Friday Finds

Two things I've been coveting:

1. Echino Karl von Frisch Purse No. 3 from The Sea Within

2. Gaia Handmade knotted necklace from Terraform

Should I purchase both? Decisions, decisions...

Have a Happy Day!

Embrace The Camera- Grandparents

Lately with Mother's Day coming up, I've been thinking a lot about my grandmother. Very few pictures were taken of me with her or with any of my grandparents for that matter. I find that I really cherish the few that I have.

For today's Embrace the Camera, I thought I'd take an opportunity to post a couple of pictures of Jellybean with her paternal grandparents. We were able to take some candid photos on her first birthday.

Here's Jellybean with her "Papa". I love these photos, they show such a cute interaction between the two of them.

Here's a sweet photo with her grandma. Don't mind Jellybean's weird hair, I had to clean chocolate cake out of it.

Join Emily and her crew in Embracing the Camera today!

Have a Happy Day!

Easy Art: Pressed Leaves

When we moved into our first house, I planted a teeny, tiny Orangeola Japanese Maple tree. It was just a twig with a few leaves because I couldn't justify the cost of a larger one. I have nurtured that little tree for 7 years and it was just starting to turn into a really beautiful little tree until the top of it was broken off by some careless neighbors during one of their late night parties. So sad!

When I discovered what had happened to my little tree, I was so grateful that I had collected a few leaves from it the week before.

Not only do I love art that brings nature inside, but I'm also sentimental. I knew that we would not live in this home forever and that I wouldn't be taking my sweet tree with me when we moved. So I decided to press the leaves and find a way to display them in my home.

The leaves were so beautiful that I decided to go simple. I picked up a couple of clear acrylic magnetic frames from my local craft store and and wallah, instant art.

These make me smile every time I see them on my shelf.

Have a Happy Day!

Fantasy Craft Room (Part Two)

Welcome to my second installment of Fantasy Craft Room. In part one I added some storage and some decor.
Today I'm feeling like a really great work table:

Like this Vintage Tiffany Stand Company Metal Work Table from Urge Studio

Some extra lighting:

I love the look of this handmade pendant lampshade from Filigree Creations

and a business center:

I think this two-tone vintage tanker desk from Wesbenn would be a perfect place for my computer and for keeping track of orders.

I'm going to keep dreaming of a real workspace. We are just starting to look at new homes and I've decided that a room for my crafting is a MUST!

What would you need in your fantasy craft room??

Have a Happy Day!!

*Top picture photo credit: Chema Madoz

Newest Listing

New to the shop this week!

The Mariposa Snap Clip
I created this little clip to match my daughter's Janie and Jack outfit for her first year photos.

Here she is modeling the clip. Pretty cute, eh?

Make sure to stop by the shop this week. I may be adding another sweet snap clip as well...

Have a Happy Day!

Friday Finds

I'm a big fan of products that are both attractive and useful. When I have the fortune to find something that meets both criteria, it is hard for me to pass it up.

My first find is a great example of form and function:

Authentic Japanese Eco-Tawashi; Magic Scrubbers from Beaded Wire

Aren't these just so cute and springy? They are so cute, I think I'd feel bad about using them to scour my pots. I also love the story behind these sweet little flower scrubbers. Pick up a pair for yourself or these would make a great Mother's Day gift.

My next find looks simply delicious and you can't beat the name:

Death By Rum Ball from Brown Bag Bakery

I've never had an alcoholic beverage in my life, but I have a real weakness for rum when it comes to chocolates. These look like they'd put me in a rum/chocolate coma. :)

My very favorite chocolate is called a Rum Gracie. The Gracie is basically a rum cream dipped in chocolate and then rolled in nuts. It is a little piece of heaven. I'll be honest though, I'll take any rum/chocolate combination. Maybe it's a good thing that I don't drink...

Have a Happy Weekend!

Which Red?

We are getting our house ready to list in the next few weeks (sorry if this is a surprise to my friends and neighbors that may read this). We are sprucing things up and could use some help picking a front door color.

