Inspired By…

Hi everyone!   Happy Monday!

My dear dear friend Barbara Anders has nominated my as someone that is an inspiration to her!  To say I have no words would be an understatement.  Bar is my stamping IDOL, so for her to nominate ME…well, that is just pretty amazing in my world.

I had the pleasure of meeting Bar (in real life) for the very first time when we were both at MFT Headquarters this past May.  The second I met her, I just KNEW that she was going to become one of my most dear friends.  I simply LOVE her and we had SO much fun together.  I cannot even wait to see her again!

You can check out her gorgeous designs right here on her blog, Paper Pursuits.  Her style and execution are AMAZING.  She is a rock star.

Along with this honor, Bar also gave me a few questions to answer, and I also have to share two designers that inspire me (aside from Bar of course!).

1. What am I working on?  I am SO blessed and honored to be a part of the My Favorite Things Design Team, and so I am always working on a project featuring MFT Stamps and Die-namics.  They make me so happy and it’s a dream to be on this team!  I also proudly serve on the Sweet Sunday Sketch Team and The Color Throwdown Team!  I’ve made so many friends through this hobby, and all of the ladies on these teams feel like family!

2. How does my work differ from others of it’s genre?  Wow, this is a tough question.  I don’t know how to categorize my style, but if I were pressed, I would like to think my style is “clean and layered”.  While I LOVE the clean and simple look, it’s not something that I can easily pull off.  I like layers, a lot, but I still like my cards to look clean and uncluttered.  I also love to color with Copic Markers and often feature images colored with them on my cards.

3. Why do I create what I do?  I have always loved to be crafty.  I stamped in high school, but it was pretty limited to just embossing every single image with silver embossing powder (smile).  I’ve also dabbled in acrylic painting, specifically tole painting, which my mother in law got me hooked on.  It’s a lot of fun, but also a lot of prep work.  I like the quick (sometimes) gratification of card making.  I also love when my girls want to craft…we like to make rainbow loom bracelets, friendship bracelets and other crafts. 

4. How does your creative process work? Quite often, I am stamping for a sketch or color challenge, so my process starts with those as a jumping off point.  Other times, I will get inspired by browsing Pinterest and then have an idea come to me.  When that happens, I try and jot down the idea before I forget it!  I keep a notepad with ideas handy, and when I stamp, I keep my notes with me to refer to.

Now I have the pleasure of sharing artists that inspire me! 

Jody Morrow – Confessions of a Ribbon Addict

Jody is SUCH an inspiration.  Her designs are ALWAYS so innovative.  She is the stamper that always makes me think “how did she think of that?”.  Her cards are always perfectly designed and she has clean look that I am so drawn to!  She has been one of my stamping idols since I started stamping again!  I also met Jody when I was at MFT in May and she is an absolute DOLL.  While we were together, we realized how much we have in common and how similar we are.  Must been the name (wink wink).  I feel the urge to go back to Florida so I can give her another hug!

and

Cindy Lawrence – The Creative Closet

Cindy is also SUCH an inspiration.  Her cards are always SO beautifully detailed, and she knows how to add just enough, and not too much.  Her coloring skills are RIDICULOUSLY awesome…I love to stare at her colored images, especially the Pure Innocence line, and study how she adds shadows and shading.  I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with Cindy a few times at stamping events and CHA, and most recently, we had a fantastic brunch and shopping trip together when she was here on Long Island for a Copic class.  I cannot wait to see her again!

Thank you Barbara for nominating me, thank you Jody and Cindy for being such inspirations and thank YOU for stopping by today!