Welcome back to my weekly Interview Series. Today it is my pleasure to introduce you to a tremendously talented woman I've admired - as mum, scrapbooker and positive influence - for ages! Many already know her, but here you can learn just a little bit more about Elizabeth Dillow. Join me:
What age did you start keeping a journal? I'm the worst journal-keeper in the world—I have a fabulous collection of beautiful blank books, all mostly empty. I was the kid in high school who completed her journaling assignments in English class the night before, all in different pens so it didn't look like I was writing them all the night before. Sigh. As far as keeping a blog, though, I've been consistently at it for six years this March!
Whose diary/journal (dead or alive) would you like to read? My daughter's. But don't worry, I won't.
Who have you suspected of reading your diary? I wrote in a diary for most of my fourth grade year, and I'm pretty sure anyone who picked it up at the time would find it too boring to waste time reading it.
What is your idea of the perfect journal? I love Canson Sketchbooks for jotting down notes about creative things I see or sketches I want to interpret on a scrapbook page, and I love narrow-ruled yellow legal pads for list-making.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse (in speech and/or writing)? "Where is the brush?!?" With three girls in the house, I think I say it 72 times a day.
What quote most speaks to you? "A good photograph tells a story, it reveals a place, an event, a state of mind; it's more powerful than pages and pages of writing." —Isabel Allende, Portrait in Sepia
Who (or what) inspires you? I'm always inspired by spending time in downtowns, exploring the shops and streets; graphic design; my family.
Who is your favourite fictional character? Anne Shirley! Also, Ilana Davita Chandal from Chaim Potok's Davita's Harp.
Who are your favourite writers? Amy Tan, Maeve Binchy, Anna Quindlen, Sandra Dallas, Ivan Doig, L.M. Montgomery, J.K. Rowling, Amy Krouse Rosenthal... to name a few.
Which natural talent would you most like to be gifted with? Organization.
What is your greatest creative talent? Presentation.
What is your greatest creative challenge? Making/finding time to act on all the ideas in my head. I'm good at ideas, not always good at the timely execution of ideas.
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Elizabeth Dillow is a co-founder of Write.Click.Scrapbook., author of The Scrapbooker's Almanac, an occasional author for Ella Publishing Company and an instructor at Big Picture Classes. Her brand loyalty to Apple, Canon, Pilot, and the Cleveland Indians borders on obsessive. She lives in Cheyenne, WY (for the time being) with her husband, Matt, and three daughters: Madeline, Grace, and Bridget.
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In answer to "How Do I Know Lee?": I honestly don't remember how I first became acquainted with Lee, but she is one of the very creative people who live inside my computer who I'm always happy to "see" around! : )
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Up next? My friend Lori Mancini.
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Thank you so much for participating, Elizabeth!