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I love texture, dimension and detail on my pages!
I love trying new things and new techniques and stamps are a great way to do this. I love texture on my layouts so stamping on different mediums is always fun. Paint, ink, chipboard, transparencies, metal, fabric, clay - you name it! I'm addicted to small details too. I'm always cutting out stamped images, curling petals and wings, adding swarovski crystals, diamond glaze and pop dots. To me, the best reaction to a page is when the viewer feels compelled to run their fingers across it.

Once inspiration strikes, I sketch my project then get to work.
I almost always start with a photo - but on occasion I see a Technique Tuesday stamp set that fills my head with ideas and thus I hunt out a photo that would work. From there, I am a sketcher. I draw it out and then pull out paper, embellishments, inks, and whatever else I think might make the design work. I will often do test runs of stamped images on scrap paper first, but thankfully these stamps are clear so if an image stamps a bit uneven I just reink it and stamp directly over the first attempt.

Photos are my focus, but I get inspiration from everywhere!
My drive and inspiration for every page is the photo(s). I want the layout to express the feeling of the photo and enhance the story.  I think this is why I sometimes range from one style to another. Sometimes you need to be more serious, sometimes more whimsical - and I like to be flexible. I think that's also why I have come to love stamps so much. One set can be used in so many ways to create a completely different look. A solid alphabet stamp can be kissed with a polka dot stamp, or flowers, or stripes - whatever your heart desires. At times I find inspiration from other items. This page, for example was inspired by a blouse that I own. I used the same colour, blocking and floral scheme.

I love to experiment with different techniques and styles.
I have no reservations - I'll try anything! I love getting my hands dirty, I love to play and I'm always game for a challenge. I'm not stuck on a style, so I go where the mood takes me.

Danea's top stamping tips
- Stamp on a hard, solid surface
- somewhere that won't flex as you apply pressure.
- Pat the ink onto the stamps instead of pressing the stamp into the ink pad as this will lessen your chances of getting ink all over the stamps edges and on the block, and leaving you with ink messes on your project.
- Create new looks for your stamps by inking a stamp, then pressing a pattern stamp onto it, before applying it to your project. This is called kissing. You can do it with an uninked pattern stamp or with a pattern stamp inked with a matching color.
- Lastly, think outside the box and don't be afraid to experiment