Tagged!

Marie at The Stamp Lounge tagged me ... now it's time for me to answer a few questions and tag someone else!

1. Stamping Style: Hmm, not sure I have just one. I tend to like clean & simple lines and sometimes opt to focus on a single image ... but then I'll get into an 'altered' mood and start roughing things up and layering quite a bit. I guess on the blog, I've tended to post some of the projects that fall more into the 'quick stamping' category since I assume everyone is time-crunched like me.

2. Inspiration: Almost any magazine can spark a layout or color idea, I love checking out graphic design mags, and, of course, other stampers creativity ... color inspiration comes from everywhere ... sometimes just seeing a couple paper scraps on my studio table or ink colors from different projects blended on my grid paper.

3. Color: I tend to go for stronger colors ... black, white with hot pinks, reds & oranges ... seems I've done several hot pink & orange combos. Recently I've been doing more with chocolate brown and also love 'retro' color combinations. I just saw an artists work that uses teal and rust - going to have to try that.

4. Workspace: I have a 2-car garage that is now my studio. The back corner has lots of work surface area, cabinets all around and craftsmen tool chests under the work surfaces ... still feel like I could some more organizational help but it's a start! The front of the garage has a long table from Ikea that can seat 10 - perfet for classes - or just when I need to spread out for a sewing project or some other activity.

5. Perfect: Sleep in, yoga, chill with a magazine and a cup of coffee (or sometimes tea), time with friends, time to create, time to spend with the husband, time to explore, laughing, lots of music, more sleep.

6. First Job: Guessing the first job would be at A&W - it was short-lived as I quickly found a job at a bookstore but there business wasn't doing too well so I ended up working the rest of the summer at Yum-Yum donuts. As a student, starting work at 6am puts a major cramp in your summer activities ... and I didn't eat donuts for years after that -- surrounded by fried sugar and with a 'donuts anytime' policy, they were no longer appealing. I still opt for an english muffin, bagel or toast over donuts ...

7. Wildest Dream: I wanted to be a rock star when I was a kid ... now, I dream of doing voice-over work while Grady makes creative works for hire giving us plenty of money and time to do other things for ourselves.

8. Ink: Love the Stampin' Up! ink - can't go wrong with the easy color matching and the quality is great. I tend to use more classic (dye-based) ink - but also like working with craft (pigment-based) ink for custom embossing colors. Craft ink is also great to use like paint on small projects, too. Staz-On is perfect for watercolor and other special techinques. Versmark - can't go wrong for a clear embossing ink. I also like Tim Holtz distress inks and Adirondak alcohol inks for some aging and altering things.

9. Family: Originally from California - Mom's still in the area and lives in the same town as my in-laws so easy to see everyone at the holidays. Father in Idaho. Brothers in Idaho and NY. Brother- & sister-in-law & nieces live just a few minutes away from us in San Jose so we get to see them quite a bit - others from bro-in-laws & family are in Napa, Austin and Volcano (Hawaii) ...

10. Biggest Challenge: Time. Relaxation. Pacing. Working a full-time corporate gig doesn't always leave much time or headspace for creativity ... I have to remember to also leave time to just chill out and do nothing - sometimes that's when the creative ideas show up.

Now ... to tag some more folks ...

Heather at Witty Title Here

Dawn at Treasure Oiler Designz