It's Flatter-Day Saturday!

Good day to all of you!!  This is Kelly here and I am so excited to have the opportunity to let you get better acquainted with a very talented designer and wonderful person!  I would like to introduce you to Heather Rolin!

 

Most of you probably already know Heather because she is a regular on the Unity and {ippity} forums, (her SCS name is hlr976) but wait til you learn more about this special lady!!  She is a real hoot and a wonderfully creative person!  I have had the pleasure of communicating with Heather through emails and chats and find her to be a one of the sweetest and funniest gals I know!!  She is a doll!!

If you spend any time in her SCS Gallery you will quickly realize why Angela has chosen her to be the

{ippity} Guest Designer for February

We are excited that she will be working with us as we release our next set of stamps and know that you will enjoy her creations as much as we do!  

To get to know Heather a little better, we asked her a few questions, go grab your coffee and enjoy some light reading about this incredible lady who somehow finds the time to be a wife, mom, stamp designer, card maker and even a comedian!! LOL!!

We asked Heather to tell us a little about herself.

My name is Heather Rolin and I live in Alexandria, MN. I've been married for over 5 years to my very best friend Michael. He gets me like no one else can, so he's kinda stuck with me! LOL...We have 2 beautiful boys. Lance is going to be 3 in January, and Adam just turned 3 months. We are truly blessed and I'm so thankful for what God has given me.


I am a Veteran of the United States Army and proud of that. I have a degree in Finance, but decided to stay home once we started our family. I love anything to do with the outdoors and LOVE roughing it in the wild with camping, canoeing, white water rafting, hiking, biking, etc. I LOVE sports of all kinds. My favorite to play is Tennis (so lucky I have a hubby who can keep up! Hehehe), my favorite to watch is Football! Go VIKINGS! I also love to read, ride my horse Rusty, Fish, Hunt, spend time with my family & friends & all my crafting hobbies!


Other than the normal day to day, there really isn't anything that exciting about me. I just live each day as much as I can with the time I have and try to make sure everything stays balanced so that I don't get overwhelmed...

We also wanted to know a bit more about Heather's stamping...

• How did you first get involved in stamping?  We bought our first house in 2003 and my new neighbor introduced me to stampin'. I wasn't that good at it, so I didn't purchase my first stamp til a year later. Once I got into it with my own supplies, I was HOOKED.
  

• What is your stamping style? My style is eclectic because I take a little bit of everything and throw in a pile and hope it turns out! LOL!

• Tell us about your creative process? Let me just start by saying there is no method to the madness. Literally! I'll be watching tv or surfing the net or my MILLIONS of blogs I subscribe to, and something will trigger a card or project. I literally drop whatever I am doing and go to town.
  

•  What is your favorite {ippity} stamp set and why? I must say I'm a country girl. Through and through. I love anything rustic, so my favorite would have to be Simply Home. I have tons of rustic décor around my house, and this set was inspired by the every day rustics...

• How often do you stamp? I try to stamp 2-3 times per week. There was a time (before kiddos) that I stamped 365 or more cards in a year! Most of which got donated to soldiers over seas...

• How long does it take you to make a project you are happy with? A typical card will take 20 min. start to finish. If I scrap a page, that takes me about 30-45 min. I rarely do any altered art, but if I do, it takes me FOREVER! LOL...

• What does your craft room look like? {messy, clean, etc.} I am literally too embarrassed to say...But I will anyway! Hehe. My stamp room hasn't been cleaned since May. And this past October, I trickled into the Family room in my basement. So not only do I have my HUGE stamp room, I also have a card table, coffee table, couch and recliner in the living room overflowing...literally! One of these days I'm going to get everything reorganized (New Years Resolution) and I'm going to be posting BEFORE/AFTER pics to show you! You'll see what I mean!

• What is your biggest paper crafting challenge? Chipboard. I have no clue how to use it, and I would LOVE to learn how!

We asked Heather to share with us one of her recent favorite cards and she shared this set with us...

These adorable cards are made using the Kissmas and Mistletoe kit.

Did you know that Heather also designs stamps for {ippity} and Unity?  Here is what she says about that...

• What is your title at Unity/{ippity}?  I'm an illustrator for Unity/{Ippity}...

• How are you involved in the making of {ippity} stamps?  I design images that can be made into stamps.

• How long have you been designing stamps for them?  My first release was in August, but I started July 1st.
  

• What inspires your designs?  I get inspired by what inspires you and you tell us about it in the SCS forums, watching tv, surfing the net, going out to eat, shopping, sleeping (actually sleeping is when I think up my best work!)
  

