Featured Cardmaker: Brenda U., Houston, TX

Happy Friday everyone! This week I'd like you to meet Brenda from Houston. Be sure to leave her some love in a comment here and then go visit her great blog Infinite Possibilities, where you can see lots more of her beautiful cards. 

How long have you been stamping?
I have been stamping for about 3 years, a lovely lady in South Africa, where I was living at the time, introduced me to this wonderful world!

Do you have a craft room or specific area where you stamp/craft?
I am very privileged to have my own craft room.  We converted one of the bedrooms that we had in excess to a craft room, thank goodness or else the house would be very messy!

What are your favorite stamp/craft products?
Distress Inks and Glossy Accents, I cannot seem to do without these.  Oh, and dimensional adhesive. Yes, and good cardstock!  And as much as possible, (95%), clear, great quality photopolymer clear stamps!  I do like some dies and have a few favorite companies. Almost forgot, I have developed a love for Copic Markers!

Do you have a favorite technique?
I am just a mixed bag really!  I like to try anything new at least once, as long as it feels like it fits with who I am. Every now and then I get the coloring bug and I have to use my Copic Markers. I’m not really good with patterned paper, so I tend to stamp on cardstock to make my own backgrounds.  And if I can use my distress inks then I will.  I am also not a great embellisher, I just love to stamp.  Paper piecing is great fun too!

Are there colors you love to include on your cards?
I do love Kraft, white, blues, yellows, pinks…well, I am not fussy really.  I don’t really have a good eye for colours so I keep my colour wheel handy and I also pick up from other talented crafters when I see a colour combination that they are using that I like.

How did you hear about Operation Write Home?
We arrived in the USA just a year ago and I was wondering what I was going to do now with all these cards that I love making.  In South Africa I would go to my daughters nursery school because the working Moms had no time to go to the shops so they found it convenient to buy my cards when they were dropping off their little ones. So when I got here, I was paging through a PaperCrafts magazine I think it was, and they had an article about OWH so I googled the site and there and then decided that I wanted to be one of those people who helped another get a loving word back home.

What motivates you to make cards for our heroes?
Well, I have no connection to anyone in the armed forces, and I am not American.  But for me, it’s about being part of the bigger picture, helping and caring for others.  And this is a fantastic way to practice these qualities and make them come to life!  When I sit and make my cards I am always thinking about whose “hero” hands that card is going to get into and will it, can it, convey the message that they would like to bring home to a loved one.  I cannot imagine what it is like to be in their shoes, but I can understand the pain of separation and distance, and I can only believe that these cards are making a difference.