Hey again Sweet Shoppers!! Spring is in the air for a lot of us I know. Here in the South, the weather is warm, the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming and all we seem to want to do is be outside. We have to enjoy it while we can because soon enough we’ll be scorching hot again. I hope everyone is enjoying this month’s challenges. I cruised through the portfolio thread this week and I’m always so amazed at everyone’s layouts. This week we’re featuring another one of our fabulous designers, Penny Springmann!

Hey, everyone! It’s Penny. I live in Arkansas with my husband of almost 15 years, 2 wild and crazy sons (8 and 6), and our brindled mutt, Gary the girl. What can I say, the boys named her after Sponge Bob’s pet snail, Gary?! When I’m not designing, I enjoy reading, running, hiking, playing, shopping, and creating culinary creations to test on my family. If you want to learn more about us, visit my personal blog: Penny’s Miscellany. (http://www.pennysmiscellany.com)

I began designing in the spring of 2006. Right now I’m designing away on a custom built PC with 4 gigs of RAM, a terabyte of disc space, and an Intel 6700 quad core processor. I have a Hanns-G 28″ monitor. I use Photoshop CS4, Illustrator CS4, Artrage, a Wacom Intuos 3 Graphics Tablet, Canoscan 8800f (scanner), sharpies/pens/pencils, paint, and bits and pieces found here and there. If I need to photograph an item, I use my Nikon D50 or my Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7.

How did you get started designing?

I began digital scrapbooking in 2003. From the beginning I created my own brushes, backgrounds and elements since there really wasn’t much out there in terms of product and I enjoyed tinkering in Photoshop. However, I didn’t begin selling my designs until spring of 2006 when I either needed to find a job outside of the home or begin designing for profit, not just for freebies and myself. Once I began designing as a profession vs. a hobby, I was hooked even further. I still enjoy the process after almost 5 years. I am honored that people use my work to capture and create a record their families’ memories.

Where do you get your inspiration from when designing?

Inspiration comes from everywhere…a song, a set of colors, my sons, the outdoors…you name it, it probably has inspired me at some point.

Describe your designing environment.

Usually I’m sitting at my desk with a drink to my left (coffee in the am and water in the afternoon. I’ve been off Coke Zero for 3 weeks now!). My list of what to create is to my right beyond my tablet. Most days I work in silence, but if I need a good pick-me-up, I’ll either put on my Pandora station or listen to my playlist on itunes. By the end of the week, my desk is a cluttered mess of papers, books, scanned bits and pieces, discarded lists, etc. Once I finish a kit, I pick up the mess and start all over again.

What is your best selling product?

My top selling item is All Worn Out: Photograph and Paper Overlays 3.  My best selling kit is Catch a Wave – an oldy but still one of my favorites.

I also asked Penny to share with us three of her own favorite products and tell us what she loves about them:

Right now my #1 favorite is my 12 Month Collection. I’m really proud of how the collection is coming together and growing each month.

Here are a few samples from the 12 Month Collection:

Backyard BBQ is another favorite of mine. I love family gatherings and this kit lends itself perfectly for scrapping those memories.

Finally, I also enjoy my Picture Play sets because I adore playing with texture, color, and blend modes.

Featured Designer Challenge (Bonus #4) for your March 2011 Scrapper’s Portfolio

Your challenge this week is to scrap using MOSTLY Penny’s products on your page. It’s okay to add other designers but most of your layout should be done using Penny’s products. To help you out if you don’t want to go into your stash and are itching for some new goodies to play with, Penny has this fabulous coupon for 30% off the 12 Month Value Bundles. Remember this is for the Value Bundles only (linked below).

12 Months: Mega Kit Value Bundle by Penny Springmann

12 Months: February Value Bundle by Penny Springmann

12 Months: March Value Bundle by Penny Springmann

And finally some inspiration for this week’s challenge from our very own Sugar Babes:

By Sue

using Penny’s About A Boy, Stick it Alpha by Darcy Baldwin, Get Real Drop Shadow Styles by Jenn Barrette, and DJB Scruffy Angel by Darcy Baldwin

by Aggie

using Penny’s About A Boy and Cindy’s Templates Set 83

by Melissa

using Penny’s Unwritten and DJB Lizzy Fizzed Out by Darcy Baldwin

by Jacq

using Penny’s 12 Months: March

and by Me (Nikki)

using Penny’s Unwritten and Cindy’s Templates Set 88 coming 3/26 to SSD

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!