"A bit about me"...blog hop!

Hi.  :) Apparently there's a blog hop out there in the blogosphere, and it's kind of like a chain letter.  You know, you're tagged, and you have to tag someone else in return.  This hop is meant for each participant to share more about themselves or their work.

My friend Sindhu from Trapped In Craft tagged me recently, so 'Thanks, Sindhu!' =D  She is such a sweet blogging friend, halfway across the world from me.  Turns out we're both Pisces, born in March, and we are introverts.  Yay for introverts!  We've got to stick together.  ;)

Sindhu and I have been following each other's blogs for quite a while.  I have loved seeing her card-making style change over time and become more focused on the clean-and-simple side of things.  She is now a master, in my opinion, and her blog is filled with happy cards.  Go take a look; you'll be delighted!

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Click here for the original 2/6/14 post.

I'm a little nervous doing this.  It's hard!  What on earth would folks want to know about me?  (sits here a while, pondering.) Okay, here we go:

1. How long have you been making cards?  I barely count it as 'making cards', but I used to sell cards at the office where I worked in the late 80's and early 90's.  I'd bought a box of pre-folded card bases, and stamped something simple on the front, colored in with pencils.  I felt so proud of them at the time, but...well, you know, after all these years, they seem very crude compared to what I do today. After that, I didn't stamp again until attending a Stampin' Up! workshop in 2007.  I started my blog in 2010, and am so glad I took that leap.

My very first stamp sets (yep, I still have 'em!):

Assortment by All Night Media

Bear Mail by All Night Media

Click here for the original 5/22/12 post.

2. Rubber or clear stamps?  Both!  For a long time, when I thought that Stampin' Up! was the only stamp company out there, rubber was just fine.  After I discovered a Stampamajig, that really made things easier.  Funny that I don't remember my first experience with clear stamps, but oh boy, I fell fast in love!  My rubber stamps were left in the dust as clear stamps and I began dating.  =D  Lately, though, I am giving a lot of love to rubber.  Feels good to rediscover them.  And they're happy too!

Click here for the original 2/21/13 post.

3. Do you follow stamping trends?  Most definitely not.  Heck, I've never even followed clothing trends, ever.  I'm just not that kind of person.  (Well, I did own a Members Only jacket in the '80s, and bought Izod polo shirts.  But I was a teen then, so let's chalk it up to age.)  I love what I love, and don't care if it's not the latest and hippest thing.  Life's too short.  I'm doing it my way!

Click here to see the original 12/15/11 post.

4. What is your creative process? Most of the time, I let the process take me for a ride.  I start with a nugget of inspiration (a button, a piece of patterned paper, particular ribbon or embellishment, or a stamp) and build around it.  I feel my way along, and it's hard to describe but I can tell you that there's a formula of sorts.  The formula includes:  fibers, embellishments (chipboard, buttons, stickers), a mix of shapes (circles, rectangles, flourishes, for example), die cuts/punches, and usually a bit of bling.  Some cards are all about having things off-center, and some are symmetrical, where everything is perfectly balanced, like the snowflake card above.  

Organization is key for me.  It helps to know what crafting supplies I have.  When I used to craft in my dining room, I packed my supplies in cabinets and baskets so tightly due to space constraints, I forgot what I had.  After moving up to the attic studio, things are more spread out, which helps a lot.  

Click here for the original 4/3/13 post.

5. What is your card-making style?  I have a few:  vintage/shabby chic, clean and simple, and clean & classy/elegant...and (cue the drumroll) masculine.  Yes, I've taken a liking to a certain style of masculine cards.  They are not filled with power tools, or motorcycles and trucks, but have a more genteel nature about them.  As for clean-and-simple cards, I don't do them as well as I'd like, but that part of me still needs to express itself once in a while.  Hope you'll bear with me on that!  

Click here for the original post on 1/27/14.

This card was never featured in a post.  It's quite similar to the one above, and that's why.  ;)

If you've made it this far and read all the way through, God bless you!  It's a long post, I know.  One more thing before I go:  I am tagging my dear, dear friend Emily of My Little Slice of Bliss.  Her creations may look clean and simple at first, but when taking a closer look, you can see she adds so many loving details. And talk about creative:  Emily has used sandpaper, dryer sheets and toilet paper on cards in the most innovative ways!  I've got too many favorites of hers to list them all, but take a peek here, here, here and here.  Thank you, Emily, for sharing your creativity with all of us!

See you soon!