Creative Process Blog Hop

Deborah Nolan a very talented, funny and sweet crafter kindly invited me to participate in the Creative Process Blog Hop, a perpetual hop that highlights card makers and provides a look at how they do what they do and why they do it. If you haven’t already visited Deborah’s blog you can find it here. Not only will you get to see lots of wonderful projects, but I guarantee you’ll enjoy giggles along the way with Deborah’s great sense of humour and way with words. Deborah also organises the fun Card Chain Challenge - if you'd like to join in on the current challenge you can find it here.

Everyone who takes part in the hop is given the same set questions. Here are my answers to those questions:

What am I working on now?

The shorter answer would probably be what am I not working on now?! At the moment I’m mainly working on making items, to donate to an animal rescue centre and a special school for children, which will be sold at craft fairs in late November.

I’ll be making lots of cards with dogs, hoping they will sell well and am using Lawn Fawn’s cute Critters at the Dog Park set (love Lawn Fawn’s generous angel policy). I just wish when I ordered the set from Simon Says Stamp that I also ordered the matching die set! Anyway I’ve made a little start on all the stamping and cutting:)

I’m also making fabric brooches and lavender sachets. I’ve wanted to make lavender sachets for a while and bought some lavender for our garden this year specifically for that purpose. My sister gave me bunches and bunches of lavender from her garden and now that it’s dried out, I’m ready to get cracking on making some sachets. This is just a test piece using upholstery fabric, distress inks and Memory Box stencils my friend Linda sent me – thanks again, Linda.

Earlier in the year my older son made a steampunk airship for one of his art projects in school. A couple of old watches were left over and since he doesn’t want them, I’m grabbing them to make a necklace and something else (I’m not quite sure what yet!). I just love the look of the old watch gears, the more modern watch innards aren’t a patch on them as you can see from this photo.

How does my work differ from others in my genre?

Oh now this is a difficult one! I definitely don’t think I have a particularly distinctive style but I like trying to come up with different ideas. Although I can’t pinpoint how my work differs from others, I feel that everyone’s work differs from others, as can be seen through the wide range of ideas and completely different interpretations of themes that people come up with for challenges or even under time pressure in scrambles.

Why do I create what I do?

Why do I create? Well it’s like an itch I have to scratch, and the itch is only satisfied when I finally get to make whatever ideas I have swirling around in my head. My hubby is similar, but in his case it’s writing music, so he totally understands why I sometimes drop everything to get whatever it is out of my system. Why do I create what I do? As far back as I can remember (and we’re talking a lot of years;) )I’ve always enjoyed crafts and there was always a supply of crafty bits and pieces at home for us to play with. I’ve tried out many crafts over the years but cardmaking has become a firm favourite for a number a reasons, including the wonderful friends I’ve made through cardmaking, how relaxing the whole process is, the fun of putting together something from scratch, the endless number of techniques (and goodies!) that are out there and as someone who couldn’t draw to save her life (or win at Pictionary!) I love having lovely (and recognisable) images to colour and put on my projects. I have to admit that I still have some UFOs from my quilting days, so it is great to have taken up a hobby in which I have no unfinished objects hanging around the place!

How does my creative process work?

Lol another good one that made me think! Well I suppose when I’m making something I usually have a particular family member or friend in mind. So I think about what they might like colour and style wise. Sometimes I know straight off what I’m going to make and other times I haven’t a clue. Even when I know exactly what I want to do, I’d say 80% of the time the idea evolves as I make my card/project. When I’m in my haven’t a clue phase I usually pull out some stamps, embossing folders, inks and dies and mess with my supplies until I’m happy with what I’ve come up with.

I rarely create at night unless I need to make something in a hurry or else if I’m just cutting out bits and pieces or colouring. I much prefer to work early in the morning or during the day – it’s just a pity that thing called work can get in the way a bit for those timings!

Who am I tagging for the next round of the Creative Blog Hop?

I’m tagging a wonderful friend I’ve made through cardmaking – Trinh Arrieta. Not only is Trinh one of the sweetest people I know but she never ceases to amaze me with the fabulous and creative projects she makes. I’ve lost track of the amount of times I’ve said “wow” when I’ve visited her blog or received one of her brilliant cards. If you haven’t already seen Trinh’s blog you’ll find it here and next Monday she’ll be posting about her creative process – I know that will be a treat for sure!

Thanks for visiting today and well done for making it through my rather long winded post!

Adam's First Challenges

My twelve year old son Adam was very excited when he heard about Simon Says Stamp's Summer Vacation Kid’s Challenge and this morning decided to make a card before his breakfast.

It took him a bit longer than he thought it would to make the card (lol that happens to me all the time too!) but he just wouldn't take a break for breakfast until he was finished. Well first off he rummaged through my stamps to find all the images he liked and then he drew a rough idea of what he wanted to do.

He particularly loved using the Big Shot and was delighted with how quickly he could cut a strip of grass with it.

Die - Grassy Border (Lawn Fawn)

Something else he really enjoyed was doing the colouring on the dog and ice cream. His first practice stamping is on the piece of scrap paper underneath.

Stamp - Critters at the Dog Park (Lawn Fawn)

Stamp - Fantastic Birthday (Hero Arts)

Here he is sticking the last stamped piece to his card and the final touch was when he added sprinkles to the ice cream.

The bonus was eating the extra sprinkles that he had "accidentally" poured out for the top of the ice cream;)

So here's the end result of all his hard work, fueled only be some sprinkles:)

Stamps - Hero Arts (Be Happy, Picnic & Fantastic Birthday) & Lawn Fawn (Critters at the Dog Park)

I just love Adam's card and all the fun he had from start to finish making it. The super happy dog with the best ever treat in his bowl and the sun with the happy face and sunglasses make me smile every time I look at this card:):) Hope you enjoy it too!

As Adam added texture to his card by using sprinkles he's also submitting his card into Lawnscaping's Texture Challenge.

There's No One Like My Favourite Artist

Unfortunately, I can't draw but I did ask my favourite artist, my son Mark, to draw some quirky images for my cards and I'm delighted with what he came up with!

Dog image - by Mark
Stamps - Critters at the Dog Park (Lawn Fawn) & Woodland Creatures (Hero Arts)

One of the first images he drew for me was this dog that I just love. After colouring the little guy with ProMarkers I added some glossy accents to his eyes and nose. For the oval panel I die cut some grass and added it to the blue background. The bones and paw prints in the background and the sentiment were embossed. To finish I just added a couple of enamel dots to the sentiment panel.

I'm submitting this card into Simon Says Stamp Emboss It Challenge.