Sometimes, when you get to watch someone do an every day job (say, an office assistant), you know they have a creative streak in them that is just dying to come out.  That is the way I felt as I’ve gotten to know Beth of BPaperie.  Beth and I worked at the same location in Louisville, then went to the same church.  She of course is a wife, and has her sweet dog which you can always find pictures of.  And she has a day job which she is great at.  But, a love of hers is creativity.  She is wonderful at taking the ordinary and making it bright and lovely and inspiring.

For my office (which is really a corner of our dining room), I wanted something new and inspiring as a I write and do photo editing.  She happily obliged with a giveaway for my readers – just like you!  And she designed this beautiful art with a quote I got from singer/songwriter Christa Wells from Emily Freeman’s book A Million Little Ways.  Since this has been such a hard season of life with many changes coming, I picked this quote because it spoke to me of hope.  When I look at it encourages me to keep going and keep pressing on in my dreams.

I asked Beth to answer a few questions so y’all could get to know her.  Here is a sneak peak into her life as a creative:

1.Why bpaperie?

I started bpaperie as a creative outlet. My “about” section on Etsy says this, which I think might answer the question: I’ve wanted to own a design shop for as a place that smells good and is filled with fun things. A place to be inspired; a place where my puppy can run around in a cute sweater. And a place that’s affordable, too!
But since my husband’s in school, I’m stuck with a boring 9-5 job instead.  I’ve wanted to open an etsy shop for a while — a creative outlet of my  own — but I’ve been too scared to do it. It’s easy to let doubts fill  my heart and keep me from doing what I love — what if no one likes my  work? What if nothing sells? What if I’m a failure?
I can’t let  those things hold me back anymore! Bpaperie has been a long time coming. It’s the next best thing to a “real” store. And if you want to see  pictures of my cute pup in a sweater, shoot me an email. I’m happy to  oblige. 🙂

2. How did you come up with the name for your store?

My husband, Wes, often calls me “B,” and I love paper goods.  I was trying to decide between two names, and this one stuck.

3. What does your creative time sometimes look like?

             A lot of times I end up designing while on the couch watching TV. Glamorous, right? 🙂 Usually while Wes is watching Law & Order or something I’ve seen before that doesn’t require a lot of attention. We sit as a family of three on the couch (Wes, me, and Lucy, our puppy) and I’m content to play around with different fonts, textures, quotes, and graphics until I figure out something that seems to work.

4. What happens when the creativity just isn’t flowing – kinda like writer’s block? 

             I’m not sure what you mean by this question. Like when I have “real job” deadlines and I don’t have time to get creative? It’s hard. My day job demands a lot (most!) of my time and mental energy during the week. I’m still in the start-up stage for bpaperie, which requires a lot of investment in terms of time, money, and creativity. I’m trying to get my name out there via facebook and instagram, I’m selling in a shop in downtown Louisville (Block Party Handmade), and I’m looking forward to the day when most of my customers aren’t friends & family members. 🙂 But mostly, I love what I’m doing; this has been a dream of mine for a long time. So that motivates me to work hard and make things happen!

I hope you can find encouragement to pursue your creative dreams by hearing just some of Beth’s story.  Here is the fun information on the giveaway:  Beth is giving away one print from her Etsy story to one reader of kd316.  Here is how you can enter:

1.  Go to BPaperie on Etsy and come back and tell me which one of her prints you would want to have in your home

2.  Follow thekd316 and bpaperie on Instagram.  Come back here and tell me that you followed.

3.  Share this blog with your friends on FB or Twitter and return here and leave me a comment telling me you did so

Winner will be announced on Friday!