Crafty Ass Female

Kate Smith is an artist obsessed with making humans smile. Every joke, piece of art and
product she creates is meant to be shared—meant to give you a small, simple and fun way to put joy into the life of another. She wants to remind you how good it feels to make another human happy. She wants to show you it doesn’t take much. And she wants to encourage you to do it every day.
Kate lives, works and travels full-time in her Airstream travel trailer with her husband and business partner, Ryan, and dog, Frank.
Learn more at katesmithcompany.com and follow her on Instgram at @katesmithcompany. You can find her new collection in Target stores starting in summer 2021.

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More about Nicole Stevenson:
Nicole Stevenson is a multi-passionate creative, middle-aged first-time mama, impostor syndrome warrior, cake and Korean BBQ connoisseur, confessional journaler, second-hand shop scavenger, deep dive conversationalist and the CEO and creative director at Dear Handmade Life.
She can't recall a time in her life when she wasn't making something.
At 24, she turned my passion into my profession when she started selling Random Nicole, her handcrafted clothing line at flea markets and backyard craft fairs, which she grew into a thriving retail and wholesale six-figure business that was carried at over 250 shops around the world.
Nicole's desire to help other creatives pursue their dream business and discover the joy of making led her away from her own handmade business and into teaching, consulting, running her own workshop studio and eventually co-founding Dear Handmade Life in 2007. Now, she connects, educates and shortens the learning curve for other creatives by sharing what she's learned through the Dear Handmade Life events, blog and podcast. She has a BA and an MA in English from San Francisco State University and a dual “PhD” in crafting to keep your sanity and badass business skills from the School of Life.
When she takes off her Dear Handmade Life “boss hat”, you’ll find her squeezing in time to write or draw, trying her damndest to make her baby laugh or hold still long enough for her to change his diaper, devouring one of the dozens of self-help books on her nightstand, trying to find something interesting to take a photo of on her morning walk in her mundane suburban neighborhood, watching Below Deck and eating the best sausage and orecchiette courtesy of her husband or dreaming of living a stone’s throw from the beach.
You can find her at
https://dearhandmadelife.com/

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.rukristin.com/subscribe

Nicole Stevenson is a multi-passionate creative, middle-aged first-time mama, impostor syndrome warrior, cake and Korean BBQ connoisseur, confessional journaler, second-hand shop scavenger, deep dive conversationalist and the CEO and creative director at Dear Handmade Life.
She can't recall a time in her life when she wasn't making something.
At 24, she turned my passion into my profession when she started selling Random Nicole, her handcrafted clothing line at flea markets and backyard craft fairs, which she grew into a thriving retail and wholesale six-figure business that was carried at over 250 shops around the world.
Nicole's desire to help other creatives pursue their dream business and discover the joy of making led her away from her own handmade business and into teaching, consulting, running her own workshop studio and eventually co-founding Dear Handmade Life in 2007. Now, she connects, educates and shortens the learning curve for other creatives by sharing what she's learned through the Dear Handmade Life events, blog and podcast. She has a BA and an MA in English from San Francisco State University and a dual “PhD” in crafting to keep your sanity and badass business skills from the School of Life.
When she takes off her Dear Handmade Life “boss hat”, you’ll find her squeezing in time to write or draw, trying her damndest to make her baby laugh or hold still long enough for her to change his diaper, devouring one of the dozens of self-help books on her nightstand, trying to find something interesting to take a photo of on her morning walk in her mundane suburban neighborhood, watching Below Deck and eating the best sausage and orecchiette courtesy of her husband or dreaming of living a stone’s throw from the beach.
You can find her at https://dearhandmadelife.com/

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.rukristin.com/subscribe

Taylor and Katie Smith are sisters who have a top 1% Etsy shop where they sell vinyl and planner stickers. Katie designs the stickers and all the stickers are printed on site.
The Smith sisters are two totally different humans (and that's one of the reasons Kristin was so excited to talk to them — the other that she's been friends with Katie for almost a decade) and that's one of the reasons that lead to their incredible success.
They talk about the different things that they were both able to bring to this new business venture and how they were able to do over $100,000 in sales on Etsy last year, selling just stickers alone.
Taylor and Katie are now creating a brand new course helping other people achieve creative business success in the same way they have with their new course: Dream, Create, Sell.
Throughout the episode we talk about why they decided to create a course (they want to help other creatives and artists who are selling their work get more traction with their businesses). We also talk about who this course is for, what mistakes they see people making, and what students are going to get out of Dream, Create, Sell.
This is a great conversation for anyone interested in diving deeper with their art and their artistic business.
If you want to learn more about Dream, Create, Sell or Studio Sisters head to https://shopstudiosisters.com
Save 10% on Dream, Create, Sell with the code: RUKRISTIN

