Creative Blog Hop

I am so honored to have been nominated to be a part of the Creative Blog Hop. The super talented Amy Rohl, from Ink About Me nominated me and I was totally blown away. Thank-you! I am excited to share a little bit more about me and my love of paper crafting. 

Let me tell you a bit about the Creative Blog Hop: it is an ongoing blog hop  that works on a nominating system, where I nominate three other designers (I only picked two, today) who I admire and inspire me. The idea is to learn a bit about other creative bloggers by answering four questions.


Question 1: What am I working on right now?
Right now I am preparing for the coming week and all my Design Team commitments.  I am so blessed to be a part of some fantastic Design Teams and it's important to stay on top of what's coming up.  I start with my Challenge Blog teams and then I will be moving on to work on sneaky peeks for upcoming The Cats Pajamas release. I don't work too far ahead (I have a little bit of the procrastination gene), but I do try to work about a week out from what's due next.  I usually stamp Monday-Thursday while the boys are in school and Tim is working. I work half days on Thursday and Friday in a preschool and our weekends are always packed with soccer and family time. I am not a night time stamper, I have to get up way too early with my middle schooler AND I like me sleep. 

Question 2: How does my work differ from others in my genre?
Hmmmm, I like to think my style is unique because I enjoy mixing different styles together. I do not think my work fits into just one genre. I am always drawn to clean and simple. I love those clean, crisp lines and graphic images. I also love layers. I think combining these too styles together is a lot of fun and opens up a lot more variety. I also like to mix in some techniques or copic coloring. I have always loved coloring so my markers are never far away.  

Question 3: Why do I create what I do?
I create because it makes me happy. It is something that is all mine and I love that I can share with all of you. Honestly, I think the loving, supportive, and uplifting community of paper crafters is what keeps me going. It's a great release for me and a way I can totally let go and forget about all the crazy business of my day to day life. OH, and it's a way I can really get my girly fix. I love pretty things and  I live in a house full of boys, so any chance I get to use scallops, ribbons, and flowers, I take it! lol.

 Question 4: How does my creative process work?
My crafting time is limited. I usually only have an hour, maybe two at a time to sit down and work on things. I usually have most of my project completed in my head before I ever sit down to create. I know which deadline I am working on, and I take a quick stroll through blog land and hit up some of my favorite challenges. Even though I have the products pulled out that I will use, a color scheme (based on papers I want to use) and a sketch in mind to work with, often times this plan takes on a life of it's own. And that's ok.  While it's great to see an idea come to life like I envisioned it, I almost always love it more when it has taken on a life of it's own and morphs into something a little different from what I planned. 

Thanks for hanging with me today. Now it's with great honor that I announce the AMAZING women that have accepted my nomination to continue this Creative Blog Hop. 

Karen Giron-The Sweetest Thing
I have looooved Karen's work forever. I think her Sweet Sunday Sketch was one of the first challenges I played along with outside of SCS.,and I still use two of the custom watermarks I purchased from her way back.   I always drool when I pop on over to her blog..... I always know it's going to be goooood! I had the pleasure to work with her on the MFT design team and then she so generously asked me to be a part of her Sweet Sunday Sketch team. Yay! I am amazed at how much this girl can handle (she's a crazy busy soccer mom of 3, too!). Her crisp, clean style and beautiful use of color always inspires me.  She also has MAD photography skills! Thanks Karen for always inspiring me. 

Amy Sheffer-Pickled Paper Designs

Amy is another one of those Blow-Me-Away stamper. I think there is rarely a time I stop by her blog and am not picking my jaw up off the table. I love her clean style and how she knows just the right amount of detail and embellishments to add. I also am fortunate to work with Amy on the Reverse Confetti Blog team. I am always on the edge of my seat waiting for her to post her sneak peeks each release (did you see what she did this past week? Awesome!). Thanks Amy for inspiring me and helping me better my best. 

So there you go. I humbly pass the baton of creativeness to these awesome, amazing talented women. I can't wait to read their write ups.