Even Superman takes a nap

Well.....I have awesome news.......Jackson is fine...there wasn't any reflux at all and outside of him being a little loopy from the medication to sedate him....he is fine. No more to do with this issue...finally! Thank you all sooooo much for your thoughts and well wishes...now I think I will take a cue from Jackbear and call it a night!!!! I'm not as young as I used to be and going sleepless for one whole night tends to catch up with me quickly. I wish you all a great night or morning and my humble thank you.

think of him

This is my grandson Jack. He thought he was hiding from me by sitting in the window. Jack has saved me in alot of ways. He is my only daughters first born and our only grandson. He is also the only grandchild we have that lives in our state. He is the reason I didn't loose what is left of my mind when I lost my Mother over a year ago. He gave me the will to go on, not to take anything away from the rest of my family...or friends support during that dark time. But knowing you have to look after a baby...their well being is front and foremost. I simply didn't have time to dwell on things with him around. His smile would light up the entire world should it go dark. His hugs and kisses are so sweet and get my heart to melt.
This lovely child has to go thru a horrible test tomorrow. They will put him to sleep and insert a cath and shoot dye to be able to take images on his urine flow. For some reason his urine seeps back up to his kidney after voiding. The reason I am telling you all this? Simply this...please send your healing thoughts, prayers or whatever you practice that this baby of ours is in good hands, has a speedy recovery and please if anything is wrong let it be fixable without too much pain. I know my Momma, Daddy and precious Granny will be watching over him as well...but it never hurts to ask your friends for help.

Late but Early too

Ok...here's my huge secret...I am late for everything. I don't mean to be...it's just a fact that I am. I start out with the best of intentions and somewhere I just loose control of the situation. I swear I think I was a crow in my last life....bright and shiny things distract me easily. It really all started when the kids were little...with 3 little ones underfoot and you may as well count the big kid I am married to...I was always the last to get ready. It always seemed to work out the older 2 kids would get dressed fine but the youngest seemed to want to wear purple and orange and not at Halloween. Then add a husband who is looking thru the dirty clothes asking if he has any clean...trust me I don't hide the clean clothes from him in the hamper just to throw him off! So by the time we are all ready and presentable to go out the door my OCD kicks in...check lights, iron off, bathtub emptied, dog out, cat in....you know the usual...by this time one of the kids have visited the nearest mud puddle or frankly I think they rolled in dirt...ok back in the house to get said kid washed and changed...now start again....ut oh bathroom time for the others...by now I have to go to. So you see in my younger formative years they made me late...and I just never got out of the habit. So with that all said and now my shame is out for everyone to know...I present to you my late/early creation. She was too late for Halloween last year and too early for this year...but hey...she's here and shes out! Madame Juju is based on Louisiana folklore..or so she tells me. She is 5 inches high and resides in the dollhouse that I was going to fix for my daughter but looks so cool this time of year all broken down with dust and cobwebby! lol. Enjoy and have an awesome week!

I don't miss him......much

I wanted a second post to follow up about loosing my buddy Max. I wanted it to be light-hearted and thankful for all your comments and support. I wanted to dry your all's tears and comfort all of you that have lost pets and then I read Miss Lori's story. All the tears I thought I wouldn't shed came pouring out. You see, Miss Lori WAS attacked by a pitbull. She went thru the scare and the pain and surgeries from the attack. You may think you know the outcome of this story...that Miss Lori is now a huge protester in owning pitbulls...but NO...this loving soul comforted me...me...she has things that will never be the way it was and she is comforting me? How do you thank a person such as this? What do you say? Why is it that I can post something like this on here and gain the support and loving comments that family members can't give me? And what on earth do you say to a person that has been thru that kind of trauma and is telling her story so that there is no hard feelings but maybe a better insight to this breed? A simple thank you for sharing seems so inadequate. I keep telling myself I don't miss him...that he is better off...he's not suffering anymore...the usual things you tell yourself to keep the pain at bay. I don't miss him...well when I went to give him a treat last night and suddenly remembered he's not there I did. Or at the grocery store when I seen his brand of dog food I did, or at feed time or water time I did. Or when Jack went to the back yard this morning and Max didn't say his usual good morning to him I did. I did a good job at keeping it together until that happened...poor Jack...he's only gonna be 2 years old next month and when he seen me crying he came over and gave me the biggest hug and wiped my tears. Babies and dogs...thank goodness we have such things in our lives. And thank goodness for gentle forgiving souls such as Miss Lori. Max changed me in some ways by being in my life for 14 years...but you all have changed it in other ways...hopefully for longer than the next 14 years. So to all of us that have lost a pet...a friend of the furry kind...those that have been needlessly hurt by one...let us rejoice that such creatures exist to make our lives more enjoyable...and pray for those who don't know how to treat them to get the love and loyalty we are all so blessed to know. For those who didn't see Miss Lori's story...here's a link to it http://outoftheflamesglass.blogspot.com/ What a lady...what a talent and now my friend!

