Buzzbee Scraps!

I owe Karen (aka Buzzbee Scraps) a HUGE apology. When I posted Part 1 for October’s Designer Spotlight, I’d indicated that Karen hadn’t been in touch to chat with me. Little did I know she’d been trying to contact me via email for a couple of weeks already at that point, and for some reason, I wasn’t getting her emails. Ginger was acting as our go-between and finally sorted it all out for us so we FINALLY had our visit. I feel just awful that she’s missed HALF of her Spotlight month. I hope we can make up for that…

J: Karen, I can’t explain what happened with my email. Ginger shot me a test this morning and she was able to get one through. Oof. Sorry!! Let’s not waste another minute!! I think I know the answer to this but can you share with us how you arrived at your Designer name?

K: It’s really simple actually. My surname is Busby and I absolutely love bees lol. So I sort of combined the two.

J: I figured it was something like that. I adore bees. Well, all the pollinators… living in an orchard city as I do, they’re a vital part of our economy. So of course I love the logo you created. 😉 What other kinds of things inspire your creativity for new collections?

K: Colours are a big inspiration. I will see a colour combo while out and about (often in nature. I am so inspired my the natural world. Which is why a lot of my kits feature cute, critters)! and that will start my brain working on themes that would work with the colours. Other times it might be a life event that I have recently experienced, such as weddings, birthdays, being with my family, days out and walks in the countryside. Just everyday experiences that I think would need documenting.

J: [Note to readers: Karen puts “u”s in words like Jan does. 😀 ] Well, that’s a lovely segué into asking the favourite-child question… do you have a favourite kit or collection?

K: I think probably my Photographer kit <hyperlinked>. The colours are not what I would normally choose. But I saw them together on a birthday card and loved the combo. The theme came easily as I have always wanted to make a photography kit. Photography is a big hobby of mine and so it was really fun to make. Customers loved it too and that really warmed my heart.

J: LOL! Remember these comments, folks. I actually kinda like this colour palette. I’m not usually a big yellow lover, but right now all the trees are sporting almost that exact shade. The kit is fabulous!! So what does a typical workday look like for you?

K: I get up around 7.30. Have my tea and toast then go for an hour long walk with my rescue dog, Tilly. Then it’s back home to feed and clean out my 4 rescue guinea pigs. After that it’s kettle and computer on for design work until lunch time. After lunch, I will do any errands that are needed and visit my mum. She has early stage Alzheimer’s and I pop in to see her most days. Then I will be back at my PC until 5 ish. Then I walk Tilly again, feed her, sort out the guineas and get dinner started. Dinner is usually around 7.00. On Thursday & Friday I also dog sit little Maggie. So I fit that in too!. Sometimes I will work a bit more on my designs after dinner depending on energy levels. My design work has to fit around everything else. So I often do some over the weekend too. I love it though and I feel so fortunate to be living the life that I do.

J: I’m so not a morning person. Having to be at work by 7 am for day shifts was such a struggle for me. I envy people who can be productive before 10 am! I’m sorry to hear about your mum. Mine is nearly 91 and still as sharp as ever. My sister and brother live with her, so I don’t worry about her (much). Is there anything about your design process that would surprise me?

K: Usually that I don’t use a lot of AI. A few elements may be made with AI. But I try to avoid it. I prefer things to be my own work. All of my patterned papers are made my me. I don’t use AI to generate patterns , make tags or wordart etc. Hopefully, that keeps my designs unique to me. But who knows. Maybe that means that I will get left behind. I’ll take the chance lol.

J: AI isn’t at all intelligent! I do historical research and the amount of garbage being produced by AI when documents are transcribed is ridiculous. I waste a lot of time having to locate and read/transcribe things for myself. It’s kinda funny about Ukraine taking out all the Russian bot farms though. Do you have any specific goals you’ve set for the next year when thinking of your design work?

K: I would really love to be producing more designs. I have so many ideas and not enough time to get it all done. Maybe I will get better at managing my time lol. I just want to keep on creating things that people want to use in their memory keeping. I came to designing late when the market was already flooded with amazing designers. So carving out my little spot is taking time. I am so happy with the feedback that I get from my sweet, customers. It really does spur me on. Hopefully, over the next year, I can get more kits made. So I guess the thing that I would like to accomplish is just “more”!