Here is our unassuming brick house in a quiet, tree-lined neighborhood.

We'll be adding shutters back and painting them to match the trim. We'll also be planting some spring flowers.

So...
Which red should the front door be? (The barn red is slightly darker in real life.)

Do you have any other red suggestions for this color brick?
Is it a mistake to go with red?

I need your opinions!

We'll be painting the door either this weekend or next and I'll post the before and after photos when it's complete.

Thanks for your help and Have a Happy Day! :)

Yeah, He's Brilliant

The way I see it, blogs are a wonderful forum for bragging. I have a private family blog that I do most of my bragging on, but I imagine my family is getting a little tired of it. So, I'll take this opportunity to brag about my son publicly.

He's a really smart little boy. In fact, he's brilliant.

By 18 months he could recognize the entire alphabet (upper and lowercase) and tell you all of the letter sounds. Now he's already starting to read and can write all of the letters. Did I mention that he'll only be turning 3 in June?

Lest you need more proof of his brilliance, take a gander at the following pictures. He loves playing with his letters on the fridge. Last week, I found him frantically looking for the letter "p". He needed it desperately. When we finally found it, this is what he did:

"Look at what I did!"

Letters aren't his only forte, he surprised me yesterday by spouting off the numbers from 1 to 10 in Spanish. ;)

Oh, and he's cute to boot. heh.

Well, that's enough bragging for one day. Have a Happy One!

Newest Listing

Introducing the new cross stitch and felt bobby pin set featuring the lovely little ladybugs from The Taylor.

Perfect for Spring or Summer!

Have a Happy Day!

Friday Finds

With two toddlers at home, I haven't had much of an opportunity lately to feel really feminine or to dress up for a night out. So naturally, I felt drawn to these two items. Both are lovely and feminine.

First, isn't this white doily necklace from Stella Bella Boutique beautiful? (I just mentioned to my husband that this might be a nice Mother's Day gift.)

I also think I need to try these single note solid perfumes from For Strange Women. I love the idea of creating my "own personal chord" out of the scents available.

So very vintage, pretty and feminine. I think I might fall into a swoon. They'd both be perfect for that night out that I've been dreaming of.

Have a Happy Weekend!

Embrace The Camera- "Mud"

A couple of weeks ago, we met a friend for a play date at a farm.

We walked around for an hour with Jellybean strapped to my hip and the boy running ahead with his friend. We saw: chickens, roosters, cows, sheep, geese, horses, rabbits and goats. My son had a marvelous time running around with his friend and we even had time for a picnic. It was a beautiful day and a really fun outing.

Here we are in front of a large barn. My son is saying, "..but I don't want to eat lunch."

On the way home I asked my son: "Did you have fun at the farm? What did you see there?"
From the back seat came his enthusiastic response... "I saw MUD!"

Ah mud, glorious mud. Way better than a bunch of farm animals, any day. :)

On that note...Have a Happy Day!

DIY: Embroidered Onesie

I have two sister-in-laws that are expecting right now, so I'm starting to think about baby gifts. I thought as part of the gift I'd give a plain onesie an extra sweet touch by embroidering a design on it. This is a really simple project, probably one that most people know how to do, but it was new to me.

Here's a short tutorial. First, find cheap onesies. I purchased mine through a mom bargain site so they were super cheap, but a bit higher quality than just the Gerber brand you can buy at the craft store. Also purchase waste canvas. You can find this at the craft store.

Hoop your onesie and waste canvas. Now you are ready to embroider. I actually used a small cross stitch pattern that came on the back of the waste canvas package. I didn't want anything too large, but you could definitely do more than I did.

Once you are finished with your design you can take the hoop off, cut off the excess canvas and start pulling out the strings. I ended up grabbing a pair of tweezers to help pull the final strings out.

That's it! Now you can wash your little onesie and package it up with the rest of your gift. :)

I think it's nice to add a little personal touch. Especially to something that ought to get a lot of use.

There you have it. Have a Happy Day!

Favorite Photo

Over the weekend, we took the kids to get some photos taken. Now, in my opinion, my children are adorable and we got a lot of beautiful photos of them smiling.

