wife. mother. crafter. blogger. volunteer. introvert. upcycler. lover of sushi, tennis, puns, traditions, bodies of water and all things vintage.

I’m Betsy. It was Christmas 2010 when I rediscovered the crafter in me. Frustrated trying to think of perfect gifts to give for Christmas, I decided to start with the packaging and figure out the gift later. I started making gift bags customized to the recipient. A bag decorated with a guitar was perfect for my nephew who plays in a band, steamy coffee mug bags for my friends reminded me of cozy conversations, my tennis playing son got, you guessed it, a bag adorned with a tennis racquet, and my green-thumb mother received a bag decorated with flowers. Once the vessels were created, it was much easier to think of gifts. Even if the gift in the bag didn’t match the decoration on the bag, the presentation was completely personal.

It was one of my favorite Christmases ever. It made it so much more meaningful for me to think about each person I was giving a gift to, and how to honor them (even before I knew what the gift was). It helped me step back from the stress that often comes that time of year and focus on why these people were on my list, not what to get them because they were on my list.

When a downtown shop that featured local artists had an open submission for art walk after Christmas, I entered a few bags. The shop immediately started selling them. When I was about to enter the artist name as “Anonymous”, my husband suggested Anna Nimmity. Perfect.