J: I think you’re doing pretty well, ma’am! If you couldn’t be a Designer, how would you feed your creative needs?

K: As I came to designing later in life. I already had a career in early years childcare. My favourite part of that was being a children’s nanny, where I could use my creativity a lot. I really enjoyed encouraging children to explore their own creativity too. I started my working life as a horse riding instructor though and worked training horses and riders for many years. If I wasn’t designing now, I probably would be a nanny still. Although I have often toyed with going back into the horse world – though not too much creativity there!

J: Kids are great for keeping one on one’s toes. My entire nursing career was in pediatrics… no stinky adults for me! One of my former patients was on our unit for a long time, long enough to make us a chain of origami cranes to brighten up our nursing station. I loved that child so much! Every day was a (virtual) K-Pop dance party in that room. What tune really gets you bopping along?

K: This one is easy. Mr Brightside by The Killers. Here in the UK, it is usually played at any sort of gathering with music. People usually get up and dance to it while screaming the words. love it!

J: I’ll have to YouTube that one. It’s not familiar, but it must be a lot like Sweet Caroline or the Chicken Dance in the reaction it evokes. I really should track down that Hugh Jackman movie about the Neil Diamond impersonator, if only just for the music. Is there a movie you can watch over and over and still love it?

K: This one takes some thought. There are three. Can I have three? They are – In Pursuit Of Happiness, The Lion King (original cartoon) and The Greatest Showman. It depends what sort of mood I’m in. But if you are forcing me to pick one. It has to be In Pursuit of Happiness. it’s so uplifting and a reminder that things can get better. I always cry happy tears at the end lol.

J: I love all three of those… speaking of Hugh Jackman. 😀 Of course you can choose three! But for this last question, you cannot have three. Just one. What one food could you happily eat every day for the rest of your life?

K: Well. I absolutely could not live without chips. So I’ll say that. I mean the french fry kind. I think crisps are called chips in other countries? I mean the ones that you get in fish & chip shops in the UK. (not the small, crunchy things in packets) But I love pub chips, oven chips and homemade chips. So my answer would definitely be chips!

J: YUMMMM! In eastern Canada we have chippers – food trucks that make absolutely sublime chips. With malt vinegar and lots of salt. <stomach rumbles, entering the chat> When I was quite small, for a treat, we got authentic fish and chips – wrapped in newspaper and smelling incredible – for our supper on Friday nights. I judge ALL fish and chips against that memory. <stomach becoming a problem…> I know it’s quite late on your side of the pond, so I’ll wrap this up. As usual, Karen is providing us with a fantastic Daily Download as part of her Spotlight, AND she has a coupon!

As for Challenges, Karen hosts the monthly Photography Challenge 😉 and is co-hosting the Designer Spotlight Challenge for this month.

Make sure you check out her Store!   Buzzbee Scraps

Wetfish Designs

I know you’re all trying to get your Digital Scrapbooking Day activities out of the way, but Cyndi and I hope you have a few minutes to get to know her better. Cyndi is the creative mind behind Wetfish Designs and it’s her turn in the GingerScraps Designer Spotlight. I wasn’t able to fit in an actual coffee date so we chatted by phone.

J: Cyndi! How are you? I’m sorry we have to do this over the phone but my life has been a gong show lately. Let’s start with a softball: If you could describe your design style with just three words, what would they be?

C: The Kitchen Sink (a little bit of everything)

J: Hahahaha! Sometimes that brings the best results. Trying to shoehorn your work into a given shape can be the opposite of creative. Do you have a kit or collection that really makes you proud?

C: My Daily Download kit from last year, Rainbow Bridge. <hyperlink> When I designed that kit I had just lost two of my pets. Every time I see a layout in the gallery with that kit I am reminded of the joy that can come from remembering a love of a pet with boldness and without reservation. It is bursting with color and expression.

J: Pets are family! My two pups are what keep me from sinking some days. Our older one (she’s eleven) has a heart condition, but the vet says it’s stable for now so I’m feeling relieved.  I know I’ll have to use your kit eventually, so thanks for making it cheerful. We know what inspired THIS kit… what inspires you more generally?

C: Home interiors are my go to inspiration for most of my kits. I stay up to date on design trends with Pantone and of course, Pinterest. Anthropologie, Home Goods, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn and similar retailers also give me ideas.

J: Not the answer I was expecting, but being familiar with your work, it makes total sense! What do you find challenging about digital scrapbook designing?

