When your children are older than you...

Yesterday was my older daughter's 40th birthday. In December,

my younger daughter will turn 35. What I can't wrap my head around

is this: how can I have children that age when I'm only 35 myself!?!?!

 

Years ago I heard or read, "The secret to growing old gracefully is to

pick an age you like and stick with it." So I chose 35. Honestly, in my

head and in my heart, that's my age. My knees and shoulders would

argue, but overall I feel 35.

Another quote that resonates with me is, "We don't stop playing

because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."

In my humble opinion a major component of playing is being silly.

I love being silly. Being silly rocks! Sure, I get strange looks

from other adults. Whatever.



Me and Martie being very silly in the photo booth

 

Recently someone posted this on FB: "How can you become

old and wise if you were never young and crazy?"

To which I replied, "Who wants to be 'old and wise'?

I plan to be young and crazy my entire life!"

My daughter, Leslie, and her friend Martie

 

My daughter Leslie had a terrific party to celebrate the big 40.

She rented a photo booth, you know, the kind where you

get inside, pose, and press the button. There was a LOT of silliness

going on in that photo booth!



My son-in-law Boo and his brother Alan

 

I'm guessing that the average "age" of the party guests was about 15.

The photos I've shown here are only a small sampling. 

One last quote: "How old would you be if you

didn't know how old you are?"

Today, be silly, be young, and be at least crazy enough to

make people stare!

Until next time,

Beverly

Don't stand still or you'll get altered too!

Altered art artists will alter most anything that will

stay still long enough. The All Things Tim - as in Tim Holtz -

Yahoo group recently hosted an Altered Mousetrap swap.

Yep, that's right - mousetraps!

We were to start with 2 plain old-fashioned wooden spring-type

mousetraps and "Tim-ify" them up.

Here are my completed mousetraps.

I stained the wood with Tim's Adirondack inks.

I also used inks to color the metal springs.  

I used pieces of a Bingo card in the background, and completed them

with Tim's tickets, some dimensional flowers, charms and buttons.

I think they turned out really cute!

And there's a bonus: the finished mousetraps make great

little noteholders, or key holders, or whatever you can fit

underneath that wire holder! With a magnet on the back

they will attach to the fridge or a filing cabinet.

Until next time,

Beverly

For the Birds...

A few weeks ago, AlphaStamps hosted a blog hop featuring their

design team members. And I was the very lucky winner at

Caroline Ouzts-Hay's blog, Glitter Tart Designs!

She sent me an incredible filled-to-the-brim bag of bird-themed

goodies! There was glitter, bird nest fibers, birdhouse chipboard

shapes, pearls, ribbons, collage sheets, text sheets, and more...

 ... neatly packaged in an adorable handstamped fabric bag.

That pink bird is absolutely precious!

Perhaps one day soon (more or less) I'll make

my own version of Caroline's enchanting

"Slices of a Birdhouse".

Keep your nest snug and dry, and Happy Flying!

Until next time,

Beverly

In Stitches...

So, I've been keeping myself in stitches - sewing purses! I finally have

my Etsy shop open but am still in the process of getting things listed.

Thought I'd share some of what I've been making. 

My purses are my own designs and patterns and are all

handmade by me. I use only 100% cotton fabrics and the purses

can be machine washed and dried.  

I do use individual fabrics in several different purse designs,

but I never make 2 purses exactly the same.

You are unique, and your purse should be too!

All purses are fully lined and have 10 interior pockets!

I turned this purse inside out to show the pockets;

this is one side, with 2 - 2" pockets, 2 - 4" pockets,

and 1 - 5" pocket. The other side is the same,

for a total of 10 pockets. 

This owl print is one of my favorites! And you can't go

wrong with green, pink and black! 

I also love the combination of navy, yellow and white,

and the daisy prints work perfectly. 

Another green, pink and black one, this time with lots of white

also. Love the tab with the great big buttons. The buttons are

purely decorative; there's actually a magnetic snap underneath. 

And here are some of the purse-size tissue cozies - aren't

they adorable? I make them in fabrics to match

my purses, but also make them in lots of other fun prints.  

These drink cozies were born out of the need to protect my fingers!

The paper sleeves on those coffee drinks just don't cut it for

my fingertips - these cozies have fleece inside to

keep my fingers from burning.

And they work great for cold beverages too. I keep

one in my purse to use in restaurants: I love my iced tea

but I don't particularly care to have condensation

running down my hands and dripping onto my clothes.

The cozy absorbs the moisture and keeps my hands and

clothes dry. And, like the purses and tissue cozies, they

can be tossed in with the laundry.

So that's a sneak peak at what will be in my Etsy shop very soon.

I hope you'll check it out!

Thanks,

Beverly

My 15 Minutes of Fame!!!

Hello fellow bloggers! I am so honored to report that some of my recent art is being featured on Laura Carson's blog, Artfully Musing. I have been a huge fan of Laura and her art for some time and to have something of mine selected by her is really thrilling! So stop by her blog - but plan to spend some time there. You will see some really amazing creations by Laura and you won't want to rush!

In other news, even though my blog has been laying dormant for quite a while, I have actually been busy making art! I won't try to share it all in one post - you're welcome. Last week I mailed away my Birds in Hats coaster swap sponsored by AlphaStamps.

It was so much fun "shopping" for just the right hat for each of these feathered friends.

The hat below is festooned with tiny flowers which are actually repurposed nail art decals. Gotta love the dollar store!

And this one I'm keeping for myself:

If you've never visited the AlphaStamps online store, you're in for a real treat. And there is a corresponding Yahoo group with some wonderful and talented members. Do check them out!

Thanks to those of you who have not given up on me. I hope you'll begin visiting me here on my blog again!

Beverly