Monday, November 4, 2013

About Me

I'm a freelance designer currently able to take on some additional design responsibilities. Please email me using the link to the left under my photo....let's talk!

I am currently a Design Expert for Echo Park Paper Company where I create projects and tutorials for their blog and various social media outreach, as well as, create samples for display at the industry trade shows.

In the recent past I served as a Brand Ambassador for Fiskars, working in a Lead Fiskateer role co-managing an online community called The Fiskateers. I also found great joy in contributing design work to Fiskars for their online content in my position with them as a Crafting Expert--allowing me to create projects and write articles featuring feature Fiskars tools and products.

I formerly designed project samples for Karen Foster Design for display in their booth at the Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) trade shows on a bi-annual basis. In addition to my role with Karen Foster Design, I created project samples and video tutorials for Little Yellow Bicycle on a monthly basis for several years. I have a self-authored e-book series available known as the Beautifully Handmade series. I'm a former member of The Story Matters design team, SRM Stickers design team, Daisy D's Paper Co. design team and the editorial team at Scrapsupply where I served for 3 years in which my main duty was to create online tutorials for the monthly newsletter.

I have 3 books in print; Circle Journals, Pens & Needles, and Go Figure: Scrapbooking with Numbers, all published by Pinecone Press.

I love to make things beautifully handmade---making something from nothing. My style is very reflective of that, without looking crafty or homespun. My style can also be considered fresh and comfortable, polished and not forced, and technique driven with a strong focus on layering products. I love to use products in unexpected ways, while following design principles without looking overly graphic or linear.

I absolutely love to take on new challenges and push my creative limits. There really isn't anything that I am not willing to tackle as a designer.

And now that we're past all that professional design stuff, a bit about me personally:

My name is Tania (that's pronounced tahn-ya for those of you unsure). I'm a 37-year-old wife of nearly 20 years to my husband Doug and together we have two spunky princesses. One quirky 13-year-old girl. One ornery 10-year-old girl. I'm a lover of lowercase typing & coffee flavored icecream. I wear flip-flops year round even when it's snowing and the smell of bacon makes me gag. I'm all about pretty stationery, being frugal and the color red. I used to have the nickname 'karate kid' but am sadly out of practice and unable to prove why. let's just say the only black belt around my waist now is on my jeans. In my dreams I have a perfectly organized house, but reality it's organized chaos and makes me only slightly neurotic.

I'm extremely curious and ask a lot of questions, but usually forget the answer just minutes later. Don't mistake this for lack of being genuine, I just like to believe it's because I need to exercise my short-term memory just a bit more. I loathe shopping & the smell of fruit flavored chewing gum. Baking is my go-to stress relief and cleaning too--as long as there aren't two girls un-pretty-ing (yes, it's a word) everything I just made pretty.

I'm moved & inspired by sight and sound, and have fallen in love with indie/pop music. I guard family time with my heart and can't resist browsing thrift stores or flea markets for decorating treasures. I'm undeniably loyal, but indescribably sensitive. I long to connect with people on a deeper level, and being able to share my thoughts uninhibited without judgement. And I'm pretty sure I'll love you all with the fact that I love myself a good peanut butter and dill pickle sandwich. It's delicious, I promise.

You can view my personal blog here: Tania Willis blog
You can view a small collection of my work here: Tutorials & Videos