Creativity

Who inspired your creativity?
My Mother was my first inspiration.

This is one of my favorite pictures of her (high school).

Mom used a small bedroom that she shared with my little brother for her sewing room. I remember many a day passing the doorway in the middle of the hall and seeing her working. I wish I had a picture of her sitting there. The wall next to her had shelves stacked with fabric of every hue and design.

This is a picture of our annual family line-up for Easter. I'm the third from the front in the yellow dress.
I loved that dress (I think I still have it in a trunk in the basement). Yellow is my favorite color and I remember putting the cap sleeves on my head before Mom sewed them to the dress! I'm sure the other dresses were made by her too - maybe even her own :)

I still hug my Raggedy Ann when I need a best friend (and my sisters aren't around) that she made me. My sister called her ape-arms because her arms were so long...or maybe it was she was jealous that Mom made her for me :)


Mom eventually got into all kinds of crafts including knitting, bead banners, decoupage, plastic canvas, jewelry making...she had magazines for every craft around! Her husband built her a whole room (almost doubling the size of their house) to accommodate her supplies and give her plenty of room to work!


My Grandmother and Great Aunt Margaret on my Dad's side were crocheters. Aunt Margaret was very patient teaching me to crochet. I made so many granny squares that turned into afghans :)


So growing up I had a lot of inspiration. I did some sewing but I'm not very detailed so my hems were always...let's say, interesting (but rarely straight). Here's a picture of a dress I made one year. Oh yes, my handsome husband and son...don't you love those glasses (we affectionately call them the bug eyes) :P


I learned to cross stitch in my early twenties and had 2 or 3 projects going at any one time.


Then I got interested in general crafts. I even rented space in a craft store and did craft shows for awhile. I eventually got inspired to scrapbook - my early pages are not very good. I now spend most my time making cards. But crocheting is still something I enjoy doing. I'm working on little crocheted flowers to put on my cards!

Who inspired you? And...who are you inspiring?


Happy Mother's Day ... This is the third year my Mom isn't with me and it still stings - especially during May - Mother's Day, her birthday, and the month she died. But God is good ... all the time and He is my comforter.

I'm finally getting caught up on my Lifetime Story. I was behind several weeks. I combined several topics.

My "what I wanted to be when I grew up" didn't take more than one page so I combined it with my teen years. I then combined by teen years with writing a letter to myself from me today to me then. I didn't do much as a teen but maybe I'll supplement as I think about stuff - I just don't have pictures.



My school years weren't very interesting - especially since I moved so much during high school - so instead of doing one week of elementary and one week for high school, I just did them all together.



I've got two more projects to finish before I go back to cards - scrap-retreat and Brad's fishing trip. I spent so much time organizing my room (again) that it was dinner time before I got much scrapping done!

I treated myself to new shelves for NSD (National Scrapbook Day). I removed two tables from the room and took the doors off two of the cabinets. Got to spread my stuff out even more - for me, it's outta sight, outta mind. So I need to see it all.





Here is a close-up of my new shelves. Easy peasy to put together - no tools required! And they look great.


Probably no more scrapping tonight - my muscles ache from lifting the footlockers and the old desk top that sat on them and moving everything out to the hall (my son will need to move them from upstairs to the basement!) and moving the old shelves around. I should go soak in the tub...but that would require me to move!

My Lifetime Story - favorites

Sometimes reminiscing is a joy and sometimes it brings pain. Finding the picture of Mom and Aunt Evelyn brought a smile through the tears. I miss them both.

My Lifetime Story - Childhood homes

My Lifetime Story - Siblings

Well...I got some more scrapping done. This puts me up-to-date with my Lifetime Story. This week's challenge was Brothers and Sisters. The big yellow space is waiting for a picture of my oldest bro and his wife.

My Lifetime Story - Spiritual Heritage

More My Lifetime Story

I've finally got caught up on My Lifetime Story pages. Here are the family tree, parents, grandparents pages. (I know you told me to wait until retreat, Pati, but I don't think I'd be able to do these pages there - I need quiet. Don't worry, I'll have lots to do!)



I forgot to journal on Mom and Dad's pages so I had to add it via "scroll"!



Can't wait to see what this week's subject will be!

Ancestors

Wow, never knew my family was so interesting! I found a relative who was a bodyguard for George Washington. I'm so thankful for my relatives who worked to do all this research.

Genealogy

Gotta love the internet! For My Lifestory project, I'm to put together a family tree. I have spent the last week researching the internet and found more pieces to my family tree! Oh how I wish my parents and grandparents were alive. I have so many questions! I'm hoping to find pictures of at least some of these relatives - fortunately I have them from my Mom's side.

Thanks to a cousin in NC, Derick Hartshorn, I have my Mom's Father's family history clear back to the 1700s. My Dad's Dad proved much harder. I can only get back to my great grandmother's name. Very few records to find...can't even find my great-grandfather's name. Sad : (

Hopefully we'll find more info when we visit cemetaries in Wheeling and Van Wert.

If you're parents are still alive (or you're lucky enough to still have grandparents alive) TALK TO THEM. Get as much info as they can remember. Names, dates, whatever. Trust me, you'll be glad for it one day.

Also, a shout-out to one of the guys at work, Ron Johnson. He has given me tips in my search!

My Lifetime Story

I'm participating in a challenge to scrap my life story. Mine is called The Journey of My Life. I'm nervous and excited to do this. Some of my past is not so pleasant (I don't look forward to reliving) and some is awesome (which I'm glad to remember). What I'm most looking forward to is seeing God in every step of the journey. I KNOW He was there - even when I didn't want Him to be.

Thank you Father.