Meet the artist behind the creations! Today we’re shining the spotlight on Lynette Neus.

1. Tell us a little about your family. I have been married to my wonderful husband for going on 36 years. We have a daughter, son-in-law, grandson (born October 2008) and granddaughter (born March 2010) in Chicago. We have a son and daughter-in-law that live about twelve minutes from us. They are expecting their first child in December – so exciting!! And we have a cat named Lexi. We live in a suburb of Minneapolis.

2. How did you get into stamping? We went on a cruise for our 25th anniversary, and I wanted to scrapbook it, so I bought just a few things and got the scrapbook done. That was the end of it for a while. I have a friend that was really into stamping, but I had no interest in it, and she wasn’t “pushy” at all. However, I asked to be invited to the Stampin’ Up! Party that she held every summer. That was in July of 2002. And the rest, as they say, is history – I become totally addicted! (My friend no longer stamps!)

3. What is your favorite technique? Hmmm … tough question, as I love lots of techniques and keep moving from thing to thing. I guess I’d have to say embossing. I love embossing folders, stencils, texture plates, my Scor-pal – all sorts of embossing.

4. What is your favorite tool? Along those same lines, I guess my favorite tool would have to be my BIGkick. How could I emboss without it!

5. What are your favorite embellishments? I’m not much of an embellisher, but I guess maybe my favorite embellishment today would be pearls. Unless of course embossing counts as an embellishment!

6. What is your favorite coloring method? Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol.

7. What is your favorite color combo? Depends on the season and my mood! Probably purple and green. Or most anything with green!

8. If you had to describe your stamping style with 3 words, what would they be? “Clean and Simple.” But maybe “and” doesn’t count! How about clean, simple, and flowery.

9. Do you always send the cards you create? No. I make way more cards than I send, although I do send out a lot of them. I have some friends that buy them from me, and have started a blog to try to sell the rest. I also donate some to our church to sell.

10. For which occasion or holiday do you create the most cards? Well, that would have to be Christmas. We send out about 80 cards.

11. What is your favorite stamping magazine? The only one I read is PaperCraft – a gift from a great friend!

12. What are your favorite Repeat Impressions’ designs? Now, THAT’S a tough question! There are way too many to name! I love flowers, so most any of them. I love the Clover Bunny. The sentiments are great, too.

13. What are your other interests besides stamping? That is about all I do anymore! Well, I like bowling, walking, camping, computer and a few TV shows.

14. Name your favorite food and one food you can’t stand. Kung Pao chicken with rice might be my favorite, if I HAD to choose just one! I’m a very picky eater, so there are lots of foods I can’t stand! Maybe I’ll choose tomato – which includes anything made from or containing tomatoes. Or maybe onion would be worse!

15. What is your guilty pleasure? Sneaking time for more stamping!

16. Do you have any pet peeves? Oh, I’m sure I do! Grammar mistakes – like writing “your” instead of “you’re,” using “myself” instead of “me.” Wastefulness is another. I’m sure I must have more!

17. Tell us one random thing people may not know about you. I am a blood donor. Actually, I donate platelets every other week, if I’m free. I’m working on my 16-gallon pin.

18. Name 3 things on your “bucket list.” I don’t really have a “bucket list,” but I’d love to take an extended train trip though the southwest and up the California coast to Washington. I’d like to take an Alaskan cruise. Maybe hike the Grand Canyon again. OK, so maybe I DO have a bucket list!

Thank you, Lynette, for sharing your responses here with us! It’s been great fun getting to know you a little better. I know you’ll all want to keep up with Lynette’s latest creations too so be sure to visit her blog, My Stamping Addiction, and don’t forget to leave her some love!

Thank you for stopping by today! Hope you’re having a wonderful week!!

Wendy

P.S. If you haven’t created a card for our J1410 Sketch Challenge yet, we hope you will soon. Submissions are being accepted until next Tuesday, 7/27.

It’s Rock Star Spotlight day… the day we get a glimpse into the woman behind the art! This week we’re shining the spotlight on Julie Smith.

