Creative Blog Hop

I was invited to a Creative Blog Hop by Kirsten Hyde.  This hop is about sharing a little about myself and to share some other inspiring blogs of friends as well.

I found Kirsten and her work through Facebook when someone made a comment on one of her amazing projects. This whimsical project she created just took my breath away. I hopped over to her blog right away to get a closer look. She had created a card with a pop up plane for The European Scrap Battle contest. “A pop up airplane, how incredible is that!” I totally fell in love with her style, creativeness and from our chats, her friendly helpful nature. She’s a wonderful talented friend. Visit Kirsten blog and see what amazing things she is doing now.

http://myhydeaway.blogspot.no/2014/08/creative-blog-hop.html

So - What am I working on at the moment?

It is still summer here in Oregon and I’m busy with family activities a lot, so my crafting time is down to a few moments here and there but I am working on a few project for kits that I will be selling soon in my Artfire store. I truly enjoy creating things from scratch and seeing them come together the way I saw them in my mind.

  and here's a look at a past kit I did for my store......

 I recently did this canvas layout for a challenge my Aussie friend Janine Legg had during a gathering she put on with a fun group of friends in Australia. They had bought one of my kits to do that day and invited me by Skype to join in. Lots of fun. I love making friends all over the world.

   What do I make and what is my style?

I make things that challenge my creativeness and things that explore new techniques that I want to learn. To answer the question what is my style, well that is a hard one. There are so many styles I love to do. I am addicted to mix media projects. I love making vintage looking items and shabby chic things of pink, white and lace. Steampunk is a fun fascination for me and a chunky layouts with many layering and textures is always a favorite. Most of all creating 3-D items like the boat layout shown here and the Fairy house with a hidden drawer that holds an album are projects that truly give me joy, at this time away. I feel my style is always changing and growing.

       Why do I create what I do?

Crafting has always been a part of my life. When I was asked as a young child what I wanted to be when I grew up I would say "An Artist".  Whatever was the new thing to try in crafting I did it. I can’t imagine a life without creating with my hands and my heart. I love sharing what I've learned and teaching what I know.

     How does my creative process work?

Well don’t laugh but sometimes I wake in the middle of the night with an idea for a new project and I can’t go back to sleep until I get up and work on it. I see inspiration in lots of things around me like this wreath I have hanging in my house that inspired me to make a card with a heart wreath on it and the vintage chest kit is from an antique chest I own. Sometimes inspiration comes from the colors in the photos I’m using at the time, like in the layout entitled “My Girl” with browns and blues. I’m also big on having a theme or a sketch first. I gather up all the elements, papers and mediums I think I might use and often times something from these items will say “here’s what the project will center around”, like the birds nest and the feather in the layout “Sweet Hugs” of my two little chickadees, my sweet grand-kids.

I would also like to Introduce 3 friends and their blogs. These are three people who I find inspiring. Their post will begin on the 1st of Sept. 2014

Becky Colvin blog titled: Becky's Creative Scraps

http://colvinscreativescraps.blogspot.com/

Becky is a design team member for a few different stores and produces beautiful projects. Love her style of shabby chic and vintage goodness. I've known her for a while through Facebook and Youtube. She's truly a sweet person and is always helping others. Her work inspires me.

Carol Salisbury blog titled: Scrappy Dayz

http://scrappydayz.blogspot.com/2014/08/altered-paint-brush.html

Carol has recently joined a design team and enters challenges where she shows off her lovely talent. The altered paint brush she recently did for my challenge was a gorgeous combo of lace, flowers and textures.  She inspires me with not only with her beautiful work but her friendliness and kind personality.

Maryana Volkova blog titled: Love Milk Musya

http://marushkavolkova.blogspot.com/

I have recently found Maryana and her incredible work on Facebook. Her style of adding texture and her use of mediums is a lot like mine which I think is what appeals to me with her work. She has one talent that I envy the most and that is her photographic skills. Her eye for the subject matter and the way she captures it is amazing. She too is one who inspires me.

Thank you for stopping by and I enjoy reading your comments.