Surprise Pop Up Gift Card Holder - Creative Blog Hop

I've been nominated to participate in a Creative Blog Hop by my friend, Mary Ellen Stites.  She has a lovely blog at Create with M.E., and I enjoy following her paper crafting as well as getting an occasional peek at some of the other projects my very talented friend has been working on.

Since most of us are in the thick of Christmas shopping, I thought my latest project would be perfect to share today.  Each year as a part of a holiday themed class, we do a gift card holder.  Here are some of my favorite past projects:  Santa, pop-up, package card(most popular post), another Santa, pop-up box, Pop 'N Cuts, and a gift card tin.  So this year, I wanted something unlike we'd ever done before.

I had so much fun creating this card using White Christmas.  It's got so many different stamps in the set that you can make this card for absolutely anyone.  I went with the car to create my own little "Over the River and Through the Woods" scene.  You can find the directions at Splitcoaststampers to this Surprise Pop Up Card that we turned into a gift card holder. 

As a part of the Creative Blog Hop, I get to answer a few questions about my crafting style:

1.  What are you working on?

I am putting the final touches on a Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stack that will be this Friday and Saturday.  We do 3 cards and I am finishing up the 3rd card idea to allow myself time for cutting and prepping supplies. Hopefully while I am working, my mind will wander and I can be thinking about Christmas tags for a class next Tuesday.  

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

I am a fairly simple stamper.  I like at add a button or ribbons from time to time, but I tend to keep my projects basic ink and paper.  I own so much from the catalog, but I remember a time when I owned very little and wanted to be able to recreate the things I saw at a workshop.  By keeping it simple, my customers can see how they can make these projects with the things they have at home. 

3.  Why do you create what you do?

Since I was a kid, I loved papers and stationary.  (I once traced a Ziggy off of a shirt with carbon paper to create my very own Ziggy stationary.  I'm sure I was an inky mess when I was done, but I only remember the beautiful stationary :-) I create so that I can share my love with others either through the mail in the form of a handmade card or through the hands-on experience of creating their own.

4.  How does your creative process work?  

I hate to admit it, but my creative process is messy.  I start with the stamp set, then get to work with colors and layout.  You'll see several different inks and pieces of cardstock spread around my workspace as my ideas are coming together.  If I can't create exactly what I'm looking for, I set it aside and come back to it later.  Many times when I come back to it with fresh eyes, I find that I like it just the way it is or that a simple change will make it the card I was picturing in my mind.  

I am nominating Amanda over at The Craft Spa to continue this blog hop.  Watch for her post next Monday, December 8.  I first found her through a Pinterest pin, and I am so glad I did.  She will take one stamp set and show so many different ways to use the same set or she will design one "wow" project and make several using different stamps.  She makes it easy to imagine a project and to see the possibilities in a particular stamp set or project.  Enjoy looking around her blog!

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