What Is Bright & Charming As A Warm Day?

Why, digital designs by April Day, of course! April is a thirty-something stay-at-home mom who lives with her husband and two children (son is eleven-years of age and daughter just two) in the state of Washington. Born and raised in southern California. April and her husband made the move to Washington about a dozen years ago.

April's mother loves to craft so April has always been involved in arts and crafts. She describes expressing her creativity as an important and necessary part of her life. She refuses to describe herself as an "artist," preferring to be called a "crafter," and has dabbled in many forms of creative expression. She has made candles, beaded, crafted jewelry, and has a great passion for sewing and quilting. Modest, she is quick to add that she may not be expert at these things but enjoys the process just the same.

Paper crafting has been a big part of April's life, from scrap booking in paper to altered arts. April says she scrapped in paper for about three years, then discovered digital scrap booking. That discovery led to a desire to create her own digital designs. For a little over six months now, April has been selling her designs under the trade name, April's Day Designs, in Tina Williams Designs store: http://tinawilliamsdesigns.com/scrap/index.php?manufacturers_id=7&zenid=192839693aaecd1b731dbae190f3fb9e&main_page=index

Asked to describe her style, April called it "ever-changing." Color is the base she works from and she loves to experiment so expects her style to reflect this. She says, for her, the most difficult part of creating a kit is deciding what to include so that the user will have plenty of choices in elements and papers to work with.

When asked what is her current favourite among her designs, April promptly replied: "Fairy Fodder." This lovely kit took more of her time and effort than those proceeding it and she is very pleased with the outcome. Below you can see the previews for the kit and there are links to the page in Tina's store.

http://tinawilliamsdesigns.com/scrap/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=800

The kit includes 24 papers and loads of embellishments!

When you're looking, be sure to view the rest of April's products.

I purchased a copy of "Fairy Fodder" because it's perfect to scrap photos of my young nieces and I also feel it can be used for altered art projects and greeting cards. In fact, I made a birthday party invitation which you can see here:

Half-fold card. Outside above; inside below.

And just to give you some idea of other art work by April, here are photos of an altered book and a paper bag book she made:

Above: cover of paper bag book; below: inside of paper bag book.

Below: cover of altered book.

I asked April what sort of formal training she has had in art in general and in digital design in particular. She laughed and gave an answer I can really relate to. April has had no formal training and continuing, says: "[I] don't think I could. I know that sounds funny, but I get the most enjoyment figuring things out for myself. I'm a great self teacher!" Here on the east coast, I was nodding my head in agreement and smiling. There is a certain satisfaction that comes from doing it on your own. However, we all know that there are moments we get frustrated when trying to learn something new. So, I asked April what advice she would give to those trying to learn digital design on their own. She gave some very sound advice: "know your tools. Get to know what your programs do. And . . . play with everything. Push all the buttons and mess with all the controls; don't be scared." After all, she reminds us, you can use the "revert" action if you don't like the result.. Most of all, Have Fun! if it's becomes too much like work, it stops being fun and that's whats it's all about, having fun and being creative."

My final question to April was, "What else would you like readers to know?" April replied: "I want people to know that they should encourage the designers they like. Leave that comment on their blog or at their store, or write that review .Tell us what you like the best . Tell us what you would like to see more of. Let us know and we will make it. The more feedback designers get, the more inspired they get." Take April's advice; we all need positive reinforcement, so make certain you express appreciation for those artists who share their work and expertise with us. Leave comments, especially comments of substance that express what their work means to you, what you especially enjoy, what a piece of art made you think of. If you create art or layouts using freebies from artist, why not e-mail them a copy so they can see ow you used it? Share some love!

In closing, April would like to share with you a freebie from a new kit she's working on. No preview for you, but you'll love it. Don't forget to leave some love! Download here: http://www.4shared.com/dir/4291842/94475f1f/AMD_chatfreebie_OCT.html

Password is AprilDaze

You can visit April on her blog: http://aprilsdizzydazes.blogspot.com/

Also, scroll down for Sunday's freebies.