My Journey

In this post I wanted to express how much crafts or creating has impacted most areas of my life and how important it is for me to have the chance to create. For me creating is not only something I enjoy doing but it really has become my passion. It has made such an impact on me that I have decided to really look at how I can make creating part of my professional goals. In fact creating this blog is the first step in making crafting more that just a past time but part of my career.

I should start from the beginning and discuss how family really started me on the path to a love of all things crafts.   Like most people I started making things as a child but it was the women in my life that sparked the passion. My Mom is an avid crafter and is known for her many talents. She could make anything beautiful with some glue, ribbon, and fake flowers. My Baba Mary and Grandma Helen were into needle crafts and they made some beautiful pieces that I continue to display in my home. Watching those three women in my life create pieces of art really sparked my own interest and made me realize how crafts are not only was a way to express oneself but something to pass on to future generations. I hope I can pass on my love of creating to my kids and they can find something they can be passionate about even if its not crafts.

Two pieces my Grandmothers have made and I have them displayed in my home. 

Of course my journey is not complete without some failure and I have had some real failures in my life. I realized that not all crafts are my thing and that you have to not take things so serious or you will give up on crafts early on. I wish I would have taken more pictures of my earlier work because it would show not only my progression but that even seasoned crafters have some bad ideas. When people comment that they don't have a creative bone in their body I want to show them some of those failures so they realize everyone can create. You should be proud of all your work because without those failures you would not continue to work to become the better crafter. Also I have found crafters are some of the most non-judgemental people and they just want others to find joy in creating not frustration.

Here is one of my epic fails. I had a great time creating but my cow looked a bit evil. We sure laughed that night.

Finally I want to discuss how crafts are such a social thing for me and it has really allowed me to connect with others. It helped me reconnect with my girlfriends because we realized we needed to find time for each other and having a scheduled craft day was the way to make us get together. We had time away from the kids and husbands and just had fun. We laughed together, did a bit of crafts, and shared a meal. Those girls really helped me to see how maybe my dream of making crafts part of my profession is not unattainable. They showed me that I have some talent and I could share my passion with others.  My family, failures, and friends have had such an impact on my life and love of crafts. I had to make this my second post to not only share my journey but to thank all those that have given me the courage to start making my dreams a realty. I hope this post lets them know that without them I would not be taking this step of blogging .