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
Memories...
#1 Being picked on at school because my Mum had taken up my jeans and they looked like ummm taken up jeans lol
#2 Making books to take into kids in the Children's ward of the local hospital. Easy books, plain paper stitched up the middle and then cuttings from magazines stuck in them.
#3 Making Salt and Pepper shakers out of plastic containers, decorating them and giving them away.
# Having a stall and selling printed stationary. Had stenciled each piece of paper and envelope myself. Satisfying!!
Posted by: Sharmaine | January 27, 2009 at 05:41 PM
Gigi, I couldn't agree more about the "gift of craft". I grew up in a crafting home. My Mom made everything from our doll clothes to our clothes, quilts, mittens, preserves, well just about everything. There were many times I wished I could have "the newest""the cooler stuff" and of course now I know what an incredible gift I rec'd from my Mother and Grandmother. The gift of ingenuity, preserverance, indepdenance and most of the the ability to know I could make/do whatever I wanted to.
Posted by: Beth | January 27, 2009 at 07:01 PM
So true Gigi...
You have such a true point there love.
I hope I teach my children the "gift of craft" too.
Hugs
Bxo
Posted by: Rebecca Vavic | January 27, 2009 at 07:46 PM
all i can think of is how similar yours and my childhoods were!!!!
that cabbage patch kid was in such high demand....i wanted one so badly!! my mom spent hours sewing her version of them for my sister and i....i loved it!!! carried it with me everywhere...and when i finally got a REAL cabbage patch doll i was in gr.4 and my mom worked so hard to save for it...(they were expensive back then, lol!)my mom's doll still precedence over it.
i think my childhood was where my love for designing clothes came from...we always had second hand...scouring thrift stores was so much fun with my mom...and she would embellish things with embroidered flowers and whatnot...and as i grew up...i would still shop at thrift stores and take my finds and revamp them creating a one of a kind piece.
i see things everywhere and instead of buying them i think...dude!! i can so make that! and i am loving teaching my kids the same things!!! and i love seeing the joy and delight they take in what they create!
my son is working a HUGE paper project...he is making a 3d house of copy paper!!! and we aren't talking the shell...he is doing the whole shebang...poeple, furniture, garage, and yard...LOVE that!
okay...sorry for the long comment, lol...but you already know i babble and i find i get sidetracked listening to your playlist, lol!!!
have a good night!
Posted by: jessi lute | January 27, 2009 at 09:16 PM
what an awesome post.
so many memories! and great advice to boot :-)
tfs gi!
hugs, patty :-)
Posted by: Patty S | January 27, 2009 at 10:21 PM
You are one lucky girl to have had that sort of upbringing G. I always felt pretty lucky myself to have the sort of parents who would much rather make something than buy it. I remember giving some sort of speech to that effect at my 21st...I wish I had kept a copy of what I said. As much as they drive me up the wall I admire my parents' untold energy in 'making' and 'creating' - from the downright monumental to the totally every day.
I got a giggle recently when a girl I went to high school with told me that she remembered me from the interview before we started because I was wearing a 'cool' outfit. I can guarantee it would have been a home-made creation LOL!
Thanks for inspiring.
love P
Posted by: Petrina McDonald | January 28, 2009 at 04:32 AM
What a wise woman you are Gigi. I had a similar upbringing and it has held me in good stead.I hardly had anything not handmade until I was earning my own way. This just such a lovely passage ....thank you.
Posted by: Janet | January 28, 2009 at 04:58 AM
Same here... we always crafted, created and improvised. I still like it, and try to instill it in my two children as well. What a beautiful memory - thanks for reminding me of my own.
Posted by: liesbeth | January 28, 2009 at 07:02 AM
So many memories come to mind.....wow wow wow..thanks Gi for bringing this up!!!! :):):):):):):):):) My mother taught me to counter cross stitch and I still LOVE doing it today...and my Aunt and my Mother used to make CLOTHES for me....and I STILL have them (and have photos of me in them) and NOW they fit my DD Brookie....I love that!!!!
Love to U Gi....amazing topic! :):):):):):):):):):)
Posted by: Julie | January 28, 2009 at 07:42 AM
what a great post! i can really relate, my family was much the same as yours. i remember my Gramma did sewing for people in her little town, and she could take apart a coat and put it back together in a totally different style. it was just amazing. one time i wanted a counter for a work surface, and went to the local auction looking for a door to lay across something. a friend asked me, why don;t you just get a table? some people are just so literal! thanks for a post that made me smile:)
Posted by: angie | January 28, 2009 at 11:08 AM
How great is your post! I think it is just so important to have some of these values. I am always trying to reuse things. In fact I have been on this kick especially with our house lately. I had an old tv stand from apartment days that I totally thought could work as an ottoman, and sure enough it turned out just right. Now some projects don't go that well and need a little more trial and error, but it is totally about thinking outside the box!
Posted by: Lisa | January 29, 2009 at 09:50 AM
I had the same kind of childhood..I am hoping I can pass it on to my kids, despite my dh's total materialistic commercialism. I have no idea where he gets it from, cause his family, while well off and always buying stuff, is also totally into making things themselves, rather than buying!
Posted by: muralimanohar | February 04, 2009 at 01:18 AM