Our Rock Star Spotlight series has been a big hit and a lot of fun. We got a chance to get to learn some interesting facts about all of the talented stampers (aka Repeat’s Rock Stars) who share their wonderful card creations with us here every week. Then last time, by reader request, I spotlighted myself… the artist who creates all the images that become our stamp designs. Now this week, by Rock Star request, we are shining the spotlight on my husband, Bill, the craftsman who turns my designs into stamps for all of you.

Bill Welsh

1. Tell us a little about your family. My wife and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary this past summer. We have two cats for “sons” and I also have a daughter from my previous life. She is a nurse and lives in Florida.

2. How did you get into stamping? I got into the stamping business after I had to retire from my previous job due to several herniated discs in my neck. My mother-in-law’s new hobby at that time inspired us to start Repeat Impressions. If you missed it earlier you can read the story of how we came to be by following this link.

3. What is your favorite technique? Using the scroll saw to cut out all the rubber dies.

4. What is your favorite tool? Our big vulcanizer

5. What is your favorite color combo? That’s simple… black ink on wood.

6. If you had to describe your stamping style with 3 words, what would they be? Down and dirty!

7. Do you always send the cards you create? No card creating for me… I leave that to the experts.

8. What is your favorite stamping magazine? Vamp Stamp News was the first magazine we ever advertised in. I still look forward to checking it out every month.

9. What are your favorite Repeat Impressions’ designs? There are many but if I had to choose I would say our #1704-P Great Blue Heron, #708-K Rebecca, the lighthouse stamps and really all the ones that index well and make my job easier.

10. What are your other interests besides stamping? Watching football, trying new micro brews, driving my John Deere tractor, hunting, camping, reading, travel and trying new things.

11. Name your favorite food and one food you can’t stand. I love to eat and pretty much like ALL kinds of foods. But I can never pass up the Argentinian beef at El Gaucho Steakhouse when we visit Aruba. We don’t eat a lot of red meat at home so this is a real treat. The only food I really can’t stand… tuna casserole!

12. What is your guilty pleasure? Buying new hats. And this drives my wife crazy! She’s always pointing out that I only have one head so why do I need 200 hats. I just can’t help myself. I like to collect baseball style hats from all the different places we visit.

13. Do you have any pet peeves? People who do all kinds of stupid things when they are driving instead of focusing on the road.

14. Tell us one random thing people may not know about you. I enjoy making bread the old fashioned way with my hands… no bread machines in this house. I usually bake a dozen or so different kinds of loaves on Christmas Eve… and the relatives have been known to fight over the leftover loaves after dinner the next day.

15. Name 3 things on your “bucket list”. Take my wife to Alaska and also visit Ireland where I’ll drink real Guinness in a real Irish pub.

16. If you were going to be stuck on a deserted island, which 5 books, movies, people and foods would you take along?

Books: Any of the Alex Cross books by James Patterson and anything by Dean Koontz, John Grisham or Tom Clancy .

Movies: Dirty Harry, The Shawshank Redemption, The Longest Yard, The Man From Snowy River and Beverly Hills Cop.

People: My wife, and… do I really have to bring any more people? Then it would no longer be a deserted island!

Foods: Lobster, steak, cheese, olives and beer! (Good thing my wife had all the vegetables on her list!)

17. If you have to choose a movie title for your life story, what would that be? Well considering all the time we spend on the road traveling to stamp shows, how about… Driving Miss Wendy

Now I have to admit… I had a lot of fun working on this post! Of course, getting Bill to sit still long enough to answer all of these questions took a bit of doing, but I think it was worth it in the end. Thanks, sweetie, for playing along with us! I hope you all enjoyed it too. And if you missed it previously and would like a virtual tour of how our stamps are made you can learn all about it by following this link.

Thanks for stopping by today and spending some time with us!
So how are those cards coming for our latest Sketch Challenge?

Wendy

If you read my post the Wednesday before last you may recall that I was a little disappointed to have completed our Rock Star Spotlight interview series. What fun that was getting to know all our Rock Stars a little better! What to do next? Hmmm. I gave it some thought and came up with an idea or two. And then I read my email… It seems a few of you thought it was time to hear MY answers to all those questions. So although I don’t consider myself a Rock Star of the same caliber as my very talented team, I suppose it IS only fair that I subject myself to the same questioning. So here you go…

Wendy Wyman

1. Tell us a little about your family. My husband Bill and I have been together for 27 years and celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary this summer. We currently have two “sons” of the feline persuasion.

