Guest Designer: Kyra Sanders

Welcome to our first week with Kyra and "Basket Buddies"! (Yes, a few of you guessed right, after her rocking samples I shared last week, she is my new guest designer this month! yay!) I don't give many parameters for guest designers other than "Make what you like!" so I was just surprised and thrilled to open this sample and see how beautifully she combined my newest set with the very different but best-selling "Branching Out" set! :) Isn't that beautiful with the double frame inside the larger frame and the added dog and greetings!Here is Kyra's recipe for this fabulously shabby and distressed card: Tim Holtz distress ink - Bundled Sage, Forest Moss and Tea Dye*; ribbon is Hobby Lobby, rhinestones, paper is Granola from Basic Grey and Gina K Pure Luxury Chocolate Brown and Grass Green cardstocks.

And here is short Q&A with Kyra, oh my, one Q&A might not be enough, you'll see what I mean, sounds like this woman has worn/wears many hats!

Describe your style/what you think you do best:

I love things that are distressed, vintage and grungy. If I can rip, tear, emboss, ink, wrinkle, stitch and staple, I am a happy crafter! I also love to make a scene - more inky goodness by adding layers of color are divine.

FAVORITE TECHNIQUE:

I find myself doing a lot of textural techniques, like double embossing, adding collaged trinkets, and using things found around the house.

COLORS/COLOR COMBO:

I like to use darker colors, especially masculine combinations like blue and grey, orange and brown. Seems like there's never enough cards out there for men to send and receive.

FAVORITE EMBELLISHMENTS:

Unusual embellishments make me happiest. I make a lot of things, like ric-rac roses, layered flowers with buttons, tulle, painted grunge paper, and the like. I even have trained the Cabana Boy (aka hubs) to keep an eye out for unusual bottle caps and discarded trinkets!

FAVORITE GINA K SET BY MELANIE:

Oooh that's a toughie. I love the series of flowers, Arranged with Love, A Year of Flowers, Festive Frame, A Year of Leaves and the like. She makes it so easy to pull off elegant cards in a short time.

FAVORITE GINA K SETS (FROM ANY ILLUSTRATOR)

I love the texture and background sets, like Vintage Backgrounds, Timeless Textures and Elegant Elements. They work so well with my style of art that I reach for them often!

CRAFT SUPPLIES I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT:

Tim Holtz distress inks, Spellbinder's dies, and Gina's wonderful cardstock! I've bought a lot of paper in my life, and nothing compares to her cardstock!

I’VE BEEN STAMPING FOR (HOW LONG):

I've been stamping since 2008, but really, I've been a papercrafter all my life.

I GET MY INSPIRATION FROM:

Nature and music inspire my muse. I also get a ton of inspiration looking through the Stamp TV gallery. There are so many talented people sharing their art - it's not hard to find something you want to try!

Tell us about your FIRST stamping experience!!

My first stamping experience was with Stampin' Up. A friend of mine became a demonstrator, so I attended a party to help her. It was AWFUL. Plain cardstock, boring images and flair whatsoever. That was back in 2001, and I didn't catch the bug until I found Splitcoast Stampers.

Tell us about your most MEMORABLE stamping experience!!

CHA. I taught a couple demonstrations during the Anaheim 2009 Craft and Hobby Association show. I felt like I had fallen into an ocean of goodness!

THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS I’VE LEARNED ABOUT STAMPING/CARDMAKING ARE:

Put your heart into it. Everyone started by making crappy projects that they were embarrassed to share. Don't let that hold you back - anything made with love is worthwhile!

SOME OF MY STAMPING/CRAFTING GOALS ARE:

I love to teach. I am currently creating my first on-line class which should debut in September 2011. I want to learn more about encaustics (painting with wax) and needle felting.

ADVICE FOR BEGINNERS:

Practice, practice, practice. Find someone near you (or on-line) that can demonstrate techniques and just dive in. There's really no wrong or right way. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Asking a more experienced crafter to help you really puts the wind in their sails.

How do you think your personality/life experiences shape your art?

When I was young, there was no such thing as ADHD. Mom knew she always had to keep me busy, so whenever she worked on crafting, I worked with her. She taught me so much. At 17, I was a master offset printer, and commercial photographer. Graphic arts have always been a part of my world. At 18, I had a college scholarship, but no college program would have me. They all said I knew more than their professors were prepared to teach. At the time, I had 9 gold medals in printing and graphic arts competitions.

Yeah, that shaped my art - I was always having to build my own boat to carry me to knew creative challenges! That's why my studio is called the ArtLab - I experiment as much as I create there.

Another art medium I excel at (or would like to try)

I love art journaling. It's a combination of scrapbooking, writing, painting and stamping. I love it because there's so much freedom to explore. My on-line class will be based on art journaling techniques and more!

FAVORITE THING TO MAKE THAT AREN’T CARDS:

Food! Oh, stamping related, right. Art journal pages, small canvas collage art, artist trading cards, crocheted gloves and throws - almost anything. I have to keep my hands busy!

SOME OF MY STAMPING/CRAFTING ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Being chosen by my stamping idol, Melanie Muenchinger, has to be at the top of my list so far! I've written articles that have been published, but not my art. Graduating from Creating Keepsakes Teachers University and Scrapbook University were really cool, too.

CHALLENGES I LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN:

Stamp TV has the *best* challenges. Even better - they have a whole community of positive, supportive members that love to comment on others' works. I still play some challenges from Splitcoast Stampers - which was where I first fell in love with Gina K's products.

TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF THAT MIGHT SURPRISE US!

I used to be a semi-professional bowler for Bud Light. My favorite part of my job was hanging out of a helicopter lighting managed forest fires. I have been known to ride a motorcycle.

WHAT I DO WHEN I’M NOT STAMPING:

I love to read, ride my bike, and stay fit (I've run 2 half-marathons and a dozen 10Ks). I also have 6 rescued animals (3 cats, 3 bunnies) that I care for. I create recipes for Celiac's disease patients to use.

A FAVORITE QUOTE:

A day without laughter isn't worth living. ~me

I mean, can you believe? I'm really excited to see what's to come in the weeks ahead! Let's go see more on Ky's blog!

* three new colors I just added to the shopping cart!!