Everything you want to know...and probably more!
I am Kid Giddy. (KG - Kerry Goulder). I am a daughter, a twin, a sister, a cousin, an Aunt, a (S.A.H.) mommy, a friend, an entrepreneur, inventor, published songwriter, published crafter, pattern designer, and Craftoholic to boot and I love Jesus too - which makes me a disciple! (Oh and by September 2013 I'll officially be able to call myself an AUTHOR too thanks to F + W Media! Crazy - I know...still don't believe it myself!
I have 2 beautiful Girls (that I lovingly refer to as Monkey and Elephant) that inspire me everyday. I have an amazing and talented graphic designer husband that also does the dishes and mows the lawn so I don't have to, that I have been gratefully married to for more than 11 years while living in Southern Maine.
I invented the original Tuck 'n' Go (R) (as seen here) when my youngest daughter was only a month old. I needed something to keep her warm in her infant car seat and wouldn't fall out of her infant car seat constantly like all the other blankets! You can check out my Kid Giddy Etsy shop and email me if you'd like to order one for yourself or a friend.
I wanted to use my initials - KG. An old boss called me KP until I got married - and then called me KG - it was an easy switch. My husband always signed his written cards and letters with just a t. so it seemed ok to follow suit. I simply wanted to be able to "leave my initials" where ever I went, but didn't want a business with my actual name all over it. I also really wanted my "name" to represent what I love to make and what I would be offering. So I brainstormed with a dictionary all the words I liked that started with "K" and words I like that started with "G"...Lo and behold, I came up with Kid Giddy! And that's the story. Some people that don't know my real name now call me "Kid" - but I usually will sign with a "k" or "kg". (just to be simple).
I started this blog back in January 2009 as a way to de-clutter my brain of everything I was holding onto, all my ideas and all the recipes (like my favorite childhood recipe made famous thanks to Pinterest: Cherry Salad) and memories of my childhood I wanted to capture for my girls. I didn't sew as often as I bought fabric, so I opened my Etsy shop to begin selling finished goods as a way to make amends with my fabric purchases. At the same time I got wind of the blogging world and wanted to somehow carve out a slice of it for me...even though I felt it was too late. It scares me to read my earlier posts...but we all had to start somewhere - right?! I've learned so much about blogging and myself since then. I don't post everyday because time is fleeting, and I love volunteering at my girls' schools and for church, and just spending time with my family....so I need to moderate and have a little time for everything.
A karate friend of mine (Phoebe of Happy Creations 4U) told me about how she had just been published in Crafts n' things magazine, and I should contact them, as they might be interested in some of my designs. I emailed the previous editor Abby, that night and the fruit of that conversation turned into my Scrappy Owl being on the front cover of the Sept/Oct issue in 2010. I had never written one of my patterns up prior to that and didn't know if I was writing it all correctly - but was ecstatic that the pattern was a hit and was later asked to design 6 patterns for each issue of theirs the following year.
I sewed when I was little with my sister and mom. We loved to make clothes for our cabbage patch dolls without patterns. They were very raw and incorrect, but it was so fun. Although I dabbled with fabrics - I don't remember designing anything else specific until I designed a light bulb pillow during one of my years at the University of Hartford art school. I got a sewing machine from an awesome boss while working as an Assistant Buyer at Casual Corner (thanks Danna) and have been sewing on it ever since. I made sachet favors for our wedding, baby blankets for gifts, and then the Tuck 'n' Go, the oh so - amazingly popular - thumbsucking covers - that requires I hire an assistant, and now all this! Some patterns come easier than others. Sometimes these ideas come from watching my daughters at play or may even come from a dream. They come from my little girls begging for specific Halloween costumes. Sometimes they work themselves out while I'm driving from Maine to NY (and back) which gives me time to process the course of the stitching along the way. Sometimes I am inspired by a birthday gift idea or a request for a Christmas ornament. If I don't write them down, they don't stay long, but often will return as a nagging challenge in my brain....and they just keep coming.
When I'm not doing all that - I also love to read, run with my tunes cranked, and am training for my Third Degree Black belt in Shaolin Kempo Karate. Back in Feb of 2007 I began learning how to write songs - and participated in February Album Writing Month 3 years in a row. You can check out 2 songs I wrote the lyrics to that were also demo'd by fellow artists and later selected to be on the FAWM.ORG compilation CD's - on iTunes. "The Moon Escapes Tonight" by Becca Palm (2007) and "On Rare Occasions" by Josh Belville (2010). I hope to do it again soon - but my life is a little busy right now.
1 - Enjoy reading my blog posts. Enjoy my tutorials, creating them yourself and eating yummy cherry salad. And after you do - please leave me a comment! I love to read them and have finally added a "reply" feature! I'd love to get to know you all!
2 - If you like one of my posts - and you want to share it...GREAT! But please provide proper name credit ("Kid Giddy" or "Kerry Goulder") with a link to the original post. Please don't just copy all my work and post it as your own. That just wouldn't be cool and that would also be infringing on copyright laws! Please request permission before using ANY and ALL of my photos, so I don't have to have my lawyer contact you! All my images, tutorials and posts are protected by copyright laws! If you share one of my posts, I'd be happy to include a link to your blog on my blogroll (provided you have a G rated family friendly blog).
3 - I don't have guest bloggers at this time - but may in the near future. If you are interested in guest blogging on Kid Giddy with a fun craft tutorial or yummy recipe that looks nicely crafted - click the contact button above.