyes it’s easy to see what needs changing or if it is finished.

SSD: How long does it take for you to complete a digital page? What's your process for starting a new page- do you start with the papers? photos? elements?

KH:I’ve never sat down and completed a page from start to finish, but my guess is that I spend somewhere between two and three hours on each one. I always start with the photos, even if I’m planning on scrapping with a particular kit the photos are the first thing that goes on the layout. I resize them and arrange them then I usually add a single sheet of background paper followed by as many elements as I can fit on!

SSD: What has your digi-scrapping journey been like- have you always known you had a distinct "style" or was it a learning process? How do you recommend new scrappers find who they are creatively?

KH: Although I’ve always loved bright colour and whimsical design, it has definitely been a big learning process. When I first starting scrapping, I scrapped at 8x8 and because I was using my layouts in place of a photo album I tried to make sure that the photos were at least 6x4 size, which didn’t leave me much room for more than one photo or many elements! Changing to 12x12 is what really helped me develop my own style, suddenly I had all this room to fill with more photos and goodies and I haven’t looked back since! As for discovering your own look, I think all the different styles out there can be overwhelming to a new scrapper. One tip is to browse through the galleries quite quickly and save all the layouts that instantly appeal to you, without thinking about it too much. Then when you go back through them you’ll probably find that they all have something in common – maybe multi-photos, or simple design, use of bold colour or delicate brushwork etc. There’s usually something that attracts you to all of them and pinpointing what you like about other people’s work can be a good starting point in establishing your own style.

SSD: Do you have any magazines or websites you turn to for ideas and inspiration?

KH: I love the UK sites Everyone Is Speshal and Pencil Lines the sketch challenge site . Both are full of inspirational paper layouts from some of the best UK scrappers around. And of course, for digital inspiration I love Digital Artist Magazine and We Digi-Dare Ya! .

SSD: Who are your favorite digital scrappers and why?

KH: I could give you a list a mile long! To narrow it down to a handful, I’d say Amy Martin (alb52), Natalie Braxton (Tali) and Colleen York (colleen) for their stunning use of elements and Nikki Beaudreau (nbeaudreau), Emily and Angela Powers and Yen for their ability to create absolutely breathtaking works of art. Oh and Gina Miller and Darla Vasquez for consistently making me think, “Wow!”

SSD: As a new designer, did you find designing came naturally to you? Was this a part of the plan or did it just happen?

KH: Err no, it was never part of a plan at all, quite the opposite! It was a happy accident! I needed something specific for a layout I was working on, but I couldn’t find what I was looking for and so decided to try and make it myself. Before I knew it I’d made several sets and the rest, as they say, is history! It is something I love, my designs are mostly hand drawn and sketching has been the one craft I’ve missed since taking up scrapping. I’ve had a pen or pencil in my hand and have been scribbling away since I was a child, so I’m really happy to have found a way to combine my love of sketching with my love of scrapping!

SSD: If you could sum up your philosophy on life in one sentence/quote what would it by and why?

KH: I have two! “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars” by Oscar Wilde and “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans” from “Beautiful Boy” by John Lennon.

SSD: What is your favorite sweet treat?

KH: Double chocolate fudge cake with chocolate ice cream. And chocolate sauce. And some chocolate sprinkles. And a bit more chocolate on the side in case I’m still hungry…

Sweet Shoppe Designs also asked Kate 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 Kate's gorgeous 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 too! 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 February by picking out a layout you want to lift from Kate's gallery! Once you're done, come back and share it with us in our special forum & gallery...just for playing along, you'll be entered into a random drawing to win free stuff from the Sweet Shoppe. Thanks so much for sharing yourself and your work with us Kate, it was a pleasure getting to know more about one of our favorite scrappers...