Ztampfilicious

I’m so excited to announce this: We have a new Z!Girl in our Ztampfilicious Team!

She has been a part of the digital scrapbooking community since forever! She is known in forums by the name Sorashell and her real name is April. You can take a peek at her new Z!Gallery here. Now, let’s get to know her better!

Q: Please tell us a bit about yourself!
April: My name is April and I’m a 41 years old Stay At Home Mama.  I live in Southern California, practically in Disneyland’s backyard and was raised just down the road in Huntington Beach.  Family is everything to me and I was lucky (and patient) enough to find a man to marry who believes family is everything as well.  His name is Chris and we’ve been married for 10 years!  My side of the family lives 20 minutes away…his side lives 20 minutes away.  His paternal grandmother lives with his folks and my maternal grandmother lives with my folks.  We all get together for swimming, BBQs, holidays and events constantly and our parents are best friends.  I have two children, Sophie and Aiden, and as you can imagine with that much family around they are spoiled half rotten now.  The whole family is in the construction business and apart from doing all of the mom stuff here I do the books for our cabinetry business.

Q: What is your mostest favorite thing to do?
April: Probably my favorite thing to do is to travel to new places.  When I was younger I used to travel quite a bit and spent a year living on a 17′ sailboat in the Caribbean (off the coast of Honduras) and three months in South Africa.  I’ve driven all over the United States and nothing pleases me more than getting on a plane or jumping in a car and exploring somewhere new.  I also love to cook, take photos, read (anything) and go to theme parks.  My other great love is animals and we have a gaggle of them.  When I get some extra time I enjoy volunteering for German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County and help dogs get adopted.  I used to foster for them but my last foster was a “foster failure” and now we have three dogs; Rocky (14 year old Shepherd mix), Caesar (6 year old 100 lb. Shepard) and Stuie (10 month old Shih Tzu Poodle mix).   We also have two cats and a snake! :) Did I mention that I’m an animal lover? Apart from this, scrapping is definitely high on my list of favorite things to do.  Nothing pleases me more than finishing a really great page and showing it off to family and friends.  I get my layouts printed in 8×8 Shutterfly books and will whip them out at a moments notice!

Q: Any favorite food/drinks you can’t live without?
April: I love food!  Comfort food, healthy food, ethnic food…and wine!  I love wine… As for favorites, one would have to be a nice Cambrizola cheese with a fresh baguette to smear it on.  Thai food is my favorite ethnic food and I’m lucky enough to live near the best Thai place in Orange County.  I go there for lunch when I really need a break and it feels like I’m in Thailand!

Q: How about music/songs or books – what are you into these days?
April: I love almost all music but my taste is…eclectic.  Well, “eclectic” makes it sound cool.  A better word might be “old fashioned”.  Or “hokey”. :P The Andrews Sisters, Marty Robbins, Willie Nelson and The Grateful Dead frequently show up on my playlists.  As for books, I recently discovered the Twilight sagas and am currently on my 10th reading of Breaking Dawn.  The movies don’t stack up for me but the books are killer!  My favorite book has to be A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemmingway and P.S. Your Cat is Dead by James Kirkwood.

Q: What is your favorite subject to scrap about?
April: My favorite subject to scrap about is my kids (how predictable, right?) I have a little notebook and write down the funny things they say and my favorite LOs are about these every day moments that I know I’d forget if I didn’t have a reminder like this.  There’s so much going on all the time it’s easy for the small details to get lost over time, and I love looking back at older LOs and being reminded of funny, special things that have happened.

Q: How did you first find out about digital scrapbooking? Did you paper-scrapbook before?
April: I started paper scrapping in 1998 and accumulated a whooooole lot of stuff, and I really enjoyed doing it but when the kids were born I found that I didn’t pull out my supplies anymore.  I noticed someone on a message board who had a cool looking “signature” or “tag” and when I went to find out how they did it I was opened up to a whole new world.  I started on Scrapbook Bytes in 2004 and have been a digi-scrapping fool ever since!

