Featured Member – Annie

This month, we will meet a new but very active member of our Campus. You can see a lot of her work in the forum.

Tell us a bit about you

My name is Anne Marie Tobin but for years co-workers have called me Annie and I am now very used to that.

I am a divorcee with 2 very grown-up children – Simone, my daughter, who turns 40 on the 4th July and Brent, my son, who turns 39 on the 26th November. Simone has a Science degree majoring in Psychology, works with physically and mentally disabled people, lives at home, here in Bundaberg, with me and is single. Simone would have loved to have had children but she has a condition called Turner’s Syndrome so we knew from very early on that she would never be able to do so.

Brent has an Arts degree, worked as a Queensland Government Admin Officer for many years but now has his own small business in Springfield, Brisbane. He is married to Ellana who is a Veterinary Surgeon and they are a very “New Age” couple who will not be having children so I shall never know the joy of having my own grandchildren … which is why I snag a lot of delightful photos of children from the web for my digital scrapbooking projects.

I turned 66 just over a week ago and have been retired from work since February 2017. For many years I worked as a Medical Receptionist in a few Doctor’s surgeries here in Bundaberg before moving on to manage 3 of them … at different times of course,  In 2007 I moved from the private industry into government and became the Admin Officer for the Palliative Care Department at our local Public Hospital. Working for 10 years with that department was the most fulfilling journey I have taken in my life … very spiritually uplifting.

How did you get to work with PSP?

My interest in computers goes back about 30 years. The first computer I owned was given to me as a hand me down … the kids and I were dirt poor and I could never have afforded one back then. I was over the moon with it and we had a lot of fun playing the most simple computer games. The first program I had that involved artwork was called Paint and that began my love affair with digital art. Such simple tasks as creating greeting tags for forums where I was a member gave me the greatest pleasure. It was through my membership of these forums that I started seeing some upmarket work coming through and it wasn’t long before I found out about PSP. I decided that it was the program my creative genes were crying out for so I saved my pennies.

2004 saw me with enough funds to purchase Paint Shop Pro 9 and I have purchased every version/upgrade since. Currently, I have Paint Shop Pro 2018. I also have Jasc Animation Shop 3.11 which is a lovely simple program for creating animations and it works in conjunction with PSP, of course!

With very few photos of my own … I just couldn’t afford that darn camera  … I approached the area of creating themed graphics, a lot of which were animations. Tubes were not very expensive and there were plenty of freebie scrap kits for elements to dress the graphics up. I had joined a lot of groups that offered tutorials for PSP including Jemima’s Artistry in PSP and DorothyIrene’s PSP Tutorials which is where I learned how to put together email stationery … a dying art now I am led to believe. I received a certificate of completion from an Animation group and I also completed tubing which was tiresome, somewhat rewarding and no … I do not do tubing now not for all the money in China, lol! So, most of my work revolved around scrap kits but did not include photos so I created tags only.

How did you get to join the Campus?

It was throughout this time that I developed a fascination with the digital scrap kits and I started purchasing lots! What I came to realize was that whilst the scrap kits were undoubtedly beautiful they were jam packed and I wanted a more simple style so it seemed such a waste to buy what I could possibly be creating for myself and would also be more in tune with my flavor.

That is when I started exploring via Google what help there was in learning the nuances of Paint Shop Pro for creating my own elements and papers etcetera. This went on for weeks … Google is fantastic but a bit pernickety when it comes to search terms. Then one miraculous morning … VOILA! The Scrapbook Campus leaped out at me and I was immediately hooked. I purchased the Diamond membership and have not looked back, I have found my PSP home.

Since being a Scrapbook Campus member I have come to appreciate “real” digital scrapbooking. I have a small zoom lens digital camera but I have lost the charger for it. Next plan, purchase a charger … luckily not very expensive … and start snapping some photos for scrapbook memorabilia.

My favorite subjects are creating papers/backgrounds, blending and vector drawing. I want to learn more about layouts, creating picture tubes and further my vector drawing capabilities. My favorite tool is the Pen tool especially when in the Point to Point – Bezier Curves mode. I post a lot of my work on Pinterest and am including the link if anyone is interested in viewing my projects. If I can find it I will include the “winning” animation graphic and I am attaching one of the earliest graphics I created and can only say … I am so glad we improve our skills in life, 

Can you share some projects you made?

You can also see several recent projects from Annie, in our forum as she is very active in various threads. Check it out!

You too can join the DIAMOND membership and, like Annie, start creating your own papers and elements to perfectly match your photos and projects. Check it out HERE.