Interview With Elegant Rose Boutique

1. How long have you been crafting?

I've been crafting for as long as I can remember. I got a sewing machine shortly after we were married and I have always loved making things, when time permits, of course.

2. What is your favorite thing to make?

Right now my favorite thing to make is soap! I have been using essential oils for all of our health issues for the past 8 years and making soap with essential oils is just kind of like an extension of that. I feel like a mad chemist in the kitchen. I love creating new scents and experimenting. My favorite scents so far are the body scrub I made using peppermint and tangerine essential oils and my honey almond soap.

3. How did you start making soap?

It all started when I purchased some homemade soap from someone locally that was going out of business. I got a great deal, but I also got hooked. Being frugally minded as I am, I decided that I could make soap and so it began. I researched and read everything I could get my hands on and then started experimenting. There really isn't a lot of information on using essential oils in soap, so it is up to me to create.


4. What are your best Etsy tips?

My best etsy tip would be to make your shop inviting and post often in the forums to get exposure. I also believe you should list something everyday.

5. Where do you get inspiration?

I get inspiration from many different things, I assume you are talking about crafting inspiration, mostly from books or I use scent combinations I have used in the past for different things.

6. Do you do any other crafting?

I do lots of other crafts, although very sporadically. I love to make cards, scrapbook, sew, and cross stitching.

7. What are you reading right now?

I am reading a book called "You Can Heal Your Life" in addition to the Bible and my soap books. It's a fascinating book.

8. How long have you homeschooled and what method do you use?

We have homeschooled for 12 years now. We mostly put our own curriculum together, we love Charlotte Mason and Classical methods. We use Saxon math, Tapestry of Grace, Analytical Grammar and Apologia science. We enjoy doing lots of reading aloud and spend a lot of time outside, when possible. My oldest 4 teach themselves for the most part, which is really how it has to be when you have this many. It is a daunting task to stay on top of everything. My oldest will be taking the calculus AP test in May! It goes by so fast!

9.What have you found most surprising about Etsy?

I was most surprised about the amount of time it takes to run an etsy store!


10. What is the most interesting thing about yourself?

The most interesting thing about myself,not really sure what that would be. I have a bachelors degree in computer science and corporate finance. My dad couldn't believe I was going to quit my job to stay home with our children after going to college. I knew that God had a plan for me. I have 8 children, ranging from ages 3 - 16, and a wonderful husband, what else could one ask for?



Thank you to Lizzie from A Dusty Frame for providing this great interview.

Interview with Enuwbe

How long have you been crafting?


I think I have been crafting since I was a small child. I was always around other families with children, and crafting was often a part of the large group activities.



2. What is your favorite thing to make?



I like to make anything that I am already involved in. I tend to get very wrapped up in projects once I start. It's the getting started part I don't like. I enjoy making clothes very much, because it is a very solitary project. My kids are too young to do most of it, and my husband does not want to. I am not a very solitary person, but it's nice having that one thing that is mine. I really like decorating cakes, making earrings, painting, and learning new crafts. 




3. When did you begin designing clothing?


I think I began designing clothes at about the age of 12. At this point I had my own job, and a little spending money. My parents didn't make me save any of it, so I spent it on whatever. I would sometimes buy cheap clothes, then alter them to my "taste". Our family did not have a sewing machine so I found all kinds of weird things to do. Luckily it was the 80's. I bought t-shirts then cut holes in them, and put safety pins in different places. I did a little of my own jean jacket bleach jobs. I would also do a little of my own screen printing. Of course I had no idea what a screen print machine was, so I would use markers. OOOHH those were the days. 



4. How long does it take you to construct a garment? 


The first sample garment is the longest. I often toil with it in my mind for a few days to weeks. This is where I work out most of the kinks. I need to make sure that the item will fit in the desired way. So, I have to figure out where it will come in, and how it will drape. The best example of this is the "All Day Dress" This had some weird twists and cuts, along with a under layer of fabric. I manipulated this in my mind for weeks. Then I spent about 6 hours creating my pattern. The, All In One Dress that can also be worn as a skirt was in my mind for about a week or two. This is a very multifunctional item. I had to make sure that it would look natural as a skirt and as a dress. It took me about 2 hours of looking at blank white pattern paper before I even started drawing. My sister and I do all the modeling. This can make the prototype designing a little difficult because we have very different bodies. I use a few slopers, but most everything is done without a pattern. 

Oh yeah, then there's the process of finding the fabric. I am super, duper, duper picky about my fabric. Everything I use has to be shipped to me because, standard fabric stores don't have anything that I need. So this can take months to find the right fabric. Researching, ordering samples, ect, ect. It must be eco friendly, high quality, and very soft. If at all possible, made in the USA.




