Shamelessly Crafty

My Crafty Journey

Hi I’m Dara and I’m the owner and creator of Shamelessly Crafty.

It was a brainchild that started out because of my insatiable love for doing all sorts of crafty things. For years I’ve hopped around from project to project always trying to learn something new. My first real love was when I learned to crochet where I’ve made gifts for friends and family ranging from hats and scarves to blankets and amigurimi. 

Then came tooling leather. A couple of years ago I had had an idea of a gift I wanted to make for my now fiancé. I had been talking about it with my father and he suggested instead of painting it, why don’t I carve and tool it instead. He even offered to purchase my beginning kit so I could get started right away. It instantly became my second love. After making that first gift I decided to start making them on the side for custom orders. I’ve received a few commissions through friends and now I’m hoping to make them more available to everyone.

Last year with the outbreak I, like so many others across the nation, found myself out of work and I needed something to do to keep my hands busy so I didn’t go stir crazy. With the large need of masks for everyone I decided to embark on learning to sew so I could donate masks to those in need. I had maybe used a sewing machine a couple of times throughout my life but other than knowing how to thread the needle, load a bobbin, and sew a straight line; I knew nothing about sewing. It was a heck of a learning curve but I was enjoying myself and the hours being stuck indoors weren’t as claustrophobic as they might have otherwise been.

After I started to get proficient with making them, my family asked if they could order some and I offered it to some of my friends as well. Once the desperate need for donated masks to hospitals and other health care organizations started to die down, I started taking more orders from friends and offering them out to my community, and have continued making them since.

I have some other ideas for projects that will be upcoming so keep your eyes peeled. You never know what I’ll come up with next.