Creative Blogger Award

I was honored and surprised to receive a message from the talented, Becca Whitman letting me know she would like to nominate me for the Creative Blogger Award.  Becca does beautiful work. Check out her blog.
The Creative Blogger Award is an invitation to join a blog hop where you answer four questions about your creative process.  As you take the tour, I hope it introduces you to some new bloggers.  The list below of previous nominees is pretty inspiring. 


Becca Whitman Hansi Brittain Marie Flayer Jody Gustafson Amy Moore Karen Day Brenda Rose Vicki Wizniuk Kelly Janes Amie Kiger Katy Donaldson Taylor
Now for the questions...

What am I currently working on? I am currently working on some cards for my team. 

 

 

In my Close To My Heart business (I am a Senior Executive Director), I make cards for team members every month. I send cards to the top 3 sellers in my 1st team, 2nd team, 3rd team and 4th team. I also send cards to anyone who sells $1000 or more that month, anyone on my 1st team who promotes, and to the top recruiter on my 1st team.  That usually translates into a lot of cards, but I love doing it!  As I am making the cards I am thinking about the Consultants on my team and how grateful I am for each of them and what they add to my life.  The cards are usually made with the upcoming Stamp of the Month, so the ones I am working on right now are being made with the darling December Stamp of the Month (Cutie Pie).  This photo is a sneak peek of that set. You'll be able to see this project and many more made with this set on my blog in December. Stop back by!

 

How does my work differ from others in its genre?  I've been asked this question before and it's a tough one!  It's hard to be objective about your own work. I'm not really sure how I differ, but I can say some things I really like and try to bring into my work:

• bold titles on my layouts
• something that really catches your eye and makes my page/card unique
• when scrapbooking, I try to make the photos the centerpiece and to embellish and decorate my pages in a way that enhances the photos, but doesn't take away from them.
• I love fun and different color combos 
• I also love monochromatic projects.
• I LOOOOOOOVE embossing. It's hard to tell in the photo, but the oreos on this card were embossed to look like real cookies.

 

Why do I create what I do?   First of all, I LOVE to be creative. I love the whole process of thinking of color combos, deciding how to lay things out, and how to embellish. I even love the process of journaling and putting life and memories to the artwork I've created.  All of that is true and part of why I create, but the BIGGEST reason is that I love my family. I want to beautifully preserve the memories and experiences we have shared for not only them, but generations to come. Long after I'm gone I hope that people will look at my books and learn about my family and me.

 

How does my creative process work?  That's another hard question! I am not sure.  Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and think of an idea. Other times I look at a photo and a color combo will pop into my head.  Other times I see a throw pillow or fabric at a home decor store and just know I want to bring that feeling to a card or scrapbook page.  I guess my creative process works by living life. I am always inspired by colors, textures and design I see in nature, in home design stores and magazines, or in fashion. I love the beauty that this world holds and get so excited to try to bring that beauty into my own creations.  Several years ago, I made a scrapbook page that was wholly inspired by a gift bag I had.

 

This project was inpspired by some wrapping paper I saw that was full of lines and arrows and words in bold fonts. I incorporated all of those qualities into this Autumn Layout.

 

 

 

Now that I've shared a little about me, it's time for me to nominate another blogger.  It is my great pleasure to announce that Paige Doleki has agreed to be the next stop on your tour.