Introducing the 2023 Halloweeners Design Team

Hey Whimsy friends, it's beginning to look a lot like .... Halloween! If you've been following our Whimsy Blog for a while, you'll know how much we love Halloween around here, enabled by our amazing Creative Director Deb Davis and wonderful Whimsy boss Denise Lynn. We have the best fun and an amazing team of creatives dedicated to bringing you all the Halloween creative ideas and fun for the next three months! We are planning to have some fun over in the Whimsy Stamps Facebook Group too, so be sure you're signed up there to join in our Halloween Shenanigans! There will be prizes and opportunities for you to share your Halloween favourites with us. So be sure to check in and join in the fun.

We will be kicking off our Halloween Season on August 1st with an Instagram Hop. The team cannot wait to share with you their first creations of the season! So watch this space as we will share all the details with you very soon.

Now it is my great pleasure to introduce you to our team and to share a little with you about these incredibly talented ladies! I encourage you to check out their social media links and follow them as we will have loads of fun and inspiration to share with you over the next three months. 

Denise LaRonge is back with us for another Halloween season and we're super excited to have her back again! I'll let her share a little about herself... Hi, I'm Denise! A lifetime California girl. I grew up watching and learning from a super creative mom that loved absolutely ANY kind of creative outlet. I've always had a love for photos and pretty papers, and started out scrapbooking years ago, then moved into card making and mixed media. My style has evolved through the years as I continue to learn and grow with this awesome industry. I'm so excited and honored to be part of the Whimsy Halloweeners DT again this year. I know it's going to be tons of ghoulish fun! ... Check out Denise's little corner of our crafty world here on Instagram and Pinterest.

Karen Murdoch is joining us for her first Whimsy Halloween season and we're so excited to welcome her to our Whimsy family of creators. I'll let Karen share a little about herself... I discovered cardmaking about 15 years ago after making a scrapbook for my niece's 18th birthday and soon became addicted. My obsession really took off around 2019 when I discovered Tim Holtz and was instantly hooked. Die cutting is my thing and I love to experiment creating textures with embossing folders and inks to create backgrounds. My IG journey started in 2020 and I love sharing with others and enjoy seeing all the inspiration out there. When I'm not in the craft room I enjoy walking, travelling, watching my favourite football team (Liverpool) and spending time with my family, particularly my sister as she also has the crafting bug. I am originally from Essex but moved to Norfolk in 2004 where I met my husband. I have 2 sons, 1 son in law and a grandson... Check out Karen's little corner of our crafty world here on Instagram and Pinterest.

Lauren Taylor is returning to Whimsy for our Halloween season and we are super excited to have her back, you may recognise Lauren from her amazing video tutorials. Here she is to share a little about her crafty journey... My name is Lauren Taylor, I'm a Southern California Girl and I like to make things! Handmade cards are my favorite and I have been making them for almost 15 years. Halloween is my favorite holiday and I’m so excited to share some Whimsy Stamps inspiration with you for this spooky time of year! You can find me sharing my creations here on Youtube, Instagram and my Blog.

 

Rachelle Oltean is returning for another Whimsy Halloween and we are delighted to welcome her back. I'll let her share a little about herself... I started my career as surface designer, creating wall covering, fabric and gift wrap designs, eventually owning/operating my own studio for many years. In 2000, I was prompted by a friend to start stamping and I’ve been doing it ever since! Card making is such a great hobby and it’s awesome to send handmade items to friends and family! I’m always a bit surprised (but happy) when people tell me they save every single one (especially the Halloween Cards) and I’m so glad to be invited back as a member of the Whimsy Stamps’ Halloweeners Design Team!... you can find Rachelle in her little corner of the crafty world here on Instagram and her Blog.

Rebecca Rapanaro we are so happy to have coming 'home' to Whimsy. Rebecca is returning to us after a wee break, but for her first time designing with the Halloweeners. If you've seen Rebecca's previous creations for Whimsy, you'll know just what a perfect fit she is for the Halloweeners! Here's Rebecca to share a little of her crafty journey... My name is Rebecca Rapanaro I am an artist/cardmaker from Canada. I am known as the Wizardess of Cards, I create paper magic, sometimes quite eccentric. My love of Halloween and all that is spooky, haunted and old allows me to create very imaginative Halloween cards, my absolute favorite... You can find Rebecca's little corner of the crafty world here on her Blog and on Instagram.

Silvia Galloni is from Italy and we are beyond excited to have her joining our Halloweeners Team this year. Here is Silvia with a little about her crafty journey... My name is Silvia and I’m Italian. I live in a small village on the way to Lake Como and surrounded by mountains. I’m a stay at home mom and I spend my spare time reading, watching TV series, walking in the open air and crafting! My biggest love is cardmaking, but I love making mini albums and layouts too sometimes... You can find Silvia in her corner of our crafty world here on Facebook, Instagram and her Blog.

