Sneaky Holiday, that Valentine's.....

I just looked at the calender with my "Where are we in the year?" frame of mind instead of "What do I have scheduled today?" frame of mind.  And, yes.....I cannot believe that Valentine's Day is on it's way!  That lovely little holiday ALWAYS sneaks up on me.....do you feel the same way????


Every Valentine's Day (and I use the term "every" quite loosely here), I make a heart-shaped lavender sachet for my wonderful friend and sweet mother, and it's time to begin thinking about what I'm going to create for her this year.  Any ideas?.....I'm desperate!


In years past, I've made her a heart in pink, or red, or purple, or even gold!....too many to remember them all.  (Well, actually I do....I have a list.....I'm a little obsessive in that way.  But, trust me, that's as far as my "organizational" obsession goes....just ask my hubby!)  I'm just not sure what this year's heart is going to look like.  But I do remember that last year I shared the one that I made for her with all of you, 

and I promised that I would share some of the ones that I had made  "next" Valentine's Day, which, of course, would be now.  So in the next few days, I'll be posting some of my fun little heart-shaped creations that I've made for my mom.   Hope you enjoy them!

Here's the first one that I made for her:

I remember it all began with a vintage pattern book that my mother gave me.  And, uh huh, it did indeed come from my grandmother as you may have guessed...chock full of curvy initial transfers...completely irresistable!  I embroidered the "P" out of gold metallic thread, and I loved how it turned out.  The outside "lace" trim is created from two layers of seed beads sewn into the seams.....very simple to do!  Try it....

Happy Mother's Day to All

 A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.     - Cardinal Murmillo

Recently, my aunt sent me pictures of my grandmother and my great aunt when they were young girls.  They were beautiful sisters who always dressed alike and even studied the same subjects in high school and college.  They both went to a state college and got teaching degrees in the early 1930's!
My mother and my aunt were both very close to their mother and aunt, both of whom lived well into their 80's and enjoyed life to its fullest.  I'm confident that my creativity has come from this side of my family.....

 I took those vintage photos and transferred them to fabric to make a collage for my mother for Mother's Day.  Along side the pictures, I added a note that her mother had written of her early childhood memories of her and her sister playing with their dolls.  
I added her signature in the bottom left corner just so others would know who this piece of art was in memory of. 

The photos are decorated with vintage laces and ribbon trims, rhinestone brooches, and vintage silk flowers.  

 I can't wait for the mail to arrive at my mother's home, and for the moment she opens her Mother's Day gift....

                                               ************* 

Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back
to normal after you've had a baby..... somebody
doesn't know that once you're a mother,
'normal' is history.
* * *
Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by
instinct... somebody never took a three-year-old shopping.
* * *
Somebody said being a mother is boring ....
somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver's permit.

* * *
Somebody said if you're a 'good' mother,
your child will 'turn out good'....
somebody thinks a child comes with
directions and a guarantee.
* * *
Somebody said you don't need an education to be a
mother....somebody never helped a fourth grader
with his math.
* * *
Somebody said you can't love the second child as
much as you love the first....somebody doesn't
have two children.
* * *
Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother
is labor and delivery....
somebody never watched her 'baby' get on the bus
for the first day of kindergarten...
or on a plane headed for military 'boot camp'.
* * *
Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her
child gets married....somebody doesn't know that
marriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law to a
mother's heartstrings.
* * *
Somebody said a mother's job is done when
her last child leaves home......somebody never had grandchildren.
* * *
Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so
you don't need to tell her....
somebody isn't a mother.


                                   ******************

Happy Mother's Day to all of you!  Even if you are not a mother, I'm sure that you have influenced another's life as a mentor and friend.....that's what being a mother is all about!