Let’s Meet a Designer: Graham Like the Cracker’s Jen!

Wow, it’s awkward to interview myself… good thing I like to talk a lot….

What is your name and your Digi-scrap blog address? My name is Jen. My mom named me Jennifer, because she wanted to call me Jenny, like King Arthur called Princess Guinivere, Jenny in that 70’s version of Camelot. But I have NEVER been Jenny. My blinkie explains my last name.

I always thought that Graham was a very common word, and couldn’t be mispronounced. I laughed when I heard my husband say, “No; Graham, like the cracker” when someone pronounced his last name incorrectly. Then I became a Graham…
My digi-scrap blog is https://grahamlikethecracker.blogspot.com.

Tell us a little bit about your family. My husband and I live in Southern California with our almost two year old son Alton. Most of our family lives near by. We are very active in our church, and I drag myself away from scrapping and designing to go to MOPS every other week. Alton is the light of our lives and I can’t imagine life without him!
Tell us a little about you. I am left handed, I bake like an angel, and I am a speed scrap rebel! Oh, and I am slightly obsessed with Twilight. I was even the community leader for a Twilight community for a while. (There are blinkies on my blog if you need some. 🙂 )
What other hobbies do you have besides designing and scrapping? There are others? I used to love to read. But now I scrap instead. Also, I haven’t read anything that has captured my interest as much as Twilight did. I am not going to tell you how many times I have read those books!
How did you get started designing and scrapping? Charmaine (Wyld Web Designs) helped my make my first page at the end of July last year. I joined the Brownie Scraps design training this last March and have been gun ho ever since!
How long have you been designing? I started selling this April.
Which programs do you use to design? I use Photoshop CS4.
Do you draw most of your items with a mouse, hand draw and scan, or do you use your camera? I can’t draw to save my life! I use the shape and pen tools in photoshop to make most of my elements. I occasionally take photographs and extract things, but I don’t like extracting! About 1/3 of my elements are extracted though.
Where does your inspiration usually come from? Would it be bad to say Gymboree and Disneyland? We have annual passes, so we go there A LOT! I love bright colors, so anything that catches my eye gets filed away for later. I have 3 or 4 palettes filed away right now for later use.
How did you pick your design name? I mentioned my husband saying, “Graham; like the Cracker.” I wanted something that was fun and not very common. You might be shocked to hear this, but Jennifer is a very common name. So alas, no Designs by Jen or Jen Graham Designs for me.
Who are your favorite three designers? It fluctuates, but currently Amanda Heimann, Ziggle Designs, and Wyld Web Designs have the most space on my EHD. I got some kits by Britt-ish Designs on NSD that I can wait to try, so I might have a new top three next week. 🙂
What is your favorite part of a kit to design? Papers. I usually make 30+ papers per kit. Extracted elements drive me insane.
What is the weirdest thing you have used as a texture? I am not suppossed to say this, so don’t tell my husband, but I once used my husband’s chest hair…. Shhh!
What is your favorite kit that you have designed? My current newest one is usually my favorite… I am doing one for the So You Think You Can Design Contest over at DigiScrap Addicts… I swear I would marry the kit if I could! (Make sure to keep an eye on my blog… there will be freebies every day as soon as I finish my kit!)
What is your least favorite? My first kit was so awful I think I even deleted it from my blog… OMG! I didn’t know how to use textures and well, the less said about it the better. For the record, Char’s first kit was WAY better than mine.
How do you get started on a kit? Palette first? Rough idea on what you want your papers or elements to look like? I usually have a theme first. Then I start with my papers after I get a palette because most of my elements that I make myself are made with my papers.
How long does it typically take you to make a kit? AGES. For the sake of my marriage I hope I get quicker soon! Making the stuff myself takes FOREVER!
If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be? I know most people say their middle, but even though mine does need changing, I would say my singing voice. I can’t even carry a tune in a bucket. But I have been known to Rock the Itsy Bitsy Spider and I am a Little Teapot.
What is the one word that best describes you? Tenacious.
Who is the most important person in your life? God. I can’t do anything without Him.
What is something that not many people know about you? I used to run track in high school. I was decent and I really enjoyed it. I would run bleachers for fun. Oh to have that kind of energy and stamina these days, not to mention that tushie!
If you could travel anywhere where would you go? Ireland. All of Western Europe really, but if I had to choose, it would be Ireland for sure.
When you were little what did you dream of being when you grew up? I always thought I would be a mommy or a teacher. Now that I am a mommy, I want to be on the Food Network when I grow up.
What do you like doing with your family? Hiking in the local mountains and traveling. I LOVE to travel. (The best place to take pictures for digi-scrapping of course!) Alton and I go to Disneyland once a week for the exercise (I swear!) because we have Disneyland annual passports.
Where is your favorite place to be? With my husband and son. They are the lights of my life.
CU or do it your self? My kits are about 90% “organic”. I make most of my stuff my self, but I will on occasion use a pattern overlay for my papers or a string or ribbon that someone else extracted. I don’t feel like the kit is really mine if I use too much CU.

Edward or Jacob? I will let my blinkies blink for themselves.

Here are three of my favorite complete kits:

This kit is my collab with Charmaine!
and a freebie for you! You deserve it after making your way through this whole post! Click on the preview to download from 4Shared!

And as a thank to you all of you wonderful blog readers, you can get 20% off of anything in Jen’s store. Use coupon code e48899434a. It is good through this weekend.