Welcome to my little corner of the web! Blogging is a new thing for me, so please be patient while I figure it all out.
My blog is dedicated to paper crafting in the form of cards, gifts, mini books, decor, etc. I'm also a writer and proofreader so I'm sure I'll add a lot of articles too. Though I must warn you in advance, I can get a little wordy. My hubby calls me Stephen, as in Stephen King whose novels are excruciatingly long and detailed. My writing style is more academic but I am trying to get the hang of short and sweet--conciseness is more appropriate for web content/blogging. Moving on...
My
love for paper crafting began back in the day, in the late nineties,
when it was called scrapbooking--you know, before more specific terms
emerged to include card making, paper crafting, punch art, altered art,
etc. Growing up in Centerville, Utah, with the Making Memories warehouse on
the other side of the freeway and a retail store in nearby Bountiful,
exposed me to the trend and I caught the scrapbooking bug. I've heard it
started in Utah (Making Memories, Provo Craft, and Stampin' are all
Utah companies) but I'm not certain. Remembering when I helped my sis-in-law (who worked at the warehouse) sort and package die cuts reminds me of how basic they were in the beginning. It's amazing to see how much the designs have evolved from the basic patterns and
die cuts to what it is now!
Over the years my interest
changed from scrapbook layouts to cards, mini books and gifts; I found
that for me, scrapbooking is much more time consuming and overwhelming.
Equally overwhelming is the rate at which my picture box fills up as I
get further and further behind. I'm not writing it off forever; I
totally envision a full on scrapbooking extravaganza in my future once
my little ones become more independent and I have more time!
My Crafting Philosophy:
I like to re-purpose random
things and use it on my projects. I also feel a strong pull to use my
piles of "old" supplies. As much as I love new designs and trends and
get really excited about the new catalog, I try to remember all the
cute stuff I already have that is gathering dust. If you are like me,
you could make thousands of cards with what you already have!
My
biggest gripe is that the designs change so frequently and it seems
we're always running to the new stuff and leaving the old behind. I
especially hate when I want to buy more of the paper I pulled from my
stash and I'm out of luck. Sure I can substitute, but I love it want
more and it's gone. :(
As a Stampin' Up demonstrator, new and
current products are a necessity because I need to showcase items that
my customers can buy--it would be frustrating if they fell in love
with something that was discontinued! However, it always hurts a
little to see some of my fave sets on the retired list--how did the
Occasions Alphabet and Crazy, Mixed-up Love end up on that list??
My
point is that I still use the "old" stuff in combination with the new
and hopefully you might find the same in your stash and get inspired
to pull them out.
I also hope to show ways you can use stuff that's laying around your house for your crafting projects.
I
LOVE feedback and I invite you to comment on samples! You can also
post about your fave products, share some of your stampin' tricks, and
samples.
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