Please welcome Charmaine. You can see her wonderful work on her website Oodabug Alley. If you would like to know where that name came from, read this. It's a very cute story. You may also know her as "CharmWarm" on Splitcoast Stampers. She is an amazing crafter! She is a design team member for Paper Pretties and for Verve Visual. You should definitely check out these sites. They have some very creative things on them. She is a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. On top of all this crafting, she is a dance teacher, singer, and choreographer. She met her husband while doing musical theater performing and they have two little girls with a third (a boy) due very soon! Charmaine is very sweet and although I have never met her in person, she gives off a very warm and friendly vibe. I hope to stay in touch with her!

I also asked Charmaine a few questions I thought would be fun to hear answers to.

How did you get started with crafts?
A friend of mine (who is now my upline) asked me about having a stamping party and I said "no, not me. . .I don't do crafts!" She asked a few times and each time I declined. Then, we were at a church choir picnic and this same friend set up a table for people to "try" stamping if they wanted. I tried it and was HOOKED. I was at Michael's THAT NIGHT buying stuff!

How much time per day do you spend on your crafts? Is it enough? :)
This is a tough question since I never sit down for an allotted amount of time. I kind of have to "do a little all day long". I would say I probably spend about 2-3 hours a day on crafts, some days more, some days less. It all depends on what my kids are doing and what they allow me to get done! :) It NEVER seems to be enough time!

What is your favorite craft item to use or project to make?
My absolute favorite craft item is my paper piercer! I don't know what I EVER did without that tool! I LOVE faux stitching with it or just the embellishment the pierced holes themselves add to a project.

Where do you get your inspiration (for your stamp creating or card making)?
I do a lot of the challenges on Splitcoaststampers, so that gives me a starting point a lot of times. Other times I take inspiration from the paper or embellishments I plan to use on a project. Sometimes it's just my husband saying "hey, wouldn't this make a neat card. . . .?"

Do you have any advice for fellow crafters out there? Words of wisdom, perhaps? :)
For those of you who "lurk" on Splitcoast or blogs and never really post any creations of your own. . .don't be afraid! Nobody's going to "fail" you! I spent probably a YEAR lurking on Splitcoast before I ever uploaded anything, not thinking my creations were good enough for people to look at. Then my husband urged me to start a blog, I just laughed! I said "why would anyone want to visit MY blog?" Now, I look back and think "what was I so afraid of?" Everyone I've "met" through Splitcoast or my blog has been so supportive, and I NEVER would have been offered Design Teams if it weren't for posting my creations for people to see. It has also really helped me grow and stretch myself. So, I challenge you to stretch yourself and post your creations or try creating something you've never done before. Once you get past the fear of actually DOING it, it's very rewarding!

I have included a few pictures of her work for you to admire!

I hope you have enjoyed Featured Crafter Friday and meeting Charmaine! It was a pleasure to have her do this for me. If you would like to be featured, please send me an email! I would be more than happy to include you! See you next Friday for another great lady!