Sea of Purple

If you don't know this, my home state of Indiana is the basketball capital of the country. I grew up in Bloomington, IN and am raising my children here. My daughter is a sophomore at my high school Alma mater, and around here.....we love basketball. We played in the state championship game last night and WON!!! The score was 69/62 and those boys played their hearts out. We haven't won a state basketball championship since 1919 and that year they canceled school for a week to allow the fans to reach the stadium. We didn't get time off to travel, but we have the best fans in the world. Conseco Stadium was packed to the gills with 17,000 fans, 3/4 of them Bloomington South Panther fans. It was a sea of purple and the crowd was lively. We went to the pep rally today at Bloomington South and they had already painted the gym floor with '2009 State Basketball Champions' & 'JR Holmes Court'. He is the coach and began his coaching career when I was a junior there....that makes him OLD! We are now currently ranked 3rd in the nation and Lincoln thinks we need to have some kind of national tournament. I agree with him, I am not ready to watch these boys stop playing. I hope you all get to enjoy sporting events with your family. I think it builds such a strong sense of community don't you think?

Heading to the Beach!

Well we are finally going to get some R & R. We are heading to the beach for spring break. We have been traveling the past 4 weekends to hockey tournaments and my step-father-in-laws funeral. Lucky for me, I had a lot of time to read my Somerset Artful Blogging and found out that I needed to let you all know that I wouldn't be posting for awhile. So, as I have mentioned before, this blogging thing is a giant learning thing for me, and with blogging etiquette, I will apologize for not informing all of my wonderful blog sisters that I was away. I hope you are all enjoying your beautiful springs and possibly get to head out for a fun trip with your family. We are heading off to Daytona, close to Jeff's mothers so we get to spend time with her, yet be at the beach!!! Blessings for safe travel, and a happy Spring Break. I think Lincoln (above) has the right idea!!

She Makes Me Happy!

Sixteen years ago I never suspected that this beautiful girl could ever make me as happy as I am today. It is pretty special when you really like the person she is. I like the person that Lindsey is, I like the person she is becoming. I like the way she sees the world and I like the way she makes her choices. She tackles new things with grace & confidence, something I don't see in many 16 year olds. That sure wasn't me. If I had to do it all over again....Lindsey is the teenager I would be!!! For this, I am truly blessed.

Spring Blessings

At the end of January I got the sweetest request from two of the nicest Silver Bella's. I met Stacy McGinnis & Natalie Hansen at this year's Silver Bella in Omaha Nebraska and when they invited me to participate in a swap they were hosting I jumped at the opportunity. The swap, the Heartfelt Spring Swap intrigued me, and the reason, because our only rule was to create a spring ornament with felt. I was so excited to start creating and I began thinking about what to make. I decided that I was going to make my ornament reminiscent of an old fashioned sugared egg. I used vintage wool felt, hand dyed chenille & hand dyed velvet that I mixed myself to achieve those oh so special shades of spring. Then I glittered them up, added some fresh water pearls, added a special label and mailed them off. I hope the other girls in the swap enjoy them. When I receive my swaps I will let you see right away the special spring joy that comes my way.

My Puppy Love Tag Book

I recently participated in the Puppy Love Tag Swap hosted by Karla Nathan. Sugar Wings must really be happy to have such a neat Grandmother, because these books she put together are too cute! I know that a lot of girls out in blog land are sad that they didn't participate. I know that I am really happy that I did. This was the first swap, other than ones at Silver Bella that I participated in and it was so much fun. If you haven't participated in one, I highly recommend it, it forced me to do things creatively that I wouldn't have done otherwise. I used craft supplies that I was hoarding for a 'rainy day' and that made me come out of my bubble. It made me ask 'Why are you hoarding this....it is too special to save....use it...and make someone happy.' I no longer just save the good stuff for a rainy day. Are you still saving the good stuff or are you making someone happy with your bits & baubles??

Love Letters

I finally got to sleep last night after thinking about what I wanted to create when I woke up this morning. I thought this would be a great day to create. Lindsey & Lincoln were both on sleep overs and I thought this would be a fun way to celebrate President's Day. I pulled out all my favorite papers, old French checks, inks and old flocked letters and this is what I came up with. I hope you like them. What creative & fun things did you accomplish today?

Max & Ruby for Hadley

My sweet niece Hadley turned 5 years old. I am just smitten with her....she is so special and so much fun to be around. Hadley is like a good girlfriend. She calls me up with her sweet & adorable voice and invites me to lunch....and if anyone knows me...they know I love to do lunch! When my sister, her mother, told me Hadley's birthday was going to be Max & Ruby, she asked if I could make her something with the characters. I knew Hadley needed some more Aunt Hope bling and set out to make her a silver soldered Max & Ruby necklace. Beauty might come in the form of a niece or possibly a nice plate of truffles, but my photos of my jewelry creations really lack something to be desired. Below is the picture of Hadley's birthday necklace. I know she will really like it and I will be thrilled watching her love it.

The blurry but oh so specail Max & Ruby necklace. I hope you are able to create special pieces for loved ones in your family. The joy that comes from giving is such a wonderful feeling. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday afternoon.