What a Happy Surprise!

Oh, My Goodness!
I am so thrilled that I had so many bloggers interested in my little space of Blogland!
Surprised, and happy, and excited and surprised and....you know what I mean!
It has been so much fun getting to know you all a little through your comments here and looking at your blogs.
Vicki from 2 Bags Full Blog, thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU! From the bottom of my heart for taking the time and effort for us to all benefit from your wonderful blog and blogging expertise! You and your "team" are amazing!

Those of you who found me through this party I am so glad you came! Hope you find ideas and fun and recipes and comfort you might enjoy.... Thank you all for your kind comments and sharing with me.

I am trying to see if I can post a decent blog post with my phone here so we shall see if THIS will happen again from the phone! Wish me luck!

Happiness to you from my heart, and believe it or not, my master bathroom! That is where this picture was taken!

Well, that much was from the phone camera.....I needed more light in the picture....I don't know how to put a picture in the middle of the post, or if I even can. I didn't see anywhere on my phone that I could adjust that....I really like being able to edit the pictures...I bet there is a phone app for THAT! So...

if any of you know anything about how to do this with a phone or where I can find information about how to do it....please let me know!!  (I am on the computer now, so I could look at it and fix the info to link to Vicki's Blog...)

A few new pictures this morning, checking out the light ...

This one doesn't really look much different than the first... It has been so cloudy here, the daylight isn't bright at all.
I will keep working at it and maybe get better!

By the way, I love my terracotta cherub bell...I have peach, mostly a slightly pink peach, not apricot, throughout my house. I have a few different versions of cherubs, all terracotta, and I am contemplating painting them with a fairly thin wash, so they look softer, but the peach still shows through...What do you think....??

Have a beautiful day! Hearts to you!

Betsy

Grow Your Blog!

I am so happy to see you here at my blog! I am excited to be participating in the "Grow Your Blog!!!" party  sponsored by Vicki at 2 Bags Full Blog. Vicki, thank you so much for hosting this party. I am looking forward to meeting and greeting other members of the blogging community. I love hearing from those who come to Betsy's Heartstrings and getting to know you through your comments here and following your blogs as well.

I would like to introduce myself .... I am Betsy, Child number 10 of my Parents, Sister number 9 to one Brother and eight Sisters, the Only Woman in the world to my "Perfect for Me" Hubby, Mother of 4 Girls and 1 Boy, and Gma to 2 Lovely Grandgirls. My Very First Post, which was only 3 months ago, talks about how my nickname, Betsy, came to be and about why I decided to write a blog. I hope you will read about it there.

I am a "creator" of many things. . .and I like to share them with people. I have taught many friends how to create lots of different things, and have loved learning how to do the creative things they know how to do. Some of the things I have learned and taught are playing the guitar, cross stitching, playing the piano, sewing children's clothing, sewing swimsuits, sewing curtains, sewing my own clothing, hanging wallpaper, cooking, baking, singing, silk ribbon embroidery, sewing and hand quilting quilts, making bread, designing floral arrangements, designing wedding party florals, wedding decorations, reception decorations, balloon bouquets, stamping cards, Tye dying, beading jewelry, cooking gluten free, vinyl and wood boards, embroidery with floss, primitive country painting, sewing dolls and doll clothing, bumper pads, sleepers for toddlers, and...the list goes on.....

There ARE some things I'd still like to learn to do, believe it or not! How to decorate cakes and cookies better, hand dip chocolates, Brazilian Embroidery, how to EDIT PICTURES....(it has been a DAY for me trying to get my new header pictures right and they are still not correct...oh, well...I am not perfect at anything I do!) paint vinyl floor mats, tole painting with detail, play the cello, play the mandolin, sing soprano, and improve on the piano....and that list goes on as well...

Here I post pictures things I am making, things that my friends are making, things I am dreaming about, things I am learning about and some things I want to do better at. I hope to have an exercise post where I keep track of my daily exercise, I have been doing better at that. I want to have a place where you can find Gluten Free Recipes that I use that are yummy and good, and give you the information I have gained about GF Cooking during the 12 years I have been eating Gluten Free. I hope to keep in touch with friends and family, lots of times they want to see what I am working on, and I want to show them! And I hope to make new friends and learn what is working for you in your lives and what I can glean from your knowledge. I like friends!

So, thanks for coming by! Please come again, follow my blog, if you'd like and if you post a comment I will come and see your blog, if you have one. AND....Since this is a PARTY, you may as well know that......

I LOVE a party and I love to bring a hostess gift when I go to one...but since I am the hostess, I will give a lucky person who leaves a comment on my page a "party goer" gift!
You don't have to have a blog, you don't have to post anything anywhere else except on the comment section of this post.

