Beth and her crafty story

I started being crafty at a very young age.  I was doing hand embroidery and using a sewing machine before I was even in grade school.  My mom was an amazing teacher!  Through the years, I have tackled many different forms of crafting, but my current crafting love is with paper.  I got my first taste in the paper crafting world when I made my wedding invitations, programs, etc. over 10 years ago.  I didn’t really dive into it until after our second son was born.  I was adamant that I create a beautiful album for him like one we had received as a gift when my oldest son was born.  My husband, ever supportive of my creative adventures, offered to buy me an electronic cutting machine for that purpose.  For the past 6 years, I have been a collector of beautiful papers and love to use them to create many cards and 3D paper items.  I also make some scrapbook layouts.   My single most favorite scrapbooking tool is my Silhouette Cameo.  Without it, I wouldn’t be able to create nearly as much as I do.

 

 

I love paper crafting because of all the gorgeous paper prints and textures that are out there.  It is very rare that I create a project without using patterned paper.  They all have a different look, style, and/or feel to the different papers, and I really enjoy picking out which ones work best for my current project.  Card making is fun for me simply because I get to put smiles on other people’s faces when they receive a card I made for them.  The other thing that really draws me to paper crafting, 3D in particular, is the awe of being able to create something so beautiful and intricate out of a simple, flat piece of paper.  It really shows that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, like so many other things in life. 

 

 

 

My mom is at the center of most of my crafting memories.  She taught me how to sew when I was very young and was always so patient with me!  My sisters and I call her the queen of the seam ripper since she would always be ready to help us correct the mistakes we would inevitably make.  Some of my first sewing projects were doll clothes and hair bows   One of my most recent large project memories are the three generation quilts that my mom, one of my sisters, and I are taking on.  My grandma had embroidered several quilt blocks before she passed away, enough for a quilt for each of my 5 siblings and I!  We are slowly working at pairing these blocks with fabrics and designing the quilt tops so we each can have those memories. 

 

 

I try to get my boys involved in my crafting as well.  My youngest is 3 and loves to sit on my lap “helping” with my projects.