Q: What do you love most about digital scrapbooking?
April: What I love the most about digital scrapbooking is the freedom of expression I have when I create these memories for my family.  I’m not tied to one style and I can change up any elements that I need in order to suit my purpose.  I’ve gone back and paper scrapped a few times since discovering digital and I’m always frustrated by my inability to change the color, shape or size of something that otherwise would have been perfect to use!  I’m also a huge fan of not having any mess to clean up when I’m done and how easy it is to save my work and come back to it at a later time.  There’s so much I can do in digital that I could never have done in paper, especially blending work!

Q: Why do you want to be in a creative team? What do you love most about it? Any tips for being a good CTM?
April: I love being on a Creative Team because it gives me that extra push I need sometimes to get a layout done.  There’s always so many things to accomplish in a day and scrapping sometimes fall by the wayside when, say, my husband runs out of underwear or I have to feed everyone. Again. (rolls eyes)  Getting excited about new products and having a deadline pushes me to make pages that might otherwise have only stayed in my head.  I also LOVE working out of one kit and not scrounging around my hard drive for stuff.  I love the camaraderie that comes with being on a team and getting to know new people!  The best tip I have for being a good CTM is “always try to make your designer happy they asked you to join up.” I would never want a designer to think to themselves, “Why did I ever invite April to be here?”  Find out what the requirements are, be open in your communication and work hard to make your designer some sales!

Q: How do you manage your time between being your own person, a mother, a wife, a scrapper and a Z!Girl – among tons of other things?
April: Honestly, I don’t know how some people make it look so easy.  Their house and car are immaculate, their bills are paid, they themselves are actually wearing a nice outfit and makeup…  It seems like if I focus on one thing, other things suffer so in order to manage my time I have to prioritize.  I don’t scrap when my husband is home (and awake) but my kids are old enough now to entertain themselves if I need to get a page done or (groan) clean house.  I hit the ground running at 5:30 am and usually go to bed around 11:00pm and run around like a crazy person between those hours!  My main job is as a taxi driver to my kids, lol.  They go to school about 30 minutes away so it seems like I’m in the car an awful lot.  I recently stopped working part time as a dog groomer and have decided to really focus on ME and MY STUFF for a change and I’m feeling really positive about it.

Q: How/when did you first find out about Ztampf! – if you remember it? What first attracted you to Ztampf!?
April: I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t aware of Ztampf! products.  Fhung has always been an innovator and had an eye for detail in her kits and I’ve always been impressed by her designs.  Gorgeous colors, unusual and unique elements…what’s not to love?

Q: How/where did you learn digital scrapbooking? Best way/place to hone in your digi-skills?
April: I learned digital scrapbooking by trying to scraplift techniques that I admired other people doing.  My friend Ashley was the victim of most of my first scraplifts, as was Niecey, Krash, Emmem, Kim.bee and Carver.  I loved figuring out just how they did what they did and how I could make it my own.

Q: What program do you use to scrap with? Is there any certain scrapping tools that you found yourself using again and again?
April: I have Photoshop CS4 and am curious about CS5 but for right now I’m pretty happy with my program and most of all, my Wacom tablet.  I absolutely don’t know how I scrapped before getting this tablet!  One thing I’m really coveting right now are Annie Manning’s new photography actions.  Her photos are AMAZING and I wanna be just like her when I grow up. :p  I have a Canon 5D and some nice glass and a huge debt of gratitude for Katy Larsen (PLucky) for teaching me so much about photo editing.

Q: What is your ideal scrapping time/space would be? Any certain gadgets/programs you are coveting right now?
April: My favorite time for scrapping is after everyone has gone to bed or early in the morning before everyone is up.  Nothing kills the mojo faster than wails of “MAMAAAAAA” or the laundry buzzer going off.  I get really focused on minute details on my pages and end up getting pretty aggravated when I have to keep stopping.

Q: What is the single most useful scrapping technique you found so far?
April: Gosh…single most useful?  Probably masks (I do a lot of extracting) and the warp tool.  I’m a freak about shadows and love making them look as real as possible.  I’m also a freak about blending images into my pages as it’s a way to cram more photos into it, lol.

