Balsam Ponds with a Passion for Paper

Carol of Balsam Ponds describes herself as “a city girl living and designing in the deep woods of Minnesota.”


After I read her interview I feel like that a very large portion of her creative inspiration comes from her family. She was raised in a large family (eight to be exact). In fact her ArtFire studio is partnered with her brother.

Carol is a very active member of the ArtFire Guild “Passion for Paper.” And in her already busy schedule she has started a new venture in her art career. She has begun the process of reproducing her designer cards. Her goal is to make her designs and her love of art available to all people. I have picked out a few examples that I liked best. I feel like the “art selecting” is the most difficult in writing a blog. I usually like everything that a particular artist is creating.

Visit Carol’s studio and leave a comment here about your favorite.


How did you get your start in the world of art?
I was an artist, of sorts, since I can remember. I was not overly social so I spent most of my time drawing. My mom, on a trip, gave me a colored pencil kit. It awakened me to art. After that I was crazy for every media for drawing.

Do you have a ritual you perform before you start creating?
I say a little prayer and sit quietly as the talent he gave me awakens. Then and only then am I ready.


What do you like best, the creative process or the final creation?
Both, but the creativity is often trumped by the finished project. Mostly, because I am so involved creating, I arrive in the end with something I love. Even when in the middle of it I fear a failure.

What are your favorite art media, tools, and supplies?
At 57 years old that is a hard question. Every stage was totally complete. Drawing with chalk, graphite, on any
paper I could get my hands on. In high school jewelry making, mobiles, and sewing. Working years, graphic designer, brochure designer, trade show designer. Touched into the world of interior design, but didn't want another career. So, now it is paper designs in the form of greeting cards. My new adventure is reproducing my now designer cards to bring my designs to all.


When a creative block happens, what process do you go through to get the creative juices flowing again?
Mostly get sleep and relax. I am stressful by nature, so artwork is where I get grounded. I also watch a movie, my favorite is a chick flick. Something to just make me smile.

What do you hope your art says about you?
That I am a real person who wants others to be happy even if only for that moment when they receive a card designed by me.


What is your greatest dream and greatest fear as an artist?
Greatest dream…my card business actually starts paying back. Greatest fear…that fear of failure will win over my drive, and that the fact that I get such great reviews from others who receive my cards will not be enough.

What are your goals in art, and in life?
Goals, hum well, to continue to evolve into someone I can be proud of. I change when I feel the need, in life and art.


Tell us a little bit about yourself-where you grew up, your life now, other creative pursuits, other interests and hobbies.
To many years to cover, but I am from a great family of eight, we are very close. I lost my Mom and Dad and think of them often. They are the reason I function so well in this world. My interest is growing as a person and being loved and respected by my dear husband.

Do you have an online shop or shops, a website, a brick and mortar shop, and/or a blog?
My blog at http://balsamponds.blogspot.com.
My ArtFire studio http://balsamponds.artfire.com; and my Etsy shop http://balsampondsdesign.etsy.com.

Thanks so much for stopping by and learning more about me!

Etsy Greetings Team Member Cara of Cara's Scrap N Stamp

One Etsy Greetings Team member, Cara of CarasScrapNStamp, is living life to the fullest! She is a stay-at-home-mom after a full career in Criminal Justice. I am really glad that she now has the time (or at least she makes the time) to share her love of art with the world. Her talents are abundant at this time in her life, and I know we are going to be blessed with more of her colorful creations.

I did not pick out my favorites from her shop (I like them all!) but I did try to pick an array of items. Hopefully this does showcase a portion of her works.

Enjoy this interview and please leave comments. Cara would be thrilled to hear from each one of you!


How did you get your start in the world of art?
I've always been surrounded by art, particularly paints and fabrics, as my mother is a wonderfully talented artist and seamstress. The start of my paper crafting adventure began when a friend brought me to a Stampin' Up party about 11 years ago. A few years later, my first son was born and then I started scrapbooking. Last summer, I opened my Etsy shop and love being able to share my paper creations with others.


Do you have a ritual you perform before you start creating?
No, but if it's early morning, I like to drink flavored coffee while I create. My iTunes are usually playing softly in the background and my dog is always by my side.

What do you like best, the creative process or the final creation?
I enjoy both. The final creation is hardly ever what I first envisioned.


What are your favorite art media, tools, and supplies?
At present, my favorite tool is my Big Shot Die Cutting Machine. It works with anything from cardstock to fabric, chipboard, plastic, even aluminum cans. It's just perfect for cards, scrapbooking, paper crafts and I like that it's compatible with other dies and embossers.

