I come from a long line crafters. My great grandmother was a dress maker in the early 1900s. Her daughter, my grandmother, was the queen of crafters. She sewed, she knitted, she was a floral arranger extraordinaire...to the point where she even grew and dried her own flowers for her arrangements. I remember as a child being fascinated by her walk up attic, which held thousands of treasures...hundreds of yards of fabric, little tiny vases bought at tag sales for her flower arrangements, a dazzling array of buttons...I could get lost up there for hours. To me, it was paradise. To my mother, it was a lot of junk to get rid of when my grandmother died. I still remember coming home from school one afternoon to see boxes flying out the attic window. Apparently, Mom had gotten tired of walking up and down three flights of stairs.
The floral arranging talent was passed on to my mother, who can make an arrangement and indeed, decorate a whole room with her eyes closed...though if you asked her, she'd say she's not talented. The sewing skills went on to my sister, who makes amazing quilts. Me? Well...I kinda do it all.
Jewelry designing is my newest adventure in the crafting world, and I love it. I can sit in my craft studio for hours just looking at my beads and dreaming up designs. It's only when the sun starts to go down that I realize I've been up there all day and haven't actually made anything! I am especially influenced by vintage pieces, anything victorian through the 1960's, and like to incorporate as much of those objects into my work as I can. I love the idea of taking an unwearable piece of jewelry that was once loved and giving it a new life so that it can be loved again. I believe jewelry is the best pick me up you can buy yourself-it's generally an inexpensive treat, and you feel better about yourself when you are wearing something pretty.
May my jewelry bring you joy...and compliments! :)