pamgarrison

happy mother's day!

 

I hope you are having a lovely weekend! Mine started out great with a surprise visit from college daughter. She had told me she wouldn't be coming home this weekend, as she had surprised her brother with a visit last weekend for his birthday. Made sense to me. I had just been sort of complaining about it to a friend last Thursday night, and not 2 hours later she walked in the door. She really did surprise me, which is not easy to do, moms are always the ones that know everything that's going on! I literally teared up as I went out with her to thank her friend that had given her a ride home. Such a great gift.

On Saturday we were trying to put her hair in one of those sock roll buns (it eventually worked quite nicely- youtube it if interested) and I was taken by how cute her nail color was so made her let me take a photo:

It's so fun to have her sweet, feminine energy around the house. Sadly, she had to head back mid morning today, but it was worth it. She and her brother made the card on one of my journal pages this morning (top photo of post). And I found this "card" from my son, who was a little bit cranky about going to be last night:

And as my instagram this morning stated, my daughter's boyfriend often brings her flowers when she is home, but today, he brought some to me. Smart boy ;)

Enjoy what remains of the weekend! See you here this week. xo

scenes from saturday

chore-ing

noticing

exercising (and feeling the pain)

indulging

challenging

returning

enjoying

viewing

being

reading

working

thank you-ing

reflecting

cleaning

playing

It was a lovely Saturday, for those of us that live at home, and away at college. I'm glad to have stopped to notice thanks to Ali's  Week In The Life. Hope yours was lovely too!

 

 

 

 

 

where i've been lately part 2

Last post I was prepping for teaching at French General, which included a trip to Joann's for some supplies. I couldn't resist all the goodies above, including the pincushion, even though none of it was needed for class.

It's an illness, this intense love of fabric and all sorts of craft supplies. I just see so many things that I want to create with when I look at them.

Here I am in the middle of two of my favoite girls, Charlotte and Kaari before the whirlwind began. French General is truly an amazing environment to be in, if you haven't gone for a shopping trip or class, I highly recommend it, it never disappoints.

And here I am with friends Judi and Gina. Judi treated Gina to class for her birthday, how sweet is that? Gina posted some of her super cute hearts from class on her blog too. Go see!
And after this picture, I was swooped up in the class fun and as usual, completely forgot to take another photo. If anyone in class has any online to share, post a link in the comments so we can see it through your eyes. The students were sweet and kind and fun and I always appreciate spending time with others that love to make, so thanks for coming out to play!

Charlotte came to stay with me afterwards, as she was also in town for CHA, where her new fabric line for Blend Fabrics was on display. Look at the lovely hostess gift she left for me. LOVE it! I have my very own stash of her fabric. Can't wait to dig in and create with it!

Want to see some close ups?

I thought so...

Each time I think I've decided on a favorite, then I see another. Too many to play favorites! If you want some too, I think you'll have to ask your local fabric store at this point. I'm sure someone online will eventually have them too. When you see a fabric line when it is first out, it's hard to be patient and wait until the orders are all filled! But these teasers should let you know what to be on the lookout for.

{Ed: you can go here to find out where to buy}

And lately, while all the other prep has been going on, I've been helping my Dad get ready to move again. This time for a long time I hope, in a really nice over 55 community. Moving is exhausing, at every age! Knowing we had the move around the corner, I was out looking for a few things he needs and headed to HomeGoods for a look see. I found two cute lamps for him:

And while I was checking out, look what else I saw:

It's right up front in the area where you check out. So if any of you are looking for the giftwrap I did with Paypaya Art, check your local HomeGoods or TJMax!

Ok, back to the moving for me!

caught a glimpse of Christmas

           

Just a glimpse, as it flew by as fast as it came. Full of guests and sweets treats, gifts and good times. It has been a good year, and we're enjoying every last day of it. Until the New Year...

in the works

              
Thanks so much for all the love, support and understanding. I savor each and every comment, and gain perspective from them too. I thought it only fair to show you some happy photos of the transition as well as the painful ones from the last post. Above, we were just heading out from home. I said it was the "Prius as clown car" moving method. They look happy here, but started complaining a bit a few hours in of leg cramps haha.

