CraftDiva4

I'm a 30 something year old Chicago native and mother of a wonderful little boy. I’ve been crafting since I was a child. Got the bug from my mother who would sew matching outfits for my sister and I. Winters in Chicago are pretty rough and cold so I craft more in the winter than in the summer. There is nothing better than sitting on the floor with a cup of coffee and crafting something while the snow is falling. While I have a table where I can craft at, I prefer the floor, weird!

I like to display my craft items throughout my home and even at the office. I would say that about 50% of my home could be described as handmade by me. It makes my place feel like a home. It is also a great because redecorating is inexpensive since I make almost everything.

I try to get my son into crafting as well but on a manly scale (lol). I have his finger paint art and crayon drawings in an album and displayed on the walls. We recently started pasta art and he really enjoying it.

My favorite colors are teal, turquoise, reds, pinks, purple, yellow, fuchsia, tan, brown, black, blue and any bright bold color. I’m not afraid of color, any color that reminds me of spring, summer, oceans, or flowers are perfect. I also love teal or turquoise pared with brown and black, reds/orange and pink/black or brown color combos.

Foods: I love coffee, tea, wine, sushi, spicy foods especially Mexican. I’m also enjoy Asian cuisine like Thai and Vietnamese food. I love to cook and love to try new recipes and have even created a few of my own. I am a huge fan of Sangria and have finally created my perfect recipe. I love to bake but not a huge fan of sweets; I only eat them occasionally. I do love chocolate anything chocolate, just not white chocolate.

Style: I would say my style is part Tomboy part athlete and part princess. Yeah I know that is a huge spectrum but I’ve always been a Tomboy and hung out with boys. I was an athlete in college so that is also a big part of me and love feeling pretty like a princess. I’m the woman who would show up at Home Depo to buy wood and use my pink gloves to pick it up!

Other: I’m a list maker, not a day goes by that I do not make some kind of list. I love the feeling of accomplishment when I cross something off my list. I’m a political junkie and a connoisseur of useless knowledge. I love satire, unusual humor and anything revealing the ridiculous side of people. I love thrift stores and resale shops. I have found so many wonderful things that I use in my crafting. I’m a recovering comic book addict as it, got too expensive. I even went to Comic Con in Chicago dressed as Batgirl (the Cassandra Cain version) and got Damon Scott to sign issue #25. I love to write I’ve kept a journal since I was about 9. I also write stories; I have more than 150 journals of my thoughts, feelings and stories. I’ve begun the put most of them on the computer but still love pen and paper.

Grey's Anatomy, Law & Order (original and SVU), West Wing, Project Runway, Top Chef, Iron Chef (original one), CSI Miami, House, Countdown, Rachael Maddow, CSI Miami, Burn Notice, House Hunters, Trading Spaces (old ones), Carol Duvall, ANTM, Without a Trace, Snapped and raunchy reality shows like Real Housewives, Bad Girls Club

I'm a lover of crafting. I make crafts for my friends and family all the time for all occasions, especially for my 4-year-old son. I can’t seem to turn my brain off. I’m always thinking of new crafts I want to try. I’ve had to ban myself from fabric and craft stores. I can spend hours in a craft store just thinking of new projects. My mother and I would spend countless hours crafting together. She passed away 3 years ago and there was a huge hole in my heart. She was my best friend and my biggest fan. Grieving her death was a very low point in my life but my crafting has helped me through it. I’ve even finished some of her unfinished projects.

My favorite crafts are scrapbooking, paper crafts, card making, sewing (clothes, bags, cards, hats, coats, costumes and accessories) painting, jewelry making and making plushies. I just got into ATC’s and love them. I also love to make and cover journals, photo albums, scrapbooks or just about anything. I love calligraphy and making cards or writing letter using it. I like to use traditional materials as well as the unusual.

I appreciate all genres of music, I try not to be a music snob and really appreciate the work of every artist. Being from Chicago I love House music especially deep House music. I played the violin for 12 years so love jazz, classical or any song with huge string arrangements. I love any music with great guitar solos, huge band arrangements of anything that is funky. I love thought-provoking lyrics and also the ones that just make you laugh.

Favorite artist: U2, Seal, Prince, TTD, Kina, Bob James, Fore Play, Lenny Kravitz, Sade, Nikka Costa, Pat Methany, Led Zeppelin, Living Color, Amel Larrieux, Kevin Mahogany, Enigma, Fiona Apple and Moby.

Anything by John Grisham, fantasy novels especially the Dungeons and Dragons Forgotten Realms books. I love and adore R.A Salvatore Drizzt character. My favorite books are the one’s where the main character fights conformity, it just resonates well with me.

Pretty Woman, Cinderella (Disney), Lord of the Rings, My Best Friend’s Wedding, American President, Better off Dead, Lion King, Usual Suspects, All John Grisham books put to film (The Firm, A Time to Kill, Rainmaker, Pelican Brief, The Client, Runaway Jury and the Chamber). Any comic book turned movie (X-men is my favorite).

Useful Things: Journals, pens (just not black ink, blue or any other fun color), pretty writing paper, notepads, notecards, boxes, bags big and small, small containers, picture frames, photo albums and coffee cups.

Craft Things: Fabric (especially novelty prints of coffee, sushi, women, writing, Chinese calligraphy), charms, stickers, paper, ribbon, brads, stamps, scrapbook albums and flowers.

Pretty Things: Candles, lip gloss/lip balm, earrings, bracelets, socks, flip-flops, cool purses, wallets, coin purses, anything hand drawn, anything that sparkles, figurines and pictures (nature, seasons, oceans, blue skies, clouds, sunrises, sunsets buildings)

Animals: Panda bears, polar bears, butterflies, ladybugs, frogs, tigers and rubber ducks.

Flowers: Roses, daises, tulips, orchids or almost any bright colored flower.

Food: Coffee, sushi, chocolate and wine.

Characters: Mickey, Minnie, Cinderella, Batgirl and Barbie.

Misc. Things: Matchbooks, newspaper/magazines in foreign languages, shot glasses and stamps.