Inspiration: Past & Present

I love to learn about what inspires people to create things... so I'll share some of what inspires me.





My grandmother has always been a source of inspiration to me as she taught me so many wonderful skills, baking, sewing, homemaking. Spending weekends at her home was like a mini home-ec clinic each week and I have so many treasured memories of her in my grandparents' home.

Sadly, she is no longer with us, however, she lives on in so much of what I continue to create. Whether in my kitchen using her rolling pin or in my sewing room cutting fabric with a beautiful pair of antique scissors I inherited from her, I feel her spirit with me and it fuels my creative fire.




And, as I age, I am comforted to see my own hands begin to look more and more like hers did while working dough or guiding fabric through the presser foot of my sewing machine. I'm not sure that she'd approve of me using a food processor to make pie dough or the fact that my embroidery machine requires the assistance of a computer to do it's magic, for she rejoiced in things that were simple... she liked things done "the old fashioned way".
So, periodically, I take the time to honor her memory by doing things exactly as she did... the way her mother taught them to her and the way she taught them to my mother and then to me.

I am also inspired by so many of the talented women (and men) I've found on Etsy. And I love how infectious their creativity is and how it challenges me and contributes to my forward momentum. As much as I can appreciate the foundation I gained from my Grandmother's teachings, I do so appreciate living in an age where I can connect with like minds from far away places through the Etsy community.

Celebrate the 4th!

Independence Day. July 4, a U.S. legal holiday celebrating the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 1981

For me, Independence Day is about this day in our nation's history and so much more.  It's about spending a warm Summer day with friends and family... drinking homemade lemonade... watching children play in the sand wearing floppy white sun hats... eating BBQ chicken & burgers hot off the grill... yummy watermelon slices dripping with juice... homemade ice cream with fresh strawberries and blueberries... listening to the Boston Pops while camped out on Memorial Drive... and, of course... it's about FIREWORKS!  Whether viewed from Dad's boat in Biscayne Bay or from a picnic blanket by the Charles River, the feeling of pride as "the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air" reminds me that America is a pretty amazing place full of spectacular people!

It's one of those times when I take just a brief moment to be thankful for all that I have been blessed with, appreciative for my Grandfather's brave service to the US Air Force in WWII, and grateful to be an American!   

May you all have a Happy and Safe Fourth of July!