A friend.....gone

Today I learned I had lost a friend of 14 years. He had shared my home, my family and several meals with us. He came to us on a rainy stormy day...the same day our oldest granddaughter was born 14 years ago. When we found him he was sick so we nursed him back to health and he became a member of the family. He was funny, cuddly and gave the best kisses. He was always friendly to our cats and never harmed a person that I know of. (even when the police maced him last year while chasing a robber thru our yard) The last few years his health has declined and even though he was deaf and blind I still loved him. Good-bye dear Max...people can say what they will about pit bull dogs...I have been blessed to have known 2 of the best in the world...sadly they are both gone. I will not get another pit to replace these....the laws and inner breeding do make them to difficult to have now. Pity...I have never known such loyalty, comapanionship and like I said the best kissers! Rest now my friend...your journey here is done...run in your fields now and think of me once in a while as I will you. I love you Max...my dog...my friend.

The wedding that almost wasn't

This is the happy couple....afterwards. We had to travel what should have been a 3 hour drive...tops...it turned into a 6 hour drive with the Mother of the Groom late.......reallllllly late. Needless to say the flower basket I worked so hard on was for nothing as I got there so late my grand daughter had to use another one. I was suppost to light my part of the unity candle...oppps that didn't happen either. We had to sneak in and sit at the back as to not interupt the ceremony which was well under way. But we got there...then off to the reception...where I became ill and had to leave early. (heat and humidity do not mix well with a strobe light on a disco ball for me...trust me...don't ask!!!) The motel we stayed in I am sure is ran by Norman Bates..or his mother...and trust me I did a real good check for bed bugs! So we left early the next morning to come home. I have to admit this is the MOST horrible trip I have ever made.
The good news is my children are now married and no worse for the wear. We got to spend a few hours together and thats what counts. Hopefully when my daughter-in-love looks back on this day, this picture is what she will remember...me...I will never forget it either!

The tease...unveiled

I got an email from Miss Debbie and now that I know she got her's I will show you all mine...since I don't like to just tease you all!!! (thank you Miss Debbie for all the wonderful compliments!) This is my first attempt at an ATC...finally something came out close to what I had in my head...so it does look a little better....no science experiment or something from my basement...just my little Deormo.....(the name is Debbies orange moth with just the first 2 letters from each word...how clever am I?) Enjoy...off to do that basket now!

Lookie what my mailman brought!

This is the awesome ATC I got in the mail from my partner Miss Debbie! Thank you so much ...this is the first in my collection of what I hope will be many many more. Miss Debbie and her friend Miss Wendy created a blog where you can join and swap these little beauties with others. This month they decided the theme was to be orange. Which I have to admit was a challenge for me...I don't usually fool with the color orange until it's Halloween. An artist trading card (ATC for short) is also a small surface to work within...they are the size of a regular playing card (2 1/2 inch by 3 1/2 inch) my problem was how much is tooooo much and how little is tooo sparse. I hope Miss Debbie is happy with hers and as soon as I get confirmation from her I will post a pic of the one I made for her.


Can you all keep a secret???? I swear I can't keep a secret this big...I am so proud of my first ATC I will show you a small tease...but you all have to keep it to yourselves!!!!...No Peeking Miss Debbie! Honestly I didn't try to blur her but it's probably a good thing it did come out that way...I don't want to spoil the surprise for Debbie. Miss Debbie is an amazing lady and I highly suggest you go visit her...I love her altered bottles...they are the coolest thing I have ever seen. Run on over and tell her I said not to peek over here..... http://mosaicmagpie.blogspot.com/
If you want to join us in the fun of creating and collecting then join us over at the blog of http://blissfullatcswap.blogspot.com/ theres still plenty of time to get in on September's swap...the theme is leaves....got to go put my thinkin cap on for that!
I will be going this weekend to my oldest son's wedding in Pa. I was so hoping all my children and grands could be there but it's just not in the cards. It will be strange seeing him get married again. We had hoped his last marriage would have been his only one...we loved his ex so much. But, times change and people change and I guess they just grew apart. So I better run and get my granddaughters flower basket made for her and get things ready. Even getting this early a start on things...I am bound to forget something.... have fun...and enjoy each day!

Leaping out to the great unknown....

What is it??? No it's not some childhood science experiment gone horribly wrong. Not something the cat drug in...nor nothing that lurked up from the bowels of my forsaken basement...although I do think this has a sister down there!


I decided to take the plunge and join the big girls and make an ATC! This is all I can show you for now as my partner has not gotten it nor is it finished yet. I love the fact I can do these quickly, I think the planning stage takes longer than the actual "doing it" does. This is my first attempt at this new world of artist trading cards. Makes me feel all grown up and stuff! It's a huge plus for my attention span...which honestly has been all over the place this summer. Maybe it has to grow up too. While searching out lost hobbies and new ones to attempt I have just lost focus of everything. Whats that old saying...Jill of all trades...master of none???


