Get to Know Our New Owner: Esther!
Greetings, Pad Scrappers!
Polly Liana here, thrilled and honored to help you get to know the new owner of the Lilypad: Esther Wisdom!
We are so excited that a cherished member of our community and Creative Team has become the caretaker of our site and we thought it would be fun to get to know her better. So, she and I had a “digital conversation” in which she answered the questions we were wondering about. And so without further ado, we are so excited to share more about our new owner, Esther:
Please tell us a little about yourself. (Where you live, family, interests/hobbies, etc.)
I’ve been married for 20 years to my wonderful husband. We have two kids: a 20-year-old son who’s in college, and a 15-year-old daughter. We also have a furry friend, Chewie, a black Goldendoodle. We live in sunny Tampa, FL.
As for hobbies, I’m passionate about scrapbooking (both digital and hybrid), junk journaling, mixed media, and paper crafting. I’m also into anything crafty, beach days, traveling, and what my husband and I call “fooding” – our love for eating and trying new foods.
How long have you been scrapbooking?
I’ve been scrapbooking for over 20 years.
What’s your favorite style?
I don’t think I have one favorite style—it really depends on my mood, the photo, and the method I’m using. With digital scrapbooking, I tend to go for a more artsy or mixed media style, which is different from my hybrid layouts. For hybrid, I usually keep things cleaner and simpler, but I still like to add a few mixed media elements when I can.
Will you please share a couple of your favorite layouts?
OOO that is hard:
Hybrid Projects: Just want to highlight that hybrid is way more than just scrapbooking, there are so many options
https://the-lilypad.com/forum/galleries/valentines-day-backpacks.531225/
https://the-lilypad.com/forum/galleries/magical-moments.518049/
Artsy: Love the photo and felt that the page design also caught my emotions with it
https://the-lilypad.com/forum/galleries/we-are-the-ocean.577315/
Traditional: This template and bundle were perfect for these silly photos of my son.
https://the-lilypad.com/forum/galleries/a-roar-able.509965/
What does your workspace look like?
I’m lucky to have a dedicated craft room, which my husband helped set up. It’s spacious and includes a large L-shaped desk made with IKEA Kallax units. Crafting goodies can be accessed from either side and you literally want to access it from both sides as I maximized the space to store all my crafting goodies. I do love using apothecary-style candy jars to store washi tape. I also have IKEA shelves on the wall behind my desk for media supplies like brushes, watercolor pencils, and Cricut pens and other misc scrapbooking goodies. On the opposite wall is an IKEA closet system that I use for paper, stamps, inks, alcohol markers, die-cut machines and a vintage sewing machine/typewriter (yes, they both work). In addition, I have a kallax unit in a closet that all stores the rest of my physical paper stash (I do have a paper problem). I do all my digital scrapbooking on an iMac with Photoshop and plan to start using my iPad with Photoshop, Canva, and Procreate soon.
(Liana’s note: here are some photos that Esther shared with me of her gorgeous craft space. SWOON!)
What brought you to The Lilypad?
I first tried digital scrapbooking in the early 2000s but didn’t enjoy it. After my daughter was born in 2009, I decided to give it another shot. While searching for products that matched my style, I found The Lilypad and fell in love. I joined the forum a bit later after discovering one of NBK’s challenges on Facebook or Instagram.
What do you love best about The Lilypad?
The community. I’ve never been super active in online communities, but The Lilypad made it easy for me to engage with like-minded crafty people. Everyone here is welcoming, and I feel comfortable sharing all my quirks and creativity.
What are you most excited about as the new owner?
I’m excited to help keep our digi home safe and secure. I also can’t wait to help us grow as a community, not just in size but in strength and closeness. I want The Lilypad to feel like a lifestyle—where we’re so comfortable here that we can’t wait to share our personal “news” with the TLP family. My goal is to nurture a strong sense of belonging.
Anything else you’d like to share with us?
It’s been a whirlwind, and I’m definitely feeling the information overload! But I’m so grateful for the outpouring of support from the digital community, especially here at TLP. It’s reassuring to know I made the right choice. I have plenty of ideas and fresh perspectives that I’m excited to share soon—so stay tuned and keep “hopping” by The LilyPad so you don’t miss anything!
Other tidbits we learned during the Get to Know You chats this week and last… Esther’s favorite color is purple, she’s not a huge fan of the dentist and she’s been dreaming of buying the Lilypad for three years! She’s been in the Air Force, worked for JP Morgan Chase, was a floor nurse and owned a daycare (and not surprisingly, she can survive on minimal sleep).
We hope you enjoyed getting to know Esther and that you’ll connect with her in our forums soon!
Have a great week!
