Wednesday Featured Artist - Mbmclees

Today we meet Mary Beth and her Etsy shop Mbmclees. She has a wonderful selection of handcrafted cards in her shop! Read on to learn more about this very talented artist.

Tell us about yourself
I grew up in Atlanta, GA and now live in Clemson, SC. I'm graduating from Clemson in a few weeks and moving to Augusta, GA to start physical therapy school. Besides crafting, I love to exercise, travel, cook and bake, watch 24, and spend time with my family (older sister, younger sister, awesome mom and dad)and friends.

What do you like to create?
I create paper crafts, mainly greeting cards.

What is your favorite material to work with?
My favorite material is patterned paper (I get excited every time I find new paper!) and scrapbook embellishments. Also, I have recently started playing around with rubber stamps, which I have enjoyed so far!

Part-time or full-time?
This is part time right now, but one day I would LOVE to be a full time crafter. A dream of mine is to have my very own crafts store/bakery when I am older.

How do you manage your time?
I manage my time by making LOTS of to-do lists. If I don't have a list, nothing gets done. I write eveything on my list - laundry, exercise, grocery shopping, school work, phone calls, emails, craft time, time with friends, reading - EVERYTHING! Thats how I make sure everything gets done =) It usually works, too! Another way I manage my time is getting enough sleep. When I am tired, I can't focus and don't get any work done. Finally, when I am being super lazy and wasting time, I disconnect from the internet. I could spend all day reading blogs, looking at news sites, keeping up with friends on facebook, looking up recipes, and so on. When I can't do any of those things, I get SO much work done - its amazing!

What is your favorite item in your shop?
My favorite item is this set of mini greeting cards
I like them because they are so unique and personal. I love the colors too..."happy" colors without being too bright and overwhelming. And the font is so cute, too!

What are your goals for 2009?
My goals for 2009...I want to continue to build/market my Etsy store and blog, and to start getting sales that are somewhat regular. Nothing huge, because I think that is unrealistic, but a I'm aiming at a 4-6 each month by the end of this year. I will be staring grad school in a month, so my big challenge will be adjusting to that while maintaining my crafting.

And just for fun...

My favorite color is blue - like the sky on a gorgeous day, and the water in Cancun.

I love any kind of fruit, I love grilled chicken, and I love peanut butter. And Ice cream. That's just the tip of the iceberg =)

My favorite music is probably country, but I like just about anything except jazz and really loud/heavy metal stuff. I also really enjoy listening to old hymns.

My favorite "inspiring" movie is To End All Wars (Les Mis is a close second). My favorite chick-flick is Baby Mama. My favorite "just for fun" movie is Dan in Real Life. And my favorite animated movie is Ice Age 2. Can't pick just one =)