2. How did you get into stamping? I got into the stamping business thanks to my mother. One of my earliest blog posts tells the whole tale. If you missed the story just follow this link to read all about how Repeat Impressions got it’s start.

3. What is your favorite technique? I’m not really technique oriented, but I do like to color!

4. What is your favorite tool? Punches

5. What are your favorite embellishments? Ribbon and rhinestones

6. What is your favorite coloring method? Simple markers or colored pencils

7. What is your favorite color combo? I’ve always thought green and purple make a great combination. Actually, I like most anything with green… it’s my favorite color!

8. If you had to describe your stamping style with 3 words, what would they be? Simple with motion. I really don’t have much time to stamp but when I do I tend to make things that move or have a little element of surprise involved. Like my lines of designs and cards stocks for cards that flip, swing, spin or pop up.

9. Do you always send the cards you create? Yes, unless they are for our display boards.

10. For which occasion or holiday do you create the most cards? Christmas and birthdays.

11. What is your favorite stamping magazine? I don’t have much time for magazines but I like Vamp Stamp News for all the tips and techniques shared there.

12. What are your favorite Repeat Impressions’ designs? That’s like asking a mother to choose her favorite child! There are many, but off the top of my head I would say my Little Birdie/Cat swing stamp set, Great Blue Heron and Santa Cat.

13. What are your other interests besides stamping? Reading, kitties, family time, great food and wine, comedy in any form, Scrabble on Facebook. Oh… and spending entirely too much time researching things online!

14. Name your favorite food and one food you can’t stand. That’s a tough one! I love so many foods, but I can never pass up guacamole! And I can’t stand olives of any kind.

15. What is your guilty pleasure? Pizza or any dessert served a la mode!

16. Do you have any pet peeves? Incompetence really irks me.

17. Tell us one random thing people may not know about you. I’ve always wanted to write a book. I feel like I may have a novel in me somewhere if I only had the time. I self-published a small run of books of my mother’s poetry years ago. Maybe someday I’ll see my own name embossed on a hardcover.

18. Name 3 things on your “bucket list”. To visit Alaska, swim with a dolphin, learn to tango.

19. If you were going to be stuck on a deserted island, which 5 books, movies, people and foods would you take along?

Books: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, Chesapeake by James Michener, A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford, and any book by James Patterson or Tess Gerritson.

Movies: True Lies (my perfect movie trifecta… comedy, action and romance all in one movie!), Nothing To Lose, Despicable Me, The Man From Snowy River and Miracle on 34th Street (I’m partial to the one with Sebastian Cabot).

People: My husband, my sister, my two nieces and Jeff Dunham to keep us all entertained!

Foods: Sweet potatoes, broccoli, avocados, tomatoes and carrot cake. Yeah… you might say I have a thing for veggies!

20. If you have to choose a movie title for your life story, what would that be? Lucky Me!

There you go… I think I have fulfilled my obligation now.
Thank you for stopping by for a visit!

Wendy

P.S. Just a friendly reminder. Submissions to our latest Sketch Challenge are being accepted until 10/19. Follow this link for all the details!

Happy Wednesday everyone! It’s time for another Rock Star Spotlight! This week we’re shinning the light on Darsie Bruno.

Darsie Bruno

1. Tell us a little about your family. I’m a mother of three extraordinary adults whom I adore, and I have the greatest sister in the world! My father has passed, whom I miss every moment of my life, and my Mom has more strength than I’ve ever seen!

2. How did you get into stamping? I started making ATC’s and ventured into stamping from there!

3. What is your favorite technique? Coloring

4. What is your favorite tool? Cuttlebug

5. What are your favorite embellishments? Swirly Pearls

6. What is your favorite coloring method? Coloring with Copics

7. What is your favorite color combo? Black, red and white!

8. If you had to describe your stamping style with 3 words, what would they be? Feminine, elegant and stylish

9. Do you always send the cards you create? I don’t really send out my cards! I have a group of ladies who purchase them!

10. For which occasion or holiday do you create the most cards? Christmas

11. What is your favorite stamping magazine? Rubber Stamp Madness

12. What are your favorite Repeat Impressions’ designs? Great Blue Heron and Vase of Tulips

13. What are your other interests besides stamping? Photography, encaustic wax painting, lampworking, and quilting

14. Name your favorite food and one food you can’t stand. Anything with chocolate and orange in it, and I can’t stand stewed tomatoes.

