Design Team

Spellbinders’ Design Team

Hailing from several countries, these diverse women design projects for Spellbinders® Idea Gallery, trade and consumer events, and advertising. Their work has been featured in nearly every major paper crafts magazine and they have taught paper crafting classes at small stores, consumer conventions, and events. They are real women who have families and jobs, and have a passion for using Spellbinders products in innovative ways. Get to know them by reading their personal blogs and experience their art in the Idea Gallery.

Cathy Chlebana, Design Team Coordinator

For as long as she can remember, Cathy has been involved in one type of craft or another. Her introduction to mixed media paper arts began more than 20 years ago when she purchased her first rubber stamp. As her passion grew, she tried her hand at a number of paper arts, including bookmaking, collage and altered art. "I especially love working with metals in conjunction with die templates and Impressabilities™." Cathy first became part of the Spellbinders family when she joined the 2006 Design Team. She continued as a Design Team Member until the spring of 2009, when she became the Design Team Coordinator. Along with those duties, Cathy is also a member of Spellbinders Marketing Team. She is married to Ron, an architect. They have one married daughter, Stacey, and and adorable grandson. “They give me limitless encouragement to pursue my passion and are my biggest fans.”

Angela Ploegman

Angela’s been crafting since 1999, the year she moved from Winnipeg, Canada, to Iowa. She is a scrapbooker and mixed media artist, and admits that cardmaking makes her a little anxious! Angela describes her style as simple, layered and linear. She likes to simplify, speed up and decrease the mess involved with the latest techniques, she has a knack for making things easier. Angela serves on other design teams and has been published in several popular magazines. Angela works full time and teaches at her local craft store. She enjoys cooking and baking for her husband of 12 years and kids Devon and Maia. She loves traveling and photography too! Angela Blogs at Angela Ploegman Designs.

Christine Emberson

Christine resides in a town neatly placed between London and the seaside, in Kent, England. Her home is a Victorian terrace, and is alive with two teenage sons, a new puppy named Bella, and "far too many cats!" Christine works part time in London as a Legal Secretary. In her spare time she loves to craft. She learned to sew and knit as a child, and most recently Christine had a bead jewelry business. Once she discovered paper crafting she was instantly hooked. "I had discovered a way to 'gift wrap life', capture special moments and beautify them with craft." Christine describes her personal style as somewhat vintage with a slightly out of control addiction to butterflies. Christine can be seen demonstrating Spellbinders on UK’s Create & Craft TV on a regular basis. Flutter by Christine's personal blog at Hope & Chances.

Darsie Bruno

Darsie is a lifelong crafter, although she started stamping in 2004. She considers herself a cardmaker, but loves a good mixed media project! She describes her style as elegant, frilly and Victorian inspired. She spends her days as a papercrafting teacher, creating handmade crafts to sell, and is a member of multiple design teams. Her work has been published in many of the leading stamping magazines. Darsie lives in upstate New York and is a mom to three, Nessa, Lee, and Al, all adults now. She is encouraged and inspired by them, as well as her brother Scott and sister Robin, and the memories of her parents. In her spare time Darsie loves reading mystery and romance novels, watching old movies and relaxing by the lake. Visit her blog at Crafting with Darsie.

Debbie Seyer

Debbie’s affair with paper crafting began with a home party in 2000. Always crafty but frustrated with longer term projects like sewing and knitting, she was thrilled to discover card making. She has grown to love scrapbooking and mixed media too! Debbie has been published in magazines and the Spellbinders Nestabilities and Beyond Book and serves on a design team. Her signature style is classic and clean, or at least she starts that way and builds upon it. Debbie, her husband Keith, and their three daughters reside outside of St. Louis, MO. With one daughter in college, she keeps busy with the other girls’ school events, her church community, and reading. This is Debbie’s second term as a Spellbinders Design Team Member. Take A Peek into My Stamping Room with Debbie’s blog.

Judy Hayes

Judy and her husband Dennis live in southwestern Minnesota on an old farmstead. She is mother to Jennifer, Derek and Sarah, and grandmother to Joshua, Logan and Alyssa. Artistic endeavors must wait for evenings and weekends, Judy works full time for the Postal Service. “Creating, especially paper crafts, is nourishment for my artistic spirit! I try to make time for some sort of art every day.” Judy has always enjoyed creating; her favorite mediums are metal embossing, soldering, sewing, knitting, crocheting, jewelry making, gardening and rubber stamping, which she discovered in the late 80’s. “When I saw a demonstration of heat embossing, I was hooked!” Judy now teaches workshops and creates samples for her local stamp store as well as manufacturers. Judy’s work has been published in magazines and won contests too! As member of several design teams, she started blogging to share her passion. “Making the Spellbinders DT is a dream came true! I look forward to a wonderful year of challenges and opportunities on this part of my creative journey!" This is Judy’s third year as a Spellbinders Design Team Member. Follow Judy’s journey at Creating…My Style.

