Friday, October 25, 2013

Sizzix - Who Are You?


Hi all! I'm so excited to share a new contest Sizzix is running for those of you in the US and Canada. We want to know - Who Are You?

All you have to do is submit a picture of your Sizzix project and add the three words that best describe you!

As part of the promotion, the Sizzix designers were asked to share three words that describe us. Here are mine:

 Chicken-Wrangler

When we first bought a house in the country, I knew I wanted to raise chickens. They've turned out to be one of the most fun things in my life! I love watching their life cycle unfold. Cheepers, who I'm holding, was hatched in an incubator from an egg we bought online. I have video of her breaking through the shell and she even has her own little baby book. Now, she's hatched her own babies - twice! I have to stop right now or I'll be running out to their coop, taking more pics. :)

DIY-er

From the first house we ever bought, to our current home, we've always had fixer-uppers. At first, it was because it was all we could afford. Now, I can't imagine ever buying a new house! This one was built in the 70s and was a mess when we bought it (my SIL: "Is it...habitable?"). Dropped ceilings, layers of linoleum, hideous cabinets - it had it all. I love stripping it all away and putting my own stamp (!) on it. The kitchen is my favorite room of all. I did all the tile - floor and subway backsplash. My husband built all the cabinets (yay, Ikea!). We knocked down walls, added new windows and doors, and basically rebuilt the whole thing. I'm worried what we'll do when we run out of projects, but that hasn't happened yet!

Papercrafter

My one true love will always be papercrafting. I have been doing some sort of crafting with paper for as long as I can remember. From Reader's Digest angels, to tissue and balsa wood kites (mine flew the highest!), to dioramas, creating was always a huge part of my childhood. When I quit work to stay home with my kids, I found myself with time on my hands and Carol Duvall on my TV. I found new, crafty friends and we'd get together and do things with our kids, or share a project when they were in school. I bought my first issue of The Stampers' Sampler in 2000 and was hopelessly addicted from the moment I opened it! After awhile I started submitting and getting published, and was thrilled to be the Guest Artist in the Aug/Sep 2006 issue.

Since then, my style has come a long way. I can still remember discovering the Tim Holtz Distress Ink pads. It was like there was someone out there who really 'got' me! I've been incredibly fortunate to come full circle and have the honor of creating samples for Tim now. The piece above is one of my favorites from this summer's CHA show. It's an idea-ology Configurations Book that was covered with embossed metal using the Sizzix Diamond Plate Texture Fade. One of my favorite things is coming up with new ways to use materials and dies. Here, I've embossed metal using the Rulers Texture Fade, cut it apart, and made a mechanical 'arm'. The optical lens is actually the small Pocket Watch die with the inside cut out. The gears are cut from chipboard using the Gadget Gears and Mini Gears dies, and painted with Distress paint.

This piece is a perfect example of how I use Sizzix dies. Both the Ironwork Gate and the Cobwebs were cut from kraft cardstock and treated with my faux tarnished silver technique. I absolutely love experimenting with my Sizzix dies. Sometimes I feel like there will never be enough time to try all the ideas I have floating around!

Now that you know a little more about me, I hope you're inspired to share some of your work and a little bit about you. For more information about the contest, you can read more HERE. To enter, follow this LINK to the entry form on Facebook. Good luck!!

Most of the materials I used on this project can be found at Inspiration Emporium via the links below. Remember to use my coupon code - stamptramp - to save 10% on your order!


Thanks so much for stopping by today - I hope I didn't bore you! Have a fantastic weekend!

10 comments:

  1. I'm first to comment?? That IS a first! Love your illustrated bio, Shelly! (Am so envious of that kitchen, too!)

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  2. I am new to your blog, so it was nice to learn about you! I have been papercrafting for years also, but for the past year or two quilting has been my go-to craft. Well, for some reason I'm excited to be stamping and scrapping again. Which is probably why I'm looking at your blog:) Your work will be very inspirational for me, I'm sure!

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  3. Perfect, just absolutely perfect. A wonderful post with great pictures that tell your story so well. Life is Good!

    Your Friend in ART,
    Linda

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  4. Super duper cool!!!! And I love your kitchen…and the cute photo of you and Cheepers. =)

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  5. How lovely to see more of you Shelly, I would love to have chickens but with my two cats I think that would be difficult. You have created a beautiful kitchen and I love your paper crafting world. tFS.
    hugs {brenda} x0x

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  6. I love your Configurations Book, my mind is the beautifulest I never seen !

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  7. You are one very clever lady. paper crafting and home renovating. fabulous kitchen and fabulous projects

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  8. It's fabulous to get to know more about you and peek into your world. You have the most beautiful kitchen and I adore the Configurations Book. It is samples like this that really inspire us all to try our own versions. Thank you for being a wonderful guiding light. Jenny xxx

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  9. Love your kitchen, it looks so homey!! The config book is fab, you gotta love that Tim!!

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  10. Wonderful configurations box. I love the outside too. Karen.x

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Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts. I appreciate your comments so much!