The Crafty Nook: A Sleep Story

Wander the rooms of this endless and delightful craft store, where magic happens in every aisle. If you've ever loved getting lost in a craft store, you'll enjoy this magical mix that will light up your imagination even as it lulls you to sleep. Let the beautiful imagery perfume your dreams with delightful ideas and unfolding creativity as you sink into a deep, restful slumber.

Transcript

The Crafty Nook,

A flow-dreaming sleep story.

Welcome to the Crafty Nook,

Your local craft store.

And just like with other craft stores,

Which often seem to stretch on for miles inside,

In the Crafty Nook,

Each aisle is more like a nook.

In fact,

It's a tiny world.

Let's take a look,

Shall we?

The first thing you notice as you open the door is a little bell that tinkles.

It's an old-fashioned golden bell,

And it rings with sweetness.

It announces you and all the other Crafty Nook patrons.

Nevertheless,

No one sweeps in to greet you.

Instead,

There is simply an air of welcoming invitation.

Low lights flicker on the walls.

They're cheery yellow,

Fake flames giving you feelings of lamp lit fall nights and glorious orange sunsets.

Now spread before you are old-fashioned rag rugs and a blaze of felted colors.

You know these rugs.

You've seen them in old country stores or perhaps in a grandparent's dusty dining room.

Some people call them clippies,

Stoppies,

Clippers or pegies.

In Northumberland,

They're called proggy mats,

And in Scotland they're called cloodie mats.

But you know them as rag rugs,

Tied bits of old colored fabric stitched together in ever broadening circles.

And so you step on one,

And that is the first clue that the Crafty Nook is quite different from other craft stores.

This rug,

The one you're standing on,

Leads straight to what you'd call the baking aisle because when you step off,

That's exactly where you are.

The baking aisle is more like a kitchen,

In fact.

Racks are full to tumbling with stacks of bundt cake tins,

Cupcake pans,

Colorful sheet pans,

And much more.

The shelves,

Too,

Are stocked with cake decorations,

And you run your fingers over the jars of jimmies,

Those colorful toppings you remember getting on top of ice cream cones,

And tiny little sprinkled quins in all kinds of holiday shapes like tiny orange and black pumpkins,

White snowflakes,

And red hearts.

You see the sugar pearls,

Too,

In a variety of wedding colors.

Also,

Sanding sugar,

And of course,

The rainbow of colored sparkling sugar that we all know.

Now,

What did we come here for again?

It might have been cake toppers,

Which like most other things in the baking aisle,

Are crammed from floor to ceiling in dizzying shelves of tiny brown paper footballs glued to overly long toothpicks,

And sparkly silver and pink birthday crowns just ready to top a cupcake.

And don't forget the plastic main tossing gleeful rainbow unicorns,

Their hooves ready to be placed on the decorative center of some child's fifth birthday cake.

No,

It wasn't cake toppers or angel food cake pans.

You came for those sprinkles,

As do many people.

The sprinkles here at the Crafty Nook are unlike any other sprinkles in the world.

You perhaps know someone in mind right now who needs some sprinkles.

Let's pluck one plastic bottle of peachy pink sparkling sugar off the shelf.

One sprinkle,

Discreetly shaken,

Causes a moment of joy in the recipient's life.

That fellow traveler on the subway looking so tired just toss a pinch their way.

Something unexpectedly wondrous and happy will now be coming down the road for them.

Maybe you too want a light dusting.

Go ahead,

Sprinkle some on yourself.

But that's not all you came here for.

You also came here to the Crafty Nook to wander,

Because wandering in the Nook is one of the most pleasant,

Quiet,

Gentle ways to spend an evening.

You never know what you might find.

In fact,

Right there in the corner of the baking aisle,

You see a shaft of light,

A narrow opening that,

As you pass through,

Opens suddenly into a brightly lit aisle.

Ah,

The paper aisle.

Another customer favorite.

Unlike the cozy baking aisle,

The paper aisle is lit with warm,

Subtle light that reflects off rows and rows of shelves stacked with multicolored paper.

Craft paper in a blizzard of colors,

Origami paper with delicate flower prints and swirls of gold and silver,

Handmade paper,

Thick and mottled with natural dyes that feel adventurous in your hands.

You smell the rich,

Papery scent of the fibers and it's strangely soothing.

You pluck a sheet of delicate origami paper from a shelf,

One that's traditionally printed with tiny white cherry blossoms and gold foil.

The beauty of this paper,

You know,

Is that you can fold it into anything,

And that thing you fold it into becomes,

Well,

Real.

You might fold yours into a paper boat,

And this boat will expand in size until there you go.

You can step right in and push off into water,

And it will hold you.

For a while,

You remember everybody made cranes because that's all they knew how to make,

And the paper crane birds were everywhere,

Crowding the parks and the streets.

Such a nuisance that the zoos and conservationists were called in to figure out what to do with them all.

But today,

Everybody knows not to make more cranes.

You tuck the paper into a little wicker basket on your arm,

Along with your sprinkles.

The craft store is endless,

But fortunately there's always a clippy,

Stoppy,

Or peggy.

