Meet Doris!

People say that I look a lot like her and I take that as quite the compliment! Doris was a beautiful person both inside and out.

Everything she did was done with such attention to detail, including her craft projects, sewing, and card making. We all looked forward to her handmade cards for holidays, birthday and anniversaries! Even her outfits were well thought out, which were always well coordinated, typically in shades of lavender or blue. No outfit was complete without a handkerchief tucked into one sleeve or into her watchband!

She was one of the most industrious people I have ever met, even teaching herself how to sew in order to make my Mom’s clothes as a baby. She continued to make all of my Mom’s beautiful dresses, even her wedding gown!

She had the sweetest quilt with squares representing each flower of the month. As I am working on making a quilt out of her old fabric, I was hoping to have the same color background as her quilt. I was having a hard time matching the exact color, and mentioned it to her. Shortly after that, I received a swatch of the same turquoise fabric with one of her handmade cards in the mail. She had cut out a portion from the backside of her quilt so that I could make an exact match. I still have not been able to match it perfectly, but carry that swatch around with me in my wallet, just in case I walk into that perfect fabric store! It serves as a daily reminder of her thoughtfulness.

Doris’ paper boxes

My grandmother, Doris, was the one who taught me how to make one of my favorite crafts, handmade paper boxes. We would make them out of old greeting cards, and she always had a basket full of them on display at her house. I recently made a tutorial to share them with you!

For the full (and Doris’ original) instructions, follow this link.