It's a Go!

My Facebook page is up and running! Check it out! https://www.facebook.com/quirkygirldesignsseattle

Not Enough Hours in the Day!

I am just dying to start my etsy shop, quirkygirl designs. I have quite a few pendants to list but I want to do them justice by taking quality, accurate photos of them. We're currently 10 days away from moving from Portland to Seattle and trying to suck every last drop out of this amazing city. Everything else has been on the back burner. I hope to find time to get my store going and am looking forward to getting settled in Seattle and having quality time with my craft materials!

A Journey Through Paper, Craft, and Design

"My daughter is doomed!"

About a year ago I had this very thought for the first time as I looked at the piles of coloring books, spiral notebooks and shoe boxes full of assorted paper clippings, stickers, birthday & holiday cards, and miscellaneous items that others would trash without question. Maisy is only 4 1/2 and already has my paper and craft obsessions. I remember how much I loved every single scrap of paper I came across since I was about her age. I still have greeting cards in my memory boxes from when I was 5. Looking at them triggers my senses and I remember exactly how I felt when I received them. 

As I grew into my 20's and moved around to various cities, I vividly remember the art supplies and paper products I purchased in each respective place. I love that I can look through a box of old journals and craft projects and remember precisely where I was when I created each one. 

In Madison, WI, I used to sit for hours with my housemate on our bright gold, velvet 70's sofa, listening to music while writing poetry and doodling in my most trusted journal from Urban Outfitters. It had golden-yellow pages sandwiched between thick pieces of cardboard, was bound by a large silver spiral, and had the most lovely circular, bronze engraved medallion on the front.  I also remember listening to '40's jazz while losing myself in color pastels. I still have the drawing of a moon I made one Saturday and it's like I'm back there on the floor of my apartment bedroom coloring it again when I see it. 

I left Madison when my sister graciously allowed me to share her Manhattan studio with her and her two sweet shih tzus. I had crates filled with art supplies and an overflowing journal collection on either side of my futon. I remember one specific evening I was home alone "drawing" lyrics and poems on dark blue paper with my gel pens while repeatedly listening to The Jerry Garcia Band cover Dylan's "Paint My Masterpiece." I had also become obsessed with drawing realistic eyeballs with my colored pencils. It must have been all the overly-caffeinated, bug-eyed patrons of the coffee shop I frequented that inspired that wave of drawings.

Seattle was my next temporary home. Although I couldn't afford a bed or a tv for the first several months, I somehow made room for art supplies in my budget. My newest obsessions were stamps and embossing powders. I put stamps on everything including my shower curtain, garbage can, and every letter and card my homesick self sent to friends halfway across the country. My favorite stamps at the time were given to me by my sister. They were a set of tiny, well-designed hearts and coffee cups. They were on everything I made back then and I still have them. 

I spent the bulk of my time in Los Angeles trying to find my niche. I was relatively uninspired until I took a pottery class that led to an exchange of my services for time in the studio. It felt amazing to lose myself in painting and music on Saturday mornings. It was during this period of time that I met the love of my life. I became obsessed with decorating holiday wreaths, took a floral design course and rediscovered my paper obsession when I walked into Paper Source, which inspired me to make my own wedding invitations. My wedding was the initial creative spark that fueled my desire to turn crafting into a profession. It was filled with personally handmade items and had a definite point of view. I couldn't have imagined a better party for a better cause. Post-honeymoon I designed flowers for a couple weddings, did some custom invitations, handmade greeting cards, and paper products for various occasions, and freelanced at a flower shop with a wonderful cast of characters. My husband and I welcomed our first child and I continued to freelance at the flower shop from time to time but was drained of energy and motivation for much of anything else by the end of each day. My son was born 3 years later and we decided to raise our family in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

So here I sit in lovely Portland, OR writing this blog. This city of down-to-earth artisans has given me the motivation and focus I've been silently searching for in those journals, art supplies, flowers, and decorations I've had my hands on the past 36 years. I'm going to take it and run with it back to Seattle, where my husband just got his dream job! Join me as I attempt to do justice to the craft and design world with paper, scissors, mod podge, paint, felt, and whatever else I can get my hands on between diaper changings and craft projects with my mini craftoholic!