Hello Crafters!
I'm sure today's Genius will be a familiar face to many . . .
It's Amy Tsuruta!!!
Amy is uber talented. Her designs are simply amazing which easily explains why so many companies and challenges are out to snap her up. You can see all her craftiness on her blog. Tsuruta Designs. Plus, she and some crafty friends put together the Coffee Lover's Blog hop each season. I love Coffee so immediately I felt a kindred spirit in Amy. But do you want to know my absolute most favorite thing ever about her? It's her encouragement. Period. No matter whose blog I go to or what route I take to get there Amy has always beat me. ALWAYS. It's like she transform into a little crafty fairy fueled by coffee and glitter traveling at Santa Claus speed in the wee hours to visit all the blogs in blogland. She is so generous and kind. I'm in awe of her ability to give back.
Shall we get to know her?
The Interview:
1. Who are you and where do you live?
My name is Amy and I live in the gorgeous state of Washington!
2. How would you describe your style?
Clean & Colorful
3. Name one product you're completely crushing on right now?
Watercolors
4. What is was your first crafty purchase? Would you still buy it now?
I've been crafting most of my life so let's see....I remember cross stitching when I was younger. I actually managed to complete a project! I didn't really have the patience to sit still for it then and certainly don't now....
Fun Stuff:
5. What is your current favorite song?
I seldom listen to music while in the car, it's always on NPR....I do stream music and tend to listen to the Tony Bennett/Lady Gaga and Mumford & Sons stations.
6. Who would play you in a movie?
This made me chuckle, I had to google Japanese Actresses so it would at least seem realistic....I pick Rila Fukushima of The Wolverine {Big Hugh Jackman fan♡}.
7. One random thing about you that people would never guess?
I'm a Canadian♡
I feel like singing along to Mumford and Sons while sipping coffee with Amy would certainly be a good time. :)
Let's get to the goods!
LO-VE that bold red stripe with the grey background. The sketchy city is simple but pops off the card on that white circle!
I love how free this is. Those light blue hand drawn stripes are beautiful. The contrasting red stars are perfect to frame her bold sentiment.
Flowers in a mug? Yes please. The little handle hanging off is just adorable!
The CASE:
I love the bold stripe in Amy's first card. the layout got me in the second card along with that watercoloring. Lastly, the soft fluffy bow in the third added some great texture. I wanted to incorporate that too.
I started by adhering some Navy Blue card stripes to a white cardbase. I used the waves background from Hero Arts/Basic Grey and heat embossed it in white on my watercolor cardstock. I used my zig markers in various blues to color it. I did blend with some water. I die cut it into a circle and adhered it to my card base.
All of the stamps I used are solid images except for the "Hello" circle. As most of you know me and solid images don't get along. But I really wanted to use them so sometimes you have to make nice with the girl at the party you don't like. You know what I'm saying.
I stamped my lighthouse and my anchor in light gray ink then colored over them with my copics.I chosethe lighthouse to mimic Amy's tall city buildings. I can't be without my black outline so I used my multiliners to outline them. For the fish I stamped it by inking it up with Wild Mango and Sweet Gelato and letting them mix in the middle. It was a bit too pink so I ended up adding some shading with my copics. The stripes were added with a copic multiliner and a white gel pen. In order to get the texture Amy created with her fuzzy bow I used hemp twine to create a Sailor's knot. I had to Google this. Like I had clue one how to make a sailor's knot. I've never sailed anything unless you count home drunk on a skateboard one night sailing. . . .I mean this girl I knew did that . . .yeah...her . .. crazy girl.
Ahem.
I wanted to bring in an extra bit of red so I added one red sequin and topped it off with glossy accents. The glossy accents is clearly not dry in the photo. Forgive me. There are so many hours in the day.
That's it for me!
I though for sure when I did Amy's feature it would be a coffee card. Funny how things surprise you :)
Thanks for visiting!
I hope you go over and leave Amy some love it. She's a delight!
XoXo

KELLY! Thank you so much for featuring me...LOL on the skateboard shenanigans! Can I tell you that your card made me absolutely gasp?! I'm such a fan of nautical designs and yours ROCKS. Thank you so much for making my week!
ReplyDeleteHow exciting!!!! Kelly picked the most perfect person to have on her blog and she certainly can see how wonderfully talented you are. Fantastic post and lovely to get to know a little more about you. Yay Amy!!!! And thank you Kelly for sharing her with the world!
ReplyDeleteAmy is AMAZING!! I love everything she creates!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLOVE Amy!!! Great learning a bit more about her and you are absolutely right, she rocks in the encouragement dept. ;)
ReplyDeleteLove your CASE of Amy too!!! So bright and cheerful!
Yay for Amy.. she is amazing and oh so sweet.. Love reading more about her.. thanks for sharing..
ReplyDeleteYou are CRAZy funny with your writing Kelly! Great sailors knot..I would never be able to do that on a skateboard:)
ReplyDeleteAmy sure does beat everyone else at the encouragement! Never knew she was Canadian! :) All the cards are great, and I am always in awe of your CASE-d cards!!
ReplyDeleteI won't rub it in that -ahem- amy and are just like THIS and have met ... what you can't know, Kelly, is that she is just as generous, supportive, loveable and darling in real life. LOve you amy ... Can we talk about talent? Look at that Sailor's knot!! Kelly your CASE is fabulous! Thank you for showcasing Amy ... the world cannot get enough of this talented girl...
