moms crafting love

Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful crafty moms out there! I hope your day is filled with lots of hugs, kisses, sunshine and joy! I know mine sure was! My son woke me up at 6:30, beaming ear to ear, to give me his Mother's Day gift he made at school - a potpourri jar filled with strips of paper with special little heartfelt messages from him, like "You are the best person to play video games with" and "I love when we read comics together!". He also gave me a letter he wrote proclaiming I am "more beautiful than the stars!". ♥ My heart is so full of happy today I feel like it may explode! 

Over the past few days, I have been collecting stories of how mother's craft love through crafting. ♥ I had the idea to publish these stories together after the recent take your child to school day - my son spent the day in the monster studio with me and made two monsters of his own, and now he has an avid interest in sewing and spending time with me in the studio! The amazing feeling of sharing creation with your child is difficult to explain. It fills your heart with so much pride and joy seeing those tiny hands learn a new skill, a new hobby, something they will remember for the rest of their lives. ♥ 

I grew up in the Great Smoky Mountains, surrounded by heirloom crafts. Quilting, wood working, fiber arts, blacksmiths, basket weaving and more. My mom made us the majority of our clothing, and at the time, I was a huge tomboy so I was appalled by the thought  of these fancy dresses with puffy sleeves and layered skirts. Now I marvel at the attention to detail, the pearl and lace trimmings, the piping, the fabric choices - my mom is an incredibly talented seamstress! My mom and dad taught me to hand quilt when I was about eight, and my mom taught me how to card roving and use a drop spindle when I was nine. My mom encouraged me and my brother to paint ceramics, and I won second place twice in competitions with my ceramic painting (while my brother won first place over and over for years - he is a true master artist!). She has always told me I was creative and could really make a go at that profession, and look at me now, three and half years into owning my own creative business. I owe so much of my success to my mother and her encouragement to learn new arts and pursue a creative career! ♥

I hope you enjoy the following stories - they are sweet evidence that the art of craft creates memories children will treasure through adulthood:

From Kelly:

My Grandmama was the master of the sewing machine. And she made sure each of her eight children knew how to sew. My Mother is one of them. She was taught at a young age, so she taught her children at a young age.  My siblings and I each started with sewing on buttons at 3-4 years of age. And I started with straight seams on Mom’s machine at 4. She taught each of us how to make our own pillows for our own beds. As time went on, more projects were introduced. I made my first skirt at the age of nine. Yes, it was a simple straight seam, casing wasted, elastic skirt, but I made it. On that skirt I was taught how to do a formal hand stitched hem. Then more things were added: pillow cases, skirts, dresses, slip covers, and pattern reading. Everything guided and taught by my Mom. She always had us creating something, with all sorts of mediums.  The memory that stands out is the Halloween where we turned our garage into a Haunted House. Each idea within its haunted walls came from my Mom’s creativity.  There were all sorts of costumes she made and she included a number of my family members, including Grandmama (who was the Wicked Witch at the end handing out the tricks & treats). The characters she created were so detailed and vivid: a giant spider in a huge web (me), a Mad waitress (my sister) who served a live chopped off head (my Dad), a Giant wart-filled green Troll (my uncle), the headless horsemen (a cousin), and so many others. Each one sewn, painted, make-up, and put together by my Mom and us children. It was a family event. She is an inspiration to me. The very first sock I cut up was because my Mom told me I could. I get the joy of teaching my daughter. She has started to sew huge buttons onto a shoe string. And Penny threads pony beads onto pipe cleaners. And it thrilled my heart to watch at Christmas while Penny and my Mom sat at the table and crafted. They crafted Christmas trees out of ice cream cones, frosting, and sprinkles. It made Penny’s holiday to give key family members a tree that she made herself. 

From Tanya: 

I am so lucky to have the mom I do. She loved to do arts and crafts with me, and always had time to make them. I remember feeling like the best helper ever when we would make “booboo bunnies” for the craft business she had. They were terrycloth wash towels, folded and tied into a bunny shape with an opening for ice packs in the back. Looking back, they were so easy to make, but I just had a little kid’s patience. Luckily, Mom had the patience of a saint. I remember sitting with her reaching around me and showing me what to do. I’d get frustrated and she’d make the bunny ears flop so I’d giggle, then we’d be back to crafting. We made shadow boxes and forts, mobiles and costumes. I don’t think I had a store bought costume for Halloween until I was 16, and I was things like Joan of Arc and Cleopatra. We crafted something fun at least once a week. I remember having three books of crafting ideas, and exhausting every last one of them.

From Mellodi: 
I remember so many fond memories of my mother and I crafting together. However, the most fond memories happens to be when I first learned how to crochet. It wasn't much. We were having drug awareness week at school and had to wear these red bracelets you had to buy for a dollar. Mom got smart and decided to make some yarn bracelets for the kids to wear too. I wanted to help too. So, she taught me how to make my starter chain. Although I never had the patience growing up to learn anything past that first chain, it all changed when I got older. I can now happily crochet a hat, scarf or anything I desire and it's all thanks to my mother and how she kept trying to teach me different crafts as I grew up.

Submission from Margaret's daughter: 
Last year, me and mommy wanted to do something together. Mommy wanted to sew so we both started to sew. Mommy was using a sewing machine and I had to do mine by hand. When me and mommy were done we told each other what we made. I made a pillow and mommy made a doll dress for my doll that she made. And when she sleeps she can sleep on my pillow that I made!