Guest Designer Jennifer McMurtrey

Welcome today's guest designer and Craft Warehouse Scrapbook Design Team Alumni, Jennifer McMurtrey!

How long have you been crafting?

Crafting has been ingrained in me from a young age thanks to my mom who has always loved to sew and create various projects. I can remember a period of time when she was frequenting the craft bizarre circuit and I would help her make popcorn balls to sell at shows in the park. One of her hot sellers that I specifically recall is the scissor holders Mom made by sewing pot holders in half. They were so awesome and you could hang them from the loop!

I started scrapbooking about ten years ago when a friend introduced it to me; however, I have been seriously crafting for the past four years. What I mean by seriously is that I have been working on pushing myself creatively and going out of my comfort zone with my designs and processes. This push is what motivated me to venture into mixed media, and I totally hooked.

What inspires you to be creative?

Being creative is very long process for me unfortunately. When working a project, I have to think about it and process it for several days before I can even start. It can be quite frustrating. My time on the Craft Warehouse Design Team definitely forced me to work under pressure and deadlines.
My family is my biggest source of inspiration when crafting and I love capturing the everyday moments in our lives. It is so fun to remember those random, funny moments that we all experience. I have never been one to scrapbook from birth to present and do everything in order. Other people I know use this method, but it seems more like work than fun. My crafting is focused on what I am feeling at that moment and what is important to me at that time. More importantly, being creative soothes my soul and restores peace in my very hectic life.

What Craft Warehouse products do you love to use?

Oh goodness! What products don’t I use should be the question! Craft Warehouse has been my very favorite craft supply store for years. I love that I can find new product as well as the tried and true staples in my supplies.

My longtime favorite products have always been My Mind’s Eye and Cosmo Cricket. These two satisfy my need for pretty and quirky in one stop. My newest favorites are Echo Park, Crate Paper, and Jillibean Soup products. These lines are just plain awesome and I am now a hoarder of anything I can get my hands on. If I could only list one more product that is my favorite, it has to be the Mr. Huey paints. I was introduced to these by my design team friends at a retreat last spring and I now own every color! These versatile paints can be used on my paper crafting as well as my mixed media projects – I love them!

 

When it comes to crafting and creating art, the biggest lesson for me has been to appreciate my style and stop trying to be like other designers. I have a bad habit of comparing myself to other people and I can’t do that. I am who I am and what I create is the best for me and my ability. Trust me, I have very talented friends who are recognized nationally and it can be somewhat intimidating. However, I just keep plugging along, learning from others, and creating what pleases me.

You can read more about Jennifer on her blog, Capture the Everyday Moments, and Facebook! Make sure to join us tomorrow with her step by step mixed media canvas tutorial!