In the 70's and 80's my grandma, Thelma Miller, owned and operated a little craft shop in the little town of Ephrata called "The Beehive." As a child of about 8 years old I didn't really understand the meaning behind the name, but I loved going there and "helping (which is a nice way of saying she was "babysitting" me) at the shop." There were such interesting things there; felt, silk flowers, all kinds of paints and pencils, colorful ribbons, yarns, thread, all sizes and shapes of Styrofoam balls, needles and so much more!! I spent many hours and days "helping" my grandma at “the shop" and tagging along while she and her friends created beautiful masterpieces of flowers, macramé, and paintings in the back room of The Beehive. Along the way my grandma also taught me to macramé, latch hook, needlepoint, paint and crochet. None of which I was particularly talented at, but she tried.

Recently I've realized just how amazing my grandma's talent was and the space her little "shop" provided for other talented ladies in our little town. When I think of watching her spend countless hours making silk flowers from scratch, making bows and creating the flower arrangements for an entire wedding and wedding party, I'm in awe! No one would even dream of anything like that today. I remember her Doll birthday cakes with the cake as the doll's skirt and every present she ever wrapped was simply a piece of art with dazzling bows and decorations. She was "Martha Stewart" before there was a "Martha Stewart."

As an adult I began to reignite my passion for crafts. I’ve dabbled with scrapbooking, making jewelry and doing some sewing, but my real passion has become crocheting and knitting! I started knitting blankets for baby shower gifts, scarves for my family and pretty soon I ran out of people to give my creations to and remembered how my grandma grew a successful business out of doing what she enjoyed and her hobbies. So as I think of the seed my grandma planted so many years ago as I "helped" her at The Beehive, “Beehive Creations” has emerged.