Crafts Have Come a Long Way!

In 1996, I started scrapbooking. My friend Tamara became a Creative Memories consultant and invited me to one of her workshops. Wow, it was awesome and I was totally hooked! I bought the biggest kit she had, which included a scrapbook, refill pages, page protectors, 5 pens, a pack of stickers, 4 shape templates, 10 diecuts, some adhesive squares, and 2 decorative scissors. I started looking at craft stores for other products as well, but pretty much found the same things I already had in the 1 aisle they had devoted to scrapbook and stamp products. Within a couple of years, I started to see whole stores in my area devoted to scrapbooking! Even so, they still had pretty much the same things, just different stickers, diecuts, templates, and scissors. I took a break from scrapbooking for awhile and was amazed when I decided to get back into it in 2000. There were trimmers, circle cutters, and a bunch of other things I hadn't yet seen! I was hooked again! That was a short period though because in 2002, I had my first kid. I had pre-scrapped a few pages for a baby book and got those done, but to this day, he still only has half a baby book! Of course my craft room became his room and had to be moved to a large deep closet above the stairs where I could never get at anything conveniently when I had a few spare moments. My second son arrived in 2003 putting all that on the backburner. When my third son arrived in 2004, I had pretty much abandoned any thought of scrapbooking altogether. Now that I think I can start to get back into it, I can't believe all the new stuff out there! Affordable personal die-cut machines, eyelets, brads, paints, chipboard stuff, embellishments galore! I can't believe it!!! I can't wait to get back into it!!!

My crafting history

I have always loved crafts. I owe my DIY attitude to my parents!! My dad had a small hobby of working with wood and my mom was an excellent seamstress. My dad made the most awesome kitchen set and cradle for my older sister when she was 2 years old while my mom sewed little linens and painted. Of course, being the younger sister, this was handed down to me, but was nonetheless appreciated! My mom sewed my first Cabbage Patch Kid and made most of my favorite clothes as a kid. My mother was very frugal, which came in handy during a period when my dad was out of work. I remember that year we made my grandma all handmade gifts for Christmas. But I think the turning point, the revelation, the thing that really developed my love of crafts was the day my mom, sister, and I spent making our own beaded bracelets after my sister and I admired some we saw at a children's store. It's weird, but I KNOW I can pinpoint it to that day. It was the first time I had really and truly created something myself, without template or adult help; the first time I was able to truly express myself. We had a huge pack of beads and I was able to make all kinds of bracelets for seasons, holidays, ones that matched my outfits, and of course matching ones for my lovingly handcrafted Cabbage Patch Kid. Thanks, Mom & Dad!