Q: What do you love most about Ztampf! products?
April: What I love most about Ztampf! products is the attention to detail Fhung has.  The quality is always top notch and there are certain products, like her Liquid Kit, that I go to time and time again.

Q: What are your favorite Ztampf! products so far?
April: Adventouriste everything (seriously in love with that.  The colors are amazing and there’s so many fun things to use in it!). And ArtNOW paper pack.  WOW!  Amazing….

I hope you enjoyed getting to know April more!
I’m also looking forward to see more of her ztampfilicious layouts!

Did you notice?

There is a new Z!Girl in our mist!
I would like you all to get to know her. She is one of my long time customers – a very good one too! And she scraps gorgeous pages that I have always loved. I am so glad that she’s joining us here at Ztampfilicious Team!

Her name is Carolyn Stewart and you might know her as Amson in forums and galleries. You can take a peek at her new Z!Gallery here. And now… let’s start interviewing her!

Q: Please tell us a bit about yourself!
Amson: I am a Mother of 2 wonderful teenage girls and 2 dogs. We love travelling and seeing the world and feel we are more a part of the world than one specific country.

Q: What is your mostest favorite thing to do?
Amson: Standing behind my camera. I love the feel of capturing a framed scene of a bigger picture and I love that photos can convey meaning even outside of original context.

Q: Any favorite food/drinks you can’t live without?
Amson: I love Thai food the most and could easily live without meat but not fruit or vegetables. My number one addiction is tea. This I cannot live without and anyone who tries to talk to me before my cup of tea in the morning is warned. Beware!

Q: How about music/songs or books – what are you into these days?
Amson: I have always loved music and especially classical music. I could not believe in a day without music. Bach is my passion and always will be. Books are also an addiction and mostly non fiction. I love biographies and world histories. So much to learn.

Q: What is your favorite subject to scrap about?
Amson: My daughters number 1 but also places that I have travelled to. Sometimes just scrapping a photo brings back so many memories.

Q: How did you first find out about digital scrapbooking? Did you paper-scrapbook before?
Amson: I have never paper scrapped and found digital scrapbooking when looking online for ways to adjust photos. I started with tutorials and remember staying up late one night on one of my first layouts. I was so excited that I could barely wait until morning to show my daughter a photo of her scrapped with a kit from Ztampf! that I still use: Sweet be Mine. She loved it and although I look back and it is basic, I still love the layout.

Q: What do you love most about digital scrapbooking?
Amson: I can totally lose myself when scrapping a layout. To be able to relax at the end of a stressful day and relax while creating is just perfect.

Q: Why do you want to be in a creative team? What do you love most about it? Any tips for being a good CTM?
Amson: I only want to be on a team where I truly love the products and want to support the creator. You need time so don’t underestimate the commitment. But above all enjoy yourself.

Q: How do you manage your time between being your own person, a mother, a wife, a scrapper and a Z!Girl – among tons of other things?
Amson: I’d love to say that I was totally organised but this is not true. I go for a month or so organised then there is a problem at home and life slips back to survival mode with me up to my head in issues. This is part of the difficulty in being a single mother as you are effectively both the father and mother which is more than a full time job in itself. Scrapping is however my salvation as it is an outlet for creativity and often sanity.

Q: How/when did you first find out about Ztampf! – if you remember it? What first attracted you to Ztampf!?
Amson: I can’t remember when I first heard of Ztampf! but it was right at the start of my scrapbooking. I love that the designs flowed from art and were of such high quality. Kits that I purchased a couple of years ago are still used. They are timeless, versatile and can be used for many styles of design. They are not tied to “trends” of the moment.

Q: How/where did you learn digital scrapbooking? Best way/place to hone in your digi-skills?
Amson: The first task after learning the basics of how to “create a layout” is to learn your scrapbooking program, whatever that may be. You don’t need the best program to create the best layout. There are many sites (some non-scrapbooking) offering instructions. Read all you can, take classes and study the layouts that you like.

