Meet Melanie Douthit

We are excited to have Melanie Douthit with us this month! Make sure to welcome her by leaving a comment and be entered in her "Favorite Things Giveaway!"

Hello! I’m Melanie Douthit and I’m so excited to be the guest designer for Emma’s Paperie. In case you are wondering – my last name rhymes with “south-it”. That’s easy to remember because I live in the south. (Corney, I know, but it works.) I live in Northeast Louisiana with my ever-so-patient husband and most of my photography subjects, my two children. I’m a work-at-home mom and artist. Several years ago I was selling art on the internet and got started paper crafting quite by accident. A lady formerly from my area saw my work on the internet and thought that she knew me and contacted me. She happened to be a scrapbooker coming to the area for a convention, so, even though we didn’t know each other, she invited me to the convention. I went because I wanted to learn this craft so I could teach my daughter. That was in 2004. I was hooked.

Scrapbooking has made me become more aware of the importance of documenting things, and especially the photography side. I take photos of everything now. It’s also become a different outlet for my creative instincts. Besides painting, I used to cross-stitch and sew. I love how all these other crafts can come together in paper crafts. Since my beginning days, I’ve fallen in love with cardmaking, stamping and so many other techniques. I’m fortunate to have had my projects published in several popular paper craft magazines and have worked for several manufacturers.

I have to be honest here. When I was asked to show images of my scrap space – I was totally intimidated. I have seen some amazing spaces shared here. My scrap space is a small room at the back of our home. It’s the size of a small sunroom or small dining area. There are tons of windows, but absolutely no closets. There is one wall, and the rest is either doors or windows. Last year my husband went to Dallas and I asked him if he would bring back some Ikea shelving. He did and that has helped my space tremendously.

I have a five foot table one one wall, the shelves on the longest wall, and a sewing table in another corner. I have iris carts under my table along with 12x12 plastic storage bins. The bins hold my patterned paper, and the iris carts hold my paints, stamps and ribbon.

My bargain find is a shelf unit with six orange baskets. It was on clearance for about $3.00! I have more ribbon in the baskets sorted by color family. I mounted it on the wall above my sewing machine. My computer desk is on the opposite wall from the shelves, and I have one paper rack for cardstock next to my desk. I love the natural light I have in my studio during the day. I can hear and see the birds directly outside the window where I do most of my creating.

My daughter (the one who I originally wanted to learn this craft for) is now in elementary school and loves paper crafts. Her favorite at the moment and stamping and coloring the images with markers. I recently cleaned out my stash and she found a set of Dora rub ons. She asked me how to use them, and she is now a pro.

You can see more of my work on my blog at www.melaniedouthit.blogspot.com. I’d love for you to stop by. I try to update my blog at least twice a week. Again, I’m so thrilled that Cindy asked me to be the guest for this month. Thanks, Cindy!

Check out Melanie's Favorite Things! Leave a comment on this thread for a chance to win these fabulous goodies! Winner will be picked by a random number generator and announced on July 16th.

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