Hello and welcome to The Capricious Crafter blog! Who or what is the capricious crafter? Well, that would be me, Becky, a sixty something child of God, wife, daughter, aunt, great aunt, friend and lover of crafting, cooking, reading, travel, and more. My husband and I have been married almost thirty years and are looking forward to his retirement at the end of 2014. Our plans are to buy a new camper and hit the road as much as possible. Oh, the possibilities are endless for our future!

I am a child of the 1950's and that is definitely my favorite 'era'. I collect Fire King items from the 1940's and 50's, clear glass or crystal glassware, especially pitchers, cream and sugar sets, etc., as well as old dishware and serving pieces, vintage fabrics and so much more!

I have been crafting for as long as I can remember, and definitely from my early childhood. I remember my mother teaching me how to make paper dolls from the Sears catalog and 'shirt cardboard' from the cleaners. And now I still love playing with paper! My primary crafty passion is paper crafting items such as mini albums, cards, tags, etc., however I also enjoy crocheting, some sewing, embroidery, mixed media art and art journaling, felt crafts and so much more.

My purpose for this blog is to share the crafts I make, foods I cook, decorating and caring for my home, new products I try, treasures I find at estate and yard sales, my collections, and anything else I come up with. I hope you will join me on this journey ... it's going to be a very 'capricious' ride!

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Sharing ... Life Changes ... Transitions ... Priorities!

Hi there!  I know it has been a while since I posted, and I make no apologies for that.  But I do want to explain.  My husband and I are in a huge state of transition these days.  We will celebrate our 29th anniversary in a couple of weeks, but long before he had 'me', my sweet hubby had a job ... and he has been with the same company, in the same job, for almost 42 years!  The job has changed, technologically speaking, and the company has changed hands a few times, but it's basically the same job at the same company for 42 years ... and that's a lot!

But in just a few weeks he will be rolling up his last set of blue prints, shutting down his computer, and retiring.  It's going to be a HUGE adjustment for him, but he is ready, and it is time!  So, we've been busily getting our ducks in a row so we would be prepared and knowledgeable about all the decisions we need to make.

We have also taken a step that is so exciting for us!  We love camping, and have camped for many years, sometimes in tents, and sometimes in campers.  For the last 10 or so years we have camped in our pop-up camper, but with my neck and shoulder issues, it's gotten harder and harder to do the work necessary for putting it up and taking it down.  We sold it a while back, and then took a big step ... we went to our favorite RV dealership and picked out 'the one'!  Well, we already knew which one we wanted, but we went to the dealership and talked to them about getting the one we wanted.

There was a small glitch (salesman made us a promise the company couldn't keep) but the company came through and helped us make our dream of owning a new camper a reality.  And because of the little snafu, they let us order the camper we wanted, with upgrades, at no extra charge.  So, instead of getting the standard hickory cabinets, we got the solid cherry cabinets, and we got to pick from the new line of upholstery.  They put the order in around the first week of June, and we just found out it should be in their lot in a couple of weeks! 

(Explanation:  The company that makes these campers doesn't just make up a ton and hope they sell, they take orders and then when they have enough to fill up a week or two of making that model, they will make that model and ship them out.)

We have an appointment to go visit them and go through the 2 hour orientation and then take the camper home with us very soon, and I am ecstatic!  This camper is almost 25' long, has two drop down beds, one at each end (this is called an expandable trailer) and two slide outs, with a very cool island in the kitchen.  It truly is my dream camper, which is a good thing, because we'll be paying for it for a long time!

And I am transitioning creatively, too.  I haven't made a card or a scrapbook in MONTHS, and now spend most of my time playing with Gelatos, Inktense pencils, my Gelli plate, etc.  I am learning new things and enjoying that very much.  For the first time I truly feel as if I am becoming an artist, a lifelong dream for me!

We are so looking forward to this new phase in our lives, even though we know there will be bumps in the road.  I mean, that's just life, isn't it!   Blessings,

Becky