Aileen Roberts

Name: Aileen Roberts

Age: 44

Location: Modesto, California

Profession: Small Arts & Crafts Business owner and Altered Artist

Craft(s) of Choice: Altering the ordinary and turning it into something unique extraordinary using paint, paper and found objects.

Blog: http://aileensmusings.blogspot.com

Having grown up with a mother who was a high school art teacher/artist it seemed perfectly normal to me to come home on any given day and find that my mother had made a hanging lamp out of paper mache or that she had painted big swirls and stripes of paint across her bedroom wall and continued it on into the bathroom and across the toilet seat! I grew up surrounded by creativity and remember feeling luckier then most kids because of it. As an adult I truly appreciate and am thankful for my creative upbringing. I’ve raised my own kids in a creative environment  as well and there’s rarely a day that goes by that we aren’t all creating, designing, inventing and/or building something. I feel strongly that every child’s creative door should be opened and kept open.

Alyice Edrich

Name: Alyice Edrich

Age: 40

Location: Beresford, SD

Profession: Freelance Writer and Artist

Craft(s) of Choice:
When I’m watching television or on long drives, I love to crochet blankets.

When I’m feeling nostalgic, I love to scrapbook and make mixed media canvases using photographs.

When I want to de-stress, I must put paint to brush and create vases out of old jars and bottles.

Blog: http://alyiceedrich.com

When I was a young child my honorary aunt used to whisk me away for a weekend of crafting. Those moments with her, painting statuary—and later t-shirts—helped me cope with the pains of my childhood in a productive, healthy way. Creating beautiful things took my mind off the ugly things in my life. But more importantly, it bonded us. Those weekends together were therapeutic on so many levels and my time with her showed me what a good, loving relationship was truly about.

When I became a mother myself, I knew I had to continue that tradition with my own children so we took up crafting. We made Christmas ornaments, painted walls, and did whatever their little hearts desires. The joy on their faces, after having accomplished something they could be proud of, along with the relationships we were building, were priceless—something money could never buy.

But then one day I lost all hope, due to a death in the family, and I quit crafting altogether. But that need to create kept lingering and tugging on my soul until a few years ago when I picked up a skeen of yarn and created my first blanket. The excitement in my children’s faces, having received a gift that took so much patience and time to create reminded me of a joy that can only come from creating and giving of that creation.

Since then, I’ve been a crafting maniac!

Angela Crook

Name: Angela

Age: 33

Location: Fort Smith, Arkansas

Profession: SAHM

Craft(s) of Choice:: I love all crafts! Painting, sewing and fabric arts, decoupauge, jewelry-making, mixed media

Blog: http://www.moxiemae.com

I HAVE to try it all. I had a candle and soapmaking business for 7 years and sold it shortly after having my first daughter. I also made jewelry for my store. Since then, I’ve learned to knit, sew and make all sorts of childrens clothing and bags, paint, decoupauge, etc… If it sits still long enough, I will do something to it! My head is swimming full of ideas. Crafting is my vice.

Angie Stump McKibben

Name: Angie Stump McKibben

Age: 44

Location: Ohio, USA

Profession: Graphic Artist on Hiatus

Craft(s) of Choice: Cut Paper Collage, Knitting, Crochet, Sewing, Painting, Etc.

Blog: http://stumptious.wordpress.com

I grew up with artists and crafters on both sides of my family, so creativity was always going to be encouraged in my life. One of my earliest memories with my maternal grandmother was making crepe paper roses that she would dip in paraffin for stability. I thought it was the epitome of fine art back then, even though it was a throwback to my grandmother’s Appalachian heritage. Crafting turned into more of a therapeutic necessity, rather than recreation, when I was around age 12 and this grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. As her disease grew, I longed more and more for the days when she could engage with me in the fun of crafting. Today, my own mother now has the disease. She is the third known generation in our family with Alzheimer’s. Crafting keeps me grounded in those good family memories, and is a therapeutic release from the bad. Whether a technique is from a modest cultural place or from a fine arts master, they are both of great value. May we never lose these beautiful crafting talents!

BethAnne Hoffman

Name: BethAnne Hoffmann

Age: 25

Location: Baltimore, MD

Profession: Account Manager, Neustadt Creative Marketing (we make college viewbooks and admission materials that really rock)

Craft(s) of Choice: Book making, painting, drawing, and making more books!

Blog: www.PurpleSkirt.Etsy.com

I started making books about 6 years ago when I took a short course on letter press and book binding at the University of Delaware. This class was life changing for me: I learned the wonders and the beauty of the hand made book: each one unique, different, and beautiful. This discovery of creating something beautiful out of something as simple as paper, helped me to come out of a season of depression. My books inspired me, and they inspired others as I began giving them as gifts.

