I can remember going to the local craft store nearly every Saturday morning with my Mom. Whatever the latest thing was, she tried it. Looking back a few projects really stand out. I'll never forget when we made bird puppets out of styrofoam balls. We made a ton of these in every color of feathers that we could find. I'll never forget the resin grape clusters because it was dangerous and it was one of the few projects I was not allowed to do. Then there were the huge yarn and dowel rod God's Eyes and string art. One of Mom's favorite things to make were those Lil Missy Beaded Dolls. She loved those. Mom was quite handy with a sewing machine too. She made me clothes, costumes and stuffed animals. I wish I still had those Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. She worked so hard on them and they were so pretty. She crocheted but never knitted. She even sketched out a huge mural on the living room wall! Mom is 80 years old now and not crafting too much but she is my biggest fan and I am hers.
Dad was a ceramic tile setter. He was featured in the Chattanooga Times Free Press Newspaper when he helped restore the Tivoli Theater in Chattanooga, TN. You see the Tivoli was old and it was proving to be difficult to make new tile grout match the old. Eventually Dad came up with the idea of using chewing tobacco juice to stain the grout. No, he did not chew the tobacco. He could make anything. When I was about 8 years old, he built a house boat in our backyard. We used to spend our summer weekends on that boat. Those were good times. Fishing is my favorite hobby second to beading. Dad was also really good at photography and he even built a darkroom. He also built a beautiful china cabinet in the home I grew up in. As he got older and had to slow down he enjoyed quilting. I miss him.
There are so many other things I could share about their creative abilities but I think you get the idea. Although my parents did not teach me how to bead, they taught me to be creative and try new things. Who knows...you just might discover something you are really good at.
Thanks Mom and Dad for allowing me to be creative.