C: I try not to think of things as challenges as much as opportunities. Recently Facebook started charging small businesses to post more than two active links a month. It is way too expensive for me so I’m trying to think out of the box and come up with other ways to reach my customers with my new releases and sales. Ginger had suggested being more active in the forum so that is my goal for this month, to do just that. So the challenge may be Facebook placing limitations on my reach, but the opportunity of using the forum (which I really have not used to date) is the now upon me.

J: As IF Mr Zuckerberg needs more money. <sigh> I used to enjoy Facebook and kept in touch with so many people I don’t see all the time, but now it seems like all it is is ads, sponsored posts and “suggested for you” stuff from accounts I couldn’t care less about. I’ve significantly decreased my interactions there and may let it go altogether. But the GS Forum? That’s great social interaction with like-minded people. I like the way you framed this challenge-vs-opportunity concept though. But let’s move away from the oligarchy and the sad world we live in. If you could live in a fictional universe, what would that look like. (No superheroes needed.)

C: I read a lot, so this one is tough. It is like choosing a favorite child 🙂 I’m currently reading Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhon and really loving it. So today I think I want to live in 16th century Ireland!

J: I know WAY too much about 16th century Ireland to even consider that… 51% of my DNA is from there. My more recent genealogical Irish history is pretty bleak so, no thanks. I love Ireland to my core and would teleport myself to modern-day Ireland in a heartbeat, but I’d never time travel there. Where would you choose to teleport if that was a thing?

C: I would definitely be beaming myself up and over to Scotland! I’ve never been there and it is on my bucket list. I love the moody atmosphere and the breathtaking scenery. When I’m reading I often put ambience videos on my tv and Scottish Highland videos are my favorite!

J: AHA!! The tie-in to your Wild About Styles Challenge that I completely missed! I’m one of those weird people who enjoys bagpipe and tin whistle music, so I may want to join you! I could listen to Celtic Thunder’s Caledonia on repeat. (Don’t tell anybody, but I HAVE! 😉 ) If you had a theme song, what would it be?

C: Goodness of God by Jen Johnson/Bethel Music. This has been the song Apple ranks as my “Anthem” every year when it gives me an overview of my listening habits on iMusic. There are many covers of this song that I also enjoy but this is the version I gravitate towards anytime I need encouragement. It is also probably one of the only worship songs that I can sing by heart without pretending I’m doing karaoke.

J: I’ll have to look that one up. Y’know… for those moments when I need encouragement, instead of grabbing a tub of ice cream and a spoon. I’m all in on Chapman’s Salted Caramel super premium these days. And the scale is complaining. What flavour would you grab?

C: Baskin Robbins’ Jamocha Almond Fudge. All day.

J: I’m having dessert at your house! If we were having a dinner party and you could invite (and have them accept!) any three people – real, living or not – who would they be?

C: This is hard because I think who I pick is very much determined by where my head and heart are at the moment. But today? I want to be in my childhood home at the dining room table with my now deceased mom and dad and my grandfather, Pop. Lots of memories around that table and I miss them all so much.

J: I feel you. Last weekend we scattered my dad’s ashes and it was both draining and comforting. It felt like he was there, just out of sight. I know my mom was feeling him next to her. Anyway, enough of that. One last nosy question… If you weren’t a digital scrapbooking designer, what other creative path do you think you’d take?

C: A writer. I finally started writing the novel I always wanted to write. I took a few months off from that to let it breathe. As the weather turns
colder and I’m inside more I will return to my novel and keep crafting it. I am completely addicted to watching book influencers and YouTube videos about books and writing. I don’t ever see myself as having a YouTube channel or video channel of any kind though!

J: They say we all have a book inside of us. Keep on writing!! Who knows, you could be the next Elsie Silver, with several best-sellers and your own Netflix series in production! Thanks for the chat. Time to get to the practical part of the Spotlight…

There are two Designers in the Spotlight this month; Karen (Buzzbee Scraps) hasn’t chosen so far to be grilled on my spit. But she and Cyndi are both providing a Daily Download kit for all of us. Cyndi‘s sneak peek is below.

Cyndi has a Spotlight coupon code too…

And in addition to her regular monthly Wild about Styles Challenge, she’s also hosting one of the Designer Spotlight Challenges for October. Go check them out!!!