A Japanese Prayer, A Teatowel & A Dream

I'm often asked how this whole "thing" started, so what better way to share my story than with my first ever blog post *eeek*. 

I was 10 years old and it was better than Christmas! I found $110 on the ground outside our local corner store (and in 1990 that was a crap ton of money to a 10 year old). Yes, I realize that I just completely dated myself here. 35 is the new 22 *clears throat*. 

I stood outside that shop with my Dad for what felt like 10 episodes of 60 Minutes. Zzz... BUT- he told me if no one came by in search of their lost power paper within that 20 minute period (good Samaritan that he is) I could have it #mindblown. I must have prayed in 19 different languages (seriously!) that not a soul would cross our path for those 1,200 seconds. 

Well, my version of Japanese must have worked, because literally, not.a.soul. appeared (南無). As we walked home, Dad asked me how I was going to spend it. My response? "Duh. At Lewiscraft". (R.I.P. Canada's version of Hobby Lobby.) And spend it I did. Every last, sweet, free money cent of it.  

The crazy spender crafter in me, was born.                                                                                 

Source:  www.knitty.com

 

From that day forward, it was all crafts, all the time. Oh, and I didn't discriminate, nuh-uh.  I obsessed over:

* Gimp (If you have to ask what this is, we're no longer friends. I kid, I kid) 

* Knitting

* Looming

* Paper crafting (I was a legend at building condos out of shoeboxes. Donald Trump eat your heart out!) 

* Paper Mache and 3D art

* Embroidery

* Sewing

* Mod Podge-ing everything that wasn't a fridge, stove, microwave or other un-liftable 

It was the combination of those forms of expression that led me to my niche and love for all.things.paper. Read: I turned into a budget blowing, ephemera hoarding, Project Life card obsessor (Hi Becky) and washi tape junkie zombie. Yup Junkie. Yup Zombie.

But then life happened...

Fast forward through many, MANY, awkward teenage years of angst and self loathing. I became far to busy with wearing makeup (blue eye shadow, brown lip liner, #ohyesidid) and chasing boys, to make friendship bracelets or Mum's next "Christmas scarf".  Life moved at the speed of light (as it still does-slow down time) and years passed without a single glance in the direction of my creativity. 

Sweet Summer of 2013.

A girlfriend of mine was offloading a serious scrapbooking haul for a Kevin-Hart-kinda-tiny price, and I think I had the bag in hand and was halfway to my car before she could finish her sentence. I went straight home and had at it...until the sun came up...By morning, my sleepless eyes were burning like rings of fire (bet you you're singing the lyrics to the song now, aren't you??).  But, I had championed a handful of greeting cards, tags, scrapbook layouts, and had even planned out my 54 handmade wedding thank you cards to show for it. BAM!  

I knew from that morning onwards, that I would never again abandon my creativity, as long as I had breath in me (I nursed its wounds with ice cream and gummy coke bottles, so we're square now!)

I carried on for months, basically DIY-ing anything and everything possible.  I made my own gift wrap, gift bags, tags, bows, cards and gift baskets.

Source: www.pinterest.com

Then I fell better-than-puppy-love in love with the Travelers Notebook system, planning, and art journaling (I know you feel me here!), and there was no stopping me. During every creative session, I gabbed on about how amazing it would be to craft and create for a living. My incredibly supportive husband turned around and said "Well do it, then".  

Lightbulb moment.

What was stopping me, other than me?! A thousand ideas swirled through my crafty brain like gelatos through texture paste, and I created a vision board to help me manifest my plan. More on this in a future post, kiddos.

Thank you HGTV Magazine!

One night, I was flipping through an old issue and came across a gorgeous kitchen article. It featured a series of different tea towel prints for easy summer decorating (who doesn't love easy, summer and decorating. Hello?!) I was smitten with two of the dozen or so prints. One was covered in vibrant green artichokes (random, right?!) and the other, elephants (even random-er). I interrupted my husband to see which he favoured (because for some reason I thought he'd actually care?!) and I said "I love the artichokes and elephants, how about you?" I paused for a split second and was subsequently sucker punched in the gut with the warm and fuzzies. I knew right then and there that whatever direction this crazy creative adventure was going to take, it was going to be named Artichokes & Elephants.

While I'm not yet creating full time, I'm crazy levels of blessed to be able to share my creativity with the world, all by the light of the moon, in the form of handmade travelers notebook inserts and journals #holyrunonsentence.  To top it off, I've found my jam creating memory keeping layouts for my daughter, within the pages of my handmade inserts. So.much.awesome. 

Well, you know how this story ends, my darlings. Shop your little hearts out, right here

I hear you loud and clear!

1. That you're curious about my memory keeping process. Thank you in 19 languages (because I've known that many since I was 10, remember?) for your interest and kind words; and 

2. That you're probably well over this blog post by now.  

Lucky for you, we're nearly at the finish line.  

Watch this space for a future post, detailing my process.

Finish ______.  See, told ya!

Yours in creativity,

x Natalie