Getting to Know You Blog Hop

A little over a week ago I was tagged by my friend Kim from Art Keeps Me Sane and she asked me if I would participate in the latest blog hop, called "Getting To Know You". How could I say no - well I couldn't - to be honest - its one of my weaknesses..... I feel honored she thought about me and it sounded like a fun thing to do!

But before we get to those 5 questions I have to welcome my new member - this is soooo overdue - forgive me, my newbies!

And they are:

Merethe

Greta

I am so happy you joined my blog and have stuck around besides the lack of a proper greeting....

I hope I can make it up to you with this wonderful welcome picture:

It is a glass micro mosaic showing the St. Mark's basilica in Venice. It is created by E. Cerato in 1907 and can be admired in the Corning glass museum. It is an amazing work of art. I have never actually seen anything like it before. Hopefully you will like it as well!

But now those questions:

Question 1.What creative projects are you currently working on?

I am currently working on my next STAMPlorations project for the spotlight post - I can't tell you what it is, but if you are familiar with the Spotlight posts you know it includes a tutorial and some tips and tricks - by the way goes live tomorrow.

Question 2. What inspires your designs?

Generally lots of things. Sometimes its an advertisement or a fun design I see somewhere. I have been inspired by fabrics or pieces of art - I love to go to museums. Sometimes, but not so often I get my inspiration from Pinterest. Sometimes an idea just pops up in my head and I don't really know where it comes from. And then, quite often I simply get inspired by card challenges out there in blog land. What I like best are inspiration pictures, but I have become better at sketch challenges - (I like to combine those with color challenges, but now I am babbling....)

Question 3.What method / process (if applicable) do you apply to each of your creative projects, and how long does each project take to complete?

I usually start with a stamp, a die, or embossing folder I want to use and then I work around that. I can't really describe my process, since it often varies from card to card. I rarely know exactly what I am going to do. I just start and then go with the flow. What works best for me is time pressure. I had many times that I wanted to play in a challenge and had no idea what to do and then, all of a sudden if the challenge is about to close I all of a sudden know what to make.

The time to complete a card can vary greatly for me - I can do a card easily in half an hour or less (often my favorite cards) or it can take days to complete one - depending on what is involved, such as drying of the paper or lack of a good idea, if my initial approach did not work out. But overall I am fairly fast. 

Question 4. If you had to describe your 'signature' style, what would it be?

It's definitely CAS. Sometimes I experiment with some other style, but I always go back to CAS.

Question 5. What are 3 crafting products/tools you can't live without?

3 tools - I could write a whole page about this, but 3 it is, therefore

Tool #1: My Stamp-a-ma-jic stamp positioner. I use it all the time. Not only for exact positioning of my stamps, but often to just see where exactly to add my sentiment or other stamped image. I hate to throw out cards, so I like to get them right the first time....

Tool #2: My Big Shot die cutting machine. Its just one fabulous tool to have - not sure what I would do without it. I think everybody needs one.....

Tool #3: My Honey Bee Tweezers. Since I only have two hands (like most of you) I find them invaluable for tying twine or an occasional ribbon. They are also fabulous for placing small objects such as sequins exactly where I want them to be.

So, now you know me a bit better. I hope you had fun reading this.....

And now I am going to tag three more fabulous crafters (in no particular order):

Maria Fisher from Rieslingmama. I have known her for quite a while now and I am sure you all know her, too! She has a refreshing style of card making, always comes up with new schtuff and is just amazingly creative! I have been on the DT with her at Simply Create Too (from which I just retired, but Maria is still on it) and we are on STAMPlorations together.

Kylie from Kylie is Addidcted to Stamps. I know Kylie through the STAMPlorations DT, but I am also on the DT with her at Addicted to Stamps and More, but she has been on it a lot longer than me. She also stared her own forum Happy Little Stampers and is the owner of  Addicted to CAS. Are you impressed or what? So much creativity and energy just from one person. But I won't tell you much more, because she will tell you all next Monday!

Debra James from I Dream of Color. I also know Debra from the STAMPlorations DT. She has been there already when I joined and she is just fabulously creative. Her cards always make me gasp - as her blog says she is just amazing when it comes to the use of color. Her blog is a real treat - you should not miss it. She is also on the DT for Bizzy Becs and Purple Onion Designs.


So, that was a lot of writing from me - did you get through to the end here??? I have a card coming up in a little while - (2 hours to be exact) and you may want to come back to see it - its for the next STAMPlorations sketch challenge. I hope you enjoyed this post. Have a great day!