Welcome Joni Nina Andaya

I am so excited to start formally introducing our new Wplus9 Designers! Over the next several weeks, they will be making special appearances here on the blog where they will share a little about themselves and what they've been cooking up for us with our April 2014 release.

Let's meet Joni Nina Andaya:

"Hi Joni here, I am a mom to a 9 year old girl with a very supportive husband. I also just recently acquired my Bachelor of Science in Information System concentrating on Software Engineering degree last month. I recently am working as a Web Developer at the moment.

I started venturing in making cards when my daughter was born, but did not really create my blog until the year of 2012. I love to use bold colors and dimensions on my projects. I also love to use different elements that are available that can be incorporated on my projects as well. Most of all I love creating my own backgrounds.

I am so excited and honored to be working and be given an opportunity to work with Wplus9, for this has been my dream to work with them for a long time now. My dream is now a reality that my hope is to inspire you more on using their amazing products."

Joni's personal blog: Papell With Love.

Joni will be here all week to share a ton of inspiration featuring our April 2014 release. And, she's given me the pick of the litter to feature here today.

This was a hard decision, as she has really delivered her signature style in all of her creations. Highlighting the very thing that caught my eye and made me fall in love with her designs.

After waffling back and forth, I choose two.

Her use of the Birds & Branches Die is incredible in this wedding card.

She has such a knack for fully utilizing her Wplus9 stash. I particularly like the way that she has worked the delicate branches from Heartfelt Holiday into this design. And the font from Fresh Cut Wreaths reinforces the overall mood of the card perfectly.

And notice how she's taken some creative license to stack and add color to the extra little flowers included in the Birds & Branches Die. It's these little details that take the die cuts to a whole new level. This creates a solid focal point for the birds, pushes the branches into the background and keeps the birds from getting lost or overpowered by the branches.

One of the things that I really think you all will enjoy about Joni's work is her technique work. It's not always obvious, but the way she peppers techniques into her design is amazing. I often analyze her cards and try to figure out "what is it" about this design that is capturing my attention so keenly. This is a great exercise in design. And 9 times out of 10 it's in the details. Like above, that simple flower detail and the soft inking in the background creates depth and captures the attention. It's subtle, but it's unmistakably there.

The next card that I chose is another example. I just kept coming back to look at it. Trying to figure out what was it that was making it so memorable.

And for this one, it was the unexpected combination of genre.

She's taken what appears to be a very feminine set, Spring Blooms, and turned it into an eclectic little bouquet of blooms. She's given this set edge by stamping and over-stamping it, and even over-stamping it again with the backside of the stamp. This created such a unique style that it is now able to pair up nicely with the bold and playful style of the "epic" stamp and die from Epic Dad.

She kept the playful and eclectic style going by adding some splatter to the background using Ink Splats. The vibrant and bold color choices offset by the softer tones is the icing on the cake.

These are wonderful examples of Joni's signature style. I always learn something new, am reminded of something that I had forgotten, or encouraged to push myself a little further through Joni's work.

I hope you all are as excited as I am to have Joni share her work, her ideas, and some of her techniques with us!