When a creative block happens, what process do you go through to get the creative juices flowing again?
When a creative block occurs, I clear the clutter. A few years ago, my cousin, a Feng Shui expert, did a consultation for me in my home. One of the first things I did after the consultation was clear out clutter. It's a great feeling to get rid of what we don't need or use. We donate the items in good condition and Freecycle the rest.


What do you hope your art says about you?
I hope my art shows that I take time to create unique, quality handcrafted paper designs.

What is your greatest dream and greatest fear as an artist?
My greatest dream as an artist would be to have more of my handcrafted items sold in brick and mortar shops. I don't have any fears as an artist.

What are your goals in art, and in life?
My goals in art are similar to my dreams noted above. My goals in life are ever changing. My family, especially my young sons, are my main priority at this point.


Tell us a little bit about yourself—where you grew up, your life now, other creative pursuits, other interests and hobbies.
I've been in New Jersey most of my life. I worked to pay my way through college and graduated Rutgers University with a degree in Criminal Justice. After college, I worked for MADD as a victim advocate assisting victims and/or their families before, during and after court proceedings. I then worked as a Litigation Paralegal specializing in Medical Malpractice and happily did that (really!!) until I had my first son. It's been a wonderful experience so far. I don't read, practice yoga and take long walks with my doggy as much as I like, but I certainly treasure the moments when I can enjoy a relaxing moment or two. When my husband and I get out together we love live music, good food, and some fine wine. I’m also on a design team for my favorite online store, Die Cuts R Us, and you can find me at http://diecutsrusdesignteam.blogspot.com.

Do you have an online shop or shops, a website, a brick and mortar shop, and/or a blog?
I have an Etsy shop where I sell handmade cards, scrapbooking items and paper crafts. http://CarasScrapNStampArt.etsy.com
You can also visit me at http://CarasScrapNStampArt.blogspot.com and http://facebook.com/CarasScrapNStampArt.

JuJu and the Wonderful World of Paper and Color

JuJu (aka Julia) with JuJu Creations loves paper! Each piece of paper she views with endless possibilities. What she creates is something new and different each time. After viewing her studio on Etsy I found her imagination is limitless.

Her cards are all handmade. She completes all the cutting and assembling herself. Her creations are very dimensional. Her love of life reveals itself with the vibrant colors she chooses in her art. She is always on the look out for new materials and techniques to create one-of-a-kind designs.


JuJu says, “I love handmade. It expresses individuality ("indie"), creativity and thoughtfulness. Now that's something you cannot buy from a manufactured or mass produced item.”

Her individuality does shine through with all of her creations. Enjoy this introduction to JuJu’s world!

How did you get your start in the world of art?
I have to confess that I cannot draw well and disliked art lessons in still life or painting when I was in school. I only liked the lessons on stamping with potato-carved shapes or drawing geometric patterns. I also drew girls wearing different clothes as I played out an imaginary storyline inside my head, much like playing paper dolls or girls wearing ancient Chinese costumes and hairdo influenced by the Hong Kong Cantonese ancient period dramas and Chinese wayangs. I drew one in my blog, see here.


If I have trace my roots in card making I would say it all began with my love for letter-writing and making pen friends when I was a teenager. I would copy and draw some cartoon characters or pictures in books, etc., or enclose a handmade bookmark and card. By the time I reached adulthood I had lost contact with all my pen friends but continued to make cards for my family, friends, and colleagues. Upon requests and much encouragement by my friends and colleagues, I started to make and sell my cards casually. It was in Dec 2006 that I finally mustered enough guts to setup my Etsy shop.

Do you have a ritual you perform before you start creating?
Not really except to have enough space in my desk to cut, paste and assemble my card together.

What do you like best, the creative process or the final creation?
Both actually. I love the creative energy when I am fully absorbed in the card making process, nearly oblivious to my surrounding. But the final product is what inspires me to make my next card.


What are your favorite art media, tools, and supplies?
I used to love punch art, but now I am eager to explore other new ways and methods on card making. I am excited to see very nice designs on the clear stamps recently. And, if time permits, I would like to learn how to stamp and use it in my cards soon.

I must have scissors, a few types to cater for different cutting needs. I hand cut everything from the cardstock to make the card base (I do not buy pre-cut or use a paper trimmer) to each detail in my cards except when I use a craft punch or embellishment, like buttons or beads. I am contemplating to buying new tools, such as a paper trimmer and digital die-cutting machine in the future, so I can save some time and effort and make more cards!

Currently I have been stocking up on patterned papers and cardstocks, ribbons, buttons, alphabet beads and rhinestone crystals.


When a creative block happens, what process do you go through to get the creative juices flowing again?
Some of the things that worked for me are:
• Reading craft books and magazines for ideas, inspirations, layout and new techniques;
• Looking at someone else's creations and asking myself if there is anything I would do differently;
• Taking out my sketchpad and doodle any "nonsense" that flows from my mind, or sketching some layouts and worrying about what I would use to do up the card later;
• Working on something simple or in a smaller scale such as a gift tag.

