Meet the Maker: Amy Anderson

If you are into crafting of any kind, you are probably acquainted with Mod Podge. And if you’re familiar with Mod Podge, you have probably read the blog and/or own the book Mod Podge Rocks, by Amy Anderson. I was able to score an interview with this lovely and talented woman from Atlanta, GA and I’m excited to share it below!

You have been knitting and sewing for over 20 years, do you remember what some of your first projects were? OH yes! I remember sewing a few things when I was ten. I learned how to make a little jewelry holder with a pull closure, and a rope basket. I made a ton of rope baskets. Haha! For knitting, it was a very lumpy scarf.

What inspired you to start your blog? I love to write and I love to share with people, so it was a natural fit. Before I started Mod Podge Rocks, I actually blogged on LiveJournal for a few years, just about my life. I’ve always love crafting, so that was the next natural step. I really loved the Mod Podge logo (still do, of course) and it was the next craft I wanted to master, so that’s how the blog was born.

What are some of your favorite crafts/projects you have done? I’m more of a “fun” crafter than a practical one. I like stuff that is very colorful. Two examples are my mustache stool (http://modpodgerocksblog.com/2011/04/imaginisce-circus-themed-stool.html) and my key portrait (http://modpodgerocksblog.com/2010/09/refurbished-key-portrait.html). I also LOVE making jewelry, even though I don’t wear it that much, which is funny.

Circus-themed stool. Photo from Mod Podge Rocks

How many hours a week do you think you spend making vs doing businessy stuff? I do about 20% crafty stuff and 80% businessy stuff. Sometimes it’s even less crafty than that. People don’t realize that about blogging – it really changes (the percentage) as you grow.

How many hours a week do you spend blogging? I did a time tracker and last week I worked 60 hours. And that was just on the computer. But when you love something, it’s not work, right?

How long did it take you to complete your book Mod Podge Rocks, what was the process like? Writing a book is REALLY hard, at least it was for me. It took about 9 months for the whole process, and it was very tiring. I imagine it’s like having a baby . . . and I would be a miserable pregnant woman in that same analogy! I didn’t love the process (creatively draining) but the outcome was worth it!

What is your office/studio like? I just moved and my new studio isn’t quite built out yet, but it’s going to be a 1,400 square foot space. I’m so excited!

Recycled Mod Podge Jars for Your Desk. Photo from Amy Anderson

What is a normal (or as normal as it gets) workday like? Any rituals you do every morning, etc? I’m the worst ritual person ever. I really want to become more regimented though . . . I’m all over the place. One thing that remains is that I am not a morning person. I like to get up between 8 – 9 and work on the computer first doing mindless work to get me going. Then I use a task app on my iPhone to tell me what to do next. My goal this year is to get more organized though and have days that I do things – for instance, schedule social media on Mondays, work on crafts on Tuesdays, etc.

Do you listen to music while you work, if so…what inspires you the most? I’m a big classic rock fan. But I’ll listen to anything. My boyfriend laughs at me because I can listen to cheesy pop or watch soap operas while I work – it really doesn’t matter.

Besides Mod Podge, what are your favorite supplies/brands to work with? I love my X-Acto knife, and I love FolkArt chalkboard paint. I also love Martha Stewart gold leafing recently. It kind of depends on the day. Oh, and I always love knitting, so definitely yarn.

What artists have inspired you? Any favorite blogs that you follow? I’m a HUGE Chuck Close fan and I also love Charley Harper. But I don’t really consider myself an artist . . . so what inspires me about them is that they turned a passion into a career.

Endtable Upcycle. Photo from Amy Anderson

Be honest, how many containers of Mod Podge do you own? What is your favorite kind to work with? You would laugh – I have about 3 bottles. My favorites are Hard Coat and Dimensional Magic – and I don’t even have any Hard Coat right now. Because my living/studio space (that I just moved out of) was so small, I couldn’t really have a lot of supplies on hand. so to have a ton of Mod Podge bottles just wasn’t possible. Just wait until I get into my new space though!

Did you have any trouble starting your creative business, any advice you could share? Running your own business is a LOT of work. It’s not for the faint of heart. I am an accountant, office manager, and janitor – among many other roles – in addition to actually doing the work. I wouldn’t say I had “trouble” per se, but it did take awhile to ramp up. It’s not cheap and it’s time consuming. But it’s very satisfying. I would say if you want to be successful, you need to do two things primarily: 1) work hard and often – put the time in; and 2) focus on your OWN work, not the work of others. Nothing good comes out of comparing yourself.

There are many other things that go into running your own business, but those are important, at least when you are starting out.

What do you do when you need to unwind? Hang out with my dogs or exercise. It clears the mind. I also love to knit. I know, I sound like a crazy crafty lady!

Favorite piece of art you own that you did not create? A Charley Harper signed print. I LOVE Charley Harper!

