About

Before I created From Blank Pages, I was a stay-at-home mom raising 2 beautiful boys, and working on my Etsy shop selling handmade kids toys while my husband worked his way through his masters degree. Once I started quilting my focus quickly turned to designing and selling patterns, and that is when From Blank Pages began!

From Blank Pages is what I named my blog because I wanted it to be about all the things I filled my “blank pages” with. Everyday is a new day and we all have the opportunity to fill it with something that we love! I kept the name and carried it over to my pattern business because even though I create patterns for others to use, my passion is allowing others to fill their pages and designs with their own style and creativity. From Blank Pages patterns are designed in a way that they provide in essence a blank page for you to begin your project with! Being able to customize the colors and designs to make the finished project all your own!

Then one day I started having a lot of health problems. I was pregnant with my third baby and was put on bed rest continued to have health problems long after she was born.  While the health problems have come and gone over the years, I have continued to immerse myself in my quilting and my business to an overwhelming degree. So much so that I was concerned that spending so much time in my new hobby of quilting would take away from my family and be a negative factor in my life. I got to a point where I hated quilting. I resented it for being a distraction from my family and friends, and from living the life I wanted.

But then…

as I looked back over the years, I realized that it wasn’t the quilting that was the problem. Over the years I dealt with a lot of different things from health issues, poor mental health,  overcoming and resolving past issues, and struggling in my marriage because of the stress of everything else going on. As I reflected on these things I realized that while quilting was closely intertwined into all of these  negative experiences in my life, it was the quilting that actually carried me through them.

Quilting truly had been my therapy and my life boat. The creative process of quilting and designing patterns kept me afloat, keeping me from spiraling down the pit that depression can be. It gave me an outlet to connect with others with similar interests at times when I wasn’t able to leave the house. It has given me opportunities to serve others and to share my love with people who have experienced grief and/or illness as I’ve been able to send out charity quilts and work with others in doing so. Instead of it keeping me from living like I had thought it had done, it helped me to live and experience life despite my struggles and in a way that I wouldn’t have experienced otherwise. Not only did it help me reach out and connect with others, it helped me to connect to myself in creative and powerful ways, helping me see the beauty that has always been inside myself.

I decided to set out to create the most versatile patterns for the most creative and unique individuals across the world. Patterns that, like they did for me, will provide the creative outlet to help them enjoy life more fully, and be a blank page for them to use to fill their life with beauty and joy!

It turns out…

 the road was more difficult than I imagined.

Trying to establish a successful business one handed was wearing me into the ground. I couldn’t keep up with the stress and expectation so I did the most unlikely thing and quite my job. I decided to stop trying to force my passion to be a successful business, and instead focus on the purpose that I started with – to help others and provide a means for them to connect to their own creativity.  I also decided to reconnect with the art of quilting in a more healthy and positive way. To use it as a means to bless  instead of it being a distraction that took away from myself and my family.

Through this new journey…

 I struggled to find my identity and purpose in life, and how I could accomplish my goal to help others. Then one day I realized that it doesn’t take a super star to make a difference and lift another person. I realized that when we connect to our own talents and share those with others, we can inspire others and give them the freedom to do the same.

Through it all, I have continued to design and quilt with a passion and purpose for creativity, finding balance and joy in all that I do. The response has been overwhelming and I am now enjoying sharing my story and passion for creativity with others through teaching and presenting! Inspiring others to find their own creativity and connect with their beauty within!