Jennifer Carter’s card-making hobby partly pays for itself these days. Besides the many involvements that come with being a pastor’s wife at Zoar MB Church, Inman, Kan., and a part-time job as a school secretary, Carter has become an award-winning greeting card maker, featured in Paper Crafts Magazine and RubberStampMadness. Her card-making blog, jensinkspot.blogspot.com, is a popular source for card-making ideas and instructions for the latest card-making stamps and cutting dies.
How did you get started making cards?
After our son was born, I found myself getting burned out making so many scrapbooks, trying to get every page perfect. The idea of doing the same kind of thing on a smaller scale appealed to me.
How does your hobby partly pay for itself?
One of the companies I bought supplies from asked me to start designing samples for their catalog. They sent me their products for free and I would make the samples. Now I’m designing for several companies. That’s how it works in this industry—your payment is product that you get free.
What is your personal style?
I love to think outside the box, like using a winter stamp in summer. Recently I took a VW Bug stamp and cut off the back window to make it look like an old-fashioned truck. It just takes looking at a stamp differently.
Where do you find inspiration?
Inspiration is all around me—in patterns in clothing, art, home décor, stationery and Pinterest. Sometimes I find it in the most unexpected places. I take those ideas and put them into card format.
How does card-making connect with your faith?
When my card-making friends are going through hard times they want me to know about it. Sometimes it’s eye-opening. I get to share my heart and try to give them advice that is godly. On my blog I’m not pushy, but I encourage people to think of things in a different way. It is about relationship-building and planting seeds in people’s lives.
Interview by Kathy Heinrichs Wiest
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