November Feature Designer: Blue Heart Scraps!

November 23, 2013 by

feature designer

Happy Saturday everyone! It’s been a while since we met and I’m happy to bring to you November’s Feature Designer, JoyLynn of Blue Heart Scraps.

I may be a bit bias because I’ve been a part of JoyLynn’s team in the past, but she is totally rad. One thing I love about Blue Heart Scraps is the ‘paper’ style to her designing. It one of my favorite ways to scrap, but enough about me and what I like, let’s talk about JoyLynn!

What is your design process?

It varies from kit to kit. Most times, I start with a general idea of what theme I want to go with and then try to find colors and create elements that fit my idea of that theme. Other times, I run across colors or pictures (either online or in real life) that I just can’t stop loving on, and try to build something from them.

What do you use to create your designs?

Photoshop CS 5, Adobe Illustrator (though no where near as much as I wish I could!), my Wacom Tablet, and every once in a while, I’ll remember that I have a copy of ArtRage I can open up. 😉

Describe your work space

Messy, it’s horribly disorganized!  So, lately I’ve been taking over the living room recliner and side table (to hold my mouse and tablet), until my husband gets his portion of the computer desk figured out.

What motivates you as a designer?

Seeing the beautiful pages created with my products and knowing that I had a hand in helping someone create a lasting memory.

While it’s always fun to hear about designers designing, it’s more fun to hear about the fun tidbits totally unrelated to designing! With that said,

What is the last book you read?

Last book completed was Emma’s Secret by Steena Holmes. Currently reading Fallen by Lauren Kate.

Tea or Coffee?

Tea, please…especially if you’re making a Starbucks run. Then I’ll have a venti, soy, no water chai with an extra pump of chai, please. Yum!

Can’t say I agree with JL on the chai bit (though I know MANY who LOVE chai!) but I totally love tea, just give me a strong black with a splash of milk and I am one happy scrapper.

Do you craft outside of the digital world?

I can cut and paste some crafts with my kids…does that count? 😉

Totally counts.

Any hobbies in addition to designing?

Reading, catching up on older seasons of TV shows (I’m currently flying through Glee. It’s really not that bad if you fast forward through most of the singing, LOL) and video games…because sometimes, I just need to lose myself in something mind-numbing.

I definitely know reading is a hobby, especially since you are one of the fearless leaders of the GingerScraps book club. I love to read too, but haven’t given myself the time to do so in too long, sadly.

Show us YOU in one shot!

My youngest child is a snuggler…so most nights you’ll find me just like this;

How do you feed your sweet tooth?

Lately, it’s been this yummy goodness!

(and because I was forced to take that picture, I totally had to eat one now, LOL)

Seems like as good of an excuse as any!

What is the most used app on your phone?

Besides Facebook? Probably Plants Vs. Zombies 2…but I blame it all on my boys (which is a lie, I barely let them play it on my phone, and when they do it has to be on their own name…not letting them get ahead of me on MY game, LOL)

What is your *favorite* kit that you’ve designed?

Let’s Get Reel! My family and I are HUGE movie fans. Because our boys are young, we don’t always get to the theatre as often as we like…but family movie/tv nights happen quite often around here!

What is your favorite thing about GingerScraps.net?

The atmosphere. Everyone is so sweet and friendly and supportive. It’s one of the nicest places I’ve been a part of online.

Truth! It really is a very friendly, supportive place! We’ve got a great group of people and new scrappers (AND designers) regularly join us here, growing our community.

Last but not least, with Thanksgiving coming this week everyone is focusing on what they are thankful for, so it is only right that I ask you, what are YOU most thankful for?

What am I most thankful for? The chance to be ME. I have an incredible family who love me regardless (even though I disappoint them often), two of the most precious boys the world has ever been blessed with (who have taught me more about compassion and acceptance and unconditional love than I have EVER thought possible), lifelong friends who make me laugh so hard I cry and then cry until I laugh (and have offered such a selfless dose of support and understanding this past year). Life isn’t always easy and happy and filled with sunshine and rainbows and unicorns who poop lollipops – but I am so ridiculously blessed!

I love your honesty and colourful descriptions, and I have to agree with you; life isn’t always sunshine and lollipops but the people that support and love us truly are a blessing and help us through!

Thank you JoyLynn, for letting us get to know you (as a designer AND as a wife, mother and just your regular rad chick).  Make sure you follow her on Facebook for up to date news, fun and freebies! Also, check out Blue Heart Scraps blog if you don’t have Facebook, or even if you do because you never know what kind of goodness she’ll have to share with you!

Because JoyLynn is our rockin’ Feature Designer for the month of November, she’s supplied us with some rockin’ coupons.

Check out all her awesome designers, RIGHT HERE! Coupons expire on November 30th (good through the day) so definitely take advantage! One time use per customer per coupon, use one or use them all but don’t let them waste away. 🙂

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’d like to know what YOU’RE thankful for!

