…pandemic memory keeping…

It is a common theme, when the children go away, that I grossly over estimate exactly how much I will manage to get done. This school holidays was no exception. I had three full days to myself, and I wrote myself a list a mile long to fill those three days with. While they are away though, there isn’t just the crafting to occupy my time. I make the most of my child free time to laze in bed with a coffee and a book, after a sleep in, of course. A slow breakfast followed by a walk and feeding the animals. Chatting to friends. A bit of a Netflix binge. With so much goodness to choose from and fill my days, it’s no wonder I don’t become a crafting power house and clean out my to do list in under an hour.

One thing I did manage to get done though, was my lockdown mini album. I had the space to really spread myself out, so as well as taking over the table with my sewing. I set up my Cricut on the floor next to me while I cut. The floral elements were from a purchased cut file. I had intended to include some of the non-floral elements from the file as well, however, I managed to majorly underestimate exactly how small some of the pieces would end up once cut! The scalloped edging came from the same Etsy shop, and the title is a DIY job. I lettered it in Procreate, and then exported to design space to cut it with my Cricut as well. I do love how well my toys all play nicely together.

Those 12 weeks were…Really Something, to borrow a phrase. It was strange, it was unsettled, it was worrying. And yet, there were so many moments of magic throughout it. I found myself looking back thinking “oh that was fun”, “I enjoyed that”, “we should do that again”. It will be interesting in years to come to discover what my children will remember of that time (please don’t be mummy’s incessant doomscrolling!). From my perspective it definitely was a positive for our family relationships. I hope that one day, long into The After, when my babies bring their babies to visit, we can pull out this album, and remember the fun in amongst the worry. “2020,” we’ll say, “man what a ride that was”. Crazy, stressful, hard…still worth documenting.