6 New Year, New Designers, New Inspiration!

I am so excited to finally share the changes we have been working on for months here -- today, I am sharing our new Design Team Members!!!

First, I want to welcome back one of my favorite Designers and good friend Candice Elliott! I love Candice's style and she can rock some American Crafts and Crate Paper -- whewwwweeee! She is definitely a designer to watch in the industry as well as a sweet and beautiful woman full of life. 

Hello, my name is Candice Elliott, a mother and wife who has a passion for all things art. For as long as I can remember I have never been without creating something whether it be in the art of drawing, writing, singing, and for the past 7 years scrapbooking. 

           I was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV in very humble little home along with 5 other siblings. My mother told me as soon as I could hold paper and crayons I was never without them again. Excelling in art in high school I won the over all artist award for the 4 years. I went on to start a family and started scrapbooking when my son was born 7 years ago. Within those 7 years I have had the honor of designing for my favorite companies such as American Crafts and Prima.

           When I am not creating I simply enjoy hanging out with the children and my husband and am taking up graphic design part time.

Next, a big promotion is in order!!!

I have named previous DT Member Nancy Keslin as my new coordinator. Nancy is so on top of things and has been guiding my wayward ship over these last months ... she has helped kept me on track! I am looking forward to her help in keeping this DT ship afloat as well as working on newer and bigger things. Want to do a cross promotion with us? Nancy is your gal!

I'm a Southern girl relocated to Northern California, mom to three not so little anymore children (ages 11, 14 and 17) and two fur babies, one cat, one dog. I have a wonderful husband of 20 years who supports me in all my wacky endeavors. I have been scrapping since my oldest was a baby (goodness that is a long time).

A few years ago, I was introduced to the online world of scrapbooking and soon became obsessed. My style is eclectic, running from shabby chic to more graphic design, though I rarely ever am truly graphic. (hee hee)   I choose to go where the mood, photos, and products take me.   I currently design for a number of kit clubs as well as my local scrapbook store and an online store.

You can find me at homesclscrapper.blogspot.com

Finally, we have added not one but TWO new Designers to the team. It is always very difficult to choose designers because lots of my friends apply but also people who are really influential in the industry applied too! That is so flattering but at the end of the day, I am looking for designers who match a set of skills, experience, social networking ability and connections, and styles and sometimes, that puzzle fits together in unexpected ways - it doesn't always make sense to choose my friends or the superstars who applied.

These new team members bring to the table pieces that we were missing and I am so looking forward to seeing how they round out the team and your experience with our monthly kits here at hydrangea hippo! They bring alot to the table as well as an excitement about creating that is contagious -- be prepared to get inspired!

HI! My name is Holly King. I am a wife and mother of two living near Santa Cruz, CA. I spend my days volunteering at my son's school and keeping our little lady happy. I spend my evenings cooking for my family and enjoying quality time with them. I spend my nights glued to my craft desk, creating layouts and cards and mini albums, and canvas and... well, gluing things to anything that will sit still long enough. I LOVE making things and sharing as well! I look forward to sharing projects created using Hydrangea Hippo Kits! 

I'm from Southern Louisiana and I'm a total country girl at heart. I love everything about Louisiana except for the heat and mosquitoes! I have been married for twelve years to a hilarious, annoying, wonderful man. I have three kids: Alexis Ariel, Jordan Jasmine, and Brandon James. The girls chose their own middle names when we adopted them. They both wanted to be princesses!! (I'm pretty sure that makes me the queen, right?) Being the mother of two special needs kids is always an adventure. One of my favorite things to to tell my husband is, "Scrapbooking is cheaper than therapy." I'm not sure he's buying that anymore!

I started scrapbooking when I was a teenager because my grandmother bought me a scrapbook kit for Christmas. I really got into it in 2004 when my daughter's social worker suggested I keep an adoption life book for her. I would say that I have a clean and linear style, but I like to branch out into distressing sometimes. It depends on the mood I'm in and how much of a mess I want to make. I love telling the story of our lives on my scrapbook pages. That's really what it's all about for me.

And finally, I want to say "thank you" to Megan Aaron, our outgoing DT Member from 2012. Megan is a good friend and a super talented designer!!! I am happy that I still get to work with her day to day through the Clearsnap Creative Team but I will miss her work here at Hydrangea Hippo.

Please take a moment to head to each of the DT Members' blogs to congratulate them on this new adventure!! They each have a $25 Hydrangea Hippo gift certificate to give away so be sure to visit their blogs!

Holly - http://experiencelifewisely.blogspot.com
Heather - http://miraclesmommadesigns.blogspot.com
Nancy - homesclscrapper.blogspot.com
Candice - truedivinehand.blogspot.com


And finally, I am still in the process of choosing guest designers so keep your eye on your inbox :) Thank you so much to everyone who applied!! This is always a tough decision as we have a limited number of spots ---we appreciate your time and your enthusiasm!! Keep up the amazing designing :)

--Jennifer