The Bead Spot

A heart my daughter made for Father's Day. Yesterday, with less than five hours left until Father's Day, my 4-year-old whispered in my ear that she wanted to make a heart out of clay for her daddy and cover it with glitter. We had none of the supplies at home, but, because the idea was hers entirely, I wanted her to be able to make it. We headed off to Hobby Lobby for clay and glitter, making our way to the checkout just as the store closed. When we got home, I settled in to balance my checkbook, while she molded the heart. Every so often, she'd call out, "Mommy, come look!" to show me how it progressed. I'll be honest, it looked a little rough, but she's just 4, and she was proud and so was I. She made the bulk of the heart out of pink clay, adding three purple clay hearts on top. She used up the bulk of the pink clay for the project, I had a feeling that using that much clay would prevent the heart from drying in time, but she was so proud of...

Round beaded earrings. My grandma called a few weeks ago to ask if I had any round earrings. She was asking on behalf of a woman who works in her doctor's office who likes Native American crafts. I told her I had some but no longer do. She told me her next appointment isn't for six months or so, so I've got plenty of time to make some for her to take to show the woman. I made round earrings once before, and they took a long, long time. On the day I started them, I invited a niece and nephew over to keep my daughter entertained. I foolishly thought I could knock out a pair or two over the two hours the kids played together. Instead, I got just one only half finished. I loved the way they turned out, though. So I plan to have some for my grandma to take the next time she goes to the doctor. My other project in the pipeline is an "N" for my daughter's bedroom door. On a recent trip through Target, my daughter got very excited when she saw wooden let...