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I wanted to do something special for my friend Deb.  We (not the royal we, lol, but us gals at the gift shop) are a bit behind in our celebrating and so I wanted to make up for belated bday best wishes.  My friend Deb is lovely, with a sharp witted, refreshing-tell-it-like-it-is personality and a generous heart to boot.  And did I mention creative?  Yep, she's an artsy gal too. 

I knew she would appreciate a little hand-made prezzie.  Or "suzzie" as my friend Judy calls 'em.  I decided to make her a little album.  As I worked on my goodies, assembling and glueing and cutting, my mind suddenly flashed back in time to an image of my Dad, sitting at the kitchen table, leaning over an old jewelry box and gluing old pieces of jewelry and gems to the outside of the box.  When one lifted the lid, one could see where the glass mirror inside had been painted with a delicate garden of vines and buds and tiny flowers that meandered around the edge of the glass.  Dad had done that as well.  What a gift for my Mom.  Not of monetary value, but of old (probably garage sale) finds, creativity and mostly love.  I got to thinking about all the times I watched my Dad "craft".  Clever man.  Growing up with four of us, funds were sometimes short and Dad's creativity could always do wonders.  I watched once as he put together a fruit basket for a co-worker, that looked great to eat and was beautiful too.  Painting, drawing, furniture re-do's, simple crafties, my Dad is a jack of all trades when it comes to working with his hands.  (Not to mention an awesome gardener too!).  Is it a bad thing to be crafty?  Sometimes the word is spit out with shame and I know I myself often get a mental image of pot-holders done on a plastic loom (not that there is anything wrong with that).  But I am crafty.  I enjoy "crafts".  I wear that label proudly.  I had read somewhere (can't remember where) that it is said that an artistisian hones his singular craft to an art, but a crafty person flits from project to project never quite mastering any.  I can't totally agree with that statement.  I think crafty is art.  IMHO any person who can make something out of a pile of something else, well, it might not be Picasso, but hey, it's art to me.  And while art is very subjective (beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I can't stand Jackson Pollack, but yet there are those that pay out the wazoo to own one), that's what makes the world go 'round.  So, a big hug and thanks to Dad for my "craftiness" gene.  It's one of my fav things about myself.  Where do you get your crafties from?

Oops!  Almost forgot, here's the little album.  Not quite completed, but will be in time for gift giving. (Click on any pic to see the piece fullsize). 

*sigh*.  Sorry, still having my current "love affair" with Daisy D's.  This paper is the coolest.  I know I say that about all the papers, but this one really is.  This is a little 8X8 paper pad called, Brighten my Day.  It contains 24 papers and 2 die cut sheets and 2 sticker sheets.  And no, I'm not a Daisy D rep, I just love there stuff.  I would be willing to be a paid spokesperson however.  Hello Daisy D's I'm here!

Anyway, I digress.  Deb has the coolest old house so I thought that I would make a little book for her to just record thoughts and pics and such about her home.  That's not her home on the front, just an old photo that I got from Manto Fev.  (Who has the coolest stuff, btw).  You can't really read the quote on the inside of the cover, but it reads, "there is no reason in prose or in rhyme, why a whole house should not be a poem".  While I don't really "get" it,  it sounded cool and fit the theme of the book nicely.  LOL.  She has a lovely yard, so thought she might like a page for garden pics.  I love to do little "half" pages with a tag stuck in the center.  I think it all looks so cool when the pages are on top of each other and you can glimpse the next page under.  I wanted to keep the whole theme with nests, birds, and all.  I loved the little quote, "Out of the dreariness, Into the cherriness, Come we with weariness, Home."   Don't cha love it?  That's Stephen Chalmers.  I always feel that way about my home, so good to well, get home to.  LOL.  The last few pages still need rub-on's and doo-dads and junk.  And I'm still playing with the cut-away hole thing.  So, even though the blue bird on the orange page looks like a sticker stuck on, it's actually a "see-through" hole.  I had fun with that.  NOT.  Mearsuring is not my strong point.  LOL.  But I love the way it looks.  I love doing these little books, won't someone please pay me to just make little books?  Course that would probably suck the fun right outta that.  LOL!  While I am still struggling with my "issues" of cuteness vs. grotty.  Clean/simple vs. packed to the max, I'm pleased about the way this is turning out.

Happy Wednesday to ya! 

Comments

[Sandra]

...prezzie..suzzie..what great new words I am learning!! Love It. I sure enjoyed the gal time last night. It was so much fun even tho I was tired around 10. Next time we get together for games and chat I will start taking vitamins a couple of weeks before...Ha, Ha.

Deb. was really surprised! That was the best. Talk to you later, have a great week.
Sandra

[Sherri]

Great story about your dad. Love the book you made for Deb, with its neat quotes, clever pages and pretty papers. You are definitely a crafty artist!

[Becky]

Cindy, I got my craft gene from my mom. She was always trying something new. Always had more than one project going. She always was able to see things have more than one use. She is 86 and in the early stages of alzheimers. The hardest part is not seeing that passion in her eyes anymore. Now it is only blank stares and confusion

[Barbara]

Oh what a LOVELY little book!!! I think someone is gonna be mighty HAPPY!!! I am a BIG Daisy D's fan...such pretty papers. Love them...need to look for this collection. Love that your Dad was crafty too!!!

[Barbara]

Oh, and I think I got my crafty gene from my Nanny and my Mom...Nanny was an AWESOME knitter and Mom was an excellent seamstress (too bad I did not appreciate it at the time).

[Anastasia]

this is really beautiful! she will love it Im sure...such pretty papers!!

[Lisa Renea]

What a treat for your blog fans to see this sweet book! Your pal will love it. Ya got talent, girlie! You've such a great way with unique color combos.