Milestones

My son is turning 21 today.  This is not only a milestone in his life, but in mine as well.  He is my baby who arrived 7 years after his sister, just when we thought there would never be another child in our lives.

Aaron was, and still is, a very special person in our lives, especially in my life.  He quietly forged ahead with that beautifully sly smile of his that could melt anyone’s heart.  He was our little comedian who loved to join in playtime with his older sister. We have lots of fun photos of him dressed in hysterical outfits with masking tape mustaches and tissue box guitars, or wearing his pirate bandana behind the boxes painted like bricks that he and his sister used as their fort.

Aaron in my Halloween 'Bookworm"creation

Pirate Aaron in his fort

Aaron loved to wear a toolbelt like his dad and follow behind him with his toy lawnmower as he mowed the lawn.   As he grew, he loved fishing with his dad, camping,  playing baseball, soccer and basketball, and swimming every day during the summer at our swim club.

Aaron during his canoe trip to Canada

He even spent part of his summer during high school canoeing from Minnesota to Canada!  He is a true outdoorsman.  In high school he played lacrosse and threw the shot put.

Aaron began his artistic “career” in elementary and middle school when he won 2 art contests.  He always amazed me with his drawings, although he says he can’t believe he ever thought his work was good. As both his mom and an art teacher, of course, I disagreed with him!   He continued to follow that path in high school taking art classes, but as a very technologically savvy person, he was immediately drawn to Graphic Design taking as many computer art courses as he could fit into his schedule, ending with an independent study in Graphic Design his senior year.

His sister had majored in the Visual Communications in college and went on to become a graphic designer.  He is headed down the same road, at the same university and with the same major. I guess my genes won out over my husband’s in this area!

Aaron is going to be a senior in college in the fall.   This time next year, hopefully, he will have recognized his dream and will be gainfully employed as a graphic designer.  There is no doubt in my mind that he will be successful.

He has inspired me, even giving me the name for my crafts business when he was in elementary school.  In the past few years he has helped me with the newly developed graphic art courses I teach at my high school.  He has given me suggestions, ideas, shown me his work, and the work of many graphic designers.  He keeps me thinking, creating, dreaming.  The tables have turned, I started out being the teacher and ended up being the student.  But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Aaron on his 8th birthday with my version of his favorite Pokeman character

The best words of advice I can give to Aaron at this point in his life were written by Henry David Thoreau,“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined.”  Happy 21^st birthday to my baby!   Aaron, I hope you experience the joy and love in your life that you have given me in mine.  Thank you for being my inspiration!

Happy 21st Birthday, Aaron!

Birthdays, Bears, and Blankets

When my kids were little I tried to make every birthday special.  It all began with my daughter's 3rd birthday when I served clown ice cream cones which essentially were a scoops of ice cream for the clowns' heads and overturned sugar cones for the hats.  Embellished with chocolate chips and piped frosting, they were a delicious and creative addition to a beautiful birthday! The next year I made her a Minnie Mouse cake.  And that was just the beginning.  As the years went on the cakes became more elaborate.  The night before the birthdays I would decorate the dining room with balloons, streamers and a happy birthday sign strung across the curtain rod above the french doors. The best part were the kids' teddy bears who donned party hats for the occasion and sat amidst their presents on the dining room table.  This quickly became birthday tradition.  As I have come to learn, presentation is the key!  They probably will never remember what they got on those birthdays, but they will always remember those bears waiting to celebrate their special day with them.

My daughter, Dana, is celebrating her birthday this week.  Her bears, left behind in her old room, sit silently on her bookshelf, never again to wear party hats and enjoy their place of honor on the dining room table on that one special day of the year.  But time marches on, and the way to celebrate birthdays has definitely changed.  It's usually long distance with a card, gift card and a birthday phone call or text message.

