Hello fellow paper crafters, cardmakers, stampers, colorists and creatives,
My name is Amber MacMurtry. I am in my mid 30s and have always been crafty and creative. I am a stay at home mom and full time caregiver for my nearly 3 year old son, who was born with a hypoxic brain injury, resulting in developmental delays and many diagnoses, including Cerebral Palsy and Epilepsy. for the past 3 years, his well being and developmental progress have been my full time job--they still are, but his seizures have been controlled for a full year now, so I have had some time to work on self care in addition to his care.
This is a stressful life, no matter how fiercely this mama bear loves her little man; and one I could not have fathomed while dreaming of doing art projects with my child while I was pregnant-dreams that have had to change, or be abandoned altogether. To combat the stress, which sometimes threatens to turn to depression, I often need a little creative therapy--which is where Doodles Paper Playground, and all of you, come in!
I've named this blog after my son--
affectionately nicknamed Davey-Doodles by our favorite NICU nurse,
and it stuck.
Since he and crafting are two of the best parts of my world, so I thought it only fitting that they come together here.
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| Isn't he just the most adorable little chubby monkey ever? Okay, I may be more than a little bit biased! 😍 But he is, just sayin'! |
I have been paper crafting in one form or another for about 16 years and my preferred mediums have changed many times, but I always seem to come back to cardmaking. I began making my Christmas cards in 2011 and discovered all of these fun new products, techniques, & tools and quickly became addicted, I'm not ashamed to say. My cardmaking style has evolved quite a lot since those first attempts using ribbon and store bought stickers to create pleasing designs. I now love stamping, digital stamps, coloring using a variety of mediums, die cutting, ink blending & just about every other fun new technique that people come up with. Within the past year I have really begun to find my own style and to explore my creativity by pushing myself to use my supplies in new and interesting ways that may not be obvious to everyone. I love to combine products from different design companies and alter images to become something entirely different from what may have been intended. I love to stretch my supplies and put my own twist on each new big technique fad that comes along, and I really enjoy sharing those ideas with other crafters who may want to try something new and challenging. I do hope you'll follow me here and on Instagram @doodles_paper_playground.
To start, I plan to post a few times per month at least, more if I have time. I don't currently have a posting schedule, but once my son starts PreK in the fall, I will be able to work on that. I intend to approach this adventure with humor, honesty and, of course, creativity!
Thank you so much for visiting!
I hope you'll come back and look for my first card blog post later this week!
Happy Crafting,
Amber & Doodles
