grandparents
Becoming a grandparent makes getting older something to look forward to - all the fun of parenting, without the hassle.
Arranging Memories
I have been doing crafts for as long as I can remember, harbouring new obsessions and passion projects. I cycle through them every few months based on my inspirations. More than anything, the people in my life inspire me to do crafts, either because they have a special interest that I think would make a fun project, or because they taught me that specific craft. I’ve made hand-woven scarves and bookmarks based on my loved ones’ favorite movies, decorative instruments out of metal wire for my brother, and even attempted to crochet dragon costumes for my cats, though they refused to comply. I spend most of my time thinking of loved ones while I craft, relishing the memories I have shared with them. Few memories hit me quite as hard as those doing crafts with my mother and grandmother. I inherited both my creative passion and attention to detail from them. My mother has as many creative interests as I do and introduced me to many of my hobbies, but my grandmother had a specialty, she was a florist. My grandmother, on the other hand, was a genuine craftswoman. Maw-Maw was a florist. Though I never knew her as a florist, it was truly her passion and she maintained it as a hobby through the years, across careers, and into her retirement. Flowers were one of the main ways Maw-Maw connected with the world, both as gifts and by teaching her art to her family as a means to spend time together. My mother and I were two of her most avid helpers and students, as we enjoyed projects as much as Maw-Maw. To this day, when I think of Maw-Maw I think of flowers. Her voice rings in the back of my mind every time I caress a lily or catch a glimpse of a daffodil as I drive.
By Allyson Alvis5 years ago in Families
For Nanna, with love
I reach for the small metal scissors, cold to the touch and listen to the laughter surrounding me. As I clip the small individual threads hanging from the back of the blanket, I make a mental note to remember the simplicity of this moment. The warm sweet musty smell of my grandparents’ home, the steaming English breakfast tea with powdered milk, the fresh crisp feel of the cotton entwined through my fingers and the laughter of four generations of women around the dining room table. Each sense now captured in this memory so strongly that I feel the mere thought, smell or touch of each will bring it all back so strongly that at any time in my life if I close my eyes I would be carried back in an instant.
By Jennifer Lee Lewin5 years ago in Families
It’s not about the life you live, but the inspiration you leave behind
A journey always has a story, and my story starts from when I was just a little kid. I had always grown up watching my grandma sew. I remember specifically watching her adorn a brick with plastic canvas and colorful yarn because she needed a door stopper and didn’t like the plain ones at the store, she was amazing in that way, she always had a creative vision for everything. My first real craft project that I thought of as “a big kids project” was the exact same brick door stopper for my bedroom door. (Of course my bedroom door didn’t really require a door stopper but that’s beside the point.) That moment was the turning point for me, I fell in love with the creation process. I spent every summer from that day forward with my grandma and she always had a new skill to show me. I very quickly became bored of my childish coloring books and crayons so my grandma gave me my first adult coloring book and a set of colored pencils. I was taught how to control the pencil to create different shades and shadows, how to blend colors and construct different patterns. That book kept me busy for hours every day. By the time I was in the fifth grade, my mother had enrolled me in a sewing class where the curriculum for such juvenile students consisted of very basic pillow making and nothing else which seemed very simple and mind numbing to me because I had already surpassed that level of skill. After one year of pillow making, I finally heard about a rug hooking class I could take instead which was a craft that I had never hear of at that point. I was enrolled in the new class and began to absorb all of the new information like a sponge; before long I had completed my first rug and had no idea what to do with it so I combined my two skills and turned it into a pillow. This pillow was different from the rest because it was rug textured on one side so I felt more fulfillment and accomplishment with this project. Ironically, to this day, I still see that same rug hooking kit at the craft store every time I walk by. By the time I was in middle school I had dabbled in the drawing world and even took a drawing class where I had an amazing teacher. This woman was so inspirational and one of my biggest influencers to date. One of my must notable moments in my crafting life was when my 7th grade drawing teacher was so amazed with my work that she asked to keep it to display at the school (of course I implemented some of my grandmas colored pencil techniques) to which I happily agreed and pridefully saw that art in that office for the following years. Having had such a great experience with my drawing teacher in middle school, I elected to take a more advanced art class as part of my schooling my first year of high school. My initial encounter with this teacher was pleasant, she was friendly and inviting, she actually had her own children that were enrolled in her class as well. It seemed as though things would go swimmingly until she realized what my last name was. My older brother had taken her class in the past and for some reason she did not like him as a student and from then on, I felt like I had been treated differently. I felt as though I was still creating amazing work and every once in a while I would put a little spin on the assigned project to keep it interesting for me. I had always been a straight A student and for some weird reason the only class that I had a C in was my art class so I looked at my individual project grades and realized that my projects had been graded more harshly than everyone else’s. Unfortunately this ended up causing me to enroll in a different class because I didn’t want my GPA to start slipping for something so insignificant. Hindsight tells me that this was actually just a blessing in disguise because I began making my own art with my on rules and guidelines instead of someone else’s and this is when my skills finally shined to their greatest potential yet. With the newfound hole in my academic schedule, I ended up enrolling in a JROTC program where I fell in love with the paramilitary life style and went on to become a paramedic in my adult life. When I began schooling for that role, my grandma who had been my rock and my inspiration through all of my years, became sick. I taught myself how to make teddy bears and made one that was customized just for her. She took that teddy bear with her to every doctors appointment and hospital visit she made on her journey through her illness. Unfortunately later that year, she passed away. I had the honor of being able to say my goodbyes and hold her hand as she faded into her next life, her teddy bear at her bedside. I took that bear home and have had it ever since. A little pierce of my grandma is still around to inspire my creativity. In my life currently, I still make teddy bears for special occasions, the most redundant part of the process is cutting the fur fabric but my Fiskars scissors make the process much smoother and significantly less time consuming. I also design and construct graphic stickers and have recently discovered the magic of digital creation as opposed to paper. I also design and create graphic shirts (mostly just for my friends and family.) the attached image is the actual bear from the story. The reason I create every day.
