Creative Team Spotlight

Because we want our community to get to know our creative team members, is why we have decided to showcase a new blog each month spotlighting one creative team member. This month we’re kicking things off with Damaris Velazquez, who is also our Creative Team Director & Project Manager. Here’s a closer look…

1 – Introduce yourself:

Hi Dolls! My name is Damaris and I’m a shy, yet somewhat loud Puerto Rican, originally from New York, now living in Florida for the past 12 years with my husband and 8 year old son. If I’m not crafting (which is rare because I have to touch paper, sticker and glue everyday), you can find me organizing my home and figuring better solutions to store all of my crafty hoards… lol. Also, I like to joke. A lot. I like to make people laugh. In a world where people are suffering major heartbreaks or stressed from day to day life events, I like to be the one who brings a smidge of joy into their lives with humor. It’s my gift to everyone I encounter. As introverted as I am (in person), online I feel more comfortable being my true silly self and paying close attention to anyone that may need a little pick me up or a kind word; which is why The Reset Girl Community feels safe for me. I can share my heart and know that I’m not being judged, ridiculed, taken for granted or ignored. Outside of that, my favorite family time is Saturday morning breakfast. We give ourselves the freedom of sleeping in as late as we need to (if there are no prior commitments), then get ready and hit up our favorite mom & pop diner called “Morgans”. The food is always amazing and the price cannot be beat. If you ever find yourself in West Palm Beach, Florida, let me know and I’d be glad to tell you all about Morgans. And maybe even join you for breakfast.

2 – How did you get started crafting?

Believe it or not, my husband introduced me to this hobby by taking me to Michaels in my quest to document our dating life. I started out smashbook style using a Hello Kitty plainly pre-decorated scrapbook ring binder with pretty colored pages, adding stickers, receipts, flight tickets, movie tickets, love letters, gift cards, etc… in doing so, my fiancé (at the time) brought me to the store – which I had seen before, but thought it was about acrylic paint and art only. I found the scrapbooking section and was hooked. Then I found the craft community on YouTube and the rest became history!

3 – What is the best crafty tip you’ve given or have received?

When you feel you have lost your mojo, or are just not in the mood to craft, don’t force it. Walk away from the project and do something different. Do something ELSE that makes you happy. Grab a movie with a friend. Buy yourself a new outfit and wear it out that very week somewhere… take a photo of yourself in the outfit. Play a board game. Have someone over for a nice home cooked meal. Binge watch something. Finish reading the book you’ve been meaning to. Text an old friend. Get your mind off of the project and onto something else. And in a day… or 2… or 17 (lol), you will miraculously wake up to a fresh new perspective and have all of that delicious creativity flowing.

4 – What is your favorite crafty tool and why?

Gosh, this is difficult… I’d like to cheat a little here and share my top 3. The first one that came to mind was my tape roller. It’s so convenient to use and refill. The second thing that came to mind was an acrylic block. Not many consider this a “tool”, but it absolutely is. It helps me see where I’m stamping my image on my paper / project and it’s made thick enough to get a good grip of while in use. The last tool I thought of was a pair of small Martha Stewart scissors. They fit so easily in my chubby fingers and cut so smoothly on any paper weight. I especially love using them for fussy-cutting intricate details.

5 – When did you first hear about The Reset Girl?

I think it was the middle of 2016, when I recognized that people I was following on Instagram were posting their Listers Gotta List pages. I followed the hashtag trail and was introduced to an entirely new community. I thought it was interesting enough to dig deeper and came to find that Cori was heading up this new trend and I started to follow and buy her shop stickers. I became a super fan within a few weeks, and now it’s a dream come true to be working for Cori & Mark. P.S. I still have some old TRG stickers that I’m hoarding. lol

6 – How do you store your TRG supplies?

I don’t have a perfect handle on it, to be honest. Currently I keep all my physical purchases (stickers, washi, etc.), in a few places depending on what it’s used for. My digital product lives in a drawer on my planner desk and when I cut or punch it, it gets moved to a clear multi-drawer system that sits behind my planner desk. So I grab as needed, but it’s not in one centralized location.

7 – Show us where you create!

I have 2 desks. The one with my Macbook is where I bible journal, plan and complete Listers Gotta List challenges. The other desk is where I scrapbook, work on my traveler’s notebooks, and from now on will be recording videos.