Im a Filipina, she's a Filipina!
Valerie Jean-Marie Louise Barredo Salmon was born in Manila and spent her childhood here. In 1982, her family (along with their yaya) migrated to California , USA . It was in California where she spent most of her adult life. She carved a career for herself as a footwear designer, met and married her husband and had her first baby, a girl named Lauren who is now 6 years old. Two years after Lauren, Valerie gave birth to Ian (future heartbreaker as she likes to refer to him!). She moved to Carmel , Indiana in December 2002 to relocate for her husband's job. Valerie is married for 11 years now and is a stay at home mom to her 2 beautiful kids. Lauren and Ian are her favorite scrapbook and photography subjects. In fact, Lauren is turning out to be quite a stunner at a young age. She has all the makings of being a model (just like her mom!).

Valerie's ethnicity is a mixture of Filipino, Chinese and Spanish descent. She also comes from a family of prominent artists. Some famous Barredos from her dad's side include Repertory Philippines icon Baby Barredo and uncle Gabriel “Gabby” Barredo the sculptor. There's also Maniya “Honey” Barredo the first Filipino prima ballerina in the world, cousin Maya Barredo who played Kim the U.K. production of Miss Saigon and was recently part of the cast of Lion King, AND the original Kim - Ms. Lea Salonga who is Valerie's aunt! It's no wonder then where she gets her artistic genes.

Unfortunately though, there is no one else in her family that she is aware of who scrapbooks. But that may change pretty soon. Her daughter Lauren has developed quite an interest in the craft and often scraps right by her side in her scrap studio.

Most of her father's side of the family still live in Manila . The last time Valerie visited Manila was back in 1999. Sadly though, Valerie has no immediate plans to visit Manila any time soon.

Valerie does admit that what she misses most about the Philippines are having domestic help and of course, the FOOD. Growing up in South San Francisco helped alleviate the food cravings since Filipino food was always
readily available there. But she has never missed the food more than ever after moving to Indiana.



How she scrapbooks: (in her own words)
Sometimes, I feel like I don't really have a distinct style. Do I? It is still changing. Although I wish I was, I am not a simple and fast scrapper by any means. My style is artistic, creative, and fun. Creating a good mix of patterned paper combinations and using a variety of products (even from different lines) are what I consider my strong points. I strive to have great photos (still improving) and meaningful, beyond-the-who-what
where-when journaling in my pages.

I also love to add dimension to my pages by adding just the right amount of an assortment of embellishments (or I make my own) and texture. I am crazy about ribbon. I also love chipboard, rub-ons, and flowers. Each and every project I create is given tremendous importance, regardless of size or purpose, with even the smallest detail thought through.

I am still constantly improving my journaling. After all, this is what my children and future generations will be reading. I want them to know ME, my thoughts, what meant to me, including ordinary things that occurred. The one thing that I decided on recently for my pages is the importance of handwritten journaling.

I've always known it was important but the ease of computer journaling always seemed more convenient, easier to correct & tailor to fit your pages, and it's neater in appearance. I'd like to design more of my pages using my own hand-journaling.

The process of creating a layout (in her own words)There really isn't a fixed formula that I follow when I get started with a layout. It most definitely starts with the photos. I usually have the best outcome when I scrap photos I am excited about (such as my kids) and use products I am excited about.

In normal circumstances, the photos dictate my paper and embellishment choices. I shuffle papers around quite a bit until I am happy with their positioning. If the design doesn't come to me right away, I will go back to it the next day (if time permits). It's amazing how differently you see things with the same pair of eyes but on another day.
At times, I will start with the journaling and everything else will fall into place. That's it. No magic formula. No sketching out. Just plain ol' hope-for-the-best & we-shall-see-outcome.

My notes:

• My apologies if I sound like a "fan." Im not denying am one! :)
• Btw, she recently won the PaperCrafts Idol Challenge for her awesome cards!
  

A link to her site.