Hi! I’m Angie O’Reilly, a crafter, DIYer, recipe mangler and all around jacklyn of creative stuff. I live in southern New Jersey with my awesome husband, Tenaha and my two adorable cats, Cotton and Smudgy. (Don’t worry, there will be excessive pictures of them.) I’m a southerner at heart though, I was raised in Arkansas and Mississippi and that’s where my heart remains.
As soon as I was old enough to hold a crayon, my fate was sealed. I spent many days at the kitchen table with my mom and sister creating stuff in a world of love and acceptance.
I owe a lot to my mom. She inspires me in so many ways, not to mention her killer decorating skills!
But as I graduated high school, I was told I needed to find a career that would “pay the bills”. That made me sad. But I tried, I really did.
In my explorations over the years, I went to college for a degree in accounting that lasted all of one semester. I mean, what was I thinking? I hate math! Then I was a waitress at Cracker Barrel until I decided to be an electrician’s apprentice. That lasted about two years, but hey, I can wire up my own light fixture, that counts for something, right?
Then there was more waitressing, I was a cocktail waitress at a casino for a few years. Oh, lord, the stories I could tell about that. Everything they say about casinos is true, it was a real soap opera. But I digress.
Then I went to cosmetology school. I was a darn good hair stylist and I graduated top of my class. I landed a job in a fancy salon but whenever a previous client came back requesting the same haircut as before, it just didn’t happen. I would gasp, I’m an artist! I can’t repeat the haircut, silly person.
Yet, throughout all these years, I constantly did projects on the side and loved every second of it. I painted with acrylic and oils, I fused glass pendants, fired glass beads, made tons of jewelry, crocheted, sewn, drew, doodled, painted and repainted furniture, repurposed objects, decorated my house, cooked, and on and on. And I always thought to myself, why can’t I do THAT for a living (insert pout)?
Then I met my super duper awesome husband, Tenaha, and he gave me the freedom to pursue my true passions of all things creative. So, here we are!
My mission with this humble blog is to share with y’all my projects and recipes and hopefully inspire a creative bug inside you. In the years to come, I’m sure I will fumble along the way and make mistakes, but I plan to have the time of my life. So hang around and lets do it together.
Thanks!
Angie