Nicole

Hi Peeps! I'm Nicole. I'm from Pittsburgh, PA- lived here all my life, outside the 7 years I spent in Lancaster, Ohio when I was little. I've been married for 3-1/2 years to a great guy who has an awesome second job at PNC Park (Pittsburgh's baseball stadium that has a wonderful view of the city, too bad we don't have a good team to go with it lol). We have a 3 year old son, JD, who loves to keep us busy and always hams it up for the camera. :) I bartend part time at a neighborhood bar while attending community college for a double major in Business Management and Medical Insurance and will be done by the end of August. (I can't wait!)

I've always been creative since I was little, but didn't get into stamping until 3 years ago. After JD was born, I got into scrapbooking so I could save all the memories in something more than just a photo album. My first scrapbook album went to my sister-in-law for her wedding. And thinking back on it, I'm so embarrassed because it was completely plain lol! My friend, Tricia, has been making amazing cards with stamps for years and I always loved them! So I took the plunge and grabbed a few $1 wood-mounted stamps from Michaels to see if I could actually do it myself and I was hooked. It was Tricia who introduced me to Papertrey last spring and I immediately fell in love!

I'm thrilled to be a part of this amazing group and can't wait to get to know everyone and have fun! =)

Heather

Hi everyone! :) My name is Heather, and I'm the next of the Papertrey Peeps to post an intro. :)

I live in Columbia, MD with my husband Jason, our 4 1/2 year old daughter Lindsay, and an assortment of little boogers (aka our 3 cats and our Aussie pup). Our daughter is a total spitfire, and I just love her to pieces. :)

I was born in England, and have spent most of my life in the US (in Maryland and Virginia), except for the four years we lived in Canberra, Australia (my mom was career Air Force).

I was introduced to the world of stamping back in late 2005 when my husband's aunt invited me to a stamp camp... :) I signed up to be a demo (for the discount...LOL), and plunged head first into stamping.  I ended up taking a blogging/crafting break over 2008, and when I returned to stamping in January of 2009, I was shocked beyond belief when I was asked to be a member of SCS's Dirty Dozen.  I mean, seriously... ME? LOL! It was a wonderful 6 months, and I grew and changed so much during that time.  I also stumbled upon PTI by way of Dawn McVey's blog back in February of 2009, and man oh man, it was quite the slippery slope! A year later and here I am... Hopelessly addicted. :)


Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this group! I'm really looking forward to getting to know you all better! :)

Linda

Hi Peeps. I'm Linda W, a Jersey Girl, born and raised. (My favorite T-shirt is "Jersey Girls don't do gas". I tried once and pinched my finger so bad, I haven't tried since!) My husband Hans and I have two grown sons, two granddaughters and one grandson. I have a degree in Mathematics and was certified to teach Math in grades 7-12. However, I graduated in a year when jobs where few and far between so I worked for an insurance company as an actuarial assistant for a few years until our first son was born and then I became a SHM.
When our boys started college, I tried to return to the work force unsuccessfully and turned to volunteer work in our church. This led to a position as secretary to our Minister which I held for six years.
Following some serious health issues, Hans was offered early retirement in 2002 and we never looked back. We searched for several years until we found our dream of a circa 1797 stone farmhouse in southern Lancaster County, PA. We added a bedroom and bath for an in-law suite on the first floor and my mother joined us in the move. We absolutely love it here.
I started scrapbooking when we had our first granddaughter in 2001 and that led to my interest in stamps. However, no one warned me how I would fall head over heals in love when I discovered PTI. You can find me working at the top of the stairs on my little landing with a glass of chocolate milk on my desk. I leave that behind when I move to the vanity in the bathroom to work on a larger surface. (It may sound strange, but it's true.)
I love to sing (after many years of study I almost majored in music, but back then I also needed to play the piano and that settled that!), quilting is a huge part of my life, and I also like to do tole and decorative painting.
I love participating in the PTI forum and activities and being a part of this group filled with such talented and caring women. Thanks for letting me enjoy the fun!

Nerina

Hi Peeps! It’s Nerina here and it’s my chance to let you know something about me :0) I was born and raised in Sunny South Africa, lived for a while in London, England and now reside in Beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

I am blessed beyond measure to have met and married my soul mate; – my hunkadorus and I have just celebrated our 20th Wedding Anniversary! We met in a very traditional hospital setting where I was a junior nurse and he an honoured intern. Our very first conversation occurred over a patient whom I couldn’t single handedly move into a more comfortable position…..and the rest is history!

We have 4 fantastic children, ranging in age from 10 – 16, who brighten up our lives beyond measure. I still don’t know what teenage terrors are; these are the most helpful people of my acquaintance! I’m a homeschooling mum – something I find both terrifying and rewarding.

We are an animal loving family with a very gentle and adored Golden Retriever and 2 Shih-Tzu dogs (also known as ‘the cats’). We have tame chipmunks who come to visit us in our back yard, one of which we hand reared after its mother died last spring.

Creativity has always been a part of my life. I started fine art at school, but gave it up after my eldest was born. I tend to be very right-brain creative and lose track of time and place when drawing – something that doesn’t blend well with small children! I have also enjoyed other creative hobbies, including knitting and embroidery ( tone on tone candlewicking embroidery). I have been a scrapbooker for many years, but recently found that card making is even more enjoyable, as I get to start and finish a project in a reasonable amount of time and have total control over colours and composition – which one doesn’t always get when pulling these details out of photographs.

