When did I become the crafty one?

If you had asked me back in 2007 whether or not I considered myself a crafty or artistic person, I would have laughed.  No way.  I was not crafty at all, I couldn't draw to save my life and anything I needed in terms of party decor or paper goods, I could just buy.  Last week I was attending a bridal shower for my friend Alison.  We watched as Alison opened her gifts and set all the ribbons aside for the age old tradition of making a rehearsal bouquet.  At the end of the shower, as the other bridesmaids and I were packing things up, one of them turned to me and handed me the bag of ribbons.  "We figured since you're the crafty one, you'd make the better bouquet.  Do you mind being in charge of making it?"  

Whoa!  Hold the phone!  For the first time, I was the crafty one.  I was the one who had the DIY know how and artistic eye enough to make something relatively important for my friend's wedding.  This was exciting!  I suddenly felt pumped up.  Heck YEAH I can make a bouquet out of ribbons.  Not a problem!  I was already thinking of different things I could do with the yards and yards of Crate and Barrel ribbon in that bag.  Wrap it around a couple of dowels or some rolled up paper?  Make some ribbon flowers out of the rest, with the fold-and-pull technique a former coworker here at essentials taught me?  My ideas are multiplying as we speak.

Working at essentials has been an experience for me.  I've been here since April 2007, which means I've been working here for more than five years.  In those five years I've learned so much, not just about what it means to be a manager and to work in retail, but how to create things myself.  I love that working at essentials means I get to show people all the different materials and supplies we have here for creating your own handmade items.  Whether it's a set of rubber stamps or just the right amount of silk ribbon, showing customers that we carry what they need to make homemade, meaningful things is important to me.  I love the nights that we fill up the store with crafters for a card making class, or an afternoon craft class for kids.  

Keep an eye on this blog!  I plan on showing off the process of making a rehearsal dinner bouquet.  I've never made one before, so I'm winging it, so to speak, but it's going to be a fun adventure.