Today we have a very special guest joining us on the blog. Marcelle Roberts, AKA Moz. Marcelle was the winner of a set of the new FranticStamper Precision dies in our recent blog hop, and was generous enough to share some of her artwork with us as a bit of a thank you. We are amazed by her beautiful work, created with the FranticStamper Precision ides, and we are sure you will be, too!
So without further ado, let us present our interview with Marcelle, and some of her wonderful work.
•
Where do you live?
Pietermaritzburg in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa
•
Do you have family members/pets you would like to tell us about?
I am married to a darling man and we have our 40th anniversary coming up next month. We have two amazing sons, who both live in Cape Town in South Africa. One is married and we hope to be grandparents soon - they are working on it!!! Lol!
My furbaby is Jain, a black labrador, who spends her days with me in my craft room. She too has a sweet tooth and at 10am every morning, she insists I follow her to the kitchen where she stops at the kettle and waits for me to switch it on and then walks over to the cupboard where to cookie jar lives and sits down, and waits for her cookie! I am deaf and wear hearing aids and often don't hear the doorbell, so she fetches me and walks me to the door to see who is there when someone rings. My very special companion who loves my craft room as much as I do.
•
How did you get the nickname "Moz"?
My husband once commented that I buzzed around him like a mosquito, and started calling me "Mozzie" which is a nick-name for a mosquito in our country. Well, it was not long before everyone was calling me Mozzie and has shortened to Moz over the years. Most find my name, Marcelle, a jawfull, so I have stayed with Moz and all my crafting friends know me as that.
•
How long have you been stamping/card-making?
Around 30 years! When my sons were little, they attended so many birthday parties that needed birthday cards that I decided, to save money, (Big Joke!)I would make them cards. So I purchased a Colorbox Multi-Color pad and a butterfly stamp - which I still have - and made the cards with this rainbow looking butterfly. All went well until a year later they refused to give the same card to friends as they already had one, so I started looking for more stamps.
Back then in this country there was so little available, so I started making the 3-D type cards using gift wrap and doing an enormous amount of fussy cutting. Well, I started looking for stamps and pads and found a few. My stamping hit a lull for a few years as life was hectic with growing boys, working full time and a husband who was on shift work.
It was about 10 years ago that I started getting involved again and found a group of ladies who enjoyed it and we formed a club and met once a month. I converted so many friends to stamping and cardmaking that it was not long and I found myself sharing all I knew. I have an insatiable quest to learn everything, in all crafts that interest me and I have been most active since I got the internet. I follow heaps of blogs and Pinterest and have learnt so much from all my cyber crafters. I also belong to an online South African group of stampers and have had several of my swaps through this group, published in a South African crafting magazine. The RSA Group of girls initiate swaps and through that we learn more from each other as well as being in constant touch via email. It is so great to be able to share with fellow stampers.
Of course, with the internet came online shopping! Well, I think most of my salary used to go on my craft shopping and I have been buying from Fran for several years. Great excitement when the post box has a slip in to collect an overseas parcel. Sadly, we pay dearly for our crafting goodies since our currency is so weak against the US$ and we get caught at our customs and excise as well. Even that has not discouraged us and most of the group shop with Fran - a testemony of great service and a fabulous choice of products to buy!
•
Do you have a favorite stamping or card-making technique?
I have no particular lean towards any particular type of technique. I do however have to try everything once, and then decided if it stays or goes. Most times, it stays and I will use a technique if it suits the project. I am a huge fan of Dies as my quest for perfect cuts/cutting was only satisfied when Dies became available. I have just received a Cameo Sillhouette for my birthday and am trying to get into using it. It is just so easy to run a Die through the 'Bug, that I'm hoping I don't forget about the Cameo! I also love Distress Inks/Pads/Markers and am working on honing my Copic skills.
•
Do you have any other hobbies?
I have dabbled in almost every craft available to me but only a few have become my favorites. Stamping and card making is number one, with making miniature teddy bears entirely by hand, a close second. I also knit socks - passionate about my socks - crochet, embroider, do beading when the whim takes me and love to color with most mediums. Passionate about my watercolor pencils, getting much better at shading with my Copics and Prisma pencils and have just added the Derwent Artbars to my arsenel of 'color' mediums. I keep stamped images or printed digis available for working on at a moments notice. I also knit for charity. We have so many orphaned children in our country due to HIV Aids that there is a constant need for premature babies knitted caps and tops and of course squares for blankets.
•
Do you work outside the home?
I have just retired after 22 years with an Engineering company where I was the senior bookkeeper. I am totally responsible for turning my working collegues into crafting addicts, and still craft with some of them. Since I have retired, I have started teaching card making and stamping at a local paper shop. I have had the opportunity to help many ladies overcome all sorts of problems, through my crafting and for that I am so grateful!
•
Are you part of any design teams for any crafting company?
The opportunity to belong to any team has never presented itself to me.
(FranticStamper: Well, we are thrilled to have you as an honorary DT member for the day!)
•
How did you hear about the FranticStamper Blog Hop?
I think I picked it up from the shop updates?? I seem to remember Fran sending out news about a blog and I hurried over to sign up for updates and have been on board since day one, even entering a weekly sketch or two!)
•
You were offered a choice of either Series 1 or Series 3 dies when you won the Blog Candy. Which did you choose, and why?
I chose Series # 2 as I reasoned, I have punches for the 1" squares and if I used it in conjunction with Series 2 (1 1/4"), I would be able to have a frame around my square and then the die framing that. It would give me a 3 level look and that is what I used in my card I send to Fran.)
•
How are you enjoying the dies? Would you recommend them to others?
I am loving my set and have shared the news via my blog and with all I have met and seen and showed them my lovely gift.
•
Which die is your favorite die so far?
The 6 block die, as I use it as windows. It won't be long before I'm into them all and it will be hard to choose a favorite!)
•
Have you tried the dies in combinations yet?
Truthfully, no. I have not had the time to play, but it is on my 'urgent' list.
•
Do you plan to purchase other dies in the series, like the rectangles set to go with the square set you won? Why or why not?
Absolutely! I intend buying the set that is 1" squares first so that I can team it up with the set I have. I have some ideas I would like to try out. That is my next purchase from Frantic Stamper. The Rectangles will be next on the list.