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.rukristin.com/subscribe

What are rukristin's Daily Pages?
- Daily Pages are a project that rukristin came up with in the summer of 2018
- Each day, she opens up a small notebook to the first/next two blank pages and creates something with pictures, paper, words, or the bits of life
- The Daily Pages project is a way for people to document their lives in a simple and accessible way. By using small notebook there is less surface to fill, which makes it simpler and faster to create pages and tell the stories of your life.
- Through repetition and habit building, Daily Pages helps to create incredible outcomes — both on the page and inside the artist.
What can Daily Pages do for you?
- Daily Pages will make you a better artist.
- You will level up your skills
- Whatever tools you're using? You'll get better
- You will find and develop your style
- You will tell stories about your life that you wouldn't have otherwise
- You'll use (more of) your stuff
- You'll get new ideas for how to use your stuff

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.rukristin.com/subscribe

More about this week's show:
Scissors are so important as a scrapbooker! Here's a rundown of the scissors we talked about on today's show and the things they are best at.
Everyday/all-around scissors: Grey/Yellow -- Westcott 8" Titanium Bonded Scissors (https://amzn.to/2R7Zqok)
These are my everyday go-to scissors. I cut everything with these. I use them for Daily Pages, stickers, washi tape, whatever I need on a regular basis. These scissors definitely get the most use.
Cutting straight lines: Purple -- Westcott Extreme Edge Titanium 9” (https://amzn.to/3npoao5)
For cutting straight lines, the most important thing is a long blade with a 'bent' edge. I use these scissors for cutting straight lines on paper when my trimmer isn’t an option. Like when I need to cut paper that’s less than an inch wide, or when the paper is super small. Or when I don’t want to bring the trimmer with me on a trip.
Another pair of Westcott Titanium scissors. These are my paper-only scissors. I don’t let the blades go near anything sticky, gummy, or something too hard for them to cut.
Heavy-duty: Red -- Tonic Studios Tim Holtz Non-Stick Micro Serrated Snips, 7" (https://amzn.to/3nyaDdN)
It can be hard to find these Tim Holtz micro-serrated scissors with the classic red handles these days, but black is just as good. These are my heavy-duty scissors. I use these to cut bits of metal, chipboard, or anything else that might be extra tough. These scissors will go through some of the more annoying embellishments -- plastic, coated paper, any of the weird stuff.
Detail work: Orange -- Fiskars Micro-Tip Scissors, 5” (https://amzn.to/3xxbrEy)
These are my detail scissors. I use these Fiskars scissors to cut out anything small. Whether I want to hand-cut the letters of the alphabet and create my own title, or I want to fussy cut something from a patterned paper; these are my go-to scissors.
The small blade is easy to maneuver in tight spaces, and the sharp tip will make clean detailed cuts to keep tiny images looking as crisp as you can make them.
Scissor FAQ
You can get by with cheap scissors. This is not necessarily the first place that you have to invest, but when you do, your money will go far.
If you're in the USA you can take scissors in your carry on with up to 4" blades. This is from the pivot point (or screw) to the tip. But TSA has the discretion to take whatever they want, so don't take your favorite scissors.
You can clean scissors with soap and water. Don't get water into the area with the screw and make sure you dry them thoroughly. I personally like to use a microfiber cloth and rubbing alcohol to get any of the sticky stuff off.

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There's never a bad time to discuss some of the most important supplies that we use every time we go to papercraft. Inks form the foundation for stamping, creating color palettes, applying textures and so much more. I've been using Washi tape in more and more interesting ways recently - check out the Daily Pages Bootcamp and the @rukristin instagram to see much more.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.rukristin.com/subscribe

This time on Crafty Ass Female, Brandi and Kristin dive deep into a topic that absolutely everyone feels. First we figure out the different forms of loneliness we feel, and how they manifest in our lives, especially creatively. We talk about the different ways we end up feeling about loneliness, and tactics to cope.
Brandi explores how she feels loneliness for others, and much, much more.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.rukristin.com/subscribe

In this episode of the Crafty Ass Female podcast Brandi Kincaid is back for the second of a three episode series. Brandi and Kristin love to get deep on topics and authenticity is a good one. They get into a great conversation about what it means to be a person, a woman, and a small business owner, on the internet.
There are constant changes on social media. Whether it's one of the the algorithms that you're supposed to be keeping up with or one of brand new features that you're supposed to be learning how to use and prioritize, there is a lot going on when it comes to 'trying to optimize' your presence on social media.
But you don't have to optimize who you are on social media in order to show up and connect with people who are going to be interested in who you are and what you do. Kristin and Brandi talk about how as long as you show up as your authentic self, you'll do just fine.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.rukristin.com/subscribe

In this week's episode, Kristin invites one of her favorite people onto the show, Brandi Kincaid, for a special three episode series. This first episode centers around the amazing project, Extravagant Hope, that Brandi has been working on (and Kristin has been hearing about) for years now.
Important topics in the conversation:
Things that you care about can take so much longer than you think they will.
You can get pulled in so many different directions.
Things might look totally different or completely the same as you expected when you started out.
All of these things are totally normal and completely okay.
You can pick up Brandi's Extravagant Hope mailer in her The Shiny Bits shop.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.rukristin.com/subscribe