Hi there!

Waving hello from beautiful British Columbia, Canada! My name is Cari Locken and I'm just so thrilled to represent Paper Trunk & be a part of this amazing team. (*you might want to grab a cup of coffee before reading this as I just re-read this & realized i wrote a novel!!!)

As I just mentioned I live in British Columbia, with my husband & our three children. I love being so close to the mountains and ocean and take many, many pictures of this beauty that God has blessed us with!

As a young girl my dad would often take me into art stores and I would be captivated by the colored pens and all the fun paper goodies. Seriously. I could have stayed in those stores for hours. So it's no wonder that this craft got my attention. In 1997 I saw a friends' scrapbook and I fell in love with the idea (even though I'd kept scrapbooks as a kid this just seemed different to me). It was a way for me to really be creative and use color to my heart's content!)

After my daughter was born that was when my love for scrapbooking really grabbed me. I can honestly say that I was bit by the bug. This hobby has become a way for me to share my thoughts & feelings, my love of photography and my love of my family. I enjoy scrapbooking the everyday moments, the times that my children might not remember in a few years. I love creating all sorts of projects from layouts, cards, altered home decor to mini albums.

I'm not sure that I really have a favorite technique but I do love using my border punches, ribbons and flowers. I find that my style is colorful, linear in design (I really can't do angles very well! LOL!), and I love adding fun little elements to my layouts here & there.

I enjoy teaching classes & have been keeping busy teaching at events, retreats and local scrapbooking stores in my area. I am so blessed by the many friendships that I have made through this "hobby" and the many opportunities that it has brought into my life.

This is a mini album ("Summer Life") that I made of some favorite summer photos using the Socialite collection and taught last year at BC's Crop For Kids.

and one of the inside pages.

This is another class that I've taught at a retreat using the Maybe Baby collection.

I do have another love besides scrapbooking (and photography) ... I know what you're thinking. What? She does?! Yes, I do. It's music and in particular playing the piano. I started playing when I was 5 and loved it! I studied music at university and graduated with a Masters in Music (Piano Performance). There's just something about when I play that takes away all of my worries and cares. I feel so relaxed and rejuvenated. It's a way for me to unwind and just be at peace. Growing up in a Christian family (and having a dad as a pastor) brought me many opportunities to play the piano in church. I've played & led worship teams for the past 20+ years and I love it. I love all sorts of music - don't really have a favorite.

I started running in November 2008. After saying that I wanted to start my husband came home one day and said that he'd signed me up for a class at the Running Room. I must have said it so many times that he finally wanted to see me do something about it!! LOL! (he ran a 1/2 marathon years ago and he just kept encouraging me). Anyways, I really enjoyed it and was preparing for a 1/2 marathon last fall but in last August had a bit of trouble with my knee and just took it easy for a while. Now I'm kicking myself that I took so much time off and now I've been trying to get back into it again. It's hard to get going again but it's such a great feeling after a run.

Before I close here I just wanted to share with you a few more projects that I've made with Paper Trunk products.

Another mini album ("So Thankful") using the Wrangler collection.

Some inside pages.

And this little project is a folder/box with some cards inside using the same collection.

And some layouts using the Krafty collection and bits of Maybe Baby.

Thanks for taking time to read this and I hope you have an enjoyable day!