Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Mother's Day Countdown 2022 Midweek 8 Famous Mothers

 


She wanted to talk to the animals like Doctor Doolittle. And she did. Once known as Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, Jane Goodall has made her life mission one that included talking to animals. Primarily the wild chimpanzees of Tanzania. She spent 60 years studying their social and family interactions while fighting to preserve and conserve their habitats.

Her work put her in the middle of a chimpanzee community where instead of numbering the primates, she gave them names like Fifi and Frodo. She discovered the more she observed them, the more she recognized distinct personalities amongst the community. They also like to hug and kiss each other. She dispelled a long held belief that only humans used tools and that chimpanzees were vegetarians. 

Chimpanzees are hunters, and they have no problem fashioning tools to get what they want. They can be brutal. They would arm themselves for conflict if necessary.

Over the years, Jane found that she was considered a member of the troop, and the chimps ranked her the lowest on their social order. They did warm up to her, and she stayed until an aggressive male took over the troop and ran her out.

She was the mother of chimpanzees, and she established the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977 where they fight to preserve and protect the habitats and the lives of the troops. She endured criticism for her work, as well as had her belief in God questioned.

Jane did take time out to become a mother of a human. Grub. His real name is Hugo Eric Louis van Lawick, but she called him Grub. She was so concerned about his well-being while she was with the chimps, that she built and cage and put Grub in it.  

He grew up in the wilds of Africa, and now he lives in her old home and is an animal right’s activist. There is a 2017 documentary titled Jane that features 140 hours of film that Hugo shot of his mother.

Mother of one or mother of all chimpanzees, Jane gave us insights into mothers and children that are no different no matter how much fur they have or don't have.

Here are some great gift ideas for your Mom, Grandmom, Auntie and anyone else you honor as Mother from some very talented handmade artists. 

Handmade Lampwork Glass Beads, Black Shiny

Covergirl Beads



Gemstone Beaded Choker Necklace DragonflyToggle Clasp

Magdalene Jewels



Rustic Elephant Bohemian Earrings, Handmade Polymer Clay Jewelry

Victorian Style Treasures 



Leopard Wall Art Handmade from Birch Wood

Kevs Krafts



Monkey Party Invitations for Baby Shower and Birthday

Adore by Nat



Brown Owl Goldtone Bracelet and Earrings Set

Lindab142



Lion Head Pendant Necklace

The Singing Beader 




Elephant Earrings

Shadow Dog Designs



Giraffe family Note Card

WatercolorsNmore


Giraffe Mother and Baby Bangle Bracelets for Women with Charm

Blue Morning Expressions 



Don't see what you're looking for?

Here are some more places to shop handmade from these artists:



If you have something special in mind for Mom, then ask one of the artists on this page to bring your vision to life with a custom work of art just for Mom. 

Happy shopping,
Julie and Little Harry

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Mother's Day Countdown 2022 Midweek 7 Famous Mothers

Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession. That says everything you need to know about today’s featured Mother. 


If you’re of a certain, delicate age, you might remember growing up with the wisdom of Erma Bombeck. She inspired many a aspiring writer to explore family life from a humorous perspective and taught a few of them about the benefits of syndication. "Yay" for syndication. 

Erma started her career writing humor for her employer's, Rike’s Store, newsletter. She found that she enjoyed writing, and her college professor encouraged her to continue writing. She did bit pieces for the local newspaper and once interviewed Shirley Temple, but mostly, she was a copygirl. 

She met her husband-to-be, Bill Bombeck, while at college. 

Once she was married, they were told they would never have children, so they adopted a daughter in 1953. Then she delivered son number one in '56 and son number two in '58. So much for not having children. This is where her life got interesting. 

Erma had been puttering around writing a small weekly column for the local paper.  Before long, the paper requested some humor from her, so she started writing about being a married mother of small children and living in the Midwest suburbs of Ohio. It only took three weeks of her humor column to go into syndication and hit 36 major newspapers. She wrote the column three times a week and titled it At Wit’s End. 