Here is a happy shot of my babies (no matter how old they get, I can call them that, no?)  in her dorm room, pre lunch and ensuing departure.          (She bought her bedding online from Target )

Here I am with my girl as well. Just wanted to show you that the day wasn't all heartache and tears. We are very excited for her, and she is so happy. She worked very hard her whole life to get this opportunity, and we couldn't be more proud and excited (and a wee bit jealous, truth be told) for her and her college experience. {See the poster in the top left corner? It's the one I was working on here. - more on that in a minute} All reports from college are happy happy. She even sent me a first day of school photo as this was the first time in her life I wasn't there to document the moment. (sniffle) We are all adjusting to the change around here. So lucky to live in this age of technology, Skyping makes it easier.

Before she left, I made a plan to recommit to my art making, and to making a business of it, and to getting organized as a focus and direction to grow in when we got home from the move. I had to postpone the immediate jump into it because a couple more pressing extended family issues came up that took all my attention, but now that those have settled, I am excited to really focus on some dreams I've had for years. And the first one came as a result of requests. That's where the snippet of the poster in the above shot comes in. I made the poster and someone pinned it, and from the blog and pinterest, I've gotten so many requests for prints. I am grateful for the interest, and am diligently working on making that happen. I am super excited about it, and have so much enthusiasm that ideas keep popping into my head for many different designs. I have been spending many hours lost in the creating. Want some peeks?

This one makes me think of Kelly Rae and her sweet baby True. {Love that name, love the word, love the meaning.} I've had tons of learning to do in this making prints out of these. Tons. Still learning, still researching. Still trying to find the best, smartest way to end up with the highest quality product. My friend Tammy has been quite generous with her knowledge, this forum on etsy, and I also have found Kelly Rae's info in this particular book very helpful. This post of Kelly Rae's is how I feel right now. Over the years I've learned lots of things, one of which is how much I do not know :). At times I am overwhlemed and find it daunting, but I have promised myself that now is the time to tend to those needs. For me. And hopefully for you, so that finally, I'll have something to offer for those that are interested. Everyone else figures it out and gets it done, there is no reason I can't too, I tell myself. During a phone conversation about art/business with Jenny this week, she said she was recently told by her accountant when she asked if she was the worst client as far as cluelessness, "oh no! there are way worse out there than you" hahahahahha. That cracked me up! That's a new motto for me; when feeling like I know nothing with a capital N, I will remember that I am never as bad as the worst! I'm still laughing at that concept of cheerleading even as I type it! I may suck, but someone sucks worse than me, hahahahhahahaha. Not exactly what I'm going for!

So far, I've taken a few things to a printers to see what the result woud be, both look and cost, and am still waiting on that. But all the research I've done and all the sellers on etsy alone seem to indicate that buying a printer like this one here, is the way to go. Which then means figuring out the scanning; have profesionally done at a printer? photograph? buy a large scanner (super super expensive)?, photoshop? etc. And then there's the buying of all the different papers to see which I like best. They do sell sample packs, but I wish there were somewhere I could go, in person, to feel and see the papers. I hate spending money on researching, seems wasteful.

Next up, how to package. To mat, or no mat, protective bags, mailing tubes or envelopes, sizes to offer, etc. etc. And all my heart yearns to do is go draw and color, so I sneak that in here and there. My reward for sticking to the work.
            

So that's where I've been, and where I'm going right now. Thanks for checking in. xo

we found sea shells

We found seashells on the South Carolina sea shore. Here's what we found right on the beach where we were staying. Fun, because it's pretty rare that we find shells on our Southern California beaches. It's also usually illegal to collect them on the beaches that do have them here (like all the beaches in Laguna). We didn't have many chances to go looking, and we didn't find many whole shells, but that didn't stop us. My favorites are the plaid pieces outside the jar, they are so smooth and silky feeling, and the plaid is so pretty. We didn't find any shark's teeth, and seeing a fellow searcher's three she found that morning explained why; they were minuscule.

