Since Nicole was a child, she has had a love of all things creative!
She can remember being an elementary school student and absolutely loving her art classes. With the encouragement of her parents, she took private art lessons as well. Nicole can fondly remember creating in her aunt’s craft room and doing craft sewing with her mom. She was also an avid sticker collector in the mid 1980’s and still has her childhood sticker albums (ask to see them in the Studio when you come visit!). Although her art education ended in high school, she continued creating throughout college by using puffy paints with her roommates to make T-shirts and other fun crafts! Nicole studied psychology in college where journaling became an important part of her studies. Her love of creating journals has continued long into adulthood. After she became a homeowner in her mid-20’s she began to be creative and upcycle home and garden décor from thrifting finds. At this time, she also began mosaic art classes and loved making gifts for family and friends. Nicole is still making this type of art today!
Once she started a family, this launched her love of scrapbooking! She later realized that she had been a scrapbooker since making her honeymoon album in 1996 long before she had a word for what she was creating. In 2003, she and some of her fellow mom friends, started officially scrapbooking together including weekly summer gatherings while our kids played outside. A few short months later, they found their first Creative Memories consultant, and the rest is history! This same group of friends still gets together regularly to scrapbook, craft, or just use this as an excuse to take time out of their busy lives to hang out together. She has made life-long friends as a scrapbooker and continues to meet new people at retreats all around the state. Nicole is a former Girl Scout leader, basketball coach, team mom, and school volunteer who of course brought her creativity into all those endeavors. Her daughters are now 24 years old, and they are both creative in their own ways as well! Nicole has been a loyal user of Creative Memories products ever since and has been an Independent Advisor since 2020. The quality of their products of top-notch. She now has over 40 completed albums, plus she has made numerous books as gifts for her family and friends. She finds that making memorial albums after a loved one passes is one of the most therapeutic and healing activities for her.
During the pandemic, crafting became her therapy, and she fell in love with it all over again. She joined numerous Facebook groups and watched countless crafters on Instagram and YouTube to learn new skills. This is when Zoom crafting began. Creative Memories hosted virtual crops where people all over the country joined together to share stories, ideas and to fulfill their need for social connection. Nicole joined a monthly craft kit club where all the things she needed to create a fun décor item were included and shipped to her home to “meet” with her fellow crafters to complete their items together. These Zoom sessions and Facebook groups during the shutdowns, were the catalyst for her love of making something super cute by repurposing inexpensive items all found at the Dollar Tree. While these online groups and sessions were a lifeline during the pandemic, they were not a substitute for being together in-person. Through all of this, her love of creating has continued to flourish!
Nicole has been a business owner in the healthcare industry for the last twenty-two years, which she has loved, but this career has been missing two components for her: creativity and individualism. When the opportunity came up earlier this year to sub-lease space from her dear friend Meg Roberts at the adorable Studio Stitch, Nicole jumped at the idea to pursue her passion and to fulfill a long-time dream of opening a crafting and scrapbooking space. As the business ideas and creative juices starting flowing, Nicole realized the true reason she has wanted to pursue this business idea: to forge a sense of connection, to bring creative people together, and to get herself and others out of their homes and away from the mindless scrolling on social media or the watching of endless Netflix shows. It is time to get back together in-person and to spend time with others in your community by gathering with friends and meeting new ones as well! All are welcome in Nicole’s “Community Crafting Space” – bring a friend or family member, gather a group for a private session, or even come alone in anticipation of meeting new friends. Craft Crop Create Studios is a space built just for you. Nicole promises that you will love it here! Come see for yourself what you can create and how your mood will be lifted by being artistic, gathering with others, and sharing together with your community in a welcoming creative space.