We have asked our new 2012 Design Team Members a little bit about themselves and we are anxious to find out more about these creative ladies! We’ll be meeting them throughout January! Right now please help me welcome Jennifer Evans to our team.

A little about Jennifer:

As an artist for the last eighteen years, I believe that if my hands aren’t stained from paint then I wasn’t having fun enough! I share my artistic passion with my husband and five year old son. We make our home in Oregon where we love the outdoors (when it isn’t raining!), photography, cooking a good meal, then eating it, and reading beside a warm fire.

How did you get started in paper crafting?

My twin sister, Rebecca, introduced me into scrapbooking and stamping twelve years ago. I kept my feet grounded and refused to take the plunge that she had. I held tight onto my canvas, paint brushes, and acrylics and watched as she continued to write and tell me about her new passion.

She even went as far as to send me an instructional video of her using eyelets to entice me. You know, when they first came out and you had to use a hammer? When I played the VHS (remember those?), all I saw was the top of her head and loud banging. I couldn’t even hear what she was saying over the noise. (She hates when I tell that story, but, man, it’s so funny!)

A year later I walked into a scrapbook store, fell in love with paper, and I dropped my art supplies thinking that I was to never to look at them again. It wasn’t until altered books and mixed media came into the Northwest that I began to realize that my first love for paint and canvas could be used with scrapbooking! Scrapbooking then became more of an artistic way for me to tell my story than just photos on a page to document an event.

How would you describe your style?

As a free-spirited Craft-Media artist, I have a passion for color; reduce, reusing, and recycling items to make them new again; and ultimately having fun and making a mess doing it! I am right brained and love using untraditional items to create meaningful pieces of art, while also trying to balance myself occasionally with a surprisingly clean and organized layout.

What inspires you to create?

I get my color inspiration from God’s beautiful creation, online like at Pinterest, or in home decor and fashion magazines. I always create a sketch before beginning unless I am working in my journal and then I just go with it!. I don’t always follow the sketch perfectly but it helps me get going creatively.

Once my little one is down for the night, I unpack my things in my art space. I create such a mess that I have at one time realized that I was working out into the hallway! I continue the piece until it is finished even if it is well past midnight. If there is chocolate in the house, I have already eaten it before the project is done. When I have the piece finished, I sigh with delight, look at the mess, and shake my head. How did it get that bad? I clean it up before crawling into bed exhaustively happy. If I have an itch to get the paint out but don’t want to clean the mess, I get on the laptop and do a digital layout to make up for it.

Do you prefer layouts, altered projects, cards…or all of the above?

When I am not scrapbooking, I have been known to try and be creative in other ways. Once I reupholstered my furniture and tried to change my light fixtures. My husband came home to a dark house and wires hanging from not one but three rooms. Yeah, let’s just say, my family doesn’t care what I create as long as I leave the electrical alone!

Any other hobbies?

I love photography. My husband and I also have a photography business where we are able to capture memories for others. I love to garden and will spend several hours in boots playing in my perennial garden, even if it is raining. Before I stayed at home with my son, I was a preschool teacher. So, I have a soft spot in my heart for children’s literature. My home is filled with bookshelves and I love to snuggle with picture books and my little man reading.

A fun fact about you?

I have a sweet addiction to chocolate, my favorite being Britain’s Cadbury Crunchie. Since I am unable to get the chocolate covered honeycomb locally anymore, any chocolate is its substitute. I also love Jane Austen, a warm blanket, and a hot cup of coffee.

What is your favorite Pink Paislee product?

I love Pink Paislee’s patterned papers! Not only are they bold, fresh, and one of a kind, but they go a long way! I always hoarded several sheets and have made them last for up to four projects!

We asked Jennifer to share one of her favorite Pink Paislee projects,and she chose this beautiful mini album with the Daily Junque line!

Please help us welcome Jennifer to our team!  We can’t wait to see more of her work in 2012! You can visit her blog at: www.createoften.blogspot.com.