Creative Blog Hop

Hello!  My A Blog Named Hero teammate, Mateja (from A Pocketful of Stamps) has nominated me to participate in a Creative Blog Hop.  I did a similar blog hop last year (HERE), but this one has slightly different questions. So, lets jump right in! 

1.  What are you working on now?
I'm making a card for a guest design spot that you'll see very soon - stay tuned!  (hint - I won a challenge last week at this blog!) I also need to make a special birthday card for a friend who is turning 50 next week - lots of glitter and bling on that one!
I've been using a lot of stencils recently - here's a card I made in January using a Hero Arts stencil that has become a firm favourite of mine. 

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

Hmm, this is tricky, because I don't always stick to the same style! I think my style is mostly CAS with occasional diversions into other styles. I try to make my cards clean, balanced, clear and not fussy. I'm usually not very good at layers, and I'm not very good at using my huge stash of patterned papers! I'm also very late to adopt trends - mostly because I hoard things, and am running out of room for new stuff, and if I'm going to go with a new trend that requires new stuff, I need to REALLY know I'm going to use it before I buy it!
I think this card that I made last year is a good indication of my style, for a number of reasons: there's a rainbow of colour, it's airy with a fair bit of white space, there's a clear and easy to read sentiment, and it's asymmetrical. 

3.  Why do your create what you do?

I make cards for a lot of reasons. I love making cards that are personalised, so that they are a specific gift to the recipient, like in these cards I made recently:

I have done a lot of other crafty things over the years, but I like cardmaking because I'm impatient, and it's a small canvas!  Also, I like the fact that, if I stuff up, it's usually just a piece of cardstock that gets thrown away.

4. How does your creative process work?

 My creative process is a mystery. I can sometimes start with an idea and pull out stamps, inks, papers and colouring tools, and end up with a card that uses NONE of the products I started with!  It's very rare for me to start with an idea and come up with a card that matches my idea perfectly (it has happened, but not often!) But, nowadays, I often start with a codeword or a theme or a photo inspiration from one of the blog design teams I belong to, and have to get a card done to fit the brief.  I look at the theme, I think of what I need to use (or what's in my stash that would fit the card) and go from there.

Now, I'd like to nominate two cardmakers whose work I admire -Jeanne Jachna and Amy Tsuruta - these ladies are both teammates of mine at Fusion card challenge, but they have very differnt styles!  I can't wait to read their posts next week!

Thansk for visiting - and thanks to Mateja for nominating me! :)