Design Team Applications

Name: Karen Day
User name on Australian scrapbooking forums: Kaz (or Kaz_from_Moranbah)

How long have you been scrapbooking?
I started scrapbooking in 2004 but didn't do it really seriously until I became a stay-at-home mum in late 2005. Since then I have been completing around 3 - 5 layouts a week.

How would you describe your scrapbooking style?
These are the 6 terms I would use to describe my style:
- fun
- adventurous
- scrappy chic
- negative space/'white' space
- mostly single page layouts
- mostly single photo layouts but some work with multiple photos

What are your 3 most-used scrapbooking tools?
1. nail file for distressing
2. cotton buds (the ones for babies ears) for applying/mixing paint
3. pens for journalling/doodling - I journal on nearly every layout and do a fair bit of doodling

Do you have a preferred layout size?
I work with 12x12 but would love to branch into other sizes.

Are you comfortable working with several different product lines?
Very comfortable. I love expanding my boundaries and testing out new products and also using old products in a new way. The ever-changing trends and styles is what keeps scrapbooking so 'fresh' and interesting.

What are some of your favorite products?
Bazzil (of course!) ... but I tend to use alot of rubons, blossoms, transparencies, ribbons and paint.

Are you currently designing for any manufacturers, online teams or kit clubs?
No, Im not. I have only just decided to start applying for design teams in late 2006.

Are you currently teaching or designing for your local scrapbook store? No, our LSS is very small and their only teacher is the owner of the store. One of the set-backs of living in a small country mining town! I would love to do this as I have a bachelors degree in Education that isnt being used.

How do you stay current on the latest techniques and trends in scrapbooking?
I feel the best way to keep on top of it all is to browse the many many sites/galleries online and see what is being produced by other scrappers. This way you can see the varied interests from those who have been scrapping for years and those who are just starting. This helps identify how the varying degrees of interest affect the styles/techniques employed.

What subjects or individuals do you tend to scrapbook the most?
Im very fortunate - I have a toddler girl and a baby boy. So I can do baby layouts, toddler layouts, pink layouts, blue layouts and everything else. Im lucky to have such willing posers for photos!

Tell us a little bit about your daily life and what a typical day is for you:
My daily life revolves around my family (like nearly every other SAHM)! I revel in the whole "Susie Homemaker" lifestyle that involves cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, doing laundry, looking after the kids and doing more laundry. I love it when my husband comes home from work to a clean house and dinner on the table at 5pm. It makes me feel like I've achieved something that day. This lifestyle isnt for everyone, but it suits my family and me.

A typical day for me involves getting up at 5:30am. Then the normal morning routine (getting kids dressed, wash the day before's cloth nappies, breakfast) goes until around 7am. Then the kids and I go for a walk around the neighbourhood. At 8am its time for a snack and a rest. This is where I normally put on a kid's DVD for 30 mins so I can jump on the computer and do the rounds of the scrapbooking communities. If I have time I also normally have a quick fiddle with my scrapbooking supplies and plan the day's layouts.

At 10am its naptime for Brianna and Liam and I get the house to myself for an hour and a half. I know it sounds crazy but this is my ME time - so I even unplug the phone!! All my family and friends know that I scrap at this time and they don't bother trying to ring.

My afternoons are spent doing an "active" activity with the kids - swimming, playing outside, dancing, visiting friends, running errands, doing the shopping. And I generally always take my camera because it's a great opportunity to take a few snaps of the kids.

At 3pm our nighttime routine starts early due to the kid's bedtime being 6pm. I love having them down to bed early because it means I have the night to myself to watch a movie and hang out with my husband Troy, to scrap or to have friends over for a board-games night.

Have you ever been published?
I haven't been published before, but that is because I only just starting submitting my layouts to magazines in January 2007. Previous to this I didn't feel the need to start submitting. My wanting to be a part of a design team is what prompted me to start submitting my layouts.

Would you be able to write up a simple and easy to understand (step by step) instructions?
Yes, this ability is linked back to when I did my bachelors degree in Education.

Do you have any teaching experience?
I taught for eight months in a primary school after university, then I also taught adults how to edit websites using a ZOPE platform.

Why do you want to be part of an online Design Team?
I miss the feeling of working with a team since I became a SAHM. Also, our LSS isn't very active at creating a feeling of a 'scrapping community', so I miss that environment since moving towns in December 2005. They teach basically no scrapbooking classes so I have no chance of being involved in the teaching there.

Is there anything else you would like us to know? List it here:
- My employment background revolves around graphic design. I used to create websites and design promotional material for TAFE Queensland. So I've always been a creative person.
- I turn over around 3 - 5 layouts a week depending on how simple/extravagant the layouts are.
- My biggest scrapping role-model is Elsie Flannigan. I love her book and quite often have a quick flick through when lacking in "scrapping mojo".
- I create a wide variety of layouts - some are quite basic and some involve more advanced techniques.
- I enjoy looking "outside the box" when it comes to using products.
- I love teaching (I have a bachelors degree in education from Central Queensland University, majoring in Multimedia).
- Due to my background in multimedia and computers I am really internet and computer savvy so have no worries uploading layouts, manipulating images, installing fonts, using Photoshop brushes, and working my way around a website.
- Because I am a stay at home mum I have lots of time to commit to a design team position. On average I spend around 15 hours a week scrapbooking.
- I work very well with deadlines. I actually miss them a bit now that I haven't been working for over a year.