Our Daisy Divas

Anja Wade
Design Team Coordinator

My name is Anja Wade and I live in Warren, MA. I've been scrapbooking for seven years. I have a background in chemistry and teach at the high school and college level. I love the creative outlet provided by scrapbooking - it gives me the chance to use my artistic side and helps me to feel balanced. I feel so lucky to have discovered this hobby - it has truly become a passion for me.

When I'm not scrapbooking, I enjoy cooking, reading, running, going to the gym, and spending time with family and friends. I love good food, good drinks and good times with loved ones - and I love to scrap about it!

I especially love doing layouts about my childhood. With no children of my own yet, I scrap about myself and my four brothers growing up in the seventies and eighties. I love using old photos, even if they are less than perfect. I recently co-wrote an article for Scrapbook and Cards Today on this topic. I'm extremely excited to be a part of the Cocoa Daisy team!

Emily Gulka

Hi! I'm Emily Gulka. I live with my husband, Brian & my two sweeties, Quinn (he's 2 1/2) & Merra (she's 6 months) in Eugene, Oregon. When I'm not tripping over matchbox cars or watching the incredibles for the 82nd time I love to watch movies (during nap time, of course), read books & magazines, check out scrap blogs & I am just getting back into running. My kids and I are also part of an awesome play group that is pretty much the reason I can function each week.

I love to scrapbook. I just do. Give me some photos, patterned paper, ribbon, peanut M & M™'s, a big glass of ice water & a herma runner & i am good for the day (not that I have ever scrapbooked for a whole day but you know, in theory. I love the mix of memories & art. I love trying new things and I am always meaning to apply design principles to my pages but I never do (at least not consciously). I just play and experiment and stop when I like what I see. I am really excited to be on the Cocoa Daisy design team and be a part of a great company from the very beginning.

Anna Bjorklund

My name is Anna Björklund and I live in Sweden. I discovered scrapbooking when my first child was born in 2003, and it was like entering a whole new world that I immediately fell in love with. Scrapbooking wasn't very well known in Sweden at that time, but it has really grown enormously since then. I am totally hooked, sort of obsessed... I scrapbook about everything - my family, our house, our life... both the good and the bad.

Sometimes it's all about playing and messing around with supplies. Sometimes the story is the most important thing and sometimes I have a beautiful photo that I want to display and preserve. I love that scrapbooking can be done in so many different ways. I love to experiment and to try new material and new techniques. I love challenges and the inspiration I get from everywhere.

Linda Buranasakorn

I'm Linda! I live in Southern California. I have a little boy who is infatuated with race cars, and talks about nothing but... race cars. I started scrapping in 2003, but didn't really get into it until a year later. I love the mix of colors and photos and words. I gravitate towards quirky topics and journaling when I scrap.

I love books, movies, music, food- all of which I consider art. My best quality is probably my sense of humor. But I'll have to check with my family and friends to verify that I'm not the only one who thinks I'm funny.

I'm excited to be working with such wonderful people, and hope you get lots of inspiration from us.

Tara Pollard Pakosta

My name is Tara Pollard Pakosta. I was born and raised in a small town in Upper Michigan, where all of my family still lives. I am the youngest of seven children. I was a nanny for ten years and loved taking care of children.

I am happily married to Michael, mother to Savannah age 6 and Ava age 5. I love to read, write, scrapbook and watch Project Runway. My girls are the source of all my pages and projects.

Mou Saha

I am a stay-at-home mom to my two kids and married to Ashis for 7 years. I am from India and been living in the US for as long as I have been married. After my first was born, I shelved my career in Clinical Psychology and Counseling and eventually filled the emptiness with scrapbooking. I love to experiment with paint and doodling. I am amazed by all the women I have met through this hobby.

I think officially, my biggest scrapbook-related achievements so far are being named to Creating Keepsakes Hall of Fame and making the Top Ten in their Scrapbooker of the Year 2006, while unofficially, getting a nod of approval out of my husband has been the most challenging. My biggest support are my kiddos who don't mind me chasing them around with a camera...well, most of the time!

Aida Haron

I am absolutely thrilled to be part of the Cocoa Daisy Team!

My husband and two girls are often the subjects of my pages and they have been marvellously supportive of my scrapbooking which is relatively new in our tiny island city Singapore. I have always been an artsy-craftsy person and in 2004, a chance stop at an amazing rubber stamping shop started my addiction to scrapbooking. I still remember how difficult it was then to get current papers or the most basic embellishments which meant much of the accents on the pages were hand-made.

Currently I am on the Design Teams of a local scrapbooking store as well as an Australian manufacturer. I also teach scrapbooking at the store and create projects to help showcase the products.

My style is eclectic, for want of a better word, and I am usually inspired by the papers, the colors and patterns on them. My other interests include reading, cooking and perfecting South East Asian dishes, as well as all sorts of theatre performances like dance, musicals or dramas. Singapore is a foodies paradise and hunting down old style foods is another passion.

