Ask Around in Stamp It! Cards Week: Jennifer McGuire

I'm so glad you've joined me today, friends. It's so nice to see your smiling face! Thanks so much for stopping by!


I'm pretty stoked today because I've got a special post for you in Day 4 of our week-long Stamp It! Cards celebration, one that features someone I really admire.

If you haven't already had the pleasure, I'd love to introduce you to Jennifer McGuire. I first became familiar with Jennifer by reading her Tools & Techniques column in Creating Keepsakes magazine. I always admired the myriad of ideas she so creatively presented and felt a kind of kinship to her (without her even knowing it) as I worked both on Paper Crafts' PC101 column (in which we show different ways to use products and techniques) and on the Tips, Tools, & Techniques column (which I no longer work on but did for a couple of years back in the day.) Then, as she became more and more prevalent in the Hero Arts world, I became a big fan of her approach to stamping and the unique way she explores its varied and vast volume of techniques.

I mean seriously, if there's anything that defines Jennifer McGuire in our industry, it's tools and techniques. I know, right?

Let's take a minute to get to know her better, shall we?

Jennifer, a 2002 Creating Keepsakes Hall of Famer, has been scrapbooking and stamping since about 2002. Her designs and page layouts have been used in countless publications, including magazines and books.

An avid stamper, Jennifer has been an artist for Hero Arts for the past 7 years and has loved every minute of it. She remembers that fall day when she received a call from Jackie, the founder of Hero Arts, asking her to create scrapbook pages using their stamps. Before she knew it , she became involved in stamp design and started contributing samples for the Hero Arts catalogs, website, and blog. As Education Director, she most loves doing videos online and traveling the world teaching stamping classes.

Jennifer's work can be also seen each month in the aforementioned article she writes for Creating Keepsakes magazine, Tools & Techniques, where she shows the many things you can do with one tool or product. A Creating Keepsakes book based on these articles, 101 Things To Do With Your Scrapbook Supplies, was released in June 2007.

She also enjoys contributing to the Two Peas in a Bucket design team and her blog, www.jennifermcguireink.com, where you can find many of her popular video tutorials. Jennifer, who left a job as an engineer to scrapbook full time from her home in Cincinnati, also enjoys traveling around the world teaching stamping classes. Her family includes her husband Ken, step- daughters Kay and Audrey, and son, Colin.

Jennifer, thanks for joining us. Let's begin by asking you what websites, blogs, magazines, ads, etc. are the most inspirational to you in terms of trend-watching? Why do they motivate you?

I find a ton of inspiration on etsy.com. I think it is absolutely amazing that it is home to lots of creative people and that you can find handmade gifts for any occasion. Lately, I have been collecting fun, inspirational and silly prints for my kids’ bathroom. While doing this, I find lots of inspiration for card making and scrapbooking. Here are some that recently caught my eye. The message would be great for a card or page:

The Way You Think from vol25 on etsy

This one is fabulous. I am thinking I could do a card just like this. So clever:

Shine Your Light from erinjaneshop on etsy

Oh, and etsy is great for color inspiration, too. Adore this:

Annie's Pajamas Bracelent from spiffingjewelry on etsy

Do the evolving trends change your paper crafting style, or do you inject the trends into your already established style?

I am not really sure I have an established style – ha! I feel like I have an “open style” where anything goes. I like to jump from simple and clean to over-the-top and distress-y. That is half the fun of the craft. Also, by not feeling “stuck” in a style, I don’t feel pressured to get certain results, but rather can accept whatever I come up with.

Another big advantage of an open style is that you can easily try out new trends, but don’t feel you have to. Anything goes! Here is an example. Digital scrapbooking is very popular and I love the trend of it crossing over into card making more and more. So, I decided to play along and created this card for the Hero Arts blog. Such fun!

To see a video for this card, click here.

Name a designer (or two) in the scrapbooking industry that inspires you. What do you like about his/her work?

Now don’t tell him I said this, because it will simply go to his head (hee), but my friend Tim Holtz inspires me.

Tim Holtz with Jennifer

Yes, he is very talented, but what inspires me most is his integrity, loyalty, kindness and generosity. In an industry where people jump quickly from companies to companies, I admire that he has stayed put with Ranger and remained dedicated to them. I also admire that he loves to share and give so much back to the industry. These are things that are all important to me and, therefore, I find him inspiring.