• Do you have special training in art or just natural ability?  I actually have my degree in Finance, but that wasn't for me. I've always been able to draw, so one day I purchased Adobe Illustrator CS3 and taught myself how to use it. I didn't dream that it would take me here. My Illustrations on the computer are 10x's better than when I hand draw...they turn out looking more finished...In my spare time I am a painter and always have been. I specialize in acrylic based paintings, but I am looking at taking classes with colored pencils!

• What is your favorite stamp or set that you have created?  My FAVORITE stamp is something that isn't out yet, but I hope it will be some day. It is a ballerina and makes me think of my niece who just loves to dance, she is 3 1/2 and just had her first recital, she was so fun to watch and is already uber talented at this age!

• What current {ippity} stamps were designed by you?  

1. The 2 flowers, Birdcage, Circled Heart, 3 mushrooms & the LOVE background in Because of You.  
2. The Mistletoe Sentiment, Mistletoe and Tree in Kissmas and Mistletoe  
3. The Simply Home set  
4. The "Capture" Sentiment from Life's Little Moments

• Can we look forward to some of your art in future releases?  I sure hope so. I really really do LOVE my job and the people I work with. I feel blessed to be among such company in times like these. This is an amazing experience and I never want it to end!

• Can you tell us a funny story about Angela (the owner) {Sorry Angela!} I wish I could but she seems pretty perfect! (I got something brown on the side of my nose!!! LOL)

Heather not only designs and uses {ippity} stamps, but she is also an {ippity} chick, so we had a few questions to ask her about that as well...

• What is the name of your {ippity} Sales Blog?  www.ippitysaleshlr976.blogspot.com

• What made you decide to start selling {ippity}? I LOVE Unity and have been waiting for an opportunity like this! I signed up the very first day! I haven't sold anything yet, but I signed up for a monthly sales group where we get a chance to sell stuff, so am hoping to get sales and workshops and classes off of that.

• Tell us about your experience selling {ippity}  My experience is that it is a FABULOUS group of people, more like a family than anything else. The products are amazing, the people are fantabulous, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE how it makes me try to be the best I can for me and my family.

 

Because she is such a fun gal, we had some FUN Questions for her too...

• What song best describes you?   Gosh, There are some weird Al songs, no just kidding. There is a new song out by Chris Allen called Live Like You're Dying (not the same as the Tim McGraw one from a few years ago). It says to live each second of the day like it were your last and tell the one's you love that you love them every day. This is exactly how I try to live, even though the song is relatively new, it just is so true!

• If you were stranded on a desert island what are the three things you would bring?  1. Lifetime supply of stamping supplies, 2. My husband 3. My Kiddos (I wouldn't need food or water because my stranded island would be in fresh water and I could catch fish! LOL)

• What is your favorite quote?  I made this one up for Unity (which is in the Store Kit this month), "No matter how old you get, play like no one is watching"...I feel like some people think just because you get older, you aren't allowed to be silly or fun anymore...those people better not enter my house! LOL...It's craziness over here!

• What would we find in your refrigerator right now?  Leftover Lasagna and a severe lack of food! Grocery shopping is on the agenda!

• If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?  The power to resolve...I would resolve conflict in the world, with my children if they need it, with health care...just basically something that I could use to make the world better because it seems like we are in a slump. KWIM?

• If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?  Hehe...Sorry inside joke...Probably "Laugh It Out" would make a good title.

• What would your dream vacation be?  I would LOVE to spend 2 months stranded in the mountains of Colorado in a cabin with my hubby and kids. We would spend all our time getting to know the land, white water rafting, hiking, biking, fishing, hunting...I think that would actually be more like my description of heaven!

And finally Heather adds...

• My New Years Resolutions: 1. to LOSE 20 pounds 2. Keep my stamp area as clean as I keep the rest of the house 3. Spend Less 4. Create more images 5. Live more in my faith 6. Not be so impatient 7. Listen better 8. Spoil my kids with as much time as the day will allow with my other activities getting in the way 9. Volunteer More and 10 for 2010. Be WHO I am was meant to be, NOT who I think I should be.

I hope to see tons of you at CHA this month! Please don't hesitate to say hi! Also, feel free to add me as a friend on facebook! Super big hugs and I wish you all a year full of blessings, happiness and much success!

Heather Rolin

Heather, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to be interviewed over this holiday week!  I really appreciate you and am so happy to have become acquainted with you.  I know that we all are anxious to meet you at CHA and to work with you in February!!  Have a very Happy New Year and good luck meeting your personal goals for the year!!  :-)

Feel free to leave Heather some love in the comments section!!