Joining us in our Guest Designer spot for the month of February is the fabulous talent of LouCee Creations. Not only is LouCee a talented designer but if you stop by her blog, you will see she is also an amazing hybrid artist.

Louise, who is the design force behind LouCee Creations has been designing for nearly four years and said that she has loved every minute of it. She uses Photoshop CS3, Inkscape and Artrage to craft her digital creations. She told us she wasn’t really a layout scrapper before getting into digital design but worked more on hybrid and card making side. In addition to being a designer, she has also been on the hybrid team for KimB Designs for the last four years. “I enjoy working with Kim’s kits and love being on her team, they are a fun bunch and we have so many giggles!” She attributes Kim for helping her get started as a designer.

In our interview, Louise shared the following with us:

If you could relive a day from your past, what day would it be? I’m going to be greedy and want to relive 2 days! I would love to hold my teenage son and daughter as new born babies in my arms! Although the memory will always be there, I think it would be quite special to touch and smell their baby soft skin again.

Are you ticklish? OMG Am I! *feet*  just don’t touch my feet unless you want a fat lip! I kick out real bad lol!  Just ask my husband, haahaa!

You just inherited the Witch’s Candy House from Hanzel and Gretel, what do you do now? *Eat it of course!* I would have a massive party and invite all my friends to share! And at the other end of the garden I would have a bouncy castle, if we are going to behave like children, we might as well go all the way!

Wii, Playstation, X-box or No, thank you? Wii and Playstation yes! I was a bit of a Lara Croft addict on Playstation before I discovered the computer!

What one thing would you want on a deserted island? A library! One book just wouldn’t be enough! I like to chill by reading and I figure if I was on a deserted island, there would be plenty of time for that!

What is your favorite part of designing? When everything is flowing nicely! I enjoy it most when it all comes together easily, I find I get carried away working till early hours of the morning!

If you had to have one color in every kit, what color would it be? Green, it’s not my favourite colour, that would be pink! But I do like to add a bit of greenery to realistic style kits.

Do you use a tablet when designing? Yes, I like to do my extracting with the pen and tablet.

What’s the scene when you design? I usually put a film on in the background in the evening. I listen to the radio most of the day when doing my day job.

Do you have a personal CT? If so, tell us about them. I most certainly do! I love these girls to bits, they are my little stars and make my life easier. Denise and LouAnn have been with me from day one, Tracy QC’s my products for me, Renee, Paula and Jenni are newcomers to the team but I have known them for ages.

Where do you design? In the sun lounge facing the back garden, which is lovely especially in the summer when I can have the patio doors open,  it also doubles up as a guest room if we have visitors; this is because I made our spare bedroom into my craft room last year!

Tell us about the products you have selected for your guest spot at Plain Digital Wrapper. The kits I have chosen to put in my store here show my two preferences in kit design, I love working with doodles and templates for fun style kits and then I really love heritage/vintage style kits too. I like alternating the two styles as they give me variety in my design time.

The first exclusive kit by LouCee Creations to Plain Digital Wrapper this month is Ladybug Garden. This is a colourful kit filled with fun to scrap those happy memories and includes 16 papers and 47 elements. This whimsical kit is currently on sale for 30 percent off too.

Layout by scrapsofcandy.

Layout by franlk.

Layout by Sandie03.

Layout by mrscwooddell.

Layout by GlitterQueen.

Layout by AFWifeShasta.

Layout by coltsmom414.

Layout by coltsmom414.

Layout by demma_b13.

Be sure to check out all the great products in LouCee Creations Plain Digital Wrapper Guest Store this month which are all on sale.

You can also grab a sample of her work that coordinates with Ladybug Garden below.

Happy Scrapping.

Filed under: Freebies, Guest Designers by Candy
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Shhh, I am letting the cat out of the bag a few hours early.  How could I resist?  We have Loucee Creations joining us with some very cute items:

Filed under: Guest Designers by Lisa
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We have two great guest designers joining us at Plain Digital Wrapper this month. We interviewed Aimee Harrison a couple of weeks ago and she has added two more great products to her store since then so you will want to be sure you check out before her store before her guest spot ends if you have not done so already.

Also joining us this month is SKrapper Digitals. Sherah, the talent behind SKrapper Digitals, has been designing for four and half years and designs using Photoshop CS3, Inkscape and Artrage. Sherah told us she was not a paper scrapbooker or digital scrapbooker before becoming a designer. But said that she got started with the idea of scrapbooking when she was pregnant with her first daughter (who turned five-years old last week).  “The idea of scrapbooking seemed like something I should look into for a book for her. I searched the Internet to see if I could find printable paper, etc. and stumbled into the digiscrap world. Having dabbled in graphic design for years it seemed like a perfect fit and it wasn’t long before I was staying up all night tinkering in Photoshop! Shortly after that, I entered a design contest, while I didn’t win, I learned a lot. From there, I was invited to join the store I’ve sold my products at since then.”