1. Tell us a little about your family. I am married to a great guy and we have 2 teenage boys and 1 big yellow lab that thinks he is a person. I grew up in western PA, and we now live in a small town near Gettysburg, PA. My husband is a policeman and I work full time for a State Farm Agent selling insurance.

2. How did you get into stamping? A Stampin Up party! It was all history after that!

3. What is your favorite technique? I love piercing and coloring with my copics.

4. What is your favorite tool? My paper piercer!

5. What are your favorite embellishments? Definitely buttons!

6. What is your favorite coloring method? I enjoy my copics, but also love my prisma pencils.

7. What is your favorite color combo? Right now, I’d have to say I’m in an “aqua zone”…I’m liking it with everything, especially brown.

8. If you had to describe your stamping style with 3 words, what would they be? CLEAN AND SIMPLE!

9. Do you always send the cards you create? Oh my word no…I have a really hard time letting go of my cards.

10. For which occasion or holiday do you create the most cards? Birthdays and Christmas, without a doubt.

11. What is your favorite stamping magazine? I enjoy Paper Crafts.

12. What are your favorite Repeat Impressions’ designs? I like anything I can paper piece, and the funny sentiments.

13. What are your other interests besides stamping? Well, does blogging count??

14. Name your favorite food and one food you can’t stand. I love seafood….and I’m not a picky eater so really the only things I can’t stand are cabbage, turnips and rutabagas.

15. What is your guilty pleasure? I love massages….but I always feel guilty getting one because I have nothing to show for it, and face it, with the cost of a massage, thats a lot of stamping supplies.

16. Do you have any pet peeves? Laziness and incompetence….

17. Tell us one random thing people may not know about you. I’m a diabetic, and I have a hot pink insulin pump!

18. Name 3 things on your “bucket list”. I don’t really have a bucket list, I try to live each day to the fullest.

Thanks for sharing your responses here with us, Julie! I think I can speak for everyone when I say it’s been a lot of fun getting to know you better. I know you’ll all want to keep up with Julie’s latest creations so be sure to visit her blog, Paper and Such and don’t forget to leave her some love too!

Happy Wednesday everyone and thank you for stopping by today!

Wendy

P.S. If you haven’t created a card for our J3010 Sketch Challenge yet, we hope you will soon. Submissions are being accepted until next Tuesday, 7/13. Please revisit my WHAT IF? Wednesday post from June 30 for details!

It’s Rock Star Spotlight day! Today we’re getting acquainted with Makiko Jones!

1. Tell us a little about your family. I’m married to my husband for 15 years and we are blessed with 2 children - one daughter (12) and son (9). We met in Tokyo where I grew up when he was stationed at Yokota AB. After we moved many places for 14 years, we finally settled in a small town of Texas in spring 2008. Now, we enjoy country living including 3 cats and 1 dog. A girl from a big city…it was a big life change but I start liking the quiet life

2. How did you get into stamping? I was a scrapbooker before stamper and used to use stamps to create the original pattern papers. Then I was invited to my friend’s SU workshop about 6 years ago and I’ve never stopped stamping since then.

3. What is your favorite technique? I love everything about coloring with any kind. I don’t know it’s called technique but I love using sketches to create cards.

4. What is your favorite tool? My Sizzix die cut machine.

5. What are your favorite embellishments? I always love ribbons and I also love pearls in this moment.

6. What is your favorite coloring method? I love any methods…but it would be water coloring with reinkers if I had to pick just one.

7. What is your favorite color combo? I’m always happy with blue and brown combo

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

9. Do you always send the cards you create? I wish I said “Of course!!” but I make cards way more than sending…I’m trying to let go though….lol.

10. For which occasion or holiday do you create the most cards? Birthday and Christmas. My favorite holiday cards to see are ones for Easter. I love those spring colors start showing up on blogging world!

11. What is your favorite stamping magazine? Gee….I haven’t bought stamp magazines for a while. I always love Crafts ‘n Things because it’s not only showing stamping but also other crafts I’d love to try.

12. What are your favorite Repeat Impressions’ designs? I love those purrfect cats images! I’m a big cat lover! Those fun sentiments for stampers and lighthouses are “must have” too!

13. What are your other interests besides stamping? I love photography. My plan is to start scrapbooking again with those photos I’ve taken. I also love going to antique stores and flea markets.

