Every item I sell is handmade from scratch to finish. A lot of preparation goes into each item made. Fabric needs to be either coffee/tea stained or dyed to give an aged look. For many projects, especially for the Fall and Halloween season, each item needs to be painted, sanded, stained with coffee solution and rubbed with cinnamon after the fabric is sewn and stuffed. This is to give an old and primitive look. I make several of each item at a time and work as I would in an assembly line from tracing my pattern to sewing and stuffing the fabric and them adding the finishing touches. Snowmen are my favorite. I love to give each its own unique personality. And witches too!
I grew up watching my Mother take all types of craft classes though the town rec department. On hot summer days we’d sit in the backyard screen house together and as she worked on her needlepoint, I would work on a counted cross stitch kit she had bought for me. Several years later she gave me her sewing machine and I began to teach myself to sew making Barbie clothes for my daughter. Over the years I’ve tried different crafts; wreaths, quilts, jewelry but when I created my first snowman, I was hooked. I had always dreamed of having a craft business, so I began selling my handcrafted items at small local craft fairs about 17 years ago, starting with 2-3 and working up to about 12-14 during the fall and holiday seasons. My home and business are in the Seacoast region of New Hampshire. My husband, Mark and I have two sons, Timothy, who is finishing his Masters degree in architecture and Jeremy, who with our daughter-in-law, lives in Pennsylvania. They have blessed us with three beautiful grandchildren. We also have one very spoiled dog, Molly. When I’m not sewing and crafting I love spending as much time as I can with my family, hiking and traveling. I also love home decorating, gardening and antiquing.
Sign up with your email address to stay up to date on all things Castleberry Marketplace