A few months back, my friend Heather Mann of Dollar Store Crafts turned me onto a delightful blog that I have since visited everyday. It’s the blog of Aunt Peaches! What I like so much about her blog is that she’s funny, colorful, and lively with a kitschy sensibility to boot! I really feel like we have a similar personality. She features lots of pop-culture tidbits, southern reflections, and flower crafts (next to Halloween crafts and FontCrafts, flowers are a tight 3rd favorite craft in my book).
I’m very intrigued by Aunt Peaches, because there are very few photos of her online (I think I’ve only really seen 2 or 3 and she’s kinda making silly faces). Also, I don’t really know her real name. So, in a way, she’s kinda like Norm’s wife Vera on the old show Cheers! Not knowing is a little bit like Unsolved Mysteries without the scary music that always scared the crap outta me as a kid and that’s kinda exciting!
Maybe one of these days I can meet her in real life, but until then we will exchange emails! She was kind enough to grant me an interview and talk about her style and her blog. I think you’ll be delighted to hear her story and become one of her followers if you haven’t done so already!
Her whimsical business card. I love it so!
Hi Aunt Peaches! I’m really excited to share your blog with my readers! If you could only use three words to describe your blog, what would they be?
Whimsical. Striped. Sequined.
You’ve only been blogging about a year and a half. What made you want to start blogging?
The primary reason I started a blog was in hope of sharing ideas/projects that might inspire other folks, similar to the way so many other creative blogs had inspired me. Full circle, right? That’s our job: put in more than we take out.
One of my personal fave posts of Aunt Peaches. $2 buck shoes made from an ugly clown needlepoint tapestry and teal 1980’s bridesmaids shoes.
What post has gotten the most reaction from fans and has blown up on the internets? And what post do you hold close to your heart for sentimental reasons?
Well, I had one post that went viral in central Asia and caused me to get all scary hate mail with pictures of flames and dead stuff. So that was fun. On a lighter note, my post about Charlie Sheen themed wine bottle labels was pretty popular for a while, although, I don’t see much traffic since he lost the crazies. My post about Neil Diamond was very sentimental and totally out of character for my blog, but it was posted in a couple of his fan forums and sprouted a couple of friendships. Yes, indeed, I get around.
Aunt Peaches many lampshades (aren’t they wonderful?)
I love that you keep it real on your blog and that it’s a mix of lifestyle, crafts, and pop culture. Are you always loaded up with tons of ideas and things to talk about or do you suffer from writers block like I sometimes do?
Sometimes. I used to struggle a lot more, though. The first six months of my blog felt very stressful because I was always trying to come up with things to blog about. The breaking point was one morning when I woke up at 4am so I could make a lampshade just to have something to post about that day. It was exhausting. And I sure didn’t need another lampshade. So, I realized there are two kinds of blogs; blogs that cater to the blogger, and blogs that cater to the audience. I was catering to the audience and it was wearing me out! As of that lampshade, I do not write posts that I know people will like, I just document what I am already doing/seeing/making and hope that people will like it. It was a selfish move on my part, but it makes blogging far more fun. I rarely struggle to come up with a post because it’s just a matter of chronicling real life. This also means blog growth has been genuine, but slow. Not everyone gets me. I think a lot of people pop over looking for a nicey-nicey craft blog and are shocked to find pictures of Rwandan cow poop. But I’m cool with that.
What kinds of blogs usually catch your eye? Do you have any favorites that you visit daily/weekly?
Same as with people, I like blogs that embrace imperfections. I like blogs with personality. Blogs that are about sharing ideas and snippets of life. In terms of craft blogs, I like blogs that are informative without reading like an advice column (a big turn off in my book). I am always struggling on how to write clean, succinct tutorials, so I particularly appreciate blogs that do it well. I used to cruise 50+ blogs a day but I gave it up when I realized how much time it took and how much it overwhelmed my creative mojo (I am easily over stimulated). Now I’m down to two or three “index sites” a day, then I do a grand tour of my google reader once a week. There are so many great blogs and new ones launch every day. It’s hard to keep up!
This head planter makes for many comical moments on Peaches blog.
So are you funnier in real life than you are on your blog, cause on your blog you are pretty darn funny! Haha! Don’t be modest! I personally think I’m funnier in real life and think I need to spice up my own blog with my humor.
Well thanks! I think you must be funny on your blog AND in real life 😉
Personally, I think I’m like most people –my sense of humor is at it’s best when I am around people who make me feel comfortable, but, put me in a room full of strangers and I will clam up. Blogging with humor is easy –I just pretend like I am talking to a good friend, and most of my friends are funnier than me, so it comes pretty easy. 
You take great photos. I love that you even have a staged area with a book page background for your photos! Could you give my readers a couple easy styling tips that can make their photos go from humdrum to wow?
Thanks! Actually, the book page background wasn’t a staged area, it was just a wall in my old living room. It was the only spot in that apartment that got decent light, so I used it A LOT. That is probably my best tip for craft bloggers doing product shots; identify a time that is convenient for taking photos, then figure a spot in your house that gets great light at that time. For me, this means most of my photos are taken on my coffee table in the morning. I think some of my readers assume I live in a studio because most of my pictures are taken in the same room. I should probably work on that.
Calling Chuck Woolery! Wouldn’t they make beautiful babies together? They are a true match fo sho!
And finally, my tabby cat Dexter wanted to know if your tabby Lola would want to meow on Skype sometime. He’s not even a year old yet, but he really likes the cougars if you know what I mean!
Haha! Yes, Lola is the walking definition of a cougar. Dexter is more than welcome to saddle up, although, I warn you; she is very fickle about the company she keeps. Last week she nearly tore the face off a vet tech. Dexter best pursue with caution 😉
Please friends, check out Aunt Peaches blog and follow her on Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook. She really is a HOOT!
Until next time Swellions!
