CREATIVE BLOGGER NOMINATION

I am quite honored that I was selected for this creative blogger nomination.  The nomination came from a fellow CTMH consultant that I met last summer as we were preparing for our annual convention.  I was able to meet Alyson Mayo a few weeks later at convention, and we really hit it off.  We continue to e-correspond and follow each other’s creative activities.  You can check out her great work at createwithalyson.blogspot.ca

This nomination has some specific questions that I had to answer.  It made me really think about some things critically.  So here goes!

What am I working on right now? 

I just finished two weeks where I taught 7 classes, so all I did was cut and assemble kits during that time.  Yesterday was my first day of being back in “create” mode, and it was so much fun :)  I finished the first draft of a scrapbook layout that will be a class in a couple of weeks, and I made several cards.  I am in the “thinking” stage of 3 more cards that will be used in classes next month.  Somewhere in the midst of that I want to just create some cards that are fun – for no particular event. 

How does my writing/creating process work?

Most of my creating is geared for my classes.  I have a theme for each month, so that’s the starting point.  Then I decide which techniques or stamps I want to feature, and then think about the materials that go with them.  I go through a list of challenge blogs to see if the sketches, colors, themes, or photos give me an idea – and try to combine as many challenges into one project.  It stretches me to use colors or materials that I normally wouldn’t consider.    I also have to be realistic knowing that I may have to cut enough to make 30 – 40 of the project!  (I wasn’t so realistic about the pop-up box project).  

How long does it take me to create a project? 

If it is a card, it usually takes me several hours once I start working with the paper.  But as I said above, there is a lot of time spent “researching” and “thinking about” what I’m going to do.  Also, that’s just the first rendition of it.  I always let it sit around and look at it, and I almost always find some way to change it.  So the next day I’ll take a second go at it, and sometimes a third.  The card probably takes a minimum of 5 - 6 hours over several days for me to be satisfied with it. 

What are my favorite things to create with at the moment? 

One of the projects I just finished involved cutting all the parts for 50 pop-up box cards on the Cricut.  Now, while I love my Cricut, I’m glad to have my machine sleep for a while.  So right now I’m enjoying playing with punches and dies to create clean and simple (CAS) cards. 

How do I become inspired and stay inspired? 

I have about 40 ladies who take stamping classes from me on a regular basis, and others who join me for scrapbooking and special project workshops.  Everyone shares what they have been doing at the start of each class.   Seeing what they are doing inspires me.  Blog-land is wonderful – there are several specific blogs of paper crafters that I regularly visit, and then pop around checking out the artwork from the various challenge blogs I like.  Of course, Pinterest is wonderful – but sometimes I pin so many ideas that I forget which board they are on when I’m ready to start a new project!  The final project I create is always fun to see – while I have an idea about what it will be when I start, it rarely turns out that way.  I surprise myself sometimes with the end result!  So that makes me want to keep going and start something else right away – but I usually need to make dinner instead.

What is my signature style?

I love to learn new techniques and share them, but dimensional cards – like the boxes or cascading cards or multi-cut folded cards - are what I feel are unique to me.  You can build scenes on these cards and they are more of a decoration than a greeting card – or so my mom says :)

Well – now that you know a little more about me and my way of doing things, it is my privilege to direct you to the blogs of several of those paper crafters who inspire me.    

Gina Brandstetter is a fellow CTMH consultant, and I first saw her work on the CTMH Consultant Bulletin Boards, which then led me to her blog.  Seeing what she was doing while working a full time job was amazing.  She is the starting point whenever I want to follow a blog-hop for our Stamp of the Month or special products.  You can find her at gmbscrapper.blogspot.com

Another CTMH Consultant is Katrina Brown.  I would see her incredible scrapbook layouts on the Heart2Heart Challenge Blog and wonder how she managed all those great layers.  Then I was asked to be a guest on the H2H design team one month, and Katrina and I “blog-chatted” a bit, and she shared some of her secrets with me.  I know you’ll enjoy seeing her work at scrappyhorses.blogspot.com