Creative Team Spotlight – Candy

Hey there, crafty friends!

I’m Candy Tan and currently live and work in Shanghai, China.  I’ve lived here since 2010 but visit my home country, the Philippines, often.  I worked at an international school for a few years teaching kindergarten before I started my own little tutor “business”.  I get the best of both worlds— teaching, working from home, and being able to craft my heart out.  I think being able to work from home is a wonderful blessing for an extreme introvert like myself.  Just recently though, I got a wonderful little job offer teaching Kinder kids every morning until the end of the school year.  I’m so thankful to be back into a “classroom” setup again and for this opportunity even if it’s just for four months.  About a year and a half ago, I moved my aging, retired parents to come live and stay with me.  It comes with its own set of challenges (because I’m so independent and so used to living and being alone) but it’s also a blessing.

I have always been considered creative, but have never really pursued it in any way.  As a little girl, I could color for hours.  As a teenager, I was always writing, journaling, and doodling.  As an adult, I loved decorating my Kindergarten class.

1. How did you get started with crafting?

A few years ago, I went through something that resulted into me having PTSD, depression, and anxiety.  I would get anxiety attacks multiple times a day most days.  I also lived alone at the time and was in a foreign country, so I really didn’t have people I could actually count on or talk to.  Also, when you are depressed, you don’t really want to talk to anyone.  I couldn’t see a therapist either because English speaking therapists are probably not common in a Chinese  speaking country.  I knew that all I had at the time was God and that He was all I needed— not a therapist, not medication.  I knew He was the only one that could heal me from my depression but the question was HOW?

I also remember being quite annoyed at all the negativity I was seeing on social media and online, but was equally blessed when I’d read an encouraging verse or an uplifting story and thought, why couldn’t more people be more positive online?  Then I started looking for fun and creative ways to share the Word of God online because I loved the way it encouraged and blessed me and wanted others who might need the same to be encouraged as well.  That’s when I discovered that there’s actually a community of hand letterers who letter verses, song lyrics, and quotes.  I then realized that art could be therapeutic and a great way for me to find some healing.  Long story short, I did hand lettering for a while and then from there discovered the community of Bible Journaling and that’s when my creative journey began.  Now I do hand-lettering (which I’m not very good at but love how therapeutic it is especially with the paint, water, mixing, and strokes), Bible journaling, and memory keeping.  I started in January 2017 and I have never looked back.  It’s been mentally and spiritually healing and I can now honestly say that my anxiety attacks have gone down to a minimum and they are rare now, praise God!

2. What’s the best crafty tip you’ve given or have received?

The best crafty tip I’ve been given is to let go and embrace your mistakes.  The projects we do don’t always turn out the way we envision them to or want them to but sometimes if you put it on time out or leave it alone for a while and come back to it a little later, you learn to see it in a different light and end up not hating it as much as you first did.  Instead, you learn to embrace it.

3. What is your favorite crafty tool and why?

My favorite crafty tool are my scissors.  It’s the only way I’m able to fussy cut the entire reset girl collection.

4. When was the first time you heard about The Reset Girl?

I first heard about The Reset Girl probably a few months after I discovered the crafty community.  I’m sure it popped up somewhere on my Instagram feed and the unique style caught my eye.  The Reset Girl always has the best collections!

5. How do you store your TRG supplies?

I try my best to only print exactly what I need because 1. I don’t have a craft room, I only have a craft cart, 2. I try to be as much as a minimalist as possible and that applies to my supplies, tools, and printables.  If I do have extra, I store them in accordion files or clear envelopes. and then are on my desk for easy access.

Here are a couple of pictures.

1. 1. Instagram: CandiesCorner
   2. YouTube: Cece Creates