My friend Sally and I did make it to Fox & Hound and B&B Antiques, (thank you Paulette for the research and comment), and I came home with this tiny mum tin for my air sickness patches, and a cute hanky to add to some embroidery samplers. And this funky little handmade piggy bank box shown below.

And my favorite finds were these art books.  At $2.00 a piece they will be fantastic journal collage fodder.

And that was it, all for under $20.00. I'm home, they are unpacked, and I'm digging to cut into the art books, but laundry first, creating later.

As always, I'm happy to be home, and it looks like we brought some of the weather with us; we woke up to rain today!

greetings from the road

I got caught out in the rain yesterday and loved every minute of it. We're on the other side of the country and for us Californians, thunder and lightning and giant rainstorms that arise out of the blue are just plain fun. Of course, you know, the storm lost a little bit of it's luster when certain scheduled events were cancelled, but only a little bit. I started the morning searching for shark's teeth on the beach (no luck, ...yet) and finished it watching our gang of boys play baseball. A very different, yet surprisingly fun, vacation for us all.

So, anyone know any places we should be sure to shell hunt, sea glass/pottery chard hunt, junk shop, antique, eat, etc. in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina? Just in case any games get rained out due to unexpected lightning storms? ( That is when I'm not trying to catch the storm on video for pet/house sitter that hasn't seen lightning in years- I'm finding it really hard to capture the excitement of the storms. I won't even bore you with the video here. I guess there's no substitute for experiencing things for yourself, no matter how good technology gets; and there's something very comforting about that!)

helllloooo!

Please pardon my long absence! We've been very busy around here with all the events before during and after the celebration of our graduate! What a fun whirlwind it has been.

Turning the tassles....and then...tossing the caps into the air  Some of my shots aren't in focus, I was far, far away in the stands, but I love this shot just the same. Can you see my girl? She has a light blue sash on. The shot of her tossing her cap reminds of the Mary Tyler Moore show opening. I know, many of you never saw that show, it was before your time. Don't remind me of my age, having a daughter graduate high school is reminder enough ;).

 
She is posing for someone else's parents, I'm still too far away.

Yay! Captured her excitement pretty well as we found her right after.

Finding Daddy as she came off the field.

 

Aunt and cousin come from afar to celebrate.

Even Mom and brother feel like celebrating. Graduating felt like a family accomplishment. All for one and one for all, right?

Finding her friends. "We did it!"

   

More friends came to show their support (having already graduated last year).

Honorary Aunt and Uncle make the trek too.

I am so proud of our girl, she is such an amazing person.

We arrived home to dear friends bringing a feast for all. How kind is that?!? I must remember to do that for friends whose kids graduate! Seriously thoughtful. We were all starving too, and there was no time for dinner out before she had to rush out for grad night.

Another honorary Aunt shares the love.

Proud Papa.

A great time was had by all celebrating our girl. She is so lucky to have so much love in her life!

And shortly after this photo, (it was pitch black, edited so you can see their faces) Mom went to bed, too pooped to pip, but with the alarm set to pick her up from grad night bus at 5:30am...um, why? why can't they return back from their big night of fun at say, 7am? Oh well, one last parental act to conclude those years of education I suppose.

 

happy memorial day

my birthday boy

You've heard me say it 100 times regarding both my babies:

it's gone too fast!!!!

(p.s. photo taken with a Canon Rebel, FILM camera...not only my boy has changed a lot over the years! )

Where is my baby boy? How could he be this big now, officially 12 years old? 

He's a lucky little boy too; at his baseball game last night, he hit his first homerun this year...on his birthday!!!  How fun is that?!? Very, and I have the photos that show it:

 

 

Making the experience even better, his teammates were so excited, and even his friends and parents on the other team were happy for him, knowing it was his birthday. It was very sweet, because we all realize, as far as they are from the baby at the top, they are still just little boys. For a little bit longer...

a weekend up the coast

 

Can't really complain about car rides when this is the view out the window, now can I? Or this one, which I think is equally as beautiful.

