My creative progression... so far!

I was always a creative person, and have had my hands in many different outlets from as far back as I can remember... crosstitching, knitting, writing songs/stories/poems, designing clothing on paper, sewing, and scrapbooking, to name a few. And then I had kids, and that all went out the window (except for knitting, which I actually started FOR my kids, to make wool covers for our cloth diapers).

Then, my sister invited me to join a Stampin' Up! monthly club with her. I hesitated at first, because I always thought stamps weren't versatile enough, and I had NO interest in making cards... I rarely even remembered to BUY cards for people. But, the Demonstrator and some of the other club members were my sister's close friends, whom I'd always really liked, so I thought it would be fun. And I SWORE, I would just make the cards in class, and stick to just buying papers and embellishments for getting back into scrapbooking. That lasted 2 months... I was hooked! And thanks to the fact that cardmaking is a small, quick and personalized project, I've really been able to reclaim the creative spirit I'd been losing over the years, even without large chunks of time to work with.

So, to show you how I got from square one (ie. super simple, sometimes embarassingly horrid cards) to now, where I have a new level of confidence and pride in my projects, while still striving to learn and master new techniques, and one day, make stuff that I feel is up to par with my sister and my upline... here's my visual progression... (minus 2 of my favorites, which I forgot to take pictures of. My Brother-in-Law's 30th bday card, and a goodbye card to my friend/SU upline)

1st Bday

Father's Day

8 year old Bday

Wedding shower

Baby boy

I loved this one so much, I did 3 variations

Birthday

Baby shower (gender neutral)

Wedding

My son's bday

Stepdad's 60th (should have said 60, not 06, but I got them backwards)

Baby girl

Boys's bday

Boy's bday

Dad's bday

Baby shower favors

Baby shower prizes

1st bday

Baby shower

Boy's 5th bday

Dad's bday

Chipboard Christmas ornaments

Christmas card

Christmas card

Christmas card

Stampin' Up! Starter Kit Contest card (only allowed to use stuff from my Starter Kit... I loved it, except for the faux stitching I did on the ribbon)

Christmas card

Baby girl

Sister's bday