Featured Etsy Artist

How long have you been crafting and how did it start?

I have been crafting for as long as I can remember and it began with my grandmother sitting down and teaching my sister and I how to knit a simple scarf. I was about five at the time and it was a plain stitch scarf knitted on yellow plastic needles Not a thing of beauty I might add!

What is your favorite medium to work with?

For most of my life my favorite medium was a simple pencil and paper. I loved to draw from the time I first held a pencil. No one was safe from me and everyone in the family had their portraits drawn even though they tried to hide on many an occasion.

How did Your Craft Book start and why the decision to sell on Etsy?

I have always loved to create but the best part for me is the designs and ideas. I do not like to make something more than a couple of times and lose interest if it becomes mundane. I have always had friends and family asking for instructions on making various crafting projects and this is where the idea sprang from. I wanted to create detailed instructions that people could follow and end up with a final finished project. I find that many craft books assume the reader knows certain things and I think that is intimidating for many beginning crafters.

I have turned to Etsy as my first step because it is where artists and crafters like to meet and sell and because of this I thought it would be a good kicking off point. I also have a website that is currently under construction and hope to have that up and running in the next month or so.


Is crafting a hobby or a business?

Crafting has certainly started off as a hobby but I am hoping that with time it can turn into a business. This would be something wonderful to attain and I am hopeful that it can become so.

What do you do in your "free time"?

To be honest I do not have a lot of free time as it takes many hours to make each stage of the craft then photograph and produce it. That said the one things I do love to do is take the dogs for a walk and go for great pub lunches with my friends.

Anything about you that readers might be surprised/interested to learn about you?

Ahh now that is something to think about. I do like most animals and love rodents, I had a couple of rats as pets and they were very smart and great fun. They make wonderful pets and one rat I had thought that she was a little dog. She used to lick and groom my hand and I would rub and scratch her ears like she was a small dog. She loved it and would come running to the bars whenever she saw me, no kidding!

Do you have a daily routine that works well for your crafting and other stuff?

Sad to say I am not good at having a routine and tend to be inspired at the oddest times. I have been known to start on something at 11 o'clock at night. Plus I will get some of my best ideas when I am about to go to sleep, when that happens I cannot wait for morning to come so that I can begin the crafting process.


Do you have a favorite craft? One that you love doing more than others?

Well it was certainly painting and drawing for many years but now I love anything that involves a hot glue gun. They are so fast at putting an item together and I love that part of it. Though I have paid the price many a time with hot dollops of glue, talk about making my eyes water. Though the arrival of Altered Art was for me an inspiration and you will certainly see something about that coming along in the future.

Where can you be found?

Well as I have said I do have a website coming along and it will be available at www.yourcraftbook.com. soon I have to say that I was surprised that no one had snagged that name in the dot coms so I was really happy with that. I have also just started a blog and it is at www.yourcraftbook.blogspot.com and you will certainly find me at my Etsy store www.yourcraftbook.etsy.com. I hope to with the blog run give-a-ways and feature any new up coming designs.

Family...

I am lucky enough to have a wonderful husband and son and to be able to do what I love best for that I am very grateful. With the pets as well I am kept very busy!