This year, I had a request from my daughter to make a quilt out of her old t-shirts, so I decided to make the quilt for her birthday.  I have created many things in my artistic career, I have painted, sewn, drawn, but I have never made a quilt.  It was a good idea, and I had seen many examples of these quilts with the quilters' guarantee that it was super easy.  I used this tutorial as my guide to make the quilt.  Ok, I thought, how hard could this be?  So I start cutting up her old t-shirts, mesh athletic shorts, college t-shirts, and a t-shirt that I had painted for an environmental club she started in middle school called Going Green.  I soon realized why I hadn't done this before. Even this simple t-shirt quilt took on a life of its own.  I have been cutting, appliquing, basting and sewing for about 3 months.  It became easier as the days went on and my plan sort of came together the more I sat with the quilt and thought about it.  I hope it doesn't suffer the same fate as the afghan I crocheted for my son to take to college with him when he graduated from high school. He will be a senior in college next year and the afghan never left his room at home.  But that's ok. Creating it was good therapy on those long winter nights passing the time after work and dinner.  Maybe he's saving it for when he moves out of the house.

I think my daughter will appreciate the effort, since it is my first attempt at a quilt.  She is a mainly neutral tones person, not much for prints and unfortunately her high school colors were gold and brown and her college colors were blue and gold.  Then there was that "Going Green" t-shirt which, of course, was green.  I found some blue and green cotton prints with the tiniest dots on them to use and a few other small blue prints, I appliqued the printed portions of the shirts on them, zig zagged stitched around each one and then sewed all the blocks together.  I have to admit, this was the part I was most worried about and I was right to have felt that apprehension.  Novice that I was, not all the blocks lined up exactly, but it was my first attempt after all.
I basted and stitched all the layers together, leaving about 20" as directed in the tutorial to turn it.  After turning it right side out, I hand stitched the opening and then decided on the easiest way to quilt it which really isn't quilting at all, it was just tying.  I found a very good tutorial on youtube on tying a quilt and used that as my guide.  I used white embroidery floss at the corners of each block to tie the quilt together.  I pressed it a  little and admired my handiwork.  It may not be an authentic quilt. It might not be like the quilt in the tutorial.  It may not be perfect.  But I am very proud of my accomplishment!  I think it came out pretty well for a first time quilter.  I just hope my daughter feels the same way.  Happy Birthday, Dana!

A Tribute to Mom

There is one day a year set aside to honor one of the most important people in your life, one day.  Greeting cards fly off the shelves, florists are much busier than usual and restaurant reservations are pretty hard to come by.  But is one day really adequate to remember a woman who gave you life, changed your diapers, rocked you to sleep, and sat in the first row at every one of your middle school concerts?  Is it enough for the woman who dried your tears, helped you through your disappointments and celebrated your triumphs with you?  I think not.

Mom and me

I am lucky enough to still be able to celebrate Mother's Day with my mom.  She is a very special person and I hope she realizes just how important she is to me and my family.  I talk to my mom on the phone every day. Even though she only lives 20 minutes away, I still like to hear her voice each day, to check in with her and make sure she is ok.  We talk about family, how we spent our day, and one of our favorites subjects, the Yankees!  I could give my mom a bouquet of flowers or a box of candy for Mother's Day, but it wouldn't be nearly enough to say thank you for all that she has been to me all these years.
I hope that my kids will appreciate me as much as I appreciate my mom.  They say you don't start to appreciate your mom until you become a mom yourself, and I totally agree with that statement.   I understand what she and Dad went through, gave up and sacrificed to give us as good a life as they could.  I understand how hard she worked.  I remember her coming home from work as a secretary in her fashionable high heels and clip earrings.  I couldn't wait to grow up and be just like my mom.
I am grown up and I still want to be just like my mom.  She is the epitome of kindness and grace.  Mom is one class act and I only hope that I can  continue to follow in her footsteps and make her proud of me.

I chose this beautiful pink and red hanging basket for my mom!

I hope I have done as good a job of raising my kids as she has done raising me and my siblings.  I hope I have passed on her traditions, her recipes, her talents and her love the best I could.  I hope I have been all she has and continues to be to me to both of my kids.  
One day is simply not enough to celebrate such a magnificent lifetime of love.  Mom, whatever I come to your door with on May 13, a hanging basket of flowers, a box of chocolates or something handmade (my favorite choice), please know that I could never begin to give you a gift that would express my thanks and gratitude for being a mom extraordinaire!  Happy Mother's Day to the best mom in the world!

