Projects

I've been busy with a ton of various projects. The above is a wooden lighthouse that I painted and distressed. In the summer, I like to decorate using a beachy/cottage chic decor. This lighthouse will go perfectly with my little sailboats and sea shells and beach inspired decor.

This is a necklace and bracelet set that I made for my mother-in-law's birthday, which is this Thursday. You can click on each picture for a close-up view.

I used glass beads, some new, some vintage. These pictures don't do it justice. The green color is very pretty and soothing.

Hope she likes it!

Garland Swap

I participated in a fun garland swap through the Year of Color blog hosted by Artsymama. My partner is Julie.

I had a lot of fun decorating this garland for Julie. I used blacks, reds and creams.

I incorporated some vintage lace, vintage cards, vintage music sheets, vintage trims and ribbons.

I used a set of Tinkering Ink chipboard shapes. Great to work with. Very sturdy.

A couple of close-ups.

This will be going out in the mail today along with some of Julie's favorite candy - fruity candies.

Spring!

I love Spring. I love daffodils. And it feels like Spring here in San Diego today. The sun is out and gorgeous, just a little bit of coolness in the air, blossoms are appearing. Just a beautiful day.

And it's Friday! Now, if it were only payday, too! Oh well, I'm healthy and so are my kiddos, so I'm happy.

Have a great Friday!

Happy Wednesday

Getting back into the swing of things after returning to work. I like the above layout from one of the design team members at Sassafrass. I'm going to make a layout that is similar to the one above for Sean "at eight" and Jake "at six". I usually make more of a "formal" layout using their school picture at each age and I like the idea of a "playful" layout utilizing their school pictures.

This wall clock was featured on http://www.decor8.blogspot.com/. I keep returning to this picture. I really like this idea. You could change out the frames each season or for holidays. Very creative.

I like this living room. It looks so inviting. I'm also a fan of empty frames on a wall that are of various sizes, shapes, texture and design.

Love the above image from Domino magazine. Just a fun, cozy little nook. I have the exact same birdcage that I purchased from an antique store a year ago. Love birdcages. And I love glass cloches like the one displayed on the above table.

I have been wanting a zebra design rug for a long time. I just don't have the extra funds for that type of purchase. I love the pop of turquoise in this living room.

I'll be back tomorrow with pictures of a garland that I completed last night. I'm in a garland swap hosted by Artsymama on her "Year of Color III" blog.

Hope everyone's week is going great! Half-way to the weekend. Woo-hoo!

THE BOYS

Hanging out with my peeps this weekend.

We went to the movies today and saw "Race to Witch Mountain." Very entertaining.

I know, it's hard to tell the difference between The Rock's physique and my son Sean's physique.

Can you see Casper, the lab, behind Sean? He's never very far from us.

Hope you're having a great weekend.

Spring Bling & Fluffing Part 3

A few more pictures of my Easter decor. A corner of my living room.

The "CREATE" sign was an Etsy purchase, www.gratefultulip.etsy.com. I purchased the mercury candlesticks after Christmas.

These pretty patchwork fabric eggs were purchased this year from Sweetwater Scrapbooking located in beautiful Colorado.

I think that about does it for my Easter decor this year. Thanks for the party Rhoda!

Check out Part 2 and Part 1 below this post.

Spring Bling & Fluffing Part 2

There's a Spring fluffing party going on over at http://southernhospitality-rhoda.blogspot.com. Go check out over 75 different blog posts featuring some pretty Spring decor.
The above picture is a sweet bunny I've had for 18 years. He's holding one of the paper mache eggs that I altered this year. I love utilizing a glass cloche.

I found this wonderfully chippy table and chairs a couple years ago at my favorite La Mesa antique store. The chenille bunny was made for me about 20 years ago. And the bunny on the right is my son Sean's first bunny ever, brought by the Easter bunny 7 years ago when Sean was 1 1/2 years old.

A couple other Easter goodies on the dining room table.

Check the post below for Part 1 of Easter decor.

Spring Bling & Fluffing Part 1

Started decorating for Spring and Easter. I purchased the basket with eggs from JoAnn's last year after Easter for a great bargain. The cherry blossoms and vase come from Michael's. The shabby chic lantern comes from a wonderful shop over on Coronado called "The Attic". The shabby chic style posts were a find on Ebay a couple of years ago. And I can't, for the life of me, remember where I purchased that mirror. I've had it for many, many years.

