Did you all have a wonderful Mother’s Day?  I did!  Not because I’ve been a mommy for three years now, but because I had the pleasure of giving MY mom something that showed her how much she is loved by her daughter.

Every first Friday of the month, the West Phoenix HM gang hosts a DIGI-Crop at Fire & Friends Z Art Studio and for April we designed 12×12 or 8×8 sheets to decoupage to a tile.  (Doesn’t sound like much but they look fabulous, trust me.)  The sheets came in well before the workshop and I took my client to pick out some tiles that would compliment his sheet desgins.  Then, we used May’s DIGI Crop time to “Modge-Podge” the sheets to the tiles and let them dry.

Well, the Mother’s Day Tiles turned out AWESOME!  Check it out.  This is one I made for my mom “from Haylee.”  The wording in the middle says, “When a child is born, so are grandmothers”  It’s one of the many quotes found in the Studio library.

 And here is the one I made from me…

The tile I made for my mom

I put them on the dining room table in the iron stands pictured and put a bouquet of pink roses in a vase between them the night before knowing that she would be up early on Mother’s Day and would see them.  What I DIDN’T expect was for her to start crying. 

I had gotten my mom cool stuff from fancy kitchen gadgets (she LOVES the Food Network) to jewelry and stationery but this simple item – that doesn’t have buttons or switches or smell nice – brought mom to tears!

See, my mom was one tough cookie.  She spent her youth keeping up with her three brothers and multitude of cousins who loved camping and fishing.  Even in my youth, I watched her as she never hesitated to climb trees to get the best fruit. She scaled steep drop offs and hills to get to the best (and often hard to get to) fishing spots then going out to the farthest rock on the beach.   As you can see from the pictures, we were pretty close and some of the best memories I have of her are when she used to pick me up from work for lunch and we’d just talk story and hang out at the beach behind my work.  We laughed joked, gossiped and when I left for college, she wrote me practically every day.  When her health started to deteriorate, it was hard… but even so, I rarely saw her cry…

We don’t do much the things we used to do together anymore, more than not it’s because she is too weak.  I miss her spunk and energy.  But most of all, I miss her. 

And when I found the graphic embellishment above that said “A Girl’s Best Friend is her MOTHER”  it was the perfect touch.  I couldn’t believe something so simple and from the heart touched her so deeply.  It is, by far, the best gift I ever gave her…

(At least , until I finish her book! ;o) )

I’m an artsy craftsy person. I’ve doodled. I’ve painted. I’ve sketched. The lastest creative outlet of mine being card making/stamping.  If you’re like me, you’ve spent countless hours in Michael’s and Joann’s – much to the dismay of the hubby.   He has seen me go up and down aisles, looking for just the right piece for my latest endeavor. So when my husband and I came across a Heritage Makers booth at a local Jazz Festival, we were quite enthralled by this unique company.  You see, I’m also a perfectionist. Things have to look just so to me – my own worst critic. I know, pretty odd combination to be an artist and a perfectionist. That’s just ONE of the reasons why Heritage Makers appeal to me.

Heritage Makers allow you to create lasting storybooks and…

• All you need is a computer and internet access - There is no software you need to download.  Better yet, you do not need supplies.  No hole punches, no brads, no embellishments, no scissors!  As the mother of a lil 2-yr old who LOVES to look at and touch everything that her mommy is doing, this is a major pro.
• There is NO WASTE - How green is that??  How many scraps and left over paper have you tossed into the recycle bin?  With digital scrapbooking, there is no waste.  A perfectionist like myself appreciates that I can see the whole picture and still be able to change my mind on a picture or placement without wasting materials.
• It’s quick - All you do is log on to your account and work on your projects.  No set up time, like getting out the scissors, glue, and other tools.  More importantly, no clean up time! 
• Every book is truly an heirloom - Pages get torn, books get lost or even ruined in a natural disaster.  You can get another copy of your book – at half price.  If it were an actual scrapbook, think of all the materials, you would need to reproduce it!  This guarantees that your stories and history gets passed down to generations to come.
• Costs less – Think about it.  Once you buy a scrapbook album, stickers, embellishments & ribbons, how much did it cost you in the end?  I can’t tell you how much times I’ve gotten a strip of stickers for only a particular one? How many timesmuch stickers, paper scraps, and other things do you have leftover sitting unused waiting for that other scrapbook project?  With Heritage Makers, you use what you want out of a collection – and as much times as you want and NO leftovers!
• Earns you money! Contact me to sign up as a consultant.