Family Heirlooms, Crafted with Love

I'm an "Antiques Road Show" fan.  It's fascinating to see the amazing array of things that are collectible and valuable and the various ways they came into the possession of the current owner.  I'm jealous of those of you in the midwest and east with spacious basements and attics.  We in the west don't have them, so we don't end up owning the family "junk" of one generation that becomes the treasure of the next!  I especially love when the show reveals that something is extremely valuable, yet the owner would never part with it because of how much they love and treasure the memory of the person that gave it to them.

If an item comes from someone we deeply loved, we call it an heirloom.  We cultivate respect and love for it and the person who made it, or gave it to us, by sharing their stories with our children.  Through this process of family storytelling, they too come to love and treasure it and pass it down to their generations.  If it is merely old or came from a crotchity old aunt of ours, we call it an antique and we just might part with it for the right price!  The difference isn't the item it's the relationship…

You that are crafters, every piece of creativity that you make (and for the most part give away) has the potential to be an heirloom to your children and your children's children.  They watch you put your heart and soul into its making.  They see you express all the love that you feel in the delicate care you take in your creations.  Sometimes even the content of your creations, such as scrapbooks or quilts or framed sentiments are full of messages of love.  A beautifully detailed, hand-made card or minibook will probably never be thrown away.  It will be tucked away to bring back the priceless memories of you.  The work of your hands will continue to communicate your love, for generations to come.  Remember that as you play in your craft room.  You're not just playing, you're doing very important work… you're creating heirlooms of the future for your family to treasure and keep!  Audrey Jeanne Roberts

One thought on “Family Heirlooms, Crafted with Love”

  1. I never thought that any of my crafts could ever be termed an “heirloom”, but you are so right about that.

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