Category: community

One year+ later…

by Tanya

Wow. The past so-many months descended like a silent storm, keeping us isolated, worried, and hyper-vigilant. How have we managed? How have we endured? How can we pay tribute to loved ones we’ve lost and offer hope and support to loved ones who are forever changed because of a virus that came raining down?

I turned to creation—and the Creator. I feel more alive when I’m making something. I bet you do, too. It doesn’t matter if it’s making a batch of your favorite soup, painting a landscape (or your kitchen walls), photographing the brilliantly silly birds that stop by the feeder, or handcrafting something with yarn, fabric, clay, or paper. Making is magic. Making is power. Making is soothing. Making makes us more human.

I’m surrounded by handmade things. My gallery of yarn babies keep watch over me here in my office/craft room. And behind them is a bold, happy art piece by one of my favorite people, Michael J. Rosen. He knows my love for all things purple!

And I face a big purple wall that’s covered with photos of my tribe—sons, daughters-in-law, grandsons. Beside them is a lovely cross-stitched gift from a dear friend. I’m surrounded by the things that inspire me. Family. Friends. Art. Images. Creativity in every form.

I also keep a neat stack of the many, many love-filled notes and cards I’ve received since the pandemic began. They fill me with joy. They remind me that people are good. But most of all, they remind me of the people themselves, dear friends and family members who have the biggest, best hearts in the whole wide world. What a lovely cocoon we all wrapped around each other, threads of words woven with kindness, concern, encouragement, hope. These are the creations that surround me. I wanted to share them with you so you can look around and find the things that bring you joy.

And I’ll end this post by suggesting, in the gentlest but strongest way, that you go forth and create…make…imagine…share…the gifts the Creator has given you, too.

Digital detox: good for the brain and soul

by Tanya

We need rest, the rest that comes from disconnecting. We introverts feel this in our bones. The world can become an enormous, loud, incoherent monster jumping in front of our faces. It’s a monster that demands to be heard and fed, not daily, but minute by minute until we turn off the noise and lights. We plug in our gadgets to recharge the monster, but we find ourselves with lower and lower battery life after a while.

Photo by William Iven on Unsplash

Critical dichotomy: We need to unplug in order to recharge.

The best way for me to leave the digital gizmos alone is to find something else to do. I am not a sitter-and-thinker. I am a doer-and-thinker. The more my hands and brain work together, the happier I am. Crafting is my happy place. Writing with instruments instead of a keyboard feels natural to me. In fact, most of the books I’ve written were first drafted on yellow legal pads with either 1) a good old Bic pen or 2) a favorite fountain pen.

I also find contentment in writing notes or sending cards to people. No email can convey what one wants to say as well as sending a handwritten note. It says “I really wanted to think about you while I wrote this. I want you to see me by way of my own unique handwriting. Handwriting is a kiss blown to the receiver.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

So I’ve come up with an idea that combines art, crafting, and the handwritten word. I call it Tanya’s Treasure Box. It’s a little box filled with things that will make your soul sigh, your heart sing, and your mind relax. Yes, I will be selling them on Etsy. But before I do that, I want to share some of my treasures with a few of you—for free. Why? Because of my heartfelt gratitude for your friendship.

Want to learn more? Stay tuned here, on my Heartfelt Crafts Facebook page, and on my new Instagram page.

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash
*Not the actual boxes, but these are amazing!!!

Let’s Fill Those Pockets, Part 2

by Tanya

In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. —Albert Schweitzer

This is one reason I love doing pocket letters. It allows me to send a little spark of hope, friendship, laughter, or love to my friends. Jennifer and I have known each other for more than 20 years, and most of those years we’ve been separated by hundreds of miles. Mailing each other cards, notes, stickers (I got those yesterday!), packages, and now pocket letters has kept our friendship alive and well. I believe in connections. But connections break if we don’t tend to them. This project we’re working on together in this set of blogs can strengthen the bonds of friendship no matter the distance between the sender and receiver.

Today we’re going to finish that pocket letter! Get out your supplies, including the cards you’ve cut to size. Let the fun begin!

FIRST: I like to insert all of my cards and arrange them in a way that’s random, attractive, and colorful.

   Front (see the binder holes on the left?)

Back

My mixed-bag of papers has a loose theme that could be kitchen-y or calico-y or retro. I just liked how all of the patterns and colors worked together.

NEXT: Now I get to go digging through my containers of embellishments. (I won’t admit how many of those I have.) I’m looking for stickers, decorative elements, etc. to add to each card. Here’s one of my hoards:

ALSO NEXT: The next photos will show you how I took different paper cards and applied stuff to them. 

     

    

ALMOST DONE: After every card has its special message, design, or gift included (tea bags fit perfectly in a pocket!), just put them into the spaces until the page is filled (on both sides if you want).

I added some tea bags to three pockets in the back before sending this PL to one of my new friends, Linda. (Hi, Linda!)

Sending? That’s right! These are meant to be mailed. Just accordion-fold the three horizontal sections and the whole thing fits a standard business-size envelope. If it weighs less than 13 ounces, you only need one first-class stamp. Most of mine take two stamps—sometimes I add a third one if the envelope is extra-thick.

So try one! There’s nothing about this that has to be perfect. It’s easy, creative, and filled with love. That’s almost as good as a doughnut!

Send me your photos of finished or in-progress pocket letters. I’d love to share them with my blog followers and on my Heartfelt Crafts Facebook page. Send them to me at tanya (at) heartfeltcrafts (dot) com.


 

And we have a winner!

by Tanya

Kirby was under the weather, so he opted out of helping choose the winner of my first giveaway. I used the old-fashioned pick-a-name-out-of-a-bowl method instead. A tiny bowl. Only seven entries. Only three different names. But I promised a winner, and I’m delivering! So . . .

Congratulations, Jane Heitman Healy! I hope you like the goodies coming your way. What are they? Well, just look! (I’ll be messaging you to get your mailing address today.) 

Hey, I don’t mess around when it comes to sharing craft supplies! Stay tuned for another giveaway not so long from now. Subscribing helps. And following Heartfelt Crafts on Facebook doesn’t hurt either.

I love you, my crafting friends!