14. Name your favorite food and one food you can’t stand. Favorite food - Gyoza (Japanese steamed pot-stickers), Sushi (obvious? lol), Korean BBQ, Caesar salad, ice cream, …I can go on forever… One food I can’t stand is watermelon.

15. What is your guilty pleasure? Eating ice cream for dinner, lol.

16. Do you have any pet peeves? People who keep telling a lie on lying. Conversations with the computer voice for the customer service…grrrr… I want to talk to a REAL person!!

17. Tell us one random thing people may not know about you. I used to love cleaning house until I found the joy of paper crafting…lol.

18. Name 3 things on your “bucket list”. Go to Europe, learn surfing, learn snowboarding.

19. If you were going to be stuck on a deserted island, which 5 books, movies, people and foods would you take along?
Books — bible and four longest novels.
Movies — Blind Side, Rudy, 13 Going on 30, Home Alone and Foot loose.
People — My husband, daughter, son and one couple who are both good friends to my husband and me.
Foods — rice, ice cream, baby carrots, banana, chocolate.

20. If you have to choose a movie title for your life story, what would that be? A City Girl Gone Country!

Thank you, Makiko, for sharing a little bit about yourself here with us. It was a lot of fun learning more about you! And I know you’ll all want to keep up with Makiko’s latest creations so be sure to visit her blog, MakInk Studio. While you’re there don’t forget to leave her some love too!

And before I sign off… just a friendly reminder. If you haven’t created a card for our latest Sketch Challenge yet, we sure hope you will soon! Submissions are being accepted until next Tuesday, 6/29. Please refer to my WHAT IF? Wednesday post from 6/16 for all the details. It’s simple… play along with our sketch, upload a link to your card here on the RI blog and you’ll automatically be entered to win a $25 Repeat Impressions gift certificate!

Hope you’re having a great day and thank you for stopping by!

Wendy

Woohoo! It’s Rock Star Spotlight Day here again at The House That Stamps Built. We’re all really enjoying getting acquainted with one another. This little game of 20 questions is proving to be a fun way to get to know the artists behind the cards we’ve been sharing. And this week the spotlight is on Dana Joy.

1. Tell us a little about your family. I have been married for 17 years to my high school sweetheart. We have a daughter, a son and a cute little dog.

2. How did you get into stamping? A friend invited me to a Stampin’ Up party and I’ve been hooked every since.

3. What is your favorite technique? Embossing

4. What is your favorite tool? My Copic markers and Stickles.

5. What are your favorite embellishments? Brads, buttons and anything that sparkles. LOL

6. What is your favorite coloring method? Copic markers and watercoloring.

7. What is your favorite color combo? Black, white and red or brown and pink.

8. If you had to describe your stamping style with 3 words, what would they be? Sweet, sassy and contemporary.

9. Do you always send the cards you create? I have to admit, I keep a great stash of cards as examples for ones I want to make again.

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

11. What is your favorite stamping magazine? That’s a hard one. I like most of them.

12. What are your favorite Repeat Impressions’ designs? The hilarious sentiments, the flowers and the light houses.

13. What are your other interests besides stamping? Enjoying family/friends, spending quality time with my husband (he’s my hero), cooking and wine tasting.

14. Name your favorite food and one food you can’t stand. Shrimp tempura roll yummy!!! I can’t stand peas or liver.

15. What is your guilty pleasure? Shopping for shoes and more stamping items.

16. Do you have any pet peeves? Inconsiderate people and anyone who tries to steal my joy!!

17. Tell us one random thing people may not know about you. I have a twin sister.

18. Name 3 things on your “bucket list”. Go to Italy, learn how to play the piano and renew my wedding vows.

19. If you were going to be stuck on a deserted island, what person and food would you take along? My husband, a bottle of Chardonnay, and sushi.

20. If you have to choose a movie title for your life story, what would that be? I’m not sure….I don’t watch a lot of movies.

Thank you, Dana, for sharing your responses here with us. It was fun learning more about you! And I know you’ll all want to keep up with Dana’s latest creations too so be sure to visit her blog, Got Joy Creations. While you’re there don’t forget to leave her some love!

