Featured Artist: ScrapStampSew

· What is your etsy user name? SCRAPSTAMPSEW

· Tell us a bit about yourself name, location, affiliations, personal stuff: MY NAME IS KAREN COOK. I LIVE IN MIDDLETOWN WITH MY HUSBAND AND 2 SONS. I LOVE TO SCRAPBOOK, STAMP, AND SEW.

· Apart from creating things, what do you do? I ENJOY TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS, COLLECTING JAPANESE CRAFT BOOKS, AND PLAYING WORLDS OF WARCRAFT.

· What first made you want to become an artist? I COME FROM A FAMILY OF CREATERS. MY INTEREST IN CREATING STARTED WHEN I WAS A YOUNG CHILD. I STARTED NEEDLEPOINT WHEN I WAS 9 AND LEARNED TO DO MACHINE SEWING IN HIGH SCHOOL. I BECAME AN AVID SCRAPBOOKER & PAPERCRAFTER ABOUT 12 YEARS AGO AND STARTED SEWING AVIDLY AGAIN ABOUT A YEAR AGO.

· Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc. I LOVE FABRIC! USUALLY A REALLY NEAT FABRIC INSPIRES ME AND THEN I CHOOSE A PATTERN THAT I THINK COMPLIMENTS THE FABRIC AND VIOLA! OTHER THAN THAT I USUALLY CHOSE MY PROJECTS BY GIFTS I WANT TO MAKE FOR SOMEONE AND I TRY TO MAKE MULTIPLES. I’M A SAHM AND BOTH OF MY BOYS ARE IN SCHOOL SO I CREATE DURING THE DAY AND AT NIGHT WHEN THEY ARE IN BED.

· What handmade possession do you most cherish? MY MOST PRIZED HANDMADE POSSESSION IS THE CHRISTENING GOWN MY AUNT MADE FOR ME AS AN INFANT.
Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy. I LOVE ALL KINDS OF MUSIC. I LOVE EVERYTHING FROM THE BEE GEE’S TO YANNI TO ANDREA BOCELLI TO QUEENSRYCHE. I ENJOY ANY BOOKS WRITTEN BY STEPHEN KING. SOME OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES ARE: THE LOVER, FUN WITH DICK AND JANE, BRUCE ALMIGHTY, THE GODFATHER, HEAT
SOME OF MY FAVORITE WEBSITES ARE: WWW.FATQUARTERSHOP.COM, EBAY, OVERSTOCK.COM, FLICKR, & POTTERY BARN

· What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy? CREATE AND LIST, CREATE AND LIST, CREATE AND LIST, IF ONLY I COULD TAKE MY OWN ADVICE, LOL.
· Share any ideas you have for our street team.. or plans, hopes.. MY HOPES ARE THAT THE DELETSY TEAM WOULD GET LARGE ENOUGH TO HAVE LOCAL CRAFT SHOWS LIKE CRAFTMAFIA. I ALSO HOPE TO MEET OTHER CREATORS FOR INSPIRATION.

· How do you promote your work? I AM AN AVID FLICKR GROUPEE AND I ALSO PLAN TO MAKE ENOUGH STOCK TO DO CRAFT SHOWS IN 2009

· In ten years I'd like to be... DOING WHAT I’M DOING NOW WITH MORE PRODUCTIVITY ON MY PART.