The Best of British Scrapbooking 2007

Since 2004, I’ve been judging The Best of British Scrapbooking, a contest I started in the UK to spotlight new talent. When I began the contest, people wondered if there was really enough talent – and enough scrapbookers – in the UK to support a competition. As the days ticked down closer to the contest deadline, I worried a bit. But I shouldn’t have. There was a huge stack of entries, and my judges and I worked all day to make our selections.

Two of those judges Mary Anne Walters and Shimelle Laine went on to work as Design Team Members for ScrapBook inspirations, a UK magazine. And ScrapBook inspirations went on to host the contest, announcing it, collecting the entries, coming up with the prizes, showcasing the winners.

But I’m still the judge. And choosing a few winners was really hard because the field was so terrific. My “Overall Winner” was Klara Wilson. Her “Reaching 18” page was phenomenal. She put her heart and soul into the layout. I also loved her Grandma Olga page. The use of flowers, patterned paper and stitching was so unusual. There was an economy of words, and yet…she told us a lot about her grandmother.

Over the next months, I’ll share more of the winners’ work. Prepare to be knocked out. I always am!