Today we get to visit with one of the VIP guest on the Tangie Baxter team.  The VIPs are here for a few months and get to play and laugh and make things with Tangie’s fun and exciting designs.  Todays, VIP guest is Scrappie Irene. 
What continent do you live on?
   I live in the Netherlands, Europe. But I would love to live in Italy.
Do you have any animals? What kind?
   We don’t have animals, but our neighbor’s cat is visiting us everyday and he sleeps at our home every night.
When you are scrapping, what are the sounds around you?
   Only the sound of the television downstairs, or the talking of my husband when he is sitting next to me on one of our other computers.
What would subject or material would you like to see in a kit from Tangie?
   I love all her kits, her style is amazing, so I don’t know… I don’t miss anything in her kits.
What do you sing in the shower, if you do sing (we know you do!)?
   First of all, I prefer the bath and let’s say I scrap better than I sing. So no singing from me in the bathroom.
What is your favorite book of all time, and why?
    All the Harry Potter books. Why? Because everything is possible in those books.
What do you think when you hear rain start outside?
    Let’s stay inside and scrap! Or when I have to go to work: Oh no, I have to wear my rain cloths on my bike!
Where is your dream vacation?
    No doubt: Italy    I’m half Italian and I love to visit my family there and there is a lot more to discover for me!
Which is your favorite genre of movies ? (Comedy/ Romance/Suspense/Action/Horror)
    I like a mix of romantic action movies. I really enjoyed the new movie The Tourist, but I also like the Harry Potter movies and the good old Grease.
If given a complete freedom to start afresh, what profession would you choose and why?
    I would have done a study DTP and would have had a more creative job in stead of bookkeeping what I do now. I started giving digital scrapbooking lessons last year, it’s fun to teach others something creative.

Irene is a very prolific scrapper, she seems to always have a new page ready and up in the gallery.  I watched her last year on the Art Journal Caravan with pure determination, finish the whole Caravan.  That took some fortitude.  I can’t imagine how she does what she does, but her page she did about stretching time must take place in her world.
We welcome Irene for her stay as a VIP, and hope you all enjoy her work too!

Her name is Ferryl Kathleen Suzanne Fisher Simonian, aka Fifi and various other deviations of said nickname.  Here is her story:

Anyway, I can tell you two stories about my name and nickname.  My mother named me Ferryl when she heard that name in the hospital when I was born, but I have always delighted in the fact that Ferryl is a homonym for “feral,” a word that means “wild thing” in the dictionary.  Oh, and my husband’s middle name means “fire eyes” in Armenian, which quite amuses me as well!  As for my user name and nickname, Fifi, it comes from a stint in high school where Multi Impaired students were allowed to call me Fifi on Fridays.  We all got a big kick out of it!

 What was your favorite subject in school? 
English, from Day 1 all the way thru high school until college.  I’ve always been a word queen.  My Junior year English teacher called me verbose!   Then came college and French…stop the world…I became a Francophile!

  When you are scrapping what are the sounds around you? 
The sounds around me, wow, that could vary wildly!  It depends where I’m scrapping, upstairs or downstairs.  If I’m on the floor level in the Family room and Raffe’s around I hear the record player going (yes, a real live old fashioned 33 1/3 disque record player!) as well as the TV blasting sports or whatever, but sometimes I’m lucky and there’s only one.  If family is around for dinner there’s lots of noise and I have to stop scrapping and actually do dinner, darn them!  If I’m Vincent sitting, I fit a little in while he’s mesmerized by some goofy cartoon show.  I’m a night owl, so there could even be dead silence!
 
What is your favorite book of all time, and why? 
I have always loved Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  It’s just so delicious, all the elegance and wonderful conversations and comebacks among the characters, you do remember, word queen here!  And, it’s a romance with a happy ending.  In tandem with that the original move starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier is a fave too, and Keira Knightly does a fine job in the new version.  Anyway, love it, but wouldn’t want to live then.
 
Where is your dream vacation? 
I love Asian things so I would love to go to China while I can still get around, and Hong Kong.  Would love to see Australia too.  I’ve been lucky to have gone to Japan many years ago, DH has a good record friend who lives in a suburb of Tokyo and sometimes visits here.
 
Which is your favorite genre of movies?  
I like any movie that doesn’t require a lot of concentration, like give me something with a happy ending, make me laugh, there’s enough sadness in the world, I prefer not to see it on the big screen too!
 
How old are you in your dreams?  

Funnily enough I did a page on this.  I like to think of myself as Forever 42, right in the middle of my life with the kids growing up, still fairly young, no terrible crises to deal with, just happily alive. (Of course the sad part is that I was no where near being a scrapper yet!)
 
What is your favorite layout that you have done with your VIP goodies from Studio Tangie!  

 
Too hard to pick one favorite, but I do love the one with Kira using the She kit 

and the one about me using Ink, then and now.  I also love doing the grandkids, especially with the recent goodies!
 
