Metamorphis of a gift

My step dad always says that when you give a gift you give yourself.  When it comes to giving a gift I try to put some thought into what the receiving party would like.  Questions in my mind, on their personal tastes, what colors they like, how the gift is given.  I could tread a gift store for hours, looking at cards, mulling through the words to make sure that they fit the person.

About 8 months ago I started a project that should have only taken me a month to do.  I was inspired by a vintage magazine to create a family tree for a friend of mine.  I gathered all the parts, excited to follow the instructions, the piece was so unique.  I love giving something I make.  One of the ways I give myself is by capturing an essence of a person  into the personality of the gift.

It should have been perfect.  I found a beautiful oak frame. I figured I would paint and distress the wood.  I picked out the background, and pictures.  As I visited my friend's house I looked around I worried that it wouldn't fit in.  So I justified that perhaps he would love the meaning.  So I begun the journey.   

I organized my working spot.  Pulled out the wire background for the frame and started creating the tree.  I am not artist by any means.  I needed a stencil for the outline of the tree.  So I looked up one and traced onto the screen for the background of the frame.  

The idea was to use a tapestry needle and sew twine into the stencil so that it created a texture for the trunk of the tree.  I did not like it...AT ALL..

There were huge holes in the wire, and the tree was to narrow to sew the tapestry neatly. I tossed the wire into the recycle waste basket.  It just wasn't happening

Then there was the chicken wire. 

 The trend has been to create cute frames with and anchor clothespins.  Nope!  It is sitting in the back of my office closet.  The thought of snipping the wire, then stapling to the frame, finding suitable background was daunting. 

Mental blocks happened often.   A situation would come up that caused my emotional energy to fizzle.  The gift stayed in disarray for weeks..  Ideas of color, and organization, bits and pieces that I used for accents turned into chaos.  My friend started to wonder if I really was working on something.  As a compromise for his patience,  thank goodness for the smartphone.  I would take small pictures with the camera,  then send hints of a big surprise.

There were times when  I was immeresed. My energy poured into the project and I spent hours on the family tree.  Each detail had a meaning.

I painted the frame a soft color of very pale antique blue.  

I found a beautiful background setting and set two pieces of together.  I matched strips for it's masculinity. 

I mixed textures, and created a tree.  I researched his hometown and picked items that would bring him a feeling of ancestry and heritage.    I looked up his high school colors, and picked orange for the banner.  I found pictures of his birthplace, touched up the colors to give him a sense of yearning. It went through several changes. My family curiously watched me in inspiration asking what I was doing.  I told them, then said,  "You know how I am,  I get and idea and I have to execute."  Then one day,  I was done.   I stood back and looked at it, in thought, it's cute.  

Then something happened.  I had another emotional block.  Would I be proud to give this gift?  It looked nothing like the magazine picture.  I did not want something crafty, or a picture that looked like a scrap book piece. I kept staring at the family tree.  

My theme in life, and business is about bringing people together.  Family is my passion. Our heritage, are the memories we make, and the memories were share with our future generations.

I thought, no...this is not going to work...especially after talking with him that day. His message in life is much deeper than this.  I needed something that showed roots. He picked up his roots and moved  to an entirely different city. He never left his family, they are with him.  

It took me a couple of days to decide that after 7 months of work and getting to the point of finally having a family tree...I took it all apart and started over again.

I ended up telling my friend what I was doing.  I have no regrets. The struggle and the time it took for me to get to that point became easier.  My stepdad always says "When you give a gift you give yourself."  I like to think that finding out if that person likes what you give them, it is giving yourself.

After months of trying to live the inspiration in the gift, and reinventing I finally finished. He smiled.  That is all I needed,