Oscraps

Designer Q&A: Amanda of TaylorMade Designs

clarabear

clarabear

always chatty at the O!!
Good morning. It's Monday so lots of us are feeling the beginning of the week blahs but that can be alleviated with a fun conversation with Amanda of TaylorMade Designs. So, let me start with a couple of questions and I'd love to hear what you guys want to know also.

I believe you are from the south...do you have an accent or wear cowboy boots?
What do you listen to while you design? In the car?
What designers inspire you? Scrappers?
 
N

NewAdmin

Guest
ok, so this will be fun!!!!

I believe you are from the south...do you have an accent or wear cowboy boots?
--hahaha. I am definitely from the south... born and raised. and i'm pretty sure I have a little southern-ness in my accent. I don't think it's like dolly parton or anything (I hope not!), but there's no mistaken where my roots come from when I speak. lol! but no... I've never owned a pair of cowboy boots. i'm much more of a jeans and flip flops kind of girl. I stay in the south more for the heat as opposed to the "country-ness" of it. i'm kind of a "southern city girl", if you will. :)

What do you listen to while you design? In the car?
--i'm ALWAYS listening to *something*. I love my music. soooo much. I always have Pandora playing. but my stations vary. I have 6 or 7 of them I cycle through. for designing, getting ready in the morning, or cleaning the house I typically like more of a "background music" setting that I can sort sing and hum along to while I work. that's where stations like Tracy Chapman, James Blunt, Van Morrison, or Staind usually play continuously. but in the car, I want something I can sing out loud to, so I have my Alicia Keys, Mary J Blige, and Leela James stations for that. :) they all make me happy.

What designers inspire you? Scrappers?
--designers that inspire me... the first few that ALWAYS come to mind are shaui of fei-fei's stuff, liz of paislee press, and vicki of vicki stegall designs. I have collabed with all of them and i'm ALWAYS so amazed at how my creativity just goes BEZERK when working along side any of them!! their scrapping is equally inspiring! and scrappers... my goodness... there are WAY too many to name! designs and products usually inspire me for their style and if I can scrap with them, but scrapbook pages... they inspire me on so many levels. it inspires me to see anyone express themselves out loud, and scrapping just pulls it out of people. I love it!
 
N

NewAdmin

Guest
Amanda, what other hobbies do you enjoy? Do you Paint? Sew? or Knit?
--hmmm... well, I don't really have any other talents. lolol. but I could sit with my iPhone and play zynga games allllll dayyyy lonnnggg. lolol. (ms. clara can testify to that!!) especially Words with Friends. I always have 15 or 20 games going at a time. so if any of you play... find me!!! hahaha. my username is *ataylor* (with the asterisks):) :) :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
clarabear

clarabear

always chatty at the O!!
Lol. I sure can testify to that. You always kicked my butt at words so I had to cheat so I quit playing. Haha!

It's getting warm. What's your favorite summer activity? Mine is to find the nearest facility with AC.
 
N

NewAdmin

Guest
It's getting warm. What's your favorite summer activity? Mine is to find the nearest facility with AC.
--THANK HEAVENS it's getting warm!! I LOVE summer so much. mainly because i'm always freezing and I H.A.T.E. to be cold. my favorite summer activity... well, I sort of worship the sun. there are VERY few things I like more than laying in a lawn chair or a raft in the pool and just baking. it is the single most relaxing thing in the world to me. I will say the older I get, the more sunscreen I use... but I am out there just the same. haha. a few other favorites include cooking out with kids running around and swimming and music playing (which is most every sunday at my in-laws) and sitting out on the balcony with will (hubby) at night chatting about life. :)
 
N

NewAdmin

Guest
So you listen to music when you create? What is your favourite ?
--my taste in music varies quite drastically. I like pretty much everything except for new age country and hard core rap. but while i'm designing... definitely relaxing music. some of my favorites that play during the day are Tracy Chapman (who is SO inspiring to me), Amos Lee, Van Morrison, Jack Johnson, Leela James, Jackson Browne, and James Blunt.
 
clarabear

clarabear

always chatty at the O!!
I just suggested these questions to others so I thought I'd throw them in here:
*What's your favorite TV show? *What is your favorite element to design? *Do you love the smell of freshly cut grass?
 
hathaway

hathaway

Active Member
Hi Amanda!! As you know, I have been a huge fan of your designs and your scrap work for about 5 years now. (wow, it's crazy it's been that long!) Over the years I know that your scrapping and designing style has changed, how would you define your current style? Also, how do you keep developing as a designer/scrapper? What do you do to learn new skills? Thanks!
 
