An Interview of Sorts.

This can be your weekend edition of WhiMSy love. I've answered all the questions from the Happy Blogger-versary To Me post right here! And though I should have split this up into 2 or 3 different posts, I didn't. It's a doozy. I don't blame you if you pause to get a snack (or take a nap) & then come back to finish reading.

Frosted Treats asks: What's your favorite thing to create and what's your most popular (among other people) thing you've created?

I think my favorite thing to create would be my Vintage Button Rings. I love buttons & I love sorting through them to find fun color combos. It's a happy craft fer sure. It's the kind of project I can curl up on the couch with & get all cozy-like with a movie & a cup of something hot-n-yummy.

(*The picture at the top shows some of my first rings. The yellow one in the photo is the first Vintage Button Ring I ever sold.*)
The most popular item I've created is probably the fork easels. So far, I've sold about 150 of them, not including wholesale orders outside of Etsy! Woohoo!

The Writing on the Wall book art is the item that gets the most views in my shop. And I'm very proud of them: My books are at the Bellevue Arts Museum store!

But my owlies also caused quite a sensation last Christmas holiday season--& they continue to get lots of love. So, it's a toss up. All 3 popular, but for different reasons.

Madame asks: I am wondering what made you start your etsy business and your blog?

My blog came first. One night I was surfing around the internet & looking for nothing in particular. Mostly crafty-related items. I found a blog (which is now home of one of my most favorite crafty personalities: Jek) & I thought: "Wow, a blog? What the heck is a blog? This is neato. I'd love to journal like this & feature crafty stuff & do 'how-to' projects!" That same night I stumbled onto Etsy. I was interested in selling handmade stuff, but didn't know where to start. Etsy was exactly what I was looking for! (Even though I didn't know I was looking for it.)

At the same time, my mom & I were selling some vintage & handmade items in a little rented space in an antique mall. We did that for 2 years & I opened my Etsy shop just before this business closed its doors. In fact, I opened my Etsy shop without owning a good camera, so I wasn't even able to take pictures of my handmade stuff. I had to wait a month later, until an early birthday camera gift arrived! Four days after I filled my shop with goodies, on April 3rd 2007, I sold my first item. And guess what it was? A fork easel!

Have you always been this creative?

I like to think that I was born with glue gun in hand, throwing glitter-like confetti as I emerged from the womb, ready to make the world a happy crafty place. Seriously though, I remember always liking to make things as a kid.

My mom also taught me how to cross-stitch, which was one of my first crafty ventures. And she taught me to sew too---about 5 years ago. My family is not very crafty or self-proclaimed creative types. So, I'm not sure where I got it from. I was told that my birth father (whom I've never met) created an ice sculpture once. Did he have a creative spirit? Possibly. And though my birth mother pursues other things I think she has a bit of a creative soul. I just like to think about those kinds of things. I do believe my creativity is a gift. It's what I'm good at. If I couldn't make stuff every day I would, seriously, be an unhappy person.

What is your favorite thing you have crafted/created?

The most favorite thing I've EVER made is something that was a gift to my dad. It was a blank journal & I filled it with photos, journal entries & silly little ink doodles & sketches of a backpack trip he & I took when I was 17 years old. I just loved how it turned out. And I love how cool he thought it was.

Anonymous "shadow" asks: I've always wondered how you find time in your day to do "it all", esp w/ the wee ones. i have always hoped you sometimes take photos, write your blog, etc days in advance & then just choose a time to upload them. this way i feel better at my inability to keep up with your pace. don't you ever just chill, feet up, trashy TV blaring, glass of wine AND do absolutely NOTHING for a few hours?
Well, I find the time to do it all----because I make time to do the things I love to do. You must understand that my house is not perfectly clean, my laundry gets backed up on occasion, my toilets may skip a cleaning....but I am happy---& so are my kids. (I get this question a lot & I wanted to thank Danyelle for helping me put my thoughts into words when I read this article.) I also include my girls in a lot of the things I do or make. They create right beside me.

My mind is always ticking, thinking, creating, planning, dreaming. I don't have a set schedule of when I do things, I just squeeze it all in when I have a bit of time: when the girls are at school, during my wee ones quiet time everyday, at night when everyone is asleep, etc. I actually don't LIKE just sitting & doing NOTHING for a few hours. I do put my feet up, watch movies, & chill out. But most of the time, WHILE I'm doing those things, I have a crafty project in my hand.

Carrie Sue asks: How do you always jump so high? haha! Well, this crafty chik has super powers don't ya know? No, I do not have superpowers, or a trampoline. I just jump--off of anything or nothing at all. Although, look at that wacky picture below. That's all me. (And you don't want to see how I landed.) I'm so giddy & happy 'cause I'm wearing some new owlie pajama pants I just got from a friend. (*Thanks Amy!!*) The key to "the jump" is all in the timing. And I do it with the self timer on my camera. I've collected plenty a jumpy picture over the years, even forcing loved ones & dear friends to jump for a photo. I need to get them in an album.
Kara asks: I was wondering when you first discovered your crafty side...did you go to school for art?? or figure out your were a crafty genius after you had kiddos?? I have always LOVED making things. But more specifically, I remember at a young age LOVING to give gifts that I'd made. The only art classes I've taken in school were a pottery class (with the wheel & everything!) & a basic drawing class, both in my only year of college. A "crafty genius" I am not. Now, a "creative superstar" on the other hand......haha!

I DO believe my kids are crafty geniuses though!

Courtney asks: When did you realize that you loved owls so much or have you always?? The owlies are a new affection for me. I think my sweet owl love began last summer. I started seeing adorable owls on Etsy & swooned. The sketch below is one I recently came up with. I call it "Uni-browl".