Today we’d like to introduce you to Amber Norton
Hi Amber, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Back in October 2010 my husband excepted a job offer in Colorado. This meant me moving from Louisiana the only home I’ve ever known. In January of 2010 I had lost my dad pretty unexpectedly. This move would be a huge change in my life after losing my dad and moving away from all my family and the only friends I’ve known my whole life. We made the journey to Colorado and settled in nicely. By the end of 2011 I had gotten into photography as a hobby and by 2012 it was turning into a part time side job. I was doing sessions with friends, family sessions and even scored my first wedding September 15th,2012. Things started to pick up and I finally decided to make my first business page on facebook A. Norton Photography. Which I currently still own and run. The photography hobby turned into so much more than I ever dreamed of. Colorado was becoming home. I was making friends again and I had clients who were turning into family. heConnections were made that are still a huge part of my life now. In February of 2014 my life would yet again take a drastic turn I met a girl who would turn out to be a huge part of my story. At a friend get together I met Nancy who become one of my bestfriends and A huge part of my story and business name. Within 1 week of meeting Nancy I also became sick. After battling this sickness for sometime I was later diagnosed with a rare bacteria called aeromonas sobria. This caused lots of damage before it was caught and because of this damage I lost my gallbladder that May. Confident life would go back to normal I went forward with the surgery to remove it and was hopeful. Much to my surprise life was far from normal when I woke up from anesthesia. I continued to be sick often. I suffered from something I never had before, a new to me issue. Anxiety attacks. Random anxiety attacks when leaving my house. I got depressed because I didn’t understand what was going on with me, started to question if I was losing my mind. My Friend Nancy would come over on my worse days and we would sit down and craft. This was soothing to me. It calmed me down, I could focus and felt like myself again. Finally a friend to understand what I was going through truly. Over the next few years I suffered a lot with this, had a lot of test done and always was told it was nothing. Just Learned its now part of my new everyday life. Adjusted and learned to move on and build life around this new me. Crafting had become my new passion along with photography. I started to intertwine the 2. I was making my own props for my own shoots. Working for myself was great because I didn’t have to explain to a boss why I needed a mental health day or if I woke up sick which was more often than not. The next 4 years I spent building up both my photography and crafting hobbies and turning them into a business I was proud of. 2018 came and life decided it was yet again time for another challenge. I learned my mom had the big C word. The word we all dread to hear. Cancer. cancer had invaded her body and it was already a stage 4. My mom being exactly the Woman she was, decided she was going to do the natural approach. While I’m positive that gave us a little more time with her not sick than we would of had with her going through all the treatments, its still hard to hear when don’t want any modern treatments. Living in Colorado and mom being in Louisiana was the absolute hardest to me. With my new on-going health issues and anxiety, i couldn’t just jump and go to her. July 11,2019 the day before my sons 11th birthday she passed away surrounded by all of her loved ones. Once again my life had changed. Now I had lost both parents and a part of my soul. I went back to Colorado broken. Crafting was therapy. I started painting rocks every single day. I would go to the river find rocks to paint and paint all day. Mom Loved plants, so I started integrating plants into my crafts. Eventually I was selling them and decided I needed a page for this to now. Threw the idea out to a few close friends and we started brainstorming for names. Nothing came into play for weeks. Sitting in my Livingroom one rainy day, Nancy and I were crafting and I showed her what I made, she said “well aren’t you a crafty little Bit**”! I yelled thats it, thats my page name. In December 2019 I took the steps and created the Krafty LiL Btch Page. I was making candles, blankets, shirts, stickers etc.. Life was going great. Somewhat Normalish again. My new normal. I had my 2 side hobbies, a new part time job, friends that turned into family!! In October of 2020 I learned once again life never stops changing. We had to move once again because of work. My husbands job was changing once again and that would lead us to where we are now. Pasadena Texas! Back to my southern roots once again starting over. While I have only been here 3 years and just beginning to rebuild friendships, I have met some Amazing people on my journey. While I have yet to pick my photography back up here, I am beyond blessed at the support I have had for my Krafty page.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not smooth. I’d say biggest struggles were getting your name out when first starting
everyone thinks your in competition with them when you really are doing what you love
and learning not to under charge yourself
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I love to make things. Tumblers are my big specialty. I started out making resin tumblers and this has progressed to sublimation tumblers,glass tumblers,mugs,water bottles and much much more. I love and have a huge passion for making tie-knot fleece blankets. Almost all of my friends have one hand made from me. I think what sets me apart from others is my personality and love for all these unique. I love to dress up and stand out at my events
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
being able to create. Rather its create an image through my photography or a blanket with my hands. creating something to make others happy makes my heart happy. To see the joy others get when they open a personalized gift with a picture of a lost loved one or even a gift just because, the smile and light they get in their eyes, thats what brings my heart joy. Others being happy, bringing others happiness
Contact Info:
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/kraftylilbtchkreationz
- Other: https://facebook.com/anortonphotography