What is your favorite part about your job and why? What is your least favorite part about your job and why?

My favorite part of my job is definitely the friends I have made. It is just a great feeling to have friends all over the world – all who I met through this great industry. One good example is my dear friend Shari Carroll. Although we are in such different stages in our life, we are like two peas in a pod. She has worked with Hero Arts for 21 years and is unbelievably talented. Here are two pages I did for Creating Keepsakes about Shari and the Hero Arts team:




My least favorite part about my job is that working from home can be very challenging. You never get to escape your household responsibilities, nor can you escape the work of your job. It is really tough to get a good balance, but it is worth the try!

Without giving anything away that you are working on, what trend(s) are you currently watching?

One of my favorite trends right now is the bold coloring of Copic Markers. And although this is a trend that is just starting, I know I will be using them for a long time! The results are so impressive and the coloring is such fun. I love to stamp a bunch of images, put in a good movie, and color all night long!

For a video on using Copic Markers to color these butterflies click HERE

Thankfully, many of the new Hero Arts stamps work great with Copic coloring. Makes my job even better!

Once you spot a trend, do you have a way of filing that idea away for later use that works for you?

I have a folder on my desktop that is titled “ideas.” If I am searching the web and see a trend or idea I like, I just drag the image into this folder. Once a month, I drag each of these photos into a Word document, make them small (thumbnail-size) and print the document to put into my idea binder. This works great for me!

Which retail stores tend to get your trendy juices flowing?

There is one retail website that inspires me big time: bodenusa.com. All of their lines have such fabulous color combinations. If you haven’t done so, I recommend signing up to receive their catalog. I just love this dress and can get many card ideas from it:

Fun Dress from Boden

What is your favorite medium in which to work and why does it appeal to you? Has that changed over time? Why or why not?

This isn’t exactly a medium, but one thing that has really changed for me in the past few years is my switch from only doing scrapbook pages to now also doing card making. I just find the two go hand-in-hand so much and inspire each other greatly. Doing card making has really made scrapbooking easier for me, as I can try out techniques and color schemes on cards first. I am so glad I started card making!

What advice can you give to paper crafters who are interested in incorporating more trends into their projects?

Keep it simple! Really, the best way to try a new technique or trend is to just try it in a simple manner. That way if you don’t get it right the first time, you have little invested. And if it goes well, you will have the confidence to do more.

Name some doors that have opened to you as a result of being connected to the scrapbooking industry and what that has meant to you.

I really appreciate all the support I get for the Cards for Kids card drive I am doing. I have collected thousands of cards for sick children – thanks to the amazing people in the industry that I have met through my blog. I just love that it has opened doors to help others.

Thanks for spending some time with us here in the Moxie Fab World today, Jennifer!

Wasn't that inspiring, friends? Oh my moxie fab I sure think so. I just love that Jennifer turns to etsy for inspiration as much as I do, I like that she's constantly stretching herself and trying something new (a la digital/hybrid projects), and I love that she's a scrapbooker who has discovered that card making and scrapbooking go completely hand-in-hand. I think the same thing. They are different in their purposes, but similar in their craft.

Of all the yummy things that Jennifer said, what was most inspiring to you? Leave me a comment that tells us all what's ringing the truest to you by midnight MST on Sunday, February 28 and I'll draw one random winner to receive these three stamp sets, which happen to be Jennifer's current moxie favies:




Friends, we've got just one more day left in Stamp It! Cards Week. And while I know that's a little on the Saddy McSadderton side, the Olympics of Stamping continues through March 8 AND I've got an absolutely u-n-b-e-l-i-e-v-a-b-l-e post for you tomorrow in which you will have the chance to win 32 hot-off-the-press stamp sets.

Yep. You read that right. Tomorrow's magic number is 32.

Getting ready for the Big Finish,

~Cath

PS There's lots o' stampy fun going on at Paper Crafts Connection today. See how our six moxie fab Go-to Gals have each used 2 different stamp sets. It's an online version of one of your favorite features in Stamp It! Cards: Stamp It! Three Ways!