Sylvie AKA Kaliscards is returning to Whimsy but this is her first time designing with the Halloweeners and we are delighted to welcome her back and to see her unique brand of crafty magic come to the Halloweeners Team. I'll let her share a little about herself... Hi! I'm Sylvie. I live in France. As far as I can remember, I’ve always loved cards, stationery and paper in general. I started crafting my own Christmas cards 2 decades ago, involving very limited techniques. It’s only about 5 years ago that I went really serious about cardmaking. After hesitating for about 2 years (fearing that I wouldn't be good at it and would quickly quit it), I finally bought my first alcohol markers and my first big shot. And from there, I just couldn't stop. 2-3 years ago a friend of mine convinced me to share my work on Instagram, which I did under my cat's name, Kali. Very soon after, I was contacted to guest design and before I knew it I joined my first Design Teams. You may have seen me on the Whimsy Creative Team last year and I'm thrilled to be back for a spooky 3 months on the Halloweeners Team! I can't wait to start sharing some inspiration with you all!!! You can find me on social media here - Instagram, Facebook and my Blog.

Tami Bastiaans is returning for another Whimsy Halloween and we are so delighted to welcome her back again. I'll let her share a little about herself... My name is Tami and I've been involved in the crafting world since around 1985. My family owned a craft and needlework store where I worked, taught classes, and made samples. After graduating from college, crafting took a backseat to teaching junior high school. That is until the late 1990’s when I hosted a scrapbooking class in my home. That led to teaching paper crafting classes and being on the DT at my local Scrapbook store. Sadly that store closed in 2016, but that led to a "dreams do come true" opportunity. I was asked to design product samples as a maker for Tim Holtz, and have thoroughly enjoyed that for the last 7 years. Two years ago I had the privilege of being a guest designer for Whimsy Stamps during the 31 Nights of Halloween. Last year I had the honor of being on the Inaugural Whimsy Stamps Halloweeners Design Team, and I couldn’t be happier that I was asked to return as a Halloweeners designer this year. I’m looking forward to making some fun Halloween cards over the next three months! When I’m not teaching or creating, I love spending time with my husband Matt, our kitties, and my mom. In our free time we enjoy trips to Walt Disney World, date nights at Disneyland, and afternoon tea. You can follow my crafting here on my Blog, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

Waleska Galindo is a cardmaker and crafter from Guatemala in Central America. She is returning to us for another Whimsy Halloween and we couldn't be more excited to welcome her back. Waleska brings her own blend of magic to her creations and we're excited to see what's in store for us this year. Here's Waleska to share a little about herself... Hello my name is Waleska Galindo, I am a Graphic Designer that totally fell in love with cardmaking and stamping 10 years ago. During this time I have discovered that I am a very passionate cardmaker. As a Graphic Designer I developed many artistic skills that help me to have a very versatile style on my projects. My favorite cards to make as you can imagine are HALLOWEEN CARDS, I like to use vibrant color combinations on my cards and why not think outside the box on some designs. I found my inspiration in my everyday life but specially on spooky things! I am very excited to create with the amazing Whimsy Stamps products, I can't wait to start! You can find me on my Instagram account here.

Wendy Nicola Jackson (and then there was me, hehe) Hi, I'm Wendy also known as Crafty Kiwi Mama. I grew up in New Zealand, but spent my very young years in France. I'm from a large family and have six siblings. My hubby and I travelled soon after we got married and ended up living in London, England for 13 years before returning home to Auckland, New Zealand with our two British kiddos. I've always been creative, but rediscovered my love for papercrafting when the kids were small through British Craft Magazines. Hubby encouraged me to start blogging and the rest is history! I've been designing for Whimsy since 2017 (which was my long standing favourite papercraft store) and love it! I learnt to love Halloween after spending time in England and the US and it's fair to say, I've got the Halloween crafting bug! I especially love to create Halloween Décor. I've created some fun Halloween Décor items for the past few years and look forward to adding to them this year. I'm really excited to be designing with this powerhouse of talent we have this year on the Halloweeners Team (and a little in awe to be in their company to be honest!). You can find me in my little corner of the crafty world here on my Blog, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.

We really are super excited to be bringing you some Halloween mischief, inspiration and fun very soon! As I mentioned above, we will be kicking off the fun with an Instagram Hop on August the 1st and that's just where it all begins, so come and be part of our Halloween countdown through our Facebook Group and follow us on Instagram for all the Halloween reels too! It promises to be a Spooky Season to remember!

Hugs and happy Halloween crafting, Wends and all the Halloweeners Design Team xoxo