With our daughter graduating this year, it was time to tour some of her favorite college campuses again. She's so grown up, yet not, all at the same time.

             
             

          
I had fun playing with my new camera while at a Farmers' Market,

and my son had fun playing with my old one on one campus.

          

I love that one of the students painted their bike, and that he noticed.

capturing daily life

          

          

         

         

          

Inspired by Ali Edwards to capture our daily life and keep record of our story.  She is a master at documenting life, like she does in this post of hers here. Such a great girft for her family and her children. Not just the telling of their story, but the way she's teaching her children to do the same thing. And me too. 

I decided to follow her example and take out my phone and capture one of my favorite moments of every day...especially if he gets off the bus smiling. :)

one last look at valentine's day yesterday

            

Hand stitching on top of felt hearts from Michael's craft store. Below, a super simple little garland made using sticky cut outs found there as well. (Great project to do with little ones)

A journal page showing some Valentine's made this year inspired by Thomas Campbell.

     

  And the finished pillow from yesterday's post.

I love Valentine's Day crafts!

go red titans!

 
                                                               {photograph credit: Michelle Thorpe}

Please permit a non crafting post by a proud mom. I'm so excited for my son and his Pee Wee Pop Warner football team. I'm told that 1,500 teams in their division began the season, and our team is one of the 8 remaining that will play in Florida next week for the National Championships!!! If you have a son that plays Pop Warner, then you probably have heard coaches say for years, as we have, "let's make it to Florida!"...and I'm sure many of you have gone, but this is a first for our family. Our team has worked so very hard all season...and are still at it. Here's hoping they take the title next week!!! Will any of you be there with your sons? Hopefully, our boys are not playing each other!

You may have already seen his team if you watch NFL football. During half-time, Toyota has been doing a Tiny Football League segment and they are one of the teams that were featured. Here are some shots of them filming their commercial this summer.It was a fun day for the boys, and a very special football year for my little guy.

 

And just because I'm his mama, a couple of my baby. If you look closely at the second one, you can see that he still has a little bit remaining of those hand dimples children have. But at age 11, not for long. My kids are getting too old! (What does that say about me? haha- don't answer that!!!)

Well, I won't be there to see it live, too expensive and my daughter has school, so I'll be excited to get the reports and will let you know if they make it to the last playoff game! Here's hoping!!!

                     Go  Red Titans!!!

creative girls come in all ages

 
I went away for one weekend and feel like my daughter took the last leap from childhood while I was gone. So sad for this mama. Here's the proof. Doesn't she look all grown up? (she's in the middle, surrounded by dear friends).While I was gone, she and her friends decided to do a little photo shoot. Her creative friend Cameron took all these photos of the girls. She even brought the balloons. She happens to be "into" photography and I think that she's very talented! She's really bright too, and off to a good college; I hope she brings her camera and doesn't stop capturing moments as she sees them, I like the way she sees things.  I love it when kids do creative things all on their own! Here's to creativity in all ages. 

            

This photo captures this time right now...it's going by in a blur and she's on her way...whahhhhhh....  Like so many others, I'd do anything for a do-over!!!

not much getting done around here

I can't believe it's been a week since I last posted. I feel like I've been getting some creative time in, but don't have much to show for it. A little bit here, a little bit there. I did finish a new flea market apron for myself and added my initials as the only bit of color. (photo above). And I added ties to one my friend bought at the flea market and sent it off to her.

It's been one of those weeks where everything is taking longer than expected and just making it to the post office feels like a success. I did some painting too. And then covered it all up, even though now I wish I hadn't...

All of it gone now, just couldn't find a groove...maybe next week I'll have a go at it again.  And I'll have some finished things to show soon I hope.

 
Almost made it through one full week of school; the homework and sports schedules are already tiring, but how can this sight not make a mama smile?

couldn't resist

I'm playing outside today with a new toy (of course, I'll show you more on that soon). While out there I decided to really enjoy myself and cut a bundle of roses and lemons from the garden and put them in a $10.00 jar from the flea market. It felt so indulgent, cutting them to make my creative time more pleasant...just for me. Isn't that silly?  Cutting and arranging them is happy making itself! How could I have forgotten that?

