Maggie Mags

Maggie lives in Rice Lake, Ontario Canada! She has been married 41 years to the same man and they have two intelligent, beautiful daughters. Our daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren all live in the USA. Maggie likes to try different things but loves to test the limits of what glass will accept in the form of decoupage which you can find in her shop MaggieMags Original Creations with Glass. Maggie also has a Blog which is a combination of personal and art related.

#1. How did you decide on your shop name?

I have two shops. The first is named 'Maggiemags' and I use that for showing my decoupage plates and decorative glass blocks during the holiday season. I hope to add a couple of new ideas I'm working on in the next couple of months. 'Maggiemags' is a combination of my nickname (Margaret is my real name and sounds so uptight) and the 'Mags' part is in honour of my grandaughter who was named after me, but her parents call her 'Mags' most of the time. The second shop is 'Maggies Studio' which is dedicated completely to my other passion which is photography. It's kind of a boring name, but is pretty self explanatory, I think.

#2. When did you start crafting?

When younger I used to like crafting but marriage, children and work got in the way. I did a lot of sewing for my daughters though. They both were baton twirlers in a twirling corps, so I was busy making costumes for them. I finally had the time to explore more of my creativity when I retired.

#3. What or who inspires you?

I'm inspired personally by many of my friends and for various reasons. However, on the world stage I get inspired by Oprah Winfrey. More importantly, so many of her guests have inspired me to stay as positive as possible, never give up and to be grateful for the special things in my life. As I've gotten older, I look back and only now can appreciate and be inspired by my Mother who passed away. She was in a wheelchair a good part of her life, but refused to give in to her plight. She absolutely tried to do as much as possible regardless of her circumstances.

#4. Do you have a day job?

I retired in 2004 and that's when I was able to finally have the time to explore my own creativity more intensely.

#5. What is the item in your shop you enjoyed making the most and why?

I enjoy making most of what I make, but the contemporary styled plates are the most fun for me, probably because I tend to like the clean lines..the geometric patterns are a lot of fun to come up with. At present, I'm almost out of this style, but will begin doing more again beginning in February.

Audrey's Accolades:

I found Maggie while searching etsy for glass blocks that are filled with lights and used as decorations. I had seen some at a craft show and wanted to make one or two for myself, but after talking to the crafter realized quite quickly that they were not about to tell me how they drilled the holes. So I went to Etsy! Maggie was one of the crafters who was very helpful. Of course I then went to check out the rest of her shop and was amazed by her plates. How does she do that? I got an answer!

"When I do the decoupage and paint work on the plates, I actually start with just a clear glass plate and all my work is done on the backside of the plate. Depending on how complicated and layered it is make it a little bit more difficult. Why, you ask. Well, you are actually working in reverse order..whatever you want at the forefront must go on first and then work from there. Because the work is done on the back side of the plate, they really are food safe. However, they can not be immersed in water or put in a dishwasher. If you use to serve, you can only damp wipe.Primarily are meant to be decorative."

I love those plates!! The colors and designs are amazing! But how to pick a favorite? Don't have a choice so here goes.

This plate is approx. 10" round.This decoupage work is done on the back side of a clear glass plate. In this case, this is a paper copy of a butterfly and some butterflies stamped on as well.