Coffee talk with Amy from Mod Podge rocks! (great read for newbies and oldies )

Well hallo there! It’s Amy from Mod Podge Rocks – pleased to be with you here at Debbie’s blog to share my story. I always consider it an honor to be invited to someone’s blog. It’s about as close as being invited into their home as you can get online . . . don’t you think?  I talk about blogging all the time, so I think this is a good place to go into my personal story a little bit.  I hope you'll enjoy it.

My history as a crafter actually begins as a seamstress and a knitter. 

I come from crafty and creative genes – my grandmother was an interior decorator, and one of my great-grandmothers was an AMAZING painter. 

You should see this little Dutch village she painted on porcelain plates. It blows my mind. My mom is also very creative, having sewn since she was 10 years old. 

When I was little, my mother used to put my brother and I out in the driveway with easels and paint in our bathing suits. We’d paint and paint – then when it was all done, we’d get hosed down. I didn’t realize how ingenious this was until now. Isn’t it funny how you look back and say “ah, that is why my mom did that!” Anyhoo, I took a lot of art lessons as a child, and even went to sewing camp (which I hated at the time). When I was 15 my mom taught me basic knitting, and I taught myself the additional stitches. By 20, I was writing my own patterns. I spent many years knitting and giving everything I made away. I liked crafting versus simply drawing or painting because I had a useful item at the end. It felt like such an accomplishment!

I’ve been blogging since 2009 at Mod Podge Rocks. 

I graduated with my MBA in 2008, and I’ve never been one to sit around without a side project for very long. I started to become obsessed with Mod Podge (in a good way), and so I did a lot of searches on the internet and found various projects on various blogs. 

I realized the talent that is out there, and I also realized there wasn’t one place to find Mod Podge projects. I started my blog to create a resource for crafters and an online library for my own projects. 

I post myself once a week and then feature other crafters (plus do giveaways, reviews, etc) the rest of the time. My favorite part of blogging, besides creating projects? Sending traffic to another blog. I know that sounds a little overly altruistic, but I really mean it. There are so many brilliant crafters out there who would never get noticed without some sort of big break. I love providing that forum – and that includes for me.

My other favorite part of blogging is building relationships with women that have common interests. I’m very honest about myself and who I am, and I’ll tell you this: I don’t have many friends here in Atlanta. 

I’m 34, unmarried (I have a boyfriend) with no children and a bit of a tomboy. I’ve got a lot of friends from childhood and my college years as well as a few from adulthood – but the older I get, the harder it is. I’ve tried to attend crafty events here, but most of the women are way younger than me, in college and in a different stage of their life. You may have experienced some of this yourself, and if not, consider yourself lucky! 

The good news is that I’ve met several people online that share my interests and goals, and we can build friendships that go beyond the computer. I’ve even met some women located in my area and am going to host a blogger event for everyone very soon. It’s exciting!

Another great result of blogging has been Crafterminds. It’s my side project with Heather from Dollar Store Crafts, Beckie from Infarrantly Creative and Jen from Tatertots and Jello. We help craft bloggers, and bloggers in general, figure out how to get started and then navigate in this crazy blogging world. We talk about solutions to a wide variety of blogging problems and discuss relevant topics, even some technical in nature. Recently I wrote articles titled “Does Your Blog Make People Cringe” and “Learn How: Creating a Facebook Fan Page.” Crafterminds also hosts Twitter discussions on blogging every Monday at 4pm EST (visit the blog for more info).  We have a big vision of how to help people, and we’re working every week to gain momentum. Besides being a side project that I really believe in and feel will do a lot of good for people, I get to work with some awesome women. Heather, Beckie and Jen got to meet in real life in January at CHA. They are wonderful.

Before I go, I will tell you one more personal thing about me. I live by a few mantras. 

The first is that you only live once. I try to take risks and do things so that I won’t have regrets. 

The second has two parts. I believe that God has a purpose for me, and that I will never get anything I can’t handle. That applies to my whole life, including blogging. I go through periods where I ask myself what I’m doing, why I’m blogging and some times where I want to sweep all my craft supplies into the trash because I get so overwhelmed. Luckily those are few and far between, and typically when I haven’t gotten enough sleep. When it comes down to it, I love blogging. I love creating. I love connecting with all of you.

I invite all of you to join me at Mod Podge Rocks and Crafterminds. I promise that you’ll have a blast and learn a lot. Debbie – thanks for having me, and to all of you: you rock!

Hey girls, a big thanks to Amy for guest posting today.  If you are new to blogging and really want to tap into your creative side, go check her out! You will be glad you did.
XO