i was writing my post on the kenner road blog...linking away to some of my recent favorite finds on the web of gorgeous examples of art & craft...but then i took a turn off on a tangent & wound up hitting on the idea of "the gift of craft" and my gratefulness for it...i'd love it if you'd share your memories of when you were learning crafts from your mother or grandmother, an aunt or friend...
it's funny...when i was a kid the whole "homemade thing" we had going at my house was so very uncool...all my friends had the latest & greatest, whereas most of my clothes were from the second hand shop or homemade...i joke with my mom that we were the original recyclers.."green" way before it was chic :)
i remember when my mother made me nightgowns out of beautiful pillowcases she found in the thrift shop...i remember one in particuar that had lilacs on it...i loved that nightgown...so now, still to this day, when i need fabric (like for a shower curtain or a valance or even a cute bag) i always head to the sheets...such good quality cotton, washes like a dream & you can snap them up for super cheap...a little tidbit from my past that stuck with me...
i also remember wanting a cabbage patch doll so badly but instead made a doll out of pantyhose with my mom...it was nice & all & i totally remember it...it definitely wasn't the same as a cabbage patch...but thinking back...i'm thinking that the homemade panty hose baby doll was much better in a lot of ways...
i guess i never really put 2 & 2 together of what an amazing gift NOT being given everything is...
i learned to make do...
or do without...
or figure out another way....
i learned that there is so much more to life than things...
that my imagination holds unbounded possibility...
i learned to use my creativity to do my own thing...
i learned that i didn't have to buy something...i could create it...
i didn't have to just follow the crowd, but i could forge my own path...
i learned that just because everyone else is doing it, doesn't mean i should...
my dad used to always say to me: "if everyone put shit on their face would you do it too?"...
yeah...my dad totally messes up all of the sayings...lol
i've recently been really thinking about these little things are such big things, really, & how they've shaped my outlook...i think i sometimes take that for granted...
it comes as second nature to me to just create something rather than buy it ...& some of my friends look at me like i have 3 heads when i mention it...it never in a million years would occur to them...for kelly's birthday party favors we embellished canvas bags with fabric flowers & buttons...i just couldn't stomach the thought of buying $100 worth of dollar store junk that would be popped off in the trash before the day was over...so we bought enough canvas bags for all her friends, spending @ $20 (gotta love those michael's coupons!) & sewed on a huge flower we made...they really turned out well...i still hear a bunch of "oh you are so good! how did you even do that!?"...kelly & i were kind of take aback...um...we just cut some fabric & sewed & glued it on...it's not hard at all!
i try my hand at stitching or sewing or knitting (or even baking & cooking)...i'm not at all intimadated by it...but that is because as a child my mother instilled those skills in me (despite my moaning & groaning & 5 second attention span...lol) & my father challenged me to not just follow the crowd...
so that gift of crafting that i was given is one that isn't compartmentalized just in "art class" or my "hobby/creating time"...it definitely spills out all over...
& isn't that cool???!!!
hope you have a happy tuesday!
xoxox
gi
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