ReplyDelete=] Michele
Great tribute to Amy! She's the best and her cards here blew me away! That first one with the stripe, So bold and amazing!! unbelievable Case too, can't believe you combined all those images, to die for!
ReplyDeleteWow! Great card-maker and such great comments about her. She makes wonderful cards and so do you, Kelly! Stunning CASE. I adore the bright, bold colors and how you fit so much into that little bitty space. And then you further impressed me by making a sailor's knot. You are so talented! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGreat choice of choosing Amy -- we all know her [and yes, get comments from her] -- She is the Queen of blogland~ Your CASE is amazing
ReplyDeleteLove Amy!!! She is so awesome!!! Great cards by you both!!!
ReplyDeleteAgree. Amy is one of those standout stampers who is always so sweet and kind and always a faithful commenter! Her rock star talents in clean designs always inspires me and these samples are proof! Your card is also a fabulous CASE and I'm loving that bold stripe BG and the sailor's knot!
ReplyDeleteFabulous, fabulous! Love those cards of Amy's and LOVE your CASE Kelly . . . WOW, that knot!! Have a great week! Hazel xx
ReplyDeleteI always find out someone else to follow from your blog, Kelly, and I'm never disappointed. Her cards are gorgeous and I love the CASE you did. You are both super talented. Love those blues and your sailors knot is very impressive! Xx
ReplyDeleteAmy's sample cards were great, fun stuff. Your case was WOW. I continue to love your bold colors.
ReplyDeleteLove Amy!! She is a super sweet person and fab crafter!!!
ReplyDeleteHehehe! Love the story and yay! I love Amy's work!!! Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteAmy's cards are always fun and genius! You made a terrific card with Amy's cards as inspiration !
ReplyDeleteAdore that story, Kelly!! You crazy and fun girl! Amy is absolutely the BEST to showcase! I really LOVE, LOVE your CASE of her cards...never thought about putting in a piece of each card...you've inspired me to try that. Also LOVE nautical...they're my fave cards to make! Kudos to you and my sweet friend AMY!!
ReplyDeleteGreat feature on one of my fave designers! I don't know anyone who doesn't {heart} Amy and her cards! Love your CASE of her work--that hemp twine knot is ah-mazing!
ReplyDeleteI am so excited that you CASEd Amy. I LOVE her blog. I LOVE your CASE of her cards too. That blue and white stripe paper-stunning, with that fabulous circle of perfection. And the Sailer's knot? WOW!! You hit this out of the park.
ReplyDeleteAnd I would love to have seen your tipsy young self skateboarding home. Oh the stories we could tell!!
YAY for Amy! Love her and her work!
ReplyDeleteAwesome CASE, Kelly!
Wonderful cards by Amy, and a great CASE by you Kelly - now my head is roiling with inspiration.... oh for the time to head out to craft now!!
ReplyDeleteBlessings
Maxine
These are all awesome cards! Way to go ladies!
ReplyDeleteAmy is everything you say! Great cards by Amy, and an amazing CASE, Kelly!
ReplyDeleteAnd how COOL is that Canadian Amy, eh? I love Amy and her CAS work. You have featured her talent so fabulously!! Love your sail boat card! Beautiful take indeed, Kelly!
ReplyDeleteLOVE Amys work!!!! such cool cards and LOVE the case!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh Kelly, you have picked three of my all time favourite Amy cards, although in truth, my favourites list is pretty long!! You have done such a beautiful job of CASE-ing her. Your card is stunning, and I thought that sailor's knot might be a bit of a hat tip to her cross-stitch days. It's a super card all round, and a lovely showcase of a lady who went out of her way to make me feel welcome when I first joined this wonderful community. Hats off to you, Kelly!!
ReplyDeleteLove this, LOVE your inspiration post, and of course AMY!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAmy rocks, doesn't she just?! Great interview, and an amazing CASE of her work. Thanks for showcasing this fabulous cardmaker and incredibly lovely woman. Bev
ReplyDeleteSuch fun to learn more about Amy and certainly jazzed up in learning that she joins me in being Canadian. Her cards, and your case, only fantastically awesome!
ReplyDelete~c
Oh, I so agree with everything you said about Amy! She is crazy talented, and one of the sweetest people I've been blessed to "meet" out there in blogland! Love the cards you picked to case.... definitely some of my favorites, too.... and really love your beautiful take on her designs. Wow, what a delightful post!
ReplyDeleteLove learning about Amy and seeing her gorgeous cards that have stunning backgrounds and your CASE of her cards is absolutely magnificent in all its' "Kelly made me" GLORY!!!! Love it and I think you used backgrounds dynamically on it the way that Amy does on her cards!! Big fan of both of you so I really enjoyed this!!! Kelly - please know how amazing you are and how your card art changes the world for good!!! Have a beautiful, marvelous, wonderful day!!
ReplyDeleteHow cool to read more about Amy--such a talent!! And good choice on the actress, that's a great movie!
ReplyDeleteSo amazing...just amazing!
ReplyDeleteThis was such a fun post to read and I loved reading more about Amy! Your card is amazing and you did an awesome job! TFS!
ReplyDeleteI'm really loving this CASEing Genius series. It's so fun to get to know a bit more about so many of my favourite crafters. Your description of Amy is pretty much perfect - "a little crafty fairy fueled by coffee and glitter traveling at Santa Claus speed in the wee hours to visit all the blogs in blogland." Yes! I don't think she ever sleeps! LOL! She has been supportive of me since I started blogging back in 2010. Such a great gal.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for your card? Wow! The bold stripes, the coloured images and that awesome knot!!
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ReplyDelete