 I couldn't resist making these fabric bookmarks for my mom who is an avid reader.

Spring Rummaging

There are some things that are just better when shared with a friend, especially if that friend also happens to be your daughter.  One tradition that my daughter and I have come to share is our bi-annual trip to a large rummage sale held in a nearby town.  My daughter, who lives in Maryland with her husband, makes the pilgrimmage to New Jersey this time each spring, to share this exciting adventure with me.

It began on Thursday evening.  Dana and her adorably sweet, dog, Laila, travelled from Maryland to New Jersey after work.  I organized her old room which has since become my craft room, pushed aside the inventory of my Artfire shop, unplugged the sewing machine, and cleared off her bed.  She arrived at around 11:00 PM, tired from a long day at work and driving nearly four hours, but happy to see me, my husband and our 2 dogs.
It's nice to have her back in her room, shuffling around in her mismatched socks that she pulls out of her lingerie drawer still holding a few remnants of her youthful wardrobe.  For a few days, we are back to how life used to be.  It's great to have her back home, if even just for a few days.
I take a personal day for this event.  I NEVER take a day off from my teaching job, and my students can't believe I am actually leaving them to take a personal day.   But, I think this special time with my daughter warrants a day away from my students, and although I feel a little like I am playing hooky,( because that's just my strict work ethic), I reassure myself that it's ok to take 2 days a year off from school.
We rose fairly early on Friday morning, and dressed for the weather.  It always seems to rain the day we go, but Dana donned her rainboots and I put on my old sneakers, we grabbed some cloth bags to hold our treasures and headed off to the rummage sale.
It was crowded, as usual, with the parking section of the fairgrounds lined with cars , but we managed to find a space amidst the large, muddy puddles and headed off to the tents, plotting out our plan of which tents to visit first and what we intended to purchase in each one.
We began in the dry goods tent, weaving through the narrow aisles grabbing any fabric we felt would best suit our needs.  I found some gingham and tiny prints for a few baby projects.  Dana found some very cute beige fabric with tiny blue bird silhouettes that she thought would make an adorable baby skirt.  I am tucking that one away for my future grandaughter, when and if she ever comes into our lives.  Dana found some very nice upholstery fabric scraps to cover a chair pad.  She has a very descrimating eye, being a graphic designer.  Being an artist, crafter and art teacher, I am always planning my next project, and I am always on the lookout for just the right fabric to use in any or all of my projects at school, or at home.

We continued on to the vintage, arts and crafts, holiday and jewelry tents, picking up a few items along the way.  Our last stop was the kitchen tent where I picked up some teapots and plates to use for the Senior Breakfast at the end of May.  As freshman class moderator, I work with the freshman student council to host a themed breakfast for the senior class.  This year our theme is "Mad Hatter's Tea Party".  I found exactly what I was looking for...an eccletic assortment of interesting teapots and plates.  As we juggled these items, my daughter found a cast iron fondue pot.  We were quite a sight with this weird assortment of items, standing in line, balancing the awkward and heavy kitchenware.
After checking out, Dana strapped our 3 bags across her back and headed back to the car.  I lagged behind toting the box of teapots and plates, stopping every few feet to regroup.  Tired and muddy, we headed back to my house chatting all the way home about our purchases, and how little money we spent on such great buys, and planning the best time to come for our trip back for the fall sale.
A week before Mother's Day, this was the most perfect early Mother's Day gift I could have gotten from my daughter.  As I get older, I appreciate time spent with my kids more because I see them less.  It was a very special day, and a very special weekend, rummaging with my "friend".

Growing in Leaps and Bounds!

I have 7 grandnieces and nephews.  The youngest of the 7 will be celebrating his very first birthday next week and my husband and I will be attending his party.  I love to make something for these occasions because I feel it is a unique and special way of commemorating a special day. It will be a one of a kind gift and since I always second guess anything I buy as a gift, I know that something handmade is a perfect and confident choice for me.

