Designer Spotlight with Paige Evans: Madeline Fox

Happy Wednesday! This is Paige Evans and today I’m pleased to introduce our spotlight – Madeline Fox.

Name: Madeline Fox
Location: River Ridge, Louisiana
Blog: Paper Gumbo
Instagram: @madelineafox
Pinterest: @madeline
Facebook: madeline.a.fox

What do you love about scrapbooking? I could say it’s all about preserving memories, but that wouldn’t be entirely truthful. While I love that part of the hobby, even more important to me is the ability to let loose my creativity and play. There’s no better way to relax. It’s really pretty cool that I can tell my family’s stories through art.

Favorite thing to scrap: Travel and beach vacations, family occasions, and swim team memories are always favorite subjects. But now with the acquisition of an iPhone, I find I’m taking more and more photos of those everyday moments and enjoy documenting them as well. I also have fun going back and scrapbooking family heritage photos and those of my own family’s pre-scrapbooking years. Seriously, there’s no such thing as being “caught up”!

Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started scrapbooking: Married for 37 years, I live in the suburbs of New Orleans with my husband and four of our kids. We have a pretty spread out family, 5 children, ranging in age from 15 to 34. Yes, one has flown the coop, but I still can’t fathom the notion of an empty nest after living in this craziness for so long! Art and drawing have been passions of mine since I was a little girl sketching horses. Through the years I’ve dabbled in various handi-crafts: sewing, quilting, smocking, cross-stitching, hardanger embroidery, decorative painting, furniture refinishing, etc. I obviously have to be doing something all the time! Finally, I discovered scrapbooking when my sister lent me an idea book after my last child was born. My first page was created with cardstock and colored pencils while sitting on the floor. Once I discovered patterned paper, there was no looking back. And embellishments… don’t get me started! I finally bought a desk for them a few years ago. 😉

5 fun facts about yourself:
1. In first grade I won an art contest by drawing a picture of my school. When I was called to the office later that month, everyone thought it was to receive my prize. It was actually to pick up my lunch, which I had forgotten at home!
2. I love apocalyptic sci-fi and scary, creepy movies and TV shows… even if they do freak me out a bit.
3. Mmmm… I love the smell of chlorine! My youngest is an avid swimmer, my oldest was a collegiate swimmer, and I loved to swim myself.
4. I enjoy reading, have rediscovered the library, and, as with scrapbooking, much prefer paper over digital.
5. I never walk around barefoot, even in the house. I’ll put on flip-flops when walking to the bathroom in the middle of the night!

Here is the lovely layout Madeline made for her feature:

BEST ADVICE EVER by Madeline Fox

When creating a scrapbook page, the photo itself is usually a major guide to my process, determining both color and embellishment. In this case, although purple, green, and gold are your typical Mardi Gras colors, I didn’t want to overwhelm the photo. Instead I chose to go with the subtler, lighter shades of pink and lavender, mint, yellow, and gold. From the start I knew I wanted feathers on this page. My sister’s headpiece sports several wispy feathers, and feathers are a mainstay in the Mardi Gras Indian costumes and masks seen throughout carnival. Using a few feather images as a guide, I hand cut their basic shapes, snipped away along each side, and creased the centers to give them a nice dimension. Perfect!

And here are four more of Madeline’s favorite layouts in her awesome signature style:

CHERISH by Madeline Fox

There it is… white space! I usually have a hard time leaving it alone, but it suits this page perfectly. With the bold red and black papers, stickers, and embellishments, I felt it was good to have a place to rest the eye. The die-cut leaf clusters add a little something to soften the space, and an old authentic bottle cap pulls it all together.

LET YOUR LIFE BE LOUD! by Madeline Fox

I enjoy making my own embellishments and this colorful bunting is a favorite. I love its casualness, the loose twine sporting stamped kraft tags and banner pieces both large and small. I’m also fond of the patterned paper background with a small light print which almost reads as a solid. Such papers are my go-to in place of cardstock.

PANCAKE BREAKFAST by Madeline Fox

When I do use a cardstock base, I like to “do” something to it. The white background of this grid-design page was first treated to light washes of watercolor. On top, bright papers, colorful chipboard letters and candy-like enamel dots set the tone for a celebration. Aren’t the tiny dots perfect as gumballs? I love the sticker that says “Let them eat cake.” Pancakes, of course!

SHAVE PARTY by Madeline Fox

There are several of my favorites on this page… background splattering, paper layering, a mixed font title, hand-stitching, and a homemade embellishment, the paper airplane. Sometimes I’m having so much fun, it’s hard to know when to stop. This layout sat on an easel for a couple of days before I decided to add the enamel dots and burlap stars. Quick… put it in an album, before I do something else to it!

Thanks for joining us today and letting me feature you Madeline! I’ll be back next Wednesday with another talented artist!