Sherah says she is self-taught in her profession. “I had always dreamed of going to school for graphic design but couldn’t afford it so instead I taught myself as much as I could through books and research.”

Here are few things Sherah shared with us in her interview:

What one thing would you want on a deserted island? Other than my family, my Bible.

Were you named after anyone? My Dad is a pastor so my eight siblings and I were all named after Biblical characters. I’m named after the Sherah from 1 Chronicles 7:24. I’ve always thought that was cool because it says she built three cities (Yay girl power! Lol! )

What would you do with a million dollars? Tithe, pay off my parents debt and buy them a nice place to live comfortably, pay off my in-laws debt and help them finish the much needed repairs on their small cabin, help my siblings with any of their financial needs and buy a home for my little family.

Do you sing in the shower/car? I sing at home all the time (but am far too nervous to do so in public).

Where do you get your inspiration from? Hmm. Pretty much anything can spark inspiration with me. A walk outside, a tv commercial, a photograph.

What one thing is essential for putting you in a creative mood? Time to myself really helps (which is rare these days with a preschooler and eight month old). Usually, I end up staying up really late after my family is asleep or I design in the parking lot of my daughter’s preschool while the baby naps.

What is your least favorite part of designing? Trying to keep my kit sizes down usually! I tend towards getting swept up in the design process and over create, making huge kits even when I originally planned on only making a mini kit! Lol!

What is your favorite part of designing? I really enjoy it all, the whole process from initial inspiration to reality.

What was the hardest part about starting out as a designer? For me it was the floundering around not knowing what I was doing for sure and having no one to ask about it. This feeling is what inspired me to start the Digi Design Academy.

Sherah currently has three unique products and some coordinating add-ons in her store at Plain Digital Wrapper.

The first product is an interactive design course she been teaching for a few years called Digi Design Academy. It is a beginner to advanced design class for those interested in creating their own designs for themselves or to sell to others. The course was recently revised, expanded and updated this past summer and contains a great deal of detailed written material, 50+ video tutorials, 50+ CU permitted freebies and a monthly live two hour video class teaching a lesson in Photoshop (with video instructions from the lesson added to the video library afterwards for those unable to attend.).  New content is added monthly and if needed, one on one tutoring or guidance is also available via e-mail or chat. “Ive really enjoyed teaching the class and the students seem to love it as well. Many of the students choose to stay on past the initial 10 week course period ( by paying a separate annual or semi-annual fee). It’s been a great experience so far and I’m thankful for the chance to share any knowledge I can and make such wonderful friends.” The Digi Design Academy is currently on a special limited time price for Plain Digital Wrapper customers for only $50, a savings of 33 percent off the regular price.

SKrapper Digital’s second product for her guest store are a yummy cupcake element pack that is the introductory product in a new  product line she has coming out call “Bakery SKraps”.  Add these sweet cupcakes to any cake or party themed photos to instantly create and customize your own cake themed layouts using any kit in your collection. The 12 high quality cupcakes are created in a variety of cake and frosting combinations for you to choose from.

Layout by Sandie03.

Skrapper Digitals third product is a collab kit with Feli Designs (whom you may recognize from the PDW Gallery as MissParker). Masquerade is the perfect combination for you to scrap everything from masquerade balls to carnival photos; anything with and behind the mask and all those golden moments when life is a never ending party. The kit includes 22 gorgeous papers and 89 unique elements as well as seven pieces of word art.

Masquerade is also available as a bundle which includes the kit, six clusters and eight quickpages. You can also purchase the clusters or QuickPages separately.

Layout by Sandie03.

Layout by Sandie03.

Layout by Jean Ann.

Layout by MissParker.

Here is a little gift from Masquerade for you.

You can keep up with from SKrapper Digitals in the future on her Facebook Page and/or on her blog.

Filed under: Guest Designers by Candy
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This post is part of a series on our blog that will introduce you to the designers and team members that work behind the scenes at Plain Digital Wrapper to make it a fun-loving, digi-family. We would love to get to know you better as well, so if you aren’t already hanging out with us in the forum, please take a moment to say good morning to us, introduce yourself, and find some inspiration from our many challenges or in our gallery.

