Creative Blog Hop

Last week my friend Lynn Kolcun (www.averysowlery.com) tagged me for the Creative Blog Hop. As part of this Hop a participant provides information related to his or her creative process by discussing the following four items.

1. What projects am I currently working on.
While I am always working on cards I also do various other papercrafting projects. Sometime after the first of the year we hope to move into a new cottage and that means a new bigger and better craftroom! I would like to have a wreath for my craftroom door and to be consistent with the rest of the house I wanted it to have a vintage look. I bought a round 14" styrofoam wreath and covered it with 1 1/4" burlap ribbon.  I decided I would put some vintage looking flowers on it and I made a few out of Typeset Designer Series Paper and some out of filter paper. I then sponged the edges of both kinds with Crumb Cake ink. Flowers are very easy to make and I have posted about them in the past. All you need is a punch or die that is basically a circle shape or you can cut them out By hand. It can be a plain circle, a scallop circle, a flower shape or a starburst but uneven edges are the best. You stack layers of your shapes, staple them together and then separate and scrunch the individual layers, and spread them back out.  In my experience they all result in fairly similar flowers. The basic difference in the final flower is the size of the "circle" and the number of layers. The larger the "circle" the more layers are needed for the same result. I have not yet decided how many flowers I will use on my wreath but here are the ones I am starting with. I also plan to add some other items. I have various buttons that I think I will consider using and I am still thinking about other additions.


      

2. How is my work different from other papercrafters.
Well of course we are all different and have different styles. I like vintage designs like the wreath I am working on but I also like simple & classy and clean & simple though I frequently have to restrain myself. At times I have to resist adding so many details so that I no longer have clean or simple!

3. Why do I create the projects that I do.
I like the creative process and while enjoy the final products produced, many times I just enjoy the process and challenge of creating an item. I also like being able to share projects with others either through my blog or through classes.

4. How my creative process works.
It works in a number of ways. I sometimes look at papercrafting challenges, especially color challenges, even if I am not officially part of the challenge. At times I have certain supplies that I want to use and I challenge myself to use them in a project. Other times I see a specific technique I want to try. My projects involve lots of trial and error and they will go through many variations before completion. I always think about my projects overnight and sometimes over several nights. I almost always come up with changes. I will be thinking about my wreath for at least the next several days. 

As part of this hop bloggers choose another blogger to "tag" and that blogger will then participate with a blog post the next week. When I was asked to participate I knew immediately whose blog I wanted to share with you! I discovered Kim Jolley's blog when she was introduced to a Facebook group of fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrators and along with her name her city and state were listed. I immediately realized she lived in the city where I was born and raised! That connection prompted me to check out her blog and I was very impressed! I have been watching her ever since. She is clearly not just a crafter but a true artist!

Here is what Kim says about herself.

I have been dabbling in rubber stamping and mixed media for 15 years and have been a Stampin' Up! customer the entire time.  I taught rubber stamping and mixed media classes for several years in Springfield, MO at a local store until the owner retired. I have been published in Somerset Studio, Stampers Sampler and Vamp Stamp News and have had the immense honor of being a guest artist at Red Lead in St. Louis with Mary Jo McGraw and P.J. Dutton.  A mixed media piece I created was a top 10 finisher in the 2007 Kirkland's Home search for the Next Great American Artist out of over 1700 entries. (to date, my most exciting art related achievement) I am an insurance agent for my day job and in the past have ran several marathons and half marathons. In my "spare time", I keep busy with my husband of almost 33 years and several wonderful grandchildren. I've been dreaming of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for over 10 years and am so happy that I finally took the leap!

Please check out Kim's blog http://stampinartfully.blogspot.com/ and see for yourself. Then check out her post next Monday to see her discussion of how she works.

To order click on the ordering tab above just under the header. You can email me privately with any of your papercrafting questions or ask them in a comment below!

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