A Gift For Some Friends...

Our friends, Josh and Dee, had a baby girl in January. Her name is Zada Marie Elieen Miranda. I scanned the birth announcement and printed it out on a sheet of printable fabric and went to work embellishing...

I LOVE doing stuff like this - especially when it's for two people as nice and as down to earth as Josh and Dee are...

The embroidery part is complete, I'm going to finish the collaging part tonight. I will post the completed pictures by the end of the week. We will be seeing them soon so it has to get done! Sometimes I work really well when there is a deadline looming. Why is that? Have a Blessed week:)

Treat Bags For A Special Evening...

I finally finished the treat bags for Saturday evening. I love doing stuff like this - to me it's just so much fun!

I played around in Photoshop and designed the iron on transfer, this was a challenge because I wanted to keep it gender neutral. I'm used to creating sparkly, girly things for Fiona and Alexa...

And of course these were REALLY fun to make:) They are Oreo cookies dipped in white chocolate and covered with rainbow sprinkles. Nothing like sugar on top of sugar! I hope the kids enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them.

Here is my new studio assistant, he seems to have attached himself to my hip lately. Where ever I go - he's right there, poking his big 'ol head in to see what I'm doing. Have a Blessed weekend.

Journey...

My family and I are going to a benefit on Saturday for my husband's cousin. She is a thirty-four year old single mother of two small children and she was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. I've been thinking a lot lately about how lucky we are to just have the opportunity to to journey through this life...

It's really not about the destination, but how we journeyed through it...

I'm keeping this short and sweet this week as I have been a very busy person (and that's okay - I'm not going to complain at all about it). My contribution to this benefit is small treat bags for the kids that will be in attendance, about twenty of them. I have them almost finished and will post pics before the week is out. Blessings...

My life long facination with paper dolls...

I have loved paper dolls for as long as I can remember. I loved them as a child and to this day I get giddy with excitement when I pull my old ones out...

Now that the girls are a little bit older, I will let them play with "mommy's paperdolls". These reproduction Dolly Dingle Paper Dolls are my favorite...

Dolly Dingle made her initial appearance in 1913. She was created by Grace Drayton, the artist responsible for the famous Campbell Soup Kids. The paper dolls I have are reproductions from the series that came out in 1913 and from the around the world series that came out in 1917.

I think it is time that I scan them into my computer so I can use them in some creations. Have a Blessed week:)

Treasured Times...

I took this picture of my girls and my niece last summer. This winter has been so long and cold that I had to embroider it and create something that screamed spring.

I used a lot of pinks and purples because those are the girl's favorite colors. I painted a blank canvas with some gesso and gold and then mixed in a little antiquing color. Then I layered it with school papers from the girls. I also used some tissue paper and some old book paper...

Then I just went ahead and played and embellished! Alexa and Fiona even helped out on this one. Letting me know where they thought buttons and sequins should go...

Hope you enjoyed this little bit of spring on a cold wintery day.

A Little Bit of Tea...

I have been trying to cut down a bit on the amount of coffee I consume. However, in the winter, I really like to have something warm to drink during the day. I have started trying different kinds of herbal teas...

It has inspired me to create a collage about tea and tea ephemera. My mind is full of ideas, Hope everyone has a wonderful week. We will be trying to stay warm and dry here in Ohio. No school today because of flooding - although my girls will be able to ice skate in the back yard once all of the water freezes later this afternoon. Thank God for sump pumps!

Meet Big Boy...

This is Big Boy, a ruffled up tabby that, literally, wormed his way into our home and our hearts this past fall...

As you can see - the name we gave him suits him well! He has always been very affectionate toward me, but after Hailey passed away, he has decided that the girls need his affection too...

We joke that he adopted us, but I'm beginning to think the Lord knew what he was doing when he brought this giant, lovable, feline into our lives.