We are excited to have two amazing and talented guests joining us at Plain Digital Wrapper this month and today we will be shinning the spotlight on one of them. Aimee of Aimee Harrison Design Studios has been designing for about two and half years and was only a digital scrapbooker for about a month before trying her hand at design. She has continued on as a digital scrapbooker along with her designing though. She told PDW “I adore making layouts and also have an Art Journal that I try to work on weekly.  Well, that’s the plan anyway!”  However, she wasn’t completely new to scrapbooking when she started designing since she had been a paper scrapper since 1994.  “I love to record family history and I work on my boyfriend’s family history and scrap for them, as well.”

Be sure to stop by Aimee’s blog and Facebook page to learn even more about her. You will also want to make sure you sign up for her newsletter too so you don’t miss any of her specials, coupons or gifts.

Aimee told PDW that she wasn’t a CT member prior to designing and actually didn’t really even know what one was. “When I started designing, I knew absolutely nothing about digiscrapping.  I entered almost blindly.  But I knew it was perfect for me as I’d been designing graphics for 15 years.  I started a CT about three months after I began designing.  My team is wonderful and a few of them have been there since day one!”

Aimee said she is self-taught and she got her start in digital scrapbook design by just researching and then it developed from there.  “I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  I just love to create art and I was just incredibly intrigued about making my own kits.  I love to watch it all come together and I think my enthusiasm is reflected in my work.”

Here are few things we learned about Aimee in our interview with her:

What was your favorite childhood toy or game? I absolutely loved paper dolls.  I would design my own clothes for them.  I also loved Fisher Price little people (the old wooden ones), my fashion plates and, of course, Barbies.

What are your hobbies or pastimes? I love history, archaeology, photography, scrapbooking, cooking, writing, art journaling, cultures and I love to learn as much as I can about the world around me.

What is your weakness? Sims 3 (I can quickly become addicted to that game). I also can’t resist Pistachio Ice Cream.  I can’t have it in the house…lol.

What are your favorite colors? Aqua, blue, red, yellow, celery green…and you can tell I’m partial to those with many of my kits.

Are you ticklish? Unfortunately, I’m ticklish EVERYWHERE.  I can barely clean my own feet and it’s a never ending source of amusement for my boyfriend.

What was the hardest part about starting out as a designer? Making a name for myself.  It’s a daily struggle to be seen when the market is so saturated.

What is your all-time favorite kit that you have designed and why? My all time favorite kit is probably Vintage Spook.  Just because it came out EXACTLY as I’d envisioned and it had the exact feel I wanted.  Lately, almost every kit I make has became of a favorite.  I feel like I’ve been on a roll.  My next favorite would probably be Home for Christmas but seriously, I also love Kitschy Christmas….see?  I can’t make up my mind, lol!

What one type of element can be found in most of your kits? Frames.  I LOVE frames.  I am so traditional that way.

What’s the scene when you design? I like silence or classical music.  But mostly silence.  I also like to have the shade up so I can watch the birds feed outside the window and a place for my cats to take turns sleeping right next to my monitor.  It’s a little cluttered but I much prefer it straightened up.  Oh, and a constantly full cup of coffee

How would you describe your design style? My design style is definitely realistic and rather traditional.  I like my pages to have a 3 dimensional feel to them and I like to utilize all different kinds of elements from templates to scans.

Aimee’s first exclusive kit for Plain Digital Wrapper this month is a gorgeous icy blue-toned kit aptly named “Shades of Winter”. It includes 12 papers, 36 unique elements, 8 word strips and 1 full alpha set. You can also purchase the alpha separately. “Shades of Winter” is currently on sale for 25 percent off.

Layout by BernieTuffs.

Layout by Aimee Harrison.

Layout by mrscwoodell.

Card by BernieTuffs.

To thank you for taking the time to stop by the PDW blog,  Aimee has a beautiful quickpage made from “Shades of Winter” for you.

Download: Shades of Winter (242)

Be sure to watch Aimee’s PDW store throughout the rest of the month as she will be adding more items soon.

Filed under: Freebies, Guest Designers by Candy
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Happy New Year, everyone.  Are you ready for some “new” things?  There are changes in the air.  Where do I begin?

We have two new Guest Designers this month!  Introducing:

SKrapper Digitals has an amazing DigiDesign course for those who are looking into becoming a digital scrapbook designer.

Next up is our January Collaboration kit:

This kit will be available ONLY in January.  After that it will be retired.  If you like it, be sure to grab it. New Release price is up for the first week.

Finally we have some changes going on in the forum.  We are counting points!  Points for Challenges, Challenges for points?

There are lots of fun new things planned, so keep watching!

Filed under: Challenges, Collab Kits, General Posts and Updates, Guest Designers by Lisa
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