DT contest - The Final Eight!

Wow! Thank you to everyone who submitted to our DT call. We appreciate your efforts and wish we could have chosen everyone! You gave the whole team a headache trying to choose.

We have selected our 8 finalists and they have been challenged to create something new to be revealed next Friday, 16th July. You will all then have the opportunity to vote for your favourite contestant, and then the THREE ladies with the most votes will become new members of our DT!

So let's get to it! Here are the 8 finalists, in no particular order. I've also shared the layouts they each submitted and, although we did not solely base our decision on these, it will give you a peek at their styles:

Finalist #1

Name : Sookie Francisco (Sookie)
Blog : http://totallydoodles.blogspot.com
Bio :

I am Sookie, a Filipina living and working in Singapore for almost 11 years now. I am a mother to two girls whom always makes me see that life is not about the mess they make but how they deal with it later (read as cleaning up). I have been married to a wonderful man who supports me in my endeavors (read as scrapbooking expenses). I am in the IT industry, I administer email and collaboration systems. I love papers and to create things out of them, from my daughters' party invitations and favors, to just trinkets I give to friends.



Finalist #2

Name: Sara Noendeng
Blog: http://saras-scrapping-days.blogspot.com/
Bio: My name is Sara and I am 24. I live in sunny Brisbane, Australia with my husband Nathan and our 2 sons, Jet and Max. I am a Mumma by day and a part time doctor's receptionist by night. I have been scrapbooking for about 6 years and am as addicted as the day I started. I love browsing and sharing inspiration, as there are so many ideas and possibilities out there and you never know what could inspire someone from your work. I wouldn't say that I have a definitive style, as I like to experiment at times and stray away for my 'norm'. I like to experiment with colours and find combinations but do come back to my favourites as well.



Finalist #3

Name: Melissa Wright
Blog address: http://melissasuewright.blogspot.com
Bio: My name is Melissa Wright and I live in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. I have been married for 4 years to my wonderful husband and best friend, and we also have a 4 year old bichon frise. I have been scrapbooking for almost 4 years and love every minute of it!! I love all apsects of scrapbooking especially the fact that I am preserving memories for years to come! On my work I love to use lots of bling, flowers and ribbon/trim. When I am not in my scrap room, you will find me teaching school or in the dance studio, where I also love to create!! I am so honoured and excited to be one of the finalists!!!



Finalist #4

Name: Anna Parker, but you can call me Anna.
Blog: http://mycreations-anna.blogspot.com/
Bio: Hi! My name is Anna I am 22 and a Mummy to Jack aged 1 year. I live in Suffolk, UK with my partner Lee and Jack. I work part time in a Montessori nursery, which I enjoy doing, but my main passion is of course scrapping! I started scrapbooking originally when I was about 14, as my mum and godmother were both eager scrappers. I had a break from it during my GCSE's, Alevels and College Diploma. I got back into it about 3 years ago, shortly after I found out I was pregnant as I new I would want to scrap my pregnancy and of course my baby boy.
Today I love scrapping more than ever, and enjoy the online world of scrapping aswell! I love photography as well and love to create pages using all of the lovely products out there. I look foward to taking part in this challenge!
You can visit my blog here - www.mycreations-anna.blogspot.com



Finalist #5

Name: Michelle Neddo
Blog: http://lifemadecreations.blogspot.com
Bio: Hey there! I'm Michelle and I'm a work at home mom to three amazing boys,
and wife to one fantastic man of 12 years (who also happens to be my high
school sweetheart!). I have been crafty for as long as I can remember, and
created my first "scrapbooks" back in junior high with glue stick,
construction paper, and clips from Seventeen Magazine. Of course, my
scrapbook style has come a long way since those days, but I love that
scrapbooking enables me to live in the moment, document our stories, and
express myself creatively. Scrapbooking also allows me to grow as an artist,
to constantly learn new techniques and work with challenges like those at
The Studio. I am thrilled to have been selected as a finalist for the DT
here! Please visit me at my blog at lifemadecreations.blogspot.com


Finalist #6

Name: Valerie Mangan
Blog: http://paperandcookies.blogspot.com/
Bio: I am a working mom & wife living in coastal NJ, and only 40 minutes from Manhattan. I started scrapbooking when my first child was born in 2003, and have been evolving in the hobby ever since. I feel fortunate that my day job (as an interior designer) is in a creative field where the principals of design, trends, and sometimes even materials, cross over easily and sometimes influence my paper crafts. While making layouts is what started me on this obsession, I love to make cards and mini books, as well. I like to work in a variety of styles but if I had to classify myself, I'd fall into the 'clean, linear & balanced' group. I love to mix patterns – patterned paper is my all-time favorite supply, and I can’t complete a project without my sewing machine. When I'm not scrapbooking, I love to bake, take pictures and read about art, home decoration and graphic design.


Finalist #7

My name is Sue Mylde and I'm thrilled to get this fun opportunity to play with the other finalists!
I love being creative and have always had a need for many creative outlets. Besides my love for scrapbooking, I love writing, photography, knitting, crocheting, acting, sewing, and cooking. I enjoy the privilege of staying home and the ability to grow my creativity every day. I've been married to my high-school sweetheart for more than a decade and we have a four year old with a talent for drama and a weakness for princess dresses.

I just love how scrapbooking helps the stories of those moments captured through photographs shine through, making our ordinary lives, just a little bit special, at least to ourselves. I'm all about the stories but I don't think I could ever live without bling, buttons, flowers or ribbons on my creations. My style evolves constantly. I love trying different things, but I often go for elegance, simplicity, a bit of daring and a lot of fun. I enjoy the social aspects of scrapbooking, and making friends online and in person, teaching and attending classes and crops, and scrappy evenings. My hobby has allowed me to make new and lasting friendships and I feel so blessed to have discovered this wonderful aspect of life.

I currently live in Aberdeen, Scotland but have moved across the oceans to live in Canada, Italy, Hong Kong and even Norway.

I blog at: http://justperspective.blogspot.com


Finalist #8

My name is Marie Johansson, but in the scrap world I´m known as Mison. I´m 36 yo and live with my partner and our two kids (2 and 6 yo) in a small town i the north of Sweden. I´ve been scrapbooking since 2004, but the love for papers, glue and pens go way back... I call my scrap style Punk Chic since I love colours and a lot of decorations. BUT my layouts and card often has a "sofisticated" touch. My blog; http://gulavillanivallen.blogspot.com (it´s in swedish, but there is a translation button)


The challenge that they will be working on is:

Scrap about the bravest thing you have ever done. Have you taken a big risk in your life? Did it pay off? And THEN... make a card from the scraps left over from creating your page!

If you want to play along with this challenge and show your support for our finalists then please feel free to do so. Link us up in the comments here so we can see what you're up to!

Visit us next Friday to see what these talented ladies come up with, and don't forget to come back on Sunday for the latest Studio Challenge and play along for another chance to win that Cosmo Cricket collection!