In other words,

A rag rug under your feet to whisk you wherever you want to go.

Because you have just remembered that one of your favorite,

Favorite aisles is the bead aisle,

Filled with crystals and fastenings,

And of course,

Every kind of bead imaginable.

No sooner than you think it,

There you are,

Surrounded by familiar glittering,

Endless clear plastic trays housing hundreds or even thousands of different beads.

Oh yes,

You think,

Your heart leaping with delight.

You can choose any beads you like.

Cost is never an issue at the Crafty Nook.

All beads,

No matter what they are,

Cost exactly one penny.

This is also what makes the Crafty Nook so popular.

Let's start with the glass beads.

You run your fingers through a delightful bowl of not quite round,

Bright yellow beads,

Each with a tiny design swirling in the glass.

You feel their smooth coolness between your fingers,

And you sigh with contentment.

There's something so soothing about rolling these glass beads between your thumb and forefinger.

Of course,

Just like everything else in the Crafty Nook,

A bead is a bead,

But it's also something more.

These yellow beads,

The sign reads,

Are particularly useful for creating coins.

Drop a few into a cup of tea while you're crafting,

And they'll obligingly turn into a nice golden coin or two.

It ruins the tea,

But no one seems to mind.

You put a handful into the little plastic baggies the Crafty Nook provides,

Calculating a cost of exactly 22 cents.

Not bad.

Looking around,

There are so many other beads,

Tables,

Filled and gleaming as far as your eyes can see.

People say that even after a hundred visits to the Crafty Nook,

They've hardly made a dent in exploring all the tables.

There are even whole discussion communities online devoted to detailing the latest interesting find,

Meaning the bead they found,

The general location,

Though it's often very hard to tell,

And of course what the bead reveals itself to be,

And if different types of tea,

Such as green tea,

Darjeeling,

English breakfast,

Herbal,

Or dozens more,

Will affect the bead's outcome.

For now though,

Your shimmery yellow beads are enough because there's one aisle you never miss,

Yarns and textiles.

If the bead aisle feels endless,

Yarns and textiles take a close second.

Stepping off your rug,

You gaze at the skeins of yarn around you,

Tucked into pyramidal piles on wooden shelves that form a kind of yarn maze.

There are stiff yarns for knitting snuggly snow caps,

Woolen yarns for thick sweaters and scarves,

Soft fuzzy yarns for crocheting baby blankets,

And rows upon rows of embroidery yarns and ribbon.

Your gaze falls on soft merino wool in gentle purplish gray colors,

Like a moody Scottish sky.

You glimpse variegated yarns dyed in soft shades of Easter eggs,

Which seem to shift colors before your eyes.

And right there,

There are the chenilles with silky,

Luxurious,

Slippery softness that sparkles with promises of expensive nights out.

But you're looking for yarn that you'd knit into a blanket.

And so you wander away toward the fleece,

Mohair,

Cashmere,

Knowing they'll eventually show up.

They always do.

No one ever gets lost or fails to find what they're looking for in the crafty nook,

But they're often tempted by other things on the way there.

And here they are.

The yarn you want is a rich lavender color,

Reminding you of the lavender fields of France,

Endless beneath the sunshine.

But next to it is another pile.

This one,

The striking color of bluebells,

The bright blue-violet shade rippling with joyful exuberance.

You hesitate,

But land on the lavender pile,

Scooping up a hank.

A hank is when the yarn is wrapped together,

So it twists a little like an old-fashioned doughnut twist.

You will need about six of these hanks,

Which you tuck into your wooden basket too.

When the blanket is finished,

You know that as with everything else at the crafty nook,

It will have its own special power.

Unlike paper or beads,

However,

Yarn can be especially unpredictable.

You think this yarn,

Once it's a blanket,

Might cocoon you in the scented paradise of those French lavender fields,

But it could just as likely surprise you with the fragrance of blueberries on a warm spring morning.

There has been plenty of laughter about knitters knitting baby blankets in the softest petal colors,

Thinking they'll be fragrant with vanilla,

Honey,

Or white chocolate,

Only to be surprised with the chalky scent of raw eggshells,

Elmer's glue,

Or clay.

Many a baby has grown up to associate sleepy time with the scent of slightly rancid butter to everyone's amusement.

But you'll take your chances.

After all,

There can't be too many odd scents from lavender.

You look to your hand basket,

Brimming now with beautiful colors.

The crafty nook has delivered as it always does.

And so,

Your visit is complete.

For now,

That is.

Tomorrow night,

You might come again.

There are so many more aisles to explore.

Paint and paint brushes,

Collage and stickers,

Faux flowers and wreaths.

You will get to them all.

But now,

Now it's time for a rest and to draw yourself and your basket into the deepest,

Soundest sleep.

A sleep in which you snuggle under your lovely lavender blanket,

Pinching some sprinkles around you for extra luck and happiness in your dreams.

And so,

We say good night to the crafty nook.

Reviews

THIS WAS AMAZING!! Best reading I have ever heard! I am BEGGING you PLEASE DO MORE OF THESE. The only thing that has sent me to sleep in a long time!! 😀🙂