ACU’s, Running Shoes, and Crazy Glue

I have been sitting in front of my computer screen for the past 40 minutes, contemplating on how to begin an article about myself. Normally I do not have such a hard time talking about a topic, but when it comes to defining me, I draw a blank. It’s not that there isn’t much to say about me, because truthfully, if you compared me to a book, I would be an entire series of novels. Yet if you were to sit and talk to me life, you would find that I would speak a lot about myself; my son, my husband, my passions, and my dislikes. So I have done something unusual in telling you about what makes me tick; I have interviewed myself.

As she walks into the small café, she orders a frozen coffee drink, makes casual small talk with the barista, and looks down to realize she has a cheerio stuck to her shirt. Any other person would turn red and make an excuse, but this must be a normal occurrence as she casually picks it off and throws it away. From the outside, Brianne Nevill may seem the typical Mom, but in speaking with her, you realize there are many layers to this funny, girl-next-door from Michigan.

BN: I see here that you were born and raised in Michigan but are now living in Oklahoma. Those seem like two very different states. How did that move come about?

Brianne: Well, that is actually a pretty crazy story. 7 years ago I actually met my husband on an online game. We spoke over the computer for 2 years before meeting in person. That first meeting was amazing and within 3 months I had packed up my life in Michigan and moved to Florida where he was stationed at the time. We moved to Texas when I was 6 months pregnant with our son, Matthew, and then moved to Oklahoma when our son was barely 2 months old.

BN: Wow! That must have been insane! How do you cope with the military life? Has your husband ever been stationed overseas?

Brianne: You don’t really “cope” with the military life (this said as she throws her head back to laugh). You either live it or you don’t. It was never really a choice for me because of the love I had for my husband. I would pretty much follow him to the ends of the earth. He is currently stationed overseas in Korea. He will return again next March.

BN: So you are home all day with a three year old?!

Brianne: (laughing) I wish I could be home all day. Right now it’s just not possible for me not to work. I currently work full-time outside the home as a loan processor for one of the largest banks in Oklahoma. I have actually been in this line of work for a little over 10 years. I would love to be a stay-at-home Mom. It may be possible in the future but right now we are doing what we have to do to get by.

BN: That is admirable. So you are a full-time Mom, a full-time loan processor, a scrapbooker, and also a writer. How do you balance your time?

Brianne: As soon as I figure that one out, I will let you know. Right now, life is sort of a “fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants” strategy. With Rich being gone, I don’t get much time to myself and the only way I keep it all straight is with my trusty planner and a lot of sticky notes. I am Mommy before work and after work until bedtime, loan processor for 9 hours out of the day, and a scrapbooker and writer before bed and sometimes on the weekends. Life won’t always be this crazy. When Rich is home it seems to be a much slower pace and I can actually breathe. I can’t WAIT to breathe again (again she says laughing).

BN: It makes me tired just thinking about your day! I have seen your work and am amazed that with only that little time you are able to come up with such dynamic layouts. You seem to just “tell it how it is”, never really avoiding any topic and always making your journaling visible. Is there anything you won’t scrapbook about?

Brianne: Actually, no. My life is pretty much an open book. I like to document our good days and our bad days, our challenges and our triumphs. There will always be documentation for our children and our children’s children that life was never just easy and happy. Life is about learning but loving the process and that is how I scrapbook.

BN: I can totally see that! Your pages are all so colorful and the themes are always different. Where you draw your inspiration from?

Brianne: I truly draw inspiration from everything around me; magazines, art, photos, music, movies, labels for just about any product, and my son. He has such a fresh outlook on the world and there are MANY layouts that were based on something he said or made. He comes up with the most amazing things! I also keep a sketch book with me at all times. I cut out pages from magazines, jot down layout ideas and then sketch them out, and write out full journaling in it. It is ALWAYS with me.

BN: Do you have a favorite layout?

