Scissors

I am a sixty-eight (68) year old retired female and I am going to write you a short story about what a pair of scissors has meant to me in my life thus far.

Usually when one researches the internet and Googles the word “scissors”, they might get results that look something like this:

"Noun – an instrument used for cutting cloth, paper and other thin material consisting of two blades laid one on top of the other and fastened in the middle so as to allow them to be opened and closed by a thumb and finger inserted through rings on the end of their handles." (information taken from Googling the word "scissors" on the Internet June 2021).

From an early age, I have been a very creative one with a strong desire to want to make things with my hands. For me, a pair of scissors has pretty much been a necessity and my overall “go to” tool! For most children in their early childhood years, a few crayons, some Elmer’s Glue, and a small blunt edge pair of scissors entertained them for quite a while before the teacher would then announce “cookie break” and then time to roll out their individual mats for a short nap.

From humble beginnings (the youngest of four children) and an ever-present limited budget, there was never any extra; no fancy toys, no stash of arts and crafts items lurking around, and certainly no extra cash to fund any extra-curricular activities. I often found myself with a pair of typical household scissors and cutting up old clothes in an attempt to create something new and creative for my small plastic doll, “Janette”. One strong memory is that of me having cut up a brown and cream color plaid dress of mine that was still fitting me and I had no business cutting it up. Needless to say, my mother was not happy with me that day!

Over the years I was able to save up a bit of money and I bought myself a used Singer sewing machine. That machine, along with my trusty pair of “fabric shears” created many unique and fashionable items – not to mention many hours of creative bliss! To this present day, I continue to stress to people the mere fact that sewing and crafting and hours spent at my sewing machine carried me through some very difficult personal matters and hard challenges over the years.

Many years later and having purchased several more sewing machines adorning big brand name labels such as, “Singer”, “Brother”, “Viking”, and “Husqvarna”, etc, along with all the necessary tools to compliment those machines and also all the “bells and whistles” attachments, I earned the title “Seamstress/Crafter”! That said, one can now find me on many of the popular internet sites where creative items and unique crafts are posted and sold; and let’s not forget about “YouTube”!

Today, as I navigate my life as a retired clerical assistant, mother of two (now adult) children, grandmother, and wife to my dear husband, Eddie, I find myself on a daily basis, immersed in many various creative and crafty projects that almost always involve using a pair of scissors. I almost always wear an apron that has large pockets in the front (probably one that I sewed for myself) and you will always find a pair of scissors in one of the pockets.

Recently, I have been very actively working with broken china dishes (mosaics) and grinding and shaping pieces into various shapes and then encasing them with lead-free silver solder for necklaces, pendants, brooches, bracelets, and earrings. In this mosaic process, you need to work with a graphite style diamond drill grinder, the lead-free silver solder with a good soldering iron, and copper foil and flux for the solder to flow nicely. You also need to have a lot of small tools nearby to help guide you in working with the hot solder (i.e., tweezers, wire cutters, clamps, wet sponges, flame retardant surface, and last but most importantly, a quality pair of scissors for use in cutting your copper foil). Once you have your broken china piece in the desired shape you want, you then need to take the copper foil and with your fingers, guide the copper foil over and around the piece to determine how much foil you will need and then you take the scissors and cut the copper foil to the correct size. The copper foil has tape adhered to the back side that then needs to be peeled away as you work your fingers and the foil to your piece making sure that it adheres nicely and, using your fingers and at times a bone folder to ensure the foil is secure onto the piece. The lead-free silver solder will only adhere to where the copper foil is on your piece – thus making the foiling process a very important step in the creation process. Without my scissors at this important step in the process, I would be lost!

One important factor about me that I have yet to mention, is that my husband and I are also avid antique collectors/dealers and love a good tag sale and/or flea market. Over the years, we have bought and sold many antiques and collectibles. I love to go to local thrift shops and am always on the lookout for unique items as we also enjoy repurposing items (trash to treasure type items) with the idea that something old can be made like new again. I enjoy picking up old sewing items at local thrift stores and if I happen to spot a good old pair of antique scissors, (at a good price of course) I don’t hesitate to put them in my shopping cart. I totally enjoy the look, detail and unique design of an antique pair of sewing scissors.

But, let’s be honest here people, think about how you go about your present day and how often you are in need of a pair of scissors – I bet the answer will astound you! Especially with today’s packaging, ugh, don’t even get me started on that one! Packaging (especially as a “senior citizen”) is just ridiculous! I mean, I understand we have just reached a very challenging and hopeful “end” to a serious pandemic and that packaging and safety is important – totally understood – no problem; but trying to get a simple package open today does require the use of a decent pair of household scissors – at least in my household it does! I find myself biting my lip and eyes bulging more times than not while standing at my kitchen sink just trying to open a simple package of cheese, or some sort of food product, ugh – and I am not even talking about the “kosher” stuff! We need our scissors people – without a doubt!

That said, I believe right now at this present time, we have about a dozen pair of scissors in this nine-room old farmhouse and at least five of the dozen are in my sewing/craft room where I do much of my creating and soldering, etc. I honestly can’t even think about what my day would look like without the use of scissors? Can you? Give a moment in thought as to all the different types and styles of scissors and all the varied uses of them. P

retty amazing I would say, and lets' not forget the fact that we now also have several movies and popular characters out in the world for us all to view and follow that also focus on the subject and idea of a pair of scissors

I believe they say the first scissors were created way back in the 1500’s perhaps somewhere in the middle east – the history is actually an interesting read and I encourage anyone to check it out.

My “to do” list for tomorrow is to sew, craft, and create and I most definitely will be wearing my apron with the large pockets and the one tool that I can trust to be in my pockets are my trusty pair of quality scissors…life is good!