My Creative Spark: Where Paper Meets Life

 Well Hello Beautiful People!

Thank you for stopping by! I really appreciate it. So, where does one start a blog? According to Google I need to introduce myself and tell you about my Crafting passion. I thought that was what the Bio was for?

What do I know? I've never done this before. So, onwards and upwards my friends! Today, we're diving into how my love for all things papercrafts and how it intertwines with the everyday adventures (and sometimes misadventures!) of my life.

I believe everyone is gifted with something in their lives. Whether it be, writing or musical skills,  exceptional problem solving skills , organisational skills and so on. Many people also inherit great traits from their parents. When I think my Mom has an amazing complexion. as well as being the best cook and pastry maker you'll meet and Dad had a great head of hair and the most gorgeous blue eyes. So of course one would expect me to have inherited some of those traits! Nope! What do I get,  My Mom's thin flat hair, My Dad's fat thumbs, and then to top it off they both pitched in their arthritis!!! Thanks guys!

No hard feelings here! Truthfully though, what I may not have inherited from them genetically or been gifted at birth,  I observed and tried to emulate. In the end my love of art, history and simple family life came to be. I have developed my own eye for Aesthetics, and order. I may not be great at it but it makes me happy.  I believe there is beauty in everything around us and I try to bring that into my crafts.

Becoming an Independent Demonstrator with Stampin' Up®  may be a new adventure for me, but Stampin' Up® definitely is not. My baby Sister Cindy, also known as Stamping Chick Creations ( hmm hmm.. nice plug eh Cindy)  has been with Stampin' Up®  for almost 20 years and is one of Canada's top demonstrators.   Wait.. don't go running off to search her...I will tell you she is amazing you can check her out later. I'm sure I'll mention her a few hundred times. For now, let us continue on with my love of Stampin' Up®.

Along with my love of recycling, reusing and re-purposing, I am also very cheap.  People say frugal. Nope I am cheap! Think of the cheapest person you know and I am cheaper. I really hate spending money! With this in mind you can understand that I was always the friend, aunt sister, daughter, who you know you would never get a greeting card from. I just couldn't see spending so much money on top of a gift!  I mean, by the time you've picked out the card, added a bow, ribbon, and wrapping paper or tissue and a bag, you're easily spending at least $15. I can add that to the actual present. Right? Yes, but then my visual, artistic mind looks at the present and says "Really, you can't just show up with that!" So then the snipping, folding, colouring, and wrapping begins. In the end, my wise mind would often find itself mediating between these two warring factions – and what a mental workout it was!

Wait we were talking about how i started my adventure. Remember how I mentioned my sister has been loving this for close to 20 years? Yes? TWENTY YEARS what had I been doing for 20 years?  Getting old. That's what!  As the years went by, I started feeling the effects, I wasn't able to do many of the crafts I enjoyed doing,  Again, thanks Mom and Dad. I had attended many of Cindy's events and really enjoyed myself! I really like the card kits too.  I found it to be very relaxing, and I was able to bring a new spark to my creativity.  To be honest it breathed a new life into me. Depression, my friends is real and I am one of its most exhausted servants.

Stampin' Up® has given me such a sense of accomplishment, happiness and a great creative gateway. On top of that I get to spread the excitement with others.  I love sending out cards and hearing how happy I have made the receiver. They know they are getting a part of myself and they know it as soon as they open the envelope. Nothing is more fulfilling to me than holding a workshop and interacting with fellow crafters. Whether its gathering ideas with seasoned stampers, sharing tips and tricks or seeing the look on  the face of a novice stamper when they have completed a project they said they would never be able to do. 

So beautiful people, are you ready to join me on this new adventure? I can assure you it won't be boring. 

Lots of Love, Peace and Happiness!

Fernanda ❤