Expanding blog hop!

Last week my friend Leslie invited me to take part in a blog hop tour. This is an interesting one because the posts are spread apart and the hop spreads OUT as it goes on with the idea to answer four questions yourself, then nominate three fellow bloggers to do the same.
Leslie's answers from last Monday are here if you want a peek :) So without further ado these are my answers, hope they're interesting enough and I'll try not to waffle on too much!:

1. What am I working on?
Ohhhhh so much lol. I'm dreadful for biting off more than I can chew in pretty much every area of my life and crafting is no different. Currently I'm working on:
1 - Cross stitch pattern of winnie the pooh characters - I actually started this before Cam was born with the plan of putting it in his nursery which had the same theme. Obviously this won't be happening now but I've started so I'll eventually finish! It's usually what I pick up when my back is hurting, or I just want to sit on the couch under a blanket and watch TV. Can't really scrapbook in those situations so keeps me busy :)
2 - The hama bead pony parade - Last month I made a birthday cake for my daughter with a Rainbow dash pony on it. Since then Caitlin and my niece Mollie have been constantly asking me to make the other ponies from the show. So far I've done Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity. Mollie plays with hers while Caitlin is keeping them all until I'm done then they're going on her wall. Currently hunting car boot sales for more pink beads so I can finish Pinkie Pie at the moment!
3 - Scrapping! - I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to keeping up with scrapbooking. Others I know scrap big events, or photos they particually like ect. I scrap everything. Yep, if I get the photo developed, I eventually scrap it. This is why even though I speed scrap this is half of my pile of photos waiting to be done, and I haven't even had any from this year developed yet!

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
That's a hard one. Really it probably doesn't. I don't think I have a particular style, perhaps simple if I had to name it. I love the results of other layouts which have paint, misting and loads of detail and elements but whenever I try it ends up looking like I've sneezed scrapbooking supplies onto a page lol. I tend to stick to simpler pages which I can do fairly quickly with lots of layering and embellishment clusters. This is a typical example.

3. Why do I write/create what I do?
Thats an easy one, my family. I'm a carer for my husband who has an illness which affects his memory as well as his expected life span. I scrap so that he can look back on events and read the story behind the photo and hopefully retain some memory of it, and also that the kids can look back and see how much fun we had as a family and how much love we have for each other. My blog is a similar thing. I suppose its cathartic for me to put down what I've done each day, like an online diary, but it's also fun to look back and see what we were doing this time last year and see how the kids and things have changed :)
A side bonus is it helps me keep track of things too! I can't tell you how often I've been in a meeting and someone asks when something happened and I whip out my phone and give the answer. Barely know what day it is otherwise!

4. How does your writing/creating process work?
I tend to start with the papers then find a photo to match. As I scrap on the floor of my bedroom I don't have much room for storing all my supplies to hand so make them into kits.
Based on what kit I'm using I usually have an idea of what type of photo to use, bright kits usually a Summer or holiday photo, Autumn photos for earthy tones and obviously winter/Christmas photos for winter/Christmas kits. I have a scary amount of those :s Once I have a photo and background paper I like I pick a few embellishments I want to use and move it all around on the page until I'm happy with it :)
I don't often take part in challenges as I lose track and forget what I'm doing and for where but have recently changed my blog around and got a notebook to help keep me more organised in that respect. :)
Blog wise my 'writing process' is really me just blethering on, regular readers will have probably guessed that! lol.

So that's my questions answered :) Next week three of my friends will hopefully be answering themselves and further nominating three of their friends to do the same. I've picked:

Jess - A great friend of mine both online and in real life. Jess blogs about her scrapping, card making and whatever is going on in her life at the time.

Fiona - Another great friend online who I am lucky enough to see annually at our Meadowbarn retreat. She blogs about her life, scrapping, cardmaking, stampin up classes and her sewing. Whew! Don't know where she finds the time for everything!

Last but not least Julia, who manages to do those beautifully detailed layouts I mentioned earlier without the 'sneeze' effect lol. She also blogs about her life and family, and has made it so I can never hear the song 'Happy' again without bursting into hysterical laughter ;)

So there we go! Lesley thanks again for nominating me and ladies, can't wait to see your posts next week! :)