Friday feature

This weeks featured artist is cardsbyjenna.

1. Tell us about you and your shop.

My name is Jenna and I live in Issaquah, WA just outside the big city of Seattle. I am a Washington native, born and raised. Currently I work in real estate and love helping people buy and sell their homes. My hobbies include cooking, reading, scrapbooking, gardening, spending time with family/friends, and cardmaking! I live with my boyfriend and we have two adorable kitties. I love papery things and have a huge collection which I use to create my masterpieces (at least I think each card is a masterpiece!). It is a wonderful past time and hobby for me. I've been a member of etsy.com since February 2007 and have been selling since May 2007.


2. How did you get started in your craft?

A few years back, I had a birthday party to go to and went shopping for the gift and card. I didn't see anything I liked! It was at that point I figured I should just make my own. I used to scrapbook on a regular basis so I had all the supplies! With the craziness of life and not having much space to spread out my work it was hard to complete a scrapbook without spending gobs of time on it. For me making greeting cards is gratifying in the sense that I can complete a card in a small amount of time.

My cards started out very simple in design. After many experimental projects I found that stamping and embellishment type cards are my favorite to make. Now I always handmade my greeting cards. Not only was I giving someone a unique greeting card but it was always personalized. It always makes someone feel good to give them something hand made and from the heart.


3. What is your favorite material or tool?

This is a tough question for me to answer! I really love everything that I work with however if I had to pick my favorite material would be paper. Paper is what makes a card and is the foundation for each of my creations. I absolutely love handmade and glittery type papers. My favorite tool is my fiskars rotary paper cutter. It is the best paper cutter I have come across and I bought it at Michaels with a 50% off coupon, you can't beat that! Swapping the blades in and out is super easy and you can even get blades that cut patterns, like waves and scallops.

4. Where do you get your design inspiration from?

I am a paperholic. My imagination sparks and springs into action when I see a simple pattern or design. I can spend minuted to hours on the creation process. I love color and matching papers. I do look at magazines every now and then for ideas and look to family and friends for inspiration. The loved ones around me are not only my biggest buyers but also my best fans!