Happy Mother's Day

• Who are the mothers of mother's day? Before President Woodrow Wilson made it an official holiday in 1915, Mother's Day wasn't about flowers and cards, but instead it was a tribute to women's peace-making activities. Mother's Day is actually a marriage of two separate campaigns that began during the Civil War. The first version of Mother's Day is attributed to Anna M. Jarvis of West Virginia who participated in Mother's Work Days, in which women's brigades worked to improve critical community sanitation. In 1868, Jarvis established Mother's Friendship Day, which encouraged women to ease tensions between North and South once the war was over. The second mother of Mother's Day was Bostonian Julia Ward Howe, author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," who called upon all women to band together to abolish war. Her Mothers' Peace Day celebrations took place for several years in Boston and other cities until the end of World War I.

• It's 1912, do you know what gift to buy your mother? Why not a box of chocolates? In 1912, Whitman's Candies put out the very first box of chocolates, Whitman's Sampler, and had instant success. The president at the time, Walter Sharp, inspired by a cross-stitched sampler hanging in his home, created a sampling of the company's best-selling chocolates and more importantly, included the now-famous index showing the filling of each candy. Sharp worked with a skilled employee to create the original cross-stitch sampler that is still featured on Whitman's yellow boxes of chocolates

I'm back!!

I haven't had much to say for a while. I am not sure why - I think I lost my creative juices for a while - that is until recently I came across these claw clips that were begging to be embellished. Here are a few. I am working on a few more.

These clips are called the linziclips. They were designed by 2 moms in London and distributed in the US by www.ingunuitybeauty.com. The black and clear clips are discontinued so the company is practically giving them away - .50 cents each as opposed to 3.99 @ Wal-Mart.

These are just the tip of the ice burg. I shall continue ‘pimping’ my clips this weekend.

Happy Holidays

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Happy Holidays all. It has been a while since I have shared. I have been busy creating and designing gifts for my friends and family. Here are a few of my favorites…..

I was going through my button stash and I came across some covered buttons. I think they belonged to my mom, ‘cause I don’t remember buying them. I decided to cover them with some scrap leather and make pony tail holders.

More buttons from my button stash - I hope my neice will like these. I think they make perfect stocking stuffers.

I love personalizing the gifts – It makes the gifts uniquely yours

…and here are a few more stocking stuffers. Wow! What a button collection. Since I no longer sew, I was pleased I was able to come up with an idea for my buttons.




And turning to my bead collection, but still keeping with the hair theme, here is what I came up with.






I had several dozen mini pony tail holders that I purchased simply because they were on sale – plus they have multiple uses – I use them instead of using rubber band. I decided to bling them up and use them as stocking stuffer for the little ladies in my family.







Thank you for stopping by, and thank you for supporting independent artists.
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Swarovski necklace

People are always telling me that the get numerous compliments when they wear my jewelry. I hardly wear the pieced I make, because I do not get out much, plus, I sell most of the pieces I make. Today was the exception. I was the necklace pictured here and 2 ladies came up to me and complimented me on the piece. Later on, I was in a department store and yet another lady came up to me and complimented the piece. I think I may have a few new customers. I must say, they made my day. It feels great to get kudos on your labor of love. All my pieces are made with love.
See more @ www.almatthewsetc.com

Rag Shop

My mom was very creative; she liked sewing, embroidering, crocheting, painting. I guess you could call her a mixed media artist – her favorite media was textile. Her favorite store was Rag Shop, followed by Jo-Ann fabrics and The Home Depot.

Several years ago – before Cell Phone was King – I was living in NY and I was having a very bad day. I needed to speak with my best friend, my Mother. I called her repeatedly at home but she was not home. Then I decided to call the Rag Shop close to her home in Deerfield Beach, Florida. I described her to the clerk and asked if she was in the store. Indeed she was. The clerk handed the phone to her, we talked for a bit and all was right with the world.

A few weeks ago an e-mail from Rag Shop was in my in box. They are going out of business. My heart is broken. I rushed over to snag a few items, but all my favorite items are picked over. I was able to grab a few beads and jewelry findings.
I have been searching the ‘net to find out why they are closing, but the information is scanty. According to one report, they are closing because of competition from WalMart, another states that “the family that had started the chain had sold it, and the corporate executives were cutting back on the merchandise in lots of ways. They were going to try to max out profits while they could and then liquidate.”
I am sad to see them go. Anyway, here a few of my creations from the supplies I got @ Rag Shop.


See more @ http://www.almatthewsetc.com/