An interview with Annette, aka Voodoo Vixen

Today I'm interviewing my good internet friend Annette (aka Voodoo Vixen) who can be found on the internet at Scrap Happens Here. Please do NOT pin any of these photos from my blog.  I'm sure Annette will allow you to pin from her blog.

Thank you for agreeing to this interview. I greatly appreciate you taking time to answer these questions.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth: I guess the first thing that comes to mind when I think of you and your blog Scrap Happens Here, is how much you have traveled in just the past few years since I first "met" you as you were leaving Saudi Arabia. I also see you have lived other places before I met you. Please tell us a bit about where you’ve lived in the past, even back to your childhood.

Annette: I have spent the last 15 years as an expat wife but I was an expat brat as a child so it is a life that I have known for many years and probably meant that 

I adapted to the lifestyle a little more easily than some who came to it without previous experience. I grew up in Libya and went to an American Elementary Oil School there. 

When I married Chris and started doing overseas assignments 

it was a lot easier than when I was a child… we now have the interwebs and Skype and social media and email to keep in touch with family back home…. You still miss your family but you can stay in touch and be part of their lives far more easily now.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth: What is your favorite art genre? (Scrapbooking, bound books, etc?)

Annette: I love making 

mini books but am making an effort this year to return to 

12 x 12 layout scrapbooking as they have been neglected somewhat in recent years.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth: How did you get into scrapbooking?

 

Annette: On our first assignment to South Africa I found that after decades of working full time that I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands and there was a scrapbooking shop in the local strip mall and 

I took some photos in and asked about matching papers….. and was lost from that point!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth: How did you transition into altered art?

Annette: I always saw the 

arty farty stuff and loved it but not having any art background I wasn’t sure if I could do it. 

I joined a couple of swaps on UK Scrappers website and had so much fun with it that I didn’t care if I was any good or not!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth: I see you were on the Bind-It-All design team for a while. What were the perks of being a Bind-It-All design team member?

Annette: I was on the original Bind It All design team, it was unusual because they actively sought team members from an international base instead of keeping it to the USA, which is the norm. What a brilliant group of people and such different styles were brought to the table. 

Zutters were extremely generous with product for us to create with and I really enjoyed being part of the design team and still enjoy the title of being one of the original Zutter Zisters.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth: Please tell us the pros and cons of being on ANY design team for those of us who might wish to apply to one in the future.

Annette:Pros would be part of a group of like-minded, extremely talented people that encourage each other to try new ideas, having a deadline to work to, which can be a double edged sword depending on your personality type… I am the type of person who would hate to let someone down so having a deadline makes me sit and think and try out new things and 

produce the required number of projects per month. 

Cons… you have to do the projects required, 

you have to spend the time on the blogs and forums answering questions etc, 

you have to use the product you are given to promote and you lose the freedom to spend your time on other things that aren’t anything to do with the Company you are designing for. 

Bleubeard and Elizabeth:  I have personally called you the best paper engineer I have ever known. When did you expand into paper engineering, or is this something that simply comes natural to you?

Annette: I love creating different things and making projects from chipboard and paper and it is all trial and error as I never know if something is going to work until I have given it a go. 

I wanted to push the boundaries to see new ways of doing things and boxes and 

handbags just started to appear on my desk.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth: I see you feature your family (husband, son, mother) in your art and travels. Please tell us some of your favorite shared moments with them.

Annette: I have been so lucky to have been able to live in some wonderful countries and cities and enjoyed the experiences shared with 

Chris 

and 

my son, Christopher 

and my Mum. 

Bleubeard and Elizabeth: Bleubeard and Squiggles would be offended if I didn’t ask you a bit about Pandora (Pandy) and Tom-Tom. 

Annette: Pandy and Tom-Tom are my two little Saudi cats that I rescued and who made their home with me in Jubail, Saudi Arabia 

and then traveled to Canada and lived there for a couple of years, 

back home to Scotland and off to Australia for a couple of years more. They are now adapting to life back here at home in Scotland and 

enjoying a settled lifestyle. 

Bleubeard and Elizabeth:  What are you working on at the moment?

Annette:  My home… we have been out of the country for most of the last 15 years and the house has missed out on a lot of TLC and updating… so now I am busy getting all the maintenance and upgrades done so that it is comfortable for out retirement. 

I am looking forward to summer when the projects are all finished and I can start playing in the scraproom without guilt and demands on my time for other stuff.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth: Since we now know a bit about your art, please tell us a bit about yourself. 

Annette: I keep telling people I am in my 50s because it will be the last year that I can honestly use the phrase

… I have one son and 3 stepchildren and 3 stepGrandkids so there are always plenty of things to record for the benefit of future generations.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth:  Is there anything I haven’t covered that you would like to add?

Annette: No LOL ;)

Bleubeard and Elizabeth: Where can we find you on the internet?

Annette:  http://scraphappenshere.blogspot.com/

Bleubeard and Elizabeth: Thank you again for allowing me to interview you this month, dear friend, and for 

all the lovely art and 

gifts you have bestowed upon me over the years.   

If you enjoyed Annette's (Voodoo Vixen) art, be sure to head to her blog.  If you are inspired by her art, please pin from HER blog, not mine.