It was a lovely letter and some very nice projects that Ella Smith and her daughter Sami sent to me, and though Ella stated that they were not for the Shoebox, I thought they were certainly worth sharing. Ella started by explaining that Sami is "pushing 11" (at least she was at the time Ella wrote) and that she started crafting when she was 3! She knows that Sami's crafting skills will soon surpass hers, and she is looking forward to watching her go by.
Ella also wrote something about the show that I thought was grand: "Even though there are segments on things we don't have a desire to try, we would not ask you to change or omit any of them. It helps keep the mind open to new possibilities." The attitude of a true creative crafter!
Also, at Sami's request, Ella sent in a couple of examples of their crafting. First a paper covered notebook that Ella had done--it was an inexpensive writing pad, but the paper looked like handmade paper, and Ella added a border across the top that she enhanced with what appeared to be ultra thick embossing powder (UTEE), to which she added a bit of glitter. A metal embellishment was added, and all in all it ended up being a handsome item. Included in the package was a book that Sami had made using a pad of Post-It notes for the book and a cover that she enhanced with punches and stickers.
Ella also included a photo of a candy dispenser she had decorated. It was sold as a bird feeder--an inverted canning jar on a metal piece with holes. Ella said it works just fine for small candies.
And last of all was a handmade card with a sunny summer scene that was created using quilled paper, stickers, dimensional stickers, craft sticks and decorative paper from scrapbooking pages. Inside Ella shared their crafting creed: "Creativity is a state of mind. You don't have to be good at it to visit, you just have to enjoy the scenery."
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