DT Spotlight: Natalie Graham

I sure hope you’re all having an excellent weekend! Today is our last DT spotlight. Today I’d like you all to meet the super talented and crafty Natalie Graham. Natalie is one of my best friends and a ton fun to be around! She’s always overflowing with fun projects and ideas.  Make sure to look at the darling projects she created at the bottom of the post.

Hello. My name is Natalie Graham and I live in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. I am a Utah girl living here in Canada with my husband and kids for a couple of years.  I have  been married to my husband Ben for 14 years and have four wonderful kids, Hayden, 12, Ethan, 9, Abby, 6 and Aubrey, almost 3.  I use to teach preschool for the school district and for Head Start before I had my first baby, then I decided it was better for me to use my teaching skills for my family and have been home with them ever since. I just started my first “craft blog” where you can find my work at mygrahamcrackers.blogspot.com

Q: How long have you been paper crafting?
I started “playing with paper” after my first son was born, so I guess I can say my habit for hoarding scrapbook supplies has been about 12 years.

Q: What made you start paper crafting?
I love doing all things creative, I see something cute, and I immediately want to make analyze it and figure out how to make one myself.   I also have few memories or memorabilia from my own childhood and want to make sure I document my children’s life well so they have something to look back on and remember what a fun family we are!

Q: What is your favorite type of paper crafting project to make?
There is something truly satisfying about a finished scrapbook page. Scrapbook pages will never get tossed like a card or get smooshed in a decoration box.

Q: What is your ‘must have’ paper crafting tool?
Hands down… Diet Coke!

Q: What inspires you most?
Other people’s work.  It makes me get all giddy with the idea of I can do it too!

Q: What are some of your favorite colors to work with?
I’m a girly girl at heart. I would put pink on everything if I could.  Somehow my boys don’t agree.

Q: What is your favorite type of embellishment?
See above…. A girly girl love flowers…. Pink ones are even better!

Q: What other crafty things do you enjoy?
Maybe I should say the things I don’t do…. That would be shorter…I am a sewer, photographer, quilter, jewelry maker…I also like to crochet, digital scrapbook and stalk others blogs for other DIY projects. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t have a “project” going.

Q: What are some of your other hobbies and passions?
I love to read, cook, bake and hang out with my kiddos!

I am super excited to have the chance to work with Lori and these talented gals on the team. My head is spinning with all the up coming project ideas! 

Look at the darling winter card Natalie created out of my Wintertime collection for Echo Park. And, the “thank you” gift card holder is adorable! To create the holder Natalie used the Scalloped Gift Card Holder file that is available HERE.

DT Spotlight: Carolyn King

Hello everyone! Happy Friday!! Today we all have the pleasure of getting to know the talented Carolyn King a little better! I’m super excited to have Carolyn on the team. She’s quite a talented paper crafter and I think you’ll enjoy her work.

Hi, My name is Carolyn King (Cammie).  My husband and I have three wonderful children and we have recently relocated from Texas to not-so-sunny Pittsburgh, PA!

I have been blogging for the past few years at http://myblogbycammie.blogspot.com

Q: How long have you been paper crafting?
I have been paper crafting for the past seven years, although I pretty much grew up doodling and making things with paper and glue.

Q: What made you start paper crafting?
I started scrapbooking with a moms group after our family was moved across the country when my husband was in the army.  From there, I started stamping and card making.  And the rest is history!

Q: What is your favorite type of paper crafting project to make?
This is a tough question.  It changes all the time….I actually love making cards, scrapbook pages, altered items…anything.  I just enjoy it all!

Q: What is your ‘must have’ paper crafting tool?
My MUST have paper crafting tool is good sharp pair of scissors.

Q: What inspires you most?
I have been pretty active in the paper crafting community for years and I have to say the sheer talent of so many people is a huge inspiration.  I am always trying to improve and I love that crafty people share so much of their talents with others.  I am hugely inspired by Lori and have been since I found her work through Echo Park paper.  I am so excited to work with her designs and hope I can do them some justice in my projects.

Q: What are some of your favorite colors to work with? 
I love bright colors….so I tend to gravitate to any bold colors and paper companies that use bright colors in their designs.

Q: What is your favorite type of embellishment?
My favorite embellishment changes all the time too! But I would have to put buttons and hemp/string near the tippy top!

Q: What other crafty things do you enjoy?
I like to paint and draw but I don’t do either much anymore.  I really prefer playing with paper.

Q: What are some of your other hobbies and passions?
I love to run, play with my kiddos, watch television and read.

Thanks to Lori for this awesome opportunity. I cannot wait to get started and work with all the amazing designers on this team.

Look at the darling notepad that Carolyn created using  THIS cupcake shape. I love how she’s taken an ordinary shape and turned it into a notepad. You could use this concept to create other items such as cards, etc.

DT Spotlight: Joy Dickson

Today, I’d like you to meet Joy! She’s one super talented girl with a fun blog that you must go check out. Joy has a ton of experience with vinyl and die cutting. I’m so glad she’s on the team!

My name is Joy Dickson and I live 45 minutes North of Atlanta, GA.  I’m a Southern girl!  I’m married with 3 kiddos + 1 crazy cat.  My husband is my very best friend.

Blog address: www.joyslife.com

Facebook page is HERE

Q: How long have you been paper crafting?
I’ve been paper crafting for about 5 years.

Q: What made you start paper crafting?

I first fell in love with rubber stamps and embossing powders.  What kicked my interest into a full blown obsession was when I bought my first Cricut Expression.

Q: What is your favorite type of paper crafting project to make?
I love to make 3D things.  They fascinate me!

