BABYSTYLE tastemaker
DESIGNING WITH DARCY Celebrations Expert and Editorial Director of Martha Stewart Weddings, Darcy Miller Nussbaum is a mommy of all trades. From designing chic fêtes to drawing and scrapping, this DIY doyenne does it all. Interview by Kaitlyn Kirby
BSM: When did you first know you loved to create, craft, and design? Have you always loved to design things? DM: I do not remember an exact time or place where I started crafting, but I think it stems from my mom. She’s my “calligrapher,” and is the handwriting behind all of my projects, including the do-it-yourself scrapbook I published called “Our Wedding Scrapbook.” She inspired my love for scrapbooking after our first family vacation, took me to buy beads when I wanted to sell my own jewelry, and bought me my first sewing machine for my 10th birthday. I even sewed the dress that I wore to my older sister’s Bat-Mitzvah (with my grandmother’s help). I’ve also always loved to draw, and incorporate my illustrations into invitations, favors, cards and décor for celebrations. I guess you could say that creating has always been a part of me. It’s in my genes. BSM: What is a scrapbox? How did you come up with the idea?
DM: A scrapbox is scrapbook meets shadowbox. I had been making scrapbooks for everything from family trips to special occasions since I was a little girl. Then when I began making scrapbooks for my girls, I realized that there were objects that I wanted to hold onto that wouldn’t fit into a book – like their first pair of ballet slippers or egg carton artwork they made at nursery school – but that I didn’t want to throw away or store in a closet. I liked the idea that these objects and mementos could be used in a decorative way, and they now live in our playroom where we can look at them all the time. BSM: What types of things do you put in your scrapboxes? DM: What I love about scrapboxing is that there are no rules or limitations to what you can include, and you don’t have to be a master artist to make these at home. I like to put special objects in the scrapboxes—like a photo of Pippa (my youngest) on the day she was BABYSTYLEMAG.COM