Best Tutorial Blog.....

I've been pretty overwhelmed getting my kids ready for the beginning of a new School year, so it's left little time for blogging. I really wanted to take a minute to share what I think is the best Blog(for those of you who love to craft/sew will know what I mean) My half of the brain(more tutorials than you can shake a stick at)it's filled with endless tutorials and links to other amazing crafters and their blogs..... you can seriously spend hours getting lost in here! The picture above is from the upholstery Category, where you can follow the link to it's original post. Make sure to browse through the Categories~ one of my favorite is fabric, Enjoy!

Shopping List Saturday

Who doesn't Love Cupcakes???
During my search for a Cupcake print(my daughter loves making cupcakes so I thought I'd look for something unique for her room) I quickly realized the list of Cupcake anything is endless. That's how I came up with this weekends Shopping list Saturday, and only one of these sweet items has calories :) Yum!

Starting from top left:
1) Cupcake ring by: acrylicana
2) Mixed media collage art by: lindawoods
3) Cupcake sign by: SignsByDiane
4) Pink cupcake trifle by: Pinkcupcakes5
5) Vanilla buttercream cupcake soap by: yougogirlsoaps
6) Pink cupcake Deodorant by: Spatherapy
7) Wall Art by: artgoodies
8) Cupcake pincushion by: smarmypants
9) Cupcake photo by: Scarlettbeautiful2
10) Cupcake bath bombs by: HeyLadyCards
11) Cupcake party pick kit by: VintageBella
12) My sweet pillow by: Norajane

If you'd like to see more Shopping list Saturday finds, stop off at Fancypicnic's blog to check out links to others who are participating.

Completed projects and upcoming events

Finally I was able to finish a few Inspiration Boards for my shop. I recently purchased some beautiful fabric on Etsy from a great fabric shop SewLoveFabric who carries all the new and best fabric. I'm really crazy about Heather Bailey's new Pop Garden collection & just as excited about Anna Maria Horner's new Garden Party collection... I love that the prints have a Vintage feel about them. If you'd like to see more of my Inspiration Boards, you can see them here.

But even more exciting than fabric or completed projects is the upcoming Felt Club 2008 holiday event! I just received an e-mail this morning about the event, letting vendors know they're still taking applications. I'd love to be a vendor someday, but for now I think I'll settle for shopping and enjoying the crafty workshops! I missed it last year, so I'm thrilled to see it's coming to town again... I better start saving now$$$$.
If you want more info. you can check it out here.

Coupons.....Money saving website

I stumbled across this website(I actually was on STUMBLEUPON when I found it)but Retailmenot.com is a place where you can find on-line coupon codes to use during check out to receive discounts or even free extras. I was looking around the site & there are lots of popular stores like Victoria's Secret, Amazon.com, Kohls, Jo-ann fabric & craft, Papa Johns Pizza.....
They even have a Tutorial that shows step-by-step how to use their site! Pretty cool~ seems like a great way to save some $$$.

My Intro. into the Blog world...

Before I had even heard the word BLOG I found this website. Which led me to the most wonderful Blog ever~ Posie Gets Cozy! I found myself checking it daily, always looking forward to Alicia's posts. I think it's been almost three years since then. This coming November 11, her book Stitched in Time: Memory-Keeping projects to Sew and Share will be available to purchase~ yeah!


About three years ago, I decided that I needed to work from home. Having four kids, I've always known that being home when my kids got home from school, when they were sick or during the Summer was more important than having a job outside of the home. Figuring out what that was going to be and how it would work was something I really wasn't sure of?? I read(and saved) something from Alicia Paulson(I believe from an interview) about working for yourself~ my original plan was to print it out and frame it because it was so inspiring.

Words of advice for those pursuing their creative goals.

Do it. At the end, no one is ever going to thank you for not
living your life. You just have to sort of bang on through,
don’t worry about being perfect, don’t worry about whether
people think you’re a “success” or not. You will be.
You just keep on slogging away at it, and remember what
a gift it is to have this kind of independence and responsibility
and opportunity to do it on your own, exactly as you want
to-you will make as much as you need, because you’ll have to.
Learn who to listen to and learn to say no if it doesn’t
feel right. Trust the feeling in your stomach. Laugh at yourself.
Have a good time. Be happy with what you’ve done each day and whom you’ve done it with, because that in itself is a worthy contribution to this crazy world.

Love that!!

Swaps.... the best thing ever!!

Swaps?
I've noticed other Bloggers mentioning them, but have never done one myself~ until now. Chelsea Ann of IttyBittyBirdy , who's blog I love(that's where we met, through each others comments)asked if I'd like to do a swap?? We decided that the theme would be anything that inspires or brings a sense of joy, and that's exactly what her package did! This is just a little glimpse of what she sent, I can't tell you how excited I was going through her package..... loving each and every thing :)
So Thank You Chelsea, I really appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Chelsea just opened her Etsy shop IttyBittyBirdy last week, if you haven't seen it yet make sure to stop by, she makes the sweetest keepsake cakes.
Is this not the cutest picture??

Time flies....

For the life of me I couldn't figure out why I was having such a bad day today. I knew all week that today was one year since my Dad died, but I guess I wasn't expecting to feel so bad/sad/mad or whatever this is. Loosing people you love is something you never get used to, one of my least favorite things about being an adult.