Q: What is your ‘must have’ paper crafting tool?
My ‘must have’ paper crafting tool are Cutter Bee scissors.  I love those scissors!

Q: What inspires you most?
I’m inspired by the changing seasons.  I like to create things that I can use and that often leads me to consider the coming holiday, birthdays and colors of the season.

I also like to browse craft stores and get inspired by different crafty supplies that I see.

Q: What are some of your favorite colors to work with?
I like warm tones and strong colors.  I think jewel tones are probably my favorite.

Q: What is your favorite type of embellishment? 
I love clear rhinestone bling!

Q: What other crafty things do you enjoy?
I love working with vinyl!  I also enjoy upcycling things.  It’s fun when something old can serve a new purpose.  I like to look at items and think about how they could be used in a completely different way.

Q: What are some of your other hobbies and passions?
I love to travel and once took my kids on an 18 day road trip (by myself!) visiting states from Georgia up the East Coast to Maine then over to Canada and home again.  (Super Dad held down the fort at home because he had to work.)

I’m almost a black belt in Choi Kwang Do martial arts!

When I’m not crafting…I’m crafting.  LOL!  I have a line of craft stamps and a DVD, Cricut Vinylology, that teaches people how to use vinyl with their Cricut.

I enjoy reading everything from the Classics to mysteries.  I love watching scary movies, but don’t like gross ones that have no story.

I’m happy to be on Lori’s fun Design Team!  It’s great to be creating with her fun designs and line of crafty things!

Look at Joy’s darling flower pot card using THIS Flower Pot Card Kit SVG file.

DT Spotlight: Corri Garza

It’s our third day of meeting the design team! Today you get to meet the super talented Corri Garza. Make sure you go check out her blog. You’ll find lots of ideas and inspiration over at Bug Lover Cards. You’ll also see some super cute projects designed by Corri below. Don’t forget to comment and let Corri know what you think.
My name is Corri Garza and I’m so excited to be joining Lori’s Desgin Team.  My hubby and I have been married fo 15 years and have 9 year old twins and a 4 year old.  You can find my blog at www.buglvr.blogspot.com and my Facebook page is HERE.

Q: How long have you been paper crafting?  
I started papercrafting in 2009 when I was able to find a great deal on a Cricut at a black Friday sale.
Q: What made you start paper crafting?  
I wanted to learn more about the Cricut so I started following some blogs and thought cardmaking looked like something I could do.   I never really considered myself to be creative but once I started playing with paper I was hooked.
Q: What is your favorite type of paper crafting project to make?  
I love making cards, banners and treat bags.
Q: What is your ‘must have’ paper crafting tool?  
I would have to say my cutting machine….either Cricut or Silhouette.  I rarely make anything that doesn’t have a die cut on it.
Q: What inspires you most?  
I get a lot of my inspiration from the paper collections….I just love paper, I can’t seem to get enough.  There is an amazing amount of inspiration on the craft blogs out there.  I follow as many as I can!
Q: What are some of your favorite colors to work with?  
I like turquoise, pink, green….lots of bright happy colors.
Q: What is your favorite type of embellishment?
I would have to say ribbon…I use it a lot!
Q: What other crafty things do you enjoy?  
I enjoy making quilts.  I’m not very skilled at the quilting part but love piecing them together.
Q: What are some of your other hobbies and passions?
I enjoy photography….I love taking nature shots, hummingbirds are my favorite subject.  I also love watching my kids play sports.  The twins are involved in football, baseball, softball and volleyball so we always have a game to watch.
I can’t wait to start creating with Lori’s fabulous files.

Look at the absolutely darling “chilly” box created with THESE christmas cutting files and THIS box file.

Check out Corri’s cute card made with my For the Record Collection that I designed for Echo Park.

DT Spotlight: Tamara Tripodi

Today I’d like to introduce you to the super talented and beautiful Tamara Tripodi. Thank you, Tamara, for being our Design Team Coordinator and for all your hard work keeping us on task and organized.

Hey all! My name is Tamara! I live in southern California with my hubby and three children ages 8, 6 and 3. You can find me at happylifecraftywife.com or on Facebook HERE.
Q: How long have you been paper crafting?
A little over a year.I bought a Cricut Expression back in July 2010 and never really used it to make anything until sometime near October. Been non-stop ever since!
Q: What made you start paper crafting?
Impulse purchase, lol. I bought a Cricut not really knowing what all it did, I just knew I HAD to have it.
Q: What is your favorite type of paper crafting project to make?
Anything 3D! I LOVE seeing what I can ‘build’ from paper!
Q: What is your ‘must have’ paper crafting tool?
My cutting machines, of course! I am also really loving my Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio tools! So fun!
Q: What inspires you most?
Paper! The patterns and designs on paper really get my creative juices flowing!
Q: What are some of your favorite colors to work with?
Hmm.. Well, I do like bright and happy colors… but I also love anything ‘vintage’ looking. Really depends on my mood and what I have in front of me at the time.
Q: What is your favorite type of embellishment?
Crinkle ribbon! And like I mentioned before, my shape studio tools to make my own epoxy shapes!
Q: What other crafty things do you enjoy?
Sewing.. although I don’t do it nearly as much as I use to. I use to sell pretty little girls dresses, but just got burnt out on all the orders. I also like to make vintage inspired hair pretties with felt, flowers, beads, etc.
Q: What are some of your other hobbies and passions?
I enjpy photography and ran a photography business for several years… I really miss it some days! I also LOVE baking and decorating cookies, cakes, cupcakes.. I make a lot of treat bags and boxes because I use them! I like gifting yummy homemade treats and my kids really like helping.
Thank you so much for reading a bit about me!
I look forward to working with Lori and creating little masterpieces with her fun files and gorgeous papers!