"Questions and Answers Sunday"

It's time for "Questions & Answers Sunday."

I'm still working down the awesome list of questions you all gave me on THIS POST.

So, here goes. :) There's some personal questions and some papercrafting questions both answered. Enjoy!

How many funy, rude, inquisitive, and strange looks do you get when you go out in public with your dreads?

Posted by: Ally Warner

Well, fortunate for me when it comes to that, I live in northern Vermont. There's enough of us dreadheads around that people are used to it. I don't think there's many right around where I live particularly, but I'm not that far from Burlington and Middlebury and it's not uncommon to see us around here and there.

When I go out of state, though, I find that people stare or look at me like I just walked out of a time warp from another decade, but I realize it's because they probably don't see a lot of dreadies around.

I've gotten some pretty funny questions.

A friend asked when I was going to have normal hair again. haha! As if it were fake hair or something. That made me chuckle.

The girl at the register at a craft store yesterday asked me what I have to do if I decide that I don't want them anymore. I told her that I seriously haven't thought about that because I don't plan on getting rid of them. But other people have combed their's out (which takes a lot of patience, time and a pain threshold), cut them part ways up and combed the rest out, cut their hair near the roots or shaved their head completely. She looked at me like it would be something akin to cutting off one of my limbs and wouldn't stop staring at them. HAHA! Considering that she works in Burlington, I know this couldn't be the first time she's seen dreads. It's probably the first time she's ever asked that question, though. ;)

In October, we went to Florida to visit my uncle, aunt and grandmother. I haven't seen my aunt and uncle in over 9 years. I had to laugh when my uncle tugged on my hair when he saw me and said, "What's this rat's nest?" He was messing around, so I took it in good fun.

And speaking of dreads.....here's another question:

My question is about your dreads. (I think they look great on you by the way.) What inspired you to that hairstyle, made you decide to grow them?

Posted by: ~Shelly E.~

My dreads were done in September of 2006....so they've been in for 15 months now. They've been tweaked over time. My mom did the original ones for me but they were too loose. My sister and I re-did many of them a month after. Since then, I really haven't done much to them except to combine a few here and there. In October, though, my sister and I did some heavy maintenance on them. We ripped and cut some apart, rolled and felted some, wrapped others and combined a bunch. They're much happier this way. I have a total of 19 now, where I started out with about 60-ish.

I did them mostly because I hate doing my hair. I've never been one to feel that I need to impress people by the things I wear or by my outward appearance. I'm very much a second generation hippie. My parents grew up in the late 60s and 70s and were very much a bunch of hippies. My family went through a really creepy ultra-conservative cultish legalistic stage (thank GOD they're out of that) and are back to their hippie roots again.

I found that after I had my kids, I was losing a lot of hair. I also found that using shampoos and conditioners on my hair was stripping it of its natural oils. Brushing was also not kind on my hair. I have fine, thin hair to begin with and with all of those things, it was really doing a number on it. I also just LOVE the natural and chaotic look of dreads. It just seems so down to earth and unpretentious to me.

Over the past 15 months, my hair and scalp have become SO healthy. I use an organic and natural soap concentrate that I water down on my hair and roots. I'm not stripping anything out of my hair and my hair has really bulked up. Because I'm not stripping my hair or brushing it, I'm also not losing much either because it's so much more healthy than before. Any hair I DO lose just gets dreaded in. Now, when I pull my hair back, I end up with a pony tail that's 3 times the size it used to be!

There really wasn't a religious or a political reason for having them, just simply an extension of the way I try to live my life.....as free and natural as possible, unhindered by what other people think of me and unhindered by how other people think I should live my life.

One of the things that I didn't quite expect with this journey is that I've gained even more self confidence than I thought I had before. Funny how hair can do that to you. :)

From where do you get inspiration when you are tired or can't get creative???

Posted by: Marcia

I find that a lot of people ask me this question. I think this same thing about other desingers, too. It's always interesting to see how people's creative minds work and where they find their inspiration. I actually wrote a post back in September that described my creative process and where I find my inspiration: My creative process

Thanks for such wonderful ideas! Where do you find the inspirations and the time?

Posted by: karen

One of the greatest things about papercrafting, for me, is that I work from home full time. This *is* what I do for a real job and I absolutely ADORE that I can do this every day. I think about papercrafting when I go to sleep and it's the first thing that I think about when I wake up in the morning. I've become quite the stamping hermit, actually. I just want to stay in my little papercrafting world, working away at my desk all day long. The more I stay at home and work with paper, ink, stamps, embellishments, etc., the more I don't want to go out! haha! Well, that could be because it's winter, too, and who wants to go out in the cold and snow when you could be sitting in a warm house with a cup of chai and paper to be played with? :) There ARE days that I run out of time and would love to create a 25th hour to the day and an 8th day to the week.

My inspiration is found in many places. I find color inspiration in nature, in magazines, on websites. I find design concept inspiration in magazine ads, while I'm surfing the web, in catalogs, in books, watching home decorating shows, etc. I find a lot of creative inspiration while looking at travel magazines, travel brochures, cultural magazines and in global music. Two of my favorite magazines are National Geographic Traveler and National Geographic Adventure. The photographs are amazing and the colors are always so bright and vivid. The textures and art that I find inside these magazines are inspiring to me (and it doesn't help the wanderlust to calm down, either). Most of the time that I'm creating, I'm listening to music. It's usually alternative artists and all kinds of styles of music from all over the world. There are times when I shut off the music because I simply need quiet and to hear my thoughts in order to create.

So.......I promised you all a give-away in honor of my birthday (I turned 31 yesterday - December 22nd), but it's been a pretty busy weekend, so I'm going to post that tomorrow instead.

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama

Comments

[Kim Leach]

Happy belated birthday! (or you can be like me and celebrate all month long...er, what's left of it anyhow!)

[Bee]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Erika!!!!♥ You're so young! (compared to me,LOL) Hope the year ahead will be filled of accomplishments and happiness.
I love the new pic on your sidebar. We don't see your gorgeous blues so well but I like the play of the shadows... :-)

[Bee]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Erika!!!!♥ You're so young! (compared to me,LOL) Hope the year ahead will be filled of accomplishments and happiness.
I love the new pic on your sidebar. We don't see your gorgeous blues so well but I like the play of the shadows... :-)

[Pesc]

Happy birthday to you a day late!!! :) I wish you a beautiful Christmas with your family! :)

[Lourin]

Happy Birthday To You!!! I have been burried in busy these past 10 weeks or so.. So, today i catch up with your blog in Reverse :) I hope your Birthday was the Best and your Christmas is Blessed in undescribable (sp?) ways! I've missed your blog and plan on doing some massive Erika Blog overload today.
Much Happiness, Lourin

[reflections:0)]

Happy Birthday to you!

And a very Merry Christmas to you and yours!

reflections:0)

[Elizebeth]

"simply an extension of the way I try to live my life.....as free and natural as possible, unhindered by what other people think of me and unhindered by how other people think I should live my life."

I wish I could be like that, I have no idea how to though. It's not often that I read something moving on a stamping blog. I wanted to thank you for these words, so inspiring. And how we should all live and feel.

I hope you and your family have a lovely and happy Christmas.

[Mary C. Anderson]

First of al I absolutely LOVE the picture of you on the Top left. You look beautiful! Secondly.........I am so sorry that I forgot your birthday. You would think by now I would remember when your birthday is. Happy Birthday Erika. I hope it was a wonderful day.

Mary

[Michele]

Ohhh, I didn't know it was your birthday! Happy 31 to you!!!! And a Merry Christmas!