 I thought long and hard about what exactly I would make for a one year old boy.  I made him a personalized stool for his christening.  I made him some appliqued onesies when he was born, so what could I possibly make him that would be useful and attractive?  Hmmm....a growth chart!
So I took a trip to the hardware store and bought a canvas dropcloth.  I use drop cloths for art projects with my students and love the color, texture and durability, not to mention the cost!

I toyed around with different themes appropriate for boys such as space, cars, forest animals, etc., but decided on frogs.
I cut and hemmed the cloth, sketched out the design, added the calibrations and painted.  I added some polka dotted ribbon to the sides for a little contrast and pattern, a dowel to which I will a a cord to hang it and 2 large beads to keep the cord from slipping off and, "voila", I have a perfect handmade gift for my little grandnephew!

The finishing touch will be a little message on the back signed and dated by me.  Happy 1st Birthday, Michael!

A Few of My Favorite Things

It's time for me to write about one of my favorite things, teddy bears.   I don't know when my obsession began, but for as long as I can remember, I have always been enamored of those furry, chubby cheeked, shiny black eyed huggable creatures.  They surround me everyday, in my bedroom on a wicker trunk, in my den on an old fashioned record player and on a shelf in my kitchen. There's something very comforting about having them around.

One thing I like about as much as I like looking at my teddy bears, is painting them.  In addition to painting the bears on my Christmas ornaments, I also paint bears on children's stools.  Although I usually do a sketch before I begin painting, sometimes I just begin with a rough idea and let the muses lead me where they will. 

I recently painted stools for a set of quadruplets, 2 boys and 2 girls.  I painted a fairy bear in a garden of flowers and butterflies for Lily, a bumble bee bear in a garden of sunflowers and bees for Edda, a sailor bear with a toy boat and anchor for Timmy, and my favorite, a fisherman bear with fish and frogs for Wyatt.  The woman who commissioned me to paint these stools is a friend and former colleague of mine for whom I have painted several ornaments, stools, rocking chairs and a table for her grandchildren.  I have painted lots of different bears for her, so I wanted to do something different for these four stools.

Although I will paint a copy of one of my stools for someone if they ask, I enjoy the challenge of creating new and different themes because each bear I paint has a slightly different look, different color fur, and no two are alike.  Each has its own personality and sometimes I don't know what the bear will become until I begin to paint.  Another colleague of mine, who uses my stools as her go-to baby gift, simply tells me the child's name, lets me know what the mom or dad's hobbies or favorite sports are or where they went to school, etc., and lets me take it from there.  Sometimes people just tell me colors and the sex of the child and let me do my own thing.  Those are my favorite stools to paint.

It's a wonderfully creative process for me to go through each time I paint.  Although I've been doing this a long time, I never tire of the journey!

Babies in Bloom

About a month ago, one of my nieces approached me about creating centerpieces for her sister-in-law's baby shower.  She is having twins!
Since I created the centerpieces for my daughter's wedding, this was something I enjoy doing, and could definitely have fun with. I have also been creating centerpieces for my high school's "Senior Breakfast" every year for the past 20 years.  It's alway a challenge coming up with new theme ideas each year with the freshman class student council who hosts the event.

I got busy sketching on my tablet computer and came up with some fun ideas for the baby shower centerpieces, which I then sent to my niece for approval.  Although she liked all the ideas, she especially liked the one I did using a topiary form.  I filed away the other sketches because my daughter's friends, after a year or two of marriage are starting families one by one, so I'm sure I may again be called upon to create a few, if not for her friends, then one day for my future grandchild's shower!
I had to make eight centerpieces and after many hours of making each flower with tiny pearl bead centers and gluing them to the topiary ball, wrapping ribbons around the dowel, painting the pots and adding Spanish moss, I was finally finished.

It was time consuming, but fun, and the resulting centerpieces, I must admit, came out very well.