Blue

The theme is BLUE this week at

Take A Word

(all elements are from Deviant Scrap)

"I wanna sleep on the hard ground
In the comfort of your arms
On a pillow of bluebonnets
In a blanket made of stars"

Valentine's Day Fairies

It's Valentine's Day tomorrow!

In honor of this magical day I have created some sweet little fairy flower picks.

They're super easy to make too.

This is Thumbelina Teacup fairy

And this is Beatrice the honey bee fairy.

Supplies 'Thumbelina'

Baby Bailey unfinished doll

mini teacup and saucer

artificial flower petals and leaves

bamboo skewer 

pink tinsel

glitter

acrylic paint in peach, apricot, pink and teal

mini ribbon rose

large artificial daisy flower

hot glue gun and glue sticks

Directions

paint Baby Baliley  peach

add facial features with pink paint

paint on a teal shirt

add flower petals to create a skirt

glue on rose petal flower 

add hair with apricot paint

Glue on leaves to back of doll to form wings

hot glue tea cup to saucer 

add glue to the rim of the teacup, dip in glitter

glue doll to inside of teacup and sprinkle excess hot glue with glitter

remove the stem from the flower and replace it with the skewer

add a bit of hot glue to secure it

now hot glue teacup and saucer to top of flower

wind tinsel around skewer glue in place

Supplies 'Beatrice'

Baby Bailey unfinished doll

Glitter heart pick

artificial leaves

glitter

acrylic paints in peach, pink, yellow, orange, brown, black

gold tinsel trim

pink tinsel

white glue

hot glue gun and glue sticks

Directions

paint baby Bailey peach

add brown hair

add facial features with pink paint

paint stripes on body

add gold tinsel and leaves

cover leaves in white glue

sprinkle with glitter

hot glue Baby Bailey to top of heart

wind tinsel around stick

glue in place

add text with white glue

Tips

heart picks can be found at most dollar stores

these can be turned into St. Patrick's day fairies

Baby Bailey can be purchased in Lisa Kettell's Artfire shop.

Heart(s) of the ocean

Far off in the ocean where

the waters are a cool, clear blue

lives an amazing creature

named Halcyon.

She has long glittery hair and jewel encrusted tentacles.

 

Collecting heart shaped stones 

that she finds scattered along the ocean floor

is one of her favorite things to do.

If you happen to catch a glimpse of 

her sitting on a rock on nights when the moon is full

please be very quiet..she's shy.

 

 

 

 

 This is what you need to create the hearts of the ocean sailor's valentine

 

Supplies

Carnival Lulu mermaid cupie doll

wooden plaque

heart shaped acrylic jems

assorted sea shells

decorative scrapbook paper

paper clay or model magic

acrylic paints;green, dark blue, purple, pink, yellow

silver tinsel

glitter;black, purple, teal, magenta, silver

hot glue gun, glue sticks

white glue

Instructions

Create tentacles out of model magic, set aside to dry.

decoupage wooden plaque with scrapbook paper and white glue.

Remove Lulu's fin and paint her tail and tentacles dark blue, teal and purple.

attach her to the plaque with hot glue.

Glue her tentacles around her.

create flowing hair by attaching strips of model magic to Lulu's head.

when dry paint green and yellow.Cover in silver glitter.

Hot glue acrylic hearts and sea shells.

Attach silver tinsel around plaque with hot glue.

You can purchase the Carnival Lulu Mermaid Cupie here.

Be sure to check out Lisa Kettell's blog and awesome art fire shop

to find inspiration and amazing goodies to purchase!

A new year

Hi everyone.

I hope you are all doing great.

First off I'd like to express my gratitude to you all.

Thank you for your kind words, wishes and prayers.

You know it's my four year blog anniversary this Thursday?

I've decided to choose a word of the year to celebrate this occasion.

 

'BLOSSOM'

 

which is defined in the dictionary as being

A peak period or stage of development 

I'm hoping that this year will be filled with

 promise

happiness

 and the development of new and wonderful things.

 

I'll be back later today with a new design team project to share:)

and a blog anniversary give away!!

 

Big hugs to you all.

 

see you in a bit.

 

Frank

 “I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, 

when they aren't trying to teach us. 

We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.”

-Umberto E

 

My dad passed away Sunday morning.

He slowed down until he just stopped. 

He was so

 brave & sweet

His vivid imagination, his love of reading

and his stubborn streak are all things I 

recognize in myself.

 

He Is Not Gone

Ease your grief, he is not gone
For in your heart he lingers on.
His smile, his laugh, his special way,
Will comfort you from day to day.

You'll feel his presence in the breeze
That dances gently through the trees.
And it's his face that you shall see
When you're in need of company.

At any time you can recall
The love you shared...you saved it all.
And really more than anything,
You'll find peace in remembering.

 by genie graveline

Thank you to everyone that sent positive thoughts,

I've felt a strength to get through this past week

that Ive never felt before.... 

I'm proud to be his daughter

 and it was an honor to care for him

when he needed it.

goodnight Papá

12/23/1920 - 12/29/2013

Baby Bailey/Pan ornament

Hi everyone!

Can you believe how fast this month has gone?

I have a last minute gift idea for you...

Here's a Lisa Kettell Design Team project.