   This is what one of you will receive from me, as a "Thank You for Posting on my Blog at the Party" gift...
           
       1  ~ 2 serving bottle of Classic Sweet Flavored
                                  Non-Alcoholic
                      Sheffield Cider Sparkling Cider

If you click on the link above, you can read my post about this yummy stuff my hubby and his brothers and nephews make with the apples grown on our farm....

           
   You will ALSO receive

        1 ~ 2 serving bottle of Cherry/Apple Flavored
                               Non-Alcoholic
                    Sheffield Cider Sparkling Cider


        This stuff is really good over vanilla ice cream...it makes a special occasion "float"..... LOL
    





And I think you will need a. . . um  . . something new to YOU! to drink this fresh appley tasting stuff....don't you?

What do you think of a vintage champagne goblet that is very pretty with a wintery snowflake or star pattern etched in it? It is a very thin glass and I will pack it well so it does not break in shipment to you. I have made a wintery sparkly goblet marker just for your goblet with a heart and a heart key on it. I think a key to my heart is lovely comments on my blog.....and I love hearts....which will come as no surprise, I think! I will also include some bubble bath and some pretty soap and a few surprise bubble bath treats. That way you will be all ready to enjoy your sparkling cider in a beautiful goblet while you also enjoy a bubble bath!

So, it does not matter where you live, I will be happy to ship this gift to someone who leaves a comment on my blog...your comments warm my heart and help me get to know you....I hope that you enjoy your visits to Betsy's Heartstrings, and that you will return often. Please remember to leave me your email address so I can contact you, should you be the party favor winner! I will announce the winner here on February 1, 2013.

Hugs to your heart and happiness today and always,




If you would like to know more about our sparkling cider you can read my post about it Here!

Happy February 1st!!!  The day has come to announce the winner of my Grow Your Blog Party Favor!
This morning and early afternoon I have been relaxing and recovering a bit from a twisted ankle and subsequent fall yesterday.....it hurt...my shoulder, my arm, my elbow, my hip, my knee my ankle, my hand....and my pride....just a bit....I was walking along Las Vegas Boulevard with my hubby, heading to the Mon Ami Gabi Restaurant at the Paris Hotel for lunch. A friend of mine (who has a vintage antiques and gifts boutique in her home the first weekend of a each month, which is another post in and of itself!) has a son who is a chef there and we were taking him a bottle of our Vintage Dry Sparkling Cider. I had carried the large bottle in my purse all day, the day before, because he had not been at work the first time we went. So, my upper arms were sore from that, and are STILL sore from that, BEFORE the fall....hmmm....I am SUCH a clutz, I do that kind of thing so often... So, this morning, I couldn't walk well...my foot is swollen and I pretty much hurt from head to toe...on one side of my body...
Okay, Mrs. ADD, get back on track....I used a random number generator to come up with winning number, and then counted the posts and the person who posted 10th became my winner...and

The Winner Is....

Joey Lea of Lady Locust

at The Locust Blossom Blog

Congratulations, Joey Lea! It looks like you will be enjoying a bubble bath with sparkling cider soon! I hope to get it into the mail to you the beginning of the week at the latest! 

Thank you all for visiting my blog, and I hope you that became followers will enjoy what I post. It has been such fun to get to know you and I look forward to getting to know you better! I wish I could send all of you something....I give a gift to everyone that comes to my home on Christmas Eve, so this is feeling foreign for me to give just one gift....I hope I give you the gift of beauty, or laughter or comfort when you visit my blog...I'll do more giveaways, I promise! 

Hugs from my heart to yours,

Betsy

Silver Spoons....I Love Them....

Can anyone tell me why silver spoons are such a delight? I never realized until the last 18 years how much I love spoons. Actually, it isn't just spoons, I love silverware ... I have some of my husband's Grandmother's silverware. When my Mom~in~law was going through her own things to sort and trim down the number of items she was going to keep, I just could not stand to let that silver go. It was so pretty and belonged to my hubby's Grandmother ...I have a VERY sentimental heart. I have been hoping for years to make bracelets for my daughters with it. I am so happy there are so many more options with jewelry making now than there were 17 years ago when I got those pieces. (Pretend you didn't read that here, daughters....please feign surprise when you get your jewelry! ; ) )

I still have my baby spoon...somewhere, I will have to find that....I am sure I put it somewhere "safe".... Safe even from ME for the moment! These are some of the spoons I have found myself drawn to at antique stores or at the "flohmarkt" in Germany. Most of them are small at least....some of them are salt spoons....and I am afraid I might just collect a few more of those. My daughters adored small ....anything, actually, when they were small girls. My eldest, Daughter#1, as a two year old began referring to her tiny treasures as her "Honey ~ whatever item it was." Question from me, "Gigi, would you like something to drink?' Gigi, "Yes, ...in the Honey~cup!" What she referred to as the "Honey~cup" was a little glass, smaller than a juice glass even, that she preferred. Question from me, "Would you like the light on?" Gigi, "The Honey~lamp!" She loved the lamp in her bedroom. I am not even sure where she learned the expression "Honey". It was not an expression I used for anyone in the family, but somehow she picked it up and only used it for things she adored. 

