I come from a a crafty, slightly artsy family. My mother loved most anything craft-related---sewing, quilting, painting, to name a few. She came from a very poor family--her daddy was a share-cropper and they moved often for him to find work. They were a happy family, but always struggled to make ends meet. Her sewing began out of necessity--it was the only way to have something new to wear, but, evolved into something so much more--A love not only of handcrafts, but of art and the history of art.
She passed that love of art to all of us kids. At a very young age, I sewed my first dress---a sloppily cut-up pillowcase that was sewn up on the sides with long, childish stitches. I remember being very disappointed that my mother wouldn't let me wear it, but in hindsight, I realize that she knew there would be lots more showing than my sewing talent if I wore it out in public. I was hooked, however, and haven't really stopped since. By the time I was in junior high, I pretty much made everything I wore. And that was back when it wasn't at all cool to have handmade clothes!
My clothing construction waned through my college years, as I enjoyed crafts such as cross-stitch instead, but once I gave birth to my daughters, the love was once again rekindled. I loved the beautiful, classic children's clothes that were so popular and having learned the frugal lessons of my mother, I knew that I could make my own affordable clothes for my daughters. And I did! That gave birth to my own small business that provided just enough extra money to allow me to be a stay-at-home mom for several years while they were young. I smocked and sewed classic children's clothes for people and a local children's store. The name of my business??? You guessed it: Mommy's Treasures!!
That was back in the 80's when there were few home computers, no easy graphic design tools, and certainly no Vistaprint! So, I drew my own logo and had cards and statements printed at a local business. I don't remember how much I actually paid for my box of business cards (that were also used as clothing hang tags), or for the sew-in labels, but you can get them MUCH cheaper now in all sorts of designs!!
Years later, back in 2007, when I decided to start a blog, it only seemed to make sense to name it Mommy's Treasures---a place to document with words and photos my stories about people that I love and the things that I love to do!
She passed that love of art to all of us kids. At a very young age, I sewed my first dress---a sloppily cut-up pillowcase that was sewn up on the sides with long, childish stitches. I remember being very disappointed that my mother wouldn't let me wear it, but in hindsight, I realize that she knew there would be lots more showing than my sewing talent if I wore it out in public. I was hooked, however, and haven't really stopped since. By the time I was in junior high, I pretty much made everything I wore. And that was back when it wasn't at all cool to have handmade clothes!
My clothing construction waned through my college years, as I enjoyed crafts such as cross-stitch instead, but once I gave birth to my daughters, the love was once again rekindled. I loved the beautiful, classic children's clothes that were so popular and having learned the frugal lessons of my mother, I knew that I could make my own affordable clothes for my daughters. And I did! That gave birth to my own small business that provided just enough extra money to allow me to be a stay-at-home mom for several years while they were young. I smocked and sewed classic children's clothes for people and a local children's store. The name of my business??? You guessed it: Mommy's Treasures!!
That was back in the 80's when there were few home computers, no easy graphic design tools, and certainly no Vistaprint! So, I drew my own logo and had cards and statements printed at a local business. I don't remember how much I actually paid for my box of business cards (that were also used as clothing hang tags), or for the sew-in labels, but you can get them MUCH cheaper now in all sorts of designs!!
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You know what has been so neat about reading this Blog-Tember series of posts... most of this stuff I already know about you, but I haven't actually heard it from your voice. The "whys" and the "hows" behind the things that I take for granted... Love ya lots! Keep it up!
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