About

I grew up with a mother who did ALL the things: crocheted, knitted, sewed, tatted, quilted, macraméd, hot glued, ironed-on (see Exhibit A above), scrapbooked, sang, cooked, baked... honestly, I've made lists before of everything she did, and I know I never remember everything. She did it all, and she did it all with love. She was the craft queen of any group she was a part of, and taught everyone around her how to make things to enjoy. She got me a My Little Pony sewing machine when I was in kindergarten, and she still has the first purse I made her that says 'MOMMY' on it in frayed fabric letters. 

Or she still HAD it. She died on May 1, 2018, and I found that purse as I was going through her things. I also took home all of her macrame yarn after she died, and I tried really hard to pick it up and relearn it. A lot of things never came as naturally to me as they did to her, and I try not to think about how much I want to ask for her help these days.

Another thing she got me was a bead loom, when I was about 12. Loom weaving wasn't something she did herself, but she thought it would be something I enjoyed. I made one bracelet on it, and got frustrated and stopped. For over twenty years, that loom was in storage. When we moved to Austin, it came out of storage; and when she died, I unpacked it. It was a slow burn at first, but during the isolation of the pandemic, it really caught fire for me. The rest is history - the history of Beadsnbracelips.

"Why Bracelips?" you may ask. Welp, four years ago to the day of the official launching of this site, I married my Boodle. We are odd ducks, and often say that we are glad we found each other because no one else would have us. The pandemic really highlighted that fact as we spent all day every day together, coexisting in a slightly delirious state 24/7. He started calling my creations bracelips, and the name stuck.  *shrug*

I make my pieces with this love and whimsy in mind, and I hope it shows. =)