Things That Make Me Smile

Thank you so very much for your well wishes. I can't tell you how much they mean to me. I had to have unexpected out patient surgery and am trying to get back in the swing of things now but may still be a little scarce over the next few days. I'm going to try the pre-post option that Blogger gives you - type a post ahead of time and then it posts when you tell it to. We'll see if that works!

I have to share some wonderful things that really made me smile today. The super sweet Natalea sent me a package full of brightness and fun! I've been feeling a little down and to go out to the mailbox today and find this definitely turned my frown upside down! Look at the super cute way she packaged this - all wrapped up in an adorable piece of flowered fabric with yummy pink velvet ribbon.

Inside was one of her mini books! I had told her I loved this one when she posted it and now it is my very own!

She takes such care in making these - she even has her own seal on the inside back cover.

This is the back of the book. Inside are mint green and pink pages - perfect to fill with inspiration, photos, quotes, drawings. I think I may fill it with quotes - that way it will be a wonderful cheerful and inspirational book through and through.

Natalea also included these fun treats including an adorable pink popsicle eraser that I accidentally obscured in this photo.

Thanks so much Natalea! Your kindness means more than you know.

Another sweet treat that makes me smile - these adorable cards from Beth. I purchased these to use in my birthday/special occasion boxes (I have a fun announcement about those coming up!) but the two cards in the middle are so darn cute - I don't know if I'll be able to deconstruct them at all - they may be making their way to may favorite untouchable pile.

I hope you have an enjoyable rest of the weekend!

Please Excuse Me For A Spell

Hello to all of my blogging friends. I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend (for you US gals at least!). I am finding myself having to take a little bit of an unexpected sick leave so to speak. I hope to be posting again in a few days.

For those that have outstanding orders - I will be getting everything shipped out by Friday at the latest.

I'll be back soon and hopefully at least peeking in at your blogs in the meantime.

Vintage Wallpaper Score

Earlier this week I mentioned the vintage wallpaper I found at an estate sale. I'm always lamenting that I can't find vintage wallpaper in any kind of quantity around here. Imagine how giddy I was when I came upon a whole box! I quickly snatched it up before anyone else had a chance to see what was in my greedy little arms :).

Most of the rolls are what I'm calling scenic. Large medallions and little scenes from daily life. All very fun! The top one is a fun frolicking deer print. The background is dark purple and the deer are a sort of lime green. Interesting color combination for walls!

This one is cute - I imagine it was designed to be used in a bathroom though I think it takes a daring soul to use black wallpaper! There are various poodles preparing for their day.

This patriotic roll is perfect for a July 4th project. I think I'm going to make some sort of wall hanging with the eagle medallion. The medallions on this roll are quite large, bigger than my hand.

This is another medallion from the same patriotic paper.

This one has quaint scenes of a house with horse and buggy, covered bridge, and church with white picket fence.

The only non-scenic roll. A vibrant fuchsia and gold combo.

Another horse and buggy scene...
...with some vibrant colored houses.

This one is various home scenes. It is a little family getting ready to start their day.

And last but not least this fun line drawing pattern. This one is a heavy weight vinyl paper and has some wrinkles due to the way it was stored but I think it will flatten right out once it is glued down. In addition to the scene above there is a little butler character walking some poodles and little miss taking a bubble bath. I'm thinking this would be a fun print to adhere to some canvas and decorate with satin ribbon and flowers. I'd have to hang it in my workspace as I don't think hubby would go for it in the "main" portions of the house!

Is anyone interested in these patterns? I have plenty and will happily make some wallpaper packs available if there is an interest. Leave me a comment to let me know.

In other news, I received my copy of this yesterday. Wow, it is really chock full of inspiration. I'm looking forward to really looking through it over the long weekend. I have tomorrow off from work and plan to plant all of my flowers so I have the rest of the weekend to kick around in and relax (I say that now, we shall see what happens!).

If I don't have a chance to post again, Happy Memorial Day to everyone!

Cheers,

A Toast to Crafty Cindy

Cindy and I recently did a 1:1 ATC swap. We picked a retro happy hour as our theme. Fun! Happy Hour is certainly one of my favorite times of the day :). I love the ATCs she created. The faces on the first two make me smile - they certainly look like they are having a jolly good time for themselves don't they?



And how sweet are these two? Perhaps they are catching a cocktail before they are off on a whirlwind adventure where he will propose...

Cindy is also a master charm maker. She sent me this Eiffel Tour charm as a little goodie. Love it!

These are the three ATCs I created for her. Very important to follow mother's advice!

I had an old recipe book that I used for the last two ATCs.

Well all this talk about cocktails and parties has me parched -

Happy Hour anyone?

Cheers,

Monday, Monday

Thank you to everyone who sent positive weather vibes this past weekend. We had a beautiful outdoor commencement ceremony yesterday. Below is a photo of a small section of our university quadrangle. This gives you an idea of how many people are hoping and praying for good weather and this photo only shows a quarter of the chairs!

