She's Crafty | Nice to Meet You...

Did you hear that? We're cute!

Hello, I'm Kaye and I'm the mother half of this mother-daughter duo. You will be hearing from one or the other, or both of us every week about ALL things crafting...and maybe some other things too, sometimes, like art, which is not so other, really. It's all about being creative, useful, beautiful, joyous, cute, self-sufficient, expressive, and above all--fun! Which reminds me--how do you like our blog title? Cute huh? It sounds like a catchy song title to me...Say, who are the Beasty Boys?

I've been making things for as long as the daughter half can remember, and for almost as long as I can remember, which is a very long time--of course, I'm not going to tell you how long. Suffice it to say, I have lots to share with you about a fair number of crafts I've been learning and doing in all that time. Some of these are what you'd expect: Sewing, crocheting, knitting, embroidery. Some are a bit different: chain mail, beading, macrame, stained glass. And, there are always more crafts I want to learn--lamp-worked glass beads, spinning my own yarn, mosaics, making fancy paper. 

Chain mail necklace by Kaye

Oh! And the places we'll go: San Francisco's Renegade Craft Fair; a yarn bomb scavenger hunt; Sonora's Celtic Fair, where you can see a guy making chain mail armor from steel rings the way the Europeans did so long ago (you need strong hands for that!) Ah, crafting is history!

Squid Tree yarnbomb by Lorna and Jill Watt

The daughter and I have many crafting relatives and ancestors we look to for inspiration: The tinkering dad; handy brother; sewing sister, plus cousins, mom, aunts, and grandmas; musical grandkids & grandparents (music is art!); poetry writing other daughter (oh yes, writing too!) Then, there are the ancestors going farther back: Grandmothers & grandfathers into the great-great-greats who quilted, crocheted, knitted, fixed things and made them do. I could go on and on. And, I will! One week at a time. I hope you'll join us!

Now it's time to hear from the daughter half. She's going to keep us current; but she'll tell you her own story--hey daughter! It's your turn--

Hi, hello. Can you just excuse me a second...

Pssst, mom, it's the Beastie Boys.

...okay, on with the intro!

Malia here, the daughter half of She's Crafty. And, yes, ever since I could remember, arts and crafts have been a BIG part of our family. I grew up in a world of doilies and soft blankets, handmade hats and school clothes, and shelves upon shelves of do-it-yourself books.

As much as I loved being on the receiving end of some amazing heirlooms, my little kiddie hands couldn't wait to make their own mark. I practically begged my mom to teach me how to crochet! Ever since, I've been fascinated by all the wonderful things hands can make.

And make things I have! It's pretty much been a crafting free-for-all after I finished my first granny square. Some items great-great-grandma might recognize. Some others, not so much.

Tatted mask, feather mask, and mini-top hat by Malia.

Of course, I would not be the prolific crafter I am without the help of the library. In fact, I consider my library card just as important to my crafting endeavors as my favorite pair of purple-handled scissors. Seriously, peep at my bedside table and you will find at least one craft book I checked out from my local branch at any given time.

Check out my latest score from the library, Sweet Paper Crafts by Mollie Greene. Isn't it just the sweetest thing?! Makes me want to populate my desk with a flock of paper birds. Like, right now.

So, can you tell we love crafts? Now tell us, how much do you love being crafty?