But this photo was my favorite of the entire shoot:

Is there something wrong when a mother loves the crying photos more than the smiling ones?

I guess I love that this shot shows that over-dramatic, 2.5 year old side of my son. That face breaks my heart and makes me laugh all at the same time. I'll note that in the blink of an eye he was smiling again. Ah, my sweet, dramatic, handsome, silly, expressive boy. Please, don't ever change.

Have a Happy Day!

Just Listed: Josephine in Orange

I understand that orange is the newest color for Spring. So is orange the new pastel? or what?
Anyway, I just made up the Josephine in a beautiful orange, yellow and green fabric; the perfect colors for Spring or Summer.

Choose between a bright yellow or bright green center.

So put away that winter coat! They are sunny and happy and would be a fun accent to your warm weather outfits.

Have a Happy Day!

Today is Jellybean's first birthday, so I thought I'd share a couple of things I found for her special day.

1. Child's First Birthday Signature and Fingerprint Tree 11 x 14 via Your Keepsake Co.

This shop sells the cutest personalized items. I had already purchased my daughter's first Christmas ornament from here and then I fell in love this fingerprint tree. It's really lovely and such a sweet idea to fill the tree with the fingerprints and signatures of all of the people who love her. The shop owner was kind enough to change the font to one I liked more. I think it will look wonderful framed in her room.

2. Sweet Red Headed Doll via Heart Felts.

My daughter already owns two other dolls from Heart Felts (One is named Sunshine and the other is named Lolli, imagine that.) and I purchased two others besides for nieces. These are the most adorable dolls! She owns a blond and a brunette. Jellybean is a red head, so I had to get one that looked like her, right?

I wish I had the imagination and energy to throw a birthday party for my daughter like the one I found here. Unfortunately, I don't. We plan to celebrate with mini cupcakes on two different weekends with both sides of the family. She won't get any decorations, but she'll get two parties, so I guess that makes up for it. :)

Have a Happy Day and Weekend!

P.S. I thought I'd let you know that I have received no compensation from the shops that I highlight. I just love their stuff. :)

Embrace the Camera- She's turning One

Self Portrait at 34.5 weeks with Jellybean

Jellybean will be an entire year old tomorrow. The only thing I knew about my little girl when I took this photo was that she was mine. Now her personality is blooming and I know so much more about my sweet, happy, scrappy, funny little girl...and I can't believe that she's mine.

Take some time to join with Emily and her crew in embracing the camera!

Have a Happy Day!

Easy Weeknight Pesto and Tomato Pizza

So, last week I blogged about an easy weeknight pasta. This week, I'm blogging about a ridiculously easy weeknight pizza. (hmmm, I guess we like Italian.)

This recipe can be whatever you want it to be. If you like making pizza dough and have a great recipe, you could do that. If you have a great pesto recipe and you prefer to use it, then go for it. This time I opted for store bought crust and pesto. I like to keep it simple and it still tastes surprisingly good.

Okay, so here's the plan:

Assemble your ingredients.

- One "Pre-fabricated" Pizza Crust (I use Boboli. We decided that the original crust was superior to the thin crust.)
- Vegetable Oil Cooking Spray
- Pesto (I use Buitoni, though any pesto will do.)
- One Package Low Moisture Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- 2 Roma Tomatoes
- Fresh Basil

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.
Place pizza on a cookie sheet and spray it with vegetable oil.

Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
While pizza is baking, slice your tomatoes and basil.

Remove from oven, smother with about 3 generous Tbs. of Pesto, leaving at least a 1/2" border.

Sprinkle a generous amount of cheese.

Top with your tomatoes.

Bake for an additional 5 minutes, until the cheese is nice and melty.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with basil.

Slice it up, pile it on a plate and enjoy!

15 minutes of work and does my test subject like it?

Yep. :) (I should note that he is almost three and becoming a major food critic.)

Well, there you have it. Ridiculously easy and rather tasty pesto and tomato pizza.

Have a Happy Day!