So please, leave a comment below letting me know what it is that fills you with gratitude and be entered into a random drawing for YOUR CHOICE* of a Blue Heart Scraps kit  (*no bundles or collabs.) ! Comments will close on November 30th and a winner will be contacted 5PM CST November 30th(so make sure to include your email!)!

Me? I’m thankful for a community of scrappers that has given me best friends, inspirations and opened my eyes to a whole new way to get creative!

 

 

 

Filed Under: Product/Designer Spotlight Tagged With: , ,

Inside the Designer Studio: Meet the Designers

June 9, 2012 by

It’s Saturday! Happy weekend to you all!

I’m here to introduce you to our three featured designers this month. Our guest designer, May of Siamese Studio. The lovely Jennifer of Luv Ewe Designs has created our Daily Download for the month of June. Last but not least,  Amy of Unforgettable Moments put together a beautiful free-with-purchase kit for us.

Here is a little bit more about each of these fantastic women:

 Hi, my name is May. I live with my hubby of eight years in Bangkok, Thailand. We have one daughter, Janice. I could say that Janice is the one who introduced me to digital scrapbooking. I was pregnant at that time, and was reading other mom’s blog post. Then I saw a layout using some digital scrapbook stuff. It was so pretty! At the same time, I also heard people talking about “scrapbook” and was wondering what is it all about. So I did some search and found lots of digital scrapbook kits. I became a freebie hunter first, then joined a contest at a digital scrapbook store. That was the first time I’ve scrapped so many pages and fell in love with digital scrapbooking since then. After being only a scrapper for almost a year, I started to design and now it is my second love, besides of writing. I’ve been designing for almost four years already. I also love to cook and bake, but I could never get a successful result when baking a sponge cake. My new addiction is Paper Scrapping! I’d never ever did any physical layouts but I would love to try one day.

 

 Hey everybody! This is Luv Ewe Designs! My real name is Jennifer. You can call me Jenn or Jennifer, just not Jenny. I am one of the hundred Jenns among the designers here! lol I live in Missouri. I married my husband on a beach in Jamaica 6 years ago. I have three boys and four step kids. I also have 6 indoor cats. We have a big house with room for everyone! So I have lost track of how long I have been designing. I think it has been about five years now. I actually started designing before I scrapped, which sounds weird. I love looking through galleries at everyone’s craftiness. So much inspiration there!

 

 I am Amy Peck of Unforgettable Moments. My family and I  live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest just south of Portland, Oregon. We have two little boys Nolan who just turned five, and Ian who will soon be three. We are also helping raise our little nephew who we took into our home. He is the same age as our youngest. We have a busy household with three little boys running around. I am in love with photography and enjoy learning my camera and equipment and taking pictures when I can. I am four credits away from earning my masters degree in education.  I worked about 10 years in the early childhood education field before my first child was born, and when I became a mom I became a stay at home mom. [Aside from designing]  My first digi-love is to scrap, and record all of our families unforgettable moments! I love working with my scrap software so much that I was given the privilege of naming my father-in-law’s cat and I named her Adobe!

 

 

Thank you ladies, for taking time of your busy busyness to introduce yourselves! But…that’s not all! We always want to know more- at least I do! 😉 So, I am going to put it to you, our readers, to ask the designers what YOU want to know!  Check out this thread in our forum, and post your question!  Next week Saturday we’ll find out just what we want to know! 🙂

Have a scrap happy Saturday!

 

Filed Under: Product/Designer Spotlight Tagged With: , , ,

The Dish: With GingerScraps- Serving up… Misty O’ Brien

October 9, 2010 by

Hello my fellow lovers of digi scrap!  Can you believe all the amazing things we have going on at GingerScraps?  It has been a thrilling ride this last few months. And we have so many more fun things planned for Oct! One little hint…. a costume contest…. and a HUGE prize!

And one other secret…. we are having THE COOLEST item that will be available Sunday only- You will not want to miss it! A 24 hour deal that will blow your socks off!

And now I would like to tell you what I am doing here today- Some of you might remember a long long time ago on my first GingerScraps blog I used to do a Friday Feature. It was something I very much enjoyed! So when we recently had an opening on this site blog, a light bulb went off…. I am going to do a weekly post *every Saturday* with “The Dish”. My posts will be interviews, recipes, tips, maybe a tutorial here and there. I hope you enjoy it!

This weeks “The Dish” I decided I wanted to do an interview with our Oct. guest designer Misty O’Brien!!

You can check out Misty’s Facebook Fan Page,  Twitter, blog, and sign up for my newsletter for contests, coupons, and the latest info.

She has a few fun new goodies in the shop- and more will be coming throughout the month as well!

Ginger: Hi Misty, I am so happy to have you as our first ever guest designer! I have missed you my friend! Why don’t we start by you telling everyone a little bit about yourself.

