Kristina (woodwinds on SCS) has been catching my eye for quite some time as a participant in our Verve challenges. Her designs are always polished, crisp and well-balanced with a great eye for color. You can see a few of her past challenge cards that made me take a second look {here}, {here} and {here}. See what I mean? Gorgeous stuff, so I just had to ask her to play along with the Divas this month.
Before I get to Kristina's VERVE-i-view, I'll start things off with this beautiful card using the new Harvest Blessings and the striped background from Bountiful Backgrounds. I just love her gorgeously elegant take on this set. And the monochromatic green color scheme just make me sigh.
When/how did you get hooked on stamping? I’ve been a scrapbooker since my early teens, and have loved creating such visual projects that can tell so much more about my adventures. About four years ago, some of my co-workers at the school I taught at started talking in the staff room about “stamp camp.” After a year and a few months of chatting and begging me to come, I finally gave in. Needless to say, I was hooked. I started buying some stamps about one year later, and have been stamping and creating ever since.
How often do you stamp? Now that school has started back up, I really only have the chance to stamp every few days and usually in the evenings and on weekends. During the summer, it’s definitely an everyday event! It’s become so routine that when my roommate gets home, she’ll walk in the door and call out, “Are you making a card?” I always reply sarcastically, “Maybe.”
What's your favorite embellishment or finishing detail? I am thoroughly addicted to ribbon and buttons, and especially putting them together. I literally search for opportunities to sneak them onto my cards.
Okay, time for a little eye candy intermission. I love this star-tastic card Kristina made with You Rock, especially the embossed stars in the background. The color combo is fresh and unusual, but absolutely perfect for this starry beauty.
How long does it take you to create a project that you're happy with? Oh goodness. Too long. I am a perfectionist when it comes to my cards. A normal card will take me one to two hours. I tend to fiddle with my cards a lot while working on them. They really are the epitome of “a work in progress.”
Tell me about your creative space. It’s pretty pathetic at the moment. I only have one desk to house my computer, printer, lamp, and card-making space. I create all my cards in a little foot and one half space in front of my keyboard! I’m pretty crazy about organization, so everything does get cleaned up after every card I make. With a workspace so small, if I just let it sit there and accumulate, I would go crazy!
What is your usual starting point for a project? I almost always start with a sketch or a card that I am CASE-ing. I totally lack creativity in creating my own layouts and the few I’ve tried on my own have been too horrible to share! Sketches save me so much time. When I see them, it’s like I can instantly see what stamp I want to use. After grabbing the stamp, it’s a quick stop by the paper to pick some colors.
Time for one last card from Kristina. This one uses the new Happiness Found set and I just love the colors she used here - they really speak happiness, and the clean and simple style really lets the stamps take center stage.
What is your biggest source of inspiration? Definitely blogs. I love going through my little daily tour of blogs and being in awe of the amazing creations out there. There are so many incredible women out there that keep driving me to stretch myself, try new things, and create.
Who in the crafting world do you most admire and why? Wow. What a tough question. To really, really narrow it down definitely Nichole Heady. I love her incredible elegant style. I don’t think she’s ever made a card that didn’t make me smile. Also, Dawn McVey for her clean-lined simplicity and amazing color combinations. And of course, Julee for her incredible colors and layers… I love cruising by her blog every few days to see what treats she has to share with us all.
What is your favorite set from this release? Do I have to choose just one? I like them all for different reasons! I really love the leaves in Harvest Blessings… There’s even a polka dot one! I also love Wishing You. I love sentiments, and using them as main focal images… so this set is definitely going to get a lot of love!
I hope you've enjoyed learning a little more about this fabulous stamper as much as I have! To see the rest of the projects Kristina made for our release, you can check out her Guest Diva album in our gallery, or visit her blog, Itty Bitty Pieces of Me, for her newest creations. I just loved all of her beautiful creations for our release and she was such a joy to work with. Be sure to give her a little shout out for all her hard work!
Thanks for stopping by! Until next time, stamp happy!