Interrogation::: Allison {Crafted Love} + GIVEAWAY!

Good {Late} Morning Friends!


I hope you all had a really great weekend! I did :) I did tons of fun stuff with The Beard. AND for those of you who haven't heard I opened my new shop! Yellow Bird, Yellow Beard Toy Shop! Yay!


Anywho, today I'm happy to introduce you to a new friend of mine, Allison from Crafted Love! Welcome Allison! We are so happy to have you share with us today :)

1. Tell us a little bit about you as a person

   I am a design student in my final year of college in Southern Ohio. I am a graphic designer by day and an avid crafter by night. I've never really wanted to have a "normal" job. If I had to work a 9 to 5 job I wanted it to be doing something to better the world like non-profit. I hope to one day make a living from my craftiness and perhaps work part time for a charitable organization. I love taking photos of my random adventures with my new fiance, Mike. We are recently engaged and are planning our completely DIY/handmade wedding for next August! I love anything and everything handmade or creative and couldn't imagine life without my scissors and sewing machine!

2. Tell us how/why you started Crafted Love?


   Way back in 2009 I happened to be browsing for projects to do when I came across this fancy blog called "A Beautiful Mess" :] Seeing all these crafty people in one place was such an inspiration. I always thought I was the oddball of my friends. Always making things and painting random picture while everyone else was studying for class. It was such a relief to see I wasn't alone and in fact, there were tons of other creatives out there! I decided to start up my own blog and started posting photos of the creations I made. Surprisingly, people started commenting and asking how I made things. I started taking pictures as I made things and posted them to show everyone that they could make it too. 

3. What do you do when you're not blogging?


   If I'm not at my computer blogging I'm probably watching movies with my fiance, going on random road trips, taking photos outside, playing around on Photoshop, working out at the gym, or hanging out with my friends and family.

4. What networking do you to that you feel most helps your blogging business?


   Being vocal in the blogging community. Most of my blog friends are friends only because I got up the courage to email them and tell them I think they are rad :] Commenting on other bloggers' posts not only get your friends, but it gets your name out there in the blogosphere for others so find you.
   I also think Twitter is a great form of networking for bloggers. I may be biased, but I think every blogger should have a Twitter account. It's a perfect way to chat with other bloggers as well as let people know about things you've posted.



5. Who are some other bloggers that inspire you?


   Other than the obvious, Elsie of A Beautiful Mess, I am always inspired by my friend Elycia of Love, Elycia. All of my blog peers inspire me in some way. It's just so uplifting to see ladies my age pursuing their dreams and being crafty.


6. Tell us about your craft and how you got started?
   
   Currently, my shop is on a little bit of a vacation while I finish up school and figure out what I want to do. Before I closed up shop, I was selling fabric flower accessories like hair clips, shoe clips, and headbands. It all started long before I even knew about Etsy, really. I would walk through shops and see an accessory I liked but just didn't want to spend 12 bucks on it. So I'd go home and make it myself. When I found Etsy, I decided Hey, I could make a living out of this! After a while I started getting custom order inquiries about bridal hair pieces. My favorite piece was quite recently when I was asked to make a hair flower out of fabric from a bride's mother and grandma's wedding dresses. It came out perfectly and made her day so special.


7. What is your favorite item in someone else's Etsy shop?


   I really love Savannah's Recycled Key Ring. It's totally rad and I'm very tempted to dump out my coin jar and go buy it!

Silly Question:


What is something you would do if you were invisible?


   Hmmm... I always wanted to be able to be invisible. The evil Allison would probably sneak into her professors' offices and give herself all A's... but I'm not evil :] Soooo... I suppose I would people watch without looking like a creeper.






I'm always worried that people think I'm a creeper when I people watch too... Hahaha :) Thank you so much again Allison for taking the time to hang out with us today! It's a real pleasure to have you! P.S. I love those photos of you skateboarding, so awesome :)

GIVEAWAY

What you will win: One month of free ad space {medium size} on Crafted Love!

{{{for more information on advertising on Crafted Love see here}}}

 

How to enter: {{{MANDATORY}}} Be a follower of Yellow Bird, Yellow Beard as well as Crafted Love and leave me a comment telling me so.

Additional entry #1: Visit Allison's blog and tell me your favorite of her DIY projects.

Additional entry #2: Blog, Tweet, Facebook, Etc. about this giveaway and leave a comment telling me you have done so. {You need to leave me a separate comment here for it to count as an entry!}

The giveaway will be running till midnight on Friday and I will announce the winner on Saturday! Good luck everyone!

 

xoxo
Janee