The glass jar is from Target and the eggs inside are from Michael's. I love the subdued colors of the eggs. I purchased the vintage birdcage from one of my favorite antique stores in downtown La Mesa. The dove is a Dollar Tree find that I spray painted a glossy white. The sweet bunnies in the little alcove or cutout I've had since I was 18 years old! I guess that makes them vintage, doesn't it?!?!?

The paper mache house that I altered and decorated this year. Wrapped some scrapbook paper around the candles and added an Easter embellishment, put some glittery eggs in a silver tray and had an instant display/tablescape. The bunny standing on top of the box came from Michael's last year, on clearance after Easter. The print in the frame is from Roben-Marie's Etsy store.

The above picture shows the egg garland I made this year. I added Easter candy goodies to a few of my many glass apothocary jars. I placed a gift box in the shape of a cake on top of a cake platter that I purchased from Target. I think the blue cake-shaped gift box came from Target, too, last year. My "inspire" sign from http://www.gratefultulip.etsy.com/ purchased this year.

A close-up of the cake plate and round gift box. The glitter eggs came from Dollar Tree. I just took them off their little wooden skewers. I found the two orange frames from the dollar section at Michael's a couple of weeks ago.

More Easter decor pictures tomorrow! Have a wonderful day.

A Room With A View

This is a view off of my upper balcony. What a gorgeous evening last night. Temperatures have been really comfortable. Not too hot, not too cold.

After a good rainy season, the lake fills up nicely. I love that it's staying lighter longer in the evenings.

Have a blessed day!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Isn't this little guy the cutest? I've been a faithful follower of Anna-Marie Still's blog. Go check it out. That's her little guy in the above picture. She's a Stampin' Up demonstrator with a ton of awesome ideas.
http://annamariestill.typepad.com/my_weblog/
And Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone!

A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN
Sure, a little bit o' Heaven fell from out of the sky one day and nestled on the ocean in a spot so far away. And the angels found it, sure it looked so sweet and fair. They said, "Suppose we leave it, for it looks so peaceful there!" So they sprinkled it with star dust, just to make the shamrocks grow. 'Tis the only place you'll find them, no matter where you go. Then they dotted it with silver to make its lakes so grand, and when they had it finished, they called it Ireland.

Saint Patrick was said to have used the three-leafed shamrock to illustrate the Holy Trinity. He explained in his sermons that the clover represented how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were all separate parts of a single entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day, March 17.
Saint PatrickBorn: AD 385 ~ Died: AD 461

St. Patrick's Day Goodies

My youngest son, Jake, and I put together a St. Patty's Day treat for his classmates. We used chocolate gold coins and shamrocks from See's Candy. I used the Top Note diecut from Stampin' Up, along with three of their punches: scallop, circle and a label punch (I can't think of the name of the label punch right now). We added a sparkly shamrock and voila - a fun treat to eat.

Today is my first day back to work after my injury on 2/12/09. Feels great to be back. I missed all of my co-workers.

What do you have planned for St. Patty's Day?

A SPRING CANVAS OR TWO

I created a couple of canvasses the other day to help usher in Springtime. I was inspired by www.mylilyeden.blogspot.com. Remember to click on the picture to enlarge. You will be able to see the fabric detail better.

Here's a smaller canvas. I painted each canvas using Apple Basket acrylic paint in "Soft Blue". I used scrapbook paper for the hills and some fabric for the house and flowers and birds. I then used corrugated cardboard for the tree trunk and flower stems. Also, a little bit of Stickles glitter glue and some buttons.

Whoa. That color does not look right. I need a better camera to show the colors better.

Okay. I'm ready for Spring, how about you?

My Crafting Buddy

My youngest son, Jake, is my crafting buddy. He's a budding artist. He loves to draw, paint and make crafty projects. As I was making and decorating my eggs, Jake wanted to make a couple of his own. Here are some pictures of his Easter egg designs.

Great job, Jake!

More Eggs

Lots of egg decorating going on to make four garlands.

I love this owl in the middle of a crocheted flower. I have a thing for owls! :) You can click on the pictures for a close-up view.

Fun Springtime colors.

The egg on the left in the picture above was decorated using part of a vintage postcard.

And again, in the picture above, the egg on the top left was decorated using a vintage die-cut rabbit. I love his little bunny face. The bottom right was decorated using some vintage pom-pom trim.

Happy Friday the 13th :)