What do you hope your art says about you?
Now that you asked, I am thinking seriously about it. I guess it would be that I love vibrant and bright colours and believe the use of such colours in my cards would cheer up and delight anyone who receives it.

What is your greatest dream and greatest fear as an artist?
Time and money. Motherhood posed the greatest challenge on how much time and effort I can devote as an artist and indiepreneur. My dream is to have enough time to continue creating as an artist and sales/money to sustain this passion for card making. I do not wish for that day to come when I have to choose between my art and life due to a lack of either time or money or both.


What are your goals in art, and in life?
My goals would be to wear the different hats in both art, and in life well - to balance my role as a wife, mother, daughter, friend, crafter and indiepreneur.

Tell us a little bit about yourself—where you grew up, your life now, other creative pursuits, other interests and hobbies.
I am in my late thirties and born in a little red dot called Singapore. I have been living here from birth and have not moved anywhere else. I was trained and worked as a Secretary for over 10 years. I quit my last job in year 2004 to take a sabbatical. I enjoyed the time spent at home tremendously and being free from the rat race and office politics, so much that my sabbatical lasted longer than originally planned. After a long 2 years break, I started my Etsy shop in Dec 2006 and shortly became pregnant with my first child the following year. I became a Stay at Home Mum (SAHM) after my son was born in Dec 2007. I took a 1.5 years of maternity break to devote fully in my role as a mother and did not do any crafting or dabble in my Etsy shop business during that time. With ideas swirling inside my mind and itching to make cards again, I re-started my Etsy shop in July of this year.

Outside my crafting and Etsy world, I like to spend my time surfing the internet, reading, playing Suduko, listening to music, singing, traveling and photography. Motherhood, crafting and my Etsy shop takes the bulk of my time and I can rarely indulge myself in most of these leisure activities now.


Do you have an online shop or shops, a website, a brick and mortar shop, and/or a blog?
Shop: http://jujuCreations.etsy.com
Blog: http://jujuCreations.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jujuCreations
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/l5hms2
Flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/jujucreations/

Thanks so much for stopping by learning more about me!

Winter’s Song

First I want to start out and say THANK YOU to all my followers (to date 50) and to the ones that have subscribed.

I am going to try something a little different with my blog…self-promotion. During now and the middle of November I will be preparing for an arts festival. And with that preparation comes new creations.

This first creation came about as a result of one technique called “Terraza Tones” from the TechniqueJunkies Newsletter. Thanks to Terri with Cards and Moore by Terri for turning me into a TechniqueJunkie. You can find subscription information at http://techniquejunkies.com. These newsletters are fantastic and well worth your time. They will keep the creative juices flowing.

The beautiful Southwest stamp was created by I Brake for Stamps. Check this site out. Her stamps are creative, wonderful, deeply etched, and just the right size! I don’t need anymore rubber stamps! But my addiction is so strong and uncontrollable!


This 5”x7” greeting card was so much fun to make! The “Terraza Tones” is created using instant coffee. I had nothing in the house other than drip. I tried that and could not accomplish the depth in color that I wanted. So my wonderful husband went to the store for me and purchased Chase and Sanborne instant coffee. Much, much better. The close up photo below will show the depth. You can control the strength of instant coffee. All the brown in this piece is the instant coffee. I do want to try and find the Terraza coffee. This coffee is a high-end instant coffee and hopefully it will be in gourmet shops.

The base card is a gorgeous Stardream metallic oyster color card stock. Other stocks I have used are watercolor paper and metallic copper card stock. Color enhancements are optional, but I used Twinks watercolors, copic markers, and copper ultra fine glitter. I have even used an unbleached coffee filter.


The stamp (central image) is stamped with black pigment ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. The piece of ivory stock that the central image is mounted on has been accented with copper pigment ink and embossed with clear embossing powder.

More self-promotion…I have Winter’s Song for sale in all of my online shops/studios. Here are the links:
Etsy-http://ajsdesigns.etsy.com
ArtFire-http://ajsdesigns.artfire.com
1000Markets-http://ajsdesigns.1000markets.com
Zibbet-http://zibbet.com/ajsdesigns

Thanks so much for stopping by! And I hope everyone has a good week!

She’s Batty over Halloween

I cannot believe that it is October 1, 2009, already! We have 30 days until one of my favorite holidays is here, Halloween. Obsessed with Halloween, I am not…Jamie with She’s Batty Designs has that area of obsession covered.

