Artist's Feature...Katiedidonline

The Artist's Feature is back! It's been a while... But this month I'm quite excited about introducing Katie from Katiedidonline - she makes amazing upcycled aprons, pot holders and other accessories, and we're not talking about your average run-of-the-mill stuff: her aprons are works of art! I would quite happily spend the day wearing one of her aprons and, what with Christmas coming up... well there are a few people I can imagine wearing one of her amazing creations, and I believe we have no pot-holders in our kitchen so if anyone is thinking about what to get me...! Anyway, Katie was kind enough to answer a few of my questions so I shall hand you over to her.

Tell us a little about yourself...

My name is Katie and I am an American living in the beautiful border county of Herefordshire with my wonderful British husband. I have food intolerances, allergies and sensitivities. The list of foods I avoid is a long one, which forced me to learn to cook and bake from scratch all over again with new ingredients. I fell in love with food, with flavors and combinations. I love experimenting, coming up with new recipes, and trying different cuisines. I also love to sew- my mom taught me at a young age and I’ve been sewing ever since. When I’m not crafting, I work in costumes and wardrobe on film and theater projects.

What is Katiedidonline?

Katiedidonline- my website, blog, and online store- is a combination of my love for sewing, cooking and baking, and desire to be eco friendly. For my shop I make upcycled fabric goods for women who also love to entertain, bake or cook.  From aprons made from old skirts, to grocery bags made from old curtains, to pot holders made from scraps - I make eco-friendly textiles for dinning, parties, and the kitchen. I have also started making scrap kits of leftover fabrics, buttons, and more for other crafters.

Where do you get your inspiration from and what inspires you further?

I find inspiration in the “every day”. Be it through other crafters, blogs, pinterest, and even tv shows. I’m always finding new color combos, recipes to try to adapt, and crafting ideas to make my own.  When it comes to my upcycled products- I am always inspired by the material itself!

Each piece in my shop is made without a pattern, but based instead on the shape of the fabric, or the pattern or color. I broke down the year into “ranges”; each range has a theme, color palate, and it’s own feel. Once I’ve gathered enough pieces (from skirts to curtains) from charity shops, I start making the next ranges. I typically start with a few aprons and bags, as they take up the most fabric. Then I usually cut out bibs and coasters, and then make pot holders and scrap packs from what’s left over. I’m constantly going back out to find something that will help ‘finish’ off a piece I’m working on, and coming up with new ideas even when the range is already finished.

Lots of artsy-craftsy fold juggle many different things in order to have time to spend on their chosen paths - how do you manage? 

I owe a lot to my husband, my family (especially my brother), and friends for being encouraging, supporting, my sounding board for new ideas, inspirations for new ranges, and being some of my best customers!

How can we find you? 

My blog can be found at www.katiedidonline.com,

I also have a shop on etsy:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/Katiedidonline

and on dawanda: http://en.dawanda.com/shop/Katiedidonline

I am forever collecting ideas on pinterest: http://pinterest.com/katiedidonline

And have a facebook fan page I update with blog entries, new ranges, sales, and great tips and advice: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Katiedidonline/124680884254107

Thank you so much for introducing yourself to us Katie - I'm looking forward to seeing your new range when it comes out and will be following your blog for interesting recipes etc. Please make sure you visit Katie's website and Etsy store. 

Artist's Feature...MWL Designs

Wow, another month has passed already, and Creating Trouble HQ nearly ran out of time to feature this month's artist! But luckily we returned from sunny California just in time to introduce Katherine of MWL Designs. In case you are wondering, MWL stands for Made With Love and Katherine makes beautiful handmade cards and card-making kits for all you wannabe crafters out there. Clearly a girl after my own heart as Creating Trouble started from cards too! Please go and look at her website and Folksy shop as there are some pretty cute designs on there and they are incredibly reasonably priced too! Anyway, without further ado, I shall hand you over to Katherine.

First up, who are you and what do you do? 
I'm Katherine Brookes and I make and sell handmade greetings cards. I've been making cards since 2007. I've also just launched my brand new venture which is card making kits - looking to increase the handmade community!!

What got you interested in your craft and what inspires you further? 

I re-located from Bristol and couldn't find a job and was watching lots of QVC and crafty type shows and thought I'd quite like to have a go at cardmaking myself. I bought loads of stuff, most of which I didn't use. I still have some of the very first cards I made - I've come a long way in 4 years!! I still watch Create and Craft and love seeing what other people produce which gives me the inspiration I need.

