A Sweet Little Thank You Gift

"Thy infinite gifts come to me only on those very small hands of mine. Ages pass, and still thou pourest, and still there is room to fill." Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali

In his book "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success" Deepak Chaopra states "The second spiritual law of success, the Law of Giving and Receiving, is based on the fact that everything in the universe operates through dynamic exchange. Every relationship is one of give and take because giving and receiving are different aspects of the flow of energy in the universe... We must give and receive in order to keep anything we want, circulating in our lives." This says so much to me that I had to share it with you. I love making things and then giving them away as gifts. It makes me feel good. I also feel strongly that it promotes good Karma. I believe that you receive in life what you give and I really try to live by that.

The secretary at my daughter's preschool brought in her doll cake mold and allowed me to borrow it for her birthday party. I thought this was very generous considering that she really doesn't know me that well. When I returned the cake mold to her yesterday I also included a small thank you gift. Just a small embellished jam jar with some candy in it. I just wanted her to know how much I appreciated her thoughtfulness. I think if everyone tried to do nice things for people they know the world would be a much better place. Our relationships say so much about the type of people that we are that I think not to do these things is truly a detriment. So enjoy your day and give a gift to someone today. It could be as simple as a small handwritten note to your mail person telling him or her thank you for delivering the mail, nothing big, but it will make a big difference in how the rest of their day and yours go. Take Care, Cassie

brown paper bag
Originally uploaded by cshella

I didn't have a gift back so I downloaded this WONDERFUL clip art from Stampington.com. The artist is Sandra Evertson and she provided these as an addition to an article from Somerset Life's Spring 2008 issue. Her blog is wonderful as well! Check it out. www.sandraevertson.blogspot.com

Candy Jar 2
Originally uploaded by cshella

I embellished this little jelly jar and filled it with pink candy (because my daughter insisted that the candy be pink!). When empty, the jar can be refilled or used to store pens and pencils. The perfect way to brighten a work desk.

The end of a lovely weekend

It is very late but I wanted to add these two pictures to finish off a lovely weekend. The one on the right is a gift tag that I attached to the treat bag's at Fiona's birthday party. I got the idea from the Winter/2008 edition of Quilting Arts Magazine. The original designer, Jane Davila had used the tags as part of a place setting. My tag is not as fancy as hers but it was very fun and easy to make and it really made the treat bag look adorable. The picture on the left is of my daughter Alexa holding my two week old niece, Giada. Alexa can't wait until Giada is old enough to appreciate birthday parties! I just thought it would be nice to end the day with these two lovely images in my head. The perfect ending to a pretty perfect day. Many Blessings, Cassie

Trials and Tribulations of a Birthday Cake...

Who would have thought that making a birthday cake would be in short, such a comedy of errors! My four year old daughter, Fiona, turned four yesterday. She originally wanted a fairytopia birthday cake. So we made the fairytopia invitations, and decided on a fairy like craft project for her party and all was good. The school secretary at Fiona's preschool even loaned me a cake mold so I could make her a doll cake. WELL... thirty six hours before her party (a day and a half!) she decides, with all of her heart of course, that she wants (and has to have!) a Mickey Mouse birthday cake. So, it is the night before her party and I need to make the fairy cake a mouse cake! Let me preface all of this with the fact that although I may be a crafty person, a pastry chef I am not! I did the best that I could and by 2:00 a.m. the cake was finally done. I was quite worried about the fact that Mickey was pink and not the traditional brown and red (I only bought pastel food coloring!). I tossed and turned all night hoping that it looked enough like Mickey Mouse to please her on her birthday. I guess the saying "don't sweat the small stuff" is really true here; the cake was perfect for her. She didn't care that her Mickey cake was pink and white instead of red and brown, or that his ears were actually cookies and not cake at all. The look on her face when she saw it, and hearing her exclaim "it's a pink Mickey, he's great!" was enough to make my whole year. I wish sometimes that I could look at the world like she does: in wonder and aah of everything. Their lives are so simple in that the smallest things make the best impressions on them. Like eating popcorn on the floor with their daddy, or sitting on the front porch swing to watch the birds at the bird feeder, or even the greatness of a pink Mickey Mouse cake! I wish everyone a wondrous and aah filled day! Cassie

A work in progress

Well this is it, my first post! I have been working on this for a while as I really have no idea what I am doing when it comes to blogging. This is a work in progress, but that's okay because I kind of consider everything a work in progress. First let me say that I am a stay at home mom who needed an outlet for all of my crafty projects lying around the house. I bought a copy of Stampington's Artful Blogging and decided I had to give it a try. I have been keeping a brick and mortar journal for sixteen years so it only seemed natural to expand on that via the Internet. So here it is! I love anything handmade. Handmade things just seem to speak to me. A handmade gift is the best kind of gift, at least in my opinion. It says that not only was someone thinking of you but that they thought enough of you to give you a piece of themselves. Because when you make something, and give it away, you truly are giving away a special piece of yourself. So with that in mind, I have decided to give myself a challenge so to speak; I love making things, but a lot of times my projects don't get completed. I am challenging myself to make something every week (everyday is just an unrealistic expectation for me as I have a four year old and a two and a half year old at home and a wonderful husband who works many hours!) and then give it away as a gift to someone. Wow! And now that I have posted it on the web for all to see I have to stick with it!! I will keep everyone updated with my progress but for now, my gift to you is a wish of many blessings for this wonderful day. Cassie