Teresa Horner

Theresa has been crafting since she was young. She has graphic design and costume design background, and uses that in her job as a teacher at a scrapbook store. She’s been on design teams, a DT Coordinator, and has been published online and in books. Her style, she says, is more on the clean Victorian side, with bling and lacy looks. She loves to show off the photos on her scrapbook pages, and loves working with Spellbinders dies. She sees artistic opportunities all around her, and appreciates the experiences she’s had in working and volunteering in her community. She dreams of becoming a professional sports or nature photographer. Theresa and her husband have 2 kids in college and 2 dogs. Sunny Southern California is home to them, and they love to spend time at the beach, hike, and travel. She loves to visit aquariums and zoos too! At home Theresa likes to garden and cook. Spend some time with Theresa on her blog, Victorian Paper Queen.

Theresa Momber

It only took a year for Theresa’s sister to convert her into an obsessed stamper; that was 2007 and she hasn’t looked back. She’s primarily a card maker but enjoys 3D projects, and admits to finding scrapbook pages challenging. She’s on a stamping design team, illustrates her own line of stamps, and has been published in major magazines. Theresa describes her style as clean lines and layers, and loves to add sponging to her projects. Theresa is has been married to Mike for nearly 25 years, and they have one daughter, Stephanie. At home in Northern California, she enjoys reading, hiking, kayaking and drawing when she’s not making cards. Spend time Crafting the Web with Theresa on her blog.

Yvonne Van de Grijp

A simple promise to send a handmade card in 2008 opened the doors to the “wonderful world of stamping” for Yvonne, now a full-fledged craft addict! She taught herself many coloring techniques with pencils, markers and inks. While originally a card maker, Yvonne has found a few items that could use a mixed media makeover. Yvonne is on two design teams and has created samples for both German and UK television. Yvonne’s describes her style as romantic and nostalgic, with “old-looking” soft colours with some distressing. She likes to stamp and color images on her projects, and strives for originality in her work. Yvonne comes to us from the Netherlands and assures us that no one wears wooden shoes! She and husband Harrie have three adult children Suzanne, Jeroen, and Marjolein, along with Phoebe, her rescued English Cocker Spaniel. Originally a lawyer, Yvonne now takes care of her family, parents and pup. She enjoys long walks in the woods with Phoebe, and appreciates nature in all four seasons. She keeps busy with cooking, gardening, reading, traveling and movies with happy endings. Yvonne speaks Dutch, English, Spanish and some French. “Being creative is a way of life too…” on Yvonne’s blog, Phoebeez.

*Photos by Allison Tyler Jones Photography

Spellbinders’ Inspiration Team

This group of highly talented and knowledgeable designers are Spellbinders Ambassadors, creating videos and attending local events to share one on one inspiration with you! Get to know the Inspiration Team by visiting their personal blogs and attending events when they make a personal appearance!

Giuseppina Cirincione, Inspiration Team Coordinator

Giuseppina Cirincione was born in England and moved to Phoenix, Arizona with her family in 1972 and has lived here since. She does not have a formal degree in art; but always found herself drawn to design and different art forms. She has taken a variety of classes based upon her interests at local community colleges and at the downtown Phoenix Art Center. This led to working with different media, publishing three how to arts and crafts books (Collage Lost and Found, Bent Bound and Stitched and Solder Technique Studio) and teaching workshops on a variety of techniques.

AJ Otto

I have been crafting since as long as I can remember, but the spark to get into paper crafting began when I was pregnant with my oldest child. Wanting to preserve every moment and memory lead me to scrapbooking. I have since gone into cardmaking. I still scrapbook, but with a less is more approach, which can also be found in my cards. I love linear graphic images, clean lined designs, and have an overall less is more approach to crafting. I am a stay at home mom to two children, Will, 12, and Lauren, age 8. Along with my husband, we live in the Pacific Northwest area and love to get out doors and spend time kayaking, skiing, or hanging out at the beach. I also love to cook, bake, and photography. For more creative inspiration from AJ visit her blog, The Willow Garden.

