(Photos courtesy of FlamingoToes.com)
A former graphic and web designer, Beverly McCullough enjoys a wide variety of crafts including home décor, embroidery, crochet and sewing. Taking all 
those loves, Beverly created the blog Flamingo Toes which she says she wants to “be a FUN place”. Learn more about Beverly, her love of antiques and how OttLite lamps help her see while she's working.
How did you get started crafting? I started when I was little. My mom sewed a lot of our clothes. It was kind of the house I grew up in; if you wanted something you pretty much made it. So I started sewing pretty young. I was making clothes in jr. high that I wore to school. Then I started getting into embroidery and other crafty things. I’ve kind of been doing it my whole life!
Did you make clothes for your kids like your mom did for you? I made a lot of my daughter’s clothes until she starting saying “yeah, I’m not going to wear that dress anymore Mom” (laughs) Boys are a little harder to sew for, although I did make some things for my son. But I definitely sewed for my daughter a lot longer than I did for my son. Now it’s come full circle because she says “Mom, I could use a new quilt”. But that’s okay with me – I’ll take it!
You have a wide variety of interests. How do you decide if you're going to sew, embroider, crochet, etc? Some of it is dictated by projects for the blog but some of it is where my inspiration is at the moment. I kind of go through
phases where I’m embroidering everything. And then I get a little burnt out on that and then I’ll do some sewing for a while or if there’s something I need for the house I’ll paint something. It’s a lot of whim (laughs).
Out of all of your talents, which is your favorite? I think embroidery and sewing are my two biggest passions so those are usually my go-to crafts for things to make.
What inspires you when you’re creating? I love vintage things. I love the heritage that comes with vintage things. I see all these old crewel stitcheries and antique quilts and can’t help but think of all the hours some sweet woman put into them. Which is why I can’t resist them in the thrift stores! I think 'I’ll give you a home – I’ll take care of you!'(laughs) So a lot of it is a love for older things. That inspires a lot of the things I design myself.
Do you have any advice for a parent who wants to be creative but doesn't think they have time? My kids are older so it’s a little easier for me since I have a lot more time than I used to. But even when they were little it was important for me to carve out time for myself just to refuel. It was a little me time. I would highly recommend finding time for yourself even while they’re sleeping or set up play dates with friends and trade off with other moms so you can have a little time to craft and do things for yourself. 
How do OttLite lamps help you when you’re creating? I’ve worn glasses my whole life and my eyesight has progressively gotten worse. I can’t sew worth beans in poor lighting. The thing that I like about OttlIte is that it’s a good pure light. It’s not yellow. It’s hard to pick out floss colors for embroidery if you’re not seeing the actual colors. I use the Tulip Desk Lamp and I take it with me everywhere. I point it at my work all the time. I couldn’t see without OttLite lamps.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? A lot of what I do is embroidery, sewing and my other crafts. But I also have kids in college so any time I
get with them I’ve very happy with. We watch a lot of movies together and we enjoy exploring our local area and seeing new things. I like to antique shop too.
To learn more about Beverly, visit her website or follow Flamingo Toes on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Etsy. Also stay tuned to our blog as OttLite has some fun projects planned in the next few months with Beverly!
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