"Arts & Crafts Keep You Sane"

From Mary's Shop at maryengelbreit.com

Our mom was a crafty lady. She loved to sew, crochet, knit, quilt, and other things... lots and lots of other things. She taught us some of these things. My sister and I still attempt to be "crafty" sometimes...

Mom really loved Mary Engelbreit... she was inspired by her and bought her magazines and hung pictures of her art all around the house. I still have a print of this one... with the lady (who I think really looks like my mom) sitting at a table working on some kind of project.
The text on the print says:
​ "Arts And Crafts Keep You Sane."​

So there is Thrifting Therapy and Art Therapy...
HEY! Art Therapy is really a thing though isn't it! You're welcome!

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My mom knew this... she found escape in making things. In imagining, planning, collecting supplies (see side note), creating, and channeling her inner rage into the process... and sometimes into the product... 
​
When we are crafting, I still see that very same rage sometimes in Nicole, my sister! Mom use to get mad when things were not working out the way she wanted and she would have choice words to say and sometimes whatever she was working on would end up in a crumpled ball on the floor.

Nicole does this too!!! And I laugh and laugh, which I am sure just makes Nicole more angry. But what Nicole doesn't probably realize is that I am not really laughing at her, but really just thinking about our mom and how she would do the same thing.
Really Nicole! This is the truth. 😉😇

Side note: The "collecting of supplies" is also a therapy in itself... true crafters have hoards and hoards of supplies. This is NOT a sickness.
Mom could spend HOURS picking out just the right twelve fabrics for her next quilt... and often there were quilts that were never made... but oh the joy of looking at those fabrics. I still have a bin of her fabrics. This is called fabric therapy or craft supplies therapy (ok I am open to a new catchy term for this... suggestions please.) But anyway... you're welcome again!

The Silhouette! The telltale sign of a craft hoarder. I mean therapist.

My mom never gave herself any credit either... Neither does Nicole.
Mom was always quick to point out her supposed mistakes... Nicole does this too.
"Oh look at how crooked that turned out." 
"This is so *scorkey!"
"This sucks, I am going to throw it away."
I have talked them both off the side of the "craft cliff" more than once.

Mom was very talented... and so is Nicole. My mom didn't believe that about herself... neither does Nicole.
Because... Like most of us do, we all spend too much time comparing our work to what others do, instead of enjoying the process of creating.
We all gotta stop doing that!

"Arts & Crafts" really is more about the process than the product anyway, right! It is about the frustration and the feel good feeling you get when something DOES turn out and it is cute and you feel really proud, like "holy shit look at that.. I made that and it isn't horrible." That is what matters! Right! 

So today we crafted...

Nicole was stenciling... her favorite thing to do!

Even Nicole's daughter Anna is a crafter. She is probably the most talented of us all actually. (BTW - She does that angry craft rage thing too.)

And when we get together and hang out and try to make stuff it usually never fails that crap gets messed up and it seems like nothing works out half the time, and we yell and curse, and get super frustrated... but we also laugh, and laugh, and laugh and it feels so good. 

Maybe being crafty is therapeutic for us because it reminds us of mom... or maybe because we find out we are capable of more than we thought we were, or maybe it is the laughing, or maybe it is a combination of all of these things. Who knows. (Well my mom probably does, because... T-Bomb! Moms know everything.)

Look at this amazing stove cover Nicole made!

Yes, we always laugh! And yes, we often break things... (SORRY SISTER! I hope the heat press isn't totally broken!!!) And we always have fun and I truly believe it does help keep us sane! 

Also, some of our crafty stuff is for sale in The Shop.
You are invited to check it out!

​Are you a crafty person? We would love to hear about your projects!
​Please share in the comments. 

P.S. If you have never tried making something and you want to give crafty stuff a try, I highly suggest checking out Mary Engelbreit's site! maryengelbreit.com She sells materials and other stuff and even has free coloring sheets you can download. ​That is a good place to start! And if you choose to go on Pinterest you should probably BE COOL and follow The Reincarnated Rabbit! Just be careful because Pinterest is a rabbit hole that can be hard to find your way out of! (See what I did there!)

Glossary:
* Scorky - when something is messed up and looks goofy and makes you say out loud, "Well this is stupid!"
I honestly don't know how this is really spelled, my mom said it all the time but it might have been a made up word...