I did manage to sneak in a little me time this weekend. I made some more paper globes for a friend of mine. I have a few of them displayed on my mantle. I wasn't anticipating the enthusiastic response I get when friends and family first see them. They are so fun and easy to make too. Special thanks to Heather Bailey for sharing the pattern. My 11 year-old cousin is especially fond of them, I think I am going to have a craft day with her soon and help her make some of her very own.

I also managed to fit in an estate sale on Saturday. Was I ever happy I did! I scored a huge box full of rolls and rolls of vintage wallpaper. I have to sort through and photograph - there are some super cute and fun patterns I'm looking forward to sharing with you.

Off to start the week. Hope you have a fabulous day.

Sweet Treats

Natasha's faux cupcakes are a big hit in my house. Hubby loves them, family and friends love them, who wouldn't love them? I recently received this fabulous blue set of cupcakes to add to my collection. These beauties have fooled many. My mother-in-law always comments on them so I decided to give her a set for Mother's Day. She adores them and is having fun fooling her friends!

I love Natasha's recent sheet music paintings and was so excited when I discovered this shoe painting in my package - the glitter really makes it sparkle!

I made this necklace for my mother for Mother's Day. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out and I think I may have to borrow it!

My sister is a huge Boston Red Sox fan - much to the chagrin of my entire family (all die hard Yankees fans). I personally do not care for baseball and hold no allegiance to either team. I found this cute Red Sox pendant and thought it would make a fun bracelet for Shelley.

On the work front I have one more commencement ceremony to get through this weekend - please send up your offerings to the weather gods - the weather is iffy and we have 12,000 people coming to our campus with no good indoor option!

Have a great day.

Coffee Talk

I absolutely adore Teresa's work. I especially love her cafe cups and blackboard paintings. I asked her to create a blackboard inspired painting incorporating out last name as a gift for Hubby. This is the fabulous result! Our espresso/cappuccino maker is in our breezeway/mudroom and gets a lot of light, I should have photographed this in a different room! If you are not familiar with Teresa, check out her blog. She has a fabulous style and has recently done some work for Romantic Homes.

Happy Mother's Day

To my mom - Happy Mother's Day! I love you and I appreciate all that you have done for me and the sacrifices you have made.

This is the Coolest Thing!

Check this out! I can't explain it but it is so neat! I'm spending way too much time playing - I need to stop procrastinating!
http://unlimited.orange.co.uk/

Edited: Many of you have expressed difficulty getting on the above site. It is a Flash site, make sure you have Flash on your computer and it should open up for you. Once you get on - wait for the page to load and begin scrolling down. Fun!

Up Up and Away

As I stepped out of the shower this morning, I heard the familiar firing of a hot air balloon burner. I looked out the window and sure enough, there was a hot air balloon landing in the park across the street. In the four years we have lived here, this has happened 5 or 6 times that I have seen. It is always such a treat. Since I was in my bathrobe - I figured it was best to stay inside and snap some photos from the kitchen window! Above is a shot hubby got - he had just gotten out of bed so I couldn't convince him to get any closer than this.

Scenes from our kitchen as the balloon is deflated.

The crew begins to bring down the big balloon.

Folding her up and packing her away. It amazes me how quickly they can do this. I don't think you would ever be able to get me in one of these unless it was tethered to the ground!

Hope you have a wonderful day!

The Swashbuckler Soiree

In honor of Donna's Swashbuckler Soiree, my sister Shelley has written the following pirate tale.

There once was a pirate named Peg Legged Petey. Our boy Petey was a bit of a lazy pirate. He spent his days aboard his ship lounging around eating candy and checking out the latest celebrity gossip. These habits had earned Petey a bit of a reputation as a joke of a pirate. "Woe is me!" Petey would cry, "Why am I such a lousy pirate?

Then one day as Petey was drowning his sorrows in a caramel chocolate chew he read about Princess Chloe on TMZ. Princess Chloe it seems was a most special princess. "The girl cries tears of gold!" shouted Petey, "Shiver me timbers!" Instantly Petey began to formulate a plot. The next morning Petey woke bright and early. He even skipped his morning Snickers breakfast and sailed at lightening speed to the princess's castle. He scaled the tallest tower and climbed through the window, straight into Chloe's room. He kidnapped the sleeping princess and held her captive in a dark corner of his ship. Petey thought he had solved his pirating troubles once and for all. "Cry your tears of misery Miss Chloe!" Petey dared. "I'll gather them up and be set for life!"

What Petey failed to realize though was that Princess Chloe was one tough and strong willed chica! Chloe didn't shed one tear...instead she outsmarted Petey and threw him overboard! She then hijacked his ship and sailed straight to the Greek Isles. Chloe found her prince and spent the rest of her days soaking up the sun on gorgeous Greek beaches and dining on moussaka. As for our boy Petey...he managed to swim to shore. During this rough and strenuous swim a thought occurred to Petey. "I should be happy with my life's work." He said. And so Petey opened his own chocolate factory to much success. Because after all...a chocolate bar is the world's greatest treasure!

Happy Swashbuckling and Happy 100 Donna!