I have been blessed to write for the Canadian Scrapbooker over the last four and a half years I have been so lucky to meet some simply amazing people! They truly are talented. One such {inspiring} and beautiful lady is Christy Riopel and I am so glad that I can call her a friend! Christy has always made me feel so comfortable at any event, she always makes me smile, and she always has a bed for me to crash in when I am teaching in Calgary. She gives the best hugs too!!! I invited Christy to be part of the Christmas Love Campaign’s Designer Chat to chat a little bit about Designing, Christmas & Love.
So… Without further ado, I would like to welcome…
Merry Christmas everyone!
Welcome to the Christmas Love Campaign and
thanks Susan for having me!
Growing up in a single parent family, Christmas was a difficult time
for my family. There just wasn't money for presents or extras. Through
out the year we often went without things or made do with what we had,
but my Mother would do her best to make Christmas as special as she
could.
A big part of that was making gifts for each other. One year I
remember getting a vanity table made out of wooden crates. I loved
that table and felt so grown up sitting at it. Some gifts were less
successful but still make us laugh; like a set a matching blue and red
striped nighties that my mom made all of us. They made us vibrate
like a TV screen test pattern when we stood beside each other and were
so narrow you had the pull them up over your knees to walk up the
stairs to bed, making you look like a psychedelic penguin.
I learned to crochet, knit, sew, bake, can, make chocolates, and many
other skills in the pursuit of making a special gift for someone. I
sewed doll clothes out of scraps and old clothes for my sisters. We
would draw pictures, or make jewellery for each other.
The best part of those gifts was the anticipation you would feel as
you carefully planned and constructed your gift. As years went by we
could afford to buy gifts for each other, but it never felt as good
as those gifts we welded by hand for each other, in fact home made
gifts are still my favourite to give and get!
thanks Susan for having me!
Growing up in a single parent family, Christmas was a difficult time
for my family. There just wasn't money for presents or extras. Through
out the year we often went without things or made do with what we had,
but my Mother would do her best to make Christmas as special as she
could.
A big part of that was making gifts for each other. One year I
remember getting a vanity table made out of wooden crates. I loved
that table and felt so grown up sitting at it. Some gifts were less
successful but still make us laugh; like a set a matching blue and red
striped nighties that my mom made all of us. They made us vibrate
like a TV screen test pattern when we stood beside each other and were
so narrow you had the pull them up over your knees to walk up the
stairs to bed, making you look like a psychedelic penguin.
I learned to crochet, knit, sew, bake, can, make chocolates, and many
other skills in the pursuit of making a special gift for someone. I
sewed doll clothes out of scraps and old clothes for my sisters. We
would draw pictures, or make jewellery for each other.
The best part of those gifts was the anticipation you would feel as
you carefully planned and constructed your gift. As years went by we
could afford to buy gifts for each other, but it never felt as good
as those gifts we welded by hand for each other, in fact home made
gifts are still my favourite to give and get!
Materials for card: Core ‘dinations card stock, fibre putty, Unitystamps, Martha Stewart edge punch, unknown ribbon and Susan K. Weckesser Inc. Crafter’s Workshop stencil!!
Be sure to visit Christy’s BEAUTIFUL BLOG and say hi and spread some Christmas Love! Make sure to also check out her work at the Canadian Scrapbooker because she really ROCKS!
I love how Christy used my Susan K. Weckesser Inc./ Crafter’s Workshop Stencil! AWESOME!
Thank-you SO Much Christy for stopping by & sharing your wonderful story! I SO agree home-made gifts are the best! xo
Be sure to drop the Christmas Love Campaign Facebook page and see all the contests that are happening ! You don’t want to miss a thing!
Our next Designer Chat will be on December 18 ….be sure to join us!
Hi Christy! Thanks for coming by and chatting! I love handmade gifts too! And your card is so cute! Happy Holidays!
ReplyDeleteChristy... Reading through your post has brought back so many memories for me! I too was raised in a single parent family and I had forgotten about some of that stuff (like CRAZY pj's! Grin) and making gifts out of whatever we had on hand... I used to make ROCK people out of smooth river rocks and I would personalize them for the one I was giving them to. I still remember having to sit FOREVER holding those rocks together until that white glue set! Thank you for bringing back some warm and special moments and I Love the card too!
ReplyDeleteG'day Christy Your stripey PJ story made me laugh and also brought back memories for me. We too had a pretty tough beginning. My parents were resourceful particularly my mum with clothing. With five kids she used every scrap that anyone gave her and did amazing things with them. Thinking about it we got the matching PJ's too and if we went out in the evening we were bathed and put into those PJ'S. I believed it was so they could find us easily in a crowd as my brothers were wild ones.
ReplyDeleteAnyway enough reverie and back to your art. I just got excited when I saw your stencil as my DT pack has finally made it to Aus and there is one of thos there. Guess what I'll be playing with soon?
Christmas truly does encourage us to remember and luckily time smoothes over some of the bits for us too! Have a lovely one!
Enjoyed listening to your story, Christy. I would give you a big hug if I could but just wanted to say Merry Christmas and that your card is really adorable! XOXO
ReplyDelete