Say hello to my little friend...

I hope you all had a great weekend!  I spent mine feeling a little under the weather on Saturday, making little things for Fawn & Flora, and visiting with my momma yesterday! 

I wanted to introduce you to someone today. Her name is Caitlin and she owns Spare Bedroom Studio!  She is an origami queen and makes the sweetest paper crane mobiles in her shop!

"Hi, I'm Caitlin of Spare Bedroom Studio. Paper craft addict. Wife. Avid bookworm. Baker of all things yummy. Lover of all things beautiful. I lose myself easily while sitting at my craft table, lassoing the creative ideas flying around in my head and turning them into something tangible. I love every moment of it!"

Where did you learn the art of origami?

When I was little I was huge Reading Rainbow fan. There was an episode that they played a lot featuring the book The Paper Crane by Molly Bang and I fell in love with the idea of learning to fold an origami crane. So I went to the library, took out a book on origami and taught myself. To me, it was magic!

How did the idea to turn paper cranes into mobiles come into play?

I was at a fair once as a teenager and saw strings of paper cranes on display in a vendor's booth. I went home and immediately started making them for family and friends. I even went through a phase where every time I babysat, I'd make them with the kids and hang them all over the house for the parents to come home to. Every time someone had a birthday, they received fun strings of cranes with their gifts. Eventually my enthusiasm dwindled and I stopped making them for a few years. Then my friend told me about Etsy and I just had to get in on the handmade fun! I played around with a few ideas of what to sell and settled on redirecting my old passion for stringing cranes into making them into mobiles. Voila!

Does the paper you use have an effect on the overall outcome of the origami?

Absolutely! I like my origami to be very precise and perfectly folded, so using just the right weight of paper is very important. Too thin and delicate, it crinkles and may not last the test of time. Too thick and it either splits when folded or looks sloppy.

Any tips for Etsy sellers?

Network and make friends with other sellers. Especially those with similar taste. It helps to bounce ideas off of each other and be there to support and promote one another. Also, work hard at distinguishing yourself. Even if you sell something similar to someone else, remember that this is YOUR art and try to come up with something that sets you apart from everyone else just enough and makes your work/shop unique.

What are some of your other hobbies?

I'm a HUGE bookworm and love to read! I also enjoy needlepoint, knitting and crocheting. I'm big on baking too. I can't cook, but I can whip up a killer batch of cookies. Oh, and hiking. I LOVE hiking!

If you want to see more of Caitlin and her work, check her out here:

Shop | Twitter | Pinterest

She is also offering 15% off anything in her shop with code WONDERFORESTFRIENDS!