a shout out to my mom as I ponder which came first - the chicken or the egg.

This post is a shout out to my mom .  . . (Awww, isn't that sweet!)  It also answers the question, "Why do you blog about this?  Couldn't you still challenge yourself to complete twelve crafts before next Christmas without blogging?"

Well, blogging serves two purposes for me.

First, writing about crafting/sewing somehow keeps me creatively inspired and motivated to keep sewing/crafting.  Truth be told, I think I would have probably given up on this year-long challenge about half way through the first crayon roll if I wasn't writing about it.  It's as if one gives life to the other . . . kind of a "Which came first - the chicken or the egg?" thing.  

Second, a few years ago my mom gave me a memory chest.  Inside the chest are treasures from the past . . . my past. 

A dress my mom made for me that matched a dress that my doll wore.

A sewing card my mom made for me to practice my sewing skills.  (If you take a close look at it, you will see why I didn't pick up sewing again until the age of 32.)

Two clay hearts on a string that my mom made with me.  

A table runner my mom made for her mom.

A stenciled tulip my mom made into a wall-hanging.  

Many other toys, books, trinkets full of childhood memories. 

I had completely forgotten that my mom used to craft, sew, paint, etc when I was little because as my brother and I got older, she stopped doing those things.  Around the time she gave me this chest full of memories, I asked her why she stopped doing those things. She explained that between raising children, working and the other stuff of life there wasn't much room for crafting, sewing and painting.  She gave those things up to care for us and provide for us.  I was humbled by that reality because as a kid I had no idea that she sacrificed a part of her creative being for me.  I appreciate having the memory chest to remind me of this part of my mom.

This chest sits in our living room, and my girls regularly beg me to open it so that they can look at the special things inside and hear the stories of my childhood.  I have an opportunity to tell them about myself and my mom.  My oldest daughter said to me the other day when she was playing with the sewing cards I made her, "Mommy, will you put these in my very own memory chest someday too?"  

In this blog, I have the opportunity to pass on memories to my girls - memories of what I made for them, how much I loved them and a glimpse of what gave me creative life as a young mom.  So . . . I'm printing out these pages and one day, years and years and years from now maybe my daughters will open up their memory chests, pull out these faded pages and show their children the projects I made just for them.

Craft on!