Christine Drumheller

I live on the west side of Michigan about 30 minutes from Grand Rapids and 30 minutes from the beach. I love it here, the winters can be long, but I love the seasons. I have a wonderful and supportive husband named Greg and 2 energetic boys, Nate (almost 5,) and Zach (almost 2). They are my constant inspiration. I left the work force after the birth of our first son and have continued to be a stay at home mom.

I have been scrapbooking for about 8 years and have had a number of layouts published in Memory Makers Idea books. I have been a Creating Keepsakes HOF honorable mention for the last two years, and I had my scrap studio featured in the April 2006 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine.

My schooling and background are in fine arts and graphic design, this tends to come through in my scrapbooking style: bold and graphic with a touch of whimsy. I love to have all the elements on a layout support it's theme in some way, and to draw people in and have them take a minute to discover all the little details. My journaling is always honest and from my heart.

Being artistic is a driving force in my life - I have to do something creative everyday, whether it's gardening, decorating, sewing or scrapbooking! I am very excited to be a part of the Cocoa Daisy Design Team and hope that I can inspire you!

Meghan Dymock

Hi I'm Meghan Dymock I was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah and moved to Gilbert, Arizona two and a half years ago so my husband Tyson could go to graduate school. He is finished now but we love Arizona so much we might just stay here forever!

I have been scrapbooking in one form or another for as long as I can remember; I used to cut up index cards to make journaling strips and added them to my magnetic albums! I found the inspiration to start scrabooking in my mom's "Mike & Me" scrapbook she made in the 1970's — complete with felt flowers and felt letters cut out for page titles!

I am one of the founding members of "The Dares" and am quite proud of our book We Dare You that was published summer 2007. I have been a Fresh Face for Creating Keepsakes, a member of the Scrapologie design team and have had guest designer spots for Red Velvet Kit Club and Fontwerks.

I love everything creative! I just started learning how to sew on a sewing machine and am trying to make quilts! My favorite things in the world are: My husband, my family, soy lattes from The Bucks, white teeth, Arizona winters, Utah summers, Dave Matthews Band, Grey's Anatomy, reading, talking a lot, spending time with friends, cleaning the house and photography. I am in the process of starting a photography business because I love it so much.

I love scrapbooking about the present, I want all of my stories told and there is really no better way to do that than scrapbooking! My style is always evolving; some of my pages are messier than others but everything I create has a purpose and everything I create is with intention.

I am very excited to be here at Cocoa Daisy!

Emily Spahn

Hello!! I am Emily! I am a 28 year old music teacher. I live in Illinois, but I'll always be a Badger at heart! I have a wonderful husband named Justin and a crazy boxer named Maddie. These two, along with my niece and the children of my friends, are my favorite scrappy subjects!

I have been scrapping for years...since I was about ten and stuck my photos onto typing paper with scotch tape! I've gotten just a little more serious in the past couple of years! I am a member of a number of design teams and have had layouts published in Scrapbook Trends, BHG Scrapbooks, Etc and Memory Makers magazines, and I will be a Fresh Face in the August 2008 CK! 

When I'm not scrapbooking I enjoy reading, photography, music, and kayaking if I have the chance! I am addicted to Ugly Betty, and I am a huge Wisconsin Badger football fan! I am very excited to be a part of the talented design team at Cocoa Daisy!

Kim Watson

"I have been scrapbooking for 3 and a half years and it has been a wonderful creative journey for me. Being a fashion designer for so long, has developed in me a love for colour & texture, which I get to explore daily through my scrapping. Together with life,scrapbooking & blogging...I am doing what I always wanted to....taking everyday experiences to grow & learn and then visually catalog them in a way, that will touch & inspire.

My style in an eclectic one, that morphs from week to week, depending on my mood & what product I am using; this makes for my albums being filled with colourful variety of styles. I try to focus on the little everyday things I experience because it is these things that make up the bigger part of life, rather than waiting for those huge life changing events that are few & far between.

I am SO excited to be involved here Cocoa Daisy. It is going to be a blast getting you know you all. I look forward to being hugely inspired & trust I can inspire in return!" 

Lisa Pace
Daisy Diva Emeritus

Lisa Pace lives in Frisco, Texas with her husband of 16 years and two daughters. She began scrapbooking in 2004 and was the lead designer for a local scrapbook store in Rockwall, Texas from June of 2005 until June of 2006. Lisa has been published or is about to be published in Scrapbook Trends, Paper Trends, Memory Makers Books, Cantata Books, CorrespondenceART and Paper Creations as well as several idea books.

Lisa loves pattern paper and usually scraps in a 12 x 12 format. She cannot scrap without her trusty old ruler and feels she does not have any one set style. Lisa has tried many different styles and feels her versatility shows in her artwork. She also loves creating themed mini albums (accordion, explosion, matchbook, etc.) as well as creating unique one of a kind paper dolls.

Lisa is thrilled to be a Cocoa Daisy design team member and hopes to inspire others. She looks forward to sharing her work.