Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Featured Stamping Artist - Tami Wood


Tami Wood is an amazingly talented stamper. She is generous with fellow stampers and modest about her gifts! She has an incredible ability for putting just the perfect details into her work. Let's all encourage her to get a blog going! Here are some highlights from a recent interview with Tami Wood. This was not easy to get her to agree to (she is so NOT aware of just how talented she is!)

Q: How long have you been stamping?

A: "Too long to remember" **wink** About 12-15 years.

Q: What was your 1st stamping experience?

A: "I was at my nephew's Power Ranger birthday party and I commented on a large gift my sister's friend had brought to the party. It was a kid's chair (Power Ranger of course) in a large box and she had stamped the gift wrap. I have always loved pretty ribbon, giftwrap, partyware, and stickers. This little party planted the seed to my stamping addiction!! I wish I could remember the year!! My nephew will turn 15 this summer so I guess I've been stamping a long time!! Then, I was invited to a D.O.T.S. party (now Close To My Heart) by the same girl who stamped the wrapping paper. I still have my first stamp from the D.O.T.S. party and it was a fish stamp!"

Q: How did you find the stamp company A Muse? (Tami is a certified instructor for A Muse)

A: "I went on a stamping retreat up in Northern MN over President's Day weekend in the winter of 2005 with a group of stampers called "The Sassy Stampers." On the way home, my best friend and I stopped at Create-A-Card Studio which was in Aitkin, Minnesota (it is now in Brainerd, Minnesota) for the third time that weekend!! This is a wonderful store owned by Laurel Ford. While I was browsing the store, Laurel was unpacking her newest A Muse order that had just been delivered and she gave me the A Muse stamp, Fancy egg. I remember I did not want to accept it for free but good 'ole Laurel insisted! I used the egg stamp right away on one of the envelopes during a stamping class and my students loved it. After class we headed over to Artsy Tartsy in Plymouth, Minnesota to check out the A Muse stamps. I remember my second A Muse stamp was the tiny party hat. One stamp led to five, five led to 10, and the rest is history. I would guesstimate I must have about 700-800 A Muse stamps in my collection now. Ohhh, the very first A Muse stamp I ever bought was from Laurel's old shop and it was the large fun star. I just bought it because I thought it was funky and I remember sneaking it in on one of my card designs during a class I taught at Anchor Paper in Minneapolis. That was a BIG no no but I still did it because I wanted my students to stamp with this cool star stamp I had bought at my favorite stamp shop!!! I did not know anything about A Muse stamps way back then. When I told Laurel this story she gave me the tiny star as a gift down memory lane! So in a nutshell, I blame Laurel for my vast A Muse collection. Its all her fault!!" I think Laurel is awesome! You can order stamps from her at StudioCard@aol.com.

Q: What is your favorite A Muse stamp?

A: "The Lacy Oval Block"

Q: Why don't you have a blog yet?

A: "I'm too shy. I am a blog reader. I find blogworld to be very addicting but its fun!! I kind of blame it on my family as they bought me a new laptop for Christmas and I love it."

Q: Where where you born?

A: Manchester, New Hampshire

Q: Where do you get your inspiration?

A: "Well, Liz Sewald taught me a lot about stamping and I'm a huge fan of her work. I find inspiration all over...fabric, pretty napkins, backgroud paper, the A Muse designers and instructors, from blogs, magazines, other stampers including teachers, my sisters, my friends, my students...everywhere. I can not forget children. I love teaching kids and its amazing how creative they are in my classes or at birthday parties. I love teaching because I really enjoy making my students happy."

Q: What hobbies do you enjoy?

A: "Traveling, shopping, card swaps, taking classes and I'm really addicted to ATCs (Artist Trading Cards). I really enjoy the ocean, seafood, and stamping."

Q: How long have you lived in Minnesota?

A: "We (her family) moved here over Labor Day weekend in 1986. I'm a Minnesotan now!!! You betcha!! Ha ha!!"

Q: Do you have a favorite blog?

A: "It's a toss up between Misty Mawn and Christine Adolph.

Q: Who is your favorite stamp illustrator?

A: Hands down David Walker. I'm a big fan of Nina too from A Muse.

Tami teaches at Artsy Tartsy in Plymouth, Minnesota as well as Artsy Tartsy in Savage, Minnesota. You can also take classes from her at Create-A-Card Studio in Brainerd, Minnesota. She also does private classes and any kind of party that involves rubber stamping. She has taught people of all ages including both sexes. Tami has only submitted her work twice and each time she was published. First in the Rubber Stamper magazine and then her A Muse cards were in an issue of Take Ten 2006. Tami can't remember the exact details but she still has the magazines. You can email her at rswoodey2@aol.com Here are a few of her cards...



3 comments:

Mary said...

Hi Tami, nice to meet you. :) I *love* your cards. It was very nice to read some things about you. I hope that you will start a blog very soon. Don't be shy, we bloggers are all very friendly people. :)

Mary from NH

Anonymous said...

Tami is an awesome teacher! I've learned so much from her. I think she'd have a great blog. Go for it Tami! From one of your biggest fans, Carrie

Anonymous said...

I have taken many classes from Tami over the past few years and she is always developing new ideas. She has a special talent for color and detail in her card making, and her creativity inspires the right (creative) side of my brain which is not easy since I am very much of a left brained person. Thanks, Tami for sharing your enthusiasm and creativity.

Sandy, Minnetonka, MN