It's an ornament but it doesn't have to be for Christmas only.

Supplies

Baby Bailey unfinished doll

moss

mushrooms

toothpicks

artificial flowers

dark brown acrylic paint

light brown acrylic paint

peach acrylic paint

acorn tops

glitter

Clear plastic ornament

hot glue gun and glue sticks

Directions

paint baby Bailey peach and brown, let dry

cut toothpicks into fourths and glue on top of head for horns.

glue moss, mushrooms, acorn and artificial flowers to the inside

of ornament half.

make a pan pipe out of toothpicks by gluing

 five toothpicks together then cutting them at an angle.

attach them to baby bailey.

glue baby bailey inside ornament.

I'll be back in a few days with another project.

You can find other Lisa Kettell Design team projects here 

The winner of the birthday giveaway is Nadine.

Congratulations! I need your details.

see you all soon.

 

Birthday

Hello!

I can't even begin to tell you

how amazing my birthday was!

My wish was for a happy day without

sadness or drama...

I act like such a child 

on my birthday...I want it to be just so,

glittery, magical and sweet...lot's of sweet:)

It started promptly at midnight with a gift of 

a cake pop and a hot vanilla steamer drink.

Then I was off to bed, happily anticipating the day to arrive.

First my daughter took me to have lunch,

 then we went to hobby lobby

where she bought me a whole bunch of goodies..then we came home and 

I opened a huge load of presents!!

It was great..I even received birthday fun in the mail from 

Frosted Petunias!

I got incredible gifts..

from giant cupcake cookie jars to

mini mushroom measuring spoons.

There were two cakes!

 And of course beautiful birthday wishes from some wonderful

bloggy friends...Thank you!!!

One of the most magical items I opened is this bottle of origami stars

my daughter made me.

If you have a bottle filled with these, it's supposed to be good luck.

I have created a little un-birthday giveaway for you.

 just leave a comment on this post for a chance to win!!

I'll chose a winner next Saturday.

p.s.

 I mailed out all the giveaway wins from the past few weeks

and guess what?

lot's of them came back to me because of insufficient postage!

How does a postal worker get it wrong??

 Too many Christmas packages to deal with maybe?

So it's back to the post office for me on monday.

I should try a different one this time.

See you soon!

This & That

I sincerely apologize to those of you that I've not visited lately...
things are a little hectic around here...
It's been so cold!

right now as I write this, it's 34 degrees..

the rain has been off and on and it really feels like December.

.................................................................

My dad continues to improve
but if you've ever been in this situation
you know that once they become ill, their baseline
gets lower and lower...
he has an appetite, but it's nothing like it was,
he's always been a man of few words and he's become even quieter lately.
He's winding down...
but I'm so grateful for this time he's giving us.

 and guess what?
my birthday is coming up on the 10th

There's going to be a little giveaway for it too!
I'll put a birthday post up with more details.

I'm also adding a couple of goodies to my etsy shop soon:)

I'm trying to keep positive..
it would be so easy to crawl into bed and sleep for a few days!
Oh!we just found out one of our cats has asthma...
and lucky him, he gets to share
my emergency inhaler with me!!


 The winner of the book and a blanket for last week
is Linda from moments in an eye.
I'd also like for everyone that commented on that post
to send me their address (if you haven't already)
you are all winners of a little surprise!

it's 3 am so I'm going to go to bed now..
have you started decorating yet?

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Book and a Blanket

I've saved the best book for last.

It's my favorite so far...

I like how right now, as I type, there's thousands

of books I've not read that have the potential to become

one of my favorites.

(sigh)

Anyhow...

this week's book is called

I've included a brief synopsis from Amazon:

"1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life—someone who will help her to heal, and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart.

At Finn’s funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn’s apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she’s not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he just might be the one she needs the most.

An emotionally charged coming-of-age novel, Tell the Wolves I’m Home is a tender story of love lost and found, an unforgettable portrait of the way compassion can make us whole again." 

This book is very moving and emotional.

I finished it..set it down..put my hands over my face and sobbed.

You know how it is when you fall helplessly in love with a character?

yeah, that was me.

I absolutely loved it!

Ok this week I'm giving away a box of tea, a blanket and this book.

last week's winner is Ricki Jill.

I'm behind on mailing out the prizes but everything is going out

ASAP.

I want to thank you all for your kind comments

and wonderful prayers & wishes for my dad.

He was extremely dehydrated with a UTI

so there was a reason he was on a downward spiral.

He's on antibiotics and his appetite is growing now.

He recognizes me and his speech is clearing up.

Thank you so so much.

This may be the last book and a blanket 

but December is MY birthday month

so there's going to be some fun stuff going on then.

stay tuned!!

big hugs to you all!!

Postponed

Hello.

I wanted to post and let everyone know that

I'm going to postpone A Book and a Blanket

until Saturday night.

My Dad has been in a care home since March

 and lately he's been a bit off .

He doesn't want to eat or drink anymore and he's become very

dehydrated...

his blood work came back and he seems to have a

touch of an infection..which could be the reason why he's

not well.

At 92 anything can be really bad.

He's on an IV and actually seems to be improving with the fluids.

Hopefully he will bounce back from this.

If I don't see you before then,

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!