Let's craft together!
Welcome to my portfolio! Here you can see a sample of work I have done over the years, sorted by category below.
I have been crafting since I was young and have grown up with a strong desire to learn how to make everything I see, with projects ranging from sketches and paintings to ceramics, block printing, fiber arts and newly pursuing mosaic tiling and stained glass work. I love to try new projects and pick up new skills to find ways to integrate projects across the skillsets I have developed over the years. I strive to approach my projects creatively to push the boundaries of what’s possible to create something unique and meaningful for the individual I am creating the product for. I hope you enjoy some of my top projects below and find some inspiration for your crafting journey.
Technical mockups and digital design often have a role in my product design process as I approach new projects across media forms. I have often used Procreate or Affinity to draw out the concept and even create a mockup of my projects before fabrication, such as the quilt patterns you see below. These mockups help me to visualize the patterns, color palettes, and scale of the products before I proceed with the production process.
I have also explored fabric design and created the whale shark pattern shown below as my first custom textile print. I successfully developed it as a seamless repeating pattern and had it professionally printed on fabric.
I have worked with my Cricut Maker and Procreate/Affinity/Cricut Design Studio to design shirts for a bachelorette party and other miscellaneous products. As part of my product design journey, I always wanted to expand into machine embroidery and began using Embrilliance Stitch Artist to digitize embroidery files. I often use a combination of Procreate or Affinity to draw out my concept and then utilize the embroidery software to digitize in a format my embroidery machine can read. Below you can see an example of an embroidery file with my Paws and Pincushions logo and more of my designs can be found under the Embroidery drop-down.
In my sewing journey, I have spanned a variety of projects and have been developing my understanding and knowledge in garment construction. This is an avenue of sewing that I have always found inspiring as I love the idea of creating your own wardrobe and deciding what materials you want to use and wear in your day to day.
Garment or apparel sewing is one that is a complex and extensive type of craft to get into, but it has been so rewarding to see it come together and draw connections that you can then utilize in your next project. Through my trial and error in following patterns, adjusting patterns, and self-drafted patterns, I have developed a greater understanding of the construction of garments and have found myself frequently inspecting my clothes to analyze how it was made.
I recently created my own pattern based on a quilted quarter zip that my boyfriend had, using a quilt from Goodwill to create a sample based on my understanding of seam placement on the existing store-bought garment and was able to create my own version with slight adjustments! This was such an exciting process to pull together the knowledge I have been accumulating and channel it into something I am passionate and excited about.
There are so many things that you can do with sewing. One of my favorite sewing projects to date is the Ribbot hat shown below. Ribbot is a character from Animal Crossing that my brother has loved since we were kids. As a gift, I decided to make him a bucket hat based on this character.
As part of this process, I designed the structure of the bucket hat and shape I wanted it to have, researched and decided on type and fabric colors/patterns, drew and digitized embroidery features that bring the character to life, and mapped out the order of operations to ensure that the end product looked professional. This was a complex process that required sizing and scale, an understanding of construction and how to create a product that is sturdy and functions as desired, while utilizing and creating a design that embodies the character in a recognizable and authentic way. I am so excited by how this came out and learned so much through the process that I can apply to future projects.
In addition to the garments and hat discussed above, I have also found a lot of joy in designing my own bags and tying in embroidery and quilting to create something truly unique and personal to me or my friends and family. Below you can see my designs of the Quilted Cat Tote bag and a couple embroidered/quilted cat purses, as well as a scrunchie tote pattern that I was able to learn some techniques from.
I have also had a lot of fun creating Mickey ears for trips I have taken to Disney. For these, I utilized a base pattern from another creator and thought through unique concepts for ears to encapsulate some of my favorite characters, such as Spider-Man and Rapunzel shown below, as well as a Disney Springs inspired pair for my friend who loves to visit there. These were such fun projects to express my creativity through drawing inspiration from these characters and places in a unique and new way.
Quilting has become such a passion for me recently. I love the design process – from sketching the first idea, through mocking up images of a full quilt with the quilt blocks I drew, doing the math to determine how to get the blocks to line up, cutting fabric and testing assembly of each of the blocks, and adjusting as needed for the desired look.
Below on the left you can see my newly designed Scottish Highlands Quilt (pattern coming soon to my shop). In the middle is a Pumpkin Quilted Pillow Cover. I found inspiration on TikTok for how to assemble the center pumpkin and designed detailing around the pumpkin to create a unique fall-themed pillow case. Lastly, on the right, you can see my first test blocks for the Crafty Cat Quilt, which I am working on developing to create a pattern soon.
