Introducing our next Guest Design Team Member ~ Dee Pankiw

We'd like to welcome Dee to our Design Team! Dee will be the Guest Designer for the next 3 months at The Nook! Be sure to check out the gallery and message boards to see Dee's work and all the fun that she will be having with us!! I asked Dee to send us a bio of herself and here it is!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello. My name is Dee (aka Gramma Dee) and I am an ADDICT. Even when not working on a scrapbooking project, my mind is filled with ideas with what could be created. I am a COLLECTOR. I purchase materials just so I can have the option of using them later.

I PLAY WITH PAPER. And other things, of course. I am into this hobby way over my head. Believe me! My once office is now a scraproom. One one wall, I have tools & materials stacked to the ceiling, and I have to get out a little step ladder to reach it! Every horizontal space is covered with STUFF. I have to move scrapping materials to work on other projects.

I am a GRAMMA! Love spending time with the kids. Delighted that they still allow me to enter their private little worlds. They let me share a little of their fantasy world, their hopes & fears & dreams & worries. Their parents are busy—as I was when I was a parent—but as a grandmother, I have time to listen.

These kids share some of my passion for scrapbooking. They love going through my scrapbooks, looking for pages about themselves. They edit my stories to make sure I have the details right. They happily pose for my camera and sometimes even suggest photos or themes or scenes that they would like to see in one of my books.

I am a STORYTELLER. My dad’s voice still plays in my head, recounting all his adventures & our family events, and I want to tell the stories of my family in a way that they will remember. For me, scrapbooking is all about the stories it lets me tell. I choose the photos and papers and other elements to enhance this story. I want it to look good, too, of course, but the title, journaling & photos need to tell some adventure or reflect some mood I believe cries out to be remembered.

I am a LEARNER. I am fascinated with new techniques, new ways to play with new papers & embellishments, stamps & inks, tools & techniques.

I am a TEACHER. I am a retired adult educator after teaching academic upgrading for 34 years and earning a Masters in this field. As a contractor for a couple of colleges over the last couple of years, I have written some course materials, designed & taught employability workshops and courses, and worked in the classroom helping individual adult students solve academic problems.

I look forward to my 3 months as Guest Designer for the Nook. I am pretty intimidated by all the talent here, but will try my best to keep the creative juices flowing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just love the lengths Gramma Dee will go to take pictures of her Grandchildren.... here she is climbing a huge hill taking pictures all the way!!