Happy Monday everyone! We here on the front range of Colorado are hunkering down waiting for a blast of winter to arrive. We have had such a mild fall that we really are due for a bit of cold and snow. We've had it too good for too long LOL!
My sweet and talented friend Sonja has tagged me in a creative blog hop. Sonja is a true gem and I am so very happy and grateful that she has come into my life. We met at a stamp camp and hit it off right away. She is an Independent Stampin' Up! demonstrator too! Her upline lives far away and she really wanted to connect with some of us local gals and we were more than happy to oblige. She is now a valued member of our local downline community and it is truly a joy to have her with us. You can see Sonja's post for this Creative Blog Hop HERE. Be sure to visit and leave her some love!
Sonja, a breast cancer survivor, is the heart (and brains) behind Project Give Thanks. This worthy project creates cards to be donated to cancer treatment facilities in our local communities. We have formed several groups working on this project and I will have a post devoted to describing our activities coming up soon. All of it is due to the inspiration we have all had from Sonja.
Here are the Creative Blog Hop questions and my answers ...
What am I working on now?
I currently participate in two local stamp camps each month and both have been growing and growing. At our Sassy Chic camp this month we had 75 participants and at Stamp Camp North we had 52. These camps challenge me to come up with a project for the campers to create that can be done quickly, but it also must be something that will have them leave my table saying "Wow - look what I made!"
I am also part of a couple of downline groups that meet monthly (or we try to) and so I am always looking to plan projects that I would be proud to share with fellow demonstrators and when I am doing a make and take project for these gals I always want to make something that will show them something new. These activities keep me on my toes and keep my creative juices flowing!
Besides my paper crafting hobby (habit?) I also enjoy making high fire functional porcelain pottery, weaving, sewing, jewelry making and most needle crafts (knitting, crocheting, embroidery). I keep pretty busy during the fall, winter and spring with these activities and during the summer, my hubby of 30 years and I like to live on our sailboat - Belmira - a 36 foot Allied Princess ketch. Right now she is on the coast of Massachusetts, but next spring we will be sailing her south to Florida and then plan to spend several months during the winter living aboard and sailing the islands in the warmer waters off the Florida coast.
I am a grandma to 6 and these lovelies also keep me pretty busy - 3 girls and 3 boys ranging in age from 3 to 10 and I love them all dearly. Of course, I think that they are the most brilliant and creative children on the planet and one of my major goals in life is to encourage them in everything they do.
How does my work differ from others in my genre?
I'm not sure my work is terribly different from other paper crafters out there. I'm relatively new to it having only been paper crafting for about 7 years, but I am always learning new techniques and experimenting with new equipment and new materials. It is a constant learning experience and I just try to make the most of it! I have watched myself grow more experienced, but I don't think I will ever be able to say I've learned it all. There are so very many talented and creative people out there that inspire me on a daily basis and they keep the wheels turning in my head and lead me forward in my crafting adventures.
Why do I create what I do?
For many years I did not see myself as a particularly creative person. I come from a long line of artists and teachers, but I had not found that spark, that creative energy that would lead me to believe that I too was a creative person. Then I discovered clay. I have been a potter since 1987 and I cannot begin to describe how much it changed my life. I finally found something that made me feel truly creative. Once I got going, it was hard to stop. I love working with clay, but now I also know the joys of working with fiber and paper too!
I was trained as a teacher and paper crafting has reopened that love in my life. I love having classes and teaching others to explore and grow confident in their own creative abilities. Paper crafting has opened that door once again for me and I truly love it.
How does my creative process work?
Wow - where do I start? I get inspired by the world around me, by nature, by people, by situations. I am a geek (25+ years in the IT field) and as a result much of my inspiration for my creative adventures comes from the web. I am pretty addicted to blogs and to Pinterest too. But much of my creative inspiration comes from the other people I work with, other women mostly, but there's lots of creative men out there too. The ladies in my classes inspire me constantly! I may be the teacher, but I learn as much from them as they do from me.
I love to work with both virtual and physical materials. It is such a neat thing to work on the computer and create projects and not have to use up any of my supplies! Stampin' Up! has great digital software in My Digital Studio and there is also sooooooo much stuff available everywhere on the web. I love creating virtual and hybrid projects as well as creating my own digital sentiments.
Tag - you're it ... !
Meet Cathy Hansen ...
One of the most talented ladies I know is part of the Front Range Stampers group that I belong to. That is how I met her and I am so grateful to call her my friend. Cathy Hansen is a wonderfully creative and giving person. I learn from her every time I spend time with her. Cathy's blog - Cathy's Craft Room - is full of creative inspiration and I encourage you to pay her a visit and check it out for yourself. Cathy is my go to source for information and resources and I couldn't manage without her! She and I share a complete and absolute love for all things crafty and we both have overflowing craft rooms to prove it! Look for Cathy's post next Monday as she joins us in this Creative Blog Hop.
As usual, I have tons to share and will really try to get some pictures posted of all the fun things that have been happening. With the advent of colder weather (and now that I don't have to go out in it to go to work anymore) I hope to spend lots of crafty time around the house. With DH home now and involved in his own creative projects, the house is abuzz (and covered with sawdust) as we embark on our lives together as retired senior citizens (insert big chuckle here). I am still amazed that I am so much busier now than I was when I had a full time job!
Thanks for visiting!
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1 comments:
Chris, you're too kind! I'm looking forward to joining this blog hop next Monday!
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