Juliet’s zentangles

Whenever I think of Juliet, I think “zentangle.”  It is a form of art that I have wanted to try, but am “afraid” of messing it up.  Juliet has really captured the essence of what a zentangle is all about.  What is a zentangle you ask?  It is a series of repeatitive lines that make up a magical piece of art.  Would you believe that Juliet’s zentangles are inchies?  Clearly, she works very well in small spaces.

Juliet’s Zindorf style card.  You can read about it on her post here.

Juliet has a blog called Ballpoint Bliss, and is full of inchies, ATC’s, cards and journal pages.  Although Juliet has only blogged since July, she is not new to the art world.  Journal pages are now appearing on her blog, and she said to expect more.  In our question-answer format, you will learn so much about Juliet’s talent, family, and interesting career.  Her sense of humour really shines through.

What do you like about working with ATC’s?  Do you participate in many swaps?

Basically, the idea behind zentangles is that instead of thinking about the finished product, you focus on each tiny stroke, and let it develop as it will.  It is supposed to be a very mind-clearing and meditative process.  Some people feel the need to work all the way to the edges, but I find it more more exciting to just be working along and suddenly realize that it doesn’t need anything else!  I love the crisp, clean look of zentangles.  I have, on a couple of occasions, added them to cards, but fancy layers and embellishments seem to detract from the end result.

BEEZ in the Belfry is a good blog to read if you like Zentangles.

My first love is digital art.  I’m a big fan of Paint Shop Pro, and serve as a moderator at Stepping-Stones-through-PSP.  I came to rubber stamping through a need to make print projects with my digital designs.  I also bowl in a league.

To see more of Juliet’s work, you can visit Ballpoint Bliss.  Please give her a big hello and let her know you read about her here.

Zentangle Links

• Zentangles website
• Google’s zentangle images
• Zentangle video
• Step-by-Step tutorial on creating a zentangle
• Oodles of links
• BEEZ in the Belfry zentangle blog

For your chance to be Reader of the Week, all you have to do is leave a comment on one of my posts.

It’s been a while since I had a Reader of the Week for you.  Now that I’m back on track, I would like to introduce you to Patti J Gillam, a long time reader who enjoys participating in our challenges and chit chatting with me.

Patti has been a rubber stamper for 8 years and has a blog called Cherish Each Precious Day.

Favourite Colour Combination: Black, white with a mix of a third colour.

Favourite Style:  Class, elegance and simplicity.

Favourite Stamp:  I honestly have never met a stamp I didn’t like, but clear stamps are such a delight to use.  I love being able to see exactly where my image is going.

Card done at a recent Michelle Zindorf workshop

I love to take part in challenges and swaps when I can. I haven’t gotten too involved in the forums yet. There are so many options available, and it’s still a bit overwhelming to me!

Card made with one of our Sarah Kay stamps

How did you start blogging? Ironically, my blog began in November of 2008, when we started remodeling a bathroom in our home.  Our daughter lived in New York, and our son in California, and it was a good way to keep them up to date on each step of the remodel. When that job was finished, I was going to shut down the blog, and my friends and family suggested showcasing my hobby.  284 posts later, I’m still blogging!

DT Work: I am a design team member of Paper Cupcakes.

Tell us about your family: In April, I will celebrate 37 years of marriage to my wonderful husband, Stan.  He is my soulmate, and totally supports my addiction to all things paper and ink!  Our son is 34 years old, and is an Air Force Major in Los Angeles.  Our daughter is 29, and works as a Marketing Director for a branch of the YMCA. Our little white furball, Flake, and our grand-dog in LA., complete our family.  No grandbabies yet, but we haven’t given up hope!

Do you read and if so, a favourite book or author? Next to playing with paper, I love to read.  My favorite authors change from book to book!  I read anything from History or Political non-fiction to Christian writers, love stories, comedies, and just finished the Twilight Series.

Other hobbies? A spring and summer love of mine is gardening.  I will never be too old to be amazed when a clump of dirt becomes a beautiful and colorful bloom.

Patti, thank you for a glimse into your life as a stamper, mother and wife. It was so nice to learn more about one of my readers.

Patti would love to hear from you.  Please visit her on her blog, Cherish Each Precious Day, and let her know you read about her here.

