Crafty

Those with more experience than I, say that if you ever want to know who you truly are, go live on the mission field for awhile.

I'm finding that to be a true statement.

While I’ll save us all from going into what I’ve learned so far, I will admit a small something I have learned about myself: I really love doing crafty things.

I’ve always kind of been a Martha Steward wanna be, but when it came time to sort out and pack up what I was (or wasn’t) taking half way around the world, the crafty things got the boot. I figured, “Well, I just dabble in crafts. It’s not a big deal not to have that stuff with me. And besides, I’m not paying to ship such frivolity. There won’t be any opportunity to use that stuff.” It seemed selfish, indulgent and over the top to ship the stuff I just “dabbled” in.

I was torn, and honestly still struggle, with what’s the appropriate thing to do with “life” here. We have been blessed with a home that yes, needs a fair share of work. When and if the time, finances and supplies come around for us to do some fixing up we’ll do it. In the meantime, it’s still a place we lay our heads at night and do daily life. I want our quirky home to feel like our quirky home. Slowly (very slowly) things are moving in that direction.

(Target? Lowe’s? Hobby Lobby? Just so you know, I miss you.)

Our community is unique in that when people leave, they tend to give away or sell the things they’ve accumulated over the months and years of life here. I scored some half used bottles of paints and paintbrushes and thought I had hit the jack pot. But one day there was a glue gun for sale...with lots of glue sticks. It was even the right voltage...be still my heart.

I was torn. I mean, did I really need a glue gun?

I didn’t say a word to Jason about this but one night he saw the ad and said, “Oh wow. You should get this.”

He knows my crafty ways and I love him for this.

In the short days following my glue gun purchase, the Pintrest ideas of years past flooded back to me. (My boards have sat stagnate for 9 months as I’m not willing to pay the megabytes to dream, search and pin. I have to choose to blog or to Pin? You dear readers won that battle...do you feel the love?)

Anyway, I remembered an idea of a yarn wreath I had done back a year or so ago. But not having a wreath lying around, I moved on to a cardboard box via a package we had received and cut out the shape. Why yes I am a missionary repurposing even the box you mail us!

 

Yarn is in bountiful supply. Many women here make strings bags called bilums so wool is in stock in an array of colors at our store. I opted on fallish colors for the trial run.

 

And the finished product...

I’m not sure how it will hold up due to my current rainy weather conditions, but I’ll see what happens. If nothing else, the next box that comes in the mail has a guaranteed future on my front door by Christmas.