I have always been a creative, visual person. It is hard to say when my experience as a crafter began, because creativity and the arts have always been a part of my life. As for my professional experience, I hold a Bachelor's degree in Fine Art Photography from the University of New Orleans. From there I went on to become an Event Coordinator for Michael's the Arts & Crafts store, where I taught crafty classes for kids and adults, did product demos, made the samples you see throughout the store, planned big store events and coordinated the classes and instructors. Ultimately, my job was to intimately know everything about all of the crafty stuff Michael's sold. It was a cool job. From Michael's I went on to become an Activity Director at a home for folks with Alzheimer's disease. I organized events, games, and parties. When I tell most people about that job, they give me a sad look and talk about how hard (but rewarding!) it must've been. Certainly, there were tough moments, but I was so lucky to have a job like that. I was pretty much paid to hang out with an amazing group of people who told the most incredible stories. Not many people have a job where they can make lemonade and cookies and hang out on a porch chit-chatting, and call that "working." So don't cry for me, Argentina!
My job as an Activity Director ended as my husband earned his Master's degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design and I became pregnant with our first son, Huck. In my third trimester, we moved back in with his parents in Orange County, California. Three weeks after Huck's birth, Steve landed a great job, and we moved out of his parents' home and into our own. We had a second boy, Milo, less than two years later. I stay at home with the boys, and in between naps and swordfights I manage to get some sewing, crafting and cooking done, and I post that stuff here on this blog.
I have been a blogger since 2004, and have had a series of personal blogs. I recently closed my family blog to focus my energy into Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky!, which I started in March 2008 after participating in the Thing-A-Day challenge. At first, I considered this blog to be a sort of portfolio--a place for me to record my work without a whole lot of blah blah blah, and something to show to potential employers when the boys were in school and I would start looking for a job again. If you look at the earlier posts, they are mostly images with a brief, impersonal explanation of the project. Slowly, this blog became my primary blog. I began to focus on it more, explain my process for each project, bring in my voice, and ultimately build up my online crafting community. I really love what it has become, and I hope you do, too!