A Little Mania Can Be a Good Thing

I know, I know. You've heard it before, that I'm back, with a renewed commitment to my blog and to posting on a regular basis, blah blah blah... Well, I certainly can't make any guarantees - after all, I could get hit by a bus or be wisked away by a tornado! (Auntie Em! Auntie Em!) But, I'm back. Whatever that means.

In my last post - almost 4 months ago! - I mentioned that my end of the bipolar seesaw was beginning to rise up into the air. And it is, hallelujah! I told my therapist a couple weeks ago that I feel a manic swing coming on. A little mania can be a good thing - the key word being "little". But this time around I'm on the correct medications and in therapy, and being aware of what's happening and understanding it will hopefully help me tame it and keep it in check.

So, things at my house have changed a lot in recent months. My sister, Rhonda, and her son, Damon, have moved in with me. And it's good. We laugh a lot, which is healthy for us all. Rhonda cooks and cleans, which I do NOT! I've said for years that I don't need a husband, I need a wife. So now I have one, sort of.

My nephew Damon is a great kid. Mostly I like him because he laughs at my corny jokes. He's pretty smart, too. Damon attends the School of Engineering, a special high school here where the kids take college classes along with their high school curriculum, and they graduate from high school with a two-year degree in engineering. Pretty cool, huh? And he's also a wicked soccer player!

 

My all-purpose art/cutting area



My former art room is now Rhonda's room, and my former sewing room is now Damon's room. So what happened to all my stuff, you might ask. It's all in my former bedroom! Which actually works out pretty well. I haven't slept in my bed for several years now, thanks to an achy back and joints, sleeping instead in my recliner. So I put the bed in Rhonda's room and have somehow managed to get MOST of my sewing and art stuff into my former bedroom. Cozy, for sure, but it works. (The boxes and boxes of stuff that's left over are behind the sofa, waiting for me to list them on ebay.)



Can you say too much stuff???



My sewing station



 

 

A very small sampling of my stash

 So what am I working on these days? Purses. LOTS and LOTS of purses. I started making these several years ago and sort of burned out on them. But I wanted to have a booth at a craft fair coming up in April, and heaven knows I have plenty of fabric! So, I sketched out some new ideas, and over the last couple of weeks my rotary cutter and I have become quite intimately reacquainted. In addition to purses, I am making adorable little purse-size-tissue covers and coffee cup cozies.



Love these fabrics!



And I've changed my little "business" name from BeBe's Creations to Button Soup Creations. How cute is that? Of course, I had no idea there's a book from days of yore by the same name. Who'd a thunk? And I've decided to open an Etsy shop, which is in the works. See? I told you a little mania can be a good thing!

Until next time,

Beverly

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.   Proverbs 18.10

Abducted by aliens; returned home at last

Okay, so it wasn't really aliens. Just been at the "down" end of the seesaw for the last several months. But the tilt is headed in the other direction now.


After participating at a few craft/gift fairs this Fall, I have items left over that I really want to sell. So I've put out a flyer inviting folks to come by my house on Saturday to check out my stuff and hopefully BUY!

These are my "Heavenly Princess" canvases, evolved from a class I recently took. Christy Tomlinson offers a "SheArt" class, which I took because A) I love her messy and spontaneous style, so different from my own, and B) Christy is just so darn cute!

Each canvas has "Princess - Daughter of the Heavenly King" somewhere, along with an inspirational saying or Bible verse. No Princes yet, but they're coming!




You can see my Vintage canvases here, and here, and here, and here.

 

The canvases shown above are 6x6; those below are 6x8. The sides are finished, so no frame is needed.

The next canvases are 8x10, followed by 6x12.

I also made some wreaths out of pages from old hymnals. I had seen this style of wreath online, but not made from hymnal pages, so I thought, Woo-Hoo! I've come up with something unique! Not so much, it turns out. A friend told me she received the same type wreath, made from hymnal pages, as a gift. Oh poo...

But they're very pretty, even if I wasn't the first to think of it! And I really like that they can be used throughout the year.

This is a close-up of the paper rose in the center. I said bad words while I was making those roses. Lots of bad words.

Anyway, this is just a sampling of the wreaths. There are 12", 17" and 25" diameters, with one or two rows of cones. The color is from spray glitter, which is sealed and will not come off on your clothes, floors, furniture, pets...

Until next time, hope you're enjoying a wonderful life!

