A few years ago it became apparent that my mom couldn’t stay in her house anymore. She was forgetting that she left the stove on, not paying her bills and stuff like that. With my dad no longer around and being the only kid it was up to me to move my mom into an assisted living facility and sell her house.
My mom was pregnant with me when they moved into the little 1940s bungalow in suburban San Diego. The house was filled with stuff so there was a lot to sort thru. My mom was always really into crafts and very active in the PTA, Girl Scouts and her church group. If there was a craft fair, church bazaar or event to decorate you’d be sure that there was some Aleene’s Tacky Glue in use in the spare bedroom that she used for her crafts and sewing.
There were tons of craft supplies and fabric stockpiled at the house. Unfortunately, since most of my mom’s crafts were either decoration, gifts or sold at a craft fair/church bazaar there really weren’t any actual completed craft projects. All I found was one little holiday decoration - a reindeer made from 2 Chinese hot mustard cups, brown pipe cleaners, googly eyes and a tiny red pompom. It made me smile. I especially love that she used a a bit too much glue for the nose. I now display it proudly on the shelf next to my desk along with some other things I find inspiration in.
Of course growing up in such a crafty environment rubbed off on me and is what in part lead me to doing this blog. I hope that my little musings about crafts of the 60s and 70s provide you with some inspiration or maybe bring back a happy little crafty memory from your past. I lost my mom a couple of weeks ago and it's my wish that her crafty legacy (and by extention that of all of the other crafty moms and grandmothers out there) can live on through my blog. I think she would have gotten a kick out of that.
