My shining star

My shining star

Monday 18 August 2014

Creative Blog hop

Good morning lovelies and a big thank you for visiting today. This is a different kind of post as I was invited to take part in a blog hop with a difference by the lovely and very talented claire. If you don't already know Claire check her out - her work is absolutely awesome!

So to begin here is a little bit about me. I am a stay at home mum to two girls aged 8 and 6. I used to teach Chemistry at the Girls Grammar school here in Lancaster but when the girls came along I opted to take a career break and have never found the time to return! These days my time is taken up with crafting, running/swimming, running a pack of Rainbows and chairing the PTA at my girls school. I love crafting and have evolved in my crafting tastes over the years - these days I am very much a stamper - I adore to learn new techniques and am never happier than when I have inky fingers.

I started my blog in January 2012. Little did I know at the time that I would become completely hooked or that i would make so many friends from blogging. It really is an intergral part of my life these days and I enjoy it very much.

What am I working on right now?
I'm always busy - tonight I plan to work on my second Imagination crafts make for September and also my Christmas card club make for the 7th September - thats Great North Run day - which is another thing I'm working on!!! I do have my Tims tag of August 2014 to share with you at this point!


I love the techniques on this tag and have followed Tims tag techniques but created something completely different to his tag - it really is something from the heart for me this tag. I have followed my creative muse! I would of course like to enter this for his monthly challenge here.  


Why do I create what I do?
I create for many different reasons. Sometimes I create for a specific purpose - for a DT committment or for a challenge. More often these days I create because I want to try a new technique or to use one of the new toys I have bought!  Sometimes I am driven by inspiration from you guys out there in blogland - sometimes I create just for the hell of it! I am certainly hooked on craft these days and when I don't create I am not a happy bunny!

How does my creative process work?
It works in many ways - from varied sources of inspiration to varied methods of evolution. Sometimes I have a really fixed idea of what I want to create and if I am lucky the techniques come to mind and I nail it - more regularly though something evolves and I come to accept the creative process and the piece is different from what I first imagined but sometimes much better.

How do I stay focussed/motivated?
I don't know the answer to this one - I guess its because I am still really learning all the time - I am stimulated to learn more and to get better and to try new techniques!

I'm tagging three lovely and very talented ladies in my post. They should all produce a post something like this on the 25th August! The three lovely ladies who agreed to be involved in the blog hop are all people I have met through blogging. I love their work and have found them very supportive as well as inspirational - please check out their blogs if you don't already know them:

Karen of stampinginpink

Thanks for popping by today and I hope i haven't bored you too much!
Rachel xx

22 comments:

  1. A fabulous take on Tim's tag Rachel, and great to find out a bit more about you!

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  2. It's lovely to read about you Rachel, you haven't bored me at all!
    Your tag is stunning, I love the colours and gorgeous detailing.
    hugs Sue xx

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  3. Beautiful tag love the colour and images -great to read more about you
    Carol x

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  4. Great interpretation of the tag! Good to hear about you too. Everyone is running that I am reading this morning! Had a little op 9 days ago and still sofa bound... Which of course makes me want to exercise... If I could , I probably wouldn't want to! Lol. Nikki xxx

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  5. It is lovely to learn even more about you than I know already, you could never be boring! I love your take on Tim's tag, the colours are wonderful and I love that you did something different too! Hugs, Anne xx

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  6. Great tag and great read about you Rachel. I knew I couldn't do this , but thanks again for asking me.

    hugs Diane xx

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  7. Gorgeous Tag Rachel, and great to read all about you too.

    Sue xx

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  8. Hi Rachel,

    Literally just back from hols with blogland withdrawal symptoms so quickly popping round my fav blogs to say hello and will be back during the week.

    Interesting post, nice to get an insight into your crafty world.

    B x

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  9. Wonderful tag and nice to get to know a bit about you.

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  10. Fabulous tag Rachel, love the colours and it is great to learn more about you too.
    Hugs
    Linda xxx

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  11. Stunning tag and great to read about you

    Mines up would love you to visit

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  12. This is a lovely post Rachel, it's nice to learn a little more about you and your creative process.
    Pauline
    x

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  13. What a fab tag, I love the green! Px

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  14. Hi Rachel! Great post! So nice to get to know more about you! You're a busy bee :)
    Fabulous tag, the background is brilliant!
    Hugs,
    Ingrid xx

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  15. Hi Rachel, what an interesting post, great to read about you and where you get your inspiration from, hugs Kate x

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  16. I think its hard not to stay focused when you're doing something you love and enjoy! Fabulous work with all the butterflies and such pretty colors!

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  17. Rachel, this was a great post! You kept it very much to the point, yet still revealed what makes you tick and what makes you happy, and what makes you a superlative crafter as well. I certainly enjoyed getting to know more about you in this lovely read. Your tag looks Uber lovely too! You must manage your time extremely well to do all that you do. TFS & Big hugs

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  18. Gorgeous tag Rachel. Love the colours. Great to learn more about you too.
    Mags
    X

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  19. Wow it's so nice to learn more about you, especially about your creative process. Your tag looks awesome, and I love how different it is. Thank you for tagging me, I'm afraid you will have to wait until later in the day to hear about me as CE is in the morning, but mine will be up early evening so a huge thank you. Lots of hugs Kezzy :-) xxxxx p.s will you be at Ally Pally this year, I'm going on the Saturday. I can't wait until we get another creative play together, so next time your up this way please come and be a play mate for a couple of hours lol lol xxx

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  20. Hi Rachel. sorry i'm so late visiting, I'm still playing catch up after a horrible week at work. Your tag is gorgeous, really beautiful stamping and its great to learn more about your and art. It certainly sounds like you're far too busy to go back to work :-)
    Crafty hugs
    Claire xx

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Thankyou so much for leaving a comment - it really does mean a lot to me! Hugs Rachel xx