Hi! I am Becky Swartzlander, I have been crafting most of my life. I was fortunate enough to be raised by a mother who sewed and crafted for many years. I owe my creativity to her. Thanks Mom!   I currently live with my older sister and her husband of 30 + years and our 82 year old mother who has Alzheimers.  So, I must say, that I have had to adjust to a totally new way of life.  We make the best of it through God's grace and mercy and lotsa prayers from our friends and family!   A new member of my family is my 15 month old Kelpie Shephard.  His name is Kody.  He has been a blessing to me since my little Lhasa Opso, Sadie, passed away last year.  As you can see, Kody is a bit spoiled. but we are going to school to learn some manners...lol.  Have you ever had an 80 lb. lap dog?  I started creating again in my adult years about 22 years ago. I was constantly re-decorating my home and began making my own home décor. Fortunately I am one of those romantic, French-country-cottage-chic, primitive-whimsical Victorian girls! (Some call it eclectic…I like to think unique, one of God’s chosen princesses, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” Psalm 139:14) Well, most people find it hard to believe there is a creative, “unique” side of me. For 20 years of my life I was a police officer. You got it, a gun toting, badge carrying, uniformed police officer. Now you can imagine why those that know me from work had a hard time picturing this “foofy” other side. While working shifts, I often got home late at night and could not unwind. So, I began creating! It became my relaxation. Then my friends and family told me I should sell my crafts. So I began going to craft shows, then rented spaces in local craft stores, and I have had a website now for about 5 years.  I recently decided to change my website name and look to better compliment my designs.  I am 45 years old and at 41 I had to retire early due to some medical problems. The stress of the job became unhealthy for me. I medically retired in August of 2004. I enjoyed my work and have many happy memories to take with me in my next endeavor. Thank you to all the men and women in blue that were a part of my life for so many years. Be safe out there! As for my next venture, I am spending time with my family, getting involved in the many ministries in my church and am teaching in the Administration of Justice Program at College of the Sequoias. I also teach at the Police Academy and work part-time doing background investigations for the Probation Department.  (Three part-time jobs..lol) I am also spending a great amount of time creating crafts and jewelry for my website and local shows.   I would like to thank DJDoodle for creating and hosting my first website. I would also like to thank Shabby Lane Shops and Catherine Monceaux for inviting me.  And I'd especially like to thank Victoria Rose Graphics and Vickie (Victoria's Shabby Cottage) for building my new website!  It is gorgeous!     I would also like to thank all the wonderful ladies that have faithfully purchased my wares over the years and a special thank you to my family (and extended family) for all the hard work and time you sacrificed helping me with my creations! Thank you my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for choosing me, and giving me these wonderful gifts and talents to share with others. To all of You, thanks for visiting my website and God Bless you! If you haven’t done so already, please sign my guest book before you leave. I’ll share two of my favorite scriptures;   “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7 "…For such a time as this" Esther 4:14        I have a few pictures of some of my family.  The beautiful young lady in the cap and gown is my niece, Angie.  She just graduated from Cal State Bakersfield and is 23 years old.  She is our only niece on my side of the family.  We also have one nephew, Justin. (no picture yet) He is 28 years old.  They both live in Bakersfield.  That is my sister Belinda (the one I live with) with Angie in the second picture.  I am with her in the first picture.  That is her mom(my sister Beverly) and dad(Jerry) with her in the next picture and that is our mom with her in the last one.  My Brother-in-law (Rick) is not pictured yet either.    I have three other nieces, Aimee, Stacy & Jill.  Aimee and Stacy are married and Jill just graduated from high school.  Aimee also has a little girl named Molly.  These girls are mine from my marriage (I have been divorced for quite some time).  They are lovely girls.  I hope to get some pictures of them up soon.  And of course my Kody and the black chow is our older dog Cita.  (She is a little bit grumpy...lol)