I think the thing I miss most is listening to his stories, no matter how many times I’d heard them, they never got old. My kids loved hearing their Grandpa tell his stories over and over.
He had a great sense of humor, sometimes we would laugh so hard we’d end up crying. Some days we would call each other 4 to 5 times just to joke around or because we were laughing to ourselves about something we remembered.

A few years ago we realized that maybe we joked around with each other too much the day he called to tell me he had fallen and broke his arm. I was in the middle of getting my kids ready for bed, and thinking he was just kidding I told him “that’s not funny, I don’t have time for you messing around right now” and hung up. After a few minutes I started to feel bad for being so short with him so I called him back …and a Fireman answered the phone! I couldn’t believe it, we laughed about it once I got to the hospital.

The painting below was done by my brother, he painted it from a picture of my Dad playing College Baseball.


On a lighter note, I just received a package from a swap that I'm going to go and open :) I'll be sure to share it with you soon.

Something Sweet I'm looking forward to this Fall...

No, not the kids going back to school... that too, but I was talking about the upcoming opening of LolliShops!



LolliShops is a juried, online selling venue for talented artists, collectors of vintage and art supply vendors. LolliShops will appeal to those who love...

* Elegant Whimsy
* Romantic Inspirations
* Fanciful Creations

You can check out LolliShops Blog here, to get an idea of some of the amazing things you'll be able to find once it's open.

Flea Market finds....

I love Sundays, especially when I get the chance to go Flea Marketing! I got there by 8 a.m. and out by 9:45 because it was already too hot! I was looking for vintage frames(no luck), but found an amazing portrait on canvas. I decided at the time that since I was only going to buy what I came looking for~ frames, vintage cards & misc. ephemera, that I wouldn't buy it. After I got home I kept thinking about how I wish I had bought it, not that I have any wall space left for it anyways.
It reminded me of the time when I was at a flea market( a really good one, that only comes around once a month) and I had found a beautiful(but very expensive) vintage Eiderdown. I figured that when it was time to leave and I still wanted to buy it... and if it was even still there, then I would. Well, I was also very pregnant at the time and thought I was having contractions, so I left the flea market, went to the hospital and made sure I wasn't in labor ~ then went back and bought the eiderdown!



So this afternoon after thinking about how badly I still wanted the portrait, I headed back to the flea market.... and luckily she was still there! Yeah :)
And yes, I know that a pyrex dish, ice tray and little plastic people weren't on my list either... but I really needed them too.

Shopping list Saturday

Pretty dresses & unique bags were the inspiration for this weekends mosaic. Click on any picture to get a closer look.


Starting from top left:
1)Alice Dress in Wonderland, by: Sheezzy
2)The Audrey clutch, by: handsfullcreation
3)The garnet & moonstone dress, by: SuzannahMullikin
4)Leather bucket bag, by: StacyLeigh
5)Patchwork big flower dress, by: Sarahclemensclothing
6)Small branch handbag, by: Katedurkin
7)Navy banded dress, by: Stewwie
8)Cream puff tote, by: prettylittlethings
9)Front tie coat/dress, by: 13threads
10)Multipass clutch, by: bonspielcreation
11)Honey comb dress, by: hodgepodgedesign
12)Butter soft orange clutch, by: Theleatherstore

If you'd like to see more Shopping list Saturday finds, stop off at Fancypicnic's blog to check out links to others who are participating.

Funniest movie!!

I just saw Step Brothers over the weekend, I wasn't sure what to expect.... I laughed so hard I was crying! It's rated R, definitely not for kids~ but if you liked Dumb & Dumber, you'll love this!

Too hot to cook!

When it's too hot to cook, this has always been my favorite dish to put together. You do have to cook the meat, but what I mean by too hot to cook is too hot to turn on the oven~ which is a 1940's O'Keefe & Merritt. Without even turning it on, it gives off heat.... so turning on the oven on a hot day can be miserable!
This is a healthier version of the Mexican Salad that I usually make.
You can add whatever you like: Salsa, olives, cheese, chips, meat, beans, sour cream, tomato....
I substituted a few things: Turkey instead of meat, fat free sour cream instead of regular, kidney/pinto beans instead of refried beans and baked nacho cheese tortilla chips instead of the regular ones.
You just: layer, repeat, layer, repeat....




It' quick, simple & my kids will eat it~ that's probably why it's one of my favorite dishes!

Shopping List Saturday...

I was invited by Fancypicnic to be a part of Shopping list Saturday, where a group of Etsy sellers blog about favorite items found in fellow Etsians shops.
My theme is inspired by the upcoming arrival of my Niece. So this list is filled with sweet baby items, perfect for any baby girl.



Starting from top left:
1) Hand dyed block printed hummingbird Onesie, by: 1girl1boy
2) Newborn Mary Jane booties, by: Fluffybaby
3) Sweet mums felt hair clip, by: mycakies
4) Fresh flowers dress, by: kinchi
5) Sweet cherry bandana, by: WildOliveKids
6) Reversible diaper bag~ customize your own, by: retrofied
7) My little girl print, by: dazeychic
8) Nostalgic baby blocks, by: cookiedough
9) Ear flap pom pom hat, by: beaniedesigns
10) Chocolate brown onesie, by: layette
11) Woolen legwarmers, by: girlnumbertwenty
12) Snuggly baby blankie, by: layette

If you'd like to see more Shopping list Saturday finds, stop off at Fancypicnic's blog to check out the links to others who are participating.