Do you dance like crazy when no one is looking? 
  I suppose I should because I am totally uncoordinated when it comes to dancing.  I have always envied people with a good sense of rhythm and style.  Love watching them, no way I can do it myself!  (which is why I love Dancing with the Stars, I admire anyone who can try and puts themselves out there like that!)
 
  Fifi is like a drop of happiness that once released takes the powerful winds of others and touches each person.  I, personally have watched her thru the Art Journal Caravan, and seen her lay her beating heart onto almost every layout.  The trials and tribulations along with the joys and jubilation come thru time and time again. 
During the Spring, Scrapbook Graphics (SBG) had a wild and wooly competetion in the chat room.  It was like a game of no other, inpired and created by the one and only hostess Kate. (hey this is about Fifi).  The essence of the challenge was each regular chatter joined up with either a designer or crew CT member from SBG.   This is when I came to know and just love the Fifsters!!  Every week her take on the challenges would put a giggle in everyone! This is by far my favorite she did with Kate:
The left is Fifi’s and you have to know Fifi is a lover of all things French!!

this contest had winners and no losers!! We all won, because the friendship with Fifi was a prize to be cherished.
I close with Fifi and her layout Free to Me!

skinny-collage or Far From Shore..can’t decide

 These next layout, oh my, if you don’t all go ouch, I need a new occupation, Before the Internet:

Okay, I know you are all wondering what tidbit? Well, I think Vicki and I may have been separated at birth?  You see I am old, my first car was a VW and we share the same birthday??? Kinda gives you goose pimples?  No? Golly, I thought it was beyond cool!!  We are digital twins?  
So, enjoy your day, and come back next Monday when we find out everything about the Fifsters!  


~never lose your joy

When I first started playing with the people in this world of Digital Scrapping, I stumbled into one of the greatest groups of people, Australian Scrappers!  There was a site a long time ago, called Snap&Scrap.  I giggled and laughed with these ladies, and it wasn’t all Aussie’s, obviously cause this American from California was there, but it was a whole lot of folks living in the future.  (I always kid dear Sharon because they are so far in the time zone from California)
Sharon aka Skyezak, was one of those that was so kind to this very new scrapper.  I remember many pics of her then very little boys and the dog, who was so much a part of the family, I think he had a few layouts of his own. She has touched me as I have followed her love for her boys through some tough times. 
Hearing Sharon was going to be one of the elite VIP members for Tangie, put a big smile on my face. 
We started with easy questions, Sharon,(her answers are in purple)
What is your name?

Sadly, we recently lost our last family pet, our 15 year old ginger cat named Rusty. He was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer and we had to make the decision that was best for him. Only a few months ago, we said goodbye to our faithful pooch Zak who was a 14 year old Golden Retriever as he had major arthritis and two years ago, Zak’s mate Skye went to doggie Heaven after she got spinal arthritis and kidney failure. Having these pets for so many years has left a bit of a hole in our family as I keep waiting for the dogs or the cat to appear at the window or come to greet me when we go outside. They become part of you and are so loyal to you and it’s so hard to say goodbye to them

I want desperately to show you Sharon in bunny ears, but I am gonna restrain myself.  You will have to go look yourself!  Sharon and her family are so often the highlight of her pictures, and cruise through her gallery and see the glowing rosy cheeks of her boys and if you wonder where they get them from, just look at this beautiful baby~ This page made me gasp, for the sheer beauty of the layout along with the fact her boys look so much like her and how she looks exactly the same today!
Sharon is a survivor, and this layout to me, especially with the sun coming through behind her, is a real glimpse of her strength and fortitude to keep her family safe and secure.  Bliss by Sky_Zak a mom with her boys, just pure bliss!

Sharon is a scrapper with a heart that she over and over puts on her pages.  It is a pleasure being together with her on a team again!  I am always happy when our trails cross, and I hope you enjoy a bit of Sharon aka Skyezak, skye_zak and my friend.
Keep an eye next Monday for another in depth interview of a fantastic VIP members!!

~Keep the Joy

A big hello to you all!  Our Tangie had a wild idea a few months ago, how about a VIP Backstage Pass that was available for sale in her store? There were only a few spots open, and they went quick!  The ladies that grabbed those VIP passes have nestled right into the team! Every week, we are going to highlight one, and let you get to know them with us!

First off, is HerbWashJewel, who is indeed a jewel!

I actually have been a secret fan of herbwashjewel since the beginning of the Art Journal Caravan this year.  I love her hybrid book, and am in awe of her talent.  Just the cover to her Art Journal is enough to make one just be awed:

 

 Here are a few of my favorite pages:

and this one made me gasp and it really helped me begin to finally get  art journaling!

I have linked all her art pages to her full gallery, I so recommend you go and enjoy this amazing artist and her unique and wonderful work! herbwashjewel, she indeed shines!