First off I want to say, this is the most incredible site. I mean, where can you get tutorials with easy to follow step-by-step instructions and quick replies to your questions?  I am humbled to be one of the Exclusive Designers on Paperthreads. 

Life is full of Miracles!

I’ve been blessed with a wonderful husband of twenty-five years and seven beautiful children.  My love of art began when I was six years old.   While my friends played around me, I sat on the floor and followed step-by-step books on drawing.  I didn’t realize I had any talent until my high school years and was amazed with the A+ I received in art. I was encouraged by adults and teachers to seek an art degree. 

But love took my heart when I met my future husband. Marriage and family life took most of my time from then on.  I sold wearable art for a couple of years at craft shows. I was pretty successful until the chain stores came out with there own line and I couldn’t keep up with the low prices.

 In 2005 a friend showed me an album she made her son, who was a marine returning from Iraq. I was so moved with emotions by this album that I decided to try.  In a week I had a father’s day album to give to my husband, it brought tears to his eyes. And when my friend commented on how much art I put in it, I was hooked and began to preserve my family’s moments. 

A couple of months after starting this new passion, we had bad news, my husband was diagnosed with cancer.   I had to give up my hobby except the day he was in surgery I made him a little album so he could look at his family while recovering.  The nurses took that all around the hospital. After three months of recovery he went back to work I began thinking how I could help him seeing he was in chronic pain.

I started selling some of my work on ebay but the hours of work involved didn’t pay off. I read on the Internet how people where getting paid by teaching classes.  I gathered up some of my work and went down to the nearest scrapbook store.  They asked me to be apart of their design team and with my first project turned in I was teaching a class.  Soon they asked me to supply their customers with custom-made kits.  Within a few months I sold over a hundred kits and started expanding into other stores.  Fifteen days before Christmas our family was in a car accident we knew divine intervention prevented us from serious injury but it took a toll on our emotions.  I stopped selling my kits to help my family get through this tough time.  

At night while everyone was sleeping.  I found it so comforting to log into Paperthreads and learn how to make files.  I remember coming across a tutorial where Michelle said that many find it relaxing while tracing.  So I traced and traced and made so many files and discovered some healing my self.  Soon I was sharing my own creative files and joining swaps. As I shared files I was getting such positive feedback from the community. I found myself pulling away from other boards.

It’s amazing where God leads us.  This is just another blessing and another miracle in my life.  
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Keep a watch out for miracles…they do happen!