What started this journey was an absolute beautiful spirit and her blog named Simply Debbie at http://iamsimplydebbie.blogspot.com/ ..I love her blog and so admire the courage she must face knowing her gorgeous daughter Amy graduated to heaven as she calls it. Having a daughter she pulls at my heart strings with her loss. Miss Debbie decided to try this ATC thing and so she lured me into it's web with tales of how easy it is and a link to a blog that devotes itself to partnering people who would like to trade these small treasures. You can find this blog at

http://blissfullatcswap.blogspot.com/ ...the ladies running it will sure make you feel at home. The art work created on these little ATC's is amazing to me. Every month they set up a theme which is good for me...having to pick a theme on my own sure would have made me bolt for the door. Toooo many options is not a good thing for me.
So off into the unknown I jumped and the result is above...I am so hoping it will turn out as it is in my head and that my partner over looks my newbie mistakes. Wow I hope it don't remind her of what could possibly be in her basement!!!!! I will be back when I am sure my partner has this little treasure in her hands to introduce her and the rest of this project. She sure has put me at ease with my first timer status! I can't wait to introduce you to her blog...she is sooo talented...but for now you must wait...just send me some good ju-ju and positive thoughts that this does not turn out like some failed science experiment!!! Have a great week all! Try to stay cool...we are suppost to have another hot one...where is fall??????

The only cat not fighting

I was being nice....feeding a homeless cat...pausing to pet it's head and bam!!!!! This is a case of biting the hand that feeds you! It took no mercy...and today my hand is tender...hopefully from just the bites and not anything more serious. Sure wished my neighbor would keep her attack cat home. With dog days here I sure am watching this closely...so hoping you all are having a better week than I am!

Parting is such sweet sorrow

My babies left yesterday. The house seems lonely without them even though they were only here a blink of an eye. Miss Belle stole our hearts. I am so proud of my son for being who and what he is and understand I would not want him to be a fireman here in our city but just wished he lived closer. It's so hard watching your grandbabies grow up in pictures. Jack-bear was trying to kiss Miss Belle in the picture above...they move so quickly so sorry it is blurry! Well I have tons of laundry to do and it's probably gonna be another hot humid sticky day here...don't get me wrong...I still remember cold freezing snowy days so I am not complaining. Is there anywhere in America that just has cool sunny year-round days????? If you live there...let me know...I am a speed packer!!! Hope you all are doing well, keeping cool and creating beautiful things I can come and see! Time for me to get back to creating...just hit a block and trying to find a way around it. Enjoy the rest of your weekend while I go smell Miss Belles blankies and remember the sweet baby kisses of a precious little girl.

I've got a new man

This is my newest cab...I couldn't wait to show it to you all!!! Not sure the painted ladies are gonna like him...he is a bit "more manly" and I'm not sure if that moss might soil their dainty lil ....wait they don't have hands!!! lol What was I thinkin? As you can see he is still wet...I am so patient you see. He is 1-1/2 inch long and a scant over 1-1/4 inch wide. I think hes rather handsome...in a greenman sorta way.

Now this is the old man of the sea. His first love is the ocean so the painted ladies might not go for that as they are vane little creatures...not willing to share the affections of a man. No matter to him...he has his little fishy friends to keep him company if the ladies snub him with lil delicate noses. This cab is a little bigger being 2 inches long and 1-1/4 inch wide.

If you are interested in these gentlemen or any other cabs please email me...in case you can't find it.... Beth26729@aol.com Have a great day....I'm off to play with a lil green eyed gentlemen myself...my grandson Jackson.

My $5.00 shopping spree

So this is what I get for going to the junk store. I love this little wooden shelf and hope to get it painted cream before bad weather sets in..I have so many irons in the fire now! The silver pot is going to do just fine on my patio table with some hens and bitties in it. The cookie cutters I have great hopes for...after 34 years of marriage I have never made rolled cookies...yes it's true...any kind of bar or drop...I'm your girl...so I bought these to encourage me to go outside my box. I'm not sure what those 2 little sweet dishes are for but I see them being used on our dining room table with a couple different jellies my daughter and I will can this fall...I already have the small jelly spoons. Sorry the pictures are blurrey...just me in a hurry as usual...and don't mind my table mess....just being real as they say! lol
I finally got to meet my newest grandbaby and she is gorgeous! Off to spend time with her and the rest of the family...sending you all huge hugs from all of us to all of you!

She's coming!

This gorgeous little cutie is my youngest grand-daughter Isabelle...and she's coming for a visit next week!!! I can not tell you how excited I am. I have not yet met Miss Belle...she lives in Louisiana and I in Ohio. But those poor lil cheeks of hers are sure gonna get a work out around here. This is how Miss Belle will look after one day with MamMaw loving, pinching and kissing! She will be bringing her 2 older sisters, her mom and my son ...her dad. I don't get to see this son but twice a year so any time they come to visit is a very special occasion.

