Inspired by All The Little Things {Spotlight on Jeanne Jachna}

Hello friends! Welcome to another Inspired by All the Little Things! 

Jeanne Jachna

This week I am thrilled to highlight my friend, Jeanne Jachne! She is one talented designer and an all around great pal! I sent Jeanne a pretty gold/peach inspired photo and she went to work, creating her magic! Jeanne's style is truly inspirational! She designs for challenge blogs and stamp companies alike! I love how she creates such bold and fresh designs! Here is the photo I gave her to play with! Thank you so much, Jeanne for sharing your talent with us this week!

 I hope you will be inspired to play along! The linky will be open for one month! Just look at this scrumptious card!!!

Isn't her card stunning!!! I asked her to share a bit about herself!

1. What is the name of your blog? When and why did you start it?

The name of my blog is "A Kept Life".  When I left my career to focus on family, my husband started calling me his "kept wife".    The name of my blog is a play on that expression.  I was forced to make a choice between work and family when my daughter was diagnosed with a medical condition.  I didn't feel like I was doing my job very well, because I was focused on my daughter...   and I didn't feel like a very good mom because I was feeling guilty about having to miss work.    Leaving my career allowed me to give 100% to family and capture memories with my children while they were still young.    I'm blessed by my husband who was able to support us, even if that meant a second job. 

Because I had more time I volunteered frequently school and church.   You could always count on me for goodies at the bake sale, decorating lockers, or helping out at a holiday party.  I started making  mini scrapbooks of field trips for teachers, sports seasons for coaches, and campouts for my scouting friends.   I spent lots of hours drooling over projects in my favorite magazines between basketball practice, and after school meetings.    I loved being able to personalize projects for each recipient and seeing how delighted they were to receive it. 

One day I saw a card made with a die set that matched the stamps - this was a game changer - no more fussy cutting!   I had to have this set!   The set was only available on line.  While I was on their web site I saw that they had a weekly challenge.  Maybe I could win something to help defer the cost of all the amazing products I wanted!!     The only way to play the challenge was to link to a gallery or to my blog.  But WHAT is a BLOG?    I started clicking on all  the linked up projects and was amazed!    So many great ideas for ways to use the products, and a way to express myself!!!   That was for me!!!!  So I started a Blog!!!   That was in May of 2011!  

  

2. What is your style of card making?

 I like to think I don't have a particular style of card making... I like it all!   I expect I am most known for a collage type card with a mix of pattern papers and lots and lots of layers.  I admit I do love embellishments and a pretty bow!   But I do like to try new things and am always trying to challenge my comfort level!  You might be shocked to find me playing at a CAS challenge, or playing with watercolors, but the one thing all of my projects have in common is LOTS of COLOR!   

  

3. Who inspires you as a designer?

In my "perfect world" I'm not inspired by one designer in particular.  I see beauty in diversity.  I love the unexpected.    II like many different styles and appreciate the nuances of each.   When I started blogging I had a handful of "heros" that I looked to almost daily for inspiration.  I was in awe of how they could make an amazing new design almost every single day.  After a while I saw a pattern in their projects - the same color scheme, or layout, and I lost interest.  I want to keep challenging myself - I want to be unpredictable - so I surround myself with many different designers and styles. 

  

4. What sort of things inspire you as a card maker? Photos? Sketches? Other designers?

I'm most inspired by photos.  A photograph can take me back to a specific time or place.  A photograph can make me dream of things I want to do, places I want to go.  When I'm crafting it's my sweet escape - I can go anywhere, be anything.  If it's winter, I can still be surrounded by flowers and palm trees.  If it's summer I can create a wintery wonderland.  The only limit is my imagination.  

Come and play along with us! We hope you are Inspired...

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