Ana Cabrera

Today is a wonderful day my friends…. I’d like to introduce you to Ana Cabrera. In addition to being wildly creative and insanely talented, Ana has been working feverishly on the CK (CreatingKeepsakes) new online goodness for all the scrapbooking junkies out there.

I always ask this question but, it is something that I myself am interested in. How do you define Scrapbooking?
pictures+paper+imagination = scrapbooking
What does it mean to you? For me, scrapbooking is not really that serious. Ok, that may sound odd since I work in the industry, but I really… I have always just enjoyed playing with paper. That is what scrapbooking is to me. Does it tell a story or leave a legacy, sure, but at the root of it all, it is just fun!

What are the things that inspire your work?

I get bored easily, so it just depends on what I am obsessing about. Sometimes cool products will inspire a project, sometimes fashion, but most often it is commercial art. Things like packaging, ads, store fronts, business cards, stuff like that. I am also very inspired by the materials I use. So the papers, paints, and other goodies will send me into a creative frenzy.

What are the art supplies you simply cannot live without?

Kraft Cardstock, Hambly overlays, Making Memories tiny letter stickers, and vintage rhinestones. You can find at least one of these items on almost everything I do. The most used item in my arsenal, my ATG 700 gun. Anyone who knows me knows that this is my crafting best friend.

How does being a Mom influence your work?

Let’s see. . . being a mom gave me some wonderful subjects to scrap about. And I am not just talking about my kids, though they are fun, I like to document what it is like for me to be a single mom and the challenges (and successes) that I face. It has also helped me to develop speed. I am a very fast scrapbooker, and that comes from my insanely busy schedule and trying to create in a nut house.

So, how does one do what you do? What are the pros and cons of being an editor?

This is always a funny question to me. My career path was something like this. Wedding singer, hip hop performer, hip hop teacher, professional chef, freelance graphic designer, editor, freelance scrapbook designer, and now Online Ed for CK Media. The one common thread in career path is passion. I have always been passionate, sometimes to a fault, for what I am doing. I don’t have the discipline to work a job I don’t absolutely love. I wish I could report that I spend time creating things, but most of my time in this position is spent in front of the computer. We just launched our Beta sites… and to do that, you need a lot of redbull, patience, and a passion for the art and technology.

Pros and cons of being an editor, specifically an online editor.
Pros

People – I have met many wonderful women through my work. I love to meet women of all types who share this common love and passion. I have found some very wonderful friends as well. Friends who were there for me when I hit tough times, friends who rallied around me. It speaks volumes about WHO is in the industry.

Products – I get to see all the fun new products, often before they are widely available. And considering that fact that I am easily distracted, it helps keep things fresh.

Travel – this is actually a pro and con. I love to see new places, eat in new places, but business travel is really not as “glamorous” as some think. There have been many a trip when it was the airport to the hotel and back. But again, meeting people along the way is a massive plus!
But I think one of the best parts of my job, is having a place to share. My mind runs a mile a minute. I always have some crazy idea I want to share. This job allows me to do that.

Cons

Stress. The online world is a high stress fast paced game. We are usually either the hero or the villian… not much in between.

Minutia – there are a lot of little boring non-creative things I do everyday.

Time – All moms struggle with time management, but anyone in publishing understands the long hours it takes to get the job done. And for me, the line between work and the rest of my life is pretty fuzzy. And you would probably be surprised to know how little I get to create just for me.

There are many scrapbookers who want to pay for their addiction by selling their work or scrapbooking know-how? What advice would you give them?

Play nice. It still shocks me to see people not be nice to one another, or trying to claw their way to the top. Other than that, it can be tough. Most of us in the industry come to the industry as editors, art directors, marketing specialists, product designers etc who also have a passion for our niche. That does not mean that you can’t make a little green selling your work or know how, you will just need to be a little more creative about it. Hone your skills, learn a lot, then look for a need in the industry and fill it. It is a lot of work to make a hobby into a career.

What is a Coconut Goddess?

haha, I am the coconutgoddess, what that means… that is a secret.

Creating Keepsakes has gone through many evolutions since it began. What trends do you see emerging? How will online mediums and networks play into the mix?

I think that the online world can only help the industry, and this artform as a whole. “Social Networking” is not just a great place to meet other scrapbookers, but it is a wonderful way to tap into the experience and inspiration that those outside of our industry and craft have to offer. I am social network-a-holic. But in every “network” I belong to, I have been inspired by the people and connections I make. I am also hoping that as our craft matures, that we will continue to break the strereotypes. I love what gals like Jessica Sprague and Allison Kreft (read an interview with her here) bring to the table, they are two people who I have known personally and see that their passion really spills out into their work.

I can’t really speak to where CK the magazine is going. I am very lucky to work for all of CK Media. And online, we are working to widen our reach. We want to reach out and grab the best of what the world has to offer and bring it home to our audience. And, it is my mission, to take the best of what our audience is doing, and to share it with the world at large. We also want to service our audience better. And once all the kinks are worked out of the new site, and people can see what it is capable of.. they will love it.

Online is just such a great place to share. It is the ultimate round table. A place to inspire and be inspired.

When it comes to trends.. online it is simple. There are no boundaries. If you like it, use it, if you think its cool, do it.

In your personal art, what style defines your work?

I think that my work is a full of contradictions. I love to mix modern and vintage, traditional with high tech, clean and messy. My work, the layouts I make for me, are a pretty good representation of me. I am a pretty nice gal with a bit of a dark side. And in the end, I just don’t take it that serious. To sum it up, my work is graphically eclectic. (yes, I totally made that up)

What kind of papers, embellishments, and such do you gravitate to? Better question, where and what do you spend your own dinero on?

Well, no secret, I have been a Making Memories and Hambly fangirl for a long time. I love white lettering (stickers and rubons) from anyone, kraft, and pink anything. I am a consumer just like everyone else. I tend to buy more than I use, but to me that is ok. The things I buy either end up on a page, or inspire me in some way.

Lastly, I hear you are working on a new website, care to share?
Professionally… yes. We are in a public Beta of the new CreatingKeepsakes.com a community for scrapbookers and papercrafters. I hope that the audience will give us a chance and check us out with an open mind. IT really is going to be WAY cool!

And personally I am doing a bit of a redesign to my blogs. I have created a fun handmade line of artsy bits that I will be selling as well. Nothing really major, just little things that I love and get a lot of inquiries about. I am also going to be adding vlogging, and downloads to the site. Should be oodles of fun! Launch is August 15.

Anything else you can think of that you’d like others to know about your world and all the crazy amazing things going on it in?
Just to come check out my blog often, I have some pretty cool projects in the works both for work and personally. Things I know will be a lot of fun! I am dabbliing more and more with sewing and other non-scrapbooking crafts, and blending them together.

Contact info you’d like published?
Best to point people to my blog, they can always email me through my blog
www.coconutgoddess.typepad.com
[email protected]