Holly Simoni

Holly loves to find artistic inspiration in her wild west surroundings of Wyoming. You'll often find her creating mixed media artwork, scrapbook pages, cards and mini albums. She joined Spellbinders Paper Arts in 2006 as a Design Team Member, in 2010 and 2011 she became a Spellblogger, and is now part of the Spellbinders Inspiration Team. Holly is also a 2011 and 2012 Tattered Angels Design Team Member. Her work has been published in magazines, and she actively engages in social media. To see more of Holly's crafting projects, her photography, writing style, creative tutorial videos and blogging, visit her at www.hollysimoni.typepad.com

Julie Overby

Julie Overby is an avid paper crafter who has been designing for Spellbinders Paper Arts for over three years. Her three children (eight, ten and thirteen) are a constant source of her inspiration. Her husband of 17 years is one of her biggest supporters in all her hobbies which also include photography, piano, and running. Recently, their family relocated to B.C. Canada where they are getting settled in for their next adventure. She has been passionately involved in this industry for over 10 years and shares her artwork on her blog, Mini Moments.

Kazan Clark

Kazan, who originally hails from South Africa, moved to beautiful Colorado with her Canadian husband 14 years ago. Crafting is a hobby which she thoroughly enjoys! It offers her ways to be creative in all area's of her life including scrapbooking pictures of her two little girls (who love crafting with their Mama too!). As a family they love to travel all over the world - it is often times that Kazan will use these multicultural experiences as inspiration for her projects. Her love for all things Spellbinders is evident in her projects on her blog, Nunu Toolies, and in various publications and media outlets, so it is with great excitement that Kazan continues her journey with Spellbinders as a member of the Inspiration Team.

Lesley Langdon

Lesley, a wife and mom of three, resides near Toronto, Ontario. She fell in love with paper crafting five years ago by chance, when she met a new friend who loved stamping. It didn't take long to invest in stamps, ink, paper and flowers: the bare essentials! Lesley thrives on challenges, working with new products and carving out a new path for crafting. "I enjoy teaching, and using my digital camera to take unique shots of people and things, and of course, my finished projects!" she says. Her creative process always starts with a vision. She considers the combination of products she has and can usually see the end result in her head even before she begins. She loves the agelessness of working with the various labels and standard shapes in the Spellbinders Nestabilities® line, and she is drawn to the possibilities of the many flower die templates that Spellbinders has to offer. Lesley has been designing in the paper crafting industry for several years and serves as a design team member for several companies. Hang around Lesley's personal blog, Lesley Langdon Creative.

Tina McDonald

Tina leads a busy but exciting life in New Brunswick, Canada, with her hubby of 12 years and five wonderful children. They range in age from 22 months to 9 years old. Tina's escape from everyday reality is scrapbooking, and she's been doing it for over 8 years, and teaching it for almost as long. "I draw inspiration from life around me! Everything from the looks on my children's faces, to their clothes, music we listen to, and emotions in our daily life!" says Tina. Her style can be described as romantic, clean and simple. She loves distressing, black and white photos and journaling strips. Her first love is scrapbooking, but she has grown to enjoy cardmaking and mixed media. Tina currently serves several companies as a design team member and has been published in many popular magazines. This is Tina’s second term as a Spellbinders Design Team Member. When not crafting, she makes time to cook, read and spend time with family. Escape to Tina's personal blog, My Sanity.

Windy Robinson

Windy and her husband Brian are proud parents to seven-year old Campbell, who is unique, intelligent and musically inclined, and Hadley, who is creative, athletic and comedic at the age of four. They reside in Cincinnati, Ohio. Windy holds a BA in Art History and an MA in Museum Education, concentrating in Art Museum Education. Currently a stay at home mom, Windy finds ways to engage herself and her children in creative endeavors and instills the importance of art education in their lives. "I've been scrapbooking for about 13 years, and started making cards a couple of years ago. Since then I have fallen head over heels in love with card making," Windy said. Her style ranges from classy and elegant to homespun and cute, and her designs include layers, distressing and stamping. Her daughters enjoy crafting alongside her, and are learning to share their cards with loved ones. Windy serves as a design team member for several popular companies and has had her work published in magazines. In her spare time she spends time with family and volunteers in her community. "If I can do something helpful and creative every day, I'm a happy girl!" Hang out with Windy on her personal blog, Card and Page.