Erma single handedly chronicled life in the United States in the '50s and '60s, and gave people a bird’s eye view of what it was like to raise what we now call Baby Boomers. It was after WWII and the Bombecks lived in a tract home in the suburbs of Centerville, Ohio. She captured the changes in the country; the changes in people; the changes in population and tolerance in real time. 

Compilations of Erma’s columns have been published in book form, and she’s written a number of best-selling books like If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits?, and The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank

Erma was a champion for her college, and she was a staunch supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment. 

In the end, she was published in over 900 newspapers across the U.S. and Canada. 

She died of kidney disease in 1996. 

Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession – excerpt from Amazon: #1 New York Times best-seller: A hilarious look at one of the toughest jobs on earth, by a writer “with the comic equivalent of perfect pitch”. Anyone who thinks motherhood is easy has never had children.

If you want to see what motherhood looked like in the 1950s and 1960s, then read Erma Bombeck. If you want to see what Hollywood thought motherhood looked like in the 1950s, watch Leave it to Beaver or Ozzie and Harriet. You decide who presented it best. 

Erma remains a favorite writer for me to this day, and she was an instrumental part of my desire to continue to write, so here's to Erma. 

Some Erma quips: 

  • When your mother asks, 'Do you want a piece of advice?' it is a mere formality. It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. You're going to get it anyway.
  • Guilt: the gift that keeps on giving.
  • Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died.
  • When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me'.

Here's to mothers everywhere! 

Speaking of talent, while shopping for your Mother's Day gifts, don't forget handmade gift ideas for Mom. Here are some great gift ideas for your Mom, Grandmom, Auntie and anyone else you honor as Mother from some very talented handmade artists. 

Cherries Jubilee Lampwork Pendant Necklace Galaxy Globe 

Covergirl Beads



Pearl and Heart Charm Bracelet with Swarovski Crystals, Woman Jewelry Gift

Victorian Style Treasures 



Valentine Crystal Bracelet Siam Clear Crystals

Magdalene Jewels 



Farm Barnyard Scene Desk Clock Handmade From Cherry Wood

Kevs Krafts




Vintage Inspired Bird Music Notes Gift Tags – Set of 12

Adore by Nat




Red Black Chunky Necklace

Shadow Dog Designs



Butterfly Pendant Necklace, Cherry Wood And Copper

The Singing Beader



Bloodwood, Exotic Wood Oval Earrings

Exoticwoodjewelryand


Cherry Blossom White Ceramic Coffee Mug, 11oz and 15oz
Blue Morning Expressions



Don't see what you're looking for?

Here are some more places to shop handmade from these artists:




If you have something special in mind for Mom, then ask one of the artists on this page to bring your vision to life with a custom work of art just for Mom. 

Happy shopping,
Julie and Little Harry


Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Mother's Day Countdown 2022 Midweek 6 Famous Mothers

 


Josephine Baker
went from the slums of St. Louis in the early 1900s to the stages in Paris in the 1920s by determination and luck. Her performing career started on the streets of racially charged St. Louis where Black neighborhoods were being burned to the ground. She was so distraught by that memory that she refused to play to segregated audiences, which was instrumental in helping to integrate Las Vegas when she returned to The States later in her career.

Her work as a headliner in the Foiles Bergere in Paris was controversial when she appeared almost nude except for a short skirt made up of artificial bananas and wearing a beaded necklace. Her costume was so outrageous that people immediately took a liking to it and made her the poster child of the Roaring 20s. She was in a silent film during the 20s and was the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture.

Ernest Hemmingway adored Josephine, and Picasso took the time to paint her.

Her haunted memories made her a rebel for the cause, and she fought for Civil Rights in the United States in the 1950s. Her dedication was so fierce that Coretta King had asked her to help carry on Martin Luther King’s legacy, but Josephine declined, citing the fear that her children would lose their mother to the cause.

Josephine was the adopted mother of a number of children around the world. Her mission was to create what she called “The Rainbow Tribe”, which consisted of children of different races, religions and cultures. She has been the inspiration for parents like Angelina Jolie in her quest to create a multiracial family.

She died in 1975 and women like Beyoncé and Diana Ross have portrayed her in film.