5. Where do you get inspiration?


I get inspiration from my own life, and movements. I have 3 kids, and I am very active. Therefore my favorite clothes need to bring me through many different activities. I like clothes that feel as comfortable as a old pair of sweats, yet don't make me look like I'm in an old pair of sweats. I also am in love with yoga, triathlons, hiking, climbing, and the future of my kids environment. All of which have a huge impact on my designs and styles. 



6. Do you do any other crafting?


I am blessed with ADD, so I have to be doing many different things all at the same time to keep me grounded. That includes every craft I think I can master. Except cross stitching and football. I don't get either one of those. I have tried, boy have I tried. 



7. What are you reading right now?


My uncle wrote a book called "The Last Templar" By Thaddeus Jean. It's about a Christian comic book type character. It is a very good book. However it has some interesting views. I recommend everyone to read it. But please understand it is not necessarily my views.



8. How long have you homeschooled and what method do you use?


I have been homeschooling for 3 years. I use Calvert. I started with them as a newbie, because they made it so easy and I was a little scared. I have been so happy with their thoroughness, I still use them. I think with a mixture of my ADD, and Calvert's more scheduled way of doing things, we come to a perfect middle. I tend to manipulate it the way I see fit. For example Calvert uses text for learning to read a clock. It was boring, so I got a JUDY clock instead. It is my goal that all three of my girls go to college. So I think I am comforted by being told what they need to learn and when. However using my own creative juices, whenever they boil up.





9.What have you found most surprising about Etsy?


The most surprising thing about Etsy to me, is the friendships and connections beyond business. The SHE team in particular. I have moved all over the country side, but have never met so many women that I have so much in common with. Homeschool mothers are a breed of their own to begin with. But to also have homeschooling, independent friends that are trying to have their own personal successes and family incomes is more than I could have ever dreamed.

10. Are you addicted to anything right now?

After the kids go to bed, I am addicted and CRAVE anything sweet. I don't know what I am going to do. I also drink a lot of coffee. Which is weird because, before I moved to Washington 9 months ago, I never drank coffee. 



11. What is the most interesting thing about you?

My life is full of contradictions, but it suites me well. I don't think anyone in high school would have thought I would grow up and drive a mini van, and LIKE it.


Thank you to Lizzie from A Dusty Frame for providing this great interview.

Interview With Kit and Caboodle

1. How long have you been crafting?

My grandmother started me crafting when I was very young, 4-5 years old. So, I've been crafting about 40 years. Both of my grandmothers were very artistic and crafty. I
 would attend craft shows with one grandmother and sell my things along
 with her. In junior high, I made small pom-pom animals that I would 
sell to my friends at school. I was always making something.



2. What is your favorite thing to make?

I love painting with watercolor. It will always be my first love in the arts. Next would 
have to be jewelry making. Right now, I'm experimenting on combining
 watercolor and jewelry making.

3. How did you start working with beads?

When my grandmother passed away, she had bought memory wire so she could make all the great
granddaughters bracelets. She passed away before she had the chance
 to accomplish the task. Being known as an avid crafter, I inherited
 her craft supplies. I then took apart some of grandma's old beaded 
jewelry and used the beads on the memory wire for the great
granddaughters so that they could all have a part of grandma's jewelry 
as well as her final gift to them that she had planned before her 
death.




4. What are your best Etsy tips?

I'm still working on good photos for my shop. I think good attractive and interesting photos will pull
 people into your shop. A good first impression is the most important 
thing. I promote my shop online as well as offline. Selling at craft
shows and galleries helps to get the word out that you have a shop 
on line. Of course having a blog and being able to talk about your 
projects helps others to see and feel your passion about what you do.



5. Where do you get inspiration?

I am very inspired by scripture. The Bible is full of imagery and many of my paintings and jewelry
 pieces are inspired by God's word.



6. Do you do any other crafting?

I do scrap booking, card making, and altered books. I have a whole room of craft supplies that I've
 collected over the years. My daughters love to go into my studio and 
pull out supplies to make something themselves.



7. What are you reading right now?

I'm reading "The New Rebellion Handbook" for my devotional time, and I'm reading "Mixed Mania" by
Debbie Crane and Cheryl Prater for new craft techniques.



8. How long have you homeschooled and what method do you use?

I've been homeschooling my two teen daughters for five years now. We use
 some curriculum. We love doing hands-on learning. Our Etsy shop was
 a way to learn not only a craft, but to learn about business, taxes, 
profit, photography, and missions. We use the money we make to help
 support orphans in Africa.



9. What have you found most surprising about Etsy?

The most surprising thing would be the helpfulness of the people who buy and sell on Etsy.
Whenever I have a question, I know I can go to the forums to find the
 answer from someone who has been there before. It's a great place to 
do business.

10. What is the most interesting thing about you?

I am a member of the Osage Indian tribe.

You can see her lovely things in her shop. Be sure to check out her blog too.


Thank you to Lizzie from A Dusty Frame for providing this great interview.