Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Sweet Shoppers!! I hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season as much as I am this year and hopefully lots of memories are being made….that can be scrapped! Today we’re featuring one of our Sweet Shoppe regulars – Rebecca Kuchenbecker (MamaBee). Let’s get to know her a little better:

I am a stay at home mama to one very well photographed little guy who is 3 and wife to hubby for 6 years. We live smack dab in the middle of Packer Country (Wisconsin). I love to cook and try new recipes… and I am so addicted to scrapping there is no time for any other hobby. I’m also becoming very obsessed about hybrid, which is good… after years of paper crafting, I have enough supplies to start up a small scrapping store in my studio! Before becoming a SAHM, I was a computer instructor and documentation specialist for a Fortune 200 company for just shy of 10 years… now I help my husband’s side business with graphic design, market research, and event planning.

I’m a paper scrapper for well over 10 years, turned digital in spring of 2008 when I purchased my mom a copy of Memory Mixer and was helping her figure out how to use it. I was one of those paper scrappers who swore she would never go digi. I now use Photoshop Elements 7, even though I have CS4 suite loaded on my PC laptop… just waiting for time to sit down and play with it.  I’m deeply honored to be able to create for 10 layout teams and 3 hybrid teams. I’m a Canon girl: DSR is a Rebel and my point and shoot is a Powershot.

What is your favorite color scheme to scrap with?

I don’t have a favorite color scheme… I just love color… so you won’t see many pastel layouts in my gallery.

What is your most favorite element to use on a page?

BUTTONS!! There use to be a show on cable where the lady would say all the time, “I like buttons…” so about 98% of my layouts have buttons on them. .. my hubby teases me and calls me the Button Lady.

Where do you get inspiration from when starting a layout?

Usually it’s the memory that I want to tell that is my inspiration that is my starting point… then comes the kit followed by the photos.

What are 2 things you consider yourself to be good at?

Hmm… that is a tough question, since I’m my hardest critic, I had to ask my mom and hubby for help on this question… I’m good at reading people and decorating on a dime.

The following are three of Rebecca’s favorite layouts including the reasons why she loves them:

This is my favorite layout of all time. I had this idea floating in my head for weeks before I sat down and put it all together. I love how all my favorite things are represented and it’s a digital representation of a point of time in our lives.

This was one of my first hybrid projects… my son was having problems with learning different types of vehicles and I thought if I made a book with photos of him and his favorite buddy, Rupert, it would help him. I love to create teaching aids that will help my son learn… and have fun learning!

I saw this idea on another blog and wondered if I could design something like it myself. I had so much fun making all the little elements. It warms my heart every time I look at it because it was something that I made that will be a part of our Christmas traditions for many years to come.

Featured Staffer Challenge (Bonus #4) for your December 2010 Scrapper’s Portfolio

This week your challenge is a Sweet Shoppe Recipe Challenge based on this layout by Rebecca:

and here’s the recipe…

* 4 photos – all the same size
* 3 layered papers as a background
* 1 bracket mat
* large bold title

**please note this challenge is worth 1 point and cannot be combined with other portfolio prompts except for NR bonus point for a total of 2 points.**

and some examples by our very own Sugar Babes!

by Aly

Credits: Mr. Cool by Lauren Grier

by Amy

Credits: Tis the Season: For Love by Kristin Cronin-Barrow

By Sue

Credits: Press Play by Jenn Barrette and Meg Mullens, DJB Fonts: Meet Me at My Locker by Darcy Baldwin

Don’t forget to edit your Portfolio with your page for this challenge!

NOTE: These Bonus Challenges are EXTRA on top of the Posted Portfolio Challenges.  They CANNOT be combined with any other challenge and stand alone (except New Release bonus pt).  Please feel free to PM me with any questions – nikkiARNGwife.  Thanks!