N

NewAdmin

Guest
*What's your favorite TV show?
--I don't watch much TV anymore but there were a few shows that I watched beginning to end. LOST was probably my very favorite EVER. a few others include Weeds, Heroes, oh... and I love to watch forensic shows and HGTV. :)

*What is your favorite element to design?
--that's an easy one. haha. I really love word art. its really my favorite thing to create... period.

*Do you love the smell of freshly cut grass?
--YES!!! absolutely, yes!! I think mainly because it's one of the first signs of warm weather approaching! haha! (I also love the smell of that blue-green stuff they spray on the grass. hahaha. kinda weird.
 
N

NewAdmin

Guest
Hi Amanda!! As you know, I have been a huge fan of your designs and your scrap work for about 5 years now. (wow, it's crazy it's been that long!) Over the years I know that your scrapping and designing style has changed, how would you define your current style?
--ahhhhh! you're so sweet! and yes... you've been around since pretty much day one! i love it!!! let's see... my style. I don't really how to describe my style. well, I know I like a good mixture and balance of "pretty" with "messy" with lots of empty space. I don't know what that's called. hahaha. but both of them on a page just makes me happy. :)

Also, how do you keep developing as a designer/scrapper? What do you do to learn new skills? Thanks!
--i also don't really know how i keep developing. i could be walking, laying in the sun, taking a shower, sitting at the dr's office, and out of nowhere a flash of an idea comes across my mind. then as soon as i can get to photoshop, i go to work on it. sometimes, it just flows and i love it... other times, it's hideous and looks nothing like what's in my head. hahahaha. as far as new skills go, i am a trial and error kind of person. sometimes if I've tried over and over and can't get it right, i'll go searching for tutorials. and then of course, i have my designer community here at the O, and i'll ask one of them. :)

so glad you're still a fan and didn't forget about me while i was under my rock for the past 3 years. hahaha. and THANK you for celebrating with me this week!! xoxoxoxo
 
Gilmoregirl

Gilmoregirl

Well-Known Member
Hi! So I have been dying to ask you this Forever...careful how you answer...Coke or Pepsi? Ha, Ha...just kidding! But, here is a real question...what is your biggest pet peeve?
 
N

NewAdmin

Guest
Hi! So I have been dying to ask you this Forever...careful how you answer...Coke or Pepsi? Ha, Ha...just kidding!
--hahahahaha!! I prefer coke, actually. lol. but have a soft spot for pepsi because they make mountain dew... which is hands down the best soda E.V.E.R!! hahahaha

But, here is a real question...what is your biggest pet peeve?
--wow!!! this is a tough one! I think because I don't really have any "big" pet peeves... but I do have a long list of very small, stupid ones... like so small and stupid, I feel ashamed to voice them. lolol. but ok, here are a few of the smalls ones...
-personalized license plates
-shortening the word 'little' to 'lil
-a group of people shouting one phrase all together at the same time (drives me nuts! ha!)
-stepping in water in my sock feet
-typing with capital letters (I know!... it's so badddd typing in all lower case, but capital letters just aren't as cute to me. I do use capitals when typing something "professional"... or when I get auto corrected. ha!)
 
kiki00star

kiki00star

Well-Known Member
Who told Alyssa and Gage they could grow up in the last few years that you've been gone?!? It's crazy how time flies.

My question: How did you meet your husband?
 
faerywings

faerywings

The Loopy-O
CHEERY O
I don't think I have any questions off of the top of my head, but I just have to poke in and say how happy I am you are back!!!!

