Florida Mom Goes Viral With 'Handmade Ugly Tacky Christmas Sweaters' - East Idaho News
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Florida Mom Goes Viral With ‘Handmade Ugly Tacky Christmas Sweaters’

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158356288?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1417179296314iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Christmas sweaters are the “ugly” trend that everyone loves to hate, but no one may really love the sweaters more than Deb Rottum.

The 45-year-old mother of three from Tampa has become a viral star thanks to the Christmas sweater creations she hand crafts and then posts to her eBay store,“Deb’s Handmade Ugly Tacky Christmas Sweaters.”

“It takes me about two hours to make a sweater,” Rottum told ABC News.

It’s not just the detailed design that is gaining Rottum Internet fame. It is the way in which she displays the sweaters online, by posing in them herself in an arms-wide-open stance.

“I put my arms out so people can see what I’ve done to the sleeves of the sweater,” Rottum said.

As for the seemingly crazed expression that Rottum has on her face in each picture, Rottum says that is a strategic move as well.

“My goofy face was just [to say], ‘Hey, have fun. Come buy my sweater,” Rottum said, laughing.

Commenters on Rottum’s eBay page are sometimes horrified and sometimes not amused.

“She scares me,” one commenter wrote.

“My kid seen that face and will not sleep alone,” wrote another.

Even with detractors, Rottum is watching sales of her sweaters skyrocket. Her sales have quadrupled and her designs are gaining worldwide attention.

“I had a girl from the U.K. want a sweater with skunks because she has pet skunks,” Rottum said. “I did one with a shark, a Hello Kitty and a duck just this week.”

“I love it,” she said. “I think it’s so much fun when people comment and tell me how much fun they had with a sweater I made.”


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