Inheriting a Craft Room

 

When a loved one who was a crafter goes to her heavenly home, you have to decide what will happen with her art supplies. Suddenly, all those UFOs (Un-Finished Objects) need new homes. What do you keep? What do you toss? What do you donate?

In the past five years, I've inherited crafty items from my sister, Tina, and now my mother as well. And a lot of it is really wonderful stuff. But the more I bring home to my own craft room, the more I realize that I need to sort and organize and pare down and clean out.

It's been a week.

I finally got all of the bins out and made sense of everything. I made labels. I filled garbage bags. I filled donation boxes. And I'm finally seeing some progress.

I went through patterns and organized them into binders with plastic sleeves. This was my sister's system, so I just organized each binder. One binder for fall projects, one binder for Christmas and winter, and another binder for all seasons.

Here's a project my Mom had almost finished:

This kit totally encapsulates my sister's sense of humor:

I remember Tina having a whole series of these alphabet samplers for the seasons in her home:

And then there's the DMC floss, the Gentle Arts floss, the Weeks Dye Works floss:

Sometimes, just seeing my sister's handwriting on these items gets me all choked up.

I played Christmas music as I cleaned to lighten the mood. But I can be honest with you, it's made me a little blue. So many memories of all the wonderful shops we would visit together. So many fun projects we would make for each other. So many good memories, but such a sense of loss.

I can't help but wonder: What about my own craft stash? What can I do to lighten the load?

I have a tote of stamps from myself and my Mom that need to find homes.

We've lost three parents in less than five years, and with that comes a LOT of stuff. We are nearly finished cleaning my Mom's house, and every time I go I promise myself I won't bring anything home. Well, you know what happens. One thing goes in the car, and then ten more things.

The house was getting pretty cluttered.

I have boxes filled for the sons to take home the next time they come to town, too.

I went through closets and drawers and storage this week, and donated a lot of things that we were no longer using or needing. It's feeling a little lighter, and that's good.

One day soon, I'll show you a few sweet treasures from Mom's place that have made it into our home. It's a good thing I like cottage core because it's looking more Granny chic every day.

Now that the craft room is looking tidy, I think I will try to mess it up again with some crafting tonight. I have some new products from the Greetery that I've been wanting to play with, and lots more Christmas cards that need to be made.

Inspired By ...a Napkin?

 

I was grocery shopping with my husband one day this month (IYKYK). He looked in the cart, pointed to these napkins and said "What are those for?"

"To make me happy!" was my reply.

And they do!

This weekend was our annual celebration in honor of Church Worker Appreciation month. Many know me as the coffee lady at church. I make sure the KCup carousel is stocked and the fancy creamers are in the fridge.

For our special brunch, I decided to put out a PSL station:

I used the mug die from Catherine Pooler, along with some C and 9th pumpkin dies:

I think I purchased this C and 9th set from fellow crafter Amy Tsuruta, and she included a little bag of pre-cut dies. It was a lifesaver this weekend!

Next up: gifts for the pastors! If you've been to the cafe for any length of time, you know that I love a good theme gift. I've had donut themes, pie themes, and last year's jam theme. This time, I embraced the coffee theme. I made them all this card:

I used a sentiment from a MFT stamp set. Originally, it says "Let's have a coffee break", but I just omitted the "Let's" when inking the stamp. Worked great!

And here's the inside sentiment:

For their gift bags, I included the cute napkins, some small matching paper plates, a few K Cups, a few Pepperidge Farm cookies, and a few Hershey Affogato espresso candies.

Just a little something that they can share with their spouses or families, or just keep in their office for a treat. We so appreciate all that they do for our congregation.

They are a blessing!

A Cozy Project for Tea Lovers

 

When the weather gets chilly, I find myself reaching for the afternoon cup of tea. If it's just for me, I will make a cup or a small pot. But if the family is around, I will make a large pot for sharing.

One thing I noticed. In the winter, that pot can cool off quickly. I started looking for tea cozies, and found some really sweet ones online. But then I got to thinking...can't I make one myself?

The problem: the fabric needs to be quilted with batting to keep in the warmth.

My sisters and I were cleaning Mom's craft cupboard this month, and look what I found! The perfect piece of pre-quilted reversible fabric.

I made a pattern for the two sides. I wanted the finished product to measure about 10 by 13 inches, so the pattern is just a bit bigger at 11 by 14. I used a piece of crafty grid paper and a round plate to trace the arc, then cut it out.

I started by sewing seam binding to the bottoms, then sewing the sides all around the top, adding a little loop and leaving the bottom open.