And before I sign off… a friendly reminder. If you haven’t created a card for our latest Sketch Challenge yet, we sure hope you will soon! Submissions are being accepted until next Tuesday, 6/15. Please refer to my WHAT IF? Wednesday post from 6/2 for all the details. Don’t be shy… play along with our sketch, upload a link to your card here on the RI blog and you’ll automatically be entered to win a $25 Repeat Impressions gift certificate!

Happy Wednesday everyone and thank you for stopping by!

Wendy

Today I’m excited to bring you another Rock Star Spotlight post! Repeat’s Rock Stars are all eager to get to know each other a bit better and we thought we’d share the fun with you. This week we’re getting acquainted with Michele Greenwood.

1. Tell us a little about your family. I have been married for 18 years to Jim; we have 3 children, two girls and one boy. We live in a very small community - 700 people; count our dogs and we’re up to 704! We stay very busy with sports - baseball, basketball, football, volleyball - you name it, our kids are in it. Our oldest will enter high school next year - YIKES!

2. How did you get into stamping? I had the privilege of being a stay-at-home mom for 2 years and my neighbor got me started in scrapbooking. It was fun, but when I discovered the immediate gratification of stamping a card; well, I was hooked; haven’t looked back since…um, haven’t touched those scrapbooks either!

3. What is your favorite technique? It changes all the time - I love the distressed look - whether with inks or an edging tool. Can I call clean & simple a technique? Not always easy to achieve, but I like it!

4. What is your favorite tool? Scor-Pal

5. What are your favorite embellishments? Pearls, flowers, buttons, gems - BLING!!!

6. What is your favorite coloring method? Copics

7. What is your favorite color combo? Anything with chocolate/khaki - pink and brown, blue and brown.

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

Michele recently shared this adorable card with me that she created using our Nap Time Fairy stamp. I think this really illustrates her answer to this question, don’t you?!

9. Do you always send the cards you create? Yes, or give them to my friends to use.

10. For which occasion or holiday do you create the most cards? Valentine’s Day probably.

11. What is your favorite stamping magazine? Paper Crafts

12. What are your favorite Repeat Impressions’ designs? Oh the flowers, love the flowers!!

13. What are your other interests besides stamping? Reading, listening to music, anything our kids are doing.

14. Name your favorite food and one food you can’t stand. Oh, lots of favorites - Mexican, Italian & Chinese. Can’t stand? plain, cooked spinach.

15. What is your guilty pleasure? Honestly? Creating! Being a full-time mom, working outside the home, 3 kids, hubby and sporting events keep me incredibly busy, so my true indulgence is taking time to create!

16. Do you have any pet peeves? Not really.

17. Tell us one random thing people may not know about you. I’m under 5 ft. tall.

18. Name 3 things on your “bucket list”. Travel to New Zealand; meet Tony Stewart, attend a NASCAR event at a different track than the ones we’ve seen so far.

19. If you have to choose a movie title for your life story, what would that be? My Chaotic Life

Thanks so much, Michele, for sharing your responses here with us! It’s been fun and a real pleasure getting to know you better. I know you’ll all want to keep up with Michele’s latest creations so be sure to visit her blog, Whimsical Creations and don’t forget to leave her some love too!

Thanks for taking time out of your busy week to visit today! Hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend too!

Wendy

P.S. If you haven’t created a card for our Sketch Challenge yet, we hope you will soon. We’d love to see your creations! Submissions are being accepted until next Tuesday, 6/1. Just add your card link to my last WHAT IF? Wednesday post for your chance to win a $25 Repeat Impressions gift certificate!

Today I’m excited to bring you our first Rock Star Spotlight post! The Rock Stars are all eager to get to know each other a bit better and we thought we’d share the fun with you. Over the last few weeks you’ve seen how talented these women are, but starting today we’re going to get a glimpse into the person behind the art. We’ll be spotlighting a Rock Star on the alternate Wednesdays when we’re not introducing a new sketch challenge.

Unbeknownst to her, (until now!) Joy Hadden is in our Spotlight this week. Somebody had to be first after all and I really enjoyed her responses to my questionnaire! What better way to learn more about our Design Team members than to play a game of 20 questions. So here we go… some questions about stamping and some random stuff just for the fun of it!

