A Creative Blog Hop

My friend, Linda Neff, invited me to participate in a Creative Blog Hop.  Apparently, I have only to answer a few questions and pass along a great name for you to check out next week.  That is all I HAVE to do, but I have been dying to share this project for some time, so bear with me, please.  If you are only here for the answers to my questions, just zip past all the pictures, okay?
So, here is the project that I wanted to share:

It was so much easier than it looks.  I used Dreamweaver Stencils (I am on their Design Team), metals, my Cuttlebug, some alcohol inks, May Arts ribbon and some cardstock and adhesive.  Let me tell you how I did it.

1)  I ran the Dreamweaver Stencil LG758 Jellyfish through my Cuttlebug with the following sandwich:  A Plate, stencil face down, blue coated aluminum face down, Stamping Details Rubber Embossing Mat, and two B Plates.

2)  I ran the Dreamweaver LM248 Happy Birthday Stencil through the Cuttlebug the same way, except that both the stencil and the metal were face up.  For this one, I temporarily left the stencil attached.

3)  I dripped Color Solutions alcohol ink on both pieces, staying towards the outside on the jellyfish and inside of the letters on the word.  Since the metal was already blue, I didn't worry about covering every singe area.  I used the colors Aquarius and Blue Velvet and just a Q Tip wherever I felt I needed to smear the colors.  I let them dry.



4)  I sanded both pieces.  The words were sanded completely with the stencil still under the piece.  The jellyfish was just lightly sanded.

5)  I used a Q Tip to apply Color Solutions in Pearl White to the top of the jellyfish, blending it with the blues a little.
6) I assembled the card.

Thanks for being patient with me.  I hope you enjoyed it.
Now, on to the questions:

1)  What are you working on at the moment?

Honestly, when I am not working on blog posts or design team work, I never, ever make cards.  I primarily scrapbook.  I also do plenty of things that would be considered home decorating.  I am working on a Halloween place setting for two right now, relying heavily on my Silhouette Cameo.

2)  How does your work differ from others in your genre?

I think my work differs from others because I enjoy using a variety of materials, especially metals.  They are so easy and fun to use that I am surprised the more people don't work with them.  I have always had a soft spot for specialty materials like metal, wood, vellum, fabric, glittered, holographic, mulberry, velvet and handmade papers.
 
3)  Why do you create?

I am inspired by most things that I see.  I can't imagine what life would be like without the creative process.  When I imagine things in my head, I am excited to try and breathe life into the ideas.

4)  How does your creative process work?

Sometimes life inspires the creativity, and sometimes it is a challenge or competition and yet other times it is the materials.  Whatever inspires the ideas, once I get on a roll I fill pages of notebook paper with sketches and scribbles.  Every now and again, I get lucky enough to come up with a fully formed idea, but generally there is a lot of revision before something actually comes to fruition.  I usually have to have a pretty complete idea before I start a project.  Then, of course, it changes, often entirely, as I work.

For your exploration next week, I present Kristi Parker Van Doren of Kristi's Creative Café.  She is absolutely fearless.  She combines various styles and materials in very creative ways.  I hope you enjoy her work.

I am also going to have you take a look at Pam Hornschu, the fearless leader of the Dreamweaver Design Team.  She posts as 1Pampered Stamper.  Her work never fails to astound me with how ingeniously she creates.  I would never think of such creative ways to use stencils and stamps.  She inspires me.

Check those out next week.  You won't be disappointed.  I hope you come back again soon!

Have a great time looking!  I hope to see you back.