Misty: Hi Ginger, and all you out there in digi land 🙂 Ok, a little about me-  I’m from the Pacific Northwest, and I am a stay at home mom to two boys, Ian age 4 and Aidan age 2. I have been married to my husband Dan for 5 years but we’ve been going to school together since the first grade. I love digital scrapping and designing. I was just offered a position to write the digital scrapbooking column for the Examiner for my local area, so look for that soon! In our family’s free time, we love to geocache, head to the park, and play games. In MY spare time, I enjoy reading, cooking, baking, and being as crafty as possible.

Ginger: Wow that is so awesome!! You will have to link us up when your column hits the newsstands! And thank you for introducing me to geocaching! My kiddos and I totally love it. 🙂 Since it is October.. and I have costumes on the brain… Tell us- What’s your favorite Halloween costume you’ve ever worn?

Misty: When I was 16, my mom made me Dorothy’s dress from the Wizard of Oz. She even glued red glitter to a pair of pumps for “Ruby” slippers. I worked at a pizza shop and we all dressed up Halloween night.

Ginger: Oh my goodness that is so cute! There’s no place like home.. or the Pizza Shop 🙂 haha. What are you going to dress up like this Halloween?

Misty: I’m lame and only bought a funky black and pink wig. Since having kids, I haven’t dressed up in years.

Ginger: Well a tip of the hat to you my lady……. or should I say A tip of the wig to you. I actually wore a funky blue 80’s -ish wig last year as my “costume”. This year.. I have a t-shirt, it says “Bite Me” and it glows in the dark… wow I went all out huh. lol. What is you favorite candy? And do you steal your childrens Halloween – trick or treating candy?

Misty: I love Reese’s Peanut Butter anything and my most favorite is Dark Chocolate. I always steal my kids’ candy, although this year, I think I’ll actually let them eat some of it!

Ginger: Ohhhhh You HAVE to try the new dark chocolate Reeses! When I saw that commercial I was like… Reeses, Have you been reading my diary!? It was spooky!! haha So speaking of spooky…… Do you believe in ghosts?

Misty: Maybe,  I’m sort of a fence sitter. Once, I went into a vacant house on the market, and the energy just felt thick, suffocating, and I broke out in goosebumps. I felt sick and had to get out of there ASAP.

Ginger: Freaky! Have you ever been hypnotized?

Misty: No, and I would LOVE to try hypnosis.

Ginger: Now a few random questions- What is the one thing that makes you happy despite any mood?

Misty: Chocolate Milkshakes

Ginger: Nice! haha. Name a television character that you simply adore?

Misty: Phil Dunphy from Modern Family.

Ginger: What is the best vacation you’ve ever had in your life?

Misty: Ireland

Ginger: oh how wonderful! I would love to go to Ireland someday! I want to thank you for being our Guest Designer for Oct! And thank you for the fun interview 🙂 In closing I would love for you to share with us all a few things- I think it is fun to see a few of your favorite Layouts- and I would also LOVE you to share with us one of your favorite recipes!

Misty- Sure! Ok here are two of my favorite Layouts-

This one is my son Aidan- you can click on the LO to go see a full list of credits.

And one of my Hubby Dan- It will be linked to the full list of credits as well.

Ginger: Can you please share with us one of your favorite recipes?

Misty: mmmmmm your gonna love these!

Chocolate Caramel Crack(ers)
adapted from the Smitten Kitchen
  • About 40 saltine crackers, or enough to line a cookie sheet/baking sheet
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into a few large pieces
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • A big pinch of sea salt (NOT table salt)
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
  • 1 cup toasted chopped almonds (don’t overtoast!)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet (or your standard cookie sheet) completely with foil, and then line the base of the foil with parchment paper, cut to fit.

Line the bottom of the baking sheet with saltine crackers, covering all parts.

In a medium heavy-duty saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together, and stir it over medium heat until it begins to boil. Once it has begun boiling, let it bubble for three more minutes, stirring it well. It will thicken a bit as it cooks. Remove from the heat and add the salt and vanilla, and quickly pour over your crackers. Spread quickly, it will begin to set as soon as it’s poured.

Bake the caramel-covered crackers for 12 – 15 minutes, watching carefully as it will bubble and the corners might darken too quickly and/or burn. You can reduce the heat if you see this happening.

Remove from oven and immediately pour the chocolate chips over the crackers. You can do this in sections, don’t worry about getting every cracker. Let stand five minutes, and then spread them evenly across the caramel.  Sprinkle the chocolate with toasted almonds.

Put the baking sheet in the fridge to speed up the cooling process. Once completely cool, break up the crackers in large pieces. No need for it to be uniform. Store in a container (I keep mine in the fridge) for up to a week.

Ginger: Thank you so very much Misty! I am going to make these this weekend!! yummy!! 🙂

That wraps it up folks 🙂 I hope you fond this entertaining- If you have a suggestion or If you want to ask Misty and other questions- please comment here on the blog. She and I will be checking the comments and would love to shat with you! Have a Wonderful Weekend!

*And DON’T forget to pick out the Daily Download today! And come back tomorrow for news about our awesome 24 hour special!!*

Filed Under: Site News, The Dish Tagged With: , , ,