Bling-a-licious!

I came in from the garden to create a little. Here is what I came

up with. I love how they turned out.

I took vintage game pieces and soldered them. They

are similar to something else I made a while ago....but these

are way better. I love how I attached the vintage

bling.

I love how the numbers show up. I just love anything with old

numbers. The red is really cute. I think a touch of red

on anything is cute. I hope you have enjoyed the little

creations that I made and I hope you have a wonderful

Memorial Day weekend! All blessings to you and your family

on this special weekend.

Unusual....but Lovely House Guest

On Monday evening we had a HUGE storm. This is what I found

in my mothers yard......displaced from her mommy and

twin sibling. Too feeble to keep up, her mommy left her tucked

hidden in the wet grass. Cold alone.....and quite surely to perish with

out warmth from her mommy. When I called Wildlife, an organization

here in town to help those with wildlife questions know what to

do, they instructed me to watch and see if the mommy came back

by the time it was dark. If not, wrap the sweet fawn in a blanket and

bring her inside. I am no Ellie May, sure I love animals.....but caring for

a feeble......new born fawn????? Surely.....mommy will come back for her.

SURELY never happened. It was 10:00p.m. and long after dark.

So as per our instructions.....I made this the happiest boy

on the face of the planet. Lincoln wrapped the tiny fawn in a

warm fuzzy blanket......brought her home......and now we

had the most unusual and lovely house guest ever! She wasn't

much bigger than a magazine. She wasn't even stretched out.....and we

aren't even sure if she had stood up or walked yet. This was the

sweetest thing I had ever witnessed.....and at that moment....I became

the coolest mom in the world when I asked Lincoln if he would like to

have her in his room. Right then and there.....I literally

became the coolest mom in the world. So.....we bounded up the stairs....

Bambi in tow. Nestled all snug in the warm bed Lincoln & Bambi set out

for one really long....sleepless night. Right about that moment Bambi

decided to get her fawn groove on and stood up & started talking.....well

I should say 'Maaaaaawwwww-ing'. All night long this sweetie

walked around the room. Not quite mastering the hardwood floors......

Lincoln 'carpeted' his room with blankets so she could walk around. I

don't think he got more than 15 minutes of sleep that night....but he was

one happy little guy. At 5:30 a.m. we embarked back over to my

mothers and reunited the fawn with her mommy. Nursed & content....

Bambi snuggled into the soft grass & drifted off for a nice nap. Mommy gave

us a happy & thankful look and bounded off to find the little twin fawn.

This was a life changing event for us. Lincoln said it was his second most

awesome experience ever right next to going to Poland last year. I am glad I

have been a part of both of those experiences. Sharing our lives together

is a blessing.

My Nest Banner From Birdsong

Sometimes when I go to an art retreat......the last class

I want to bow out on. Maybe I am tired.....maybe

I am just ready to go home. I almost bowed

out on this one. When you are being

instructed by the ever talented Karla Nathan of

Karla's Cottage.....you wouldn't want to

bow out. I had a blast creating this 'Nest' banner.

The 'N' is my favorite piece of the banner.

The vintage wallpaper is so yummy. Karla gave us the little

turquoise egg and taught us how to build up the moss

to make the little nest. Of course when you are with

THE Karla Nathan glitter isn't an option.

Just look at this vintage wallpaper.....Karla must

have learned her sharing technique from

Sugar Wings.....her granddaughter. She passed out these

cute little felted bird nests and I added the mica. Love it! This is

my 'E' piece but the 'E' is turned around.....sorry!

I love the 'S' piece. I hope to make many more banners

in the future. It was really restful and I enjoyed

it immensely. I want to make a L-I-N-D-S-E-Y banner

for Lindsey's graduation party. It is the last item on

my agenda....so I hope to complete that!

Here is my 'T' piece for the banner. I wasn't to keen on

using yellow.....but I loved how it turned out. I guess

a little glitter added with some vintage wallpaper

and old book paper.....what could be bad about that? So.....

really what I guess I am saying....experiment with

different colors because they might just surprise you. I guess

that is what an art retreat is for....to broaden your

creativity. I was blessed to achieve that at Birdsong.

A Bird Song Swap

I know you all are probably tired of seeing all the Birdsong

hoopla.....but I would be remiss if I didn't post

about the sweet treasure box matchbox I received.

Sherry....of Sherry's Cottage made this wonderful

box for me. She wrapped it in this awesome

vintage hat that looks like it came right out

of Karla's Cottage.

Here it is in all it's splendor. I just was so impressed by

all the minute details that she displayed.

She really paid attention....a girl after my own

heart. I just truly felt special when I received it.

