full of bliss

~April Swap~

I know we are quite a way out of April, but I still had to share these wonderful Easter creations that I received as part of a swap I did before Easter. It’s only the second swap I have participated in and I hope it’s not the last. I can’t tell you how fun it was to open up each of these beautiful packaged treasures. The hard work and talent that went into creating each one of these ornaments is so amazing.

Top row left to right~ adorable spun cotton and paper clay bunny made by, Theresa Whitmore of Sycamore Moon Studios. I love how he looks like he is juggling Easter eggs. Darling Bunny ornament with crepe paper collar made by, Cyndi Lachance of Holiday Sparkle. I just adore his expression and the beautiful hand painting in this treasure. Second row left to right~Gorgeous glittered egg made by, Cheryl Comfort of Artsy Fartsy. I have always loved these eggs with scenes inside them. I just want to jump into this tiny fairyland Cheryl created. Super sweet Easter basket made by, Valarie Kraft of Glitter Daze and Nights. This glittering delight is chock full of sweet details and darling treasures. Last row both ornament made by the host of the swap, Vivian Neroni of Viv’s Whimsy. The embroidered felt egg is just too cute, and Vivian’s handiwork is absolute perfection. She also made the darling needle felted chick popping out of a glittered egg to wish a happy Easter…sooo adorable!!!

Thank you so much Vivian for hosting this swap and including me. Thank you ladies for all of your creativity and hard work. I had so much fun creating for and in turn receiving such beautiful treasures. I know they will be enjoyed by me and my family each and every year as we unpack and hang them on our Easter tree.

I will be posting the ornaments I made for the swap soon!

Digital Resources~Pugly Pixel and Kitschy Digitals

~A Fresh Start~

Some more tulips. I just can't get enough of the beautiful, bright orange tulips. Spring brings cleaned rooms, pretty flowers, and a new outlook. A new and fresh start to everything. I thank the Lord for these little tips and reminders that God has so handily portrayed for us within nature.

 

That’s all for now. I just wanted to let you know I am still around and plan for some more posts soon. After all, spring and Easter provide me with endless inspiration. Now, if only it would stop raining around here, so I could go out and enjoy all of those beautiful Cherry blossom trees before all the petals are beat to the ground from the endless downpours.

 

~Thrifting Bliss~Show and Tell~

 

 

Inspired by Danielle Thompson's awesome "Vintage Love" posts, I had to join in the fun. I wanted to share a few of my recent thrift store scores. I hope you have a good time checking them out. I know I sure had a great time finding them.

Okay, so I know some of you(my mom included) have no idea why one would be so drawn to these funky late 60’s early 70’s styles, but I can’t seem to help myself. I just love these Holly Hobby-esque placemats. They remind me of the cloth Holly Hobbie dolls I played with when I was little. I also found this fabulous tutorial for adorable kids aprons. You can make them from this type of placemat. I might have to make a few for Miss Liv.

Oh, for the love of owls. I found these little guys at a great thrift shop in Spokane, Wa, while visiting my littlest sis. How cute are they!?! They will make my craft/sewing room an even happier place.

This little cream and sugar set was at the same thrift store. I just love them, but I might have to give them up to my other sis. She has a bit of an owl obsession.

 

I don’t know though, they might have to stay at my house for a while. I am not quite ready to give them up.

How wonderful is this Mikasa bowl and plate? I only found the two pieces, but I am now on the hunt for more. I don’t think I have ever seen this pattern. It brings to mind the wonderful Orly Kielyprints we all love. The plate is marked, Mikasa Duplex by Ben Siebel. The bowl doesn’t have a pattern name on it, but I am assuming they go together, as the colors are a perfect match and the bowl fits perfectly on the plate.

Have a great weekend, and I hope you find some treasures of your own.

Sources for clip art and textures used ~Pugly Pixel and fuzzimo.com 

                           

~Keeping It Light on a Rainy Day~

I think this time of the year is the most difficult for me. I sit and wait with anxious anticipation for the renewal that Springtime inevitably brings, but it is such a slow march to those slightly warmer spring days. I start to long for the smell of fresh-cut grass, and the pretty pink buds on the cherry blossom trees that soon will be bursting into a froth of pink petals and blooms. Oh…it feels as though it will never be here. All it seems to be is day after day of rain and grey. Don’t get me wrong, I love the rain as well, but after the holidays are all put away and done with, I really need a good dose of sunshine and light. How about you, has this winter taken its toll on you? It really has been a crazy one all across the country. I think we are all ready for longer days and the warmth of the sun.

Here, is my go-to quick fix for the days when I have the winter doldrums. First, I try to give the house a quick clean-up. Just dusting, vacuuming and putting the clutter away. Second, I head out to the grocery store for a few items including some spring flowers to bring home and place in a pretty vase. Third, I light some fresh(floral or citrus) scented candles. Forth, I brew up some fantastic Jasmine tea…soooo good! Then, I put on some happy tunes and do a little baking. This time it’s Grandma’s Banana Bread. It's always a hit with the whole family. Not to mention the fact that it feels so good to use up a few of the bananas that are slowly taking over my freezer.

I've tried several kinds of jasmine tea in my search for the perfect one. I believe I have found a match in this one. I found it at Uwajumaya. The "pearls" are good for at least three steepings, so while it is a bit more expensive than some of the other teas you are able to stretch each single serving into about three.