15. What is your guilty pleasure? Purchasing Martha Stewart punches and teasing my sister about it!

16. Do you have any pet peeves? It drives me nuts when they put one item in a plastic bag at the grocery store!!

17. Tell us one random thing people may not know about you. I love reading about Russian History.

18. Name 3 things on your “bucket list”. Go to Ireland, go back to Alaska, and create that one flawless bead!

19. If you were going to be stuck on a deserted island, which 5 books, movies, people and foods would you take along? The bible and some steamy romances, Hello Dolly, my children and my sister, and chocolate, of course!

Thank you, Darsie, for sharing a little of yourself here with all of us. It’s been fun getting to know you better! And if you’d all like to keep up with Darsie’s latest news and creations be sure to visit her blog, Crafting with Darsie.

So there you have it. Today is both a happy and a sad occasion. Happy, because we got to spend time learning more about Darsie, but sad because that finalizes our Rock Star Spotlight series. It’s true… we’ve completed the rounds and gotten to know all 10 of  the artists behind all the fabulous cards you see featured here every week. (But if you missed anyone you can always click the Rock Star Spotlight category or tag links to catch up.) It was great fun while it lasted wasn’t it?! So I guess it’s time now to put on my thinking cap and come up with a another new reason to love Wednesdays!

Have a fab day and thank you for stopping by!

Wendy

Happy Wednesday! I’m so glad you stopped by today as it is time for another Rock Star Spotlight! This time we’re shining the light on Harriet Skelly.

Harriet Skelly

1. Tell us a little about your family. I have been married to my husband for 29 years. We have one daughter and currently 3 cats.  My husband and I both retired 2 years ago and are loving it!

2. How did you get into stamping? I actually started by making cards with stickers – we live by the Mrs Grossman’s factory! I went on eBay looking for stickers, bought some from Vicki at Heartwarmers and saw some Hero Arts stamps for sale. That got me hooked because I could reuse them.

3. What is your favorite technique? That’s a hard one – I think paper piecing is my favorite technique though I really love to color too.

4. What is your favorite tool? I love my Scor-pal.

5. What are your favorite embellishments? Butterflies!!! in any form!

6. What is your favorite coloring method? Water color pencils and an aquabrush.

7. What is your favorite color combo? I have always loved purple and green but am now loving summer colors like turquoise, orange and yellow.

8. If you had to describe your stamping style with 3 words, what would they be? Clean And Simple – that was an easy question.

9. Do you always send the cards you create? No. In fact, I tend to make cards for someone and forget to send it. I make cards to sell and for the many challenges on SCS and in blogland so many aren’t the kind I would send.

10. For which occasion or holiday do you create the most cards? Usually Hanukkah and Christmas cards but lately I have had several orders for Thank You cards.

11. What is your favorite stamping magazine? PaperCrafts

12. What are your favorite Repeat Impressions’ designs? My favorite RI designs are the flowers and scene stamps. I also love the fonts of the sentiment stamps.

13. What are your other interests besides stamping? Reading, knitting, volunteering in the local school.

14. Name your favorite food and one food you can’t stand. I love chocolate – is there any other food??? Unlike most people, I don’t like raspberries.

15. What is your guilty pleasure? Eating fudge brownie ice cream from Baskin Robbins.

16. Do you have any pet peeves? Punctuality – I like it when people are on time.

17. Tell us one random thing people may not know about you. I went sky diving in college – one time – that was enough!  LOL

18. Name 3 things on your “bucket list”. Traveling – I want to go just about everywhere!

19. If you were going to be stuck on a deserted island, which 5 books, movies, people and foods would you take along? I’d take the Harry Potter series, Romantic Comedy movies, my husband, daughter, cats and my BFF Carol and my stamping friends from my Yahoo group.  Fudge Brownie ice cream, Trader Joe’s chocolate, Gourmet Veggie pizza from Round Table, cheese and fruit.

A big thank you to Harriet for letting us get to know her a little better. That was fun! And I know you’ll want to keep up with Harriet’s latest creations so be sure to visit her blog, Allycat Cards and don’t forget to leave her some love too!

Have a great day! Thank you for spending time with us!!

Wendy

P.S. If you haven’t created a card for our latest Sketch Challenge yet, we hope you will soon. Submissions are being accepted until next Tuesday, 9/21.