So if you don't hear from me for a minute...don't think I have jumped this crazy ship...just doing a lot of catching up with a bunch of special people. Blessings to you all and when I get back I will show you the newest cabs I have been working on...the painted ladies insisted they needed gentlemen callers.....I hope this men meet their expectations!!!! Big hugs to you all

Comfort Doll Project

Here's a little project that I think is totally worth your time going to check it out. Miss Brenda is at http://comfortdollproject.blogspot.com/ She and her followers make these comfort dolls and send to shelters that house abused women.

The reason this project is so dear to me is that it has touched my life personally. I don't really remember my cousin Sue, she married when I was young. She was the oldest grand-daughter on my dad's side of the family. Sue grew up fast and was married by the time she was 15 ( not unheard of for that time era) Her husband immediately started beating her. She kept it most of the time from the family...he made her feel alone, isolated and fearful of disobeying him. She had 2 children and you would think this crazy man would not have dared to hit her while she was pregnant...but he did. For the first couple years he left the children alone...containing his beatings to only her. One night he reached out and struck his own daughter for spilling milk at the dinner table. I guess something inside Sue's head snapped. While he was at work the next day, she packed her 2 children and went to her mothers house. She had left plenty times before, always coming back with the sweet promises and gifts he would buy for her. This last time there were no promises, no gifts and after his rampage...no cousin Sue. He shot her dead with one bullet in the middle of my aunts kitchen, in front of her own children. he, of course was sent to prison, the children went to live with his parents and I have not heard one word about them my whole adult life.

I still mourn the beautiful girl Sue was. And I still get angry when people say "why don't you just leave" Sue did leave. I can't imagine the courage it took to be that scared of a person and still go, knowing in her heart it was going to end this way...one time or another.

So for Sue and for all those that find that courage to go....my very small way to help them is to make these little dolls...something to encourage them by thinking someone out there still cares. Yes Sue's story happened more than 40 years ago.....isn't it sad that theres still a need? Still women being battered, whose only fault was giving their heart to the wrong person.

Look what she did!!!!!

My friend Miss Lisa from http://indigosbeads.blogspot.com/ made this amazing brooch from one of my cabs!!!! She made it look like high-end!!! Thank Miss Lisa!!!! YOU ROCK!!!!!

Memories

Again I have been cleaning out little holes...and I hit the jackpot this time!!! The card to the left is a card to my Mother when she was carrying me wayyyyyy back in 1957...this card is probably from 1956 as I was born early in 57.

Next is a letter to the tooth fairy from 1965. I can remember being so sad as my tooth had fell out while I was brushing my teeth one night and went down the drain!!! Such an innocent time!

And lastly this is a page from a ration book given to my grandmother dated May 6, 1942. I had never seen the rationing stamps before and thought you all might enjoy seeing this part of our past. Hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane...have a great day.

Almost forgotten

I'm not sure how many of you know but we moved into my mothers house last year after she passed away. After living 33 years in my own home needless to say it was a long job. My mother grew up in the depression era and so had the mindset of "putting up for good" She and my Granny stock piled things that they never used for everyday. Gifts have been found still in wrapped boxes because they didn't want to use the pretties just on themselves. My Momma went to a great expense before she married my Daddy to buy a set of china and real silverware from what they called 'drummers" back then. Sadly she never ate off of those dishes nor the silver before she passed. About 15 years ago one of my Mommas friends went to Mexico and brought Momma back this tea set...or maybe its a coffee set...I'm not sure of its purpose...I only know it was found today ..in a box she had put back for good. I knew it existed but after all these years have not given it a thought. The poor little thing begged to be released from its paper wrappings and put out to show...so here it is...it now lives on the buffet (at least til Christmas and it has to go back for the village) There are no markings on it and I'm sure my family will never use it but its out and shining for "good" Have a wonderful weekend...big hugs to you all!

Am I crazy to show you this?

Here sits my UFO pile....oh trust me there are a lot more but these are the ones that are pressing right now. In no particular order...theres the mailing to Miss Bobbi http://bobbianncook.blogspot.com/ to send off some cabs to her. Next to that under the 2 blue fat quarters complete with my handy-dandy drawing behind it is the mermaid project. There are the 2 pillow shams with the colonial lady transfer awaiting to be embroidered.

Front and center is Miss Rieley's purse oh thats got to take top place of importance...my grand-daughters birthday gift! And last but not least is a cute lil project I found where they take one of these shoes and add ribbon roses to it and make a pin cushion in the top opening.

