Listen to the interview here!
Brenda Weaver
Toni Reece: Welcome to the Get Inspired! Project. I’m Toni Reece, and today I am with Brenda Weaver. Brenda, take a moment and tell us a little bit about yourself.
Brenda Weaver: As you said, my name is Brenda Weaver. I’m a stay-at-home mom to three kids. My husband and I have been married for 16 years, living in Berks for about 10, and we love it here. I’m a professional paper crafter. I’m just launching my brand new line of stamps, which will be released tomorrow, so I’m really excited about that.
Toni: Congratulations!
Brenda: Thank you.
Toni: What is a paper crafter?
Brenda: A paper crafter is someone who crafts with paper. I do mainly card making, scrapbooking – basically anything you can do with paper.
Toni: Okay. Let’s go into the first question of the Project. What does inspiration mean to you?
Brenda: For me, to be inspired means that something deep inside of me has been touched by something. It’s kind of like a spark that’s been ignited, and that happens in a lot of different ways for me. It could be through the work of someone else, like through music or through art that I’ve seen, or something like that; but as a crafter, inspiration is everything, because to keep on creating beautiful work, you need to be continually inspired. So it could be through looking at photos, or like I said, through music or a display in a shop – anything like that.
Toni: How do you know when it hits you? What’s that feel like?
Brenda: It’s kind of like I said – that little spark inside that’s like a little bit of excitement; like something triggers something inside. I can't really quite explain what it feels like, but I just know it’s there.
Toni: You just know it. It hits you – there it is! You recognize it; now you have to go do something with this.
Brenda: Right, exactly.
Toni: Okay. So how do you put that into practice into Berks County?
Brenda: My favorite ways to gain inspiration are probably to just sit down in a bookstore or the library and look through books and magazines, and look at the way the photos are laid out. Paging through the pages of a magazine is my favorite way, because there’s so many great photos that people have taken. It could be the way the photo is laid out, the color or the textures, or anything like that that can spark that creativity. There are also a lot of great places in Berks County like great little shops like Five and Divine in Wernersville or Junk to Jazz over in Shillington. Of course, GoggleWorks – that’s a great place to gain inspiration, too, and I love visiting all those great places.
Toni: So when you are moved and inspired, have you been able to place that inspiration where you’ve done something in Berks County? I know you’ve given us a great indication of what inspires you in Berks County, but when you’ve been moved, how do you put that into play around here?
Brenda: Most of the time it’s basically from my own home, from my own blog, my Etsy shop, and things like that. Most of it comes from my own home and not per se out in the community, but coming from my home out to the community.
Toni: Right; so it’s how you represent yourself in the community.
Brenda: Right, exactly.
Toni: So who in Berks County inspires you?
Brenda: I think I have to say that the people who inspire me the most in Berks County are the wonderful people at Fairview Christian School where I send my kids to school. They’re always an inspiration in that they are touching and changing the lives of kids in Reading, and that’s a powerful thing. They’re reaching out into the community and changing lives.
Toni: Can you give me an example of that?
Brenda: They have kids from the community of Reading coming into the school, and they could be sometimes kids who have trouble in public schools or haven’t been thriving in public schools, and they take them, nurture them, teach them, and just put some positive values into their lives, and they’ve changed a lot of lives that way.
Toni: So you’re watching that and are inspired by what they’re doing in changing those lives.
Brenda: Yes I am.
Toni: That’s fantastic. I’m sure you’ve let them know that, too.
Brenda: Yes.
Toni: Yes – we tend to forget that every once in a while, don’t we?
Brenda: Yes.
Toni: We wish more people would know so congratulations to you for using this platform to share that with them.
Brenda: Right.
Toni: What would you like your legacy to be?
Brenda: I want my kids to learn the value of hard work and using their God-given gifts and abilities to touch the world around them and make it a beautiful place. I think that each of us has a unique set of gifts and talents that God has given us that we can use to better our world.
Toni: Can you give me an example of what you are already putting into place that is living that legacy for you?
Brenda: I teach my kids the value of hard work every day, and they see me creating and using the gifts that I feel like God has given to me. I search for those things in my children, and try to encourage them in their gifts and talents and to use them.
Toni: So you inspire them also by walking the talk.
Brenda: I hope so.
Toni: That’s fantastic. Thank you so much for being part of this Project.
Brenda: You’re welcome.