I’m a non-fiction book lover with special interests in History, Theology and Philosophy/Worldview. On Sundays I am active in our church and lead worship on rotation. (I’m a guitar player and enjoy singing! :0)

The other passion of my life is the well-being of children in the third world. I mentor 8 children - 6 in Burkina Faso, 1 in Tanzania and 1 in Kenya. Beautiful people who are planning a future and trying so hard to win against sometimes insurmountable odds.

I’m thrilled to be a part of the Peeps group. Although the group is new, there has been enough time to get a taste of what this incredibly talented company of ladies is capable of! Thanks for including me in your creative journey!

Cammie

Hello, fellow peeps! I'm Cammie Murphree; Cammie is short for Camellia, not really sure why my parents chose Camellia except that my father said he wouldn't be able to remember how to spell Penelope, so I became Cammie instead of Penny. I was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and haven't lived anywhere else. Knoxville is in east Tennessee about an hour from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. My husband and I began dating in high school, dated for six years, and have been married for thirty-three years. We don't have children but tend to baby our two cats, Lucy and Gus.

I taught high school English for 30 years. In fact, this photo is one of my last school pictures. While it may be fun watching your children grow up through school photos, it's not so much fun watching myself grow old(er) in school photos. :) In May 2008, at age 53, I retired. While it was the right decision and I don't regret it, it was very difficult to leave and I shed some tears. When needed, I do some volunteer work at the school; recently I worked with some seniors who are at risk of not graduating,helping them with their research papers.

I've enjoyed different crafts for many years. When I was young, I did embroidery with my mother and grandmother. I also have done latch hook, macrame, needlepoint, cross-stitch, and stenciling although I did very little crafting during the last 10 years that I was working. After I retired, I was at a holiday sale, where a local company was selling brass stencils that you can use for dry embossing. Claire Brennan of Waltzingmouse has a post about these stencils and company here. As I was buying some of the stencils, the girl told me she was teaching a class at a LSS, so I went. I loved all the papers, embellishments, and gadgets to use. I became interested in stamping, started doing research on the internet, and discovered PTI in November 2008. I placed my first order last January and have had fun this past year buying supplies, organizing a small craft area in our study, spending time creating, visiting blogs, and meeting wonderfully warm and super talented people. Card making has truly been a new world to me this past year.

I also enjoy puttering in the garden and hiking in the mountains. And I love to read. I'm a slow reader of non-fiction, so often those nonfiction library books are due before before I've finished them. But I can lose myself and many hours in fiction and race through a novel. I'd love to know some of your recommendations for a good read. My husband and I hope to resume our travels around the US and abroad someday. But shorter trips around the eastern part of the country will do have to do for now.

I'm so inspired by your creations and so fortunate to be part of this group.

Terri

Hi Everyone! My name is Terri Moore. I was born and raised in Denver CO and have never lived anywhere else. I have been married to my husband Rich for over 15 years and we have an 11 year old daughter named Emilia who I home school. We also have a 4 year old Black Lab mix named Sophie and a 3 year old Westie named Lily. I have been doing nails part time out of my home for over 15 years now specializing in hand painted nail art.

I have always been a very artistic person. I got into stamping about 5 years ago when an online friend of mine sent me some Close To My Heart Stamps. Shortly after that I found out about the Technique Junkies and I was hooked. Unfortunately a short time later I found out that I could not sell the things I made with CTMH stamps and sold most of them. After that I started using The Angel Company stamps in my work instead because they had a true angle policy but I still missed using clear stamps. A few months later I found Papertrey Ink, I think through Debbie Olsons blog and now all my other rubber stamps pretty much sit untouched.

My other interests include knitting, crocheting, quilting,cooking,watching reality TV and the Food Network and reading biographies about famous people. I am very happy to have found this wonderful group of ladies to be a part of this group with. I also look forward to the challenges and getting to know each other even better in the future.

Amy

Hi ya Peeps! Amy here or as most people know me - Aimes! I'm originally from Derbyshire, England but now living in the city of Sheffield (still in England though!) with my special guy and soul-mate Chris. We met at Uni nearly 10 years ago and haven't been apart since! I'm lucky because he has an obsession with IT so he's my guy when it comes to technical problems and in return for the past year or so he's not had to buy a single card for any single occasion in the calendar (well, apart from cards for me!) so it works pretty well!

We have no kids but I work with them full time in a mainstream secondary school (High school) supporting any students with any difficulties (emotional and behavioural) in ANY lesson whilst also teaching literacy. It's a really demanding job but provides the most amazing job satisfaction when it goes to plan! I'm a busy kinda gal so you'll often see me dashing around at work and out of work too - there just aren't enough hours in the day so come the weekend I make a real effort to get inky!

I've been stamping and blogging for about a year now and discovered PTI in March 2009 thanks to my fellow bloggin' buddy Kate. We run a blog together called A Passion For Papertey in which we....umm....well.....share our passion for all things Papertrey!

When getting inky, I wish I had a dedicated room but I'm in the corner of our spare room so it's very cramped but I'll always manage to squeeze a cup of tea on my table somewhere! My main issue is tidying up after an inky session. To suggest I'm not a tidy meticulous stamper is an understatement!

I think my stamping dream would firstly be to get on a design team or get published (or both!) and then to be able to make a living out of my creative outlet. Maybe this year I'll be brave enough to submit something...

My other hobbies apart from the obvious include playing the bass guitar, reading pretty much anything and drawing. I cannot resist the urge to doodle and draw if my hands have nothing else to do.

Finally, I'm so glad to be a part of this group and I'm already getting lots of inspiration from my fellow peeps' creations!