There are of course painted lady cabs that need to be painted...but they did not want to share the spotlight with what they thought were " the other time wasters" (they are so uppity some times..looking down their lil clay noses at other crafts)

So there you have it...this and a house to clean, dishes to do, dinners to cook and a 21 month old lil guy who thinks he is the ultimate and only time waster...this is my life! I so imagine you all going on your sweet way after you post to a clean house...ironed clothing...lace and pearls...no doubt...just relaxing sipping sweet tea while your chores and crafting automatically and magically gets done for you. If this is not true...please don't tell me...I gotta have some dreams!!!

So this is my to-do picture...hope you all enjoyed my chaos! Sending you all big hugs...just some tired ones!

I have been busy!

You all know I am famous for really bad pictures....but these are the cabs that will be on their way to Miss Bobbi's house tomorrow. The mardi gras masked lady is really done in purples and the man in the moon done in blues. Run on over and tell Miss Bobbi Congrats...she is a MamMaw again today. Little Miss Sophia Breeze is such a cutie. You can visit Miss Bobbi by going to her blog at http://bobbianncook.blogspot.com/

This is how much I got done on Miss Rieleys purse this week...not much..but I tell ya...I'm not a fan of fill in work. My hat is off to those of you that do those beautiful pieces with a lot of fill in but I am not a fan of it!
My last piece of news has to do with this wonderful transfer I found recently. When I was small my grandmother would make the most wonderful pillow cases. She would embroider these gorgeous ladies..some times make lil pieces of material into their hoop skirts making this the hem on the case. Other times she would leave it as is and then crochet a beautiful boarder around the case. I told you all earlier I am a closet girlie-girl. I'm thinking once I make these for my bed...I won't be in the closet anymore. Ironically while finding this beautiful belle with the dogwood above her head...I looked around my bedroom and found I must collect things in sets. I have a dogwood quilt and a ceramic cookie jar shaped like a purse with dogwood on it. I plan to embroider this gorgeous lady onto white eyelet pillow shams I already have that are plain on the front. Then boy oh boy...I'm gonna enter that blog that shows all that pinkness on a Saturday! My pink belles with their dogwood can strut with the rest of the pink girls! For those of you that are interested I found a blog ran by such a generous lady that puts posts out there for us to enjoy all the old-timey Sunbonnet Sues. Funny I never knew the name of these girls til I visited her blog. You can find her here http://lacenribbonroses.blogspot.com and here is the scan of my Sunbonnet Sue.
If you do choose to use her ...please send me pictures!!! Have a great week everyone!

I'm so excited!!!!

I love that song! But I am excited and I'm not gonna hide it...I like you all too much not to share this news! I have been asked by the wonderful people over at the CSN Stores to review a product from one of their more than 200 specialty shops. WooHoo! Now did I choose something for my vanity or was it for my table so I could join all those fabulos tablescapes? Or maybe it was to glitz up my tiny patio? Hmmm guess your gonna have to come back and see what it is!


I will say this...I chose this item with you all in mind...something I felt you would see all dressed up and want for your own home. I would love to see how creative some of you could get with it. For now why don't you take a looky-see at this great place...I have already picked my wedding gift from there for son's upcoming wedding. And I see future Christmas (did I say that?) presents there! Have fun and come back to see what I chose and why! Til then ...happy shopping! CSN

It's double post Sunday for me!

Please do look at my other post to get the full story here. As I said before...today is an awesome day for me...my next reason comes from a dear friend Miss Nicole. Oh if you are not a regular...run after you read this to see Miss Nicoles blog http://beadwright.blogspot.com/ Nicoles bead work is awesome, her bead backing is the greatest stuff to bead with and her book "Flatwork" is so informative but yet easy enough for a newbie like me to comprehend. Miss Nicoles family is under the pressure of sick loved ones living a good distance away but her love of family is so inspiring..please take a minute to read some of her posts and you will see what I mean in no time. A while back Miss Nicole was one of my very first customers in selling my cabs. Talk about nervous and excited all at the same time! It was the first time one of anything I made went to someone outside the family. Now whats funny to me is what she did. She actually took a cab I wasn't that fond of and turned it into this

How do you thank a person that takes a piece of your art and turns it into this goreous piece? How do you thank a person that is an accomplished artist in her field for answering any question you have (and trust me I have alot!!!) and answering quickly and in a way as not to make me feel less by not knowing? Miss Nicole all I can do is say thank you...humble little words that they are...and they don't seem to carry the emotions I feel when I seen what you did with the little piece that almost went into the trash. I guess thats what has put this goofy grin on my face today...2 people that I don't know if I wil ever meet in this life time...touched me....touched my heart....and turned this into the BEST day I have had in a long time...thank you both Miss Diann and Miss Nicole...and thank you all for reading this. Sending you all some of my happiness today..let me return this or pass it on...smile from the inside out!!!!

One of those days when......