Spellbloggers

At Spellbinders we believe inspiration is a two way street. We are as inspired by paper crafters as much as we hope our products inspire them. Over the years, we've developed a network of talented men and women sharing their personal inspiration and creativity through their blogs.

Kelly Loubet, Social Media and Community Developer

Kelly joined Spellbinders in November of 2011 and has been blogging and working with brands in the social media space for over 5 years. Her experiences as both a blogger and a team project manager have given her inside info on how brands work with bloggers and what techniques work best when building online communities. Some familiar brands that Kelly has worked with include, The UPS Store, Office Max, Lexus, and T-Mobile. Before coming to Spellbinders, Kelly was Director of Social Media Marketing for the New York firm, Social2B. In addition, Kelly is the chair person for a successful Phoenix charitable group that allows mothers to give back to their community through live social events. Learn more about Kelly Loubet.

Candy Rosenberg

Candy Rosenberg has been paper crafting since she was a child and comes from a creative family of artists, cartoonist and painters. She has been in the scrapbooking industry since 2007 and during this time has been in online marketing, design and education team coordination, product development and commission work for a number of manufacturers and magazines. There is no mistaking her style; a blend of vintage, shabby chic and mixed media all inked up, fussy cut and layered. When she first started out her style was not like "others," however, no matter what she never compromised her style and now her style is more mainstream than ever. Candy tells us the only reason why she does what she does is to inspire others, teaching is her passion. I would advise not to say "I do not have a creative bone in my body" in her presence! She is known for pulling her scissors, a bit of paper and adhesive out of her purse and perform an impromptu "mini" class to prove to you that every single person is creative...your style is all that you have to practice. Candy is blessed to still have one teenager left in the home and the creative bug has spread to her and her older sister. The youngest is a duck tape artist and attends CHA with her mother, the oldest daughter is a student at the Art Institute of Portland for Photography and Design (which makes moms job easier with plenty of photos). Not to leave out her son who is in the Navy, he is creatively navigating the waters. Come join Candy in Living The Altered Life.

Linda Lucas

Linda comes from a family of artists; she started knitting at the age of 6. Four years ago she was introduced to stamping at a party. “I have escalated from ‘How Boring’, quickly bypassed ‘Addicted’ to ‘Obsessed’ at a fairly alarming rate...and not looking for a cure!” She makes cards every day, loves mini albums, scrapbooks when she can. Linda is a member of several design teams and has been published multiple times online, in magazines, and in books. Linda describes her style as eclectic, vintage with a touch of shabby. She loves to embellish with lace, pearls, ribbon and of course, Spellbinders dies! Originally from New Zealand, Linda met her husband while on holiday in Australia. They have three teenagers and call Canberra, Australia home. In her spare time Linda loves spend time with special people and create! She runs workshops and card design classes and makes cards to sell in local boutiques. Spend some time at Lovely Linda's Craft Central, her blog.

Michelle Woerner

Michelle was introduced to stamping through a home party consultant and never looked back. She considers herself a card maker and enjoys the satisfaction of finishing a card and giving it to a friend. Her style has evolved to be clean and simple. "But, I love to play around with embellishments and layers," and creates in a variety of styles. As a stay at home mom to two boys, Michelle stamps for her sanity. It also serves her desire to indulge in things girlie, frilly and pink. She crafts every day. Michelle and her husband, Bill, along with Daniel and Ryan, ages 8 & 6, reside outside of Portland, Oregon. Michelle is in her second term as a Spellbinders Design Team Member. Be sure to Stop and Stamp the Roses with Michelle on her personal blog.

Spellbinders’ Blog Team

Becca Feeken

Since she was a school girl, Becca’s been making something. She began knitting, crocheting, sewing and embroidering at a young age, developing an artistic interest in fibers, textures and color. Her fascination with crafting exploded into a studio full of paper, craft tools, markers, yarn, fabric and more importantly a lifestyle. Crafting is her creative outlet and personal therapy. Although seasoned and skilled in a number of areas, paper crafting is her favorite. Introduced to stamping through an embroidery friend in 1995, Becca was immediately hooked with a particular love for die cutting. Her inspiration comes from her passion for the craft and her desire to express herself creatively striving to things in an unexpected way. Her favorite Spellbinders products are Labels, Pendants and Frameabilities®. A 25 year Florida resident, Becca has worked for a hotel company for 20+ years as a Network Engineer. Crafting is her relief from a heavily technical day! She has three children in college, all living locally. Be amazed when you visit Becca's blog, Amazing Paper Grace.

