Designer in the spotlight

Janet Clarke

My Blogs are

ClarkyJs playspace

Christmas Preparations

How did you start crafting? 

Like many crafters I began crafting when I was small with a Mum and Grandma who could knit and sew encouraging me to have a go.  When pregnant with my first child I had to have lots of rest so I knitted my way through the pregnancy making baby coats, cardigans, hats etc and continued when the children were small.  I moved onto cross stitch then when my eldest was approaching 18  decided to have a go at Scrapbooking.  I got a kit from QVC and although enjoyed the scrapbooking did not enjoy using stickers and bought embelishments. I looked around for a scrapbook class and found Art from the Heart in Harrogate.  I remember ringing Ben to find out more and Dy was at CHA so he didn't know the actually project so told me to ring back the day before the crop.  When I did he told me we were using paint.  My heart sank I just knew it would not be my thing but I went along with my Mum and fell in love with Dys passion for Ranger products. A short time later one of the crops was to make a mini book and we used Dys dotty flower to emboss with.  That was it I was hooked and there began my addiction for stamping.I continued to grow in confidence under Dys tuition and my collection of Ranger products grew. When Dy moved into art journalling and stopped holding the scrapbook crops she knew how disappointed I was not to continue my scrapbooking journey so she encouraged me to start my own group in Skipton. This has now been going nearly 6 years and is still as popular although we have diversified from only scrapbooking. My love of stamping has continued and I have met many wonderfully talented crafters who give me inspiration both in person and on the internet.  I still love to visit Dys for classes - she has been a massive influence on my crafting journey and her shop is a treasure trove for the stamper and altered artist.

Favourite project 1

 

This is up in my sitting room and is a favourite piece from an Art from the Heart class.

It combines my love of scrapbooking with gorgeous papers, altered art and Dys stitching. Notice the paint too!

Fave project 2 

This is another favourite which again is based around scrapbooking and paint. This was made as a gift for my SIL.  I love seeing it hanging up when we visit their home - it was fun to make and uses Blonde Moments papers which I have always loved.

What is your favourite Technique ?

I love layered stamping. I never thought I would get the hang of it but a Craft Stamper article by Liesbeth Fiddor really helped my on the way.  You can see my original post here  but here is a few pics of projects I have loved using the technique on.

Top Tip : start with light colours and work up to the darker ones. I always hear Dy telling me the background should be just that - in the background.

Hope you enjoy having a look around my things and If you have any questions please leave me a message here and I will happily answer them if I can.

Thanks for stopping by x

Janet