Did you ever just have one of those priceless days where NOTHING put you in a bad mood...you were just happy from the inside out??? Maybe I am odd ball and really shouldn't be blogging about this, maybe you all have these days everyday...I usually don't but I am having the BEST day. No matter I haven't bought the flowers for all the pots or that the foam I spent so many hours trying to cut for my glider is now rain soaked, or that I have laundry coming out my ears and didn't sleep well. I don't even care that the whole house needs a good spring cleaning or that the plastic we have to cover our old windows with for winter still isn't all down. Wanna know what put me in this mood...I certainly didn't wake up this way....2 priceless friends I have met thru blogging!!! Now mind you I normally do not smile while washing dishes...I don't have a dishwasher...unless you count my 2 hands...but today while I was sitting this up...I had the hugest smile!!!

A while back I entered a give-away....I enter alot of them....you all have such generous hearts whats a girl to do???? I may enter and walk away and think all day what I could do with the pretties... some things just pull at my heart strings and make me want to do things differantly. Like this particular give-away. It was a tea pot. Now noramlly I don't get excited over teapots...although in truth I do have a collection of 9...all from my mommma or granny. This tea pot spoke to me...maybe I felt I was coming down with something or what I don't know but this lil guy spoke to me telling me how fun it would be to have a tea time. After my grandson went home to sit and relax with a cup of any kind of tea. I envisioned myself on my new covered glider in the summer and around my lil fireplace (electric of course) in the winter. This lil tea pot and I were to be good friends. Then of course life takes over and I had to give up my fantasy to deal with probably a leaky diaper or a hungry 18 month old! lol Then came the news...the tea was mine...out of the blue...mine!!!! My pictures will not do it right...he is a fine stately tea pot..strong and we shall have many happy memories together. I owe this to Miss Diann at http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com/. You must visit her if you are not a regular already. Her common sense approach at being "thrifty" takes the sting out of the cut backs so many of us are forced to do. And her tablescapes have so inspired me to look at my dishes...to set them on the table nicely... I spend alot of time cooking and if for no one else to please me with an equally pretty table. I have inherited so many beautiful vintage tableclothes and napkins from my mom and granny its a shame to put back for good like they did...it became stuff and really wasn't enjoyed. Maybe I am the good they saved it for. Hopefully it will last for my daughter and granddaughters to enjoy as well. So heres my new lil friend...the tea pot.

Isn't it just a beauty? The handle, top and trim are like a brushed antique gold....my pictures surely do not give it the beauty it has. So thank you Miss Diann...my tea pot and I will create some lovely memories and you will be included in each one!
See he has already made new friends!

Mammaw's can fix anything!

Well yesterday I really thought I could live with the top of this purse being a lil wonky....but ...no I couldn't. So I spent 2 hours ripping out carefully the top and then adding other things to make it more correct. I am now more pleased and it has less warts to me!!! Wow who knew filling in would use sooo many beads and guess what...I am running out of the lil pearls to fill in with. I raided my stashes...even the hidden ones and nope not another lil bead like that on the place. I have the same color and finish but just a tad bigger so I am a thinkin I will have to finish with those. Right now I am trying to fill in the bare spots with what I have left in hopes that just by doing the bottom tip of this top it won't look so off.

Then the bottom part of the purse is just gonna have to be differant than the top flap...I'm kinda thinking to make it candy stripped...we shall see. Hoping you all are enjoying this beautiful weather...gosh I need to go out and weed my garden...and plant some flowers before it gets too much later in the season. Thankfully I only have to fill in pots as the rest is all coming back from last years massive planting. It's really funny to me I have flowers coming back that I bought as "annuals" again this year...and oh are they much prettier this time around. Well off I go...see ya real soon!

I've got another bug!!!!

This is my newest bug....the beading kind!!! This is going to be a purse for my 3 year old grand daughter. She is in a wedding this summer and our Rieley is a girlie girl! I am hoping her mommy will put this up for her so she can have it when she gets older to remember me by. This was the fun part...now I need to fill it all in. This is my first big girl project so I hope later I can look back and see it and laugh and point and say...."Oh I was so new back then" and you my friends can say you knew me back when!!!! I will now give you a short intermission to laugh amongst yourselves......ok enough....your getting carried away!
I am honestly proud of this and love it warts and all...I honestly thought I would get so frustrated with the thread tangling...beads not acting right...(lil buggers some times have a mind of their own) that I would have given up on the whole beading thing by now...trust me I have a drawer full of adventures that didn't go right that have been put on hold. I think often that Rieley has a longer attention span than her Mammaw...but I'm still plugging along and loving it more and more. I just really hope it's like anything...the more I do it the better I will get. (or at least be able to make those lil beads listen more often) Hope you all are having a great day...more pictures to come as I roll along with this.

Nasty bugs

I have had such a nasty bug for a bit and I am yet to feel completely human. First grandson got sick with it and then he decided to share with his favorite mam-maw!!! lol. Bless his heart...love him... but think I would rather share his half eaten cookies than this. As soon as I can I will be back with more painted ladies to share with you all. Hope you have a wonderful Memorial weekend. Take care!