As part of my product design journey, I have always wanted to learn embroidery and be able to make professional quality products at home. Through this process, I have tried a variety of embroidery softwares and a couple machines and have learned so much along the way. Machine embroidery is an art form that requires design work to create what you want the embroidered property to look like, digitizing of the design in a software that converts it to a readable file for your machine, and an understanding of your embroidery machine – needles, fabrics, stabilizers, what size hoop to use, types and weights of threads, and more.
My learning process was a process of trial and error through the use of different softwares and tests with different fabrics and materials to understand how to best utilize my machine by adjusting tension, accessories to support the machine’s productivity such as a thread spool holder to prevent tangles, and many other learnings along the way. This has been such a rewarding process as there is truly so much to learn and so many resources out there, but I have been able to see my designs come to life in a different way than the other media here. Embroidery is also an amazing skill to use in a variety of projects and I have often used embroidery in collaboration with sewing and quilting to make custom purses and quilted items.
Below you can see a sample of my embroidery designs, including my business logo, a sweatshirt design with my cat Loki, leaning into his desire for “glorious purr-pose”, a fall-themed Walt Disney World design, wedding gifts for a friend using their logo, an embroidered/quilted/designed/sewn purse featuring my cat Loki, and embroidered frames with my two cats to display in my home.
I’ve been crocheting since elementary school and have always loved the design and flexibility to create anything from the yarn of your choice. I enjoy thinking up a concept, like the duck plush for example, and drawing a sketch to visualize and begin crocheting, adjusting as needed to match the vision of your desired product. In the last year, I picked up knitting and was able to learn new knitting techniques and make my first sweater!
In addition to that sweater, you can see a few products I have designed below – a few stuffed animals, a Loki costume for my cat, Loki, an Ariel-inspired water bottle holder, and a crochet blanket. I also recently learned how to use wire in my crochet to create a more multi-media shape-able bougainvillea plant and am looking forward to applying those learnings to a pattern of my own in the future.
Painting is something that I love to revisit time after time as there is a lot you can learn and it is such a fun one to find ways to incorporate mixed media.
As you can probably tell from all of my projects, I love to find ways to use my skills across different art forms to build on each other. Below, you can see a square castle painting inside a Mickey hand frame. I created this artwork as a pair, with a ceramics project to design and construct the frame while I painted the castle to fit inside.
I have mainly painted with acrylics and oils, though I have also experimented with watercolor and gouache. Below, you can see an oil painting of Cinderella’s Castle, an acrylic painting of Olaf in a Star Wars scene I painted for a friend, a Harry Potter book safe I created from an old Harry Potter book and painted Hogwarts on the cover, and a pair of Marvel sneakers inspired by some of my favorite scenes in the MCU.
I love to create in the storybook style, as you can see below, where the art has a cutesy and welcoming feel to it. This style reminds me of the movies and art I have loved since I was young, but I also enjoy branching out to experience and learn different techniques and styles.
I have a passion for home decor and aim to fill my environment with things that inspire me every day. In addition to the quilts, sewing, painting, and other sections here that can be included in home decor, I have also embarked on a variety of projects to focus on this idea of bringing life into the space and creating something that brings me or those around me joy.
Below you can see a mural that I worked on at my friend’s house based on Sorcerer Mickey’s Hat, as she wanted to have a mural wall that represented the four Disney Parks in Florida. This was an incredible process to be involved in, as I was able to sketch out the design roughly, tape the desired shape in the wall, and paint, adding the desired texture to keep it cartoony while having some details to help it pop.
I’m a big Disney and Marvel fan, so I have also made a Mickey wreath for the holiday season, a Spider-Man needlepoint tissue box holder (inspired by the one in the display case in the movie Spider-Man: Far From Home), and a neutral sign with a nod to Loki with his phrase of “Glorious Purpose”. I love finding ways to incorporate my passion for art and Disney/Marvel.
In addition to fiber arts and painting, I also enjoy stepping out of my comfort zone to learn new skills and find ways to leverage these skills in multi-media capacities. In the recent weeks, I have been learning about mosaic tiling and stained glass. These processes are both such unique styles of art, with tile and glass cutting, equipment needed for soldering and protective equipment to stay safe while crafting.
I find this type of project to be so rewarding as it is a truly creative process where I am constantly learning the mechanics behind the art to better understand how to approach it the next time! Below are photos of my first ventures in mosaic tiling and stained glass – a fish mosaic table and a monstera stained glass. I am excited by the project ideas I am already having regarding these mediums and look forward to seeing how I can combine these with other art forms to create something unique and exciting!
