I am so delighted to feature on SM Blog's Featured Creative Series, one of the most amazing DIYers that I follow in the entire blogosphere! Rubyellen Bratcher and her blog, Cakies have been featured numerous times in various magazines and blogs and I am so grateful that she's sharing her story with us today!

Read her interview below and be inspired!

Can you give a little background about yourself?
My family and I live in Southern California and we spend our days homeschooling, making crafts, and working on our garden. I used to teach 4th grade at a local elementary school, but decided to stay home after having our first child. Ever since I was a kid, I always loved the arts and creating. My dream was to a be an animator, but I think I was afraid to pursue art in college, so became a teacher instead.

RUBYELLEN with her amazing family, ben and their four girls, true, brave, soul and glow.

Can you give our readers an overview of your Company / Brand and tell us how it started?
After the birth of our first child, I decided to stay home, but since we were on one income, I picked up sewing to start making clothes for my daughter. I would see things at local boutiques that were out of my budget, and think, ""I can make that!"" Thus, I took sewing classes at a local studio and I was instantly smitten with the sewing bug. Those local boutiques I used to frequent liked the hair clips I made for my daughter, so I started wholesaling to shops to carry my clips. A friend encouraged me to start a blog to document what I was making and selling. I had no clue what to call my blog (branding was not on my mind), and since I called my daughter babycakies when she was in my belly (and nameless), Cakies is what I went with. From there, I discovered this whole creative blogging community and wanted to be part of it; I enjoyed interacting with others who had the same passion for creating.

So here I am, almost 9 years of blogging and I'm so thankful for all the blessings and opportunities that have come. I'm thankful for being able to work with great magazines and websites who have featured my work, and especially thankful for the opportunity to write a book. My book, Let's Sew Together, teaches the basics of sewing, and includes various projects to make with and for the children in your life. I also get to infuse my passion for teaching, and I have learning extensions to go along with most of the projects.

The goal of the SM Blog's Featured Creative Series is to spread inspiration to everyone with the same passion and craft, where do you get your inspiration from?
My kids are the most inspiring. Everything we create is something they request, or something I know they will enjoy. They love projects and are always asking to do more and more. They even want to start their own blog so they can share the things they make!

Do you have favorite tools that you use on a daily basis that you cannot live without?
Scissors and my sewing machine.

Can you give us a peek of your average workday?
I am an early riser, so I get up around 4:30-5am for my quiet reading time and exercise. After, I try to catch up on emails before the girls wake up. From 8am-12pm it's all dedicated to our homeschooling time. We all have lunch together afterwards, and then the girls have Spanish classes online from 1-2:30pm, so I try to work on projects during this time. Once they go to bed at 7:30pm, I get online to edit photos and blog.

Do you have new projects or products you are working on right now that you’d like to share to our readers?
I've been working on a series of crafts for Family Fun magazine article and that will be released in June/July.

Blog With Love’s Mantra is "Do What You Love, Love What You Do", what is your personal mantra?
Create together. Some of my favorite memories with my girls are when we are all working on a creative project together.

If you were going to give one final advice to our readers, what would it be?
Every single person is creative, so find what it is you are creative in, and run with it. Some people are creative with words, some numbers, some in the kitchen, some with acts of service, and the list could go on. Don't ever think you aren't creative because we are all are, but just gifted in certain areas. Also, don't be afraid to try something new.

Here's a nice video from Rubyellen's Let's Sew Together Book Release Party in 2014. This month, she's celebrating two years of her book! Congratulations, Rubyellen!

For more of her creative mind and fun DIYs, follow Rubyellen on Cakies Blog, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.

FEATURE: Rubyellen Bratcher of Cakies Blog