Hello, dear friends, its Deepti here throwing the spotlight on
the amazingly talented Janet Ribet. The moment I came across her blog, I was
awed by her creativity and simplicity of designs. She has immense talent which
ranges from beautiful cards to altered books… Yay!! I know you are excited to
know all about Janet, so let’s throw the spotlight on our star for this
Fascinating Friday…
Name: Janet Ribet
Blog: Swanlady Impressions
1. Tell us a
little about yourself and your family.
I was born in Zimbabwe, grew up in South Africa, met and married
a wonderful Mauritian man and have been living in Mauritius for 22 years. I
have 3 children. My 2 girls are studying at university in the UK, and my son is
at French Lycee here.
2. How and when
did you start crafting?
I’ve always enjoyed art and playing with paper and pens, pencils
and paints. When I first came to Mauritius, there weren’t many cards so my
mother bought me 3 stamps and 2 ink pads from South Africa in 1994 and I
haven’t stopped since. I took up scrapbooking in 2001, and I love doing small projects too ...
boxes, mini albums, frames and decoupage. Recently I have started doing altered
books.
3. From where do
you draw your inspiration?
I get it from all over … from the stamps themselves, nature,
magazines, advertising, fashion, home décor and of course the wonderful blog
and pinterest online world.
4. How would you
describe your style?
I don’t feel I have one particular style - been a bit of a Jill
of all trades (except shabby chic). However, I find that I am gravitating
towards CAS more and more but I as love playing with techniques that doesn’t
always happen.
5. What are the
5 top tools in your crafting space?
The tools I use all the time … my trimmer, scissors, heat gun,
craft knife and most recently, my absolutely fabulous Silhouette Cameo.
6. What’s your
favorite technique?
You can’t really ask me to just pick one!! I’d say my top
3 are resist embossing, paper piecing and cutting and layering. But then I
could also add distressing, water coloring and alcohol inks. I find it hard to
make decisions as I'm creating ... the operative word being "OR", as
in "OR I could also do ...."
7. What are your
go-to colors?
I’m definitely a blue person and often add turquoise or greens.
I have also loved the turquoise and brown color combo.
8. Do you sell your projects?
Not generally. I occasionally sell some cards and have made a
number of scrapbooks for other people. But I love to teach and get others
experience the fun and wonder of creating something themselves.
9. What do you do when you aren’t crafting? Job? Other hobbies and interests?
I have a really small stamping and scrapping shop and studio off
my garage and run courses a couple times a month.Otherwise I’m a housewife
(minister of home affairs, education, tourism, transport, health, food,
maintenance, etc). I help my mother-in-love as she is pretty much housebound. I
love to read and belong to a book club. I’m trying to get healthy and we have
started a weekly “Move More, Eat Well” group where one of us demos a recipe and
then we eat it!
10. Are you
currently designing for any blog?
I have never been a DT member, but I have been a guest designer
on Lily Pad Cards (which has unfortunately
stopped) and Scrap RDV.
Wow!!! It was wonderful to know so much more about you. Thank
you so much Janet for sharing with us. These are just a few projects that we
could showcase here. Fellow crafters, I am sure you want to see more of these
beautiful creations so now you can visit her beautiful blog and flickr photostream to see many more creations from Janet and get inspired. Great Day Ahead!!