Oh Bumble is me Margie.  Interesting and catchy name for a blog.  Interesting interview.

This interview was very fun for me.  Reading Margie’s blog, I felt I got a real good sense of who Margie is.  Margie agreed.  She said I asked questions that made her feel like I did know her.

When I randomly choose my reader of the week, I take the time to read the blog that I am going to highlight for you.

Rules for being chosen as my Reader of the Week.  Simple.  Leave a comment on one of my posts and your name is entered in the random drawing.

Margie has a newly designed blog, and I’m sure she would be thrilled to have you shout out a hi.  If you do, please let her know that Beth sent you.

Your blog name, Oh Bumble is Me…Margie, is a cute name.  How did you choose it?

Thank you Choosing my blog’s name was actually quite easy… I was looking for a word that screamed who I was… my DH tried to help and pointed out the fact that I always do what I want to do even without know what it is that I am doing – does that make sense? LOL! It did to me!

Bumble means to stumble, to mumble, to be clumsy and also to create a humming sound – that’s all me! I’m clumsy and always mumbling my apologies, I always stumble upon things, usually by accident - my way of creating and learning, and I’m a huge hummer! I’m always humming my favorite song or nursery rhyme;  Bumble also sounds like bubble, which suits my bubbly personality and constant ramblings! Yes, I am one of those people who starts talking/typing about something and then ends up on something else

What is your favourite thing about blogging?

So many different things! I am actually a bit shy in real life, so my blog gives me the opportunity to just be myself without any hesitations, and let’s me share what I love to do with everyone. It’s helped me be more outgoing, adventurous and carefree. Being a SAHM can be lonely at times, it helps know that I have an outlet to ‘speak’ to people and reach out and know that I am not completely alone, that their are other people that understand me… And of course, I love seeing everyone’s blogs and making new friends all around the world! So many very special, kind-hearted and talented people! All so caring and helpful! The comments that I receive are so encouraging I love blog-world!

How did you start rubberstamping?

My little sister, Sara, introduced me to scrapbooking and then later on to rubberstamping by taking me to a Stampin Up! demo last year… I immediately feel in love with stamps! The artist within me was screaming to come out and start coloring! I love to draw, but stopped once life got too busy with family and kids. Stamping has been the closest thing to drawing and I love it so much!

How long have you scrapbooked?

I have been scrapbooking for a little over a year now! I wish I had more time to get all of my creative ideas accomplished… I wish I had know about it all sooner!

What stamp lines are your favourite?

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a HUGE Greeting Farm fan – they’re all so cute and versatile! I also love Rachel Anne Miller samps, Dog Gone Stamps and I cannot wait to get my hands on some Gorjuss stamps!

The world of Digital stamping has also snuggled into my heart! I love having the freedom to alter the size of my image to fit any card or layout.

Do your boys stamp or scrapbook with you yet?

Oh yes! My boys love to get inky and have been for the last 6 months! They have their own Cuttlekids and separate basket of dollar stamps, 2×2 dies, inks, etc. Crayola has created a scrappy line just for kids and of course, they enjoy my scraps and have ‘borrowed’ many of my Ian and Wild Sprout stamps… if I’m missing something, I know exactly where to look, lol!

Tell us about the Operation Nice blog.

My sister, Sara of Scrap Happie, was one to tell me about Operation Nice and organized a blog hop in honor of it too last month…

Operation Nice is a blog created by Melissa to remind people that “a little bit of NICE goes a long way.” It’s a way to remind yourself and others that kindness means a lot, you don’t know what the person next to you may be going through and just reaching out and doing the smallest gesture can change that person’s view, hope and world! Also, you will find NICE challenges, giveaways, downloads and ideas on plenty of NICE things to do, share and how to ’pay it forward’! It’s a wonderful and encouraging place to help yourself be a better, NICER person everyday!

Do you participate in any forums?

Yes, I do! I have 2 that I visit often when life isn’t so crazy, one is fairly new and the other is an old time friend

I just recently joined Label Tulip; I fell in love with their kits, which I just signed up for and these group of ladies are extremely talented! I hope to get to know everyone and am prepared to learn so much, especially on how to create more layouts – I still struggle with cutting my pictures, lol!