Beverly

Giveaway winner - I can't find you!

I have been unable to find the winner of my giveaway - and it's a great giveaway! The only information I have is "Darrelyn" and a link to her blog. There is no "contact me" button, and no email address on her profile. And, I have tried and tried and tried to leave a comment on her blog, to no avail!

So, Darrelyn, if you see this, contact me right away! If I have not heard from you by June 20, I will choose another winner. Hope you get this message in time!

I'm Back!

Just a quick note to everyone to say I'm finally back after my computer had a major hard-drive crash on May 24! Got a lot of catching up to do and some new art to post as soon as I have a chance. Breathe, Beverly, breathe....

And the Winner Is...

...going to be getting a big box of cool stuff in a few days!

So, with a bit of fanfare...

...and a drumroll, please...

Congratulations

to

wait for it

wait for it

Darrelyn!!!

I'll be getting your goodies box into the mail tomorrow!

Thank you to all who entered. I've enjoyed reading your comments and I hope that you enjoyed

Giveaway Day 2011!!!

It's Over!!!

Giveaway Day is now officially closed. I will post the winner,
chosen by Random.org, tomorrow morning at 9:00 EST.
Thanks to everyone who entered and especially to
all the new followers.

On the Soapbox Again: Body Image

I'm a big girl. I haven't been "pleasantly plump" since high school, and I've been shopping in the plus-size section for about 30 years now. It grieves me to see the term "weight problem". Okay, if you're so heavy it's robbing you of your health and ability to live a relatively normal life, then that's a problem. Aside from that, why can't we just accept that "this is the size I am. I may have been smaller, or even larger, at one time, I may be smaller or larger in the future. But right now, this is me. AND IT'S OKAY."

My legs are fat and stubby, but they get me from place to place. They ache from fibromyalgia and my left knee is tortured by RA, but these are my legs, and I love them.

My arms are flabby and the batwings swing back and forth like crazy. But these arms hug my grandchildren and friends, these arms connect to my hands that paint and knit and sew and play the piano and create art... I love these flabby arms.

My belly and backside make me resemble a gigantic apple. So what? That's the way they are at this point in time. I can't say I love them, but I accept them, and I do not hate them and I do not hate myself because of them!

Now here's where the fat is a good thing: at age 57 I have no wrinkles on my face. None. not even crow's feet around my eyes. Why? The fat keeps 'em filled out! LOL

Ladies, I'm not saying you shouldn't try to change your size and shape if you want to. I'm not saying, "Fat is where it's at". What I am saying is don't be ashamed of yourself right now, don't put your life on hold "until I lose [x number of] pounds". I've got news for you, if you cannot or will not feel good about yourself now, you still won't when you've reached your "perfect" weight. You'll just find something else to focus on and be unhappy with.

I remember sitting by the pool 30 years ago in my black polyester slacks, roasting, and wanting more than anything to be in that pool with my children. So one day I went shopping for a bathing suit. There were only 5 to choose from, 4 dowdy black ones, and 1 bright, shiny blue one. Guess which one I bought? The blue one! It really brought out my eyes. (batting my eyelashes rapidly) And I went to the pool, dropped my cover-up and jumped in with my girls and we had a blast. Oh, that water felt so delicious in the hot sunshine!  Oh, the days I had wasted not enjoying this!

There was no way not to notice the shocked expressions on the faces of the other polyester-clad moms. After about 2 weeks, one of those moms showed up in a bathing suit. After another week or so, several more ladies sporting brand new bathing suits jumped into the pool and cavorted about with their children and had FUN! I'd like to think that having one person break the unspoken rule that fat people can't appear in public in a bathing suit was the catalyst for other women to pluck up their courage to come out of the [black polyester pants] closet!

Be brave ladies! Resist what the media tells you that you should look like. Refuse to accept rudeness from people who think it's okay to disrespect you because you're a woman of size. Love yourself just the way you are!

I must confess that I have to preach this message to myself from time to time. In the Bible, James 4.7 says, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." The devil loves it, delights in it, when he can keep us imprisoned in self-hatred. Resist, resist, resist! The scriptures also tell us, in Psalm 139.14 that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made...". I am thankful that what God sees as important, and the only thing He regards as important, is what is inside in our hearts.

My hope and wish for you all is to learn to love yourself, warts and all, and understand that what is in your heart is what really counts.