Tied to the past

The gift tags above were created years ago by my late Mom. So long ago, in fact, that they are now vintage.

I've written before about my mom's innate craftiness, and it's lasting impact on me. One of her many projects was recycling holiday cards as gift tags. She needed a lot, because we had such a large immediate family - seven children - and extended family.

I found these in the garage of my parent's house. We are preparing to sell it, because our dad - now 86.5 years old - is in assisted living. My brothers have been remodeling the house for the past year, and stashed most of my parents' belongings in storage. But a cache of photos, ephemera  and craft supplies were still in the garage. My youngest sister, Helen, and I were sorting through it all when I found these.

I actually still have the tags that my mom wrote for Christmas gifts that she bought, and wrapped, for my family before her death, which was 11 days before Christmas. They are tucked away in a box.

As for these, it's tempting to use them on my "Fit to Be Tied" holiday collage tag line. But a more meaningful re-use would be attaching them - as is - to family gifts. So, that's what I plan to do.