Creative crafting at the county fairgrounds
Photo by Mandi Bateman Simone Holly, 6, and mother Julie Holly work on Christmas cards at Saturday’s CREATE event at the Boundary County Fairgrounds.
Photo by Mandi Bateman Savannah Symonds with her baby, Elizabeth, and a tissue jar crafting project.
Photo by Mandi Bateman Eight year old Eva Naranjo works on filling a rice bag.
Photo by Mandi Bateman Hand painted and glittered mugs mugs drying on the table.
Photo by Mandi Bateman There were six tables of crafting projects at CREATE, on December 9, at the Boundary County Fairgrounds.
Photo by Mandi Bateman Crafters at the mug painting table.
BONNERS FERRY — From 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., on Saturday, Dec. 9, the Exhibit Hall at the Boundary County Fairgrounds was filled with women and children, glitter and glue, pinecones and paint, as lovers of crafting gathered for CREATE: Craft. Relax. Enjoy. Accomplish. Talk. Eat.
For only $5 a person, the community was invited to participate at six different tables, each offering a unique crafting experience, and let by a volunteer. When they were finished, they had six different items, to keep or use as gifts.
The idea came from organizer Star Williams, working on the behalf of Mountain Springs Church Women’s Ministry.
“I was doing a craft for our mom’s group and I just had a vision,” said Williams. “It would really be fun to offer this to the community and have a craft day where the supplies are already there for everybody, and they can just come and create something, and be able to take it home finished. You know, make a mess here instead of at home.”
They had held two crafting events at Mountain Springs Church the previous year, as a trial run, one in spring and one in the winter.
“We had a pretty good turnout from the women in our church, but part of my vision for it was not just church people, but have it be a community thing, for women and young girls to come and enjoy the day,” said Williams.
The six tables of crafts offered Painted or Glitter Mugs, Tissue Jar, Rice Bag, Burlap Banner, Christmas Cards, and Wooden Candle Trists. Missy Pinkerton, Stephanie Lewandowski, Sharon Turner, Kristy Kellogg, Kat Cowell, and Linda Brown were the table leaders. They each had researched their craft idea, prepared the materials, and created a sample. They offered patient instruction and advice for the women and children.
“We try to make them pretty easy to manage, not frustrating,” said Williams, “but still leave the creativity to make it their own.”
Sharon Tucker, from Montana, headed up the Wooden Candle Trists table. She explained that the Christmas tree chosen for Washington, D.C., came from Montana.
“We have some pine cones and boughs from that tree, so they can put that in the decorations,” Tucker said, adding a special and unique element to the hand painted trists.
The $5 fee helped to pay for the building rental, but the majority was funded by Mountain Springs Church. There were no other fees for the participants. A potluck lunch took place at noon.
“Our team brought in soups, and we asked the ladies to bring in a side dish or a dessert to share,” said Williams.
During lunch, Julie Holly provided an inspirational message as the guest speaker.
“The message has to do with us getting over our insecurities, and being able to identify what they are, and not to hold on too tight to anything, because we are given things that we need to share, and they are not ours, for us alone,” said Holly. “Whatever we have, our talents, our time, everything we have is something we can be giving out to other people.”
The crafters joked and laughed, some making new friends along the way.
“It is a great opportunity and you end up interacting with people that you don’t know,” said Holly. “You never know who you are going to meet, and relationships that follow.”
“It’s a ton of fun and I think it is great that our community is building something like this,” said Savannah Symonds, who attended with her baby, Elizabeth. “It’s nice for everyone, like moms — not just moms, but women in general — to be able to connect with each other and get out of the house, especially when it is getting cold out.”
“It is nice to be able to be inside and doing something that keeps us all occupied and not make us crazy, sitting inside the house all day,” said Symonds, after completing her first two crafts. “Now I’m going to go make a coffee mug that probably says something like ‘Mom Fuel’ or something.”
Holly was not only the guest speaker, but she also participated with her six year old daughter, Simone.
“We do have a great turnout, and I love it because I am not a crafter,” said Holly. “My daughter loves crafts, so having this type of forum where we can come and hang out with friends, and we can craft where it is all set up, and I don’t have to go out and buy a bunch of little things that I’m never going to use again. And look at these crafts we get to do. This is better than if I were just crafting on my own.”
“It’s been really fun and I’m seeing a lot more people from the community this time,” said Williams. “We hope it will continue to grow. We will do another one in the spring.”
“One of my desires is to show women that you can do a lot of it yourself for cheap, give them the skills and some ideas that they can take home and do themselves,” explained Williams.
From the look in the participants eyes, from concentration as they worked, to joy as they held up their finished craft, William’s vision had become a reality.