DIY Charley Harper Wall Art. Photo from Amy Anderson (proof that she really loves Charley Harper)

What is your favorite thing about what you do? I like getting to make my own decisions about big things. When you work at a traditional job, you have a boss. I like that I don’t have to run my decisions by anyone. Of course I have clients, but ultimately I decide what I do. Maybe I love it because I’m an oldest child and I have four younger brothers, and I’m bossy? :0

Favorite gift to make for someone? I love making mason jar gifts or jewelry.

How do you decide on the Contributors for your blog? Do they come to you or do you approach them? I actually had people apply. I love my contributors!

What do you see in your future? Definitely doing more consulting, writing another book – then I’m not sure. I should probably get a plan, no?

Since I found Mod Podge Rocks in my stash of craft books when I moved, this interview has inspired me to make some crafty creations from the book! I’ll be sure to share some of the projects. If you want to learn more about Amy Anderson, check out her cool tutorials or see where she gets her inspiration from, check out her blog and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google + and Pinterest. If you want to be featured on the Meet the Maker, leave me a comment or e-mail me! You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google + and Pinterest.

 

The Liebster Award!

Tuesday was sort of unexpected. I mean, I knew the day was going to come – but the I didn’t know a thing about what we were going to do. Since my boyfriend works such crazy hours, we don’t get a whole lot of time to hang out. So, I was a little shocked and a lot of excited when he hurried me to get ready so we could go house hunting. We got Starbucks (which is quite the treat when you’re saving for a house), drove all around Sacramento, got lunch at Burgers and Brew – one of my favorite places – and just enjoyed hanging out.

While I answered some e-mails in the morning, I didn’t get much work done and my homework was forgotten for a day. And I suddenly remembered how wonderful it is to take a day off and just spend time with my family. It makes the crazy stressful days of going to school and trying to get your business going totally worth it.

I am taking some time off of worrying about the goals and deadlines I have – taking a day off Project 2014 – and just celebrating being celebrated. One of my online buddies, Bev Feldman – who I wrote about before – nominated me for a Liebster Award, which is award passed around by bloggers who have less than 200 followers. While I have more than that on social media, I think it’s referring to followers on my actual blog site, which for sure qualifies.

Here are the rules:

1. List 11 random facts about yourself
2. Answer 11 questions, that the blogger who nominated you, has asked
3. Nominate 11 other bloggers with less that 200 followers
4. Let those bloggers know you nominated them and pass on the love

11 random facts:

1. I have a seriously heightened sense of smell, and can pinpoint a scent in a nanosecond. And I come up with weird smells all the time, which was super fun when I was pregnant.
2. Like Bev, I, too, have a horrible short-term memory but can still remember my best friend’s phone number from grade school. And not all of my long-term memory is great, just random stuff like that.
3. I plan my night accordingly so I can watch Chelsea Lately at 11:00.
4. I once had a photo album dedicated to Drew Barrymore – total stalker.
5. I use … when it’s unnecessary – I just love it.
6. Which is ironic since I’m a total stickler for grammar.
7. Even though I have had a stutter since I could talk, I was often in trouble at school for talking too much in class.
8. I had a Filipino imaginary friend when I was little.
9. I didn’t try seafood until I was 25, and then it was clam chowder.
10. I taught myself to cook when I was pregnant.
11. Even though my mom could knit and sew anything she wanted, I refused to learn, and now that I want to learn, I have no time. Poor, poor me.

11 answers:

1. What is your favorite color? Teal/turquoise. They’re so alike and I can’t decide on one.

2. Do you speak any other languages? If so, what are they? Only the language of love.

3. Coffee or tea? Coffee all the way. Unless I’m sick.

4. What is your favorite season? Fall

5. What does your perfect day look like? My perfect day would be adventuring over to Dillons Beach on Hwy 1 and hitting up all the little restaurants and shops on the way up and back. Then heading over to the mountains and camping out. And yesterday was pretty close to perfect – just hanging out with my dude and my baby.

6. If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go? Jamaica

7. What is the meaning behind your blog’s name? Before I got pregnant, I enjoyed going out to bars, shows and parties. Then, I instantly turned into a housewife (instant is a little exaggeration – it took some time and still has its challenges) and became all domesticated. Don’t get me wrong though, I still enjoy a good beer. I just don’t drink the whole 12 pack anymore.

8. Do you have any pets? Nope. Not at the moment. My cat passed a couple years ago and I have him tattooed on my arm.

9. What do you enjoy most about blogging? At first, I just loved documenting all of my life changes and all the stuff I was learning to do. Now, I love all the connections I have made. I love all the people I have met, and finding new recipes and crafts. I just love the community.

10. If you could relive any day of your life, which one would it be and why? I don’t know if I would, because I don’t know if I would be where I am if I had done it differently. But, I would love to sit and enjoy the birth of my daughter again. So much was going on that I didn’t get a lot of time to really enjoy what just happened.

11. What is the most daring thing you have ever done? While I have done many stupid things that could probably classify as daring, I haven’t really done anything too daring. No backpacking across Europe, no skydiving. I moved to Stockton with someone I knew for a couple months and started a family, that’s pretty daring, yeah?

