I thought it might be fun to do an FAQ (frequently asked questions) post.  I get asked a lot of questions from not only fellow stampers but friends who are fascinated that I not only make my own cards but have turned my hobby into a business.

So here goes… let me know if you have any questions you’d like me to answer and I’ll put them in a future post.  I’ll also randomly pick a name from everyone who has asked me a question and mail out to the winner a sample pack of papers and ribbons.*

Do you have a special area that’s just for cardmaking?

Sure do!  I’m lucky enough to have a whole room dedicated to my hobby/business.  I have one desk in there which is for ‘work’ – anything to do with paper that’s not creative!  I also have a table set up just for stamping and I have (mostly) everything I need at easy reach.  I also have a standing-height bench with lots of drawers for scrapbooking and the drawers are filled with all my scrapbooking stash.

Which is your favourite Stampin’ Up! stamp set?

There’s a lot of favourites!  But I can’t go past Lovely as a Tree.  I love getting good value out of my craft products and Lovely as a Tree seems to set me a challenge of “what other technique can I use with these stamps”.  I love the way I can use the same stamp set to make Christmas cards, masculine cares, women’s cards, sympathy and more.

Have you always been crafty?

Yes and no.  From very young I had a fascination with making stuff but I’ve always had two left-thumbs (figuratively speaking of course!) so I wasn’t always very successful at it.  Cardmaking suits my personality well though as I adore paper and ribbons and all the things that go with them… most importantly, if I make a mistake I can just toss it in the paper recycling and start again.

What other crafts do you do?

Other than the related papercrafts such as scrapbooking, ATCs, collage, etc., I can also crochet, knit and do cross-stitch.  I get a bit frustrated though with knitting, etc., so I like to stick to paper.  If I was going to do anything else it’d definitely be crocheting.

What tools are the best value?

I don’t think you can go past punches.  I use my punches more than any other tool (other than a paper trimmer!) and I especially enjoy layering them to get different looks.  I love the way Stampin’ Up!’s designer label punch works so well with the circle & word window punches and the oval punches work great with the Word Window punch.  I try to create different layers and punch paper in different ways to create different looks.

Well that’s all I can think of off the top of my head for now.  Feel free to ask away.

* Non-Stampin’ Up! demonstrators only please.  Also please note due to Stampin’ Up! policy I can only mail product to Australian residents.