My other forum to visit is Twilight Tuesday!!! I’m a huge fan of Twilight and this group of gals just makes it even better and more fun! Who knew that a book made into a movie would create such a stir amongst the scrapbooking and cardmaking world! There ongoing discussions not only about Twilight and Edward but also about scrapping, stamping, other books, news, etc. There is a topic for everything and anything… and did I mention Edward

Edited to add:  I recently saw a wonderful Twightlight stamp set at Barnes and Noble bookstore.  How fun for Twightlight ans.

Thank you, Margie, for playing along.

You can shout out a hello to Margie at Oh Bumble is Me…Margie.

As a recap for new readers, my Readers of the Week are randomly selected from a comment left throughout the week.  It’s a way for me to get to know you a little better, and it’s a way for you to have your day in the spotlight.

I would like to introduce my Reader of the Week, Janette Waters, of H2O Creations.

As you can see, Jeanette loves to layer her cards.  Who doesn’t love layers these days!

Jeanette started out sewing before she got into rubberstamping.  She likes the look of cards that use sewing, and hopes to start sewing on her own cards one day.

Jeanette was introduced to stamping when a girlfriend invited her to a stamping party, and added “the rest is history.”

I was surprised to learn that Jeanette has been blogging four years.  That is a long time, as blogs just became a huge thing about 3 years ago, and statistically, most quit blogging after two years.  What started out as a diary of her RV roadtrips to keep her family updated, turned to a rubberstamping blog.

As stated earlier, Jeanette is a lover of layers.  She starts with the basic layout of the card and adds to the card from there.  Liquid chalk inks and glimmer chalks are her favourite products.  She loves to use chalks in her backgrounds because they leave such a beautiful soft look.

Curious about liquid chalks?  Ziggy Art has a wonderful description.  Nex Tag is just one place where you can purchase this product.

Curious about glimmer chalks?  Simon Says Stamp gives a description along with the opportunity to purchase this item on-line.

I am always curious as to how long other stampers spend in their studio, and much to my surprise I learned Jeanette spends a long five to six hours there each day.  She spends her time on the computer and creating cards.

Design team work includes:

CowTown Stamps

DogGone Stamps

Just My Sketches

My Sketch World

My Grafico

Squigglefly

When she isn’t in the studio you can find her in her gardens.

Asked to describe her life, Jeanette was happy to say she is very fortunate and lives a very happy life.

As the fairy tale says, “and they all lived happily ever after.”  It sounds like Jeanette is indeed living her dream.

]]> http://www.sunflowers-dragonflies.ca/blog/2056/reader-of-the-week-jeanette-waters/feed/ 5 http://www.sunflowers-dragonflies.ca/blog/2030/reader-of-the-week-susan-rainy-roberts/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=reader-of-the-week-susan-rainy-roberts http://www.sunflowers-dragonflies.ca/blog/2030/reader-of-the-week-susan-rainy-roberts/#comments Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:24:10 +0000 Beth Norman http://www.sunflowers-dragonflies.ca/blog/?p=2030

I’m pleased to introduce you to Susan Roberts of Rainy Day Creations.  Susan left me a comment and was randomly selected as my reader of the week.  Susan has lovely work on her blog, and a sampling of her work is seen above.

To learn more about Susan, read on

How long have you created cards? The first time I ever made anything crafty was when I got invited to a SU! party back in the Fall of 2005.  I made 4 cards and thought it was the most fun ever.  There was no turning back!  lol

Susan, how long ago did you receive the honour of becoming a Dirty Girl? I was on the Dirty Dozen Team from July-Dec 2007.

What did it take to become Copic certified? I took a Certification Class given by Marianne Walker from Copics.  Her blog is http://ilikemarkers.blogspot.com/.  She has tons of great information there.

What colours of Copics do you recommend.  I don’t own any, but would like to start. I was so lucky to be designing for Ellen Hutson’s “the CLASSroom” as she let me use every single Copic marker that she carried in her store!  This gave me the opportunity to play with so many different colors.  I have just started buying my own and am beginning by choosing those colors which are my favorites.  For example, I love pinks and reds and have purchased over a dozen variations of those.  I’m not a violet fan and actually do not have any pure violet colors yet.  Also I am a real Stampin’ Up! paper person so I am also choosing some of my Copics to match the SU! colors.  Ellen has a chart to show these markers as she spent a lot of time determining which markers or combination of markers best match the SU! colors.  (She includes this chart for free to anyone who purchases Copics from her store. http://www.ellenhutson.com/servlet/the-COPIC-Corner-cln-Individual-Markers/Categories

It is best when buying Copics to buy them in groups of three according to their number.  This helps with blending.  For example if I want to get a few basic yellows (indicated by the letter “Y”) I would get three markers that have the same first number (color group) and then get progressively higher on the second number (natural blending group).  ie: Y11, Y15, Y19.  These will blend better for shading, etc. than say Y02, Y15, Y28.  A quick Google search gave this color chart http://www.copic.co.uk/copic-colour-charts.html.