Brianne: That would have to be my “Forever Neverland” layout about my son’s footie pajamas. It came together so quickly for me and I love the memory of him in those cute pajamas.

BN: In your writing, both in your layouts and your column for ScrapStreet.com “Going Places” you tend to speak directly to your readers. Is there a reason for this?

Brianne: You noticed that? (At this point, Brianne blushes and pauses for a minute before answering). In my layouts, when I am writing I always think of it as speaking to someone about my life, whether it be a family member or a friend. As far as my column goes it is a little bit deeper. The night I accepted the position for this amazing magazine I had a dream. There were so many other girls that tried out for this same position and they didn’t make it. Every single one of them had a spot in my dream and it made a huge impact on my outlook for my column. I am no better than anyone else at what we do but I do have a lot to say. I was completely honored to accept the position but I have never wanted to make it seem like I was talking down to people when I told them about an idea I had. The best way I can make that work for me and my writing is to speak to my readers instead of instructing.

BN: That makes complete sense. So tell me, who is the real Brianne? The Mom? The scrapbooker? The writer? What makes that woman tick?

Brianne: You know, honestly, all and none. Every single one of those positions are all amazing in their own right, but none actually define who I am. I love being creative. Any position that allows me to express my creativity is a hat I am happy to wear. I am also a huge dork. I love science fiction and chick flicks. I love working on my husband’s Jeep with him but also dressing up girly. I will play monster trucks with my son, play a video game, read a vampire novel, and then take a bubble bath, sometimes all in one day. Sometimes I still wonder who I am and what I will be in the future. I have complete faith that God will make it known to me when the time is right. Right now I am completely content in taking life one day at a time.

BN: Thank you so much for speaking with me today, Brianne. I look forward to seeing what you come up with on your future layouts.

Brianne: You are so welcome!

Below, Brianne has graciously given us two completely new layout to enjoy, as well as a peek into her sanctuary; her scrap room. You can find more from Brianne in her monthly column “Crossroad’s Café” in ScrapStreet.com “Going Places”.

Woman in the Mirror by Brianne Nevill

Supplies: Papers: Pink Paislee, Sassafras Lass, Glitz Designs, Scenic Route, KI Memories, Basic Grey, Rub-Ons: Pink Paisley, American Crafts, Stickers: American Crafts, BasicGrey, Bling: Prima Marketing, Felt, Pen: American Crafts, Ink: Clearsnap, Fonts: Ali’s Writing, Fluid (both Creating Keepsakes), Corbel.

Design Notes: This is one layout I sketched out completely first; down to the very last measurement. The subject was a hard one for me to write about and share opening but I need to be able to face it before I can move on.

Journaling: This line from Michael Jackson’s song, “Man in the Mirror” struck a chord with me recently. Lately my life has felt “murky”; like I am wading through the same issue that have stemmed from me being, well, me. As I was running, this song came up on my playlist and I instantly knew what I had to do; change. Anthony Robbins once said, “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten” and this fits my life pretty perfectly; the same person doing the same thing over and over again, the same way. I need to stop letting all my happiness rest on the approval or praise of others. I need to gain control of my own happiness and find contentment in my own personal successes and learn from my own failures. I need to face what my friend Julie refers to as my, “Daddy Issues”. I have spent so much time focusing on trying to please or impress others that I have failed to be true to myself. It’s time to face the woman in the mirror and make that change for myself.

He’s going the distance by Brianne Nevill

Supplies: Papers: G.C.D. Studios, Doodlebug Design, KI Memories, Luxe Designs, Stickers, Rub-Ons: Doodlebug Design, Ink: Clearsnap, Other: buttons.

Design Notes: I created the look in the photos by adding a duplicate layer to my photos in PSE 5.0. I converted the new layer to black and white and then erased the bike in each photo on the black and white layer. The effect is the red from the tricycle popping out from the background layer.

Notes: These are photos of my two workstations. The first is of my scrap desk on any given day and the second is of my “command station” or my computer area.