Any artists / crafters / special people who you admire or who have helped you along the way? 
I love Dawn Bibby, she's a lancashire girl like me so she's a big inspiration to me. There are so many talented crafters out there - too many to mention!

Is there anyone else you want to shout out to? 
My husband for being supportive along the way. I'm now officially running my card making hobby as a business - don't think either of us would have thought I'd stick at it but here I am and my empire is growing!! 

Lots of artsy-craftsy folk juggle many different things in order to have time to spend on their chosen paths - how do you manage? 
Luckily we don't have any children so I make time for my business. I obviously still have to do housework and the usual home making tasks but there's always time for crafting! At the moment I work full-time in a day job - hoping to phase out the day job soon.

Do you have an online shop / blog etc where people can find you? If so, please let us know! 
I have just launched my brand new website which is www.mwldesigns.co.uk I also sell cards on Folksy but having my own website just seems easier somehow! The card making kits are only on folksy at the momenthttp://folksy.com/shops/mwlsupplies. 

Thank you so much Katherine for taking the time to introduce yourself to us - and everyone else: go and look at some of Katherine's work, it's great!

Being a Grown-Up Crafter...

Do you consider yourself a 'grown-up'? I've been a teacher for nearly 9 years in total and yet I still don't think of myself as an adult. When kids say 'miss' it's fine, when they say 'Miss Phillips' I get a little freaked out. But I am beginning to come to terms with being a proper grown-up and have taken some steps into adulthood: I now have my own business cards! Yes, I know most people have had them for, like, ever but I've always thought of them as being what proper adults have and I have never really thought that I am a proper adult. But as my craft sales are beginning to take off and my printer doesn't like me very much, it seemed about time to get some. Actually I didn't - the lovely Andy designed and bought them for me. THANK YOU!

I was soooo excited when I opened these for the first time I nearly clapped my hands like a little girl (see I TOLD you I haven't grown up yet!) Aren't they great?

Now that I've got my business cards, I guess I really should start getting busy for a craft fair or some more Etsy sales. Please feel free to look at my etsy store and take your pick!  

But before I can prepare for a craft fair there is something I need to get on with first. Remember all that material I bought? Well it's been going to good use here at Creating Trouble HQ... It's time to reveal part II of the grand project. This bit is looking a little more complete and I guess that some of it is beginning to take shape. Can you guess what the whole piece is going to be yet? 

And the Winner is...

So the Twitter Giveaway ended last night and it's time for me to reveal who the winner is. First of all though, thank you to everyone who entered and who wrote lovely comments on my blog. As I'm not the world's most techy person I had to use the good old 'pick-a-name' method. I've just spent about an hour going through Twitter and everyone's names etc and writing each one on a separate slip of paper.

Having put all the pieces into a box I asked Andy to pick one out of the box for me. Which after attempting to throw them all on the floor he finally did, and so I can now reveal the Twitter Winner:

Congratulations Dannie! 

Send me a DM or e-mail with your address on it and I'll send you your card straightaway.

Thank you to everyone who participated and who spread the word - it was really nice to get such good participation for my first ever giveaway. And look out - once this blog hits 100 followers there'll be a new giveaway....!

Twitter Giveaway!

Hooray! I said I'd do a giveaway once I'd got to 500 followers and... well it's time for a giveaway now! As this is my first one, I'm starting small... so it's your chance to win one of my unique designed cards. The material for this card came from India and there's hardly any left - which means that actually this really is a unique card as there won't be many more of these! If you'd prefer a different card, stop by my Etsy store and take your pick (let me know in a comment below) So... here's what you do:

If you want to enter, just leave me a note with your twitter username either here or on twitter (twitter.com/create_trouble)

For extra entries (1 extra entry each)

1) Follow this blog and let me know you are following

2) Follow my facebook page and tell me you entered.

3) Go past my Etsy shop and let me know what your favourite item is.

Let me know that you have done each of these though - either with a mention on twitter or a comment below.
You have until Sunday 24th July and I will be announcing a winner on Monday 25th.

Good Luck!

Birthday Cards

Two cards I made recently for various people's birthdays. I have only recently learnt about quilling so the card with the flowers was an early attempt at it. I quite liked the results. I have been considering about selling my cards for a while but don't really know how to go about it. I guess word of mouth and getting an etsy store front. But do Etsy even operate in the UK? Hmmm.