(PS: Totally with you on the summer/heat/sun/flip flops!!)
 
Cynthia

Cynthia

So good to be back!
I remember reading years ago that you (and your kids) drank GALLONS of chocolate milk every day. Do you still do this or what's your drink of choice these days?
 
faerywings

faerywings

The Loopy-O
CHEERY O
Funny one for you-- Have you ever tried scrapping an Art Journaling page? If you have, link us up! Was it hard for you to go out of the box?
If not, would you ever?
 
N

NewAdmin

Guest
i'm so sorry I got behind in here!! let's play catch up!! :)

How did you meet your husband?
--We met at a restaurant called Café Max... I was a bartender and he was interning as a chef prepping for culinary school. It was kind of funny... the owners had a "no dating" policy between employees, so we had to keep it double secret at work. I only worked there for like 8 months, but we began dating about 2 weeks after I started. hahaha. so it got a little hard to keep it quiet... ESPECIALLY when I was mad at him. hahaha!! anyway, when we spoke of each other at work, I referred to him as "tim" and he referred to me as "amy". hehe. it seems kind of silly looking back on it. lolol


Shoes or purses??
--SHOES, definitely!!!!! I could care less about purses. I buy one from target and will carry it around until the bottom falls out of it. lol. but I lovvvvve shoes. not expensive ones, though. it is VERY rare that I pay more than $30 for a pair. lolol. i'm kinda cheap like that.
 
N

NewAdmin

Guest
what are your favourite colours to work with?
--this TOTALLY depends on my mood or what i'm designing. I am all over the place with color. I will say that I don't typically like dark color palettes, though. I like light or bright with one dark color to anchor it all. hahaha.

I remember reading years ago that you (and your kids) drank GALLONS of chocolate milk every day. Do you still do this or what's your drink of choice these days?
--bahahahah! yes... my drinks are still the same. but i have changed things up a little. i still drink a vinte mocha frappuccino from starbucks in the morning (every morning), i do drink mostly water during the day now, but then i have a glass of chocolate milk after dinner. :)
 
N

NewAdmin

Guest
Funny one for you-- Have you ever tried scrapping an Art Journaling page? If you have, link us up! Was it hard for you to go out of the box?
If not, would you ever?
--i actually have never tried one of these. it's a very intimidating style for me. it is definitely outside of my box, but i will never say never!!!

Soooooo, are you a picky eater or not?
--that would be a big, fat yes. ahahaha! i have texture issues... oh... and "a bunch of stuff all mixed together in the same bowl" issue too. lol! (*shudder*) i'm not as picky as i used to be, but i'm still pretty picky. i guess being born and raised in the south has branded me for life... a meat and two vegetables + rolls... my favorite in the world!
 
N

NewAdmin

Guest
are you a reader? What is your favorite book you've read?
--I do love to read. I don't read that often... just when I start hearing a buzz about a book and the raves drive me to go out and buy it. hahaha. once I get sucked into a book, I read it in like 2 days. hahaha. once it grabs me, I can't put it down. there are only a few that have done that to me. If I had to pick a favorite, I'd probably have to say The Shack by William P Young. I think mainly because sooooo much of how I view the world and god and people was affirmed in that book... it also seemed to explain some things in a way that just made sense to me... things that i didn't quite understand before. I've read it several times. lol. i also have it on audio book, and sometimes when i'm down or really struggling i will skip to certain chapters just to be comforted. haha. :)
 
clarabear

clarabear

always chatty at the O!!
I loved that book too. I drug my feet for years to read it...but was so glad when I finally did. It made a lot of things clear for me too.
 
N

NewAdmin

Guest
clarabear said:
I loved that book too. I drug my feet for years to read it...but was so glad when I finally did. It made a lot of things clear for me too.
Click to expand...

I read it once when I was in my late twenties... read it again last year. amazing how differently it read once I was older and had been through hell once or twice. hahaha. good stuff!
 
N

NewAdmin

Guest
and seafood! omg. it's the worst texture. most people think i'm nuts, but i couldn't eat a lobster tail if someone held a gun to my head. (*shudder*)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top