{SPD} Hola!

Hey there!! Today I have a really fun post to share with you!! I was actually nominated by two different crafty friends to take part in a progressive blog hop- The Creative Bloghop….So thank you Chaitali Narla and Cheryl Valadez for the nominations! The Creative Bloghop will run every Monday for eternity. Ha! Who knows how long it will keep going. I almost took the whole thing down myself when I forgot to post a month or so back, with my first nomination from Cheryl. But it seems it has kept onward and upward, and I have the chance to redeem myself with Chaitali. Please no one send me a chain letter or a sticker club invitation for my kids. We will break that chain. Your child will end up sticker-less, after you sent out 10 packs of stickers, plus postage. Fair warning.

So here's the deal. I answer some questions about myself, that the worlds been just dying to know. Then I nominate some cool chicks at the end of my chat. And then the following Monday, those cool chicks will post a gorgeous project and riveting, edge of your seat interview, and nominate three more people. Get it? Okay. Let's begin, shall we….

• What am I working on now?

Well, I just finished release week projects for two of my stamping design teams (SugarPea Designs and Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps)….release week happened to completely overlap this month (which, thank God, isn't usually the case), so that can be challenging!! Especially with a rotten headache that I couldn't seem to kick, and having some family staying with us, hubby away at work, and still grasping at some kind of routine and organization to the start of the school year. To say the least, it was a tiring week!! I have a few painting projects that I am wanting to get done before the snow really starts to fly here in Alberta (we also had snow this past week, but thankfully it is gone and back to normal, weather-wise!). I bought an old second-hand desk that I want to refinish for my studio and I have a little wooden school desk in there that needs refinishing too! My little one likes to sit at it and colour when I am stamping! I am thinking an aqua chalk/milk paint….

• How does my work differ from others in my genre?

Wow, this is a tough one!! Likely a question that is better answered by someone else, LOL!! I think there are a few things that I do to make my style recognizably 'mine'….but maybe not, I don't know!! You tell me. Hehe! I tend to always gravitate towards line art images that I can colour. I do a lot of sponging with distress inks, stitching with my sewing machine, and buttons and twine bows are pretty standard on my cards! I usually keep card layouts quite simple and allow the focus to be on the stamp. Flowers and tons of girly ribbon and lace and such, FREAK me right out! Not that I don't like the look of that vintage, shabby chic style…it's just not something that comes easy to me. Give me a pile of flowers and I am completely stumped. I am talking an hour just to get them glued on. It's painful to watch, trust me.

• Why do I create what I do?

Geez, that's a question that I ask myself often! WHY? I don't know. I love creating. I love art. I love making something with my own two hands and giving it to someone else. I think receiving something handmade is such a precious gift, no matter what that something is. The fact that someone thought of you, and took the time to MAKE something for you is just really special in my eyes!! I have dabbled in many different forms of 'crafting' and I guess because I have 3 little boys, I don't have time to devote to anything large-scale. I can get a card done in relatively short amount of time, so this is what works best for me right now. I like sewing and quilting, but that seems to take a lot of time and space, not to mention concentration! Kids hanging off your legs does not make concentrating easy!! Colouring is easy for me. I don't have to think about it. And I need a creative outlet to keep me sane!! Yes, sometimes I think this all might be a giant waste of time, but really, what else would I be doing? Watching TV? Looking at Pinterest? (yeah, I do that sometimes too)…I think all to often moms forget about themselves. They do everything for everyone else and don't take the time for them! And that's an easy path to go down…I've been there myself. A lot. And I just end up feeling really stressed out and frustrated and feel near cracking. I think we need to have something that's just for us in order to feel like we aren't lost in our busy lives. This is my ME time. Yes, there are more pressing things that probably could be done around the house. My windows are unholy. Seriously, they are the worst I've seen in my history of a homeowner. But my kids are happy and fed and they are always put first, so it's all good!! The windows can wait ;)

• How does my creative process work?

For starters, I try not to force anything. If I sit down and am not feeling it, I go do something else. Lucky for me, that doesn't happen too often! If I am stumped, then perusing other stampers blogs, checking out my favourite online crafty stores, and cleaning my studio usually get my creative juices flowing. When I'm making a card, I always start with the stamp. Since colouring is the main portion of what I do in card making, I like to be excited or interested in what I am going to colour. Of course team challenges, stamp release dates, and sketches and so on, sometimes dictate the stamp that I am going to work with, I still try to use what I am drawn to at the moment. After I choose the stamp, I always pick the designer or patterned paper and base my colouring on that. Lastly, I add any embellishments. Sketches help me a lot, especially when I am pressed for time. I don't tend to follow many colour type challenges, because i always end up feeling to 'penned in' by the guidelines. Inspiration photos always get me excited too :)

So, there you have it! Creative Me in a nutshell! I hope that you've enjoyed hearing a little bit about me and my stamping and what gets my motor running!! Haha! I would like to nominate three of my stampy friends: Wendy Ramlakhan (owner of SugarPea Designs), Kim O'Connell and Tracy Valure. These girls are some of the most amazing colourists in the biz- they have mad copic skills! They are great designers, so freakin' funny, awesome wives and mama's and amazing friends! I have met them all in person and we chat everyday online, or text messaging, and even the odd phone call or FaceTime! I LOVE these gals to pieces- I am blessed to have these 3 nuts in my life! Go on over to their blogs to see their beautiful work, and next monday they will be posting all about them and nominating some of the crafters that have inspired them! 

Okay, here are some details about my card! I've used this weeks SugarPea Designs Sugar Sketch. The stamp I am working with is called Let's Fiesta! I used some MFT dies (the speech balloon, circle dies and the banner die). The DP is some old 12x12 paper I had in my stash that I had intended to use to scrap some layouts of my first trip to Mexico. That was about 4 years ago. I have since been to Mexico a second time. Nope, didn't scrapbook that trip either. It was time to stop hoarding that paper and put it to use!

Here is the inside: 

Here are the details for our sketch challenge: 

• Create a new card or project using the SugarSketch provided.
• SugarPea Design stamps are NOT required to play along or to win but would be appreciated 
• You may rotate/flip the sketch & replace shapes – so long as the original sketch layout is recognizable 
• Upload to your blog or other Online Gallery using Keyword: SPDSS10 so that we may check out your beautiful work
• Add your name and link to your project in the InLinkz shown below.
• One randomly selected winner will receive a $10 Gift Certificate to the SugarPea Designs Online Shoppe.  
• However, if the winning entry features a SugarPea Designs stamp we will increase the prize to $15!