Meet Our September 2012 Featured Designer: Etc. by Danyale

Meet Etc. by Danyale, the creator of this month’s DST Gold Member Kit: JOURNEY

Etc. by Danyale

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Tell us about your family.

I live along the beautiful Gulf Coast in the Pensacola Beach area with my firefighter husband of 18 years. We have 3 funny, quick-witted kids (two boys who are 27 and 21, and a girl who is 15) and one quirky silly granddaughter. Our house is mostly happy and we find ourselves enabling each other’s fun side. Laughter has sustained us and our love for keeping it real no matter if you are a stranger or long time friend. We have a motto: “Don’t ask us if you really don’t want to know…we will tell you.”

How long have you been designing?

It has been the shortest year and half I could have imagined!  I was dared by a fellow designer to make a mini kit after making alphas/word art for another designer after about 6 months. I didn’t even know how to make a paper, but I sat down…then that was it. Now I am here. How did that happen?

What part of designing comes easiest to you (themes, colors, papers, elements)?

I am all about the ideas of theme and color. I have a gazillion at least. I cannot always translate that into design, so it does keep me on my toes. Ideas…yes, definitely a dreamer.

What part of designing is most challenging to you?

Overcoming my own learning curve. I recently started drawing more and more of my own elements in my designs. Using that Wacom tablet wore me out at first, but I am finally finding a groove with it.

What inspires you?

Everything.  A commercial, photo, song, a moment with my kids bumbling around the kitchen at dinner, you name it. It comes to me sometimes at the most random moments, and I have to jot it down real quick.  I have pieces of paper with sketches and notes on the back of napkins and power bill envelopes. I do the same thing to keep notes on funny things my kids say so I can scrap them.

If you’re running low on design mojo, where do you go to kickstart your creativity?

I am a huge fan of Pinterest. It is so addictive and anyone creative can relate! My daughter also looks on Pinterest and Tumblr so we are always hollering at the other to come look at something.

Link us to a layout that you have seen using your work that just left you awestruck. 

Oh, wow! I thought of 3 layouts the moment I read this question, and they were all by different scrappers for different reasons. I am always inspired by Holly (hollyinjapan) with her memory keeping. She and I have teamed together for the Artisan Notebook for a couple of years. Her pages just speak to the scrapper in me.

What do you see is the next trend in digital design? 

I think scrappers are getting more esoteric with their pages. They are really stepping out of their comfort zones now that digital scrapping has become as popular as paper. I love seeing layouts using multiple kits because that helped them scrap their memory. It is not about the kit, but about the memory. I think the trend of “use it if you love it no matter where ya’ got it” is growing and pages are more beautiful than ever in the galleries. I am waiting on journaling to become trendy, sigh.

What is your biggest tip for balancing design time with your personal scrapping time? 

Balance it – are we supposed to? Then I have failed miserably with that. LOL! I just sit down when I have time and walk away when I don’t. If something does not get done, well then….. it just doesn’t. It will be there when I get back to it. I am a cancer survivor, so time is relative to the moment I am living now. I always put my life and family first.

What is the latest you’ve ever stayed up to finish a design or scrap?

I pulled an all-nighter once for a kit that I just could not stop working on. It became one of my store favorites and is still on invoices every month going home with scrappers.

What’s your favorite snack to have handy while you design?

I love to have fruit to nibble on. I am a grazer food-wise, so I need little snacks all day, every day. Oh, and I would cause bodily harm if you touched my caramel.

What book are you reading right now? 

I recently read the Fifty Shades of Grey series. I have a long list of actors I think should play Christian, but my favorite choice would be Gabriel Macht of the Suits series on TV.

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