Meet the Team - Rebecca Houghton

Hello crafters!

Here at Chloe's Creative Cards, we're so lucky to have a team of talented designers who work so hard to produce beautiful, inspiring projects for us to admire and recreate. Of course, we always showcase their work, but we thought it would be nice to get to know them better.

Today, we have something a little different for you! We're going to be getting to know the incredibly gifted Rebecca Houghton, who started off on our Design Team but has recently joined us full time at our Head Office to help out in lots of different creative areas.

WELCOME TO THE TEAM OFFICIALLY! WHAT'S YOUR NAME AND WHERE DO YOU COME FROM?

Hi, my name is Rebecca Houghton and I come from Bishop Auckland, co Durham in the North East of England.

HOW LONG WERE YOU A MEMBER OF CHLOE’S DESIGN TEAM BEFORE SHE SNAPPED YOU UP TO WORK FOR HER FULL TIME?

I have been on Chloe’s DT team since 2016 – those seven years have just flown by! I was just telling Chloe the story the other day that I remember coming in for the crop group one week and just before home time she asked me if I would like to be on the DT team. I was so excited, I didn’t really want to go on the holiday I had booked the next week as I just wanted to create cards with all the lovely products!

WE’VE SEEN YOU PRESENT ALONGSIDE CHLOE ON FACEBOOK LIVES – DO YOU GET NERVOUS BEFOREHAND AT ALL?

Yes! I was very nervous although once you start and get chatting and crafting, the nerves definitely disappear and it's just like crafting with your friends.

WHAT ARE YOUR MAIN DUTIES NOW THAT YOUR ROLE HAS EXPANDED/EVOLVED?!

I get to do lots of things in my new role, including helping to pack all your wonderful orders, make lots of samples with the new releases, helping to prepare for videos/Facebook Lives, and lots more. We were even building furniture this week!

IS THERE A PARTICULAR TASK THAT YOU’RE EAGER TO GET WORKING ON?

Oooh, I can't wait for all the new samples to come back of some amazing products we are working on and just getting to play with them for the first time before anyone else sees them! There are some exciting things coming for sure!

CAN YOU TELL US ANY IDEAS YOU HAVE THAT WE’LL BE SEEING OVER THE COMING MONTHS?

Sorry! It's top secret! 😂

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN MAKING CARDS AND HOW/WHY DID YOU START?

I’ve been crafting since I was about nine years old. My auntie actually got me and my mam into cardmaking when she received a handmade card and said ‘you could do that’! Needless to say, it was a very expensive night buying in all the products we needed to create our first card! I’ve been hooked ever since. I have also been attending craft fairs for a number of years too, to showcase my makes.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVOURITE TECHNIQUES? 

I love to heat-emboss and create flowers. I can spend whole days just doing this; the technique never gets old for me. I do also enjoy die-cutting which I believe always helps your finished projects come together.

WOULD YOU SAY YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR STYLE?

Anything glittery! I love making cards with lots of dimension and of course lots of glitter! I would say my favourite particular style is pretty and floral.

IS THERE A PROJECT THAT YOU'RE MOST PROUD OF?

I do love to make a wreath and I made this one last year to hang on my door for Easter. I received lots of compliments about it when people came to the door. 

HAVE THERE BEEN ANY MEMORABLE CRAFTY MISTAKES?

I am often getting finger prints on cards, but its easily fixed with a butterfly or flower! I do also make my fair share of back to front cards.

IF YOU COULD ONLY KEEP FIVE CRAFTING TOOLS/MATERIALS (OTHER THAN CARDSTOCK AND ADHESIVE), WHAT WOULD THEY BE AND WHY?

My Gemini die-cutting machine, floral stamps, Sparkelicious glitters, Copic markers and lots of foam pads!

WHAT THREE PIECES OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE STARTING OUT ON THEIR CARDMAKING JOURNEY?

Try, try, and try again if things don’t go right the first time. Have a cup of tea and a slice of cake and then go back to it. Don’t overthink it as, at the end of the day, it’s a piece of paper. Give it a try and if it doesn’t go right, bin it and have another go with something else. Oh, and buy lots of glitter! Glitter always makes everything look better!

DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER CRAFTY HOBBIES?

I love to bake! Making cakes is my favourite – again I like making them look pretty, often throwing a bit of edible glitter at them! These are some goodies I made for family and friends. I have even used an older Chloe butterfly die to embellish one of the cakes!

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU ENJOY DOING IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

I love shopping – so I like to have a little shopping trip whenever I have some spare time. And of course, no shopping trip is complete without a nice lunch somewhere!

WHAT ARE YOUR GUILTY PLEASURES?

I love a good Netflix series with a cup of tea and a piece of cake in hand!

WHAT THREE WORDS WOULD YOUR FRIENDS USE TO DESCRIBE YOU?

I wasn’t really sure, so I asked my lovely friend, Helen, who said "thoughtful", "caring", "brave" and "funny". She then said "ooops, sorry that's four, but they’re all true"!

TELL US SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU.

I was a higher-level teaching assistant in a primary school before joining Chloe’s Creative Cards.