Introducing the Newest 52CCT Design Team Members

Our recent design team call was met with wonderful enthusiasm! We were honored to have so many of you who want to be part of our team. After a good bunch of viewing, re-viewing and viewing again we did make our selections and are thrilled to announce our "newbies" to the 52CCT design team. Please welcome.... Deborah Frings, Patricia Hays and Sarah Stone. Let's hear a little bit about each of them shall we? 

First meet Deborah Frings

Hi, I’m Deborah - and right about now, I’m jumping up and down with excitement!! I’m thrilled to be picked to join the design team here at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown. Thank you ladies :)

I have always crafted in some form or other. I started by making cards and little books as a child, moving onto embroidery and later cross-stitch. I’ve always taken photos and made my own scrapbooks, although not with lots of embellishments and paper like you get now, just memory books. And I made the odd card or two. And recently I even tried my hand at knitting!!

I became seriously hooked on card making after receiving a handmade card from a friend. I started off small with a few boxes and the kitchen worktop as my studio. When we moved to North Wales in 2006 my small craft space got somewhat bigger, and now that I’m in the US my craft room has exploded!!  

You can see Deborah's lovely creations at Deborah's Gems.

And now meet Patricia Hays

Hi there! I'm Patricia, and I am delighted to be one of the newest design team members here at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown! Now that I've settled down from my initial happy dance, I'm looking forward to working with the rest of the team and seeing the Christmas creations shared by the challenge participants.

I honestly can't remember a time in my life when I wasn't doing some sort of artsy-crafty things. Over the years I've enjoyed crewel embroidery, counted cross-stitch, latch hook rug making, and scrapbooking. About 12 years ago, one of my friends became a Stampin' Up demonstrator, and I did the polite, supportive thing of attending her Open House... and promptly became addicted to making cards. The rest is history. :)

I've lived in Virginia all my life, although I've traveled and moved throughout the state. I currently live in the Shenandoah Valley with my husband of 20 years and our two teenage sons. Both of the boys are active in band - concert band, symphonic band, jazz band, and marching band - so that keeps us busy with practices, competitions, football games, and concert events. I work as a substitute teacher at the elementary school my sons attended when they were young. The flexible hours allow me a lot of crafting time on my non-working days. It's a pretty wonderful life!

I blog frequently at Thinking of Inking. I hope you'll stop by there for a visit!

And then there is Sarah Stone

Hi, I'm Sarah. I'm so excited to be part of this design team! Making Christmas cards all year round is just about a dream come true!

I was raised in Ohio, then I studied German in Berlin, which is where I met my husband. He is from Alabama, so we moved there after we got married in 2004. We moved to Wisconsin in 2010 when my husband found work here, and we're still here. I have 3 children, ages 6, 3, and 1, two girls and a boy.

My mom got me into scrapbooking when I started college, and I still scrapbook all my pictures. I have always made homemade cards, but I really got into it when I started consulting for Close To My Heart.

In addition to scrapbooking and stamping, I also like to read, crochet and knit, cook, and watch TV with my hubby. I am also a Mary Kay consultant, and I babysit to make some extra money. But the most important part of my life is God and his Son, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He saved me from my sins by his blood when I was little, and I am eternally grateful and can't wait to spend eternity with him in heaven. I love my church family, and try to serve at  church in any way I can.

 If you like challenges, come check out my Close To My Heart color dare blog, Color My Heart. I also have a 365 recipe blog: 365 No Repeats. My personal blog is Sarah Stone Creations.

So there they are - aren't they all just lovely? We are excited to have them join us and we know you will love seeing their wonderful creations each week too.

Please check back soon for the start of  a new month of challenges.  Louise will be our hostess this next month and she has some great challenges in store.  And remember to visit us on  Wednesday to see who was awared the Top Honor and Honorable Mentions for the February Felt Challenge.