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Reader of the Week:
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This week’s Reader of the Week is Meahni Pieterse, who comes from across the Globe. Let’s see what she has to say about colouring and lions in her backyard.
Your blog name, Animal Factory, is interesting. Tell me about your name.
When I registered my blog I couldn’t think of a name, I looked around the room, and there were all my dogs laying on the floor in front of me. The floor was just about covered with dogs - so I decided on Animal Factory. Nothing to do with crafts I guess, but I love animals more than anything in the world, so I was happy with that name.
Tell us a little bit about where you live, and what it is you love about it.
I live in Johannesburg in South Africa, it’s a beautiful country, but sadly the crime is busy driving everyone out of here. For some reason though, I have no plans of leaving, it is home and I love it. I can drive about 30 minutes and see wild animals, lion, rhino, leopard, zebra, giraffe, the list goes on. We have probably got one of the best climates in the world, even though our winter is cold and I hate it, it’s still easier to cope with than the long winters some overseas countries experience. I think I would die - lol! We also have space here, lots of space, it’s probably what draws tourists from Europe here, but then again, did I mention the weather, hehehe.
I live in Canada, and there are a lot of misconceptions about my country. For example, I am asked if we have polar bears in my city. The answer to that is, no. Polar bears live way up north. Do you find the same thing–living in South Africa? Please share with us.
Oh definitely!!! We get asked all the time if there are lion and elephant roaming our streets. Sadly, there aren’t 
Stamping Bella is one of my favourite lines of stamps. Tell us a little bit about Stamping Bella, and being on their design team.
I got to know of Stamping Bella through my fellow DT member, Paula. It was her fantastic work that inspired me to start a Bella collection, and I just love them. I participated in a few of the Bellarific Friday challenges, and one day, out of the blue, I got an email from Emily herself. I was like, huh, why is Emily looking for me, then I read her mail, and nearly jumped right out of my skin. She was inviting me to be on her design team, who could say no to that!! I was a little nervous at first and thought how will I manage, there are such talented ladies on that team, will I have enough time, will I be able to make deadlines! Well I can tell you, Emily is probably one of the most relaxed people I have ever met, not that we’ve had the pleasure of meeting in person. If you can’t make it, you just let her know and she’s like, okay do it when you can manage. My fellow DT members are all great too. I unfortunately never get to spend time with any of them, not in person nor on the phone, but thank goodness for the internet! It is genuinely great to be a Bella Babe! I love it.
You have an interesting live talk feature on your blog. For those who are unfamiliar with it, please tell us a little bit about it.
Oh I always start a post and never know what to say. I mean the point is to share a card, not to waffle on about what I did the past weekend, but somehow, silly little things always creep in there. I pretty much write what’s on my mind at the time, and my fingers type as my thoughts go. It is always just off the top of my head, nothing I plan in advance.
Your colouring is outstanding. Can you tell us what mediums you like to use, and can you share any tips with us?
I only use pencils. Mostly Prismacolor and on the odd occasion Lyra and I blend with Sansador or Grumtine (for those in the States and Canada, it’s the same as Gamsol) and I stamp on the paper Stampin Bella sells, it great for pencils and copics. I was introduced to pencils by Paula Williamson, she is the master, I do not think there is anyone out there who can do with a pencil what she can. I used to love to colour as a child, but never took any art classes, I would’ve loved it, so don’t ask me why not.
I find that it helps a lot to study other people’s work, if it inspires you, then study it carefully and pay attention to what they do. I try not to be afraid to experiment, although when I have spent a bit of time colouring an image, I do not wanna mess it up, but I do try and mix colours a little, or try different techniques for shading. I learnt recently that one can add a little blue to red or a little red to green, for shading. Of course you must be careful not to overdo it or you make a new colour, like blue and red would make purple, but a little bit works really well. Always do everything in moderation and then add if you find it works for you. Don’t overdo it as you can usually not remove it once it’s on paper.
Do you have a favourite paper line?
I have no favourite paper line, but I do love the 6×6 pads from Basic Grey! I buy any paper that draws me. I think sometimes it depends on my mood, as I have bought paper I thought at the time was beautiful and then looked at it a month later and wondered, what the heck was I smoking, lol!
Do you have other hobbies?
I do indeed, but have no time for any of them. I like to do decoupage, beading, mosaic, DIY - oh no wait that doesn’t quality, that’s compulsory. When you have a house where there’s always something that needs attention, DIY starts feeling like a hobby. I LOVE doing jigsaw puzzles and bought a 3000 thousand piece in December last year, needless to say, the box is still sealed 
To view more of Meahni’s work, visit her blog Animal Factory. Shout out a hello and tell her Beth sent you.
For your chance to be in the spotlight, just leave a comment on one of my posts and your name will go into the random drawing.
