I’m Rachel, and I’m the host of this crazy crafting party. Don’t mind the mess, just grab a post and join in on the fun. The best part of all of this is crafting with and for friends and family (and the people who are both).
I am a Medical Laboratory Scientist by day (or night – crazy hospital schedules) and an avid crafter the rest of the time. Over the years I have crocheted, done embroidery, painted, made wire and bead jewelry and chainmail, and many more creative hobbies. I even did diamond painting for a while. However, paper crafting and scrapbooking have held a special place in my heart since I was in grade school. My step-mother first helped me paste valentines into the large scrapbook she had given me. In the early 2000’s I was even doing digital scrapbooking for a while. My journey led to Stampin’ Up! and I am excited to be here, and share this with you.
I went to visit one of my best friends, R’chel on one of my rare days off of work this summer and she was doing a ‘LIVE’ video for her Stampin’ Up! page. She told me to come play along. An hour later, the cameras were no longer running, but I was in my own little world, stamping and cutting and gluing.
The first day, not all of the cards were pretty, but I loved every moment of it, and couldn’t wait to do more, to have my own toys. First, I accidently cut off the corner of my sentiment tag when I ran it through the MINI STAMPIN’ CUT & EMBOSS MACHINE. Then, I over-inked my stamp and pressed way too hard when applying it. this caused me to smear the ink of the sentiment that I was trying to put on the tag, which I had of course, already adhered to the card. (I had not yet heard the secret to stamp first, then put on your card, in case you make a mistake just like this!) I don’t know why I didn’t start over, but I was determined to make it work. I put an embellishment over the missing corner of the tag, and then stamped my sentiment (‘Thank you’) ALL over the card. It was art. It was MY art, and I was going to make it work.
~ No mistakes, just unintentional changes to the design. ~
You know, I actually did have tons of fun. At the end of the day, I came away with two other pretty nice cards, and an addiction to all things Stampin’ Up! I was ready to place my order that day (though I did wait a couple of days, for SALE-A-Bration to start, to get more free stuff). I also made some new friends (which is practically unheard of for me, as an introvert) with R’chel’s other Stampin’ Up! friends. We all chat regularly on Facebook Messenger, and share products and ideas, swap cards, etc.
Stampin’ Up has become something that I am really excited about, and therefor something that I like to talk about and share. It is a creative outlet, when I really needed one. I’m excited everyday to be crafting as a part of this company.