Melony Bradley is a full-time creative designer and writer. She published her first design in the early 1990s and has been working in the creative industry ever since. Although Melony majored in English, she has had an avid interest in bringing a creative touch to home arts since she was a little girl. She likes to combine crafting with the everyday aspects of life she enjoys including cooking, home decor and gift giving.

Melony writes technique and lifestyle articles for the creative industry and has published hundreds of original designs in national craft publications. Her specialties include kids’ crafts and recycled crafts. She describes herself as a general crafter and enjoys a variety of craft techniques including paper arts, needle arts and painting.

In addition to crafting, Melony enjoys the outdoors through walking and running with her three dogs. She recently relocated to the picturesque and inspiring town of Hernando, Miss., in the Mississippi Delta with her husband, Brad. She is a native of Savannah, Ga., and attributes her hometown with the inspiration and encouragement to become a creative designer and writer.

Maria Nerius has been a craft professional for over 20 years, starting as a professional crafter who sold wooden folk dolls at arts and craft shows throughout the South with the help of her husband, Ken. Maria wanted to be a writer as a child and combined her passion for creativity with her journalistic aspirations. She’s published over 1,000 craft projects, seven books and enjoys participating on craft TV shows for PBS. Maria enjoys working as a freelance writer and craft designer because of all the wonderful variety, including product review and research, editing, design, blogging and interaction with fellow creative crafters.

When not crafting, she enjoys scuba diving in warm tropical waters and shares her underwater photography online. Gardening is another important part of Maria’s life. Living in Florida means gardening with orchids, bromeliads, bamboo and citrus trees. She can’t pick a favorite craft because she loves so many, including handmade papermaking, lamp working, glass fusing, ceramics, needle felting, needlepunch, paper arts, embroidery, keepsakes and woodworking. She has a special love of genealogy and keeping heirlooms safe for future generations. Maria is a graduate of the University of Florida and is delighted that her childhood dream of becoming a writer came true. Maria says, "The goal of craft is joy!"

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