My Favorite Card Makers

     Over the years my favorite card makers have changed.  I still like all of them, but like all of us their tastes change and so do their blogs and their YouTube video content.  As some of them spend more time on hand lettering than on card making (and their hand lettering is very inspiring), or teaching water coloring or hand drawing more than card making (and they are extremely talented in what they do), I end up skipping many of their videos because it doesn't apply to what I am doing currently or what I feel I should be focusing on.
     It's not that I don't want to do hand lettering or water coloring.  It's just that I still need to perfect my ink blending and try all the techniques in die cutting, fancy folds, making my own background papers, copic coloring and etc.  Once I have perfected all that I will likely delve into water coloring and hand lettering.
    So that leaves me with my CURRENT favorite card makers.  They are in no particular order other than the first one.

1. Gina K has always been near the top.  She is an awesome human being.  During the past year or two I have shared thoughts with her in an online forum, spoken to her in person, and talked to her on the phone when I had a problem with one of my orders-which really wasn't a problem on her end or my end-just a computer glitch.  She just couldn't be any nicer.  Her YouTube videos (StampTV with Gina K.) are so well planned and executed and her voice is soooo soothing.  Her cards are very elegant which I love and her products are to die for.  I buy almost exclusively from her now due to the high quality of her products.  I always wondered why the card making world hadn't discovered her yet.  Yes, many people knew her from her YouTube channel, but when discussing her channel or her products in the online card making forum I was in, the majority of users were not familiar with her.  I am so happy to see that she has final made it big.  Her products are being sold not just at her store, but at SimonSaysStamp.  She now is friends with the other card makers that have made it big.  She is traveling and giving demonstrations at Scrapbooking shows.  Her daughter Rina K has her own YouTube Channel (Rina K Designs) and she is so refreshing and funny.  I just can't say enough good things about Gina and her family.  I think the awesome products she is producing is what has recently put her at the top of my list.
2. Jennifer McGuire has also always been near the top.  Her YouTube Channel (Jennifer McGuire Ink) is so innovative.  She continually amazes me with new techniques that I would love to try.  She also is just an amazing person.  She joined the same card making forum that I am in and she is just such a sweet, helpful person.  By watching her videos you get a glimpse of her life and see what a generous person she is with her time.  So again, another sweet person with an awesome YouTube channel.  Jennifer has a very big following.  I don't think I have run into a card maker yet that doesn't know who she is.
3. Here is a hidden gem that doesn't seem to have hit it big yet.  She is another sweet lady and deserves a bigger following.  She seems dedicated to helping people learn techniques and improve their card making which I appreciate.  Justine Hovey (Justine's Cards) is the one I am hoping will be the next one to become a household name among card makers.
4. Yana Smakula makes the most beautiful elegant cards. Her cards are very much in the style I would like mine to be.  Some of them actually are like the ones I do but most of them are so much better.  It is really helpful for me to try to keep up with her.  I honestly believe I learn at least one new thing while watching a new video of hers.  I think what I like most about her cards is that they look like they belong in the Hallmark store.  Only there is only one of her cards and it is handmade instead of being thousands of the same card and being produced by machine.  Her YouTube channel is definitely on my list of channels I keep up with.  

There are a few other card makers whom I watch on YouTube but they don't produce as much content as these 4 ladies do.  There are also a few other ladies producing a lot of content.  I believe I have surpassed one of them in my ability to produce cards which I am proud of so I no longer watch her, but she is good and has a good following.  I am still subscribed to one of the ladies that I mentioned has changed the content of her channel-she still produces some content that I like so I just pick and choose which videos to watch, and there is also another lady producing a lot of content that I stopped watching due to her changing the focus of her content.  I adored the cards she was making but there were very few videos that I felt I wanted to watch.  If you feel there is someone I should be watching, chances are it is one of these last three ladies.