Amy Doggett from Kitty Witty Paper Craft

Ya’ll I have a bit of an Instagram crush on Amy Doggett from Kitty Witty Paper Craft. If you love all things junk journal, vintage ephemera and kitsch – you will too. Amy has an Etsy store full of fun journals to buy and curated collectibles for you to add to add to your own journals. I am so excited that Amy is here to Taco About it Tuesday.

Website: Kitty Witty Papercraft

Social Channels:

1) What is the best advice you could give someone about the business of being creative and the creativity behind running business?

Build a community of fans by finding your “tribe” and serving them with love, kindness, and respect and providing them with immense value.

2) Do you have a favorite place to go for business advice? Mentor group, book, website?

Some of my favorite books for business are

My favorite business podcast is Mind Your Business, and I find support in Tizzit HQ, a membership site for handmade businesses, and in The Business of Making Facebook Group.

Tawny Scrawny Lion Junk Journal by Kitty Witty Paper Crafts

3) Besides Creative Queso what are your favorite podcasts?

P.S. Don’t forget to listen to Nicole Stevenson host of Dear Handmade Life on the Creative Queso Podcast and check out Jennifer Perkins (me) on the Dear Handmade Life Podcast.

4) How do you prevent creative burn out?

I think what helps is working on 2-3 projects at the same time, so I can move among them as I feel inspired/have fresh ideas. I find if I am intensely focused on one project for too long, I start to feel burnout creeping in. As soon as I lose focus or start to feel frustrated, I switch to something else for a bit and it re-energizes me. I also have a “stop time” for working each day (5pm) so I can switch gears and focus on my family and house stuff in the evenings. I could work 24 hours a day, so I have to create boundaries so I don’t neglect the other parts of my life! I think that helps prevent burnout, too.

5) What is something your business could not live without?

Vintage ephemera! It’s the “fun stuff” that goes into the journals I make and allows me to celebrate retro vintage style with my customers who love it as much as I do!

Amy of Kitty Witty Paper Crafts in her studio

6) What are some of your favorite Instagram feeds?

Instagram is where I started my creative journey and built my tribe and I just love it! Some of my favorite feeds are

@junkityfunkity30 (amazing vintage collections)
@butterball1217 (kitschy cute children’s vintage–my favorite!)
@melrobbins (inspiration)
@jasminestar (IG tips).

7) Tell us a piece of surprising trivia about yourself or your business.

I didn’t start seriously crafting until I was 44 years old (2 years ago). I liked drawing and doing “arts and crafts” when I was a kid, but as an adult, especially once I had children, I never felt like I could find the time to craft, although the desire was there and I tried to give it a go a few times (I made our Christmas cards one year!). One day I realized the worst thing would be getting to 90 years old and regretting that I didn’t do the things that were on my heart to do. I knew I had to carve out time to create and just see what would come of it. I never dreamed I would have a business selling my handmade items! I am extremely grateful for my creative life! It is never too late to begin!

8) Do you use a paper planner full of stickers and washi tape or are you a Google calendar kinda guy or gal?

I am a paper girl all the way!! I LOVE to make lists and cross things off as a I go. I make monthly, weekly and daily lists–sometimes in a planner, sometimes on random scraps of paper. I do use the Notes app on my phone to jot down ideas when I’m out and I set reminders for appointments on my phone, but mostly, I write out my life on paper calendars and lists!

Finding your tribe from Amy Doggett of Kitty Witty Paper Craft

9) When you are working do you listen/watch podcasts, music, audio books, Netflix or do you like dead silence like a total weirdo?

I mostly work in dead silence. My whole family listens to music constantly and thinks I’m a weirdo and I’m ok with that! I’ve always been this way. I rarely turn the radio on in my car or the TV on in the house. I love to think. I feel like if I am constantly filling my brain with sound and other people’s ideas, I’m not giving myself space to think and daydream and let my own ideas come to life. I *do* listen to podcasts while I’m working (but once it’s over, it’s back to silence) and I go through phases when I will listen to Spotify through the computer in my studio. When I listen to music, I tend to listen to the same artist or genre over and over for weeks at a time. I recently went through a phase where I listened to ABBA every day for about 3 months, I think! I don’t even recall what started that! It drove my teenagers crazy–especially when I sang along! When I work in silence, I tend to hum. I think it helps keep me “in the zone.”

10) If I came to see you where would we go for queso?

Well, if my husband was going with us, he’d vote for Qdoba because he loves their queso! My daughter just told me about a really good restaurant called Holy Frijoles in a cute town near us called Hampden, in Baltimore, and we would probably check their queso out!