Happy December! Crikey! December already and I've done zero prep for Christmas so far LOL!
I'm still recovering from the most wonderful weekend at Steph's! Well I have no voice which shows how much chatting we all did LOL!
So a new month, a new (well kinda new) feature for our PTI blog! We're really excited to be now featuring a guest stamper every month! Our guest stamper will be with us for the whole month and not only get to share their wonderful creations with us, but also take part in providing examples for our challenges that month!
So without further ado, our featured stamper for December is......
Taheerah!
We wanted to get to know Taheerah a little better so asked her a few questions, including some real toughies LOL!
How did you get into papercrafting?
I’ve always been creative in one form or another but my creations with paper and card had never ventured into actual cardmaking itself! It came about quite by accident actually – I had some extra holidays in December last year that I had to take, and while I was at home I just happened to flick on to QVC and the next show just happened to be papercrafting! They were showing a Christmas Card kit and I thought it might be fun to create some of my own cards for last Christmas, so I bought the kit to try it out. Little did I know how hooked I would become on cardmaking and that it would lead me to finding a whole other world in stamping and PTI!
How long have you been stamping for?
I’ve only been stamping since around February or March really. I always told myself I’d never get into stamping, lol! The cards with stamping that I’d seen just looked so uninspiring and too ‘homemade’ for my liking and I really wanted to create something that looked ‘professional’ and ‘finished’. I bought a couple of rubber stamp sets but still wasn’t properly inspired even though the designs were ‘nice’. Of course all that changed when I found PTI … !
How did you get into PTI and why do you love it so much?
I was actually in search for the ‘perfect’ cream ink to stamp with. Just the right shade and coverage, even on darker cardstock. I initially was searching for the SU! Very Vanilla inkpad but that isn’t available in the UK, so I e-mailed some SU! Demos who lived abroad. One of them suggested PTI’s Vintage Cream so I went off to have a look! From there I joined the PTI Forum and started looking at Nichole’s blog. It was close to around the May Release so there was a lot of hubbub and excitement going on. I fell in love with some of the stamps and made my first purchase in June. The rest, as they say, is history!
Why do I love PTI so much? Gosh, there are so many reasons! The designs are just *perfect*, unique and contemporary but not too ‘modern’, not too ‘cutesy’ ... just right. The quality is unsurpassed. Everything co-ordinates perfectly, making it easy to pull together a finished look. The DT are so inspiring and never cease to amaze me, and finally the Customer Service, feedback and incorporation of customer suggestions just make PTI in a league of their own!!
What would you say is your stamping style?
Hmmm. I’m not sure I’ve been stamping long enough to have settled on a ‘signature’ stamping style yet. I’m still learning and playing so much and always trying to experiment with something new. I’d say that my style definitely isn’t CAS though! I don’t like to overcrowd my cards but I always like to keep challenging and pushing myself, so I like to include creating different patterns and splicing them together and then just adding finishing touches to give it that something ‘extra’. So maybe it’s ‘experimental’ without being too out there, and without being fussy, lol!
Do you have a favourite PTI colour or colour combo that just makes you drool?
I love experimenting with different colour combos so I’m not sure I have a definite favourite yet! However a recent card I made had a colour scheme of Vintage Cream, Kraft, Spring Moss, Plum Pudding (with touches of some pink in the pattern) and Melon Berry and that one definitely left me drooling!! I know it sounds over-busy and possibly even garish, but you wait ‘til you see it!!
If you had to choose just one PTI stamp set to keep, which one would it be and why?
Oh Gosh, how difficult is that?! Coming from someone who already owns *38* sets (and with no sign of that number staying still!) you’re almost asking the impossible!! I guess if I had to pick my absolute favourite/staple it would be Guide Lines II. I *love* making my own background patterns and this set really can do it all – masculine, feminine, complex, CAS, there are no limits!
Who is your PTI Idol?
Of all the DT I have to say that Dawn McVey is my idol without a doubt. Her style is so modern, effortless and stunning, and her colour combos are genius and to-die-for! She’s definitely my inspiration! But of course I can’t go answering this without adding ‘Ms PTI’ herself – Nichole Heady. After all without her we wouldn’t even have PTI, and her style and ideas are just awe-inspiring!
Where do you get your inspiration from?
Other than Nichole’s and the DT’s blogs I regularly check out the PTI Forum (especially around Blog Hop time!) where people post links to their blogs/galleries, and I also visit Splitcoaststampers on a regular basis and browse through the Gallery there, though I have to admit to only searching for PTI cards now!
What’s your stamping dream?
My dream come true would be to have my cards published, ideally in ‘Cards’ magazine or ‘Papercrafting’, both of which are US publications. The ultimate dream of course would be to get onto a Design Team but I’d be more than happy with just the first one coming true – and that’s about a million times more likely to happen at least!!
Where can we go to check out more of your wonderful creations?
You can check out my blog at http://littlemisst-papercraft.blogspot.com/ - comments make my day so I’d love it if you stopped by and left some love!
Thanks so much, Taheerah! Here's just a couple of creations that really caught our eye when browsing Taheerah's blog that we want to share here. Be sure to check out Taheerah's blog for more!
Taheerah just proves with this card how well different PTI sets coordinate with each other. Her use of the Giga Guidelines makes a fabulous, bold dp!
Taheerah's super fun Christmas card definitely shows the influence that Dawn McVey has on her cardmaking with the fun mix of colours and divine damask stocking!
Look out for more from Taheerah when upload our December challenges!
Aimes and Kate
x x
See, I told you the combo works! As long as you keep the balance of the amount of colour and how it's featured I think it's quite possible to use 3, 4 or even 5 colours on one card successfully!
Just one last design detail for this card before I move onto the others - I used two loops of ribbon but for interest I had one behind all the layers and one overlapping between layers. I think it adds a nice bit of interest!
Don't they all work so well together as a complimentary set?! I added some other sets into the mix as well, with Background Basics: Diamonds, Turning a New Leaf, Signature Greetings and Polka Dot Basics II (on the Twill Ribbon) all making an appearance! The rhinestones were all coloured with Copics to match the colour scheme, and you'll see that my favourite Martha Stewart Punch was used a few times too!
