I was genetically doomed to be creative from day one—I come from a long, proud lineage of artistic folks. On my dad’s side, music flowed like water, and Dad himself used to hustle his paintings for extra cash while he and my mom survived the endless gauntlet of seminary and missions training. Meanwhile, my mom was a legit JCPenney seamstress back in her day, meaning the clothes she stitched were practically indestructible heirlooms, not the “threads unraveling after one wash” stuff we get today.
Naturally, as soon as my tiny hands could grasp a writing utensil, my inner artist broke free. I vividly remember “borrowing” my dad’s ultra-fancy, super-special art pencils and crayons—you know, the ones kids are never supposed to touch—to draw entire herds of horses.
The real artistic turning point hit around 3rd or 4th grade. We were living out in the absolute middle of nowhere in São Paulo state, Brazil, and my mom was homeschooling me. One summer, I was bored to literal tears, sighing dramatically around the house. Mom took one look at me and declared, “Not on my watch!”
Her solution? A relentless, weekly creative bootcamp.
Every single week brought a brand-new skill. I learned knitting, crocheting, machine sewing, advanced drawing, pottery, piano, wood carving, and every craft humanly known to man (or child)! That one summer launched me onto a lifelong trajectory of “I can totally make that myself.”
Decades later, I’m still out here making my own jewelry, sewing, gardening, and DIY-ing everything in sight. And best of all? I quickly realized that taking the “do-it-yourself” route saves you a whole bucket load of cash.
