Blog Tour!

Grab a cup of coffee or a tall drink, because this is a long post! 

A few weeks ago, my very dear friend, Kathy Clement (Kathy by Design) featured me in her Blog Tour! She had some great things to say about me {blush} and she also featured a few other wonderful designers. Please check Kathy's post HERE.  

Before I share my own tour, I want to say a few things about Kathy. We met when we were both on the Really Reasonable Ribbon design team. I became a mentor, of sorts, to Kathy and we struck up a lovely friendship. When I started my Craft Hoarders Anonymous Challenge Blog, Kathy was the first person I asked to be part of my team! Not only is Kathy a wonderful designer and a loyal and hard worker, but she has the ability to make all my rough parts smooth! By that I mean, she brings out the very best in me. As a Sister in Christ, Kathy really walks the talk! We have become more than cyber-pals...we have become true friends! I thank her for her wonderful blog feature! 

Now, as a way to Pay it Forward, I am supposed to feature three designers and then they are to feature three, and so forth. Well, most of my designer friends are also professional designers and they are BUSY! So I am featuring FIVE, in the hopes that at least one or two of them will have the time to pay it forward!

Andrew Roberts, Down Under Crafter

I first "met" Andrew via my work with Graphic 45. We became cyber pals and Facebook pals as we talked about all things Graphic 45! I encouraged Andrew with his Graphic 45 work, marveled at his skill, and high-fived him over being the dad of SEVEN kids! Andrew has a style that is vintage, but clean and layered, and he makes the most AMAZING dimensional creations and  boxes! He is now part of the Graphic 45 design team, as well as having other creative irons in the fire! And he has 7 kids, did I mention that?! He is a wonderful inspiration to me and a sweet guy. It is always fun to chat with him, especially given the fact that he lives in Australia! I hope you will visit his blog and say, "HELLO"!

Jacquie Southas, What Did I Do Today?

Jacquie is one of my "real life" friends. We first met around 2007 or 2008 at our local scrapbook store. We were both in a monthly club at the store, and one evening I noticed this "new lady" sort of following me around the store. It turned out that we were both homeschool moms! We struck up a friendship that included our homeschooling journeys and our love of crafting...and the rest is history! We live near each other and hang out as often as we can, considering our busy schedules. 

Jacquie has a wonderful clean style of crafting. Her cards are, at first glance, simple, but on closer inspection, wondrous works of engineering! She uses many techniques and creates bright and innovative projects. I can spend hours trying to figure out just how she achieved each creation. Each of her projects has a depth and dimension that is truly spectacular! Our styles are polar opposites, but we both have a love of tools and techniques, which means we spend a lot of money; Jacquie is my chief enabler! 

Karen Thede, By Design, with Karen

Karen is another of my local friends. We met right after I moved to CA in 2005. I had lived for 10 years in Minnesota and Karen grew up there, so we had a "connection." Karen is one of those people who is generous, giving, kind, and just has a heart of gold. She is one person in my life that I know if I call her, no matter the hour or day, that she will do her best to get to me with whatever help I need! 

Karen has a style that is very unique. She is the master of making these folded creations that start out as a flat piece of paper and the next thing you know, it is a book that flips and folds out and becomes this 3D item that boggles the mind. I am forever asking, "How did you DO that?!" Karen is not afraid to try new techniques and new products. She is a fountain of crafty knowledge! She is also the design team lead at The Rubber Cafe, so we have worked together creatively a few times, but we always have our best fun when we attend an event or have a crafty shopping trip! We laugh so HARD!

Melody Rupple, A Paper Melody

Melody is yet another of my local friends. Along with Jacquie, Karen, and a few other gals, we make up a sweet group of about 10 crafters. I doubt  you have ever seen such a talented group all in one place! Melody is one of those crafters who, when we first met, was super shy about sharing her work. I think she really had no idea how AMAZING she is! Some of you already know her, as she is a designer for My Favorite Things, and has been a Splitcoaststampers Dirty Girl, among other things. If you have never seen her work, please check out her blog!

When I first saw Melody's work, she had a very layered style, and she used a lot of printed papers and sewing! Her cards are so beautiful that you just want to display them! In the past few years, Melody's style has changed a bit. She has been using a lot of mixed media techniques, and exploring another side of stamping and scrapbooking! She excels at creating her own backgrounds. Her work is always of HIGHEST quality! I love having a chance to see her work up close and personal! When we meet up, I always make sure to request a show-and-tell time!

