It's Not About Beads or.... Jewelry.....

MaryAnn Carroll

..... because I have not been about beads for the past five weeks. I've had all I could do to write up an article for Belle Armoire and also make "some" jewelry for our upcoming LMAJ shop. Hopefully, I will find time today to take some pictures and start uploading. So.... what have I been doing you ask? I'm happy that you did ;o) Ohhhh, about four years ago when I had one grandchild, I decided to go on a "handmade" mission and make her all kinds of things.

One of the first things I made her was a toy box. I purchased the handmade toy box from a man that lives about an hour from me. It was pretty rough, but the price was right. I sanded and sanded until I had it smooth. I then painted a book theme on it. The theme was, "Are You My Mother" by P.D. Eastman. The reason for that choice was because it was my son's (her Dad) favorite book. He, too, was a first born. I remember thinking he was the smartest child in the world when at age two he could recite the entire book! I did come down to earth eventually and realized that although he was smart, he wasn't the smartest child in the world. I wanted to save that time in his life so that is what I did. I don't have pictures of that because four years ago I was not blogging, on Facebook, etc. I still have to bring my camera to their house one day so I can take some pictures.

So..... what I hadn't thought about was that I would have more grandchildren. I didn't think about the time that all of that creating takes until there was a request for more.... And, being the good Nonnie ;o) that I am, I obliged. Although, these gifts were supposed to be done last Christmas,they had to be put on hold until this summer due to some family issue running interference. I thought that today I would share with you what I've been doing all August through the first week of September.

With that said, I will keep the rest of this brief. My granddaughter Chloe received the Miss Suzy toy box. Miss Suzy was my sister's childhood favorite. My hope is that my grandchildren will treasure these boxes and pass them on to the next generation :o) I'm not a painter, really.... and I have painted VERY little in my lifetime. I had to let my self-criticism go and just let the brush flow.....

 

My favorite book was Harold in the Purple Crayon. My youngest grandchild Benny seemed a perfect fit for this theme.

 

 

A little closer....

 

I did have a mishap with the white lettering. I had outlined it with a fine paint marker. When I painted on the urethane, it smeared!!! OMG! Fortunately, I thought quick and just wiped it off knowing I would have to redo the lettering. The second time around did not come out as good..... but by that time, I was okay with the fact that I got it done!

So, now that I have finally finished these "chapters of my life," I am hoping to get into some Fall jewelry creations. I'm excited that we will be starting an LMAJ shop, so I've got to get busy creating for my listings.....

Have a great Sunday!

MaryAnn