Saturday, May 28, 2011

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.

Friday, May 27, 2011

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.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

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.

Friday, May 20, 2011

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.!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

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.

Friday, May 6, 2011

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!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

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.