Starving Artistamps Gallery: DoodleFactory Easter

It is an honor and a pleasure to share with you a new special guest designer, the lovely and talented canadian scrap and stamp artist Jenn McMillan. What attracted me to Jenn's cards is her clean lines, fun stitchery and skilled use of color.

Take a look at the fabulous cards Jenn designed for us and get to know a little bit about Jenn in her interview biography:

1. Tell us a little bit about your life:

Marketing Project Manager by day – Scrampaholic by night! My husband, 2 fur babies and I live in Ottawa Ontario Canada, and I’ve been papercrafting hard-core for about 6 years! I had always kept old-skool scrapbooks; the ones with pictures of your friends, concert tickets, newspaper articles, etc. since I can remember, but I didn’t fully get into scrapbooking and stamping until I met my husband. His mother got me my first paper cutting system for Christmas the first year we were together, and I haven’t looked back!

2. Tell us your favorite top 5 stamping supplies that would have to go with you to a deserted island: (excluding stamps, cardstock and a paper cutter).

1 – Liquid Glass / Crystal Effects – this is the most versatile product EVER! Not only is it perfect medium to embellish your stamped images or jazz up boring brads, it’s an amazing adhesive! Guaranteed it will ensure your grass skirt doesn’t fall apart while you’re waiting to be rescued!

2 – EZ-Mount – ALL of my wooden block stamps have been converted to cling with EZ-Mount! I purchase all of my rubbah stamps either already on EZ-Mount, or just plain rubbah, and then put them on EZ-Mount separately! It is a God send! Not only do I love using my clear blocks with my EZ mount, but all of the left over wooden blocks will be perfect for starting a bon fire! Hehe!

3 – Ribbon! I must be having an off day if I don’t use even the tiniest bit of ribbon on my projects.

4 – Buttons are a MUST HAVE for me – I have about 10 mason jars of different colours FULL! They are the most inexpensive embellishment you can find – just think – every time you buy a new shirt or jacket, that nice company just GIVES you a new button for your stash! That’s so thoughtful of them! J

5 – Hmm… last thing to bring on a deserted island… my graph paper pad… not only do I get ink all over myself when I’m stamping, but I get it EVERYWHERE else as well so it saves my desk top! I always work on my graph pad – especially when I’m working with a new sketch and I want to change the size of the card – it’s perfect to draw out the finished piece and get the measurements right, before you get half way done and decide to toss it because it wasn’t working out.

3. Where do you find inspiration for your stamping?

I whole-heartedly admit to being a blog stalker! The majority of my inspiration comes from other stampers and scrapbookers (there is some CRAZY talent out there in blog land) – and the rest comes from my marketing and graphic design background. If I see an ad or layout in a magazine that I like, I will more than likely either try it on a card or scrapbook layout, or put it into my sketch book to play with later.

4. Give a new stamper just starting out your best tips for successful stamping:

Don’t overdo it! We all aspire to be a pro, and create amazing stamped artwork! But what we don’t always realize is that the artist who created that AMAZING card, with the CUTEST stamped image, and IMPECCABLE coloring, has more than likely a few years of practice under her belt! If you’re like me, try something new, and don't get discouraged because it didn’t come out EXACTLY like the one you saw on that blog you visited, don’t stress! Practice makes perfect! If you want to learn a new technique, take a class! Or watch/look at a tutorial! Start simple and create something that makes you happy! I’m a visual learner, so I find it easy to catch on if someone shows me how to do it, and then I try it myself.

Create in a space that you feel comfortable; physically and mentally. Whether it’s your dining room table or a desk in your home office; make sure that you are comfortable in your environment – and don’t forget a comfy chair cushion!!

5. If you had the opportunity to design your most perfect stamp set what would it be?

That’s a hard one! It would have to be a funny Pug stamp set! My dog Buck is a pug, and there are never any cute Pug images in stamps, at least none that I’ve found! He makes the cutest expressions, and it would be great to use for everyday greeting cards!