January 18, 2008 - 8:00am
Please welcome Amy! I have to say that Amy has been an idol of mine since I started looking at blogs. She makes such gorgeous cards. I strive to make work that is up to par with Amy's one day! You can see all her work HERE. Now to learn a bit more about her. She is 24 years old! She married her high school sweetheart, has two little girls (almost 5 and 2) and is a stay at home mom. Next is a little more about her in her own words.
I've always been a "crafty" person, loved to color since I was little, and always had a blast doing creative projects when I was in school! I used to stay up late at night and re-decorate my room with things I had on hand and had dreams of being an interior designer someday (that never happened but I do still enjoy decorating my home!)
I was introduced to stamping about 3 1/2 years ago and took to it like water. I LOVED it! Not much later I signed up to be a Stampin' Up! demo (I was spending enough to keep up my own minimums.....).
I started my blog the summer of 2006, and at the time there wasn't a whole lot of stamping blogs out there. I was loving my blog and was amazed at the audience I was getting in so short a time. I ended up being asked to do a few tutorials for Splitcoaststampers and things just kept getting better from there! In December of that year I was asked to be on my very first Design Team (GinaK Designs!) and less than 2 months later was asked to be on my second (Papertrey Ink!).
Since then things have taken off quite a bit more - I am now the Creative Director and Design Team Co-ordinator for All That Scraps, and a permanent guest designer for My Favorite Things, and am a Senior Design Team member still for both GinaK Designs and Papertrey Ink.
2007 was a very interesting year for me with a lot of ups and downs. I look forward to what 2008 will bring!
I also asked Amy a few questions I thought would be fun to hear answers to.
How did you get started with crafts?
Well I've always been crafty, my mom was/is so I get that from her. I was introduced to stamping by my Mother-in-law - she invited me to a Stampin' Up! workshop she was hosting and I was hooked right then and there!
How much time per day do you spend on your crafts? Is it enough? :)
I spend a fair amount of time - I have my studio set up in an area right off our living room and we have a small house so I'm right in the thick of things! Most of the time my girls sit right here and play while I create so there are some days I can get a good few hours in (between cleaning, laundry, phone calls, making meals, breaking up fights etc etc etc etc!) - so really I have no idea how much actual "creating" time I get in a day. And is it EVER enough??
What is your favorite craft item to use or project to make?
Prima flowers and ribbon - I can't choose between them as they are BOTH my favorite items and I can't seem to make anything without them!
Where do you get your inspiration (for your stamp creating or card making)?
Everywhere - literally. Magazines, commercials, TV shows/movies, clothing, packaging, blogs, websites - pretty much anything that catches my eye and makes me go "hmmmmmmmmm.......I really like that color combo/layout/pattern etc etc etc!"
Do you have any advice for fellow crafters out there? Words of wisdom, perhaps? :)
Everyone enjoys positive affirmation - no matter who they are. I know not a week goes by that I don't have at least *one* moment where I feel like everything I make is crap! So I enjoy every little comment and e-mail that I get from people telling me they enjoy my blog or love what I do. That isn't my SOLE reason for sharing it all online - but it certainly makes it a more wonderful experience!
I have included a few pictures of her work for you to admire! This is just a small example of why this wonderful lady is one of my idols!
I hope you have enjoyed meeting Amy and Featured Crafter Friday. If you would like to be featured, please send me an email! I would be more than happy to include you! See you next Friday for another wonderful crafter!