Stamp It! 3 Ways Week: Designer Spotlight on Heidi Van Laar!

Courtney Smith

Good morning, crafters and welcome to our Stamp It! 3 Ways promotion week! This week, we’re here to celebrate this incredible issue! Check out the celebration at Moxie Fab World as well! We took a popular feature from our Stamp It! Cards issues, and made it center stage in this brand new special issue!

Featuring over 40 different stamp sets, we asked three different designers to create projects with the stamp sets in completely unique ways!

We caught up with Heidi Van Laar, who not only rocked the issue, but who was one of our cover girls as well! Keep reading to get to learn a little more about Heidi, and to see some of her inspiring projects from this issue!

Where do you find your paper crafting inspiration?

Advertisements, children’s clothing, store displays, fashion magazines, even cake decoration, I find inspiration just about everywhere. It’s funny, but sometimes I’ll look at something totally un-craft related and I’ll instantly know how I want to interpret it as a card. I even carry a small sketchbook with me so I can jot down ideas if I’m inspired when I’m out and about.

What is your favorite paper crafting supply? Why?

Oooh, this is a hard question, I have so many favorites! Love my dies, love patterned paper, love my stamps, but the one thing I think I could never go without is good old cardstock. It’s such a basic supply, but you can do so much with it! I have to have it on hand in just about every color, and I love all the different textures and finishes that are out there.

Out of your cards published in Stamp It! 3 Ways, what were your three favorites and why?

Yellow Ribbon Card, pg. 79: It’s such a simple card, but I love the way it conveys it’s message of missing someone and wanting them to return home.

Welcome Home Card, pg. 63: I had fun taking what was meant to be a Christmas themed stamp set and creating a non holiday card. It’s great to be able to stretch supplies beyond the season that they were intended for.

Thank You Medallion Card, pg. 55: I had this idea to create a medallion by stamping one of the floral images from the set over and over again. As we all know sometimes things work better in your head than they do in reality so I was really pleased when the medallion came out just how I had pictured it.

What is one thing readers would be surprised to know about you?

Hmmm, that I’m maybe a little bit obsessed with nail polish (my husband might say a lot, lol). I have over 200 bottles and I usually come home with one new color every week. I’m pretty conservative in how I dress, so my nails are the place I get to go a little crazy and have fun!

What designers do you admire and why?

Another hard question! There are so many truly amazing designers, and it seems like almost everyday I’m discovering someone else who knocks my sock off. There are a few designers that have been inspiring me for years though. Teri Anderson blows me away with her creative use of supplies and her fun and funky designs. Kim Hughes is the the queen of cute and one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Maile Belles‘ clean and colorful designs always make my jaw drop.

How would you classify your personal crafting style?

I’ve always had a hard time classifying my style. I think that fun and cute with a tendency towards clean and graphic is probably the closest I can come. Clean and cute?

What was your favorite part about Stamp It! 3 Ways?

It was really fun trying to figure out a different, and interesting way to use each stamp set. I LOVED finally getting the issue and seeing what the other designers did!

What was the most difficult aspect of Stamp It! 3 Ways?

Trying to figure out a different and interesting way to use each stamp set, lol! It was my favorite part, but the most challenging too. Since the goal of this issue is to show the wide variety of things that can be created with a single set of stamps I spent a lot of time making sure I didn’t do something obvious.

What advice do you have for someone who’s never been published or who wants to try submitting for the first time?

I think the most important thing when you are trying to get published is to really know the magazine you are submitting to. Read the magazine, if there is a blog or a forum, read those too. The best way to get into a magazine is to know exactly what they are looking for and then do your best to give it to them. I read Paper Crafts for years before I got brave enough to submit and when I finally did I had some success. Knowing what they liked to publish definitely didn’t hurt.

Out of the stamp sets you designed with, which one was your favorite and why?

I really, really loved the Carved Love set from Practicing Creativity. It’s just such a different and unique set, plus I love anything woodgrain and the bark pattern is such fun alternative!

Thanks for stopping by to chat with us this morning, Heidi! Now what are you still sitting here for?! Get up, get those stamp sets, and get stamping! Leave a comment for us by Tuesday, January 24 at 5 PM MST, and we’ll pick three lucky winners to win copies of this issue! If you’re too excited to wait until then, buy your copy HERE!

P.S. Be sure to tune in all this week for sneak peeks into this special issue!