Memories

I have been crafting in one form or another it seems, my entire life. One of the first "crafting" memories I have: I think I was about seven years old and my mother had some baby blue taffeta fabric and I was sitting at her Singer sewing machine making a doll dress. I had a large family, 7 of us in all, and we used to have home made Christmases. We'd split up and either go with Mom to a table with fabric, glue and a plethora of odds and ends, or with Dad to the garage where wood, tools and imagination knew no limits. Mom used to make all our clothes. She was really good. My girl friends used to love the dresses she made me. She hasn't done that since I was in high school and I miss them. She made my doll furniture complete with bed linens. Dad was a true artist. His medium was oil paints. Wonderful scenes that came alive on canvas. He also was a cartoonist. He doodled all the time. He even did my wedding reception invitations. A cartoon of a little boy, in an over sized tux and a top hat pulling a wagon with the little girl bride in it, and a sign on the back of the wagon that said just married. I spent a lot of time in the "shop" with my Dad. We designed everything from children's toys to furniture with secret hiding places built in. In 2000, three years before he died, I had been painting some project, (in acrylic paints) and he was watching me. He said he had always wanted to try acrylic paints. I said do it I'll help. So he came up with a challenge. He found a picture in a book that was of a house on the bank of what looked like a pond or lake. He said "pick a season, fall, winter, spring or summer, and paint that picture in your season". "Don't show or tell your season". So in a couple of days I'll post the pictures of our paintings. By the way... I chose winter, he chose spring. Since then my Mom who hasn't painted in a while painted my favorite season...fall.

Dad's Spring version 2000

Debbie's Winter version 2000

Mom's Fall version 2008

Dad was 68 years old when he painted his version.

Mom was 74 year old when she painted her version.

Being creative has no age limit!

So no matter what age you are find and do what makes you happy.