My goal is to sew things that are useful and FUN. The colors and prints that I choose are meant to brighten the faces of those who buy or receive my products. They are meant to be fun to use and to show off... to give a little boost of good vibes... You know, like when you find that perfect outfit or accessory that fits just right and makes you giggly inside!

The name, "Creating My Sunshine," came about because I realized that sewing had become a personal therapy for me and was helping me to come out of a period of depression I had found myself in. Sewing new things literally lifted me out of depression. You see, before depression, I was the silly girl (college girl!) who would skip down the hall to go grab something from my room. I just got excited, like, over nothing really. I was happy and it was so easy to be happy. Life was good. Then, depression stole that from me. I can't really pinpoint a precise event that triggered it, but it hit me. Hard. I remember crying, sitting on the bathroom floor, in my last trimester of pregnancy (picture: the full basketball belly), sobbing out loud, and wondering why I was even here - why do I even matter... It was a rough battle, to say the least, but I have an amazing husband who helped me fight. He's always supporting and encouraging me, no matter what crazy dream I want to pursue, and it's his loving support that has led me to be here creating things to share with the world. Creating makes me HAPPY - whether I'm sewing, painting, photographing - I am happiest when I am creating. My heart is even more excited when I know others are enjoying my work. Thus, I named my shop, "Creating My Sunshine," that through my work, I am hopefully adding a bit more sunshine to this world - sunshine in my personal life and sunshine to those who receive my creations. <3

The actual sewing part of my journey began during my college years when I was taking a craft class for my art education degree. We were finishing up a plastered mask project when my teacher announced that if we wore our masks to the arts festival coming up, then we would receive an extra "100" test grade. AND if we wore a costume that matched our masks, we'd receive even more extra credit. Of course, we were excited! And I got the crazy idea to actually sew my costume - I say crazy because I did NOT know how to sew at the time. I didn't even own a sewing machine. Here I was planning to sew a costume from a pattern though - you know, those patterns I didn't even know how to read?! Miraculously, I did manage to make my costume and it turned out like it was supposed to (with the exception of a little tightness around the bust). My aunt had let me borrow her sewing machine, which she didn't know how to use and still had it in the box... Ha. Perhaps needless to say, my aunt didn't see her sewing machine again for a while. I became intrigued with sewing. So much "sew" that my mom bought me my own sewing machine that year for Christmas. And there it began...