Who I Am..........: Goodbye 2010 and Happy New Year 2011

I have enjoyed my art in the past year.

I made lots of photo note cards with the hopes of selling them. You will find some pics of several HERE. 400 plus cards later, they are sitting on the top shelf of a spare closet in our guest room. I had fun making them and it filled the need for creativity that drives me. I had plans of marketing them, but then we got word that we were expecting our third grandson, and I knew that I would want to do for him exactly what I did for our other grandsons. Providing him a safe place with lots of love to be while Mommy worked was important, so the cards went on a shelf. They will keep and maybe when Tate is a little older I will be able to do what I originally planned when I embarked on this endeavor.

I made lots of mini albums. Heart of Texas Studios sells the best shaped chipboard albums. I had a ball decorating several for them to take to a trade show in September. You can see some HERE and HERE and HERE.

I also made Teddy Bears. Heirloom gifts for Grandchildren out of a beloved Grandmother's chenille bedspread. Grandmother passed away just after the bears were completed. The teddy bears became a meaningful Christmas gift for 8 grandchildren who lost their grandmother this past year.

I got an email from the lady who asked me to make them yesterday.

She said, "Well, Karen, they were very successful! Everyone cried their little hearts out. I have a nephew that has muscular dystrophy and Downs syndrome. He sat on the couch and just hugged his teddy bear. It was a very sweet, touching moment for my family when the grandchildren opened their present from their grandmother. "

When I read it, I was so honored to have been able to use my talent to give joy to others.

I began using my embroidery machine again. I hadn't really used it much in the past couple of years. But with a new grand baby coming, I had the opportunity to dust if off and monogram some onsies and burp clothes.

My final project for 2010 was a combination of the two - teddy bears and embroidery. My mother celebrated her 89Th birthday on December 29. I was able to give her a very special Teddy Bear as a gift.

So now we are looking ahead to a NEW YEAR. We ask each other what resolutions we are making for the new year? We plan to exercise more, eat better, loose weight, etc. Often we start out strong only to have life get in the way and those resolutions fall by the wayside.

. There are no resolutions being made by me. I am just gonna keep on keeping on as I have been. And that is to continue........