Obsessed Much?

I find myself going overboard - all - the - time!!!

When I find something I like . . . I make one in ever color . . . remember the HATS? Well . . . I started creating these flowers . . . and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them!
I make them as a hairclip, headband or pin . . . and yes, I have a handful of different colors! However, the flowers you see are all for sale on my Etsy Shop . . . so you can enjoy wearing flowers, too!!!

I think I'm addicted to fabric and buttons now, too!

Preserving Memories

Drum Roll . . . . . . the much anticipated JOURNALS!!!

A few months ago I had a POST about a love-letter portfolio I made for a friend of mine . . . well, while planning and anticipating our Pioneer Trek, Dan and I decided to give each of our pioneer children a journal - and that portfolio became the inspiration. I used Tim Holtz Grungeboard and sewed the newsprint pages to the binding. I added a pocket for each day we would be on the trek in case they wanted to put in notes, photos, or other memorabilia. On our last day, we passed them around our little pioneer family and had everyone write something in each journal. It's a keepsake I hope our "children" will look back on with fondness. The one pictured is mine and I absolutely cherish it.

I have made more and added them to my Etsy shop. They are slightly different than the ones I made specifically for the trek, but a few have the same floral images - and I named some of them after of our pioneer children.

This "project" is by far one of my favorite and most meaningful!

Consumption: not the lethal kind!

For the last few months, I have been consumed with preparations for the youth pioneer trek that Dan and I recently participated in as a ma & pa. Aside from all the collecting and preparing our "family's" camping gear, practicing dutch oven cooking, and increasing my walking stamina - I sewed. And sewed. And sewed. And dabbled in other crafts as well. I tallied up all the stuff I made, not just for myself, but to donate to others:

2 dresses
10 bonnets
7 aprons
6 men's shirts
1 skirt
9 journals (additional post forthcoming)
1 crocheted shawl
altered 1 pair of bloomers

No wonder I did nothing else but breathe pioneer stories for an extended period of time!
The trek was an AMAZING experience! I myself have Mormon Pioneer heritage - so living this experience made me grateful, reflective and amazed. And unlike many of the young women on the trek - I really did like dressing up!!!

Here are my own two pioneer outfits: