Do You Have Craft "ADD"

I think I finally figured out what was wrong with me....craft ADD (attention deficit disorder)....how do I know? Well, I had 3 sons, 2 had ADHD...and that's ADD with hyperactivity thrown in there for more drama!! And craft ADD? ....yup, I've got it...see if this sounds something like you!

1. Have a closet full of rubber stamps, most of which are still unmounted...

2. Have boxes and carriers and shelves FULL of paper of every pattern and color you could imagine...

3. Have boxes filled with pictures that are in various stages of being "sorted" (like that will EVER happen)...

4. Have a Sister that use to sell Stampin' Up and Creative Memories stuff (this explains #'s 1 and 2) Do I scrapbook? No, I tried once, it drove me crazy, but I have everything a scrapbooker could lust after!

5. Have boxes full of beads, wire, stretchy threads and tons of books on making jewelry... Do I make jewelry? No, I tried once, it drove me crazy, to tedious. My granddaughter will get this stuff!

6. Have boxes full of molds... Have a box full of "essential oils", of course they have been in there so long it all smells like the same thing. Have tons of books on soapmaking....glycerine, oils etc... Do I make soap? No, I tried once, it drove me crazy to have to WAIT so long to use something I just made!!

7. Have SHELVES full of fabric, (you see, she who dies with the most fabric wins)...I'm gonna win! I also have gutters (yes, I use regular house vinyl gutters) full of rolls of ribbon in every color you could think of. Have 5 sewing machines, 2 regular, 2 embroidery and 1 serger...(yes, I know how to thread it)...Have thread boxes FULL of embroidery thread, most at $6 per spool...that doesn't count the regular and serger threads...I belong to enough online forums for sewing and embroidering that I often forget which ones I've posted in lately... Have 10 different pairs of scissors for everything from applique work to clipping embroidery threads...

Do I sew, you bet your life I do! Sewing is my passion, all the others were what my DH calls my "one night stands"...I can't think of a time in my life that I have NOT wanted to sew...and since my retirement, that's all I have done! I opened 2 online ecommerce stores and have steadly been getting more and more business.

I love my craft, I love creating things and my true love is creating baby and toddler toys. Toys that are safe, toys that Mom and Dad don't have to stand over the toy box with a print out in their hand having to take away the latest recalled toy! Just safe, soft, washable toys...toys that are bright and happy, toys that children can use their imaginations to play with.

So, after all these years of going from one craft to another, buying every "gizmo and widget" that was needed, I came full circle and right back to my needles and threads and my fabrics and I couldn't be happier..... Do you have craft ADD? I use to.....

THE BOX TURTLE....

What if nature were to have a beauty contest.....where do you think turtles would place? Put them up against the cuter, furry raccoons, squirrels, deer and such I imagine turtles would be way down on the "cute" O meter! In fact, the only one they may beat in a contest might be snakes!! And in the turtle "world" I bet we'd be happier picking up a Box turtle over a Snapping turtle any day!

Have you heard the old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." ? Mother nature seems to have given turtles the "it ain't broke, so don't fix it evolution". Fossil records tells us that turtles have been on earth about 200 million years, and have changed little in all that time. Box turtles won't win any races but they must have what it takes to be around that long!

Box turtles differ from other turtles in several ways. They are terrestrial (land-dwelling) turtles. Their high, domed shells and unwebbed feet are adapted for life on land, not water.

But to discover the unique feature from which box turtles get their name, you have to turn them over. The bottom shell, known as the plastron, has it's own "hinge". This hinged shell allows box turtles to close their lower shell against the inside edge of the upper shell (called the carapace). The turtle's head, tail and legs are pulled inside - as if enclosed in a box, hence the name "Box Turtle".

Missouri is home to this little guy. The three-toed box turtle (Terrapene carolina triunguis) is found statewide, except in the northwestern corner and extreme northern Missouri. Adult three-toed box turtles are 4.5 to 6 inches long (115-145mm). Three-toed box turtles, as their name implies, typically have three hind toes - but some individuals have four. They are a forest species, although they may also be found along forest edges and brushy fields. They consume earthworms and insects, but adult three-toed box turtles tend to be more vegetarian, eating a variety of plants, berries and mushrooms. This is the common box turtle of the Ozark woods.

Adult male turtles can generally be identified by their more colorful heads and forelimbs, a slight depression in the plastron and bright red eyes. As in most of nature, the males are more bright than the females.

A close examination of each individual plate (or scute) of a box turtle's bottom shell can reveal the turtle's age. Box turtles exhibit growth rings on each scute similar to the annual rings of trees; one ring equals one year's growth. On young turtles up to 10 years old, the rings are conspicuous and easily counted. However, older turtles gradually wear these rings smooth. A turtle with a completely smooth lower shell with no visible growth rings can be estimated to be at least 30 years old. Just how long box turtles live is uncertain. Estimates range from 32 to more than 80 years. Three-toed box turtles of over 50 years have been documented.

Most box turtle mating takes place in the spring. Two to eight white eggs are laid in the spring or summer. Young turtles hatch in two to three months; however, some clutches laid in summer may not hatch until the following spring.

Box turtles are usually homebodies with small home ranges of about two to five acres. However, some turtles do travel. These are the turtles that drivers encounter crossing roads in the spring. Research has shown that road-crossing box turtles are typically young (not yet sexually mature) turtles or young adult male turtles. Adult females and older males make up but a small percentage of these wanderers.

During the Spring, here in Missouri, Box turtles become roadkill at an alarming rate....Joe hates taking me anywhere when they are roaming as I always have him pulling the car over so I can "rescue just one more". Last Spring I almost got hit by a car trying to save one!

If you happen to be in the woods in Missouri and find one, pick him up, see if you can figure out how old he/she is....but please, put him/her back down. Where you found it is most likely the area it has called "home" for many years and will be for many more.

When your driving through Missouri in the Spring, watch your speed, and watch for our Three Toed Box Turtles crossing the road....if your careful you can avoid them and let them go about their slow lives for years to come!!

My Best Friend, My Mom...

A best friend, someone that I can turn to when I need a shoulder to lean on. Someone that listens, even though she might like to give advice. Someone that doesn't give that advice unless they are asked. Someone that feels my pain and understands without me ever saying a word. Someone that will pray for me...unceasing...until God hears her. Someone that was there with me to celebrate the good times and someone that was there to hold my hand during the tough times too.

She watched me grow, she lead me in the right direction and at times pushed me in the right direction! She was proud and disappointed at times, but the love she felt for me was never different. It was always an unconditional love.

Sometimes I resented her, but most times I listened and so appreciated the advice she imparted. And as I "grew up" I realized how much she really knew, how smart she is.

With all the love she could muster she opened her arms and let me go, even though she wanted to protect me forever. And I went, running into that new world of adulthood, never thinking I'd look back....but I did. Over and over I looked back and then ran back into the comfort of her arms.

She always knew what to say and she also knew when it was alright not to say anything. She knew when to make me go back into that adult world even though it was so hard for her. She knew she gave me everything I needed to survive in it, and I have. I may have some scars to show for it, but I survived.

She stood by while I made mistakes in life and let me make them so I would learn. But, she was always there to pick up the pieces when I failed. She let me know that it was alright to fail as long as I picked myself up and kept on going.

It's not just one day a year that is so special to honor her, I honor her every single day. At night my prayers don't end without asking God to continue to protect and bless her, I thank Him for her every night.  He gave me to her to watch over for Him, He trusted her with His child...to raise as He would see me raised, to honor Him and to honor her.

I call her Mom, she is everything to me and I thank God every day for her.  Happy Mother's Day Mom, I LOVE you!!

The Hands Of An Artist...

