Dori by her supply shelves
Jaine Toth
Introduced to scrapbooking as a teenager in a 4H club, Dori Nelson found it her favorite of the various crafts they taught. “It was the easiest. It is small and compact, and you can finish a project in as little as an hour.”
Dori kept up the scrapbooking and later, as an adult, a friend who worked as a Stampin’ Up representative introduced her to cardmaking. She enjoyed it so much she signed up to be a representative. That only lasted five years. Living in a small farm community with a population of 80, her best customers were her mother, her mother-in-law, her aunt-in-law, and herself. Even with holding Stampin’ Up parties, earnings didn’t keep up with expenses, so her husband Michael suggested she go back to being someone else’s best customer.
In addition to making cards to give friends and family on special occasions, Dori likes to make gift sets that they can in turn use to send to others.
In a gesture to give back to Farm Rescue after they literally came to the rescue when her husband took ill, she made packets of six cards each to donate to their annual fundraising auction. She used a tractor stamp and colored it in the green and yellow that represents John Deere equipment. Amazed and gratified to learn that they sold for $65 per packet, she now provides them every year.
Wanting to escape North Dakota winters, she and Michael chose this area as they have a relative who lives in Arizona City. After first staying in a hotel, they decided they wanted something of their own and bought a fifth wheel. After only one winter at Fiesta Grande, another illness precluded them being able to drive, so the fifth wheel was left at home and they flew to Arizona and purchased a villa here at Robson Ranch.
After a couple of seasons, Dori’s daughter Christina asked why she hadn’t joined the Paper Crafting Club here at Robson Ranch. Dori admitted she didn’t know anyone and was hesitant to go on her own. So Christina accompanied her to a session and she felt welcomed and joined. Almost immediately, Dori volunteered to teach a card class—an excellent way to meet people and have them remember you—especially when the participant enjoyed the class! It was a lot of fun learning how to recycle empty tissue boxes. More recently she taught us how to ink painter’s tape to create a sense of texture in your design.
Our members are already anticipating another class from Dori with yet another unusual and clever technique.