What motivates you to create?

I have always been “crafty.” As a little girl I loved watching my Dad in his wood shop and marveled at my Mom. She had 9 kids and kept a photo album up to date for all of us. Mom also was a great knitter and Dad an excellent photographer.

As I grew into adulthood, I grew to love photography, scrapbooking and knitting as well. Along the way I bought a fun little machine called the Cricut® Personal Cutter. I used it in my scrapbooks and to create things for my boys’ birthday parties, etc.

Recently, my husband and I bought a small (and I do mean super small) place on a lake in Northern, Minnesota. About a 3 hour drive from our home in North Dakota. This has been a lifelong dream come true for us, and we fixed it up from top to bottom with the help of our 3 boys (now adults)!

This little place at “the lake” is what inspires me. The trees, the wildlife, the sound of the water, the sunrise, the sunset, and the laid back lifestyle it provides on the weekends.

When we got it, the place was ugly and that is being nice! Nearly every wall was painted “Pepto Bismol” Pink. It hadn’t really seen an update for 3 years. Never mind, we could see the potential.

After we spent many weekends tearing it apart and putting in back together – then I could get busy “Cricuting” up the place. For months I had been researching Pinterest and made a board called “At the Lake.” I filled it full of the items I wanted to make. I saved up to buy the new model of the Cricut Explore Air™ machine® Explore, so I could make big projects, and I dove in.

Pretty soon, our little place was shaping up and I was able to fill it full of custom touches for a fraction of the price of the expensive shops. I also started taking more pictures and I got a great shot of a loon that I turned into a sign. Below are a few other things I made for our place. Now people are buying the designs from me. How fun! I still have to keep my day job, but this is a fun little side business.

I will be sharing some DIY projects with you and helping you create some fun items in the future.

Thanks for stopping over to visit me at the “Crafty Cabin.”