October 2011 – Sabine V.

Sabine V.
“Origami Box”

How long have you been stamping?

I started stamping between 1998 and 2000.  It all began when I became a SAHM. I decoupaged boxes and I created personalized birthday cards for family members. My mother-in-law(a crafter with children most of her life) gave me my first stamps as a birthday gift. Additionally I was hooked on collage  when my hubby accompanied my first steps into the world of the internet. Do you remember the Gingerwood  rubberstamp link collection ?  Rebekah Houdous´ Tag Art site was my first favorite 🙂   and I was very excited.  Also I had decided to contribute some Christmas cards to a bazaar arranged by our kindergarten. At the same time I came across a little German creative stamping magazine mostly done by Heindesign and I wanted to do something different than 3D   Whew – how little did I know 🙂 ! I discovered another stamper nearby (which was a miracle then shortly after we had moved to the middle of nowhere – this was how it felt after living in Hamburg for 16 yrs)  who introduced me to egroups which is Yahoo today. I joined my first stamping group and one of its members pointed me to OSA. This must have been in spring 2001. It was just in time to jump into my first swap ever which was a collaborative book project hosted by Australian stamper Sue Raison “Thoughts from the East” .  Also discovered my love for haiku poems then.

What is your favorite technique?

Collage – which combines all of the techniques I know so far…. I love to play with acrylics, gesso and sandpaper .  After our major renovation last year I like to keep my fingers clean ….  stamp, color and cut papers …. aah wait-  I´m a transfer junkie …. I´ve tried all mediums I could get my hand on and  love to put layer on layer …

The fun is the unforeseen result of an experiment. This might be because I´m more a messy  than a precise  worker.  My art teacher at school always said…. don´t use an eraser .. go with what you have drawn  and see where it takes you.  When I create this is a motto of mine. I love the process.  Very intuitive – no planning.

Favorite stamp company?

There is no favorite stamp company. I prefer no cute style but when it comes to Christmas stamps I might get weak…. I rather collect elements that are versatile to put together and collage with.

Favorite Asian stamps?

Well – none. I love Stonehouse Stamps as much as Artneko , Non Sequitur and About Art Accents or Stamp Francisco.

Favorite stamping accessory?

My score board and….  some punches that make my work look neat LOL. As of recent  I absolutely love my new speed ball brayer. After 10 yrs of stamping I managed to buy me soft rubber brayer. It´s fantastic !

Favorite colors?

I like all colors…. but I get lost in blues and greens .

Your favorite embellishment to finish a card?

I like to keep it simple and flat , so it´s mostly eyelets and ribbons or a little origami folding.

What is the one tool you couldn’t live without?

My paper cutter… I´m lousy at cutting.

Any helpful tips for the group?

Don´t hesitate to ask questions. Don´t hesitate to show your work.  Take time to look at nature for inspiration. Connect to the beauty of mother earth. Be playful. I like to listen to music that makes me dream and relax…easier to get into the zone then. Be curious.  Experiment.

As a member of OSA why do you like stamping in the Oriental theme?

There is something exotic and mysterious about the Asian people at least that´s what I think .   It is probably the fascination of the unknown.  The East is so different from our western culture.
For many years I´ve been attracted to Zen in all its varieties.  I love to incorporate words into my art so Haiku is the perfect match.

Is there any one place or city you’d like to visit to find rubber stamps?

Well –  I´d love to travel to the US one day  and shopping surely would be a point on my list but I would have to choose  I´d rather love to meet  long year email friends. Fortunately we have the internet. Maybe you´ll find me putting up a tent nearby a large bookstore.

What other stamping lists or local clubs do you belong to?

Stamptalk and some mixed media art groups. No club. OSA has become my stamping home. No other community is as friendly, caring and sharing and consistant in its group philosophy.  I appreciate this so much.

What favorite stamping magazines would you recommend?

In my first stamping years I read Somerset.   At some point  I felt I got manipulated somehow and all the pictures covered my own ideas so I stopped reading magazines. If I need inspiration today I surf the net or grab into my stash of collected magazines. I´m waiting for Vamp Stamp News to be edited electronically (waving to Nancy).

Published in any magazines?

I have been published in TAKE TEN twice. This is a couple of years ago. Non-oriental cards.

Any other hobbies, talents or craft interests?

This winter I have discovered my sewing machine. Did some felting for beginners. Love gardening and animals.  And my first love are books (reading and binding), my second was the guitar. From time to time I dabble in polymer clay and make some jewelry or create digital collages.

What inspires you to be creative?

