Q

How long have you been a stamper,

and how did you get started?

A

Eleven years ago I took a 6 month

sabbatical from work. Whilst

searching for something different

to fill my time I spotted some

handmade cards on the internet.

Next day, a visit to the local craft

shop saw me hauling paper pads,

glues, toppers, peel-offs and card

blanks home. I remember telling my

husband, “Think of all the money we’ll

save!” (ha ha! we’ve all said that!)

Anyway, within a month I’d bought

my first stamps and became hooked

on stamping from that point on.

Q

What are your favourite kinds

of stamps, and do you have a

favourite stamp company?

A

I love a stamp that can be used in

several ways, and if it’s also a little

different or quirky that’s great. Clear

stamps are brilliant for precise

placement, small sized stamps work

best with my CAS style, but I do like

a floral or character too because

they are so good to colour. My

taste is pretty eclectic. My favourite

company is Visible Image because

they are quirky and cool. I have quite

a few Uniko Stamps, IndigoBlu,

Chocolate Baroque and AlteNew

stamps too.

Sharon Traynor, originally from

Norwich but now living in Mexilhoeira

Grande in the Algarve, Portugal.

http://www.frommycraftdesk.blogspot.com

TIMI Winners Profile

We can’t wait to see what YOU’LL

come up with for our challenge! Get involved,

get stamping and you never know, you might get

lucky! We launch a new ‘Anything Goes’ themed

stamping challenge on the first Friday of every month,

with a prize from our sponsor up for grabs too!

To find out more log onto

http://www.craftstamper.blogspot.com

Q

Describe your style, are you a

messy kind of stamper or a more

‘clean and simple’ kind of person?!

A

I suppose I’m somewhere in

between really. CAS is my safety net

now but you will occasionally see

an inky creation from me. However,

if you saw my craft room when I’m

in mid-craft you would swear mine

is an inky, grungy, messy style! I

always make my best cards when

I stick to the CAS style though. I’m

still on a learning curve as I’ve only

been trying the CAS genre for a

couple of years.

Q

What kind of projects do you like

creating the most?

A

Brightly coloured cards and one

layer cards with oodles of white

space. Yes, I am crazy! One layer

cards send most people shrieking

for the hills, but I love them because

they really challenge me, especially

if I have to leave lots of white space.

Anything that involves learning a

new technique or something that

stretches me creatively gives me

the most enjoyment but I think I’m

a collector of techniques, I should

actually use them more often!

TiMi

Learn more about our latest

Take It, Make It challenge winner!

“Two things inspired this

project, using a stamp in a

different way and using a

new colouring medium. I fell

in love with the beautiful

Visible Image flower stamp

and have used it a lot, so this

time I masked it and stamped

it 3 times to create a dress

shape. I used my friend’s Zig

Clean Color Real Brushes to

watercolour the image because

I wanted to try them out.

Needless to say I loved them

and have bought my own

now! To finish, I stamped the

‘legs’, sparkled the bodice and

mounted it onto card”

Q

Apart from stamps, what is the one

product you wouldn’t be without

when you craft?

A

Can I just say I need my whole craft

room? Seriously though, without

paper and inks my stamps would be

useless so it would have to be some

paper and a selection of inks, mainly

Distress products.