Every time I complete a book, it makes me smile to know that this little pile of papers will help someone else to keep memories close to their heart in some way.

Brianna

Name: Brianna

Age: 29

Location: Connecticut

Profession: Counselor

Craft(s) of Choice: Crochet, sewing, knitting, painting, photography.

Blog: http://thehooknook.blogspot.com

At approximately 10 years old I thought crocheting was the coolest thing in the world. Until I went to high school and realized it wasn’t “cool” at all. Then I went to college, and towards the tailend of my senior year I got back into it via a best friend who also crocheted. By that age, I was all about rocking on with crochet, regardless of the naysayers.

Since then, I’ve been crocheting non-stop, making everything from place mats, to afghans, to tank tops & sweaters to snuggles for homeless animals. It’s been a journey of frustration and joy, elation and anger – definitely a love/hate relationship with this craft! I’ve blogged and sold on Etsy, and I just love to make home made projects for people.

Come visit me on my blog and say hello. I’m always looking for other crocheters to chat with!

Cassie Seals

Name: Cassie Seals

Age: 23

Location: Rockford, Ohio

Profession: College Student, Retail

Craft(s) of Choice: Knit, crochet, sew, paint, just about anything else I can get into!

Blog: http://knittingseal.blogspot.com/

I actually just started to knit from watching Knitty Gritty when I was hugely pregnant and unable to sleep at night. Well now my daughter is 3 and my son is almost 2. One day we were puppy sitting for a friend. I always kept my yarn in three bags behind my chair. (I have way too much yarn and can never decide what to work on: ) It is in a corner and out of the way, so no problem right? Wrong! My son unzipped the bag and threw a ball for the puppy. I heard the kids giggling uncontrollably so I knew something was up. I come into the living room to find both kids and the puppy covered in yarn. There was yarn over my chair, the couch, wrapped around the table legs, and basically draped over every available surface. Every bag was empty. It took a long time to clean up. Thankfully it didn’t knot too bad and was still usable. In fact the one ball became a cute rainbow hat for my daughter. I learned to keep my knitting up a little higher now.

Ching Teoh

Name: Ching, TEOH

Age: 37

Location: Georgetown, Malaysia

Profession: ( ): Art

Craft(s) of Choice: Painting

Blog: http://www.ching-teoh.blogspot.com

I love painting .. But it is so strange that I studied in Computer Science in my university life … haha.. but after so many year working in the area which I didn’t enjoy, I have slowly came back to arts .. now I run a frame shop with my husband and do painting full-time.. love to travel .. and always get inspired by geometrical patterns and vibrant colors.

Christian Anhalt

Name: Christian Anhalt

Age: 15

Location: Killeen, Texas

Profession: Sophomore (10th Grade)

Craft(s) of Choice: Textile and Painting

Blog: http://www.christianthevegetarian.tumblr.com

This may sound a little strange, but every time I walk in Hobby Lobby, I feel exhilirated. The smells, the layout, and the staff are so comforting and a joy to experience. On several occasions, I have thought about staying in Hobby Lobby for the night, after the closing…

Claudia Dunitz

Name: Claudia Dunitz

Age: 55

Location: Santa Fe, NM

Profession: Maker (of Natural Skin Care Products and Graphic Design)

Craft(s) of Choice: Knitting, Freeform Crochet, Art Quilting, Baking, Mosaics, Beading, Sewing, Embroidery, Surface Design, Painting, Printing, Fusing, Burning, Yikes – I can go on and on!

Blog: http://www.healmyhands.typepad.com

I don’t think there was a time when I didn’t make things with my hands.  In those days we “played outside” until it was time for supper.  We made forts and mud pies and played games with balls and sticks.  As I got older, I made cloths for my dolls, then clothes for myself.   As a young wife, I made clothes for my children to stretch the family budget.  I learned to knit and quilt.  My daughters learned to make what they didn’t have by watching me.  I was the Brownie Leader and we crafted constantly, at our meetings and at home.  We fed ourselves and warmed ourselves.  We baked, canned sewed and quilted by hand.  They made quilts for their dolls’ beds while I made quilts for our beds.

Today, both my daughters are makers.  My eldest daughter designs knitwear for children in addition to raising three, holding down a full time job, baking from scratch and knitting constantly.  She has just taught my youngest granddaughter, who is five, to knit.  My youngest daughter knits, sews, gardens and is a graphic artist.  Making has always been more than a crafty afternoon for us.  It has defined us as women and as a family.  It’s what we talk about on the phone.  What we share.  The first question always is: “So what are you making?”