 

It's the simple things in life, right? I'm determined to see that and work on living that more and more. For the holiday weekend, we went to Palm Desert with friends. On the last night,
after the nightly game of flashlight tag on the golf course (where I was most often "it"-or should have been, but they took pity on me- due to the fact that I was afraid to run full speed for the "safe" lantern on a hilly golf course in the dark...am I getting old, or is the back surgery too prevalent in my mind? Probably a bit of both), we all lay down on the grass looking up at the stars. After a few of the kids said they saw shooting stars (all at different times), and there were doubters among us, I said, "I hope we all see a shooting start that is undeniable go across the sky". Right then, and I mean right when I finished saying that, we did! It was thrilling! We all shouted at the same time, struck by the magic moment. My girlfriend said I literally kicked my legs back and forth in the air. Now, I'm not sure about that, but I do know that moment, the excitement we all felt and shared together, will bring me happiness for years. Joy, it's as simple as seeing a shooting star with some loved ones.

hope you are enjoying your spring break

or enjoyed it, whatever your timing might be...we are enjoying ours, here:

doing this:

 

and this:

I'll be back to blogging next week.

misc.

Just had to show you what's been tickling my fancy these days. Lately, when I pick up my son, he gets off the bus carrying his latest creature made from things he finds at school.  I love that he's making stuff!  He was very proud to tell me that when a boy in his class saw them he called out to the teacher, "Mr. S., look! He's an artist." Those tall ones seem a little Tim Burton-esque to me.

I've been making a little journal for my friend to use. One made of non-precious items so she'll actually use it instead of being intimidated to use it or worry about messing it up. I used the method learned in Mary Ann's Remains of the Day Class that I took over the holidays. But this journal is actually just one of the inside signatures with a PapayaArt plastic card sleeve on the outside. The cool artwork, like the little guy below is from the recent issue of Hi Fructose magazine .

 

This page showing through the back plastic cover is from the Hi Fructose magazine and is by artist Andrew Brandou. 

Ok, off to continue working on sorting for a major destashing. I'm changing gears a bit with what I've been creating, and need to make room for new loves,  like paints!

spread love

last week's activities

Old ornaments that are new to us this year. Wonder if I'll ever be able to resist their siren song..
We had some guests this weekend, so last week I spent some time painting and collaging something to go over the fireplace. It's really big, about 30x30". Those are photocopies of our family silhouettes. It's a work in progress, but far enough along to use on the giant blank wall.

 

And then I went to work on Holiday cards...late I know. I ask you, do your children put you through this when you ask them to take a picture for Christmas cards?!? It was not as fun as it looks in hindsight. Oh to be young and silly and fun...

december comes in with a flurry every year

Every year, my daughter's December 1st birthday sneaks up on me. Just as Thanksgiving ends, the bustle of the holidays begins and catches me by surprise. I laugh at myself, because her birthday is December 1 every year; you'd think I'd figure out how to be ready. There's always next year...

Last night we had a family dinner party to celebrate with family friends. She's a junior now and it breaks my heart. So big. So independent. Such a lovely young lady. I am a lucky mama, for sure!

Now to start those invitations for her celebration with friends. This year she's having a small dinner at home with her girlfriends. I'm feeling off balance already and I just finished last night's clean up! It's part of the fun though, isn't it?

 

Hope you are enjoying the holiday season, weather it feels like a flurry or the calm after a snowstorm; because ready or not, it's upon us! xo

gone camping

We're back now, actually, and we all had a great time. I just had to share with you my newly made camping tablecloth because I know you are some of the only people that will "get" it like I do. A huge motivator for me in making things, is not for my family's understanding or appreciation (that's where you, and this posting on my craft blog come in!-more on that later), but in the hopes that, after using it year after year, someday, my children will see/use the tablecloth themselves and say, "Remember this? This is the tablecloth mom made when we were young and went camping..." and the memories will all be tied in and come flooding back. The tablecloth will represent happy family times and love. That's a huge desire of mine; to make crafts that will be nostalgic for my children in the future. A living family tradition in the making.   Am I even making sense? Hopefully, you know what I mean, even though my words are a bit clunky today.

