Before and After

Last month, I posted photos of my home and asked for opinions on what red to paint my front door (previous post). After everyone weighed in and after careful consideration, I decided against all of the reds that I had up and we went with a really deep brownish red called "Miso" from the Martha Stewart collection (I love Martha).

Well....unfortunately, the so called "brownish red", wasn't exactly red in real life, but more of a deep purple. Fortunately, I love the color and I think it actually looks great with our red brick. Tell me what you think...

Before

After

The pictures don't quite do it justice. I promise you, it is purple. My husband thinks that I did it on purpose because purple is my favorite color. I assured him that I did not.

For better or for worse, the for sale sign is in front of our home. We are hoping that it sells quickly. Send me your good home selling vibes. We could really use them right now.

Have a Happy Day!

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!