While shopping for your Mother's Day gifts, don't forget handmade gift ideas for Mom. Here are some great gift ideas for your Mom, Grandmom, Auntie and anyone else you honor as Mother. 

Yellow Daisy Boho Earrings, Handmade Spring and Summer Jewelry

Victorian Style Treasures 



Yellow and Blue Earrings

Lindab142



Yellow Elephant Label for HERSHEY’S KISSES ® chocolates

Adore by Nat 



Sunflower Pendant Necklace Yellow Polymer Clay w Jonquil Mint Crystals

Magdalene Jewels



Sun Earrings, Yellow White Enamel Orange Lampwork Handmade Jewelry

Shadow Dog Designs



Yellow Flower Hoop Earrings

The Singing Beader



Handmade Lampwork Glass Beads

Covergirl Beads




Sunflowers Note Card Watercolor print 5x7 Greeting Card


Large Sunflower Reminder Thumbtacks and Corkboard Pushpins for Bulletin Boards
Blue Morning Expressions



Don't see what you're looking for?

Here are some more places to shop handmade from these artists:




If you have something special in mind for Mom, then ask one of the artists on this page to bring your vision to life with a custom work of art just for Mom. 

Happy shopping,
Julie and Little Harry

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Mother's Day Countdown 2022 Midweek 5 Famous Mothers

 


Candy Lightner is a loving mother who turned a tragedy into a successful campaign to create awareness of a nationwide epidemic that has cost thousands of lives. 

In 1980, Cari Lightner, who was a 13-year-old at the time, was killed by a drunk driver during a hit and run accident in Fair Oaks, California. The driver, who had a history of DUI hit and runs, left her lying there. The driver was actually on bail release from an arrest for a DUI the previous evening. He went straight from jail to the bar to killing Cari.

Candy put her grief into organizing and mobilizing the movement Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) and pushed for uniform laws surrounding the sale and purchase of alcohol. The drinking age was consistently raised to 21 across the states.

Originally, MADD was designed to help victims and offer resources on alcohol safety, but as the organization grew, the focus shifted from education to harassment. Members were known to harass DUI hearings in court or turn family members of DUI drivers into child services by filing false claims.

Candy stepped down from her leadership as the organization hurtled towards becoming more of a temperance movement. What the organization did was lower the blood alcohol limit in DUIs, advocate for strict sentences for offenders, and demand that all those convicted must subject themselves to ignition interlock devices that required a breath test before the car will turn on.

Candy is now a traffic safety activist, spokesperson and author. She has received the Jefferson Award for Public Service, which is considered a Nobel for community service. She is now the founder of We Save Lives which tackles the Three Ds. Drunk, drugged and distracted driving. She works with lawmakers to adopt legislation and works to educate the public of the dangers.

She still presses forward hoping that other parents will not have to endure the grief of losing a child to a drunk driver. She is fiercely protective of all children. 

Hopefully, Candy's story will inspire women everywhere to defend the helpless. 

While shopping for your Mother's Day gifts, don't forget handmade gift ideas for Mom. Here are some great gift ideas for your Mom, Grandmom, Auntie and anyone else you honor as Mother. 

Let Love Grow Favor Tags

Adore by Nat



Peace Sign Desk Or Shelf Clock

Kevs Krafts 



White Hearts with Red Roses Enamel Earrings, Woman Jewelry Gift

Victorian Style Treasures 




Peace Rose Lampwork Glass Pendant Onyx Swarovski Pearls Beaded Bracelet

Magdalene Jewels 



Salute, MacDill AFB Collage 11 x 15 or 8 x 11 Prints

WatercolorsNmore



Goldtone Hamsa Earrings

Lindab142



Om Aum Earrings

Shadow Dog Designs



Silver Peace Sign Hoop Earrings

The Singing Beader



Christian Inspiration Peace Pendant Necklace on a Chain 18-inches Silvertone

Blue Morning Expressions



Don't see what you're looking for?

Here are some more places to shop handmade from these artists:




If you have something special in mind for Mom, then ask one of the artists on this page to bring your vision to life with a custom work of art just for Mom. 

Happy shopping,
Julie and Little Harry