The Creative Blog Hop

Today, I'm honoured to be a part of a blog hop that's spreading through Blogland called The Creative Blog Hop.

Every Monday, a blogger is tagged. 

He or she has to answer four questions and tag three other creative bloggers. 

The idea is for us Bloggers to get to know each other a little bit better. 

The amazingly talented Alexandra Sirugue Macleod tagged me last Monday.

I was so honoured that she chose me -- she creates such wonderful cards & project life spread --

I find her work very inspiring!

So, a little about me....

My name is Leigh Davies Penner and I have been blogging since 2005.

I had been scrapbooking for almost 2 years at that time and had been involved in some

online forums and had noticed that others were starting blogs & thought I'd join in.

Since I have two brothers that don't live nearby, I thought a blog would be a great way 

for them to see pictures of my kids and keep up with what we're doing.

From there, my blog became a place for me to share my scrapbooking layouts, and later, cards.

I have been married to my husband, Cameron, for 18 years and together,

we have three beautiful children: Austin, Jonah & Sage.

(This is the most recent photo I have of all of us..... it was taken last fall.)

We live in Morden, Manitoba, Canada, where I work as a substitute teacher, which I enjoy, 

because it leaves time for me to play in my craft area.

When I'm not working or crafting, I enjoy reading, teaching Sunday School, going for bike rides,

going to taekwondo with my kids (I'm a second degree black belt & my kids are all junior black belts)

& spending time with my family & friends.

Onto the questions....

 What am I working on right now?

I love making cards and layouts!

I've been busy making some cards for a few DT assignments.

However, this year, I started a Monthly Moments pocket album & as well as a Summer Album.

This weekend, I was able to get two pages of my Summer Album done.

Here's a close up of my first page:

I love this photo of my son, Jonah, in the duct tape hammock we made!

The card that I wrote my journaling on is Studio Calico.

And here's the second page:

To make this journaling card, I die cut some white card stock using PTI's Journaling Card 1 die.

I stamped the border using PTI's Monthly Moments: Travel Plans and aqua mist ink.

I diecut and stamped the peach (from PTI's Scent-imentals).

The sentiment is Studio Calico.

(I'm linking this up to this week's Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Summer.)

 Why do I created what I do?

I started scrapbooking when my second son, Jonah, was nine months old.

It was love at first sight!

I'd always loved taking photos and preserving memories and scrapbooking was such a lovely way to do this!

However, I also really enjoy the creative process -- playing with pretty papers & embellishments

and later, stamping and creating my own.

People always say how much my kids will appreciate my albums..... but quite honestly,

while I know this is true, I mostly do it for me. 

So I will remember, but also because I just really enjoy making layouts. :)

When I started stamping in 2011, I also starting making cards, which I also love!

It's just such a fun hobby that really makes me happy in so many ways....

How does my work differ from others in my genre?

I would say that I'm equally a scrapbooker & a card maker.

I would describe my style as clean & pretty.

I recently starting selling my cards in a local gift store & as the owner looked through

my cards, she kept saying: "Oh, these are so fun!"

I'm not sure how my work really differs, but I do know that I have my own style

and I love being creative with the elements I put together.

How does my creative process work?

I spend a lot of time thinking about layouts & cards.... coming up with ideas, etc.

I often keep a notebook with me (especially at work) and will sketch out ideas.

Then, when I have time to stamp, I'll pull out my notebook and get to work.

With scrapbooking, I'll start with patterned papers that coordinate with my photos.

With cards, I usually start with a stamp set (or two, or more) and go from there.

Okay, now that I've shared with you about me,

it's time to introduce the people I'm tagging my the hop.

Now, I have to explain that I contacted five people and three got back to me

and said, with it being summer and having other things going on, 

that unfortunately, they couldn't participate in the hop.

But I decided to still share their names and blogs here for you to check out, 

because you won't be sorry you did:

Elena Roussakis -- she makes the sweetest cards and plans amazing parties!

Sherri Funk -- she creates the most fabulously fun scrapbooking layouts 

Amy Kolling -- her CAS style is so lovely & eye-catching 

I have two "taggers" that said they could participate in the hop:

The first is the incredibly talented Joni Andaya, 

who will be posting for The Creative Blog Hop next Monday, August 25th.

I've been following Joni's blog for over a year now and she creates the most beautiful cards!

 They are all seriously jaw-dropping and I'm in awe of her talent, creativity & skill.

I'm quite thrilled to be on two design teams with her: Reverse Confetti & Pretty Pink Posh.

And the second is the equally talented Erin Taylor,
who will be also be posting for The Creative Blog Hop next Monday, August 25th.
I'm not sure how I first came across Erin's blog -- it was probably through Papertrey Ink.
However, I quickly added her to my list of favourite blogs to visit.
She makes such lovely cards and has such a great eye for design.
She also creates wonderful scrapbooking layouts, which I enjoy immensely.
She also contacted me last fall and we did a joint challenge together which was lots of fun!

I want to thank Alexandra again for choosing me to be in the hop --
it really meant a lot for me to be chosen!

Thanks for looking!