7gypsies - Our Creative Team

artist bios
meet our creative team

	Debbie Crouse lives in Gilbert, AZ, with her husband Skip. They have four children and five grandchildren. Debbie has been published many times in a variety of books and magazines, including nine of the Designing With… books, Creating Keepsakes, Legacy, Memory Makers, Scrapbook Retailer, Paper Crafts and most currently the featured artist in Home Companion magazine. She is well known for her beautiful style that is both creative and meticulous. Debbie has been with 7gypsies since their very first show. Along with being an artistic designer who creates products that drive the scrapbooking industry, Debbie also manages a team of fabulous artists who fashion amazing projects to inspire others. When not doing 7gypsies projects, Debbie also loves to travel, go antiquing, and is always on the look out for “good stuff” to use in decorating or her next paper arts project.
	Paula Cheney has been a member of the 7gypsies design team for three years. She has designed many of the class kits as well as many projects that are featured in the 7gypsies booth. Her work has been published in Paper Crafts, Memory Makers and Scrapbook Retailer. In the gypsy spirit Paula and Debbie love to travel far and wide teaching and gathering new friends and fellow gypsies along the way. Paula has a fun sense of humor and a quick wit. She LOVES to travel to new places to look for old junk and is willing to pack a bag at a moment's notice. She lives on the Central Coast of California with her husband, Jay. On an ordinary day you can find her organizing her paper supply, rearranging her furniture, and dreaming over a Pottery Barn catalog.
	Janelle Smith. You'll find this funky gypsy traveling throughout the United States and Canada teaching workshops for 7gypsies. She is proud to have been part of the Gypsy Caravan since its beginning 5 years go. Janelle uses her Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts and Photography in designing unique and inspiring projects that have been featured in several publications. She has enjoyed showcasing her style through many idea books including 7gypsies in Paris, The Book Book, Designing with Photos, Expressions- Taking Extraordinary Photos for your Scrapbooks and Memory Art, and more. She is passionate about teaching, photography, her husband, and three gorgeous children: Zander, Ozzie & Zakrie.
	Renee Camacho, a 2002 Creating Keepsakes Hall of Famer, has been creating scrapbooks since the birth of her daughter. She has an eclectic style that's been featured in several magazines and idea books, such as Creating Keepsakes, Simple Scrapbooks, Scrapbooks, Etc., as well as the paper arts publications by Somerset Studio. She was also a major contributor to many books within the “Designing with” Autumn Leaves book series as well as several other book publications with the same company. She also developed the Office Line by Autumn Leaves. Renee enjoys experimenting with various techniques and feeling a bit creative each day, but still finds herself compelled to design scrapbook pages with a simpler feel as it’s really about the memories that are captured on page in the end. Renee can frequently be found doing a little bit of everything at her Nashville residence, where she's a stay-at-home mother of three beautiful children. She and her husband are active in their local church assembly. Renee participates in the praise and choir groups, as well as teaching the Primary age Sunday school children. She can often be found at a ball park at the multitude of baseball practices and games. If not found there, more than likely, she’s at home doing what she loves to do…taking care of her family.
	Ann Mabee lives in Arizona with her husband of 35 years, Mark. They have three children and nine grandchildren.She retired from her 'real job' working in special education for 18 years and now does only what she really wants to do, which is paper arts and spending time with her grandchildren. Ann has been an artist with 7gypsies for several years and enjoys making mini albums and using their fun, innovative products. Some of her work has been published in Paper Crafts magazine and Designing With Fabric by Autumn Leaves. She has taught classes at several scrapbook stores in the Phoenix area.　　 Ann loves to go junkin' with friends and enjoys the thrill of the "find".　　　Some of her favorite products to use are vintage ribbon, rubbings, and hand-dyed buttons. When she's not in her back room creating, she enjoys reading, crocheting, knitting, and listening to books on tape.
	Rachel Carlson lives in Englewood, Colorado with her lovable and charming husband Rich and their two spoiled bundles of fur: LoMein and Kung Pao. Amber, Rachel’s daughter, who is about to turn 20 – GULP – lives in Texas. Rachel started paper crafting ‘the proper way’ in 2002. She was reunited with her 8th grade scrapbook a few years ago and was appalled to see that she used ‘scotch tape’ to adhere collectibles such as movie stubs, tags from clothing, bumper stickers and of all things, packaging from fast food establishments. Rachel lives to seek out vintage treasures on travels, at market or her local antique stores. She frequents summer markets with her friends, thrift stores and consignment stores to find the latest treasure to repurpose. If it can be altered into vintage art or other, that’s just an added bonus. Rachel loves aesthetics and her style is artsy with a hint of eclectic flare. In no specific order, she loves polka dots, photography and cupcakes! In fact, when she travels, she makes sure that a visit to a cupcake shop is tops on her list. Teaching is one of Rachel’s favorite things to do. She likes to inspire and make sure that each student is pleased with their project and that they might have learned techniques that they would not have otherwise known. Rachel has had her designs published by CorrespondenceART, Creating Keepsakes, Memory Makers, Paper Crafts and Scrapbooks Etc. Rachel designs for Therm O Web and travels to tradeshow to do demos and make-n-takes. She is also on the PC Layers digital design team and also teaches at her local scrapbook store, Scrapbook Destination.
	Vicki Boutin. For as long as she can remember Vicki has loved art and creating things So when she was introduced to scrapbooking shortly after the birth of her first child, it was like a match made in heaven! By combining her love for paper and products and photography Vicki has been able to create a fresh and approachable scrapping style. In 2006, she was honored to be added to the Creating Keepsakes Hall of Fame. In 2008, Vicki became a member of the Creative Team for Better Homes and Gardens Scrapbooks, Etc, which she is excited to report will extend into 2009 when she will be added to their 10th Anniversary All Star team. Her designs have been published in numerous industry magazines and idea books and she loves to share her passion for scrapbooking through teaching and workshops. Vicki became a Ranger Certified Instructor in June 2008. With a love for life and laughter, Vicki enjoys spending quality time with her family and friends and in her spare time she can be found shopping or taking in a good movie. She resides in St. Catharines, ON with her husband and two sweet children. http://vickiboutin.typepad.com
	Ranjini Malhotra is a self-described dreamer, storyteller, and artist. You'll find her holed up in a local bookstore poring over magazines and book jacket designs, reading a novel or children's literature, or looking for vintage and rare antique books and maps, all the while savoring a cup of hot tea. She loves the eclectic, the unique, and anything Old World. You can find her combing antique stores and flea markets for vintage treasures that she can combine with new products to create something unexpected. She loves the paper arts, but also has dabbled in watercolor painting, needle arts and photography. She believes that the world is an unlimited source of inspiration and creativity, and that the journey and what you learn about yourself along the way, is always more important than the destination. Ranjini lives in Columbus, OH. with her spouse Bobby, her little girl Alekha and one very loveable cream colored goldendoodle.