Anna Leigh Wight

...an honest addiction, by Anna Wight.

I was born and raised in northeastern Washington where my family still lives. Growing up I had a love for horses, nature, and anything artsy … especially coloring! I can remember being a very young girl lying on the living room floor at my Grandma’s house (that horrible bumpy brown carpet numbing my elbows) coloring in my very own coloring books with my Mom. We were always doing something crafty as a family. We’d make Christmas ornaments, plastic sun catchers, paint-by-number masterpieces, design and build birdhouses, etc. It didn’t matter what we did, as long as it was crafty!

After high school I completed a Bachelors degree in Art at an Oregon university and realized another creative passion with photography. Since establishing my own photography business, I’ve been fortunate to photograph and study with some of the top equine photographers in the country and continue to specialize in natural light portrait photography for equines, pets and people.

I now live in Texas with my fiance on a small farm, and a whole lotta animals, including my three adopted rescue pets -- Miss Daisy (a chocolate lab), Mister Farley (a golden retriever), and Twinkle Toes (a grey cockatiel). In addition to photography and stamping, I also work full time for a large computer software company.

Until August 2005 I had never seen a Stampin’ Up! catalog and owned *maybe* 10 rubber stamps which hadn’t been inked in well over 10 years. I forced myself to avoid the patterned paper aisles in the craft stores because knowing that I have always loved cards, stationery, and paper, OH MY, I knew those shelves of deliciously colored paper would grab hold of my wallet and NEVER let go! I never thought stamps would have the same effect, so imagine my surprise when my very first Stampin’ Up! wish list stretched the length of a full-sized notebook page – and then some! It wasn’t too long after I placed my first order that my home office and digital photography lab turned into a crazy, colorful, inky stampin’ space!

And I was right about those rows of patterned scrapbook paper – they are delightful and evil, and I must have them all!

Stamping and paper crafts have allowed me to explore new ideas and creativity I’ve never realized before, and have provided opportunities that wouldn’t have presented themselves outside of the stamping community.

I am proud and excited to be an illustrator for Whipper Snapper Designs! Check us out at http://www.WhipperSnapperDesigns.com