Tag Archives: giving

Feb 10

Giving a gift of love…give handmade (sorry, Hallmark)

Sabrina's birthday card

My daughter’s best friend has a birthday coming up this Saturday. As we looked around a local store for something to give as a gift, I completely bypassed the greeting card aisle. On purpose. My thinking: why give Hallmark my money, when I can make one myself? I can choose the colors, the theme, the styling, even customize it with Sabrina’s name (the birthday girl)…and it still won’t cost me as much as that cookie-cutter card you find on aisle 3a. Of course, it does help that being an avid scrapbooker, I have loads of colorful papers, stickers, shape punchers, rubber stamps, etc. It’s not just saving money (um…I did have to buy those papers, stickers and such at one time or other…), but it’s the love of crafting something by hand. It’s a stress-reliever, an energizer, a creative outlet, a mental “upper”, if you will. It is impossible for me to feel anything but peace, happiness and contentment when I scrapbook a page, make a card, or create any other craft project. That’s one of the reasons I started my own little enterprise I call Retrospect; I like to make things, and I love even more to share them. Business may not be booming at the moment, but I’m not in it to be the next Martha Stewart. It can be expensive, and I want to have fun. So I will hopefully make a little money while doing what I love. Having a shop in Etsy has made me feel like part of a community, as well. Most everything on the site is hand-crafted, and I have come to really appreciate this, versus buying something from a chain store: it’s personal, it’s unique, it’s always made with love… and that makes it special. Since not everyone has the time or inclination to make something by hand (although I highly condone trying, you can’t go wrong!), I feel compelled to suggest visiting the Etsy site for anything you might be needing, whether it’s for yourself, or for someone else (you know, Valentines Day is coming): www.etsy.com. Feel free to visit my shop there (
http://www.etsy.com/shop/simplyretrospect
), or my website (
http://www.simplyretrospective.com/
). Happy crafting!

Dec 14

A Not-so-cheesy Christmas tree…

This is not my Christmas tree, but I like it. It lives in a friend’s home, where I attended a party last Saturday night. This photo, and a conversation I had with my Mom just a short while ago, conjured up memories of a magical Christmas several years ago. I was a newly single mother with an infant and very little money. Times were very difficult for me not only financially, but emotionally, as well. At that time, I worked the swing shift at the hospital, and one night I came home to a decorated Christmas tree in my living room. Talk about a shock; the light switch nearest the front door also activated the Christmas tree lights, so it was the first thing I saw when I entered my apartment. I was so touched and overwhelmed, I wept. How? Who? Why? At that time, I did not know, I only saw a miracle. A Christmas miracle. No, I’m not being cheesy. I later found out it was my family’s doing, and I was humbled by it. I used that tree and the decorations year after year (even though it showed some wear and tear from a small child who shall remain nameless…), until I met and fell in love with a Jewish man who didn’t go for all the commercialism of the season, and especially not fake Christmas trees. That made me very sad, but at some point, as I was moving to a new apartment from that apartment to a new one with my new partner, the tree came out of storage, and caught the attention of a neighbor who did not have a tree. You see, as we were moving things out, some neighbors came by to see if they could help themselves to anything we no longer needed and didn’t want to move. The Christmas tree found a new home with that neighbor who didn’t have a tree. I was sad to see it go, but I didn’t know if I would be using it again, and it felt good to pass it on to someone who was also experiencing difficult times. In the spirit of Christmas, giving to others feels good. Even if it’s not Christmas at that moment.

P.s. No matter what religion you are, you can have a Christmas tree. They’re pretty, and when they’re real they smell good. Don’t ever let anyone prevent you from having one, if you want it!