This month's interview is with Sarah from Create Studio and boy does she have some super powers. She is a mother of a beautiful two year old boy, a wife, a crafter, a blogger, and many more things. She gave me the great pleasure to interview her and let us inside The Creative Room. Sit back, grab a cup of warm hot chocolate, lower the music and get to know Sarah and Create Studio.
MT:I love interviewing women with super powers . And when I read your blog it sure seems like you have a few! Tell us about yourself and all the amazing things you do.
CS:At first glance I thought this was such a funny question... super powers? me!? Ha! But then the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the only powers I have are super powers! You see, I'm not talented on my own. I was created in the image of a creative God and He has graciously given me every ounce of inspiration. My blog is a resource to bring Him glory and I hope it's doing just that.
MT: What made you want to start Create Studio?
CS:I started this blog a little over a year ago. I had started a craft club that met once a month and I thought the girls who were involved in the club might like to see some of the pictures from our times together. What I first thought would be a fun way to document a couple of meetings has now become a great source of creative motivation and accountability for me. I love to read the comments on the things that I post about. When my readers are excited it motivates me to try harder and think more creatively.
MT: Have you always been interested in crafting/sewing?
CS: I started sewing when I was a little girl. My mom was brave enough to let me use her sewing machine to make little bags and things. I've always loved being creative, but I thought that crafts were kinda dorky until I discovered Jill's blog (Homemade by Jill). At the time, she was a trendsetting crafter living a fun life in New York. She made crafting cool and for the first time I was hit with the idea that I too could make crafts cool! I'm not one to sit back when I'm excited about something, so I set out to find out if any of my friends wanted to make crafting cool with me and our craft club, Create, was born.
MT:Are you currently working any projects that you want to share with us?
CS:I just finished a birthday project for my little 2 year old. It's a crayon and toy car holder that I made out of some old jeans.
CS:At first glance I thought this was such a funny question... super powers? me!? Ha! But then the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the only powers I have are super powers! You see, I'm not talented on my own. I was created in the image of a creative God and He has graciously given me every ounce of inspiration. My blog is a resource to bring Him glory and I hope it's doing just that.
MT: What made you want to start Create Studio?
CS:I started this blog a little over a year ago. I had started a craft club that met once a month and I thought the girls who were involved in the club might like to see some of the pictures from our times together. What I first thought would be a fun way to document a couple of meetings has now become a great source of creative motivation and accountability for me. I love to read the comments on the things that I post about. When my readers are excited it motivates me to try harder and think more creatively.
MT: Have you always been interested in crafting/sewing?
CS: I started sewing when I was a little girl. My mom was brave enough to let me use her sewing machine to make little bags and things. I've always loved being creative, but I thought that crafts were kinda dorky until I discovered Jill's blog (Homemade by Jill). At the time, she was a trendsetting crafter living a fun life in New York. She made crafting cool and for the first time I was hit with the idea that I too could make crafts cool! I'm not one to sit back when I'm excited about something, so I set out to find out if any of my friends wanted to make crafting cool with me and our craft club, Create, was born.
MT:Are you currently working any projects that you want to share with us?
CS:I just finished a birthday project for my little 2 year old. It's a crayon and toy car holder that I made out of some old jeans.
MT: Do you have a funny sewing/craft story?
MT:I love your blog and love the stuff you make. Where do you get your inspiration?
CS:I recently read Jane Brocket's book The Gentle Art of Domesticity. She spoke about what she called the habit of seeing: "We must learn to sift through the mass of stimuli we encounter every day and to focus on what inspires us as individuals and, in doing so, create a way of seeing, a way of being receptive to inspiration."
I practice training my eye to see creatively. To look at colors differently, to slow down and give myself time to be inspired by nature, an advertisement, a swatch of fabric... whatever it might be. Inspiration is there, it's just a matter of training your eye to see it!
MT: Right now, I’m trying to figure out how to balance everything with blogging, crafting and more importantly family. Any advice?
CS: I understand! There are only so many hours in the day and so much more that you need to (or want to) accomplish! When balancing my time I try to keep a few things in mind:
#1: Put the big rocks in place first- When managing your time, place a special value on the the things that are the most important. Spend time on those things first rather than the smaller, less-important things that steal your time away. Don't be driven by the urgent, be driven by the important!
#2: Work hard so that you can play hard- Be devoted to the task at hand and do as much as you can when you've go the time. That way you'll have more quality play time later because those smaller tasks won't be a nagging presence in your mind.
This is something we all struggle with! I wrote a whole post dedicated to time managment:
MT: Besides crafting, what are other things do you like to do?
CS: I've got a wonderful little 2 year old who comes up with the most interesting games to play! Right now we are in to building Lincoln Log cities for his dump trucks. My husband and I also lead a Fellowship of Christian Athletes huddle for a local high school. We love hanging out with those students.
MT: This is probably a really hard question, but what are you some of your favorite blogs?
CS: Well, I've already mentioned Homemade By Jill. That's a favorite for sure! I also love the ones listed on the sidebar on my blog along with the other 67 blogs I subscribe to through Bloglines! (Is that crazy to say that I have 67 favorites?)
MT:I was following your posts when you were creating your new create studio. It turned out AWESOME! What are your favorite aspects of your new room - things you think are important to include in a craft room?
CS:Thanks! The Creative Room was a big family project that my dad, husband and I worked on for many hours!! My favorite part of the room is the natural light and the color of the walls. I love that I can leave the place a mess while I'm in the middle of a project and it's OK! My favorite aspect of the room is the fact that each member of our little family has a corner all to their own with their favorite things. It's a place we all love to go to and enjoy each other while working separately. I also LOVE the fact that there is no TV!!
MT: Any plans in the future for opening an etsy shop?
CS:Oh, great question! I'm not a big fan of making the same thing twice. There are just too many things I want to try right now! Maybe one day though!
Check out Sarah's blog and leave her a comment letting her know Mamma Tortilla sent you:) She has some amazing stuff on there!!
Creative Vibes To You,
Les :)
Thanks so much for the interview Leslie, I had a great time!
ReplyDelete-Sarah from Create Studio
www.createstudio.blogspot.com