Jamie describes herself as a “star-gazing, animal-loving, Halloween-obsessed, creative kind-of-gal.” Take a look at her Halloween creations in both of her online shops. I have thrown in other creation photos to show that she has other obsessions also. She’s not totally batty!

Enjoy fellow creators! Let Jamie know your obsessions also.

Happy Halloween!

How did you get your start in the world of art?
I've always had a love affair with arts and crafts. It's hard to pin point the exact time when my works started to take a real form because it's been a lifelong process which is continuously evolving.

Do you have a ritual you perform before you start creating?
Not really. When deciding on a new creation, the supplies I have on hand, and what I'm currently trying to create are all I need to get started. Half of the time I walk into my studio without a pre-determined project in mind. Other times I walk in with a vague concept like “Halloween Tags.” What is created from there depends on the supplies I have on hand. I focus on one holiday at a time, so for a few months the tables in my studio are covered with Halloween supplies or Christmas supplies, etc.


What do you like best, the creative process or the final creation?
That's an interesting question. I've actually never been asked that before. I like both stages, but I don't always like them on the same day. Some days I'm really in the mood to create, problem solve, and piece things together. Other days I'd rather enjoy a piece after I've moved passed all the “thinking stuff” and am sharing it with others.

What are your favorite art media, tools, and supplies?
I dabble in a lot of different crafts. Paper crafting, print making, sculpture, and photography are my passions. I have dabbled in film making, painting, and candle making. I would love to develop my skills in these areas. I’m also really inspired by soap makers! I haven’t tired out that craft at all and would love to really get into it!


I have two favourite supplies currently in my studio. I couldn’t pick just one and you’ll know why after I mention them. They are my Gocco printer and my Big Shot die cutter. They are both huge in my creative process - for their own reasons – and I would hate to be without them.

When a creative block happens, what process do you go through to get the creative juices flowing again?
If I have a creator's block it's usually not due to being out of ideas or supplies, it usually because of fatigue. I only get short bursts of energy due to having Ankylosing Spondylitis, so when I have the energy, I do a lot of creating! When I don't, I spend a lot of time online listing my items, surfing around for inspiration, and talking with other artists on Plurk and the AF forums. Although this cycle is not ideal from a health stand point, it really works well to keep away creator's block! When I'm creating, I'm solely focus on that, and when I'm drained of energy, I'm solely focused getting passive inspiration and doing the less creative tasks of online selling. I used to get depressed about not having the energy to create more, but I've realized over the last few years, that taking a different perspective about my whole situation has really helped me to be super productive when I DO have the chance to create.


What do you hope your art says about you?
I hope it says I enjoyed making it and took the time to make it right.

What is your greatest dream and greatest fear as an artist?
My biggest dream is that I'd be able to pursue my creative endeavors full time, and on my own schedule. My biggest fear is that I will cease to enjoy making my creations by turning their production into “work.”

What are your goals in art, and in life?
I would love to see my Artfire studio flourish. A goal of mine for this year is to get my Artfire studio established and add a variety of products (not just paper products). Over the next two years I hope that my Artfire studio is bringing in enough business to be a steady supplementary income. My overall goal is to ensure that I’m always loving the crafts that I’m doing and never loosing site of the joy they bring me. In life, I hope to bring my loved ones and much joy as they bring me.


Tell us a little bit about yourself—where you grew up, your life now, other creative pursuits, other interests and hobbies.
I live in Ontario, Canada. This is where I've grown up and plan to stay. I am a small business owner, avid crafter, university student, and the editor for the Marketing Department of HandmadeNews.org. My passions include creative expression, animal welfare, and psychology. I am currently finishing a Bachelors Degree in Psychology with a minor in Visual Arts. I have also studied Fine Art and Animal Care at college. As you can see, continuous learning is a force that drives me. You could say I am an information junkie! My favorite creative outlets include photography, crafts (paper, candle making, etc), printmaking and sculpture. I devote a lot of time to my rescue animals - I have 3 dogs (my fuzzy babies) and a turtle. They, along with the love of my life, often steal my attention away from other tasks. If you have been following me online for any amount of time, I am sure you have come to realize that I absolutely love Halloween. It is by far my favorite holiday and extends its reach into my home decor, my small business, and even my wardrobe. My favorite movie is The Nightmare Before Christmas. I also have a soft spot for cheesy '80s movies. Something else a few of you may have picked up on is that I have Ankylosing Spondylitis. I am a self-staring optimist that helps me cope and keep going in the face of chronic pain. Life is too short not to try to enjoy each and every day.


Do you have an online shop or shops, a brick and mortar shop, or a blog?
I have a blog and two online shops. My blog can be found at http://shesbattydesigns.blogspot.com and my two shops can be found at http://shesbattydesigns.artfire.com and http://shesbattydesigns.etsy.com.