She special ordered this vintage silhouette for me. That just made

me so happy. She really figured 'me' out. How she glued

on all that special bling is beyond me. Sometimes I feel glue

challenged. Do you ever have those days?

Here are some of the yummy gift items that were

meticulously placed in the box. She told me she packed it

and repacked it 4 times. It sure was packed to the

brim. I just love all the treasures inside!

And yes I must mention that I adore my special.....

sweet little inspiration box. I will treasure it for years to

come. If you notice my new 'button'....I am attending Handmade U

in September. My travel companion will be Miss Stephanie Oyler

of Crowns & Pearls. We are both so excited to attend. Check it out...there

are still 2 openings left....and I am sure the will fill up quickly.

Have an inspirationally creative weekend.!

Lindsey's Senior Prom.....A City That Never Sleeps

It was a magical day. Glorious in fact. Lindsey & I

had so much fun much making the flower arrangements,

her bouquet & Matt's boutonniere. I thought it would be

stressful and that we were making a HUGE mistake.

It was truly an incredibly wonderful experience. I would do

it again in a heartbeat. I just woke up....picked from

the yard & then headed to Kroger for the rest of the

flowers.....easy peasy!!!!!

Someday I hope to do

her wedding flowers....it was that much fun.

Lindsey says "The third time's the charm.

I feel the same way. This was her

third time to attend the prom with

this wonderful young man.....Mr. Matthew Acton.

They have grown up so much....in fact....

they have basically grown up together before

my very eyes.

I absolutely LOVED doing the floral arrangements for the

tables. Lindsey and three others hosted a dinner

at the Country Club for 46 other prom attendees. It was

a really great group of kids....and a neat way for them

to really do a dinner. Securing the location, choosing the menu,

picking napkins.....all those important details that tend to

overwhelm a person. Of course.....they hired THE best florist

in town....and the price was right.....ME!

Of course anyone that knows me.....knows I am all about

the treats and the favors. Here is a sample of what I did....but

there were 4 different versions. I did this one because it

was the most manly. The others were polka dot and flowers.

I filled them with pink....green.....and white M&M's.

They were really cute!!!!!

.....and I would be remiss if I didn't add a sweet

picture of my beautiful daughter Lindsey & me. It was

such a happy day all the way around. I hope this

finds you well & full of special blessings.

Woven Purse....Happy Mother's Day to Me!

Can you believe little old me made this??? Isn't it

cute. You know what it's like when you take

a new class that turns out to be

life changing......well this is just the one. While

attending Birdsong at Karla's Cottage

I was lucky enough to learn this cute

weaving technique from Lisa McAlvain of

Tarnished & Tattered. It's just like what you did at

Girl Scout Camp....a weaving on a piece of

cardboard. I even made this one at home....so

really anyone can do it! I hope you have an

artfully creative day....try this little ditty....you'll

be amazed at the fun you will have..... and who doesn't have

old fabric and a sheet of cardboard lying around.

Blessings!

Bird Song Recovery Week....I'm still reeling!

Can I just tell you that Birdsong at Karla Nathan's

was utterly delightful. What an awesome hostess

and creative & generous lady.

These are the teachers and boy did they

inspire me. Carol Spinski, Karla Nathan, Lisa McAlvain,

and Debbie Dussenberry helped us create

wonderful projects. I didn't see anything that was created

turn out badly. These were life changing projects. I will show

you more of mine when I get them photographed.

Here is the treat bag that Karla made for us. They

adorned the backs of our chairs. Lovely treats

were bestowed upon us. I loved adding my treat to

the bag. I love to help sponsor events and adding little

bits of wonder to the bags.

Here I am showing off the awesome banner

that I created in Karla's class. I was 'done' creating

and thought about not even starting the banner.....

but when you are creating in Karla's Cottage

you just can't stop. It is such an inspiring & magical

place. I was so happy that Kana roomed with us Indiana girls.

We loved having her....and hope we didn't keep her

up too much with our snoring.

Here's a little snippet of one of my banner tags. I love

this old piece of vintage wallpaper. I don't normally create

in the yellow family.....but I thought this worked.

It actually was one of my favorite tags. Not only did the banner

turn out beautifully.....but Karla gave us some wonderful

tips about creating that I never knew. That is what I love

so much about going to an art retreat. I am still reeling in all

the little tidbits that I learned.

Only Karla would decorate the table cloths with hand

drawn 'art'. This was such an inviting and warm

creating space. It's no wonder all our projects

turned out fantastically. I didn't see a bad one in the bunch.

I hope that each of you are lucky enough to get to

Karla's Cottage some day. I feel so blessed.