How do you juggle family and all your design team work? This is a challenge.  I have recently stepped down from design team work as it was taking so much of my time away from my family.  Guess I never really figured that one out!!  lol

How long do you spend in the studio each day? Actually in my studio I only average about an hour a day now.  But if you count blogging and SCSing, I still spend probably close to four additional hours a day “playing” at this hobby!

I noticed recently some stunning cards you did with the brayer. (Thank you.:)) Will we be seeing more brayer work?  I love using the brayer. Yes, I’ve recently bought several solid image stamps that I want to use with this technique.  (Now to juggle some time! )  Have you ever visited Michelle Zindorf’s blog?  http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/ If you love brayering… she is the QUEEN!!

What tips can you offer for cardmakers who want to kick it up a notch? Oh gosh… good question.  I think when I started to add more layers and began to add dimension with pop dots, etc. I felt like my cards became more interesting.  The sketch challenge and inspiration challenge on SCS really helped me to try new layouts and stretch my imagination, too.  For awhile I was totally addicted to those two challenges!  lol

Outside of cardmaking, what would you like my readers to know about you? I can’t think of anything that would interest them!  lol  I’m just a mom and grandma.  They could always read my Dirty Dozen intro/profile on SCS if they were at all curious about me. http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/600331?cat=500&ppuser=61883

Thank you Susan for participating in my little interview.

For more eye candy, visit Susan at Rainy Day Creations, and tell her Beth sent you.

For your chance to be Reader of the Week, simply leave me a comment throughout the week.

This week’s Reader of the Week is Debbie Yates who comes all the way from Surrey, United Kingdom.  Debbie has blogged since 2006 and creates lovely cards on A Scrapjouney.  What makes Debbie unique is that every card is different looking.  She really knows how to mix up her style in an eye-catching manner.

Debbie started out cardmaking, turned to scrapbooking, and then turned back to cardmaking.

Like so many of us, she chooses to make cards and scrapbook with different styles of paper.  When cardmaking she likes to use Bloom and Grow by My Minds Eye and uses Crate Paper to scrapbook with.

Everyone has a their favourite colour combination, and Debbie’s involves anything with Turquoise.  Hmmm, maybe that’s why I like her cards so much.   She added she is sneaking pink into her work these days.

Debbie has a wonderful sense of humour:  When I asked her to tell my readers a little bit about herself she stated, “I’m a very boring person, married for over 30 years, two children in their twenties, one has flown the nest.”  She put a positive spin on her early retirement due to ill health, in that it allows her more time to make cards and scrapbook.

Debbie, thank you for visiting my blog and leaving a comment.  It was very interesting to get to know you.

Folks, please pay Debbie a visit, and tell her Beth sent you.

Want a chance to be the Reader of the Week? All you have to do is leave a comment for me throughout the week for your chance to be randomly selected.

]]> http://www.sunflowers-dragonflies.ca/blog/1706/reader-of-the-week-debbie-yates/feed/ 3 http://www.sunflowers-dragonflies.ca/blog/1862/reader-of-the-week-barb-deshima/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=reader-of-the-week-barb-deshima http://www.sunflowers-dragonflies.ca/blog/1862/reader-of-the-week-barb-deshima/#comments Wed, 20 May 2009 10:12:14 +0000 Beth Norman http://www.sunflowers-dragonflies.ca/blog/?p=1862

Some of you may remember this tag that I posted a couple of weeks ago.  It was made by Barb Deshima, this week’s Reader of the Week.

Barb just recently started leaving me messages on my blog, being a self professed silent viewer since I started blogging in 2007.

