May is here, and now is the perfect time to start getting excited that summer is almost here, school is almost out, and hopefully, we'll get to go on family vacations soon! It is also the month where we celebrate our favorite day - National Scrapbook Day! This special day celebrates what we love to do all year long, and to kick off the celebration, we have an incredible scrapper to highlight this month. Hopefully, she will inspire you to embrace your hobby and create more pages that tell your family's story. Who is she? Well this month's highlight is the beautiful Kristine Crosby, also known as "kriscrosby" out there in digi-land! Kristine lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her family and has only been digitally scrapping for over a year. Her camera of choice is the awesome Nikon D80 and she uses Photoshop CS3 and Adobe Lightroom to create her stunning pages!

If you have never seen her gallery, you are definitely in for a treat! Kris is one of those scrappers whose style automatically appeals to all different kinds of scrappers. Her layouts clearly showcase her love for her family by embellishing her favorite photos with carefully placed elements and/or brush strokes. Some have journaling explaining a special moment in the Crosby family's life and others just have a strong title that allows the photo to "say it all." Kris isn't afraid of color either, but she uses it subtley so that her pages have a bright, whimsical vibe without being over the top. Another thing that is wonderful about Kris' extensive gallery is not only are there pages of her family, she also focuses on herself as a woman, a mom, or a wife, which is something that many of us tend to shy away from. One of her favorite layouts "I Am Colorful...." is a stunning example of this and we encourage you to take time to see this page. You will truly admire the beautiful colors she used, and smile at her whimsical photo. We know you will enjoy getting to know Kris a little better this month, and we look forward to seeing the pages you create this month in our TOTM gallery!

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

Kristine Crosby: I am a very proud SAHM to 4 year old, Kira, almost 3 years old, Noah and 1 year old, Brady. I have been married almost 8 years to my wonderfully supportive husband, Mike. We have have a great life and I consider myself very blessed!

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

KC: I have never really been a paper scrapper but was introduced to the concept of digital scrapping by my good friend Mindy (mperschon) in November 2006. She basically held my hand for the first several months answering every stupid question I had regarding PSE5 and was always very encouraging when I didn't feel I was good enough to post in any on-line gallery. I decided to start posting several months later (spring '07) and the rest is history!

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

KC: Although I own a laptop, I don't have any of my scrapping programs loaded, so I'm pretty much confined to my desktop in the office. Most of my scrapping takes place during kids' nap times so it's dead silent and tv free. When I'm able to scrap at night I'll listen to my computer playlist which is usually full of Sarah Mclachlan music.

SSD: How would you describe your own scrapping style? Is there any type of layout style you like to do but haven't?

KC: I'd probably consider myself a moderate style scrapper. I like using my share of elements, but I try to stay away from element overload. I suppose it would be fun to try one of the extremes.

SSD: What is your favorite element/brush/etc that you just find yourself always "having to" use on your layouts?

KC: I'm a fan of anything that aids me in creating my overall LO design. I LOVE all the paper strip/block templates by Emily Merrit as well as worn photo/paper/shape overlays by Danielle and Lynne-Marie.

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?

KC: Well, talk about cruelty! lol. But I'd have to say Emily Powers. If I get creatively stuck on a LO I can usually find my answer in her stash of products. She has such a fun take on elements, I'm practically giddy when I see her latest creations!

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

KC: There's many artists I have bookmarked but I'd have to say Ranie O'dell (aka Juliet). Without fail, her layout designs and shadowing always blow me away.

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

KC: Definitely "I Am... Colorful." It was a real labor of love- from taking the photo (the camera was set to timer on a tripod), to executing the design (it took forever to find elements to match my rainbow motif). But, I really like the way it turned out. Totally worth all the extra time!

SSD: Do you have any other hobbies you love to do?

KC: I've recently taken the full plunge into photography by investing in good lenses. I just wish there were more hours in the day to give it the time it requires. I also enjoy shopping, traveling and spending time with my family.

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

KC: "Scrap time" takes place during lunch time so I usually have a PB & J sandwich in one hand and my mouse in the other. My beverage of choice is water... and lots of it!

SSD: Just for fun - what is your favorite TV show you love to watch and do you have a one that you may be a little "shy" to admit you just love and can't give up?

KC: I have several that I love- including The Office, 24, and Lost. There's a few reality shows I enjoy as well- namely, Project Runway and SYTYCD. One of my close friends writes the Bachelorette/Bachelor column for TVgasm so I've continued to follow that show, much to my husband's EXTREME dismay.

SSD: And finally, can you describe what you love about scrapbooking?

KC: Scrapping has reaped so many positive rewards for me- it's given me a creative outlet, allowed me to document memories I want to always remember and has resulted in the formation of many great friendships with talented women from around the globe. I love it!

Sweet Shoppe Designs also asked Kristine 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...