Q: What program do you use to scrap with? Is there any certain scrapping tools that you found yourself using again and again?
Amson: I use PSP and have used this program for photo editing for many years. My favourite action would definitely be changing blend modes of photos to create effects and blend photos into papers. I have a few plugins that I use frequently such as Topaz Adjust which allows me to become more creative with my photos.

Q: What is your ideal scrapping time/space would be? Any certain gadgets/programs you are coveting right now?
Amson: I am lucky to have a separate study with desktop computer. (I need my widescreen) It is here that I unwind at the end of a day. I’d love to move to an Apple one day and of course Photoshop but would have to win a lottery first.

Q: What is the single most useful scrapping technique you found so far?
Amson: For me scrapping is to preserve memories foremost. Remember to date every page and include journalling. When someone looks at your pages in 20 years, they will not know which layouts received more comments or standout mentions. What they want to see is the story. This is why I am moving towards creating 2 page layouts where there is more room for journalling and photos. Also I don’t feel that you need to add journalling on the layout for upload. I often add journalling on a separate layer that is not visible to the public; just in my printed version.

Q: What do you love most about Ztampf! products?
Amson: I love Ztampf! products, especially the page borders. There are page borders of every description – painted, grungy, metallic, paper, leather etc. Most pages I complete will use one Ztampf! border. My favourite would have to be the most recent from the Adventouriste Collection. I know I will be using these many times.

I also have my favourites from many collections: All the ARTiStitches line (most of my layouts have stitching somewhere), Silky Blooms accent pack (flowers you will use again and again), Paint splats from Soaring Series, Papers from AbstractionNation and Circusoiree Kits and all the metal/mesh bits and pieces that I totally love from Robokit, Structure Kit and its Add-On Pack and Meshed Up Accents (all perfect for teens!). No one does metal better than Ztampf!.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know Carolyn – I know I am!
I’m also so looking forward to see more her ztampfilicious layouts!

It’s been quite a while since we featured the talented Z!Girls. Now is the time to re-introduce you all to the 2nd generation of Z!Girls! There are two fabulous girls now – with a third one coming very soon. Let’s have a chat with Tracy and Lynn – both are avid scrappers with great personality; they are always helpful and friendly. Those who frequent digiscrap forums would agree with me :). Their works continue to delight me, their creative and imaginative ways in using Ztampf! stuff are truly inspiring. I am very grateful to have them with Ztampf! Tracy has been with the team since June 2008, while Lynn joined us in October 2009.

Tracy

Lynn

Q: Please tell us a bit about yourself!
Tracy: I am Tracy, married to Walter and together we have 5 children – Michael, Daniel, Joshua, Christopher and Alexandria. We live in New Zealand.
Lynn: I have lived in Ohio all of my life. I worked full-time as an administrative assistant for 15 years while earning a Bachelors degree in Management, but I am now a SAHM to two wonderful girls and really love being married to my DH.

Q: What is your mostest favorite thing to do?
Tracy: I love those “Last Minute” decisions – Decisions where we end up having the times of our lives together as a family, doing something completely unplanned – which we do often!
Lynn: My favorite thing to do is have fun with my family. We like to go to fairs, amusement parks, water parks, and city festivals. We took our first family vacation to Disney World, and we all really enjoyed the trip.

Q: Any favorite food/drinks you can’t live without?
Tracy: On a daily basis, I drink Twinings Lemon Scented Tea. In the summer I love an Ice Cold Bundaberg Ginger Beer, or a Fresh Banana Smoothie. In the winter Hot Chocolates all the way :) I am passionate about my food, I have loads of favourites including a good home cooked basic no frills meal, but then I adore Japanese food, and cook a lot of Fijian Dishes as my husband is Fijian. I bake on a regular basis and share my recipes on my blog.
Lynn: I drink Pepsi everyday. I love the sugar and need the caffeine because I’ve never drank coffee.

Q: How about music/songs or books – what are you into these days?
Tracy: I have a wide and varied taste in music – at the moment I am loving Lady Antebellum.
Lynn: I love almost all kinds of music; however, my favorite is heavy metal. The first album that I enjoyed playing on the record player (Anyone remember those things?) when I was five years old was Black Sabbath which belonged to my brother. As far as books go, I grew up reading horror novels from authors like Dean R. Koontz and John Saul, but now I like a good suspense thriller.

