Design Team Spotlight
Welcome to our Design Team Spotlight series! Where we feature one of our incredible DT members, giving you a chance to learn more about them, their creativity, and what inspires them. Let’s dive in!
About José
Location: Westerlee, the Netherlands
A Little About Me: My name is José, and I live in a small village in the Netherlands with my husband, 2 dogs, and 2 cats. I really love the peace and quiet here! I am truly a peace seeker, and you won't easily find me in very busy places. Back in 2017, I had some health issues (I am no longer able to work), so I started to look for new creative hobbies to have something to do. I started with diamond painting, mixed media, drawing, art journaling, and paper crafting. Art journaling and paper crafting are the things I still do this day, and I can't really go a day without them. I also love just coloring a coloring page every now and then. I really enjoy coloring in general, especially with alcohol markers. Furthermore, I love working with rust and giving everything a vintage, grungy vibe, but I also find it fantastic to work with bright colors and make everything cute. Let's just say I do a bit of everything. ;)
In 2022, I was asked to join the Design Team for Art Journal Specials; I was over the moon! In 2025, I took a year off from the team, but I did join the Cute & Whimsical team for the first time. When I was asked to return to the Art Journal Specials team in 2026, I didn't hesitate for a moment, and now I am part of two amazing Design Teams at Elizabeth Craft Designs! I can put all my creativity into this, and it never gets boring. I am very grateful for this opportunity.
You might also like to know that, besides my creativity, I am a real animal lover and enjoy playing cozy games on my Nintendo Switch.
My Favorite Project
Why It’s My Favorite: I have several projects I am proud of. But this camera page really stands out. The little mouse is super cute, and the rust, with a bit of patina, on the camera makes it look really cool and rugged. Personally, I think this is a great combination!
Craft Tip or Must-Have Tool
My Favorite Crafting Tool or Tip: For me, tweezers, precision scissors, and a wax pen are an absolute must—ideal for small parts! The wax pen, in particular, is perfect for picking up tiny parts and sticking them onto your project, such as the mice's pupils. I always used to get frustrated when I lost those little parts because they were too tiny for my fingers, haha. I don't have that problem anymore! By the way, the small scissors and tweezers from Elizabeth Craft Designs are perfect for your projects. I love using them.
A Peek Into My Craft Space
About My Craft Space: I love having my own little space for my hobbies. Here, I don't get distracted and can truly relax. It is small but nice! I have everything I need within easy reach. It gives me much peace of mind knowing where everything is when I need it. The tools I use frequently, such as brushes, alcohol markers (a small selection), Distress Oxides, tweezers, ink, and glue, are on my desk and in my Storage Trolley next to my desk. I keep my frequently used sprays and powders on the pegboards above my desk, and I have stored the texture pastes and other mediums and supplies in separate drawer units. I have labeled all these drawers, just like my bins and folders with dies and stamps, so I know where everything is. I like to clean everything up immediately when I am finished crafting. That usually takes some time, but I like to work neatly and tidily. Oh, and I have to be honest, my room is getting a bit too small to store all my stuff properly. (the chest of drawers is getting pretty full) So I have to be creative with storage space too! Besides this nice creative spot upstairs, I also have a small corner with a desk downstairs in the living room. I do a lot of coloring here, such as coloring pages but also stamps, and I often color in my Cute & Whimsical characters here as well. That is why I keep my complete set of alcohol markers here, and a small section in my craft space upstairs. Furthermore, I also have other coloring materials lying here, such as acrylic markers and a large set of pencils. What I also like about working on (color) projects here is that I can sit with my pets, which is nice and cozy! And if it gets too hot in my craft space upstairs in the summer, I can still do my thing down here. I just bring extra crafting supplies and my die-cut machine downstairs. :)
Follow My Crafting Journey: You can follow me on Instagram and YouTube
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/created_by_jose
YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/@created_by_jose8359
Stay tuned for more amazing spotlights on our talented Design Team members. Don’t forget to follow the DT and show them some love in the comments below!
