The House That Stamps Built

Good morning, everyone! It’s time for another great installment in our Rock Star Spotlight series. In case you missed my earlier posts, we’re taking a break from our usual projects and challenges this month to bring back our Rock Star Spotlight series. This little game of questions has proved to be a fun way to get to know the artists behind the cards we’ve been sharing. So each Monday and Wednesday throughout December we’ll be featuring a different Rock Star and showing off some of their latest creations too.

We hope you will visit often and leave each of these talented ladies a little love in the comments. And to make it even more fun for you, we’ll be awarding a $25 Repeat Impressions gift certificate to one lucky commenter. Every comment earns you another chance to win. So visit and comment often. We’ll use random.org to choose a winner and make the announcement the first Monday of next month.

Today we’re shining the spotlight on RI Rock Star, Cheri Weston.

Card creations by Cheri Weston.
Visit Cheri’s blog.

1. Tell us a little about your family.
I am so blessed to be married to a great guy, who supports my stamping hobby. I’m blessed even more with three grandchildren, Lucy is 2, Alexa is 8 and Philip is 9. They live in another state, so we don’t see them as often as we’d like, but thanks to Facetime we’re able to talk and see them when we want, as well as catch up on some of the antics Lucy is up to these days.

2. How did you get into stamping?
I started out stamping by offering to make baby shower invitations for my daughter-in-law’s first pregnancy. That was nearly 10 years ago. I had no idea what I was doing, but there was a small stamping store near me, so I went there and asked some questions, bought some stamps and other supplies and made 50 baby shower invitations. Instantly, I knew I’d found a craft and hobby I would always love.

3. What is your favorite holiday or occasion to create cards for?
Christmas! I love making Christmas cards.

4. What is your favorite stamping style or technique?
My style is CAS (clean and simple). At first I struggled with it because I always wanted to add “just one more thing” to my cards, but I learned how to make the most out of the least and loved the look. It took some time, and I’m still learning, but I find it difficult now to build layers on a card.

5. What is your favorite color combo and coloring method?
I love the versatility of black, white and red in combination. You can pick any stamp in your collection and design something with that color combo for almost every card occasion. I love coloring with Copic Markers. I’ve taken some classes online and I get by with what I’ve learned. I’m not an expert, but I find it really fun to color with them.

6. Aside from the usual necessities, what one crafting tool could you not go a day without?
My Vagabond die cutting machine, hands down!

7. Are you an early bird or a night owl? When do you do most of your stamping?
I do most of my stamping in the evening. The days are full of chores and errands to run, but I usually set aside the evenings for stamping.

8. Tell us a little about your craft room/stamping space. And are you neat and organized or creatively messy?
I am definitely not as neat and organized as I’d like to be. At times I am working on more than one project at a time and it gets really messy and I lose things that were “just in front of me” far too often. I am so lucky to have a dedicated craft room. My husband built a section in our basement as a craft room for me a few years ago and while I don’t like being in the basement, the room is really nice and it’s my own space. Before the craft room was built I used our dining room and it didn’t take long before I’d outgrown that space…the craft room was an urgency when there was barely inches of space in the dining room.

9. What has been your biggest stamping challenge?
In the beginning, it was all the various types of ink to use. I was confused by their differences and when to use them. Now, I think my biggest challenge is letting go of some of my accumulated stamping “stuff”. It’s time to clean out and lighten the stash, but it seems to be hard for me to let go.

10. What’s the best stamping related gift you ever received?
My husband made me a fantastic craft table when he built my craft room. He found some inexpensive kitchen base cabinets, had a custom top made for them and put them on a frame with casters. It not only has lots of storage, I can also move it, if and when I need to.

11. If money were no object, what new crafting tool or supply would you choose?
I’m a bit embarrassed to say this, but I have pretty much everything I want.

12. Tell us 3 of your most favorite Repeat Impressions’ designs.
My favorites are the Christmas (especially the penguins), the floral stamps and Big Words.

13. Not including stamping, what’s your favorite pastime?
Getting outside and walking or gardening or skiing or snowshoeing….I love being outside.

14. What’s on your perfect pizza?
Garlic, spinach, feta, mozzarella, asiago, black olives, pineapple and red onion. Love it.

15. What’s your favorite ice-cream flavor?
Mint Chocolate Chip. Anything with mint in it gets my vote. Add mint to chocolate, my second favorite flavor…I’m in heaven. I’m also in love with gelato and I have to tell you, if you’re ever in Maine, go to Brunswick and Gelato Fiasco….you will absolutely be in heaven.

16. What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?
On a dare from my brother, I waterskied across Lake Champlain, from Vermont to New York State. A total of three miles…it was such fun, but my legs were worn out.

17. Name 3 things on your “bucket list”.
Visit Alaska, Visit Australia and Visit New Zealand.

18. If you could shop for free at one store, which one would you choose?
LLBean…so much I’d love to have from there.

19. If you could take only 3 items with you to a deserted island, what would they be?
A bottle of wine, my book and a beach chair.

20. If someone made a movie of your life would it be a drama, a comedy, a romantic-comedy, action film, or science fiction? And who would play you in the movie of your life?
Oh, a comedy for sure and Goldie Hawn would play me…I have so many blond moments it’s scary.

Many thanks to Cheri for the fabulous Christmas card creations and for sharing her responses here with us. What fun to get to know her a little better! Now be sure to leave her some love here below in the comments for your chance at our $25 gift certificate! Then join us again on Wednesday for our next Rock Star Spotlight featuring Joy Hadden.

Thank you for stopping by! Hope your week is off to a great start!

Wendy
Repeat Impressions