About
🎙️ A Little Q&A With Kim
Instead of writing a traditional biography, I thought it would be much more fun to do a Q&A here answering some questions I get asked a lot.Grab a cup of coffee and get to know the crafter behind BellaArt Creates through a few questions about my creative life, the things I've made, and why crafting has become such an important part of my world.
1. Let's start at the beginning! Where did the name BellaArt Creates come from? Well, I love the name Bella, but when I was trying to come up with a name for my brand, I quickly discovered that Bella is pretty popular! I added "Art" and "Creates" to bring creativity into the name and then prayed nobody had already claimed it as a website name. Once I discovered it was available, I grabbed it quick like! 😄
2. How long have you been crafting, and do you remember what first sparked your love of making things? I started crafting when I was 12. I don't remember exactly what led me to crafting, but I do remember attending a crochet class—and from there, I was hooked! {pun intended! :D} That's how it all began. I also loved drawing comics and writing poetry. We were poor growing up, and creating things became an outlet for me. It still is today.
3. What was the very first thing you remember making? Prayer shawls! In fact, that was the only thing I knew how to crochet for years, so you can imagine how many I've made now that I'm in my 60s! 😂 I didn't really begin expanding my crochet skills and exploring other crafts until I moved to Oregon in 2012 and attended a women's ministry crafting class. That's where I learned to crochet hats, scarves, garments, hot pads, and so much more. Every year, our church held a Christmas bazaar, and all of us ladies would make handmade items to raise funds for our ministry. It was so much fun!
4. You've worked with so many different crafts. What types of crafting do you enjoy, and which ones have become your favorites over the years? Hmmm...that's a hard question! I guess since I started as a crocheter, crochet is still my first love. But sewing is right up there, too, because I really enjoy working with fabrics. Honestly, I just love making things!
5. If you had to choose ONE craft to take with you to a deserted island, what would it be—and why? Probably a crochet hook, a bunch of yarn, and all my crochet notions—tapestry needles, scissors, stitch markers, and everything else I might need. I also think crochet projects are the easiest for me to travel with. My sewing machine is a little too big for island life! 😂
6. You've made thousands of things over the years. Is there one particular project that holds a special place in your heart? Because I do more than one craft, I couldn't pick one item! I love 3D paper crafting, so one of my favorites is a tissue box holder that looks like a little house. It's a die set I purchased a few years ago, and I decorated the house with scrapbook papers, stickers, and gems. It turned out so cute!
When it comes to crochet, making garments became a favorite of mine. I've made several sweaters and wraps over the years. I also loved making sock snowmen and hand-stitching my two sock monkeys, Bennie and her sister Bella. They definitely deserve an honorable mention! 😂
7. Has crafting ever gotten you through a difficult season in your life or helped you in ways you didn't expect? Absolutely. Some years ago, I went through a major traumatic experience, and making cards became a huge source of therapy for me. I loved cardmaking and paper crafting. At the time, I couldn't crochet or knit because I had injured my shoulder, so cardmaking became my creative outlet. It would be some time before my life changed for the better, but during that dark period, cardmaking was my best friend. Even today, crafting helps calm me and fulfills my love of making something pretty and functional. That's one of the reasons I'm now learning to sew—and I'm having a lot of fun with it!
8. What is something you've learned about yourself through crafting? The biggest thing I've learned is that I don't have to make perfect things. In fact, handmade things are never perfect—and that's part of their charm! When I finish a project and look back at it, the little imperfections are actually adorable to me. I always feel such a wonderful sense of accomplishment when I finish something. It's hard to describe that feeling. Right now, I'm working on a crochet blanket for myself using a stitch I've never tried before, and it's coming out so pretty! I can't wait to finish it so I can use it in my craft space.
9. Do you prefer following patterns and instructions, or are you more of a "let's see what happens" crafter? 👀 I'm a visual learner, so I learn best by watching YouTube tutorials. I rarely follow written patterns. I love watching someone demonstrate something and then following along! Apparently, my brain prefers "show me how" over "please read these 47 instructions." 😂
10. What's the craft supply you can never seem to have enough of? I had to really think about this one! When it comes to crochet or knitting, it's definitely yarn. I can never have too much because with just a little skein of yarn, you can make something wonderful. For sewing, I'd say colorful threads and I go through white thread especially fast. And I'd always love to have more felt!
11. What does your husband, Ken, think about all this crafting? And does he have any role in your creative adventures? I'm so blessed to have a hubby who supports my desire to craft. The only challenge is that we're on a fixed budget, so I'm not always able to buy whatever I want whenever I want. I really try to use what I already have, and I do quite a bit of shopping at our local Dollar Tree. In fact, that's where I've been buying some of my yarn for $1.25 a skein! They sell Premier Yarns which is so soft and easy to work with!
Hubby has his own eBay business where he sells vintage postcards, so he's pretty busy with that. I help him with the paperwork and tech issues, and he helps me package and ship all the orders from my eBay shop.
12. Speaking of your eBay shop, why are you selling off some of your craft and art supplies? Well, over time, my crafty journey has changed—and that probably happens to a lot of us makers. I have supplies in my stash that I'm no longer using or that simply don't fit where my creative journey is taking me now. So why let good supplies sit in drawers and on shelves when they can go to another crafter and get a second life? That's really what BellaArt Creates is about right now: passing along supplies I no longer need to someone who will enjoy using them.
13. After all these years of making things, what do you hope another crafter feels when they look through your galleries? I hope my galleries offer inspiration to fellow makers and beginner crafters, and encouragement to anyone who has never tried crafting before. I want people to see that you really can make cute, useful, and beautiful things with your own hands. Showcasing my projects isn't about showing off my talent. It's never been about that. It's simply about sharing the joy of creating and maybe inspiring someone else to pick up a needle, hook, pair of scissors, or paintbrush and give crafting a try.
14. Finally, what's your favorite craft tool in your arsenal—the one you can't be without? Well, again I have a few...for cardmaking, my reverse tweezers are my best asset! I cannot craft without them because I use them to pick up all those tiny little things that my fingers apparently refuse to cooperate with. 😂 For hand sewing, I love my longer needles for making pillows, oversized pumpkins, large pincushions, and more. And then there's Poly-Fil. I've used it for pillows, stuffed animals, pincushions, pumpkins, and sock snowmen. If something needs to be stuffed, Poly-Fil and I have probably met.
