Then, the pandemic. The friggin'. Long. Pandemic. I became very good at sewing, then.  And that's when I decided to open up an Etsy shop. It was either open up the shop, or move out of my own house because there was not room to live with all the bags around. I got my first sale the day after I opened my shop. Talk about a rush!  But honestly, I don’t know if I would have my own Etsy shop and have the sewing skills I have today without the pandemic.  If you told me 5 years ago I would making the bags I make today, I would have thought you were crazy. But along with being a creative outlet for me, it's also my therapy. My sanity keeper. My escape. My chance to keep my mind quiet.

I love looking at fabric and thinking up combos in my mind of what would look great on a bag. My Instagram (@bemanythings) will show you all the different projects I have made over the past couple years. I sew any chance I get, however, it's not as often as I would like. My children are now both in school, and I went back to work when my youngest entered Kindergarten.

Now, I'm a full time Special Ed Teacher, working with behaviorally and socially challenged children. See now why I need a stress reliever??!! My sewing time is now whittled down to when I'm not knocked out on the couch during the school week after my own kids have gone to bed, or when I can sneak a few hours into my sewing room on the weekend. I'm always creating in my mind, and have several drawers in my sewing room full of fabrics that are paired with patterns, waiting to be cut into.

I also create projects for Art Gallery Fabrics to help showcase their newest fabric collections in their Lookbooks.  I recently  started collaborating with San Diego Sewn (a fabric company owned by Amanda Harris in San Diego, CA) to create projects as well that show off new fabric collections she carries in her shop.

I personally want to thank you for taking the time to learn a little about myself.  Hopefully you have connected with my story in some way.  If you would like to connect with me, stay updated on what I’m up to, or read about sewing, sign up for my newsletter!