Pam Bray, Scrapbook Flair

Pam and I have been cyber pals for a long time. I cannot even remember when we first met each other. We have been on a bunch of design teams together over the years, and Pam is currently on my Craft Hoarders team. We have a wonderful friendship and mentoring relationship. She is my mentor just as much as I am hers. We love to share with each other, encourage each other, and help each other overcome our crafty issues. I think Pam is probably the best all-around crafter I know! She can do just about any type of paper craft out there! She writes amazing tutorials, shares her work freely, and is an all around good egg! 

Not only is Pam on many design teams, but she also designs stamps and chipboard items for Sin City Stamps. Her work has been featured on HSN, in many magazines, and all over the internet. She has a knack for making elaborate dimensional creations, lovely cards, and wonderful scrapbook layouts!

Now for the About Me portion of the post. I am supposed to answer a few questions so that you can learn about me. My long time readers can take a break now, and let the newbies read this part! {wink}

1. What am I working on?
That's a tough one. I tend to be working on several things at the same time. Ok, truth time, I tend to be working on one thing while I am planning 10 other things! Right now, today, I am working on a Halloween card project that you will see tomorrow, and planning projects for a big stamp release for a few weeks. {sneaky peeky time!} 

I just finished up a large project set that will be revealed here tomorrow! I am still on a few design teams and I am taking one guest spot per month. I am working at about 30% capacity of what I was last year at this time. I am close to my "max capacity" considering my health issues and the fact that I am still homeschooling my youngest son.  

2. How does my work differ from others of my genre?
First, I don't know that I have one genre and I am not sure I fit into any particular genre 100%. I think I differ in that I try to make the best use of the product I am using, and I try to make something that everyone can relate to. I enjoy creating, and I want that joy to shine through! 

I think my Vintage projects are well constructed and pleasing to the eye. I love adding the unexpected into each project. I don't care for "messy" and unbalanced vintage crafts. I try to make sure that, even in a busy environment, the eye has a place to rest.

I think my Cute/Layered/Modern projects still have that bit of vintage flair that I love so much. I enjoy coloring images, and I enjoy modern prints, but I just need to have the bit of shabby tossed into the mix. I LOVE mixing prints. That is probably my signature style. I enjoying mixing prints from various manufacturers, as well as mixing within manufacturer. I enjoy the process of finding prints that "go together."

I also enjoy Technique Driven projects that use bold colors and interesting techniques. My other strength is in my eye for color and design - I was trained as an engineer! I love the puzzle of figuring what "goes" and what does not. I love to try to create a balanced project. The trick is knowing when to stop adding things!

I even love Mixed Media! It is not graphic or layered, it does not use printed papers. But, there is something so amazing about making a mess! I am  happy that I am not a "one trick pony"!

3. Why do I create what I do?
The short answer is...because I MUST! God created me to...create! It is inside me and it needs to get out! {grin} God also gave me the need to be a teacher. I want to INSPIRE other crafters to create, and I love to share my creations and to explain to my readers HOW to make them. Teaching is something that I just DO! It is sometimes difficult for me to create on demand for my job, but I also need that extra push to get out of my head and stop dreaming about projects and start making something!

4. How does my creating process work?
I wrote a post about my creative process some time ago. You can read that HERE. My process is messy and convoluted and just the opposite of how the rest of my brain works! I am very logical minded, neat and tidy, organized, very Type A. But if you see me in full creative mode, you would NEVER believe any of that! My work space is a chaotic mess, I am zipping here and there, doing this, doing that! I make myself crazy with my creativeness. I have to take breaks to do something orderly! I guess that is why I like to teach! It is orderly - step by step!

I have taken a lot of tests about how I think and work and about my personality. I get high marks in many opposite areas. I suppose I really do use both sides of my brain equally. I guess that is why sometimes, my whole brain goes on walk-about...at the same time! {grin}

Thanks for coming by for a visit! I hope you take the blog tour and say hello to my crafty friends. Come on back tomorrow for some new creations! Leave a message! I love to hear from you. I don't often have the time to reply to everyone, but I sure love read your comments!