People You Should Know... MacKensie

I met MacKensie while we both worked for a t-shirt company here in Gainesville, FL.  MacKensie had just finished college and was working on social media for the company.  I was doing creative projects around the company's new office, like reupholstering chairs and sewing curtains and making beanbags out of t-shirts, and MacKensie was always there to lend a helping hand.  We had a lot of fun working together and bonded over our love for crafts and creativity.  Since neither of us work for that company anymore, we keep in touch via our blogs and Facebook.  I think you will love getting to know MacKensie and reading her awesome and inspiring blog that is full of great photos, recipes, outfits, crafts, and tons more!  You can visit her blog here, and be sure to follow her blog so you don't miss a thing. :)

Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

I'm a 22-year-old art lover from Florida. I graduated with my journalism degree in May and now I'm back in school to become a physical therapist. I love running, singing, writing, reading, dancing, crafting and blogging.

What is your favorite way to express yourself creatively?

I have recently started making jewelry, which is something that used to really intimidate me. It started when I needed Christmas gifts for my friends and family, but considering my unemployed status, was on a serious budget. It's really fun and interesting how many unique pieces of art I came up with just using things lying around the house. I also really love painting, drawing and crafting in general.

Where do you find inspiration online? In real life?

Just like everyone else, I love Pinterest (mackensieg on Pinterest). It's overwhelming sometimes how many fabulous and creative ideas are out there, all on one site. As a blogger, though, I have drawn so much inspiration just from discovering other blogs. I love watching people transform something old and ugly into something new and beautiful. As far as inspiration in the world goes, I think it comes from all over the place. I have been reading a lot more lately, and suspiciously enough, I started incorporating book pages into my jewelry designs. I am also a HUGE music lover and I definitely find inspiration through music.

What are some of your creative goals and aspirations for the future?

One of my new year's goals was to start an Etsy shop where I could sell my jewelry and art, but I need to work up the courage. Hopefully I'll get that going in the near future, and way down the road I just hope to continue to express my creativity through my blog, which is a huge outlet for me.

What completed creative project are you most proud of in your life so far?

For Christmas I made an advent calendar (totally winged it) for a friend in the Marines and even though it's silly and has tons of inside jokes painted into it, I think it meant a lot to him and it certainly turned out better than I expected it to. (See the full post here.)

Name a few creative individuals you admire and explain why.

Tessa McSorley!! I admire her because she is always creating new and wonderfully unique pieces that are very representative of her style and she has the courage to show off her creations and take chances on edgier stuff as well as simply beautiful things.

I also really admire Tim Burton because of his ridiculously creative and innovative visions. He also has a very signature style, so it's easy to recognize his work and I just love all the movies he's produced.

What are some of your current obsessions? (Art, craft, musical, or completely random.)

I am obsessed with books lately, as I mentioned earlier. I love book pages and newspaper for decorating with (and even doing my nails with).

 One of my favorite bands right now is GroupLove. I am definitely obsessed with them.

Do you collect anything?

I used to collect keys as a kid. I love the way keys look, especially old-fashioned ones. There's just some sort of wonderful mystery about a key and not knowing what it unlocks.

Recommend some inspiring books/websites/music/movies to us...

If we're going with the art theme, I would DEFINITELY recommend the book "Faking It" by Jennifer Crusie. It is sexy, mysterious, very well written and so fun to read. As far a music goes, I have so many recommendations. I often do a "Song of the Day" on my blog to show readers what new/old/favorite songs are on my mind on a daily basis. I somewhat recently discovered the band Rilo Kiley(even though they just broke up..) and I love, love, love them.

Do you have any advice you could offer to someone who wants to start expressing themselves creatively but doesn't know where to begin?

I would say start a blog. It has helped me to be more creative every single day. It makes me want to try new things and share them with the world. At first I had no clue what I would be blogging about or how often or anything, but eventually it comes together and the next thing you know, you have a major creative outlet just waiting for you on your computer. Not to mention a plethora of other creative individuals just waiting to cheer you on and inspire you in ways you didn't even realize they could.

A huge thanks to MacKensie for being so wonderful and for doing this interview!  I hope you enjoyed reading about this awesome girl. :)