I would love to nominate: Pauselius, April Heather Art (a blog I JUST happened upon)

11 questions:

1. If your life was a movie, what would the title be?
2. First thing you do when you wake up?
3. What’s in your picnic basket?
4. If you were to scream something at the top of your lungs right now, what would it be?
5. How do you like your coffee?
6. How long have you gone without doing laundry?
7. Where was your favorite adventure?
8. What band do you listen to when nobody’s around?
9. Would you be friends with your high school self?
10. Why did you start blogging?
11. What’s one thing you couldn’t go without – aside from your phone and computer?

This was a lot of fun and thank you again Bev for nominating me!

Weekly Wishes: New Years Edition

I have given a lot of thought of what I want to accomplish next year. Goals I have made for myself, for my blog and for my two businesses. While I would love to blog and make stuff just for the pure fun of it, mama needs some money! And after applying to 20+ work-from-home jobs in the last couple weeks, I have determined that the only way I will make money is if I do it myself.

I figured this post would be the perfect way for me to share my goals and manifesto for 2014. I will be writing a health and business manifesto later this week, but this is my jump-start. This will cover all aspects of my life.

Goals for 2014:

• Make at least $1,000/month
• Make all of my food from scratch, eat clean. Get an awesome garden going
• Learn to sew like a badass
• Learn to knit on my own
• Learn to screen print like a badass
• Make a ton of candles
• Start making my own graphics

How I will do it:

• Start working on my projects and selling what I can. Work on getting sponsors on my blog and kick Baby Burrito Collective into high gear
• Grocery shopping once a week and visiting farmers markets as often as I can. Make all the big stuff on Sundays and use it throughout the week. If I do eat out, choose food that is as clean as it gets. I have noticed how slumpy I get after eating poorly, and I don’t like it! I also need to work out and practice yoga at least one hour per day. Plant my garden before school starts so I can get all the hard work done before my life is dedicated to my homework.
• Right now, I have so many sewing projects…that will the perfect way to start sewing! Then, I can do knitting, screen printing and candle making as the projects arise.
• Work on one graphic/illustration per week. Tweak it until I love it. Then add it to my portfolio and start building on that.

So, my manifesto for this year is summed up in one word: DO. Stop thinking about everything I want and need to do, and just DO. Let go of anything that is holding me back from achieving my goals and just DO them. I will either succeed or fail, and that is all dependent on me.

What are your goals for 2014? Do you write them in a journal and keep them to yourself or do you share them? If you choose to post your goals online, please share the link in the comments and if you’re social, share with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google +. You can connect with the Weekly Wishes link-up on The Nectar Collective.

Thrifty Thursdays

Of all the things my poor mom has tried to teach me to do, knitting is probably the only project I completed. I made a scarf and a beanie a couple years ago, and now that the weather is getting colder, it’s about time to get back into action. Of course, I will have to set aside time to do it after Cecilia goes to bed as the yarn will be a big ol’ tangled mess on the ground if she gets to it.

We usually look up patterns in one of my mom’s many pattern books, but I’ve also found some cool patterns online that we have made before. I found some more patterns online today, and the best part…they are FREE! Instead of sharing individual patterns like I would normally share individual tutorials, I’m going to share the sites I got them from. Each site has so many patterns, that would be unjust to only share one with you.

Image belongs to Creating Laura

Creating Laura – I was guided to this site from All Free Knitting, an excellent resource for finding knitting patterns, stores, reviews, giveaways and tutorials. Back to Laura, now. She offers a dozen knitting patterns on her site, and she also blogs about food, crafts, sewing, beauty and of course…knitting. You can find a tutorial for a beer cozy and an infinity scarf, all in the same place!

Image belongs to fearless homemaker

Fearless Homemaker – This is another All Free Knitting find. She offers two knitting patterns on her blog, including this dark leaf ear warmer. There are plenty of other craft tutorials on her blog, and she also shares some yummy recipes, like a healthier version of chilli-cheese macaroni! I think I know what I’m making for dinner!

Image belongs to Fiber Flux

Fiber Flux – Jennifer, who runs this blog, not only shares free knitting and crochet patterns, she also shares tutorials! Be sure to check out the strawberry jam neck wrap pattern and the flower patch button wrap pattern. I checked out her tutorials and you can seriously learn how to knit and crochet pretty much anything your heart could desire.

Image belongs to Cut Out + Keep

Cut Out + Keep – This is an awesome community site that I found that offers an assortment of craft projects and tutorials. There are quite a few free knitting patterns, like this awesome fox beanie. You can sign up as a member and share your projects and tutorials while learning from others. And it’s totally free to join!

I hope you were able to find some knitting patterns to inspire your next project. As always, I will only share projects with you that I am planning to make sometime in the near future. I am not compensated for any of this, I just love sharing what I find with all my friends on here. You can share your knitting projects, tutorials, patterns and more in the comments and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #staythrifty.  And if you are craving more knitting inspiration, check out my Pinterest! Stay thrifty, my friends.