The image above is my first attempt at beaded embroidery. I think its the inside of my brain...some parts organized, some chaotic. For sure that is me at the bottom hanging on by a stitch...lol. This piece is only 3 inches by 2 inches and this may be its one and only appearance in this life time!!! I was really just trying to put down all the stitches to see if I was getting it and this is what happened. Oh I could fancy it up and say its a Tim Burton concept of Alice in Wonderland....yeah right!!! Nope its just a starting place...hopefully it gets better from here cuz I had a blast doing this! Sending you all germ-free hugs!

A beautiful give-away

Isn't this brooch simply gorgeous? The colors are right up my alley and the design is beautiful. All this prettiness could be yours...just pop on over and visit Miss Lisa at http://indigosbeads/blogspot.com
She is so generously having this brooch as her give-away! While your there check out her shops where she sells the most awesome cuffs. Miss Lisa is a very sweet lady that answers all my endless questions promptly and encouragingly. Get to know her and you will see what I see...a very talented and kind hearted spirit, who is so generous with her skills and time. Have a great day all. Tell Lisa hello for me when you visit! Big hugs to all...Beth

Yesterday went to pot.....

I took a small break from my clay to paint these clay pots for my garden. I have a small Sand Cherry tree in the one side of my garden. It's beautiful little pink flowers are so small and delicate and only last for a few fleeting days. Under it the sun dabbles in and out and it's mostly shady so my Hostas thrive there. I painted these pots to give it some pops of color in a few places. I think I will plant some Moss roses in them so I didn't paint anything on the rims. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did making them. For a Mother's Day treat for my Daughter I took a pot and had my Grandson put his hand in some paint and I pressed his little hand all around the pot leaving his little purple handprints. It was a little hard to explain why it looked like he had purple nail polish on without giving up the surprise!!! lol. Hope you all enjoy your day...it has turned chilly here in Cleveland...I had to turn the heat back on...not fun! And it looks like its gonna storm any minute. Oh well I at least know the pots will make me think of warmer days to come when I weather proof them today. Have a good one all.

Did you ever wonder????

I have always wondered where the moon went after the sun came up. I gave him such wonderful adventures as a child. He went and visited places that I had only heard of or read about in books. Now that I am older I can give him bigger and better adventures...so fasten your seat belts...we"re gonna go with Mr. Moon today!!!! First after that hard night's work, Mr. Moon would probably like a nice refreshing dip in the ocean. Going to the ocean's bottom and hanging with the fish, swimming in and out of the coral reefs and saying hello to the local mermaids. Coming up to the surface to just float a bit he may look a little like this:

With all the seaweed in his hair, he would just happily bob along the waters edge and ponder new adventures. Looking into the forest at the end of the beach he would long to see the forest and the trees. So shaking his little water logged body he could fly over to the woods and play within the leaves of the trees. In and out of branches and dodging hanging spanish moss he would find his friend The Greenman. Together they would ponder the state of the universe adn where to go from here. They may even share a prayer for silly man-kind and their clueless state of things to come. Always a gracious host the Greenman would reward Mr. Moon with his own leaves to wear for the next visit.

Under the sea continues

This little cab is outside my usual box! It is the perfect companion to the mermaid I made yesterday or is just fine by himself. This happy lil fish boasts a size of almost 2 inches long and 1 and 1/2 inch wide. His little friend the star fish is there and more pale pink pearls. I have had a lot of fun going outside the box but I fear there is a take over being plotted by the painted ladies...I have heard grumblings from their container and it doesn't sound good!!!

Hope you all are having a lovely day.

Also I wanted to thank the new followers for joining, come on in and sit a spell. Thank you all for stopping by and big hugs to all!

Under the sea

Today gave me the whole day to play with clay. My husband took our grandson to our local zoo. This cab is a painted lady covered with seaweed with a star fish and a cute little fish swimming by. There are little pale pink pearls scattered around her face and under her. I have more I did today but they are not finished....took time out today to make some molds for myself...the seaweed is really a snowflake that was too big to put on a cab so I cut it apart and thought it looked like seaweed!!! lol. The star fish started its life as a button and the fish was a charm. Well I must go clean up my mess...have a great evening all

An Early Mothers Day gift to me

I have so admired these mosiacs that Miss Bobbi creates. To surprise me tonight she made me this one. I had to post it this Sunday as I know I will not be able to do it next Sunday... which is Mothers Day. The lovely lady in the center is my own Mother...these are all her greatgrandchildren. Sadly she did not live long enough to meet my newest grandbaby Isabelle, but she knew she was on her way. My oldest granddaughter Elizabeth looks so much like my Mom in her younger years. I can no longer give my Mom a gift on this all important day, so I will do what she had asked me to do for years. I plan to go to a church she wanted to go to and give my soul to the God my mother,her mother and generations of mothers before her in this family so much believed in and served. It's kind of a selfish gift...one that will greatly benefit me now and forever. Without this one last gift I know I won't be able to see her or my other family that has left this earthly plane and I can't bear that thought. I also don't want the legacy these great women before me has given to me to perish. I need to be the example my grandbabies look to and will carry on. Thank you Miss Bobbi and thank you Mom for speaking in my ear and telling me this is the right thing to do. Thank you all for coming to read this. This will be also at Miss Mary's Mosiac Monday blog at http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/ so stop by and see all the beautiful ones over there!

