Hi! I have been asked by the sweet and super-talented Evelin T(of Evelin T Designs) to participate in the Creative Blog Hop in her post here. I’m honored to be one of the three crafters that Evelin chose to participate in this hop!
I met Evelin during my recent Design Team term with Sweet Stamp Shop, which ended last month. Evelin designs stamp sets for Sweet Stamp Shop, and illustrates and creates gorgeous watercolor prints and hand-lettered calligraphy! You can find many examples of her work at her web site!
As I understand, the idea behind the Creative Blog Hop is to learn a bit more about other bloggers by answering four questions, so let’s get started!
What am I working on now?
I’m working ahead by coloring images for my Some Odd Girl Stamps design team assignments in October, but I also try to participate in a few weekly or bi-weekly card challenges to get new ideas and inspiration! I can’t show you much of what I’ve been coloring, but here’s a peek at “Cheers Kaylee“, a Some Odd Girl Stamps image I colored for a birthday card:
How does my work differ from others in my genre?
It’s important to me to get as much as I can out of my stamp sets. One thing that I do differently is combine stamp sets in ways that many crafters wouldn’t might not think about when putting a card together. If I don’t have a particular image that I’m looking for in a set, I’ll look through my other sets to see if there’s a stamp I can use.
This card that I made for Sweet Stamp Shop is a perfect example. I wanted a treasure chest stamp for my design, but none of the sets releasing that month had that image. To create my own, I used a plant pot stamp from an older set to make one. I stamped the image twice, trimmed part of one, and flipped the other one over to make the lid of the chest.
I also like to come up with new ways to use my craft supplies, like using electronic cut files to make reusable stencils. This card is one of my favorites, and it was created for a Moxie Fab World triangle challenge:
Here’s another of my favorites! I stamped on two colors of felt and assembled them to create a fuzzy yeti for a texture challenge at the Lawnscaping challenge blog:
Why do I create what I do?
Many crafters say that they’ve always loved to create, and that’s certainly true for me. But, you’re wondering why I make cards instead of altered canvases or art journal pages or scrapbook layouts, or something else, right?
No part of crafting is more relaxing for me than when I’m coloring images. Taking that artwork and choosing the colors to bring it to life is part of the fun! Even when I was young, I created dimension on my coloring book pages by coloring harder in some parts of the images. It’s so much easier to do that now with alcohol-based markers!
And as crazy as it may seem, I love to fussy cut. I don’t make a lot of duplicate cards except at Christmas time, so taking the time to give each card personal touch means a lot to me!
How does my creative process work?
When I make a card for a design team assignment, I choose the paper I’m using before coloring the image. Then, I color the image to match the paper. Some people color first and match later, but I find I get stumped more often when it’s time to make the card if I work that way. If I’m coloring for fun, the images don’t often make it to a project or card; they’re just for practice.
I also visit sketch challenge blogs for layout ideas. If I use the sketch from the blog, I’ll link it up for the challenge. If I can’t find a sketch that will work for the image I’ve colored, I’ll pull elements from a sketch (or a few), but change the layout or orientation so that it works for me. Because design team deadlines are often a week before the blog post goes live, it’s hard to combine sketch challenges with many of my design team assignments, but I try to do that whenever I can.
I also try to add embellishments in a thoughtful manner. I’m not comfortable adding lots of flowers, ribbons or accents, so my designs lean toward the clean and simple style. It’s more important to me that the images and papers are what you notice on my cards, rather than the embellishments. I often add twine, brads or sequins to a card to balance the layout or to help bring focus to a part of the card.
The last part of this blog hop is to tag three more people who inspire me with their crafts. They will be posting next Monday, September 22nd, so make sure you stop by their blogs to say hello and find out more about them!
First up is Lesley Croghan. I’m blown away by her creativity in creating some of my favorite challenge blogs and having the time to manage them! I’ve been on several design teams with Lesley, and have been wowed over and over with her style and designs! Some of her challenge blogs that you may recognize are: Freshly Made Sketches,
Merry Monday Christmas Challenge,
The Card Concept,
Seize the Birthday, and
Seize the Sketch!
Hi there! My name is Lesley Croghan. I am a primary school teacher and I am from Canada. I am happily married to my hubby, Corey and we have two fur babies, Rolley the Rocket dog and Penney the Princess puddy! I started making cards in 2007 and then began blogging my cards in 2009.
My passion for card making and card making challenges inspired me to create my own card challenges online. I design for SugarPea Designs, Purple Onion Designs and CAS(E) this Sketch. I am also passionate about the performing arts and spent many years singing professionally. I am absolutely delighted and honoured that Suzanne has thought of me! Thank you, Suzanne.
Next up is Kristy Dahlman, the creative genius behind Some Odd Girl Stamps! I first noticed Kristy’s digis at Some Odd Girl when she was just getting started, and I’m so in love with her drawing and coloring talents! I’m honored to be part of her design team, and had the pleasure of meeting her in person at CHA 2014 (and working with her in the Some Odd Girl booth)!
I’m Kristy, the Owner/Artist of Some Odd Girl stamps & design. I’m a mom of 2 with a very understanding hubs of 11 years. We live in a tiny town near the Lake Michigan shore with our 2 cats.
I’ve been a crafty, artsy girl since forever and finding a career in a creative field has always been my number one dream. I love to draw, craft, design and try my hand at lots of things. I opened the virtual doors of Some Odd Girl in Jan 2010 and recently released my first paper line, Sunshine Sorbet.
You can check out my personal blog at The Odd Girl where I share my own work and behind the scenes goodies. I’m pretty in love with Instagram as well.
And the third person I’ve tagged is
Joni Wilson, who first inspired me with her no-line coloring technique when we were both on
The Greeting Farm‘s Showcase Team in 2013! She is a wonderful friend and crafter, and I’m so glad I got to meet her in person while she and her family lived near me!
Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you’ve enjoyed this peek into my projects and my creative process! Be sure to visit the three ladies I tagged in today’s post next Monday, September 22, when they share their own crafty secrets!
Hugs,
lattesweetink 