Its good to be the Momma

I spent the day getting my 2nd daughter ready for prom ...I missed my oldest daughter's great event ...(long story) but not my dear Lizard's

She was so beautiful tonight ....I mean it absolutely amazingly gorgeous....her hair ...her dress the antique jewelry her sister found for her ...the makeup her Aunt Laura did...and then we went to the local gardens and sat her in this butterfly chair ...Oh my goodness thought I would cry right there...

My girls amaze me they are so beautiful , Laureta my oldest was glorious in her black and white polka dot dress ...matching shoes ...and red cats eye glasses ...she was going as the paparazzi for the 50's elegance theme red carpet night . could not have been more than I wished for my daughter's prom...they are going to be partying all night dancing until midnite then they change clothes and go bowling ...then the Y till 5:30 am ...once they are in they are in...

So glad I got to share this time with My girls....I love them so much

keeping life in stitches

one of the great things I found out last year was how relaxing hand sewing could actually be ...I am not talking the meticulous paying attention to a pattern cross stitching still don't think I could do that.

But taking fabrics and yarns and beads and funky threads and creating something truly unique and fun then passing it on to someone else.

Most of the pieces I made last year I gave away to patients and friends I met while sitting the many long hours in waiting rooms, with hubby while he underwent his treatments.

One particular day I met a young lady, a mom of a 9 year old who had been fighting ovarian cancer for 3 years...she was having a particulary bad day and too long of a wait for chemo. I gave her a bracelet ( I always carried things I could share hoping to brighten a bad moment) and she smiled for the first time in hours,she put it on and her very concerned husband just winked at me a wink of thank you. He commented on a small art quilt I was hand quilting of Pink Flamingos and how his 9 yr old daughter loved anything Pink...but especially pink flamingos.

I worked diligently and gave it to him before we left that day.

He was so thrilled to have something good to take home to his daughter on such a awful day. A day that I suspected would only occur a few more times...as a Angel was circling his beautiful wife...to take her home to a heavenly life. I didn't know for almost a month ..and because of patient confidentialy I couldn't ask...but I had to know and so I asked and the nurse said indeed she passed. Not long after I gave her the bracelet or

the quilt for her daughter. But she is at peace and I know her daughter will always know her mom was loved.

Love under Construction

I just got off the phone with a God sent Friend ...we met at Caring House this past summer ...while my hubby was undergoing his cancer treatments...she was there undergoing treatment too. At first she was real quiet like a mouse just too her self...and then one night something emotional happened and she needed a friend, and that was it...Sandra and I were buds...I started people beading and finally got her to try it one night she got a few bracelets made but more important we each heartprinted ourselves through the love of our LORD. She helped me later thru a very rough time when I was scared...when hubby was found to have a brain tumor (which is Gone) we just support each other and know when one needs to talk.

We were talking today about how often people tell each other they love them..your kids ...your hubby...your mother..etc...

Please get in the habit...of saying I love you to those special people in your lives as people who deal with cancer and know you never know how long you have or when something tragic may hit...those should always be your last words to share.

Our love is the concrete foundation of life ...we are birthed out of love and we should die in love. Yes its hard at times...but so is the knowing you didn't say or do something and you never get the chance.

Ok that is my philosophy lesson for the day...GOD Bless you...and I LOVE you..

Creativity under way

These are examples of some of my beadwork they are done in Peyote stitch ...all original designs. I just sit down with my beads with a idea in mind...and well end up with fun one of a kind art jewelry. Some pieces may take hours and others may take weeks...Painting with beads what fun .

Caution Working Artist

I am a working Artist .....But for 5 plus years here on the beautiful Outer Banks I was the proud owner of Ocean Beads Gallery...I opened it in a 400 square foot store with my oldest daughter ...in 2003 we moved it to a 2000 square foot store so we could have more room to teach. It was such a blessing to be able to teach so many people to think outside the box that they can use the key of imagination and opened that box and make something of beauty they can be proud of....We had a wonderful following....But in 2005 we were told our lease was not to be renewed and that all of the small businesses where we were was being told to leave.
In order for a Big Box Store to move in. I put everything in storage hoping to relocate in spring of 2006...but alas was not to be ..my wonderful hubby was diagnosed with lung cancer...(which he beat with the help of the Lord and Duke Hospital)...It was then I started on this journey of concentrating on my Art ...and loving my husband as he is my world.

My father started me painting and drawing when I was 4 years old ...he was a wonderful artist. As I grew .. I continued to "draw" upon his teachings and all of my other art teachers..but also found things other than paper and paints and pastels to use to create Art.

I found tiny glass objects with holes in them .......beads glorious beads...and fabrics...and old jewelry....OH MY what wonders I could create with them. and I did ...When I was 18 I designed teddy bears that people wanted to collect...and I made them for 15 years. But the reality of real world jobs and family came along and they fell to the side.

When I moved here to the Outer Banks it was only temporary I thought ...move on travel enjoy the beauty ...But no there were other plans a wonderful man, a artistic community and people who I wanted to share what I knew about being creative with.

So now as my hubby has beat the cancer....knock on wood...I want to work as a artist so I can spend my time with him being his soulmate and his wife....

I am creating art of all kinds but I love my fibers ,,, fabrics,,, beads and more.

I will be posting pics of things I am working on so you can see....how fun it is to live and love life.

Not all of us can be Cinderella ....

But some of us can be Fairy Godmothers....now you may think what does this mean ...it means we all have a inner beauty and kindness that we can share. Whether it is a simple smile at a stranger in a grocery store or trying to help a mother with a crying child ...or helping someone put groceries in their car....

I was raised in Virginia and spent summers with my Nanna...who taught me love and looking out for others. She came from a family of 14 ...13 who grew to adulthood working hard on the family farm and whom I was blessed to know ... her mother my great granma lived to be 98 years old.

I love working with my hands and my heart .sharing what I create either
as a gift or for money as a working Artist. Last summer I gave away many of the pieces to people I met while my wonderful hubby was undergoing cancer treatment. just little things to make them realize someone cared.

We stayed at a place called Caring House in Durham it is a place for cancer patients to stay ...I started a bead tray and taught patients and caregivers how to bead bracelets and relax through creativity.
The tray is still there and its mission continues from donations received for my Artist Trading cards I create.

Life is good Hubby has beat cancer twice now ...and I lead a life of Faith.