Monday, February 20, 2012

Featured Stamper for February -

Welcome back to a feature of my blog that I love - that I have not done for quite a while.  Spotlighting one of the amazing ladies in my Stampin' Up! downline - the Crazy Stamping Ladies.  I ask them to provide a picture, a bio and several examples of their style in stamping.  I'll include any contact info (such as blog, email, etc.) that they'd like me to provide.  I'm so blessed to have these ladies in my life - and privileged to share their talents on my blog. This month please enjoy my spotlight of  Crazy Stamping Lady - Kathy Baffone -

What stamping means to me ~
My stamping journey began about 5 or 6 years ago.  I invited myself to Kathy W’s house for her Stampers 10 event and was hooked immediately.  I always joke that I never met a craft I didn’t like but nothing has overtaken me like this inky one.  I joined S10 the following year and it took me another year to become a hobby demo with SU.  
Because my family is on the East coast I wanted a way to keep connected to brothers & sisters, nieces & nephews, and thought a special card from California would be perfect.  After a while I found that my nieces were comparing the cards I sent to each one, arguing which card was better!  My stamping allowed me to support a very sick sister through her terminal illness in a special way.  Not only did I send Joanne cards on a regular basis, all of my stampy friends did too.  These greetings really lifted her up during difficult times.
I found my way to SplitCoast Stampers and then my card-making really took off as I participated in the daily challenges.  Now I send about 8 cards a month out for family birthdays, do one challenge card a day most weeks, and sell my cards to raise money for charity.   My daughter and I made a visit to Ronald McDonald House with other SU people which was very gratifying.  Now she wants to start a group at her high school to continue those efforts.
In the end, I found that not only is stamping a great stress reliever and a way to connect with my creative side.   I have made some amazing friendships over an ink pad and I have celebrated & supported people I care about through this addictive artistic hobby. 
Here are some samples of Kathy's artistry - I could not get the pictures she sent to load larger - so be sure to check out the link to more of her work at the end of this post.
Blocking using square stamp from SU's distressing tool.
Elegant flower using Bird Punch from SU!
Masculine Nautical theme.
Masculine Happy Birthday.
Clean sympathy with an embossing folder.
Another clean and simple sympathy card.
Beautiful card using reflection technique.
Birthday card with reverse masking and embossing.
You can see more of Kathy's work on Splitcoaststampers - her user name is CAKath
Thanks for stopping by - see you soon! -Maureen

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