It’s so nice to meet you! My name is Justin Adkins. I’m in my early 30’s and live with my husband Korey & our pit bulls Duke & Winnie in the Chicago Suburb of Woodridge, IL.
I went to college at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and studied advertising. While there, I was a Resident Advisor for 3 years at one of the University Housing Residence Halls. I think that’s where my knack for crafting really took place. I used to create decorations for my floor constantly… whether it be bulletin boards, decorations for each resident’s doors, or creating decorations for the rest of the building. I felt like I constantly was making stuff, and I really enjoyed it! Well, I graduated in 2014 and moved back to the suburbs and took a break from creating for a little bit.
In July of 2016, I was browsing a local paper store that sold both pre-made cards and crafting supplies to make them, and looking for a card for my grandma’s birthday. I was looking at the rubber stamps, saw an easy example of an elephant carrying balloons, and thought “Hey, I can do that! And I can save money.” I learned 2 things from that instance:
- I was gravely mistaken about the whole “saving money” idea.
- I absolutely loved this process and knew I needed to do it more.
So, for about 2 years, I made cards almost strictly with rubber stamps, ink, embossing powder and washi tape. I really didn’t think there was much of a card making world beyond that. However, in September of 2018, I started noticing more and more of these “clear stamps”, and makers were coloring them in beautifully. With some research, I found that I only scraped the cardstock surface of card making.
I bought a Cricut Explore Air 2, found some promo codes, ordered more stamps than I’d care to admit, and now, here we are!
Over the past few years, I’ve noticed common themes throughout my favorite projects:
- Bold Colors
- Pop Culture References
- Snarky Sentiments
- and an embellishment of sorts to give some flair to each card!
I have loved connecting with other crafters like myself, and learning other sorts of styles to adapt into my own.
Aside from paper crafting, I love cooking, baking, photography and traveling. While it may seem like a real wide range of interests, I feel confident that I’ve found my own way to really mix and match these skills at a bunch of different points throughout my week.
I want to take a moment to thank you for making it this far in learning about my story. I invite you to pull up a chair to my virtual crafting desk and enjoy this journey together!
If you want to know where else to find me, click here!
Also, if you’re interested in working together, feel free to review me online Creative Resume, and contact me here!
Happy Crafting!
-Justin
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