I am a collector and crafter things. I spend much of my time procuring the very best items to come into my home and the rest of my time is spent making beautiful items to adorn my home. And if ever anybody comes into my home and likes one of those items there is a high likelihood that that person will leave with that item. I believe that the things that a person owns should be loved by them and if there’s ever a person that loves my things more than me then in general they are welcome to them.

I make things for many reasons. I believe that an item made by hands is a thing imbued with intention and love. When I make something for somebody I am thinking of all the reasons that I love them. If I am making something for my home I think of all the ways it will bring joy to my own life and the lives of others. I also create things for the sake of up-cycling, I happen to be one of those people that has a hard time throwing things away, but if I can take an item and like a phoenix have it rise from the ashes of its old self and create something new and beautiful then by George I’m going to do that. I recently had a very young millennial tell me that my house was “one large Pinterest ” having never used Pinterest I cannot be 100% sure of what this person intended when they said this, but I would like to believe that this was some sort of complement.

I am also straight cheap as hell. It embarrasses my husband to no end that while in a store I will say “I can make that” snap a picture of said item and walk out. A great example of this was while on vacation at Tahoe I saw these beautiful clear glass ornaments with a single feather in them. They were $75 a piece! So I went home bought a dozen clear glass ornaments from a craft store and filled them with single feathers I had found on my walks. They are stunning, and cost me $5.99 for a dozen. On a side note if you ever want to do this lichen, moss and the fluff from milk weed also looks breath taking inside of clear glass ornaments. These make awesome Holiday gifts when you package a combination of these.

The remaining items in my home if not made by myself or the hands of others, consist mostly of items that once belong to other people. I get the upmost pleasure from going through thrift store and finding an item for a ridiculously low price. Best case scenario is when it still has the original tags on it to I know how much money I am saving. My favorite clothes and household items have come from local thrift stores and goodwill’s. The other way I have retrieved items for my home is they have been handed down from the households I have taken refuge in over the years. It’s the teal kitchen pot, mixing bowl, and pizelle that my grandmother used to use. It’s the bench, cake stand, and old bird cage from my mother in law. It’s my moms old tea tin collection and my uncles collection of old license plates. It’s a dear friends wooden box, or my other friends earrings from college. I could go on and on with this list, but I think it’s more important to talk about what these things represent.

When I look at an item that was handed down to me by someone I love, I think of that person. I am reminded that, that person loved me, that I am worthy of not just their love, but love in general. I also think about that person. I think about their strengths, the reasons I admire them, and why I love them. Then I strive to exemplify these characteristics. When I need to be strong for a meeting I wear a particular pair of earrings from a fiery lady I know, when needing to feel comforted I drink a cup of tea from a mug given to me by someone who loves me endlessly, when I am struggling in my marriage I wear a sweater my husband got for me, and when I am at a loss with nowhere to turn I make pizzelle on my Grandmother iron.

*In the picture at the top of the page the lace was made by my great grandmother, the brown floral patter was from a pillow given to me by my mother in law, both of these were up cycled and saved from going in the trash after washing mishaps. The succulent pattern was purchased at a Ten Thousand Villages.