I first say Ted Mattos' cards in the Stamping Enablers Group. I knew he was someone I wanted to feature during Father's Day week. His style is clean and simple and just gorgeous. I contacted Ted about being featured here and he graciously sent me information and images of some his beautiful cards.
I'm Ted Mattos, an elementary school teacher who just completed my 21st year of teaching. I currently teach fourth grade. I was born and raised in the SF Bay Area and have always had an affinity for arts and crafts. While other boys were donning baseball hats and cleats, I was making popsicle stick cabins and clay figurines.
About ten years ago, I thought I'd check out this scrapbooking craze. So, I took some photos of my cat and made a miniature scrapbook album. It was enjoyable, but I found that it was overwhelming in that there were too many pages to fill. That's when I discovered card making and have been hooked ever since. I love the smaller canvas and the chance to actually give out my creations as gifts or notes of encouragement and prayers. (I love the smaller canvas too, Ted.)
Do I have any favorite techniques or tools?
That's a hard question really. I love the CAS (Clean and Simple) style, so I tend to try to have a lot of white space, or at least a very organized card with limited embellishments, etc. I've recently gotten into stenciling and really enjoying the look of that. It may be easier to say that my least favorite technique is heat embossing. I absolutely love the look of heat embossing, but I have yet to find a way to not get terribly frustrated when I notice stray specks and random blemishes. :)
Do you sell your creations?
I have sold a few cards to family and friends. I don't have an Etsy site per se, but I may look into that in the future.
Crafting Inspiration
With regards to crafting inspiration, that's much easier. I love Jennifer McGuire's tutorials, reviews, and videos. Her style is also amazing, and she is always teaching me something new. Gina K is also such an inspiration, as her videos on StampTV were some of the videos that taught this rookie many new techniques. A fellow crafter who has always knocked off my socks is Laurie Willison. I can't get enough of her CAS creations and perspective on card making in general!
Ted's creations can be seen on his blog Happily Ever Crafter. Here is a sample to whet your appetite.
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It's hard to make out, but there is glitter on the
horns, sun, castle, and the flying unicorn's wings. |
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Hard to make out in the picture, but the Vintage Cream
panel has a "burlap" texture to it, and many of the
flowers have a little "Wink of Stella" to add some shine. |
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Ted outlined each flower with a Micron pen and then
outlined all of the flowers with a T1 Copic marker. |
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| Ted's first pocket card! He's loving the Blueprint dies from My Favorite Things. |
Come back tomorrow when I will be featuring Steven Barlow.