And the winner is.......

Bet I got your attention!!!! Today I will announce the winner of my very first give-away. First let me say I am so flattered that anyone entered this give-away...let alone as many that did. Now I told you there was another spin to it...and even gave you a clue...the spin is I made a second set to give to the person that voted. And now without further hesitation ...the winner is....Carol at http://beadsandbirds.blogspot.com. Congrats Miss Carol. The person that voted for you and will be receiving the second set is Stacie from http://squirrellyduck.blogspot.com. If both of you would please email me with your snail mail address I will certainly get these out to you. Thank you all so much for stopping by, your lovely comments and most of all for taking time out of your day to spend a moment here with me. I hope you both enjoy your cab sets and can't wait to see what you can do with them! Now I must run as I have a weekend packed with things to do and create!!! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend...big hugs to all

Another first....A Give-Away

Stats:

Winner will receive all you see

face cab is 1 & 1/4 inch wide, 1 & 3/4 inch long.

square cabs are 1/2 inch square

oval cabs are 5/8 inch long and 1/2 inch wide.

Give-Away rules:

You have from today until midnight April 30 to enter.

The twist is you must email me WHO YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE WIN THIS.

Yep...tell me who you would like to see win this collection and remember this: every good deed you do comes back to you . Send your submissions to Beth26729@aol.com. Winner will be announced May 1. Good luck!

My Momma

The picture there is of my Mother. This will be my first Mothers Day without her. As a family we have been through alot of firsts this year. Every holiday since last July when she past has been a first. My grandson Jackson took his first steps this year. My first serious go at this blogging thing. The first time I ever made a cabochon and later this spring will also be my first attempt at beaded embroidery. I even made my first sale ....if you don't count the part time job I had one time selling newspaper subscriptions...no wait...I didn't sell any of those!!! So it is in the spirit of these firsts, the generousity I have been shown and taught by this lovely lady i call Momma that this year for Mothers Day I hope to gift one of you....more to come later.

The sunshine of her youth cab

This is the last cab of the day...she needed a place of honor. Her face shows her lines of wisdom, her eyes still bright with hope and her head holds her memories of the sunshine of her youth.

Today's Cabs

Todays cabs were a lot of fun. The flower power one (far left) reminds me of my youth, complete with peace signs and flower painting. The leaf lady (far right) is my flip on the old saying " you can't see the forest for the trees" This young lady can't see the forest for the leaves...lol get it??? The one in the center just shows what the moon would look like if it were "the lady in the moon" I will now take my quirky humor back to my table...there was one lady that was shy today...she is trying to get it together...shes an older lady and had many problems with the youthful ones chattering away. I hope to have her done a little later. Hope you are all enjoying your weekend. I would like to welcome all the new followers..come on in, kick your shoes off and stay a while!

The Dream Rose Cab

This is my dream rose cab....the ladies have taken a short vacation and are allowing other work to take place...they will be back this weekend...they promised! lol. I have to admit...I am so envious of all the pretty and pink and very girlie blogs. I lurke in them as often as I can. I love all the beautiful things they do, way they think...the whole deal. This rose cab is about as far as I will get with the shabby-chic sweetness around here. I come from a long line of "manly-men" and think it has rubbed off on me. I am more comfortable in my jeans or sweats than a nice dress. I still love my pearls and wear them as often as I can. One time I brought all my "pinkness" to the living room....with a husband and 3 teenage boys it did not go over well. I took alot of kidding and promptly went back to the blues, beiges and colors that hide dirt from football gear or spilled drinks. So this cab is me dreaming of being one of the pink loving girlie-girls. Now back to my lurking! lol

Leaf beads

Not sure if I like these or not...the little ones are loosing their shape or something...the bigger ones are ok...just not sure about these...what do you think? The bigger ones are almost a 1/2 inch long ...smaller ones are almost 1/4 inch. Hmmmmmm...maybe back to the drawing board on these.. lol

A new tangent

For some reason I could not get these out of my head...so here they are...not my normal painted ladies but, a cabochon none the less. These are thin and light weight...maybe a scant 1/4 inch depth to them. They are 1- 3/4 inch long and 1-1/4 inch wide. These were a nice distraction from the ladies...but now they are calling from their box begging to be the next on parade! Sorry if the pictures are blurry...I can't take a good picture to save me. Hope you all have a wonderful evening...big hugs to all