Now, my winter time blues are gone. I have some yummy bread to eat while I look at my pretty tulips on the table, and daydream of the coming spring.

I hope the sun makes an appearance in your neck of the woods very soon!

~So Berry Cute~

This past week I found myself reminiscing back to my early elementary school days. I guess it probably has to do with the fact that I have been helping my mom go through some old storage units that they(my parents) have had since I was little. While I have most of my childhood toys stored away at my house, or in use by Miss Liv, there were still a few things here and there that brought back some terrific memories. Before I knew it, I had gotten out my old Strawberry Shortcake dolls to see if they still held there sweet scent(umm...not so much).

 

After taking a few shots of my dolls, I packed them away, but I still had strawberries on my mind. So, in search of fun strawberry items, I hit the web and checked out a few of my favorite spots. I was not disappointed, there are tons of cute, kitschy, strawberry items to be had. Here are just a few. I hope you enjoy some of the sweet treats I found.

 

click on images for sources

This is my very first image map; I put it together with the help of CoffeeCup Image Mapper. I think I might have found a new obsession.

 

Another item I came across was my old roller skates. I can not believe they still have the same laces I put in them when I was little. I specifically remember buying the laces with the ice cream cones on them. I guess by the time my sisters were old enough to start skating, roller blades were on the scene. So my skates did not see too much action after I grew out of them. Well, they are certainly getting a work out now, as Miss Liv has taken quite a liking to them. They are the first thing she puts on in the morning and as soon as she gets home from school. I love it when my kids get as much enjoyment out of my old toys as I did when I was young.

 

I hope your week is off to a great start.

Valentine's, Pipe Cleaners and Puppy Love

I spent the weekend working on Valentine’s with the kids. We decided on some pipe cleaner projects for their class Valentine's.  For the girls, we made pretty rings that I saw on Martha Stewart and some super cute puppy dogs that I saw Elizabeth making over at Bluebird Paper Crafts. She has posted a fabulous tutorial, it was super easy for the kids (and me) to follow.

 

I also caught up on a couple of my favorite shows; the first of which was, An Idiot Abroad…Oh my, I love this show, it's just too funny. The other show I caught up on was, Lark Rise to Candleford. If you like Jane Austen, or any kind of British period dramas you might like this show. The costumes and settings are truly beautiful. It was an excellent show to watch while twisting and twirling pipe cleaner Valentine’s.

 

 

I tried working on my knitting this weekend, actually just one knitting project in particular, and I swear it is going to be the death of me. It started out all easy-peasy and spiraled into a project of utter frustration. I have torn out one section about 6 times. I am determined to finish it this week, even if it kills me. Pictures to follow soon.

 

Happy Belated Valentine’s Day!

~Valentine’s Day Project Rewind~

 

This past week the kids and I have been looking at different ideas for this years Valentines day treats. We have yet to make a final decision, but I think we have it narrowed down to a couple of choices. I am hoping that this weekend we will be able to get started. I thought I would post a few pictures of our projects from the past couple of years. I hope you enjoy them.

These iPod or iLove Valentines are the most popular thing I have ever posted by far. I get more hits on this post than everything else combined, they really are so fun. I remember, I was so excited to find something that my son loved just as much as I did. It’s often hard to find common ground with little boys when it comes to Valentines.

I wish I could take full credit for coming up with this idea, but I actually found them in Family Fun Magazine.  I just added my own twist on it and prettied them up a bit. You can view the blog post in its entirety here.

 

The next pictures are Olivia’s Valentines from that same year(I must have had a lot more time on my hands than I do now).

The bunnies were for the girls and the bears were for the boys. We just used pipe cleaners, poof balls, cupcake liners, and sticky foam shapes.

Her teachers was a little bit more detailed and special.

Last year Jacob made these cute little robot characters and Olivia decided she wanted to make these owls. We embellished the owls with cute little barrettes from the dollar store. Each owl is perched on its very own pencil.

You’re Owl-right

 

 

Have a great weekend!

Photo styling~

clip art and papers can be found at Pugly Pixel

~Adventures In Knit and Crochet~

 

Once again, it has been far too long since I last posted. I never finished my count down to Christmas(that makes it two years in a row, and now Valentine’s Day is almost here. It’s just amazing how fast time flies over the holidays. We had a busy, but wonderful Christmas and New Year. I have been cleaning up my blog and trying my hand and some knitting and crochet projects this past month, all of which still sit unfinished. I am so terrible at completing the last steps to finish my projects. Hmmm…I wonder what that says about me? Here are a couple pictures of the projects I am almost finished with.

A grey and cream cowl. I was loving this pattern at first but now I’m not so sure. I will post pictures when it’s finished. Keep your fingers crossed that it actually happens.

Some detail of the edge of the cowl.

This is the beginnings of a sweater vest for Miss Liv. I am just about finished, it is pretty rough looking, but it’s my first attempt at a knitted article of clothing, other than a scarf or hat. I am hoping that when it’s all blocked it will look somewhat better. I might be too ashamed to share the finished product. We shall see.

Thanks for visiting, your comments are always appreciated!

~Last Day of Our Little Getaway~

On our way out of town and back to Seattle, I caught a glimpse of these beautiful berries with snow piled on top. Red, green and white, a Christmas delight!

~A Boy in the Snow and More Snow~

The pine tree forests covered in snow are not to be believed. Absolutely stunning!

I rarely get this guy to hold still for a picture. I am so grateful when he lets me take his photo.

Hamming it up once again.