gorgeous photo is by scott3eh found on flick’r

as you may know…this week is CHA & tons of new stuff is being showcased…

maybe it’s the snow that is quickly approaching & the chill in the air here in NY…but rather than “the new” that is popping up everywhere on blogs these days, this week i’m treasuring “the old”…

i’ve been seeking out those old crafty comforts during these winter days..sewing, stitching, embroidery, writing…trying my hand at knitting…i’ve gravitated to those timeless & treasured crafts that sometimes get lost in the shuffle in my “never a dull moment” schedule…but when the schools get closed for bad weather & the icy roads make running here, there & everywhere impossible…i retreat to my crafts & enjoy them immensely…

and it is during these quiet crafting times i become acutely aware of how lucky i am to have been taught such wonderful hobbies & crafty pursuits…i also become overwhelmed with gratitude to my parents…

my mother shared her knowledge & expertise with me & it is because of her own skill, cleverness, ingenuity & attitude of “oh i can make that!” that i never felt enslaved by what was on the store shelves…she is practical & brilliant and i swear would give macgyver a run for his money…

on the other hand, my father has an imagination that could light New York City…from him i learned to never let my surroundings dictate my vision…that individuality is an amazing & powerful thing…that uniqueness is truly a treasure…

i remember my mom teaching me to crochet when i was little (& i need to ask here to give me a refresher course soon)…my mother taught me how to sew as well…i was a horrible sewing student & had no patience for making the details just so…she would sigh & say to me “i guess going a hundred miles an hour no one will notice the difference”…i totally drove her crazy…lol…but now that i’m older i’m so thankful that she did share these skills with me…i wouldn’t call myself a seemstress by any stretch of the word, but i love using my sewing machine in my paper crafting & because of her patience & skill in teaching me, i know my way around a machine and am confident operating it…in high school, i may have hated the fact that all my friends had boutique bought prom dresses, while mine was homemade…but now i see that, so much more than a prom dress, i was given an invaluable gift…one that is so much better than that puple irridecsent bubble hemmed dress in the shop window that i coveted back then :)

so i’m savoring these grey, quiet, homebound, crafty winter days…now acutely aware of what wonderful gifts i have been given and dedicated to passing them on to my kids…

isn’t craft awesome?!

so who taught you crafting?  what memories do you have of when you were little learning to sew or paint or knit?  we’d love for you to share them with us :)

have a happy tuesday!

xoxo

gi

have you seen this? that amazing art journaling on the cover of the spring issue of artful blogging belongs to our beautiful creative team member dina. congratulations dina!! somerset knows amazing talent when they see it ;)

you can see more on dina’s blog {{here}}.

denise : embrace : dorothea kit

i’ve been cruising galleries, both our flickr group as well as other online sites looking for inspiration like this. and these are just a few of the pages and projects created with last months kit that i came across. such amazing work, don’t you think?

katie : acrylic letter wall hanging : dorothea kit

if you’ve seen a project or layout created with one of our kits please link it up here so we can all enjoy it.

kristina : poser : dorothea + peppermint fields kits

and in case you thought i forgot, and i didn’t, the winner of our reveal night giveaway is :

which of course means that linda f. you are the winner! please email us at info@kennerroad.com and we’ll get your lovely pile of mm goodies to you asap.

xo

Amy Kant! My l’il Carter drew your name as the winner for the new year’s resolution challenge RAK! :) We’ll be sending you an Almanac kit from last month…woot! Just email your address to me or to kl, and we’ll get it right out to. Thanks to all who played along!

It’s almost that time, our January kits go live tonight at midnight est {9pm pst}. But until then leave a comment here and we will pick a winner on the 20th to receive these sweet ‘Love Notes’ goodies from Making Memories.