etsy bloggers theme: the story of my craft

This week's Etsy Bloggers theme is "The Story of your Craft". The biggest influence on my craftiness is my grandmother. As a seamstress she made gorgeous wedding and pageant gowns for a living. She is also what I would call a chronic crocheter. She is constantly making doilies and granny squares! Her house is full of beautiful crocheted pieces...cushion covers, table cloths, with doilies under vases, lamps, and baskets. It wouldn't be grandma's house without doilies :)

How did I learn
I didn't go to school to learn crafting. I learned to sew and crochet from my grandmother. The first thing I ever sewed (if I remember correctly) was a really simple skirt. I remember using scrap fabrics from my grandmother's sewing room to make it. Her "sewing room" was really this little space right by the back door that led to her garden. She had a table up against the wall for her sewing machine and fabric. I loved sitting there watching her make things or playing with the scraps of material...I caught the crafting bug at a young age!

Online Tutorials
I learn a lot from online tutorials. Google makes it really easy to find them. There are so many great crafting sites out there. Here are my recent favorite tutorials:
Freezer Paper Stencil Tutorial
Gocco Tutorial
Make your own (sewing) label

And some great crafting sites:
Craftster
Etsy Labs -- Check out the tutorial links in the right sidebar

Inspiration
"You're the inspiration..." (remember that old Chicago song?)


I get inspired from everything around me: my favorite blogs (see my sidebar for links!), pictures on flickr, craft books (especially japanese craft books!), and my children...to name a few ways. I love simple and classic designs, vintage fabric, interesting color combinations, and pretty paper.

Things I make
I really enjoy making things by hand. Lately I've been doing a lot more sewing, but I also knit and crochet. I make children's accessories such as crayon and pencil rolls, book covers, and recently I made an adorable (if I say so myself!) child's apron and mitten set. I also enjoy making party favors and goody bags for our family parties. And last but not least, I also do calligraphy--I hand-lettered all the place cards for our wedding and our friends' wedding invitations!

My own shop
So after years of quiet crafting :) I finally took the plunge and opened up own etsy shop in September of this year. I've learned a lot in the past month. The first sale I made I really took a big loss on the shipping! I learned the hard way how expensive international shipping is. But overall it's been a great experience so far.