This beautiful spoon is a "Sugar Sifter" that I found at the "flomarkt" in Germany where Gigi took me this summer, when I was there for the birth of their second child. I had never seen one of these in the United states, I guess I have not gotten out much in my life! Liz from Lululizinlalaland was sweet enough to Skype with me after my trip and explain to me about some of the items I had purchased in Germany. It was she who confirmed my suspicion that is was a spoon used to sprinkle sugar on things... This spoon is the size of a regular teaspoon, maybe a bit bigger.  The spoon below is a 2 inch (5 cm) in length salt spoon, and I adored it when I saw it! I can see Gigi and her younger sister, Daughter#2 ~ Cici, using this as a doll, it has a cute little head and face after all. Oh, ..... I am reminded of the times when the girls had a hard time getting their toys picked up in their rather small room, we lived in a 14 ft x 70 ft mobile home then. When time spent in their room to clean on Saturday went on for a few Saturdays, without successful cleaning due to distraction, my hubby and I would take a big black garbage bag into their room and they would have to help us put all their toys in the bag.

We would keep that bag for a week or so and they would have a completely clean bedroom for a time. We hoped that maybe putting the toys up might motivate them to clean their room. "Wouldn't it have been easier to just put your toys away and then you could still have them?" we would ask. So, they were bored without their toys,.........right?.........No, they would get out the silverware and play with their silverware families... We decided that we didn't really need to purchase toys, they only needed silverware to be happy. They still received toys however, when we realized that they would tell their teachers at school that all they got to do for Christmas was play with the silverware we already owned....
A few years later, when my hubby and I went on a trip over a weekend to Seattle, we purchased some small demitasse spoons for both the girls to use.  They ate breakfast with theses spoons, used them to stir their hot chocolate and used them for....you guessed it, the children in the silverware families....and each child born after that also received their own little spoon to eat and stir or dig in the dirt with...we do live on a farm and there is only so much you can do to keep spoons inside....

So, now I have begun my very own "Honey~Spoon" collection.
I have not even thought about all of this for awhile....I was only going to post about my spoon collection! I love the wonderful memories of my children and their creativity... I have so much more to post that includes them, because everything memorable and joyful in my life includes them and the fun we have had together through the almost 30 years of raising children... I think I was so grateful to have playmates in my life again! Being the youngest of 10 siblings, I watched everyone grow up and get to do so many things I thought would be so much fun to do with them. We did MANY THINGS together as a family, but I longed to go the the formal dances and all of the exciting things they did....and when I finally was old enough to do them, most of my siblings were married and having children of their own. I always had this sense of being left behind. So, after we were married, I gave birth to the next 5 of my dearest friends, who have laughed and played and cried and loved with me.....all the while stirring hot chocolate with their own "Honey Spoons".

Here are the spoons I showed you above plus a few, in the Dishes Cabinet I got for my birthday in December! Two of the salt spoons are new, and they are not silver, but they were so cute, I just had to get them! The smaller spoons are lying on a depression glass dish that belonged to my Mother. The small spoon with the vintage hemming lace bow was a gift from Liz when I purchased some mini wine cooler/toothpick holders from her in her LaCroixRosion Etsy Store. The Silver spoons in the cream pitcher I also purchased from her (and can be seen more clearly in the pictures at her link above as well,) to use as gifts for a special event that is yet to happen. . .(so I cannot say! shhhh!)  The large silver plated spoon belonged to my Mother as well as to her mother.  The silver plate is very worn on the serving spoon, but I have some very fond, funny memories with my sister that included Ice Cream in an ongoing prank we did to each other....**he, he, he**.... I wonder if she still remembers it? SOOO many memories included in this one post....memories of family and friends, of Grandmothers and children, of love and generosity and it is all held in a few dishes and spoons!  WHO would have thought that dishes and spoons could evoke such powerful feelings......they are beautiful reminders of joyful memories that will always be in my heart ....I am so silly........Just wait until you read my posts about the dishes in this picture and the Birthday Dishes Cabinet!
What is tugging at YOUR Heartstrings today? Please tell me, I'd love to hear YOUR thoughts!!
Hearts to you,
Betsy

Finally, a New Project!

