Creative Bloggers Hop

Morning all.  I have been asked by the lovely JANINE at CRAFTING CRACKERS if I would like to take part in this Creative Bloggers Hop, which is a continuous hop every Monday with a host of creative and inspirational bloggers taking part.  JANINE is part of the Sugar Nellie DT, a very talented crafter and an amazing colourist, so I was very flattered that she has asked little ol' me to join in with this.

Only four questions, which on face value seemed ok, until I tried to form my answers, lol.  Let's see what happened shall we:

1.  What Am I Working On At The Moment?

I was going to say "not so much" at the moment as I have just surrendered three of my four design team posts, but then I realise that I really need to get cracking with the Christmas stuff.  Out in the "studio" (ha) I have lots of images stamped out ready to get coloured up.  I have been toying with various mediums lately but still come back to the Distress Inks (ReInkers) for watercolouring with, although I am developing a love affair with the Polychromos pencils.  I have lots of new rubber sitting around and (oh the shame) more on the way, so I think I know what I will be doing now that I shall have more time for me as I won't have the DT demands to squeeze in.

2.  How Does My Work Differ From Others In My Genre?

There are many answers to this, but none that you want to read!  Honestly?  I'm not sure that it does really.  For sure, I have my own style - I imagine regular followers can spot one of my makes from a mile away - so maybe what I do is different simply because of the way I combine a clean and simple design with a (hopefully) well coloured image.  I have never been able to get to grips with over embellished cards and although I did wrestle with them for a while, I came back to what is me, straightforward!

3.  Why Do I Create What I Do?

Addiction!  I started card making as an occupation therapy during a post surgery recovery.  Now I need therapy for the therapy.  I have quite a stressful full time job and it is all too easy to allow that stress into home life, but I only need to sit down with a stamp, inks and a paintbrush and within minutes I can start to feel the tensions ebb away.  I can lose myself for hours in colour.  Apart from that, everyone now seems to expect a handcrafted card from me, so the process it self perpetuating.  It is such a good job that I love it!

4.  How Does Your Creative Process Work?

You will hear crafters say that they choose their papers and then design from there.  My head doesn't quite work like that.  I have "a lot" of stamps and an image will pop into my mind and I know that is the one I want to use.  The tricky part is tracking down that one particular stamp!  The colours I choose to use depend very much on my mood, and then once the image is ready I have to sit back and think what to do with it, and try to find papers to match.  I really ought to learn that it is easier to allow the papers to dictate the colour scheme rather than the colour scheme dictating the papers.  If I have gone too random with my colour choices, then it often becomes a very simple CAS card.  So, it isn't so much a creative process, more of a creative chaos, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

So now it is my turn to nominate - there should be three crafters here but with prior commitments and holidays I was only able to twist the arms persuade two lovely ladies to join me, but oh boy, are they quality!  You will be able to see their contributions to the hop on Monday 18 August.

Annette @ Netty's Cards

I've been a fan of Annette's work for ages, so it was a real joy for me when we DT'd together, twice, at Lili's Little Fairies/Crafty Little Fairies.  Annette has such style and the knack of being able to choose the perfect papers for an image, and her colourwork is awesome.  She can also seem to turn her hand to almost anything - doesn't matter how complex or straight foward, nothing seems to phase her.  Not only that, she is also a fabulous person and a dear friend, despite the fact that she is such a bad influence on my spending habits.

Bridget @ Curlybearcrafts

Bridget is one of my Word Birds team mates at the Without Words challenge and has to be one of the most understated crafters!  Her work is amazing (oh my, just check out her colourwork) but she goes about it so quietly and calmly, a fabulous influence on a frantic Squirrel.  Not only is Bridget a team mate, she is also such a caring and considerate person.  Definitely a lady on my crafting heroines list!

Thanks for joining me today for the Hop, and I hope you will enjoy Annette and Bridget's posts next week too.

Hugs to all
Squirrel xx