When I was a kid I danced and did some very basic gymnastics. Been a dancer all my life. I've taught for over 3 decades. Now I'm celebrating 10 years with my Hip The Hoopla business~teaching, performing and making professional handcrafted hula hoops. I start and learn every day. 🎈How did you get started doing something you love?💞 #hooploveyall from #cherippinger of #hipthehoopla https://www.HipTheHoopla.com #originstory #howigotstarted #lifejourney #startfromwhereyouare #justbeyou #learnsomethingneweveryday ☆Special Shout Out to my friends #fabover40hoopcommunity #hoopersunited #idahohoopers #boisehoopers #coloradohoopers #denverhulahoopgroup #worldhoopday #ttglow #idahocitychamber ☆ (at Hip The Hoopla) https://www.instagram.com/p/COLZplmMBZv/?igshid=rsrgp9vbfn6g

Day 2 of #marchmeetthemaker2019 is “How I got started”. I have been doing art in lots of different mediums all my life, but before this giant beast of a branch fell on my house and came through the roof I had not really worked in wood. I always admired all things made from wood, I think it is just the most gorgeous material, but hadn’t really ever delved into woodworking. When this branch came down I was trying to figure out what I could create with it. A friend suggested wood burning (which I had never heard of before!) and I was intrigued. I taught myself how to do it and after years of practice I’ve gotten pretty ok at it. Using fallen, foraged wood is the core of Forage Workshop. We rarely use anything but what we have found fallen, but if we do, it is someone else’s “garbage“ or scrap wood. 🌳 A few months after the branch fell, I got laid off from my job. I decided that once that happened I would do all the things I never had time for before. I started making wood burned ornaments and magnets and applied to be in my local craft market just to see what would happen. It went very well! I applied for more, they also went well. It was recommended by many that I open an Etsy shop. I started small at first, just a couple pieces. My first sale was the scariest and best feeling ever. ❤️ These old photos are from my personal IG account back when I used ALL the filters ALL THE TIME. 😬 . . . . . #marchmeetthemaker #meetthemaker #howigotstarted #forageworkshop #superstormsandy #downedbranch #thisfellonmyhouse #repurposedwood #reclaimedwood #inspiredbynature_ #woodworking #woodworker #chainsaw #forager #howitallbegan https://www.instagram.com/p/Bugh_uNgnWA/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=qgl8oejb85zk

I've really loved faked food ever since I was a kid. I was that kid that was obsessed with the fake food in the little tikes kitchens haha I also thought that those fake squishy grapes decorating the furniture stores were the best thing ever! I've always loved play dough and anything squishy; I've also always loved miniatures :) One day back in 2012 I was online and found a cake charm. I had never seen anything like it before and I couldn't figure out whether it was real or not. I ended up contacting the person who was selling it and they told me it was made out of polymer clay. I was so fascinated with it and wanted it so bad but I was only 17 at the time and didn't have a credit card. I didn't think I could ever make anything like it but the polymer clay idea led me to make little polymer clay penguins. I made my first penguin in October of 2012 and now my best friend has it :) Making penguins helped me to get familiar with the different brands of clays and to find out which ones were my favorites. Being an avid YouTube user I ended up stumbling upon polymer clay food tutorials and made my first clay piece using modeling clay I had since I was 8 years old. I wasn't even sure if it was modeling clay but I found out when it melted in the oven when I tried to bake it lol. Nonetheless I loved making it, it was a cake, and I wanted to make more and different kinds of clay food. I ended up saving up my money and buying a couple supplies every couple of weeks at the craft stores when they were having a good sale or I'd use their coupons (craft stores always have coupons). I'm still building my collection of clay supplies and I'm still learning new techniques. I don't rely on tutorials like I used to before I started selling my pieces but I still borrow a few techniques I learn. I like looking at a picture of a dessert or confection and trying to make it out of clay. I actually use cook books as my references a lot of the times. I've had and still have very many hobbies but this is the only hobby that I felt like I could make into a business for myself. I really love all kinds of art but I enjoy multimedia, painting, and clay the most. I am so passionate about it and It really brings me so much joy to sit down and create my pieces. It's been 2 years now since I made that first clay cake and I have no intentions of stopping in the future :) Just a little bit more about me <3 I'm also an aspiring makeup artist and I love all things beauty :)

This is hw we do. #behind_the _scenes. @kaysasu @benjosh243 with CEO of Capture; your memory bank. #HowIgotStarted