Who's That: It's A Hodgepodge Life (and giveaway!)-CLOSED

I'm jumping for joy to introduce you all to Gay from It's A Hodgepodge Life.  Gay has been gracious enough to let me "interview" her for this week's Who's That.  I'm sure you'll love her as much as I do : )

Meet Gay.  I asked her to share a bit about herself, so you all can get to know her.

"Hello Scraps and Scribbles readers!  My name is Gay and Courtney has asked me to tell you folks a little about myself.  I would love to be able to write something grand and glamorous but the truth is… I am just a regular person with a passion for crafting.  I just celebrated my 48^th birthday and I am a wife and a mom to 3 wonderful children ages 20, 15 and 14.  I teach preschool part-time at our church and when I leave there, I run the mom-taxi service for all the after school activities that my children are involved in!

I have always been a crafter.  I literally grew up underneath my mom’s sewing machine.  I started making Barbie clothes when I was a small child and made my first outfit to wear when I was 11 or 12.  I still remember wearing it to church and enjoying the compliments.  I was hooked!

Through the years I have followed every trend in crafting:

Tole painting in the 80’s.

Puff painted t-shirts and jackets in the 90’s.

Then when my girls were babies I was into English smocking.

There was the purse making craze around 2003.

Now jewelry and paper crafts.

I love my life, my job, my family and wouldn’t trade any of it!"

What prompted you to start It's a Hodgepodge Life and why?

Well, I was a “closet-blogger” for about a year.  Discovering blogs, bookmarking them, drooling over the pictures until one day I thought I would give it a try.  I decided the name was a reflection of all the projects that I get going at once.  When I start something new, my family just looks at me.  I know they are thinking, what now?

What inspires you to craft?

A great new idea!  It only has to be new to me.  I get all giddy, like a small child! (Me too, Gay!)

What inspires you, period?

Umm, that’s hard.  I get inspired by my children, well children in general.  I love seeing the world through their eyes. I love watching the wheels turn when they master a new task or realize they have just spelled a word.  Did I mention I love my job??

What are your favorite things to make/craft?

I love anything crafty!  Right now, I am stuck on jewelry.  It calms me when I am stressed.  But other times I have been stuck on sewing. Next I want to learn crochet or knitting.

What have you enjoyed most about blogging?

Meeting new people!!  I never dreamed when I started my blog… first, that anyone would even read it and… second, that I would be making friends!  Truly genuine friends.  Some that I have found live nearby and we are making plans to actually meet and have lunch!  This is an added benefit that I wasn’t prepared for. It’s great!

If you could blog swap with any one person for a day, who would it be and why?

Jenn at Tatortots and Jello.  Because she is REAL and nice and oh, so crafty!  I love her blog and she inspires me to keep going.

Do you have a favorite quote?  

"I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen: not because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." --C.S. Lewis

It doesn’t need much explaination.  It pretty much says everything.

What do you hope your readers take away from your blog?

That I am a real person, with a real life, real struggles, and hopefully a craft idea or two!

What one skill do you wish you were better at?

Public speaking and ummm, interviews…

I think you've got interviews down pat, Gay!  I hope you've all enjoyed getting to know her.  

Gay has a surprise for you.  She's giving away one of her signature wooden cross pendants to one lucky Scraps and Scribbles reader!  How cool is that?!

This is just an example of what you'll get-each of Gay's crosses are unique and there's no two alike.  

Want to win it?  I know you do!  Here's what you need to do:

1) Become a follower of Scraps and Scribbles (this one's mandatory and I'll be checking :P)

2)Go check out It's A Hodgepodge Life and leave Gay some love!

3) Visit Gay's Etsy store, A Lil This and That, and let me know what you like.

4) Let your friends know about Scraps and Scribbles-tweet it, Facebook it, blog it, whatever you like!

Please leave a separate comment for each thing you do so you earn all your entries!

The giveaway will run now through midnight EST May 11th.  The winner will be chosen at random and announced May 12th.