A little bit about me…
WHAT CRAFTING MEANS TO ME
I consider crafting my own form of meditation. It’s my therapy of choice and it’s how I unwind from the stresses of my day job and connect to my inner self.
There’s something very magical about creating something from nothing, finding joy in the creative process, whether you’re trying something for the first time or evolving your technique. There’s no other feeling quite like it, that of looking at what you’ve achieved and getting that warm fuzzy feeling in your chest from realising no other finished piece anyone else has created is quite the same as what yours.
MY CRAFTING MISSION
Having recently introduced some of my co-workers to stamping and die cutting (we decided to make our own office Christmas decorations last year!), I discovered a new thing I love even more than crafting itself: introducing others to it and guiding them on their creative journey. And so I’ve taken this somewhat scary decision to share my knowledge and experience with crafts with all of you.
I truly believe everyone is creative but in different ways but we may just not have found the craft for us yet., or not have had anyone to show us what the right tools for each task are or how to use them properly.
For example, I can’t draw freehand at all. I mean, I can but I doubt you’d recognise even the simplest of shapes in my scribbles! But when I discovered rubber stamps, stencils and the wonderful world of cutting dies I realised I didn’t need to be good at drawing to design a beautiful greeting cards or to be able to create a painting to hang on my walls.
Someone reminded me recently that all children are artists and create freely with no hangups about how “good” or true to reality their drawings are; as we grow into adulthood we lose that naivety and most of us get convinced we are not artistic. I want to show you we are all artists in our own way.
I have met some beautiful friends through my craft journey so far and I have learnt so much from all of them. I can only hope I can spread the joy of creating with you and inspire you to try something new, I bet you will love it too!
It all started when…
… I got seriously addicted to paper crafts some 15 odd years ago.
Growing up I had always been surrounded by creativity in my family: my Mum is a self-taught seamstress and very good at crochet and knitting (I am useless at both of these despite several attempts!); my older sister was always very good with different types of home decor and she introduced me to my first craft - cross stitching - when I was only 10; my Dad owned a blacksmith workshop and was always being “commissioned” by my sister to do bespoke rustic furniture and accessories pieces for her.
When I moved to London I was introduced to card making and scrapbooking. I made a couple of scrapbooks for each of my nephews as a way to shorten the distance and preserve our shared memories.When I was fnished these and gifted them the albums, I started making things for myself: greeting cards, journals, home decor. The rest is history, as they say.
What started as a box full of supplies for making cards quickly grew into a collection (some call it hoarding but let’s not get hung up on words!…) then eventually an entire craft room with a variety of craft products and makes. Through the years I’ve dabbled in a bit of everything handmade and attended numerous workshops and tutor led courses on paper crafts, brush calligraphy, sewing, patchwork quilting, …
Crafting hugs,
The Crafts Curator