My Newest Creation! In Honor of Childhood Memories!

 Teaser, teaser!  :)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!  We enjoyed brunch out on the back deck.  A beautiful day and a feast fit for a queen.  And the best part...I had to do absolutely NOTHING!  Later that afternoon, all the kids and I hiked the Cedar River Trail and came home to hubby cooking dinner out on the grill.  My daughter and her husband had made a delicious dessert to finish off the evening.  And then we all sat around to watch my all-time favorite movie...The Wizard of Oz.  It's been so long since I had seen it, so I was in the mood.  Most everyone was a trooper and watched along with me!  LOL!  All in all, my BEST Mother's Day yet!!

I have been working on summer primitives this last week.  I know, I know...SPRING has barely arrived in so many parts of the country!  But summer is just around the corner.  I have lots of Americana items listed in my Etsy shop, as well as some of my other summer tucks.  I don't spend too much time with the summer tucks, as I'm always anxious to go on to bigger and better things, as in fall, Halloween and Christmas.  WHAT...it's only mid May and I'm thinking of FALL and WINTER already.  Well, not quite...but it won't be long.  Anyway, I just listed the sweet watermelon hanging above, the set of watermelon slices w/pesky bee below, AND my newest summer tuck shown up top!

And that is my main objective to this post today...to show you my latest summer tuck...one that I am extremely excited about and so anxious to show you!  And one that has a bit of a story behind it.  You see, I originally made these up about six months ago.  But it's a summer tuck, and thus decided to wait until it was the right time to actually offer it.  And though I've never listed these, my first two sets have sold and are being enjoyed by their owners.

You see, back in early fall of last year, I had a man send me a "Convo" on Etsy.  He told me a story about a little boy and a little girl who had known each other many years ago.  They had parted ways when they were young and only recently had reconnected through the wonders of social media.  One of his fondest memories as a little boy was spending summer evenings with this little girl doing something that brings back fond memories for SO many of us.  If you were one of the many fortunate people who had the privilege of growing up anywhere east of Kansas, then you must certainly recall those hot, lazy summer days as a child...the sun just beginning to set...running barefoot through the grass.  And there you see it...that first little twinkle.  And then another and another.  You run to try to catch it, waiting for it to light up again.  And finally, with hands cupped together, you got it!  Your first lightning bug of the evening! 

For me, this is so nostalgic!  I miss those days, and I miss the sight of those lightning bugs.  I now live in the Pacific Northwest, a place unknown to these fascinating little creatures.  Scientist are not sure why these critters don't habitat in the western half of the United States.  But it saddens me when I hear of those who have never seen a firefly or never experienced the joy of catching and collecting them by the jar full!  My two oldest children barely remember this joy, as we moved from North Carolina when they were five and six.  And my youngest has never even seen one!  Such a fond childhood memory!

ANYWAY...back to my story...!  When this young man asked if I could make a primitive firefly tuck, my first instinct was to tell him no.  For actually, it was at a time when I was busy with fall and Halloween sales, and I wasn't really taking special orders.  And then, when I Google imaged the lightning bug, I didn't have a clue as to what I would do to capture this little creature.  But for some reason, this fellow had caught my heart...this hopeless romantic.  So I studied a few pictures, as well as some clip art of these critters.  I mean, it's not like they are the cutest things...not like a lady bug or even a bumblebee.  And they do have a few unique features to them that I pondered over how to recreate.  So, after much thought, I finally told him I would give it a shot.  He wanted two of these little bugs...one to give to his friend and one to keep for himself.  I told him it would take a few weeks, as I was in the middle of the busy fall season.  This was fine with him and he was very patient with me.  And after about a month, I finally sent him a photo of the two lightning bugs I had created for him.  The response I received was not like any I had ever received.  It was way beyond!  He was so happy with the outcome, he immediately asked for another set, as just one firefly was not going to be enough for each to have!  And after he received the two sets in the mail and saw them first hand, I got an even bigger response.  It did my heart good to here the compliments, but deep down, I felt the same way.  These had turned out far better than I could have ever imagined!  They have quickly become one of my proudest creations!  So, without further adieu, my newest creation.....

And so, with summertime just around the corner, I've finally made up a few more sets and will be offering them on Etsy.  So, if you get a chance, hope you'll drop by my Etsy shop to see all my latest creations!  Thanks for stopping by today!  ~~Annie