Craft Therapy

The first time I used scissors to do a craft project I was 4 and I cut off my ponytail. I stuck my head out of the 2nd floor window and cut off one of my 2 side ponytails. Since then I have been crafting as a form of therapy (a de-stress method) for the next 50 years. I learned about hand-cut paper flowers from a super sweet creator Vee = Vanessa Cruz from San Antonio. She has a very successful paper flower business and a large following in her home state of Texas as well as all of the social media outlets. I didn’t follow her because of what she was making but because of her slogan which I have since borrowed. She always says Community over Competition. While she does make her living with her craft business; it's more important that she positively influence another human than get a few dollars from them. This is why I craft, not for myself necessarily but to share that with others. In my real life, I am a corporate trainer so I have it in me to share my knowledge with others.

At a young age, I used to watch my mother sew, paint, and DIY before it was the cool thing to do. She was always so crafty and creative. As I got older I fell in love with cross-stitch and ornament making but over the last year, I have created a business out of hand-cut paper flowers. This is my daily motivation and passion. I love cutting every petal and then assembling them in such a way that a magnificent flower emerges and I find the perfect wall or door to hang it on.

My mom is sick now, she said she doesn’t feel sick but this is the second bout with cancer, and it's starting to take some of her energy and spunk. I wanted to really honor her this Mother's Day so with the support and inspiration of my mentor, I decided to take a stab at making my own flower petal template. I had no idea where to start but with my computer, cardstock, and my trusty scissors I set out to design a flower petal, and then 10 sizes of that same petal. I had no idea what I was doing but faith can take you a long way in life. I wanted to make a personal flower for my mom, my daughters, and my oldest granddaughter for Mother’s Day. I was very experienced in cutting out other people's templates, so why not try to make my own. I ended up making a rose template for my mother, a hearts template for my daughter Amanda; a crown template for my daughter Rhonda and a sunflower template for my granddaughter Serenity. This was probably the most emotional craft I ever completed and it was by far the most rewarding.

Crafting is life. Making something beautiful out of scraps of nothing, that’s being creative. That’s life.

I still haven’t figured out how to make an affiliate list on Amazon, I am not good at working on Facebook and sending out posts of my flowers for sale; I have no clue how to work TikTok so that I can share my work with others but I do know how to cut out a bunch of flower petals in cardstock by hand and make a 3ft. flower that would rival the best wreath in town. I like to take my flowers to the local craft shows, transporting them is no easy feat….. and sharing them with other craft lovers who appreciate the effort and LOVE that has gone into each finished item. I don’t make much money on them, yet. But I do share the beauty with many many who appreciate a pretty flower. And that’s the best part of being a handcrafter.