SnickerdoodleDesigns Interview:
My design name is SnickerdoodleDesigns, and my “real” name is Karen. My husband and I have been married for 44 years! We have 2 grown children and 4 grandchildren! I have lived in Southern California my entire life; but in July of this year my husband and I made the BIG decision to move to a tiny town just a few miles from Yosemite. We love the natural environment, the slower pace of life, and the beauty that we are experiencing here.
We love to travel and have been fortunate enough to visit Germany, Ireland, China, England, Canada, Scotland, and the Galapagos Islands over the past 7 years. I used to watch Jacque Costeau television specials in high school and dreamed of going to the Galapagos Islands one day, so that was a very unique and special trip for me. One of my favorite memories of that trip is the sea lion who would come up out of the ocean around 6 am every single day and claim a chaise lounge chair for the rest of the day. If anyone got too close to him, he would let them know he wasn’t happy about it. We took our picture near him, but stayed as far away as possible so we wouldn’t upset him.
What do your family and friends think about your artistic side?
My husband loves my artistic side! Although sometimes he questions things I want to do, like rearranging furniture or choosing certain paint colors, once a project is completed, he is likely to say, “You were right.” I love that about him! He is unfamiliar with Photoshop, so he thinks anything I design is amazing. LOL! I love that about him too! He will give honest critique when asked, and I appreciate that as well.
Aside from scrapbooking, what really fulfills you? What else is it that you absolutely love to spend your time doing?
There are a lot of things I love, like traveling, reading, and hiking. Those things bring me joy. But the types of things that “fulfill” me, the types of things that excite me and keep me talking about them way longer than anyone probably wants to hear me talking about them, is anything creative. Anything that lets me express feelings and emotions. It could be painting, designing, quilting, or planting a new flower garden. The common factor is “expression.”
I also love to teach. I write a tutorial on Photoshop and/or Photoshop Elements every week, and I am a Guest Instructor at NAODS (National Association of Digital Scrapbookers) once a month. In March 2014, I was a Guest Instructor with Michelle Stelling (NAODS) at creativeLIVE
A listing of my tutorials is on my website. If you are interested in following those tutorials, sign up for my newsletter, so you will receive weekly notification of new tutorial postings.
How did you get started in scrapbooking? How did you stumble upon digiscrap?
I started keeping a written journal when I became pregnant with my first child, in 1974. At that time, the term “scrapbookers” hadn’t been coined yet, and anyone who kept a scrapbook was using glue and tape to attach their pictures to non-archival safe papers! I kept up my journaling after our daughter was born, and then one day I decided to add a photograph to a journal page. I liked that effect so well, I ran to the store and bought a real “scrapbook.” There were no scrapbooking supplies to decorate pages with, but I was happy that I could keep my journaling and photographs together in a nice large book.
In the 1980’s the scrapbooking craft exploded, and I was obsessed with purchasing every scrapbooking element, ribbon, paper, and gadget there was on the market! As time went on, I heard about “digital scrapbookers” but wasn’t interested in that avenue of creativity. Being a tactile person, I wanted to feel the paper in my hand, peel the glue off my fingertips, and sweep up the glitter spills off my counter. But in 1998, while looking for a way to create a scrapbook for my 7-year-old grandson, a book he could read every day if he wanted, without worrying about ruining it, I took another look at digital scrapping. I realized I could create one book, and get it printed as many times as I wanted. I downloaded a lot of “freebies,” purchased a few kits, then created my first digital scrapbook! I had 3 copies printed: 1 for our grandson to handle as much as he wanted, 1 for our daughter to be kept in good condition, and 1 for me. When I held that first printed book in my hand, I knew my paper-scrapping days were over!
What is one tool of the trade that you can’t live without?
The obvious answer is Photoshop. Although I have been using the program for 8 years now, I am continually learning new things about it. I say that Photoshop is the “gift that keeps giving,” because there is just always something new and exciting to learn. But, truthfully, the first thing that came to mind was monitors. Big monitors. Multiple monitors. I work with three 27″ monitors, because I always have multiple windows open and like to have everything readily visible. My husband says my desk looks like the space station.
Do you have advice for anyone wanting to start digiscrapping?
When I started digiscrapping, the hardest thing for me to do was to take my time and learn my software program, at least moderately well, prior to scrapping. I wanted to create my first page NOW, but without understanding my software (PSE3 back then!), it just led to frustration that could have been avoided. My advice for anyone wanting to learn to Digiscrap is to invest a little time in learning your software before jumping into creating pages. There are tons of tutorial sites, both paid and free, that can help!
What inspires your products?
Like most designers, there are many varied things that will inspire me. There isn’t just one thing. But, in general, the 3 things that inspire me most are music, quotes, and feelings.
“Forever Friends,” was inspired by a song of that name, by Sandi Patti, and is a tribute to my best friend, Mary, whom I met in college. “Heartsong” was inspired by the quote/question: “What makes your heart sing?”
“Nature Hike” is also one of my favorite kits. Hubby and I love camping (okay, in an RV) and hiking, and Nature Hike was inspired by the wonderful trails and hiking paths in Yosemite.
What is your favorite thing to design or make?
I really love to create papers! Again.. it’s the texture-lover in me! I am fascinated by color and texture, so I love to incorporate both into papers that are beautiful, but don’t complete with a kit’s elements or a scrapper’s photographs.
What’s one random fact about yourself that most people don’t know?
When I was 5 years old, at my school recess, I put a foxtail in my mouth because I thought it was really soft. (I was enamored by textures even then!). The foxtail pieces came off the stalk and stuck to the roof of my mouth, but I was afraid to tell my teacher about it. I kept getting up to get drinks of water until she told me I couldn’t get out of my seat anymore. I don’t remember what happened after that. I guess I swallowed the little stickers. Yikes!
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