Hello bloggy friends!
I finally decided what to post about! What have I been doing.....? Checking out all of YOUR blogs and feeling somewhat, bleh and overwhelmed with all I really "should" be doing. So, last Saturday evening, I finally ordered myself into my a...a...craftroo.....no, I was NOT going call it that anymore...my workroom?...I keep trying to call it a studio.....since I put "Designer" on my new business cards....but I haven't really felt like a true artist.... using someone else's pattern or at least looking at an idea to get my creative juices flowing,...I don't ALWAYS use someone else's pattern actually, I can remember MANY things I have come up with all by myself...Okay, Mrs. ADD, get back on topic.... I have a very .....full studio...you will find Many things in that room...sewing machine, fabrics, needles and pins, rotary cutter, scissors, quilt rulers, patterns for clothing for children, silk flowers, baskets, tins, buttons, acrylic paints, brushes, glue guns...yes,  guns...plural, spray paint in a variety of colors, stamps and scrapbook paper, a sculpted witch head...and clothing for a doll body, vintage glass, vintage buttons, vintage fabric, vintage....lace and lace and upholstery fabric and....I digress...and you get the picture...or a little of it anyway.

The room needs to be cleaned and organized... big time. I have gone in there and wrapped laces around thread spools and spent hours...but, it is a VERY big job, and I just decided to try to straighten it another way. I am going to finish each project that is sitting on the table first, and then move around the room. This bird house has been in the room, (see, I just can't type studio...) for 3 years and on the table for about that many months.  As I worked on it, it became a winter birdhouse and there are no birds living in it now. But, the memory of birds who lived there in the past lingers still...
It isn't finished at this stage, but my daughter and sister had called and asked, "What are you doing?" so I texted these pictures to them.












I will add some more frostiness to the house and some icy bling possibly, but I am not completey sure how it will finish up...I would love to add a winter visitor, but I haven't decided who it will be yet...the moss is quite green and it is hard to see the off white paint I pounced on it in these pictures.  I may add some more of it...Oh....I HAVE AN IDEA!!! But you will have to see it when I finish!

I love bird nest twigs, and they needed to be lightly frosted. I am sure the birds who lived here last spring loved decorating their house. Though the leaves have fallen, the branches remain, reminding that spring  will come again, and possibly a new family will find a home here...

I really enjoyed painting the layers and it was delightful to see the birdhouse start to come togther. I realized that maybe I am an artist of some sort.  I love details and many times just finish a project and say "It's done...". But this one just asked for more detail, and I am going to enjoy it and not rush through it as I have with some projects. Maybe some day I will learn to do it more quickly, but that is not today....  I will show you the finished bird house in a future post!

Hugs to your hearts and homes, stay cozy warm!

Betsy

The Happiest of New Years to You! 2013!

To my sweet followers and anyone else visiting today, I wish you a New Year of Happy Months!

Make this year the year to tell those people who are important to you how much you care for them, every month choose some friends to express your feelings with.
Yesterday, two very sweet women I know passed away. They have both influenced my life, I have hugged them, worked with them, prayed for them at times, and thanked them for their friendship and service and for the joy they have brought into my life...I haven't seen either of them very often, but I have thought about them both and I do know their children.

Daughter#1's Wedding Cake, isn't it beautiful? Wish I had a better picture!

The elder friend of the two was also a dear friend of my Mom-in-law's...she helped my Mom-in-law and Sis-in-law make the wedding cakes for our daughters' weddings, as well as helped my Mom-in-law decorate our wedding cake almost 32 years ago.
I have had lots of laughs with My MIL and her while working on cakes through the years.  I watched and "helped" with dishes and expressions of "It's gonna Fall!" and "Perfect!" and "So beautiful, no one will realize the work you have put into this." I was SO grateful when she was able to come and help. My MIL said she didn't know if she could make the cakes without her. Such fun gals, and so talented and creative and sweet...
The younger of the two is not much older than I am. She feels like a sweet sister to me, and we have had fun at our Church Youth Girls Camp, singing and hiking and teaching knot tying skills! We have mutual friends who are also dear to us, and her youngest son is the age of my Daughter#3, and was married just two years ago.  She had had a heart valve replaced some 25 years ago. We would kid her about being able to find her in hide and seek because you could hear her heart valve ticking! She has a beautiful singing voice and a beautiful generous heart.  I think she just loved so much she wore it out, but rather early, in my opinion. Always a smile on her face, and beautiful long blonde hair.



Both of these women have encouraged me and confided in me and loved me and brought joy into my life. I wish I would have expressed that to them recently...so I express it to Heavenly Father, hoping that He will pass along that feeling of gratitude and love I have for them.
To all of you that I love... you know who you are, and I will never stop loving you, "And when I'm gone our love will still be there,... It will always be there....."
Heart hugs and happiness to you this New Year, 2013!
Betsy