Tell us a bit about yourself:
Let's see. I never know what to say about myself... I am a marine spouse whose husband just deployed. I grew up the daughter of a marine and mom always hung the flag out every holiday and 4th of July was always a big deal for us growing up. We always went to the 4th of July picnic where the community would all get together, play games like gunny sack races, dads would do the tug-a-war and mom always made dresses for me and my sis that matched in red, white and blue. So, I grew up very patriotic and it transcended into my work.
What do you enjoy; other than crafting?
What do you love most about creating things?
The thing I love most about creating things is knowing how much someone who receives one of my items loves it. It's very hard sometimes to part with something I made but I do... you have to if you want to have a business.
What inspires you?
I enjoy picking. I am an antique collector and love taking off in the car with mom and seeing what we can find, also, I plan to open my own shop here locally at years end. I will add my own pieces of furniture I make and my signs. I love traveling, screenwriting, theater and traveling.
Describe your creative process:
My creative process is finding things that restore America's history. I feel we are losing the historical values we were brought up with. I know it's silly but if I'm at a baseball game or somewhere and the Star Spangled Banner begins, I always shed a tear - call me sentimental. I research old items and try to recreate some of that history the best that I can. I work best early in the morning but the saws and sanders can be a wake-up to neighbors.
Favorite material(s)?
My favorite materials are woods - especially recycled barn wood though hard to find. If it has old barn paint on it, even better. I love stains because they give the item a certain smell so when you walk into the room you get that primitive sense of something just made. I also like to add a cinnamon stick to all my items especially at Christmas time for that seasonal sense as well.
The thing I love most about creating things is knowing how much someone who receives one of my items loves it. It's very hard sometimes to part with something I made but I do... you have to if you want to have a business.
What inspires you?
My mother inspires me because of her patriotism and her craftiness. When I was a little girl I use to watch her sew and then hand bead my skating costumes and they were gorgeous! As for starting my business, Glenn Beck inspired me to start my business of making patriotic items. I started reading many of the books he recommended like "George Washington" and many other old books. I was so inspired to make something of myself and spend everyday doing something good. I'm currently working with a charity organization for military families and a percentage of all my military inspired signs will be donated to this cause. Between Beck and my mother, I am driven to help as well as create.
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