By Ashley seipel5 years ago in Families
Finding Me
On September 17th will be a day that will live in infamy for the rest of my life. My father-in-law passed away. He was always incredibly supportive of any project I was working on whether it be making a baby blanket for a friend or teaching my daughter how to sew two pieces of felt together. He would always have great words of encouragement and was willing to hear me talk about the intricacies of the project at hand. His eyes never glazed over, and he was always engaged in the conversation.
By Allison Ruth Azhocar5 years ago in Families
Redemption
The text dinged on my husband’s phone. “Get home now!” our neighbor told us, “Your garage is on fire!” Turning around on the highway, our hearts sank when we saw the roiling cloud of black smoke nine miles away. My husband focused on driving safely while I screamed in horror with the realization of each precious thing we’d stored in the ‘Garage-Mahal’.
By Nancy Bissonnette Bordine5 years ago in Families
"See a Need, Meet a Need"
“See a need, meet a need.” This phrase was repeated me to throughout my childhood and it is something that I live by as a thirty- something mom of two. During childhood and adolescence, this was applied to tasks as simple as seeing something on the floor and picking it up without having to be told to do so and helping when you see someone in need of assistance. As I grew older, I noticed that the importance of this phrase never expired and applied to all areas of my life. Whether its careers, friendships, education, and parenthood, there is always a need for something and ample room for me to meet it.
By Jessica Short5 years ago in Families
Creating Memories
My sons and I gathered around the material situated on our plush living room carpet, working hard to line up the corners, each of us a pair of scissors in our hand. I flashed back to a similar memory, 20 years earlier, my niece in the same place my sons were now in. In that memory, we were creating a blanket for my son, who was now helping me create for my grandmother, his great-grandmother. When my niece and I created the first one, I was a very pregnant first-time mom. I had tried to get pregnant for 5 years and although I was very sick – I was cherishing every event that I was able to complete to prepare for this baby. Excitement flowed through me, as I pictured my baby cuddled in this soft blanket. The blanket I created for Jacob, still sits on my couch today. Now this original creation is my beautiful dogs place of comfort when we, her family are not around. My son would have it no other way as he has a diagnosis of Asperger’s and his focus is in making his animals happy and comfortable.
By Jeannette Paxia5 years ago in Families
Trio
There is just something about the number 3. First and Formost I am a Believer in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I am the Oldest of 3 Girls, I had 3 Boys, I have 3 Fur babies, and I love crafting for buiness with my mom,and my 92 (going on 60) grandmother.
By Amy Phillips5 years ago in Families
Fashion in Miniature
Grandma Ollie worked magic with the meager gifts she had been endowed with. When I say "meager gifts", I mean with our dirt poorness, she would make marvelous things out of almost nothing. She could make a masterpiece of a blackberry cobbler from the berries we picked on the side of the railroad tracks that ran through the tiny southern Illinois town. Homemade biscuits and fried chicken--Better than "Finger lick'n good!" And, while she had a way with food, she was even a more masterful artist with a pair of scissors, some needles, thread and scraps of fabric. Grandma Ollie did everything with joy. Her spirit was contagious!
By Dee Livingston5 years ago in Families
The Last Sunny Day With My Grandad
July 4th 2018 is the day that this happened. Now that I'm reflecting on it. Its become one of the most blessed days of my life that I'll forever cherish. The day stared like this. We haven't seen sun in a while (Seattle weather). And my grandad had just came back from a nursing home. He was recovering from a health related scare. It felt great having him back home and not dealing with doctors and nurses 24/7. Life was back to normal and the weather that day was a plus. He asks me if we could run some errands today and I was glad to help. I was also acting as his care giver at the the time. We headed out to get our day started. We picked up some meds and toiletries at the local Walgreens. And some lottery tickets at the neighboring corner store. All while seeing some familiar faces that recognized me and my grandad. Seeing him laugh having conversations with people who weren't his nurse or doctors 24/7 made me happy that he was back to his old routine.
By Jeffrey Fontanos5 years ago in Families
