Katie Skilton Demonstrator for Sizzix stops for a quick catch up

You will definitely recognise the talented, and very lovely, Katie. She demonstrates for Sizzix, and manages to inspire us, whilst juggling a hectic life - and has even managed to find time to answer some questions:

Hi Katie, thank you for taking time out to answer a few questions for us. You are such a busy lady, with your family, designing, and being on the motorway so much - how do you manage to fit it all in!! 

Thank you for asking me! It’s an absolute pleasure. To be totally honest I don’t have a clue how I do it! So many people ask me how I manage to make it all work and keep the children happy, the business running smoothly and everything just so! In all honesty I don’t! Things are always chaotic in our house and sometimes I feel guilty that I have dragged my family into this crazy rollercoaster of a life I seem to have! In fact just as I am writing this my husband is mumbling something under his breath about everyone in this house being insane!! I suppose really we have got into a routine! I try to do a lot of work whilst 3 of the children are at school and then if I need to I carry on once they have gone to bed. funnily enough I find my time on the motorways the most relaxing of the week! it is the only time I get a peaceful environment to sit and think. I love to just put my music on and drive. It is total bliss!

Tell us how you got into the craft industry, was this something you always wanted to do?

I kind of fell into it by accident although it is always something I dreamt of doing!  I have been crafting for as long as I can remember but just over 4 years ago I gave up my job as a sales & marketing manager in the orthopedic industry as ironically I was spending too much time traveling and not enough time with my family.  At the time I planned to make a few cards and see if I could sell them at craft fairs.  At the same time I applied for a couple of design teams.  Within a couple of months I was offered quite a bit of magazine work, I then went onto demonstrate at events and on the television and from there it just took off!  I planned to go full time by the time both my boys were at school.  The youngest is only 1 and I am working much more than I ever thought I would but I have a real passion for our industry.

Sizzix have such an incredible range of products, do you get to play (oops, work) with the full range, or do you get assigned certain products?

Working for Sizzix was like a dream come true.  I remember when I first got the email from them asking if I would like to work with them.  I thought it was some sort of joke or spam email!  It took me days to actually believe it!  I can honestly say I love every product that Sizzix bring out and I think their designs suit my style, which makes it very easy for me to work with.  Of course I get to work with all of the dies I bring to you on Hochanda, but I also do lots of other work with Sizzix designing projects for various events, websites and companies so I get to work with a huge variety of their products.  I also get to work  with some of the dies before they come out.  It is always really exciting to see the ides that have not yet been released as being a designer you have no preconceived ideas of what to do with them so you start with a fresh mind full of ideas! 

Crafting disasters, have you had any and if so, what was the worst?

To be fair I probably have one most days!! I am one of these people who have to do everything at the speed of light which means I leave myself open for disaster to strike at any time!  My most public disaster was probably at the NEC, the show had only been open about 10 minutes and I was making a card in front of lost of people.  I was using Glossy Accents and it wouldn’t come out of the bottle so I squeezed really hard and suddenly the top flew off, covering me, my project and several on lookers in Glossy Accents!  It took me all day to get rid of the stickiness I kept finding everywhere!

Finally, are there any crafts you haven't tried yet, but would love to have a go at?

There are so many crafts I would love to try.  I just don’t have the time which can be frustrating! I suppose as the children get older I will have more time.  As soon as I do get some time I am going to really focus on soft crafts such as sewing and quilting as I would love to learn all of the techniques!  Then I can obsess about fabric like I do paper!

Thank you so much Katie, I love the photo's you have shared, it's lovely seeing all your family.  We look forward to seeing you soon on our screens soon.

Tune in to Hochanda every day 24/7 for lots of fun and crafty demonstrations! Watch our programmes live > Hochanda.com

You can also tune into Hochanda on Freeview channel 39, Sky channel 663 or Freesat 817.