Pia from Denmark makes some of the most stylish Clean and Simple (CAS) cards I have ever seen. She started paper crafting in her late twenties and finds satisfaction in creating something pretty while enjoying the process.
Who are you?
I am a Danish crafter and Youtuber born and raised in Denmark. I am married to a very understanding husband which is a necessary quality when living with a crafter. Most crafters will agree with me on this. I am a doggy mom to a 4-year-old formula one Labrador. She keeps us active but is also a major snuggle bug. I work part-time as a finance & bookkeeping outsourcing consultant. Part from crafting my other passion is Padel Tennis. This I play 2 to 3 times a week.
When did you start with paper crafting?
I have been fortunate to have grown up with a very creative mother and grandmother. From early on I was taught to knit, embroider, sew, and crochet, just to mention the basic ones. Paper crafting didn’t catch my interest until my late twenties. It was my mother who was interested in learning more about creating LO’s and asked if I would join her in a class. My curiosity made me say yes and this is how my adventure in paper crafting began. Later I found out that creating LO’s were too time consuming for my life and actually lost interest in it. But I had quite a bit of materials and couldn’t make myself give it away. Then some years later after I met my husband, I was home with a flu at the end of the year and to make time pass, I went on YouTube to get inspiration for Christmas gift tags. This is when I came across Kristina Werner’s Christmas Card Series. Since then, I have never looked back! I was hooked on cardmaking.
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What is the best thing about paper crafting?
The satisfaction of creating something pretty and enjoying the process. Being curious about how products work, how new tools work. Talking nerd talk with my best friend about thickness of cardstock, new products, twerking new techniques and rooting for each other. A bonus for me is that it calms my brain to be creative – whether its die cutting, stamping, hot foiling or watercolouring. It’s a haven in an at times stressful life/job.
Have you made mistakes?
Oh, yes! I have made plenty through the years. Just to mention some more recent ones. A classic is putting the hot foil the wrong way when hot foiling with Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil Machine. I have a couple of hot foil plates which now is decorated with foil. Quite recently I was recording a video showing how to create wax seals for cardmaking and accidently hit the wax spoon while the wax was melting. That was a bit of a mess and lucky me – I had it on tape! When I was editing my YouTube video, I decided to show this mistake as a bonus at the end of the video. Because we all make mistakes. Nobody is perfect.
What kind of projects do you make?
I mostly prefer to make cards, but also gift bags and boxes from time to time. I see each card as a little work of art. And I find cards quicker to create even though the process can be time consuming sometimes. But I like the process and I love to try out new products and techniques. My favorite techniques lately are hot foiling with Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil Machine, layered die cutting, stencil colouring and wax seals. These techniques I do my best to show in Reel’s on my Instagram/Facebook and on my YouTube channel. I create most of my YT videos with both English and Danish voiceovers.
How often do you craft?
It varies from week to week. Some weeks I craft every other day. Some weeks not at all. Daily life with my family always takes priority. And honestly, Padel tennis also takes up some time. I make sure to craft when I feel the mojo. It’s a really bad idea to force yourself to be creative if you just don’t have the mojo.
Can you describe your style?
I am a huge fan of the CAS style and love to create cards in this style. But my style stretches between CAS and simple shabby chic. Lately I have become fond of geometric and graphic patterns on cards. Quite early on when I began cardmaking I found my preference for the CAS style. As I am on a Creative Team with the Danish online store Hobbyboden and also helping the non-profit organization Operation Skriv Hjem (Danish Operation Write Home), I create a lot of cards which focusses more on products and theme, than sticking to strict CAS style. As mentioned before, the creative process is more important to me, than sticking to a certain style. Has my style changed? Yes, it has, but not significantly in my opinion.
Show us 3-5 of your favorite projects. Why are these your favorites?
I recently got my hands on Spellbinders Wax Seal starter kit and love to explore the possibilities. On this card I have made a two coloured wax seal. The 2-colour wax technique had a bit of a steep learning curve for me, but I got it after some unsuccessful tries. Together with the PinkFresh Studio Winter Berries set I absolutely love the result. I even made a Reel’s video to show the wax technique. The reels video is on my Instagram and Facebook.
Here is one of my geometric/graphic cards. Combining a hint of CAS style with geometric pattern is a favorite with me. This card is created using half circle die cuts. Three shades of each colour family to create the pattern. For this card I also have a Reel’s video on my Instagram and Facebook.
This card with the flowers is created from a colour palette I saw with The Stamp Market on their Instagram page. It is CASED but I have used a combination of Danish products and international products. I love to mix and match different brands.
For this Christmas card I have yet again combined my love for CAS and geometric/graphic patterns. And yep, there is a Reel’s video for this card as well.
This card I am really excited about. Here I tried for the first time to use hot foiling on glitter cardstock. It worked wonders and the result was gorgeous. This is what I love about testing out new techniques. Sometimes it doesn’t work and other times it works like a charm. This is a Christmas card I created with the result. This hot foil technique I have demonstrated in a Reel’s video on my Instagram/Facebook.
What inspires you?
Many different things inspire me. These are the most common.
- New products on how they can be used on a card. Or alternative ways to use the product. I find the idea process very inspiring.
- A colour palette.
- Cards created by other cardmakers. There are so many talented and inspiring cardmakers out there in the world. Seeing a card by someone else, can many times jump start my own idea process with a new product, colours or technique.
Is there anything you would like to learn?
I would love to learn Lettering and be able to write gorgeous texts on my handmade cards with lettering technique.
Can you mention five products/tools you cannot live without?
- Big shot / Platinum 6
- Bonefolder
- MISTI
- Dye inks
- Blending brushes
What is on top of your wish list right now?
Waffle Flower’s sticky mat, especially the mat for the standard MISTI.
Who would you like to meet in real life?
I am so fortunate to have met many of the crafters that I admire in the paper crafting business. I have been able to attend the Creativation fair in Phoenix, USA, a couple of times. It was truly amazing to walk among so many kindred spirits and be able to chat with many online crafty friends. I have even had a chat with Jennifer McGuire, Kristina Werner, Kathy Racoosin and Yana Smakula. I must admit being rather star struck when talking to Jennifer. I managed to forget my own name and presented myself as “Hi, I am Denmark…errr, sorry, I am Pia”. Whoopsie. One of my international crafty friends turned out to be really good friends with Yana and we all ended up having lunch together. Later I have also met Yana at the Creative World fair in Frankfurt, Germany. If I get the chance, I would really love to meet up with Yana again. I find her as a person and her cardmaking skills very inspiring.
Can you describe your craftroom?
My craftroom is a shared home office with my husband. We each have a half of the room. He must endure the view of all my crafty stuff, but I try to make sure he has a colourful and fairly tidy view. My craft desk is somewhat tidy as I don’t like my craft space too messy. I usually put things away between projects. I love the fact that I have many tools and products within reach of my desk. I have a thing with putting everything in rainbow colour order. Which can be seen more than one place in my craftroom.
Where can we find you:
- Instagram: pia_k_larsen
- YouTube: PiaKroghLarsen
- Facebook: PiaKroghLarsen
I used to have a blog called Pia’s Creative World, but some years ago I decided to no longer post on it. Writing blogposts and making product lists with links to brands and web shops was very time consuming and over the years fewer and fewer clicked on and read the blogposts. This is the reason I’m only on Instagram and Facebook now. It was a choice to focus on a better balance between family life and my creative life – to time optimize my creative hobby.
This post is published by TPC Magazine.