Strawberry Pickings - Blog Hop

Hello Everyone

I was tagged by a really lovely lady, Helen Wallace, to play along with this Blog Hop (with a difference).

If you know Helen, then she is certainly a lady for words and journalling, so please excuse me, if I am not as "fluent" or poetic as Helen!! ;-)

Helen tagged me in her post here and if you would like to go and take a peep at her blog, I am sure she would appreciate it! You will also see what I mean about her journalling and story telling, which is certainly so wonderful and fabulous! Helen has a way with words and also creates beautiful cards and pages alike!

Helen has certainly inspired me to journal more and also think about the journalling, before I even start my pages! It certainly has helped me to create "well rounded" pages, if I can say it like that! ;-) So thanks Helen for tagging me, it certainly was an honour for me! ;-)

To start off, many people probably wonder why my blog is called Strawbs Patch.  Well I have had a nickname for many years and that is Strawbs. So when I decided to create a blog for my creative hobbies etc, I thought "Strawbs little creative patch", could be quite nice.  It has stuck and is still my little creative patch!

What am I working on right now?

I am busy with 3 projects simultaneously.  I am busy with a BoBunny off the page project, using the sunny and bright Lemonade Stand collection.  I am also starting my BerryBleu71 July project, and I am just about to post our new Scrap Africa challenge for tomorrow.  Here is a little sneak peak of my page tomorrow.

How does my work differ from others of it's genre?

I really don't actually know what to say here! I think I have a shabby chic style, but I am evolving to use lots of mixed media and so how that is different from others, I'm not sure! I think everyone has their own little creative stamp, so that when someone looks at your work, they have a pretty good idea of who created the page! To define that "stamp" is the difficult part. I just know that I love scrapbooking and I would hope that anyone looking at my projects would know that I created them with love and with a passion for creating! ;-)

Why do I write/create what I do?

I think I have partly answered that above, but I also want to document and leave something for my son, who will one day grow up and have a family of his own.  He loves my scrapbooking and often will sit with me, while I am scrapping and create little cards and projects of his own.  I always show him my pages and tell him what they are about. There has not been a disapproval yet! ;-) 

How does your writing/creative process work?

Sometimes it starts with a photo and I think to myself, that must definitely be scrapped.

Sometimes it starts with a thought about a moment that I don't want to forget and really want to document.

Sometimes it starts with a little inspiration seed from a project that I have seen in a magazine, and think about how I could incorporate that into a project.

Sometimes it's a colour or a picture I have seen in my day.

So yes, something always triggers my creative juices and then I just follow where it leads me.

How do I become inspired and stay inspired?

Again, this is partly answered above! Many things inspire me and when I have a little flavour to run with, then I must see how it turns out. I often lay in bed at night and think about current projects and one's coming up. This is normally right before I close my eyes and go to sleep and it's such a good energy to go to sleep with! I can assure you that I wake up with the very same energy! ;-) This always leads me to creating later on in the day. Sometimes it's frustrating that I have to get the work day over with, before that process can begin!

I also love beautiful papers and accents, there is nothing better than creating with papers you really love and knowing that whatever you create must turn out "good" because the materials are so good.

Being on DT's and seeing wonderful materials and getting to use them, is certainly inspiration too. I can't begin to tell you how the creative juices flow when you get to see new collections behind the scenes and then wait for the parcel to arrive in the post.  It is like Christmas, on any given day!!! It is just awesome! ;-)

What is my signature style?

I think that was answered in various questions above! It's a combination of things.

To name the "stamp", it's not a black and white answer! ;-)

I have tagged 3 creative friends, who will be sharing their creative journey's with you next week Monday.

They are

Wilna Cremer

Wilna I recently met, when we did the Scrapping4Charity weekend.  Wilna and I had a  good laugh and she was such a great help on the weekend! Wilna also is also a fabulous creator and she has a wonderful shabby chic style. She is a super teacher too and anyone who attends her classes, would really learn a few things! 

Desire Fourie

Desire is an inspiring card maker and she really does make wonderful cards! I admire how she creates a lot of her own embelishments and flowers, that certainly is amazing and certainly helps the budget a lot!

Her colouring techniques are fabulous!

Jaya Raghuvanshi

Jaya's projects caught my eye, because she has a fabulous style. I love the design of her pages and her textures and layering.  She has such a natural artsy style, that I would certainly give my eye teeth for! ;-)

As Helen mentioned in her post, through cyberspace, I have also made some wonderful friendships.

There are many of these creators, ladies and men, that I truly admire and are so inspired by.

I have had the privilege of meeting some of them and it has added so much to my creative journey!

So to all my scrappy friends, I thank you all for the wonderful words of encouragement and the wonderful inspiration that I always find on your blogs! Every single one of you! ;-)

Thank you for taking the time to get to know me a little bit more.

Denise x