Monday, February 23, 2015

Creative Blog Hop: Time to Celebrate

Hi Crafty Friends!  Happy Monday and welcome to another stop on the Creative Blog Hop!  I was invited to participate in this blog hop by Maria Leon-Villanueva of PrettyPaperMakers, a fellow crafter and member of the Luv 2 Stamp Group, who is super creative and passionate about paper crafting.  Thanks, Maria!

Since there are no rules to the Creative Blog Hop as far as what to create, I decided to share this Time to Celebrate Card to show off my newly minted Stampin' Blendabilities skills!  When I sat down to create this card, all I knew was that I was going to play with my Blendabilities.

Stampin' Up! introduced Blendabilities to us demonstrators in the spring of 2014.  Even though I bought all of the colors and was excited to give them a try, I was never pleased with the outcome of my coloring, so I only played with them here and there.

Well, when the new 2015 Occasions Catalog introduced 4 new colors to the Blendie family, particularly Bermuda Bay--my favorite color!-- I knew that I had to bite the bullet and put in some more practice.  Don't get me wrong, coloring with Blendabilities is NOT hard, but I wanted perfection every time. Let's just say that I'm a recovering perfectionist.  There...I said it.


I am proud to say that this card is all my own design.  It started with just getting the cake colored, but I wasn't sure what to add next, so I started playing with layers and colors.  Since I used Melon Mambo, Wild Wasabi, and Bermuda Bay as my color palette, I played up those colors with some Crushed Curry in the background.


I absolutely LOVE how this card turned out, and I hope you like it too!  If you haven't given Blendabilities a try, they are super easy to use and are great for adding pops of color and texture to sketched stamps like the one I used.  And, you can earn a 3-pack of all of the 12 original colors for FREE with each $50 purchase during Sale-a-Bration.  Wahoo!!!


What are you working on?  I am currently working on putting all of my unused products to work.  I couldn't wait to order so many fabulous things in the 2015 Occasions Catalog, but finding the time to play with everything has been a challenge.  I work full-time, so I only have weekends to play, and they've been jam-packed with Stampin' Up! workshops (no complaints there!) and other fun things.  My fingers are crossed that I will get some big blocks of time to craft in the near future.

How does your work differ from others in your genre?  My work differs from others in that I am not quick to try new things.  When a new technique is all the rage, I tend to stick with what I know.  I get there eventually, try it and see if I like it, but I love to stamp and die cut, so that's what I do 95% of the time.  In the story of the tortoise and the hare, I'm the tortoise.  I'm slow and steady in this crafting race.

Why do you create what you do?   I. LOVE. MAKING. CARDS!  I used to scrapbook and did so religiously from 2006 to 2012.  However, when I joined the Luv 2 Stamp Group in 2012, I had to make cards for a swap, and I've been hooked ever since.  And because my friends and family consider their card as their gift from me when birthdays and special occasions come up, that makes the time and effort I put into card making all the more special. 

How does your creative process work?  I LIVE (eat, sleep, and drink) on Pinterest, and I love to create from sketches.  It is rare that I grab a stamp set, some dies and my Color Coach, and make something work.  However, it has happened, but that's only about 10% of the time.  Most of the time, I get my inspiration from projects I see on Pinterest or a card sketch that I've pinned to my Sketches :: Cards board and get to work.  I love seeing how it all comes to life. 

So, to keep the hop going, I have nominated Kay Cogbill of PaperMadePrettier.  Kay is an amazing crafter, and she has been a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for almost 10 years!  She makes beautiful cards and home decor projects, hosts fun classes, and is an all-around sweet person.  Please take the time to see what she has to share by visiting her blog next Monday.

Thank you for visiting with me and learning more about how I create.  Be sure to check out Maria at PrettyPaperMakers (who posted her Creative Blog Hop share last week) and Kay of PaperMadePrettier (who will share next Monday).  Have a great day, everyone! 

You will find all of the products I used to create this card below.  Order what you need by going to my Online Store or click any of the links to go right to that item.

Until next time, happy crafting!

 






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