The other mother's day gifts..finally

I think all of our special mothers and grandmothers should have their gifts now. I have been excited to share the other items! I made my grandma a set of produce bags with a special assignment: I need to know how sturdy this particular material is. I do not carry produce bags in my shop anymore because I just didn't think the tulle made for very strong bags. I found this other material already made into bags but they were huge. I altered the bags to make them smaller and then made a little drawstring pouch for them all to ride in. Once I know how they last after several uses, I may think about adding them.

My mom requested a lunch sack. I love this fabric that I picked out. It reminds me of a vera bradley print, which I knew my mom would love. I do not like making the lunch sacks and will probably never carry them in my shop. I will make myself one when I go back to teaching, but that may be it. I added a cloth napkin, snack bag, sandwich wrap, and coffee cozy. I know she will love carrying it to school and will be the item of envy from the others in the teachers lounge.

At my small group last week (we are doing a study on parenting) we were asked what is one thing our parents did right. This led into the conversation then of, are we doing that 'right' thing with our kids. I knew right away something my parents did right. I said that my mom really encouraged and supported us in areas that we were interested in and showed strengths in. My mom always encouraged me to be creative and let me explore lots of different artistic elements. She was always giving me opportunities to be creative. I recall being given materials for wreaths and asked to make door decoration, decorating bulletin boards at church, making bible school crafts, and even painting a stain glass window in our back door. I remember sitting on my moms lap while she sewed (I also remember pushing my leg into the bar that powered the sewing machine, while she had her fingers down by the needle threading it!) and being taken to a Ukrainian egg decoration class. So thanks, mom for really encouraging me to do what I like!