One of my favorite things....

I thought I would make my very first post about one of my favorite things. It is a sentimental treasure that can never be replaced. If there was a house fire, it would be grabbed by my last free finger as I struggled with a pile of photo albums, precious jewelry, and important paperwork. It's my now deceased Grandma's old painted bottle of Mrs. Butterworth's syrup. My Grandma had a knack for loving stuff. But not just any old stuff- she liked things that were once something else and had been transformed into something new, exciting, and totally displayable. She loved her strawberry Christmas ornaments that were actually painted walnut shells with seedbeads glued to them and her hanging wall art that was a board of nails whose heads had been painted to make a floral scene. She loved her seashells turned cute little mice magnets. When I moved into my first house, there she was with a cheese platter that was an old wine bottle that had been melted flat.

She also liked things that had an interesting design concept- the trivet carved out of a continuous piece of spiraled wood that also could stand up like a basket with the turn of a screwed in handle. And she couldn't get enough of 3-D puzzles and games. Like the old fashioned handcuffs that had a ring in the middle that seemed impossible to dislodge, but was completely possible when done right. In general she was a very curious, inquisitive, wonder-filled person who taught me a lot about how to view life. She loved to travel, wanted to see every little part of an exhibit, every little scenic detour, and get the most out of everything. She had an eye for special, out of the ordinary things that other people might think of as cheesy or frivolous. When she passed away, my grandpa wanted us to each take something that we treasured of my Grandma's, and I took the Mrs. Butterworth's bottle, remembering all those years it looked down over us from the kitchen hutch as we ate our meals. Now it looks out over my craft room, a little statue of inspiration and a reminder of how treasured little crafty things can be.