Are you an Artist? Look at your hands. What do you see? Do you see skin dried from making soap, skin "colored" from dying cloth, the palms of your hands calloused from doing woodwork or leather work? Maybe your hands are very sensitive from creating beautiful jewelry with tiny, tiny seed beads. Are your hands so covered in oil paints or India inks that you quit worrying about getting it off? I've seen the hands of a paper Artist covered with cuts. Or maybe they look like mine, a seamstress, full of pin sticks from hand stitching in poor light at night.

No matter what your hands LOOK like, it's what they create that matters. Hands guided by your ideas, your thoughts, your dreams and your heart. What they create makes you smile quietly to yourself. They make someone else smile to receive a gift made from those same hands.

Look at your hands....they say volumes about you as an Artist and they are so special...what would we do without them? Our craft would never be realized, it would just stay a thought or a dream that would never come to fruition. Our hands, they say we are Artists, they say so much about us.

The love of our craft can be seen not only in the things that we create, it can be seen in our hands...

Marketplace of Blessings...

I just recently joined a new market venue at 1000markets.com.  It's called "Marketplace of Blessings".  It is a beautiful market filled with creations from Christian Artisans.  Everything there has been created with the utmost care and love.  

These are just a few samples from Marketplace of Blessings you'll find there;

* Tatted Cross by "Joy of Tatting"

* Prayer box bracelet by "Jewel Fire Designs"

* Paperweight by "CreationsAnew"

* Prayer Box by "Gpdesignsart"

Please take a moment from your busy day and browse around the Marketplace of Blessings, I'm sure you'll find something that touches your heart and soul!

Back Home....

After a 14 hour day we finally made it back to our lake for the summer. It's amazing how a "place" can fill a hole in your soul. I love Tucson, 2 of my kids and 7 of my grandchildren are there, but it just isn't home anymore to me.

This lake seems to calm me immediately. I can just feel the tension and stress drain away. The first thing I did was to go down to the dock and just breath! The air smells cleaner, and right now the lake smells cold and fresh.

As I sat there a pair of Loon's swam by, not paying any attention to me. I watched huge flocks of Canadian Geese winging their way back north for the summer. The Mallard ducks and their mates were "talking" over in the cove, I couldn't see them but I could hear them. And one lone Bald Eagle was soaring over the lake, they are so majestic...

My soul feels renewed, spring is coming, the leaves are just barely starting to bud out, the pink dogwood trees are bursts of color in the woods that still look asleep. Home....where Lake of the Ozarks fills your soul and takes you back to a much quieter pace of life....

ByNanasHands will be packing and traveling over the next few days. We're heading back to our beloved Lake of the Ozarks for the summer. If you intend to make a purchase, please feel free to do so. But please know that it will not be mailed out until Friday next week.

The packing up of one's most precious "tools" is always an effort for me. I worry when my "girls" (my sewing and embroidery machines) are traveling "unescorted" 1,400 miles across country in the hands of the Post Office. Actually, it sends chills up my spine. Due to physical problems regarding my husband's knees, we cannot drive there, we must fly. So, the girls are on their own for a few days. And since the airlines cannot seem to get a bag from point A to point B without losing it putting them on the plane is NOT an option. We don't even travel with luggage anymore!

When we went from the lake to Tucson for the Winter one of my girls was MIA in the mail system. You would of thought that it was a child lost in the woods. The people at the Post office counter would scatter when I showed up EVERY SINGLE MORNING FOR 10 DAYS. But, I found out that a crazed and dazed woman at exactly 8:00 a.m. every day asking the same questions finally did get answers! Melting down in the lobby of the Post Office wasn't exactly "pretty" but it got results. Somehow, my favorite embroidery machine ended up in Utah (go figure)...that's a far cry from Tucson, Arizona! And I am sure the fact that my machine was put on a plane and sent to Tucson that day and delivered the next had NOTHING to do with those meltdowns. :)

Let's see what today brings when I go into the Post Office, at exactly 8:00 a.m. with 8 boxes that all need to be sent Priority and all need Insurance and all need Delivery Confirmation and all need Signature Confirmation.....bet I get out quick....because I'm sure they will remember me.