1. Tell us a little about your family. I have been married 40 years to my high school sweetheart. We have raised 3 wonderful girls who married 3 of the best men in Texas! God has given us 6 super grandkids.

2. How did you get into stamping? My best friend - my sister got me started stamping and scrapbooking.

3. What is your favorite technique? My favorite technique is heat embossing. I use it with every sentiment and any stamp I plan to color with Copic Markers.

4. What is your favorite tool? My favorite tool is a Stamp A Ma Jig. My first one I made from Leggos! Haaa, I’ve come a long way since then.

5. What are your favorite embellishments? Vintage Ribbon that I find at antique markets is my favorite embellishment!

6. What is your favorite coloring method? I chose Copic markers over pencils for coloring.

7. What is your favorite color combo? Anything with pink is my favorite color combination.

8. If you had to describe your stamping style with 3 words, what would they be? If I’m making something personally, not needing to use a company’s stamps or paper I think my style would be described as soft, feminine and vintage.

9. Do you always send the cards you create? I don’t always send the cards I create. A couple of times a year I send a shoebox full of my cards to Cards for Soldiers.

10. For which occasion or holiday do you create the most cards? Christmas is the time of year I make most of my cards and projects.

11. What is your favorite stamping magazine? I love reading/browsing the magazine “Cards”. I’ve saved all my issues and get inspiration from them.

12. What are your favorite Repeat Impressions’ designs? My favorite RI designs are the lighthouses - most are actual lighthouses our family has visited. These stamps bring back wonderful memories of happy days spent in Maine with my family.

13. What are your other interests besides stamping? My second love is jewelry designing. I have a studio where I take vintage jewelry and make charm bracelets. I love taking the lost and forgotten stuff at the bottom of a jewelry box and make a bracelet. Sometimes my clients will bring me a beautiful single earring (they’ve lost the mate) and I’ll design a bracelet around that.

14. Name your favorite food and one food you can’t stand. I never met a food I didn’t like - I even like brussel sprouts.

15. What is your guilty pleasure? My guilty pleasure is sleeping late!

16. Do you have any pet peeves? A pet peeve of mine is ungrateful people.

17. Tell us one random thing people may not know about you. One random thing about me is that I scored very high during my concealed handgun license class.

18. Name 3 things on your “bucket list”. There are 3 special things on my bucket list. One is to visit Ireland, finish remodeling our vacation house and an Alaskan Cruise with all my family.

19. If you were going to be stuck on a deserted island, which 5 books, movies, people and foods would you take along?
Stranded on a deserted island I would take these books: my Bible, a good hymnal, Wuthering Heights by E. Bronte, Why Courage Matters by McCain, and Courage and Consequence because it is a frank account of what Carl Rove witnessed during the Bush years, I’ve started it but not finished.

I love, love old movies so on a deserted island I’d take: Penny Serenade (Irene Dunne), Now Voyager (Betty Davis), Babes on Broadway (Busby Berkley happy sing along movie), Shall We Dance (Ginger Rogers/Fred Astaire), and From Here to Eternity (Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra).

The people I’d take are: my sister - she is SO much fun, my husband - he is so smart, Ronald Reagan - he is so wise and optimistic, Steve Martin - he is so funny, and Laura Bush - she is so sophisticated and calm.

We would eat: Lobster, White bread, Chess Pie, DIET PEPSI! and Chicken Soup.

20. If you have to choose a movie title for your life story, what would that be? A movie title for my life would be “The More the Merrier” (classic with Jean Arthur). The more family, the more friends, the more stamping, the more food the merrier we all would be!!!

Thank you, Joy, for sharing your responses here with us! I think I can speak for everyone when I say it’s been a real pleasure getting to know you better. I know you’ll want to keep up with Joy’s latest creations so be sure to visit her blog, Pieces of Joy Hadden and don’t forget to leave her some love too!

Happy Hump Day everyone and thank you for stopping by today!

Wendy

P.S. If you haven’t created a card for our Sketch Challenge yet, we hope you will soon. Submissions are being accepted until next Tuesday, 5/18.