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!!!

ScrapChat Designs

The first thing Jill said to me was, “I feel like it was just yesterday that we last chatted!” It’s been a year…. But she’s not wrong about how hard she works at being a Spotlight Designer – it’s a LOT of work. A good half of our conversation was business-related, and then she gave me a peek into what REALLY makes her tick… Here’s a transcript of that conversation.

O: Jill! Good to chat with you again. You must be a glutton for punishment! Out of the 45 Designers here at GingerScraps, I think we’ve met more times than anybody else. (Not that I’m complaining!) So let’s talk about GS for a second. What’s the best part of belonging to the GingerScraps family?

J: Oh, where do I start? I love the sense of family at Gingerscraps, both as a designer and as a scrapbooker. I’ve made so many friends along the way, and I love being part of a community where people genuinely share the same excitement for preserving memories and telling their stories. It’s a place where I get to create, scrapbook, laugh, and connect with people who understand why this hobby means so much to us. It’s my scrapbooking home.

O: You’ve just said all the things I think about GS. I’ve mentioned before that I didn’t really *choose* to become part of the GS community, it was assigned to me by the designer I was creating for at the time. But it didn’t take long for it to start feeling like home. But like everything else, it comes with challenges – and I don’t mean the fun kind in the Forum. What do you find to be the biggest challenge to being a digital designer?

J: One of the biggest challenges is creating products that appeal to a wide range of scrapbookers and making sure each kit, regardless of its name, can be used for many different topics. Take my recent collection, Aced It, which was named after my grandson Jace and granddaughter Grace. Jace is starting kindergarten while Grace is in sixth grade, but I feel like the papers and elements can be used for school, birthdays, and plenty of other memories too.

O: You’re so right! This collection will work for a lot of different purposes. Our grands are starting Grades 7, 5 and 3 this fall. Where does the time go? 🙁 Your colour palette here…

J: I tend to gravitate toward primary colors, bright and cheerful palettes, and retro color combinations. I’m not much of a girly girl, and I’ve never been a big fan of pinks and purples. The same holds true in my designs, although I certainly use them when the theme calls for them.

O: Gotcha. I’m kinda the opposite. Variety’s the spice of life, right? Do you feel like your style has evolved over the years?

J: When I started designing, everything was dark-colored and grungy. These days, my style is much cleaner, and I’ve learned to work with a wider variety of color palettes. Although I still rarely work with pinks and purples without complaining! LOL

O: <snorts> Okay, we get it! ScrapChat Designs isn’t a fan of girly stuff! 😀 What does a typical design day look like for you?

J: Wake up and have coffee. That’s about the only thing that is typical in my design life! I often work on the back porch so our 13-year-old Lab, Sunny, can be outside. I’ve also been known to work in airport parking lots while waiting for my boyfriend to land after work. Once I find a creative streak, I completely lose track of time and can sit for hours without getting up. I definitely don’t have a set 8-to-5 schedule, and I often work until 2 a.m.

O: Sounds like me when I’m “digging up bones” – working on my family tree. It’s easy to get into the zone! But I tend to take a chaotic approach to it and often end up going down a rabbit hole I could have ignored. How do you keep yourself organized and on track when you’re working on more than one collection?

J: I don’t, honestly! I tend to compartmentalize projects like Buffet and templates. I usually work from beginning to end on one collection before moving on to the next. There are rare exceptions when another deadline suddenly needs my attention, but for the most part, I’m a one-project-at-a-time designer.

O: I need some kind of discipline. Too bad it doesn’t come in a bottle. 😀 Let’s change the subject here. Are you a prankster? What’s the most memorable prank you’ve ever been part of?

J: One year I served my family including my youngest son “cupcakes” for dinner on April Fools’ Day. They were actually meatloaf with colored mashed potatoes on top. He nearly cried when he saw them because he HATED icing. I never expected a silly prank to upset him so much! Once the truth was revealed, we laughed and ate.

O: Ooh, I did something like that to my kids too! I’d bought a Mrs Smith’s Aussie Pie (chicken pot pie) at Costco and heated it up for supper. Daughter #2 asked what it was, so I told her it was Aussie Pie. “Well, what’s in it?” What do you think is in it? It’s Australian. What do they have a lot of in Australia? She mulled that over for a minute… or five. She pushed it around on her plate and side-eyed me as I calmly put a big forkful in my mouth. She suddenly said, “KANGAROO??” Then she burst into tears. Husband and I were trying so hard not to laugh. I wonder if she remembers? What’s a ptotato chip flavour you’d like to see at a convenience store near you?

J: OLIVE, hands down. Wouldn’t that be amazing? Salt with more salty crunch! YUM!

O: I’ve gotta tell you, my first mental taste wasn’t that… it was olive OIL. Ugh. But now that I’ve thought about it a second, yes… it would be delicious! I’m quite partial to Tayto cheese and onion after I ate my weight of them in Ireland. I was so excited when Lay’s created a very similar version for their World Cup promotion. The halitosis though. Do you have a favourite outfit, one that you’d be okay wearing every day for the rest of your life?

J: Jeans with no zippers, a kinda dressy blouse, no socks, and probably no shoes. Although, since shoes are oddly required sometimes, I’d go with a pair of slip-on flats. I recently realized I’ve turned into my mother in the way I dress, and I’ve decided that’s not a bad thing.

O: I’m with you on all of that except the dressy blouse. For me it would be a medium weight t-shirt with 3/4 length sleeves. I can’t stand full-length sleeves and push them up to my elbows. No socks unless there’s a very good (unavoidable) reason, and Sketchers walking shoes or flip-flops. Perfect! I recently made the mistake of going on a 5K walk with my (very fit police officer) neighbour wearing my flip-flops. I won’t do that again! Although the ice cream was lovely. What’s the most random fact you know?

J: Did you know Walt Disney had an apartment above the fire station at Disneyland? He and his family used it as a place to rest and get away from the crowds, and Walt liked to watch the park guests from the windows.

O: I definitely didn’t know that! I think that’s a good spot to pause and talk about your Spotlight. You’ve already seen this sneak peek for the Daily Download.

Make sure to check out Jill’s two Challenges, her usual Use It All and the Designer Spotlight one. And… drumroll please…

Discover something new for your pages this month! Use code SPOT-SCD-2026 to take 10% off orders of $10 or more at ScrapChat Designs through September 30.

We’re finally getting some rain in the Okanagan Valley. Hallelujah! It’s almost like the weather looked at the calendar and flipped a switch. We went from dry, sunny and 33°C (91°F) to drizzly and 13°C (55°F) in the blink of an eye. I won’t complain though. Wildfires aren’t a good thing. See you next week!