Wednesday, December 31, 2008

The Beginning




Yesterday afternoon, I ran to Target in hopes that I could find a cheap calendar in their Dollar Spot. What I found instead was the cutest little metal mailboxes that are just perfect for Valentine's Day. So, I grabbed a couple mailboxes and some scrapbooking paper and rushed back to my store to create this cute little place to stash all those love notes! But that got me thinking where all this creativity began...



Ever since I can remember I have enjoyed creating things! As a small child, I loved to make greeting cards from construction paper, glue, and markers.



When I was 9 years old, my grandmother taught me how to embroider. I remember that day vividly. I even remember the design that I worked on and the colors I chose. My grandmother took an Aunt Martha's iron on of Aquarius and ironed it onto a piece of scrap fabric. She then showed me the basic stitches to embroider the design. Each time I visited my grandmother, I would work on my embroidery. Sometimes she would show me pieces of embroidery that she had done, including her very first piece - a donkey. She would also show me pieces that my great grandmother had done.



When I was 12, my grandmother taught me how to cross stitch. We bought two small kits and she showed me what to do an let me complete them that weekend. One was a blue windmill and the other was a rose. When I completed them, I gave them to my other grandmother who kept them on her fridge until she died. I keep them in my craft room on my filing cabinet.



After my son was born, my grandmother finally convinced me to let her teach me how to oil paint. I only took a few lessons from her (it was more simple than I thought it would be). I worked on the same painting at each lesson. Unfortunately, my grandmother died before she could teach me how to paint the flowers so my painting remains unfinished. I use it as a reminder that life is short. Don't put off the fun stuff or you may never get to do it.