Q: What is your favorite subject to scrap about?
Tracy: My children are the reason I scrap so therefore my favourite subjects.
Lynn: My favorite subjects to scrap are my daughters. Along with my husband, they are the loves of my life. I also really like to do heritage pages. I love the old look and warm colors.

Tracy

Lynn

Q: How did you first find out about digital scrapbooking? Did you paper-scrapbook before?
Tracy: I was first introduced to Doin It Digi in 2006 when a member on a “Mummy Forum” I belonged to who was a Digital Scrapkit Designer tried to get members involved in Digital Art, anyhow it was short lived but I liked what I saw so googled “Digital Scrapbooking” and found DST. I have never paper scrapped although now I am finding myself more and more drawn to Hybrid projects.
Lynn :I’ve never been a paper scrapper. I discovered digital scrapbooking while searching the internet to add to my collection of frames and tubes for Paint Shop Pro. I’ve loved it ever since.

Q: What do you love most about digital scrapbooking?
Tracy: No Mess!
Lynn: What I love most about digital scrapbooking is the undo button. It’s great being able to change things over and over again, and if a layout just isn’t working out, I can discard it or never print it without wasting supplies or money.

Q: Why do you want to be in a creative team? What do you love most about it? Any tips for being a good CTM?
Tracy: I wanted to be a Z!Girl because I believed in Ztampfs’ Products, I loved there uniqueness and that they were original! I think if you believe in the Designer and her products it is easy to be passionate about them and create art with them. It also isn’t a chore to promote the products because you are truly promoting something that you adore. I have been on the Z!Girl now since June 2008 and still adore the products Fhung creates.
Lynn: Quitting my job to become a SHAM wasn’t the easiest transition. I enjoyed my job and the feeling of accomplishment. Being on a creative team helps fill the void that was left when I quit my job. I not only have projects to complete, but it also fills the social aspect that my job provided. I have made many wonderful friends through being on a creative team. A good creative member should have fun and enjoy what they are doing. Work with products that inspire you and that you truly love and would have bought anyway. Creating pages that you will cherish is a very rewarding experience.

Q: How do you manage your time between being your own person, a mother, a wife, a scrapper and a Z!Girl – among tons of other things?
Tracy: I like to think I am a super organised person, everything has its place and there is a place for everything. Time management falls into the same category. I have a diary on my desk, when a member of the family has something on – it is written in the diary, so I know what is going on and when. I am also a Go With The Flow person, if it cannot be done today do it tomorrow or the next day or the following week….
Lynn: Time management has always come easy to me. I can prioritize things and work efficiently to get things done. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have my days where I goof off a lot; however, I allow for that in my management. I usually get the things that need to be done first out of the way like cleaning, laundry, shopping, helping the kids with schoolwork, yard work, etc. With those tasks finished, I can focus on creating layouts when I have some spare time and not have unfinished chores hanging around in the back of my mind nagging me to do them.

Q: How/when did you first find out about Ztampf! – if you remember it? What first attracted you to Ztampf!?
Tracy: It would have been more than likely through DST and what has always and still attracts me to Ztampf! is the original products.
Lynn: I first discovered Ztampf! at Scrabook-Bytes back in 2006. I usually shopped in the bargain bin because I was unsure what I liked/disliked as a new scrapper. Then I saw Ztampf!‘s Quiet Joy Kit. I was drawn to the wonderful colors and just had to have it. I downloaded it and was so impressed with the quality and beautiful details. I even made stationary from one of the papers. I’ve been hooked ever since, and I am truly giddy to be a Z!Girl.

So there! I hope you enjoy getting to know Tracy and Lynn more here! Visit their Ztampfest Galleries to see more of their beautiful works. And don’t forget: Come back here on Thursday, Feb. 25th when they will talk about digi-scrapping techniques and stuff! Who knows, you might learn a useful thing or two :). Until then!