Curiosity, the wish to express myself,  the wish to create beauty around me, something useful and pretty, to make a friend or a loved one smile. Last but not least to see if I can do it.

Art background?

Painting (grandmother), music (my dad) and my mom has been a crafter all of her life.  I took different online classes in collage before 2008 but mostly I do book studies if I´m interested in trying something new.

Have you used any unusual item in your stamping that wasn’t necessarily meant for stamping?

Let me think…I  once sponged a black lamp stand with golden Brilliance ink..  I´ve explored fabrics and different surfaces like cd´s and candles– I use to poke in hubby´s toolbox if  a special tool is lacking. In my collection of embellishments there are some fish hooks , too.

Any favorite websites you would recommend for inspiration?

Meanwhile I follow quite a few blogs of fellow artists.  For instance I like the techniques of Michelle Zindorf. From time to time I work thru a Stampscapes tutorial because I still haven´t given up on scenes. I like Splitcoast.

Do you have a day job when you’re not stamping?

I´m a housewife and SAHM and I love the independence this gives to me.  I had several little jobs for a couple of months in 2007/2008 and before family I was an application programmer on a BIG BLUE system. In 2008 I participated in a year long workshop series of energetic healing and I´m still continuing this journey and meditate regularly, learn  about bach flower remedies, homeopathics, chinese medicine and family constellations. This  all works together well and brings a lot of healing and love into our world and I´m thankful to be a contributing part of it.

Tell us about your family and where you live.

My family is my ever so supportive husband , my daughter of 15  and my son of  nearly 13.
A tomcat of 10 yrs that doesn´t always behave like a cat is also living with us.
We live 40 km north of Hamburg  in Schleswig-Holstein, the most northern state of Germany. It´s a place with about 6,000 souls and all stores are  in walking distance. When the kids were small and hubby needed the car each day I did everything by bike. Today hubby is working from his home-office and when he is not he is travelling around the world designing and building data-centres.
The kids play hockey, basketball  and their instruments are the trumpet and the guitar.  My daughter
loves to write stories and to sing and of course computer chatting, my son loves all things mathematical  , music, his waveboard and computer games.  We all love fantasy and science fiction :).  Since we live relatively close to Denmark  our summer vacation at our favorite Danish beach  together with my sister´s family is a long-time ritual.

Sabine V.
“Origami Box”

Instruction Reference: Tomoko Fuse  „fascinating origami boxes“

Materials: 

8 squares of stamped paper of  identical size,  you could also use Washi of course or vellum, I tried scrapbook paper and this works beautifully , too.  If you use thicker paper you will need a bonefolder or some similar  tool.

The paper squares have been stamped with Pearlescent Jade and Mediterranean Blue ( Brilliance)
and I used crumpled newspaper to stipple the background and a cherry branch stamp. You need 4 squares for the lid each of them folded the same way.  You see two elements finished.

For the first step you need two diagonal folds and only crease in the middle for a couple of centimeters or say 1.5 inches.

Fold the right corner to the center and unfold again.

Fold the left corner to the crease that was created in the last step.

Make a mountain fold downwards into two halfs.

Fold right corner to the left ( see mark on photo no 4 )
and unfold again.

Fold upper edge  down up to the mark (see photo 5) and unfold.
The two lines that overlap now mark the end of the next folding.

Fold up side stripe with valley fold  – stop at circle mark.

Pull down right corner and  straighten up side walls.
One of four pieces is done.

Push right corner of left element into the opening on the left side of your second element.
Repeat with the two other elements.  If you have put them all together turn the lid around and finish
pushing the pieces together by carefully pressing the corners to the center. This is more stable than pushing the flaps.

The lid is done !   Now  I´ll do the bottom.

Fold paper in half and unfold.

Fold upper half in again with a mountain fold.

Fold in half vertically with a valleyfold .

Fold left corner to the middle.

Fold and match  mark 1  with mark 2.

This is how it looks like after the last step.
Press down the marked triangle and see how the side walls come up by pulling
down the rest of it onto the triangle as shown below.

Make four of these.

To show how you put the bottom pieces all together I have made one piece out of white paper.
The right(white) one goes into the open of the left one.  For me it works best if I put two and two together.  The finished box-bottom is in the top on the photo.  Again if you have pushed all parts slightly together turn around and press the corners until corners are neat.  This is more stable.

I hope you have fun. I´ve been making these from scrapbookpaper quite a few times to have a nice wrapping
for jewelry or so.  Don´t let the pieces confuse you. It´s geometric :-).