Barb misses the weekly challenges that Kim Prince and I had with each other.   Barb is right in that Kim and I have two different styles, which made the challenges all the more interesting.  I miss them too!  If only there were more hours in our day.

Barb has a wonderful husband who helps her with her Christmas cards.  How lucky is that?!

Barb, thank you for reading my blog!

Barb doesn’t have a blog, but if you leave a comment and say hello to her here, she will be sure to get your little hello.

Want a chance to be in the spotlight?  Leave a comment on one of my posts throughout the week and your name will be entered into a random draw.

Let me introduce you to the talented Maria Bell.  Maria is such a warm and friendly blogger, interacting with her readers both by personal message and on her blog, Stampin Inspirations by Maria Bell.

Maria is very busy running four blogs:  Stampin Inspirations, The Cafe Corner Book Club, Photo Inspirations, and Christmas Stampin’ All Year Long.  Maria keeps busy with her design team duties with Little C’s, The Greeting Farm, In Style Stamps, Pink Cat Studio and Inky Impressions.  She is also a resident instructor with Scor Pal.

With all her professional and home life duties, I asked Maria what her typical day is like.  Here is her reply:

My typical day starts with my driving my daughter to school.  That’s first and foremost.  When I return from dropping her off to school, I would start on chores and other important “life” obligations.  When I have the time, I will check my emails which usually is a daunting task of filtering through them.  I typically have over 20 emails per day from various sources.  I’m in my studio at least once a day but there are days when I don’t step in it at all.  I have a laptop computer downstairs in the kitchen and a desktop in my studio so many times, to check my email, blogging, etc. I can do it from my laptop.  When I am in my studio, I usually spend an hour there, sometimes more depending on a project I’m creating.

Maria is known for her numerous tutorials, both step-by-step photo and video.  When asked what her favourite tutorial is, she told me that it is the CD Envelope Shaker Card.  Putting together tutorials is a lot of work and it takes her a minimum of two hours to complete a video tutorial.

Maria likes to use Copic markers.   Copics are becoming very popular.  Maria has oodles and oodles of them.  If you are considering getting some Copics, Maria suggested getting the following:

Any flesh colored markers is a good start:  EOO, EOO1, etc  I do recommend that you choose your most favorite colors (pink, red, blue, green, etc.) and purchase 3 shades/tones of the same color group. . .a dark, a medium, and a light shade. This will give you the markers needed to shade and highlight.  I rarely use the colorless blender marker but many stampers do use it.  I prefer to shade and highlight with different shades of the same color group.

Please stop by Maria’s site and let her know you read about her here.

Want a chance to have your day in the spotlight?  Simply leave a comment on any post throughout the week, and your name gets entered into the draw.

For a complete list of my tutorials, please click on the tab at the top of the page.

]]> http://www.sunflowers-dragonflies.ca/blog/1809/reader-of-the-week-maria-bell/feed/ 8 http://www.sunflowers-dragonflies.ca/blog/1694/new-weekly-feature-reader-of-the-week/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-weekly-feature-reader-of-the-week http://www.sunflowers-dragonflies.ca/blog/1694/new-weekly-feature-reader-of-the-week/#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2009 08:48:19 +0000 Beth Norman http://www.sunflowers-dragonflies.ca/blog/?p=1694

Good Thursday morning!  Today is the first installment of my Reader of the Week.   This new feature will highlight a blogger who reads my blog and leaves a comment.  Everyone has a fair and equal opportunity to be selected.  Each week I will randomly select a winner by reading through the list of people who leave me a comment on one of my posts.   With 500 people reading my blog every day, there is a lot of opportunity to bring attention to yourself.  It’s that simple.

Kim Hutchinson:  Running on Ink

This week’s Reader of the Week is Kim, from Running on Ink.  Kim is a mixed media artist who incorporates photos of her family into her work.  She has a witty sense of humor, often leaving thoughts on her pieces by gluing on words found from an old textbook.  The piece above is one of my favourite pieces.   Her signature blue is highlighted with pretty colours, text and rubberstamping.  Did you notice that the artwork is held up by a bent fork?  Kim constantly surprises her readers with unique art created from unusual “stuff.”   Kim is a long-time cyber friend, so I thought it was fitting to introduce my new feature with Kim’s blog.

For a chance to be featured as my Reader of the Week, simply leave a comment on one of my posts.

Names will be chosen at random.