A little craftiness

I have made three little pencil rolls lately. The first one was made out of desperation, it had been a long day of mothering the littles and I needed to accomplish something that wouldn't be undone at the end of the day. So I retreated into the craft area, dug out felt, threaded a bobbin (which is always slightly nerve wracking for me) and didn't look back. I was so pleased with the way that it turned out I whipped up a smaller version for Noah's crayons and found little pieces of my sanity as I worked. Creating is soothing to the soul.

I used Soulemama's pattern from her book, the Creative Family. It was easy to follow and very rewarding. The dragon roll was made for a birthday party Luke attended yesterday. I made the dragon pattern on a piece of cardstock and then cut the green felt around it. I was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out and now have all sorts of animals floating around in my mind.

I find my mind wandering towards all sorts of crafy sewing projects lately and every time I sit down at my machine I think about my dear friend Shelley's generosity in giving me the machine, teaching me some new sewing tricks and just generally inspiring me. It's a really good life and I have some really terrific friends. I am reminded of something my brother Spencer told us, "There are more blessings in this life than problems". Well said, Elder Donaldson, and a good reminder. Somehow creating helps me to remember and focus more on the blessings than the problems.

the inside

the outside

dragon detail

(The rolls are, in fact, more than just cute. We have used them at church [and around the house] the past two weeks and I love the way that they silence the crayon and colored pencil noises. Also, the kids are motivated to put the pencils back because each pencil or crayon has its own little space.)