Blending Clean Graphic Design with Digital Artistry | A Scrapper’s Style Interview with Jana Morton

Scrapper’s Style | the eBook means so much more to me than tips & techniques for building better linear, layered or artistic layouts.  It also grants me an opportunity to pick the gooey brains of like-minded, digital crafters who excel in their style. Matter of fact, they not only excel in their style, their page creations:

• inspire
• wow
• and demonstrate a unique identity

An Interview with Jana Morton

Jana Morton wows me. She makes amazing blended layouts, but she also makes fantastic “traditional” looking pages. She can evoke strong emotion or tell an everyday story. She has a natural eye for amazing design and page flow. I’m inspired by almost every page she makes. ~ Michelle Blue • Simply Tiffany Page Artist

Supplies | Randomly Written Words, Creswell Solids, Stamped Blocks Brushes, Dictionary Blendables, Grunge Overlays, Letter Box Overlays, Classic Curled Photo Frames, Star Glows Brushes & Stamps (Katie Pertiet)

Let’s talk with Jana. Can you tell us a bit more about you and your digital scrapbooking craft.

I’m a stay at home mom and formerly a high school guidance counselor. Now I teach digital scrapbooking classes at Creative Passion.

I have been a scrapbooker for about 20 years and switched to all-digital about 5 years ago. I love every aspect of capturing and documenting life.

My goodness, you’re a scrapbook veteran! Paper scrapbookers make the switch to digital for a myriad of reasons. What were yours?

I made the switch for a number of reasons too. I was tired of creating the same paper layouts several times for each of my children’s albums.

I also kept seeing images on movie posters, billboards, cd covers, and paintings that intrigued me. I wanted to see if I could learn how to create similar effects with my own photos.

Jana’s Unique Style Identification

Supplies | Pretty in Black Mini Kit (Mindy Teresawa) • Stuff Your Edges, Love Grows Brushes & Stamps, Sweet Cakes, Clock Parts, Alandia Noces Collection, Loosely Labeled Dates, Bunny Trail Mini Kit & Sweet St. Nicholas Kit (Katie Pertiet) • You Brushes & Stamps (Ali Edwards) •  Readymade Banners (Studio DD)

I can absolutely see how your style mirrors many popular ads used today. It’s truly eye-catching as your pages are. How would you characterize this style, your style, in three words:

1. Graphic. I like to create layouts with clean lines, powerful images, and my pages are generally very bold.
2. Photo-centered. Yes, that is two words. But I always want my photos to be the most important aspect of the page. When someone looks at my pages, I want them to be immediately drawn to the photos themselves.
3. Dramatic. I love to create pages that incorporate blending and other Photoshop techniques. I believe that these techniques really help my photos appear better than they actually are!

So the techniques help you introduce drama to your page?

Yes! I like to take everyday photos and make them into pieces of art thus giving my images more of a dramatic feel.

Would you say that these techniques are your style’s unique calling card?

I certainly have a style that I have been told is very recognizable but I don’t know that I have one unique calling card that I use on every page.

I do like to use blending on my pages to give my images a more dramatic feel. Blending allows me to create so many fun and beautiful effects.

Jana’s Time Commitment and Style Support

How much time do you spend on a single layout and using blending techniques?

Between 45 minutes to 3 hours. On average, two hours.

You mentioned you’ve been digital scrapbooking for five years. Has your style evolved since your beginning?

My style has stayed pretty consistent over the years. When I first started digital scrapbooking, I was blending photos and creating clean-lined designs without the use of products. Once I discovered digital products and how they enhanced my pages, I feel like it made my pages look so much more polished. These products help me add artistry to my layouts. I am so grateful to all of the amazing designers out there who give us such great products to work with and make scrapbooking so much fun!

Supplies | Basic Paper Alphabet, Sacked Solids, Paper Reveals, Paper Cuts & Worth Repeating Expressions (Katie Pertiet) • Worn Page Edges (Lynn Grieveson) • Absolutely Acrylic & Fasten Its (Pattie Knox) • Distressed Edged Overlays, Art Play Palette & Stitched White (Anna Aspnes)

Absolutely! Digital scrapbooking has grown in leaps and bounds because of the access we now have to original and well-crafted supplies. What types of digital kits support your style?

I’m most attracted to clean and artsy products. I don’t know if those two words really “go” together but I’ll try to explain. I like solid color papers that have texture and slight variation in color. These types of papers work really well when blending images.

I also love brushes and use them to add splashes of color and artistry to my pages. In terms of embellishments, I like products that are clean, simple, and often vintage. I feel like these types of products really fit with my desire to create clean pages where the photos are the most important aspect of the page.

And where do you shop for digi-supplies?

My “go to” designers are at Designer Digitals.

Insight into Jana’s Process

Before we wrap up, what tips can you share with a scrapbooker who wants to design pages similar to your own?

Develop a mood on your page. When I create a page, I always put the photo on the page first and then build the design around it. I try to decide what kind of mood the photo conveys and go from that point.

I will often incorporate techniques based on mood too. For example, if it is a really fun photo and very crisp, I will use an extraction. If I am struck by the beauty of a photo, I will often use blending to enhance the image. If I’m focused on the story behind the photo, I will create a more traditional page.

I think mood plays such a huge role in creating a strong scrapbook page.

Plus experiment! Experiment with techniques, style, and design. I love to just play without any restrictions to see where the images takes me. I think others would be surprised at what they discover and I think they will enjoy the process.

Supplies | Little Shores Kit, Atlantic Kit, 2011 Postmarks, Star Glows Brushes & Stamps, Harmony Grove Kit (Katie Pertiet) • Story Cards no. 3 (Cathy Zielske) • Ripped & Stitched (Lynn Grieveson)

I hope you enjoyed sharing your thoughts, Jana, as we have enjoyed reading them. On behalf of the digital scrapbooking community, thank you and please continue sharing your amazing design talent.

Want more from Jana? View her online digital gallery, visit her blog at Passion 2 Pixels, or check out her latest classes Blending & Beyond, Creative Composites, and Generations at Creative Passion.

About this Interview

Scrapper’s Style interviews are an extension of Scrapper’s Style | the eBook, which helps digital crafters identify their own, unique style and ultimately build better scrapbook pages. With proven strategies for digital scrapbookers, the book offers in-depth tips for linear, layered, and artistic layouts. Check back here every Monday for a new Scrapper’s Style Interview.

About Tiffany

Tiffany Tillman is the Owner of Simply Tiffany Studios, an online resource with tutorials and page-design interviews for digital scrapbookers. She's also a Designer for Pixels & Company and professionally trains digital crafters developing e-learning content.

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