And here's the finished tea cozy:

The British have a saying: In for a penny, in for a pound. In other words, as long as I was making one for the big teapot, I decided to make one for the smaller teapot using the other side of the fabric to show off the floral.

And then I made two coasters by simply stitching all around a square and finishing with pinking shears.

I'm no great seamstress, but I'm really happy with how this project turned out. I think Mom would be proud, too. We loved sharing tea time together.

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!

Two for Christmas

 

I decided to play around with Ringed with Nature again because it was still sitting at the craft table. 

Last week, I made a nature-inspired mushroom card. This time, I thought I'd try Christmas. That's what makes this set from SU so versatile. But here's the caveat: no dies. I'm not sure that it ever came with dies, either. I think there was some wood slice embossing folder that may have had dies to coordinate with this set, but no dies for the other images. So I just fussy-cut when necessary.

For this card, I used the wood slice stamp and stamped it directly onto the wood slice dies from the Greetery...and it worked! I added some pines and pinecones from CP and used papers from SU.

For this one, I just did a combination of fussy cutting and direct to paper stamping.

Tell me...do you make one design for your Christmas cards, or do you play around with all your supplies and make a stash of unique cards?

I have a plan this season to make a bunch with the two or three new sets I've purchased, but also make a few one-offs just to keep the creativity flowing and give my supplies the love they deserve. Because neglected stamps make me think of Buzz and Woody in Toy Story being put on a shelf unloved. 

Don't you worry, unused stamp supplies! You've got a friend in me!

The Story of the Chipped Mug

 

Last year, I wrote a post about my Mom's chipped coffee mug. She drank out of this chipped mug every day.

Years ago, when we were still attending stamp camp's together, our friend Gloria gave us these mugs as a gift. Last summer, I found mine and gave it to my Mom, thinking it would be a good replacement for her favorite chipped mug. I even made her the perfect card to go with it.

Well, guess what. Mom still preferred to drink out of her chipped mug.

Every morning, she would make her coffee in that mug, bring it to her corner chair by the window, and drink coffee while reading from her Bible, doing her devotions, and saying her prayers.

I think that mug had some deep theological meaning for Mom. Every morning, she brought her chipped mug to the Lord as if to say "Heavenly Father, I know that I have chips and imperfections, like this mug. But I also know that I have value and worth in you, and that I am loved by you."

I now have both mugs in my home. I'm using the chipped mug at my desk to hold my pretty pens, pencils and highlighters. And I'm using the non-chipped mug to drink from whenever I miss a hug from Mom. 

By the way, that ginormous Bible in the photo? That was Mom's. It was part Bible, part journal, part scrapbook. It has so many notes and thoughts from her scribbled in the margins. What a lovely memento. I plan on reading it in its entirety this year.

The mug matters. You don't have to trust the science. You just have to trust the Lord.

'Shroom Season

 

I made a card today that was inspired by my morning walks. I think the combination of cooler evening temps, sunny afternoons, and occasional rains have made it the perfect recipe for fungi. I'm seeing 'shrooms everywhere.

So I pulled out Ringed With Nature stamps and Forest Friends papers from Stampin' Up and made this card today. Also used the wood slice die from The Greetery, along with a sprig die from CP and a berry die from Hello Bluebird...for those of you keeping track of such things. :)

Thanks for popping in today!

Smarty Pants? Fancy Pants? Quitty pants!

 

It's Monday, and Monday deserves a fun card post.

I received this card from my friend, Marilyn a few weeks back...and I love it so much!

It's an easel card that allows you to prop up with one sentiment...

...or maybe multiple funny sentiments!

Isn't this fun? And I LOVE that image and how she colored this one. So sweet!

Here's a view of the backside:

I have this card propped on my desk. This hen really speaks to me, especially at the beginning of the work week.

After 25 years working for a publisher, I quit this summer...and it was such a good decision! First of all, the pay was terrible. Insulting, even. And I realized that I could write two or three articles for a magazine and make more money than if I wrote ten to twelve articles for my longtime publisher. And the assignments were just no longer inspiring me. The pressure to schedule interviews, fill my calendar, meet deadlines. It was all too much.

I'm taking this time to be choosy about writing assignments. And now I'm using this space on my calendar to pursue things that bring me joy. Playing music with preschoolers. Jamming with my dulcimer friends. Reading good books and visiting my library.

Mondays feel so much different now. Lighter. Full of possibilities. 

I think I will bike to the library this morning, return a book and enjoy the swirling autumn leaves.