Debbie Olson

Debbie Olson is a designer with a passion for teaching. With a background in graphic design and education, teaching paper crafting was a natural outlet for fulfilling the creative urge on a time-budget. She has been privileged to work with many industry leaders, including several stamp companies, paper and accessory companies, and a marker company, as well as Spellbinders Paper Arts. Her favorite Spellbinders dies are generally those with clean, simple lines -currently the Labels series. In her non-paper crafting free time, she plays piano, works with stained glass, and enjoys spending time with her husband and eleven-year-old son in the beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Learn more about Debbie on her personal blog, Thinking Inking.

Heidi Blankenship

Heidi resides in Minnesota with her husband Eric and two sons Dusty and Evan. She has been involved with paper crafting for over twenty years. Heidi was introduced to stamping in 1988, and over the years, has taught many classes at her local stamping and scrapbooking stores. "I love to create a large spectrum of projects with a broad range of styles, but I lean towards the vintage, artsy style," She's been very fortunate to work with and design for some wonderful companies.  Heidi has had artwork published in a variety of national and international magazines. "My favorite Spellbinders die templates are the Motifs and Accents, but the Labels come in a close second!" Heidi loves the versatility of Spellbinders die templates and says her favorite technique is Reverse Stenciling. "I love creating cards, altered arts, home décor, and scrapbooking— traditional and digital." In her spare time she enjoys spending time with family and friends, photography, floral design, painting, gardening and jewelry making. See all of Heidi's work on her blog, Embellished Dreams.

Linda Duke

Linda met and married her best friend, Jim, 15 years ago. He supports her in everything she does. They reside in a small town in the Central San Jaquine Valley of California.  Together they have two beautiful daughters and four wonderful grandkids that supply big smiles and beautiful memories. Recently retired from her job as a Redevelopment Specialist for City Hall, Linda is looking forward to crafting all day long. "I discovered paper-crafting and stamping completely by accident many years ago. I went to a stamping party with a friend and have been hooked ever since." She loves creating cards, scrapbook layouts and altered projects, and sharing them with the many wonderful ladies in the crafting industry. "To me paper- crafting is more than a hobby, it's a passion." Linda plays out her passion on her blog, Linda's Works of Heart.

Seth Apter

Seth Apter is a mixed-media artist, author, and instructor from New York City. His artwork has been exhibited in numerous exhibitions throughout the United States and Canada and can be found in multiple books, independent zines, and national magazines including Somerset Studio, Cloth Paper Scissors, Studios, and Artful Blogging. He is the voice behind The Pulse, a series of international, collaborative projects that are the basis of his book "The Pulse of Mixed Media: Secrets and Passions of 100 Artists Revealed", released in March 2012 by North Light Books. He is also the artist behind two workshop DVDs released in June 2012 by North Light Media: "Easy Mixed Media Surface Techniques" and "Easy Mixed Media Techniques for the Art Journal". He is currently working on his second book, due to be released in January 2014. Seth joined the Spellbinders Blog Team in November 2012 and looks forward to all of the new possibilities. Visit Seth at The Altered Page.

Sherry Cheever

Sherry thinks of herself as an artist. Her two beautiful daughters, aged 25 and 22, would differ with her, and prefer to call her a crafter. Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Sherry now calls Jeffersonville, Indiana home. She's been married to Lance for 32 years, they've moved around some and settled on the Sunnyside of Louisville to raise their children and live near family. Her passions are my family, stamping, reading, automobile racing, and gardening." I’ve been crafting all my life, starting as a little girl making potholders, painting, knitting, counted cross-stitch, etc., and eventually went on to minor in art while in college." Sherry seriously started stamping and paper crafting in September of 2005 and soon realized she had found a creative outlet that let her work with her art background. After working with a number of whimsical/cutesy images for a number of years, she found her niche in altered art in a vintage and distressed style. "I’m at my creative best when I have ink on my fingers and I’m sanding away on a project. I love taking new things and making them look old."  Sherry can be found shopping the junk stores and gets very excited when she sees an old wood box or shelf to alter. "I buy it when I see it, and keep a stockpile of alterables on hand at all times!" Sherry loves Spellbinders floral die templates and considers those her favorite. She likes to create one of a kind wall hangings and other home décor items. Visit Sherry's blog at Walking on the Bad Side.