Sunday, December 22, 2013

'Tag you're it' Top Talent


Welcome back to Our Creative Corner's December Top Talent!

        I hope all of you are having as stress-free a lead up to Christmas as possible....as I am writing this my Christmas Day Gravy is bubbling away on the stove  (I am queen of preparing early!) and the kids presents are wrapped up and hidden in the hall cupboard - shhh....don't tell them! ;o)

        Anyway, take a short break from all the Christmas preparations that threaten to engulf us and sit down with a cup of tea as we welcome Maisie Moonshine to the OCC spotlight!

      As you might remember Julia was running the October 'Tag it on' challenge and she had the very difficult job of selecting a winner and Top 3.  She chose Maisie's very spooky skeleton tag and Maisie has made something very special for us today. As usual, before we see her wonderful festive creation,  let's find out about the artist first!
1) Where do you live?


I live in a village on the outskirts of Stafford in the UK

2)  Describe yourself in five words?


I asked No.1 Son to help me with this one - he came up with "caring, considerate, mildly entertaining and ... short" -  I was pleasantly surprised!


3)  Are you a day-time or night-time crafter?

Both. 

I have a bit of a split personality when it comes to crafting - I run my own business making hand sewn decorations, so I craft for my "day job", and in the run up to, and between, craft fairs I tend to work all hours to maintain my stock levels. My paper crafting has to fit in around my work schedule as I do both in the same room. I tend to find that I'm at my most productive when I get back from doing the afternoon school run.

I have suffered from insomnia for most of my adult life, so I will often retreat to my craft room in the wee small hours and occupy myself until I'm tired enough to sleep (which is partly how the name Maisie Moonshine came about) - that and the fact Sally Sunshine (my original choice of blogger avatar) turned out to be a rather saucy oriental lady!


4)  What supply wouldn't you do without when it comes to crafting?

 I wouldn't do without my Distress and Dylusions Inks but I COULDN'T do without my stamps - thankfully, even though I can't draw, there are plenty of very talented artists out there who can, and they have very kindly made their images available for me to borrow!

5)  
What is the most useless item that you have purchased for your crafts?

My  ShapeBoss - I've had it since 2009 and have used it once, perhaps it is time to find it a new home.

6)  
If you have lost your Mojo, how do you go about getting it back?

I have found that joining in with challenges such as those at OCC can really kick start your creativity. There is usually a set of rules and design parameters you have to abide by, so it narrows down the field a bit and you can concentrate on meeting the challenge criteria rather than having blank canvas terror.

I subscribe to Craft Stamper and am usually inspired by at least one project in each issue, I don't always have all the right supplies, but I really enjoy the challenge of finding work-arounds to get a similar effect. I can't always find the time to play but having the back issues to refer to in dry times really does help. I love Art Journaling magazine too - but mainly I just get art journal envy when I read it!

The Internet obviously provides loads of inspiration, from blogs to Pinterest to YouTube videos of new techniques, even a flip through Google images can throw up an eye catching colour combination or design. 

Sometimes a new craft supply might be all it takes for inspiration to strike - I knew how my Creepy Castle Tag was going to look as soon as I saw the Gothic arch window in my local craft store.

7)  Do you pre-sketch a design or do you just wing it? How long does it usually take you to make a project?

Pre-sketch? Moi? I would if I could - but I CAN'T draw. If the design in my head is very complicated or it is evolving over a few days (well nights really) I will probably jot down some notes, but mostly I tend to wing it. 

It can take me days to design and make a project - I am almost completely self taught and my lack of art skills and self confidence tends to trip me up and I will spend hours mentally rejecting design after design before I finally decide on "the one".  I am a lot of a perfectionist, so I won't start something unless I am sure it will come out like I imagine it. I have to have an idea of what the finished project will look like, I can't just throw stuff at the page and see what happens - I'm too much of a control freak!

Other times, of course, I know in a second what I want to do and how it will look, some fine details might change during the making process but the overall design is just there - a light bulb moment, if you like.


       Maisie has made us the most wonderful festive garland to decorate 'Our Creative Corner' this Christmas!


















         
Thank you so much Maisie Moonshine for being here today in the Top Talent Spotlight and creating such a gorgeous Christmas Garland for us.  It has been a pleasure to feature your work.




If you want to see more photos and details of how it was made, then please go along to Maisie's blog Maisie's Moonshine and say "Hello" - I am sure she would love to see you there! 




Would you like everyone to see your work here under the 'Our Creative Corner' Spotlight? You could be here as our 'Top Talent' with the spotlight shining on something you have created! All you have to do is enter Laura's Very Vintage Christmas challenge.  There is one more week of her challenge left, so why not have fun creating! 

         

      We all hope you will come back to see us on the 1st January when there will be some very  exciting news for you! We have BIG plans for 2014!!!!

From the team at Our Creative Corner - we all hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year!!!


See you all in 2014!!!!

7 comments:

  1. What a beautiful garland Maisie. I love your work (as you know I hope!) and your sense of humour always makes me giggle. So pleased you have been given a spotlight at Our Creative Corner, and can't wait to see what 2014 has in store for you. Jenny xxx

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  2. Thank you to everyone at Our Creative Corner, for picking me as a Top Talent and for featuring my work again today. I'm looking forward to joining in again in the New Year, but for now Merry Christmas to you all. MMx

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  3. Congratulations on your win. Must be your best Christmas Present.

    Julie x

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  4. This is my third attempt at leaving a message, hopefully it will work this time. Maisie, your garland is really beautiful, I just adore that bauble hanging from the 'N'. I hope we see a lot more of you in 2014 and it has been lovely to get to know a bit more about you. Hope you have a wonderful holiday season. Anne x

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  5. This is beautiful, Maisie,

    and so festive! Thank you for sharing your gorgeous art with us over here!
    Have a merry X-mas and all the best in 2014!

    Claudia x

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  6. Love the garland, beautifully festive! It was great to get to know all about your creative process and find out a little about the lady behind all those original and creative makes. Have a lovely Christmas. Julie Ann xx

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  7. I'm so sorry I missed this Maisie!! Your garland is beautiful and it would look gorgeous on one of the old fireplaces in my new home. So interesting to read about you too! We have a few things in common such as textiles and crafting!
    Juliaxx

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