Welcome,

Kim MacFarlane was born and raised in England where she attended Art School and worked in design studios and publishing houses. Working alongside other designers, photographers, editors and printers for both small businesses and large international corporations Kim's old commercial portfolio displays various works ranging from black and white logos to four colour monthly magazines. Kim left the hustle and bustle of outer London city life in the mid 1990's and now resides in a tiny cottage on a beautiful Scottish island. It is in this peaceful environment that she re-kindled her artistic interest turning from the previously serious demands of corporate design to the cute and friendly little characters that she creates today. "I truly appreciate being given my own computer," says Kim. "It's enabled me to explore the digital media and work from home. I left the commercial studios many years ago when I was a new mum and I'm delighted to be able to return to the drawing board after such a long absence; it's not something I ever dreamt would be possible! If you don't find me tucked away at my computer it probably means the rain has stopped and I'll be out pottering in the garden or walking my dog on the shore!" Studios Kim has worked in; Greville Creative Group, Windsor; ITEM, Fulmer, Editors David Clutterbuck & Mike Long; Century 21, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Editor Keith Shackleton.

Susan Banks Vena was born in Liverpool and brought up in the UK and the Far East and can't honestly remember a time when she wasn't 'creating something'. After leaving school she trained as a Staff Manageress with British Home Stores and then as a Manageress with Mothercare. In 1973 she decided to work on the Continent and after trying life as a nanny both in Paris and Bologna, for many years she worked as a bilingual secretary and now teaches English in the central Italian region of the Marches where she lives with her policeman husband Tony and their two exuberant cats. Over the years her many interests have included sewing (both clothes and costumes and soft furnishings), writing, decorative painting and pattern making. After taking a computer course seven years ago Susan discovered the marvelous world of digital graphics and papercraft and has never looked back since. A chance 'cyber' meeting with Kim a few years later was the beginning of a treasured friendship which later gave her the privilege of working on the Cuddly Buddly Printables and Cuttables lines with Kim's wonderful artwork. She is also to be found as the "Craft ROBO™ Expert" in the Techie Support section of the Cuddly Buddly Forum. In addition to teaching and designing Susan has recently started her own home based business creating party and special occasion stationery and gifts.

From an early age Dawn Brocklesby has always been interested in making things, and making them look pretty! She became especially interested in crafting whilst buying some crafty bits for her young daughter who loves to help her mummy and loves to make her own cards, ATCs and gifts too. With all these crafty bits and her computer to hand it wasn't long before Dawn decided that she'd like to try making her own cards and from then on she was hooked! Dawn says, "I knew nothing about crafting with a computer but thanks to a lot of help from the Cuddly Buddly forum members, my computer, Doris (my Craft ROBO™) and me are now the best of friends, well, for most of the time we are! I enjoy trying new things and will have a go at anything! I've recently started doing more scrapbooking and really enjoy this but I always fall back to my passion of card making." Dawn is a regular contributor to Cuddly Buddly, writing helpful monthly step by step projects and creating superb product samples to help inspire crafters to get started using their purchases. Dawn also successfully coordinates the fun and friendly ATC swaps on the Cuddly Buddly Forum which are open to all Forum members to participate in as little or often as they'd like to, so please consider yourself invited if you'd like to join in the swaps at any time.

Edna has been crafting for many years having been introduced to knitting and embroidery by her Mother who was a very talented craftswoman. She developed a love of all things papery at a young age too as her aunt was a printer and allowed Edna to make her own party invitations using the prettiest card she could find. Later on Edna started machine knitting as a hobby that soon grew into a business. She taught herself the basics and spent her time making exclusive suits and dresses for customers. "It was a very busy and intense time but thoroughly enjoyable." Now she spends her time making greetings cards and trying out as many techniques as she can. A few years ago her husband bought her a computer as a Christmas present and she proceeded to teach herself how to use it. Edna found Cuddly Buddly through a friend who is also a keen forum member and has been a member for quite a while and loves the open, friendly community that it has become. "Everyone is extra helpful and caring and willing to share their expertise. It is a very special place indeed."

Alex MacFarlane was born and raised on Seil Island off the west coast of Scotland, reached by Clachan Bridge, the infamous "Bridge Over The Atlantic"! A graduate in Civil Engineering from Strathclyde University, Alex's favorite job was working for the Ordnance Survey during two summer seasons on Loch Lomond and The Trossachs. His first job in construction was on a Water Works during a particularly harsh winter when a record low temperature of -27C turned Scotland into Siberia! Moving to the warmer south of England Alex met Kim and had a successful civil engineering career for 22 years working on motorways, housing estates and construction sites plus a few unusual yet equally serious jobs including the World's first 10 looper rollercoaster "The Colossus" at Thorpe Park. After years of supporting Kim in her creative interests, Alex decided the time had come to take off his hard hat, pack up his theodolite, semi retire from civil engineering and become a more active member at Cuddly Buddly. Alex is now primarily responsible for the rubber stamp manufacturing, craft supplies photography, order processing and customer liaison.