My First Children's Book - We Were Made For Each Other

 

 

 

I have had an idea for a children's book series for many years but insecurities and fear kept me from pursuing it. I also have always had a love of painting but again the "I'm not good enough" would hold me back until now.

 

This was the year that I would set those fears aside to write and paint. Rocketman was a huge help,  scanning my watercolor pages and adding the text plus going through all the hoops to get it listed on Amazon. We are so proud that it's now available on Amazon. You may notice that I didn't use "Becky Meverden." I wanted a name that is easy to remember so I dropped the Meverden and added my middle name Lynn.

 

Here are a couple pages from the book.

 

This is a separate book from the series I mentioned above. I have four books waiting for Rocketman to scan and add the text. I also have ideas for an additional 12. The ideas are just pouring in and I'm writing them down so I don't forget. It's been a busy but amazing year and I can't wait to share more with you.

Christmas Anyone!

Hi everyone!! Sorry for the break from blogging. These days I tend to post on Instagram and Facebook and have let the blog go. I still find so much joy in crafting but I also love to read. I have always loved books but I found the last few years I've been reading less and less so I changed that up this year with making more time to read.

I also decided to get a head start on Christmas and wanted to make everyone homemade Christmas ornaments. I found this darling felted Christmas pattern by Gingermelon. You can find the pattern here. Although, I hadn't worked with felt since the 70's or 80's, I didn't let that deter me. Shelly's patterns were so easy to follow and she also sells the felt which made it even better. The above photo is her Christmas tree pattern.

And these are the houses. I am so happy with how they turned out. It is definitely slow stitching since everything is hand stitched. My stitches aren't perfect but everyone will know that they were made with love. I ended up enlarging the pattern by 130%  which was a size I was comfortable working on. I am waiting for more felt from Gingermelon so I can make these Snowbies. You can check out all of her patterns in her Etsy store.

I have taken a long break from working on my children's books but I'm ready to get that going. I have two books completed with illustrations. I'm just waiting for Rocketman to have time to scan the pages and add the text. Work is keeping him swamped right now. I have an additional two books sketched out waiting for me to paint and a couple more written but waiting for me to sketch.

So a lot going on along with spending time with the kids and all the grandboys. They are growing so fast and we love and appreciate every minute we have with family.

Wooden Bracelets by the Grandboys

This was another Christmas present the grandboys made for their momma. I already had everything required in my craft supplies. What you need to make one is: wooden bracelet, pencil, sharpies and Mod Podge. Bracelets above from left to right: Noah's, Ezra's and Judah's.



Noah wanted to freeform it so he skipped this step. Judah did too because he wasn't quite 3 so I had to really keep an eye on him when he used the Sharpies. This is Ezra's bracelet design. First I had him sketch his drawing in case he made a mistake it would be easy to erase.

                                            I then traced his design with a black Sharpie.

 

                         Then I gave him the colored Sharpies and let him color in his design.

                                           He did an incredible job on it and was so patient.

Then I had the two older boys sign their name on the inside of the bracelet. I coated the bracelets with two coats of Mod Podge. On Christmas day, momma opened their gifts and loved them. It was a really fun way to wear a piece of art.

Decorating Journals with Ezra

I was trying to think of a crafty project the grandboys could make for their momma for Christmas. Their momma loves to journal. It's something she has been doing since she was 10 years old and so she is always in need of journals. She loves to use spiral notebooks but I had a hard time finding them with paper not plastic covers. I did finally find some at Office Depot.

I pulled out my box of stickers to use to decorate the notebooks. But it turned out the only one interested was Ezra so he was the one to decorate all the notebooks.

He had a definite plan for each one and carefully went through all my stickers looking for the perfect ones. He also wrote "Mommy" on each notebook so she would know that these were hers.

Here are the finished notebooks. If you noticed, he also wanted his name on each one. But we ran into a big problem. The alphabet stickers we were using only had two "Z"s and he needed three to get his name onto each notebook. What to do?

I was totally shocked when Ezra solved the problem by taken an "N" and turning it sideways to make it a "Z." This kid truly is amazing. Here is a video a took of him explaining his process.



I'm sure you have noticed I haven't blogged for a few months. Our family has been dealing with a lot of heartbreaking family matters. Our daughter left her husband in January and the divorce which just became final last Friday has been devastating on our entire family. My emotions throughout the year have been all over the place and I have learned tremendous lessons about myself this year.

We just want our daughter and grandsons to be safe, happy and that the grandboys have a wonderful loving and nurturing relationship with both of their parents. Children need both of their parents along with grandparents. I have hope that someday we can all be friends again and that we can all watch these precious grandchildren grow and thrive in this new normal.

This year has also been a year of honing my psychic skills. I saw things coming and was able to warn my daughter so she was prepared.  We all are here on earth to learn lessons but you have the choice whether you want to do the hard work or not. The future is also not set in stone.

So for now, I am happy for my daughter and her new life that it will be full of joy. What she has been through the last 14 years is not my story to tell but I am encouraging her to write a book on her experiences. It will empower many, many woman in difficult relationships.