Anyway, the photo that got me moving on this project was right here. Isn't it amazing that just seeing a photo can inspire you for days? That an idea captured beautifully can be so energizing?... I just couldn't stop thinking about her dreamy canopy. I have seen Alicia use vintage sheets beautifully many times before, but was afraid to use them myself because I thought they would be too thin. It wasn't until I saw Amanda Mello's (I don't know Amanda, or if that's her real name or flickr name, but I am ever grateful for the inspiration and want to give credit where due!) canopy on her friend's flickr page that I saw the thin-ness of the sheets as a positive. Of course, the way I used them (unless one day I hang the tablecloth as a canopy in a tent, over a hammock, etc.) doesn't show the ethereal quality of the sheets, but it made me love them all the same. There is nothing original or amazing or unique about my use of the sheets as tablecloth, I know that. I'm just sharing because I finally did it and used it and am happy with the results, and like I was saying earlier; you're that neighbor friend that I can show what I'm working on lately that will usually want to see and understand why I would spend my time doing it. For that, I can not thank you enough. To be understood is a beautiful and encouraging thing. So thank you, always. And thank you to the creative world out there, all the people like Amanda, that I don't know except from craft photos shared; thank you for constantly sharing creations just because.

            

Speaking of which, here's more beautiful creations I recently was wowed by. How great are these?!?! I wish I knew how to crochet all these beautiful stitches. And I certainly hope to be lucky enough to purchase one of these before they sell out some day. Until then, I used them as inspiration while we were camping. We needed something to hold down the tablecloth, so we brought some rocks back from the beach and I covered them roughly with fabric scraps and found crochet pieces. Nothing like  "knitalatte's" ! Hers  are pure magic. I put the Knitalatte's name in quotes, because I can find her real name anywhere. Anyone know it? Or maybe she prefers to be private. Here's her blog: resurrection fern. Oh! I just was checking the link and see a new post...is that a hanging lamp with a shade made out of vintage linens? Oh, that would be beautiful! Not sure what's in the top right corner, but it looks lovely. You see, endless inspiration out there by people just sharing their corner of the world.  Thank you for stopping by and letting me share my corner with you. Happy creating!

 

                

garland classes!

I finally have some news about the garlands...I will be teaching the coffee filter garland  two times this upcoming spring. The first class will be at Kim Caldwell's La Petite Maison Blanc and the 2nd will be a night-time demo at Teesha's ArtFiberfest. I'm excited about both weekends, and have been in my art room day after day after day gathering de-stashing supplies for my vendor table at each event. I plan to make some art to sell as well. Spring has always been my favorite season, looking forward to it especially this year.

For those that can't make the classes and have been patiently waiting, bear with me. I'm going to do a little step by step photo tutorial this weekend.

And maybe, just maybe, I might be demoing these on a TV craft segment...I'll let you know...

and when I haven't been in my art room, I've been breaking in my new chauffeur...

 

ha ha ha. We were just being silly after leaving a friend's house on the day she got her permit. She's actually quite a good little driver. I think it's due to her cautious, rule following personality, but when she went on her first driving ride with an instructor and he asked her why it seemed like she'd been driving for a long time, she told him that she learned on the "Autopia" ride at Disneyland. I think she meant it too! Oh to be sixteen...

why i didn't send holiday cards...

Our daughter turned 16 this December and we threw a dance party. All her idea, but a lot of work for mom too. As I'm not the most organized person (understatement), it pretty much took all my extra time and energy (is there any during the holidays? or ever? hmmm). Anyway, I thought I'd eventually get cards out but let myself off the hook when December 25th came and went. There's always next year. Here is the birthday girl with the dime-store crown her friends put on her while they were all getting ready upstairs. She's out front with her bouncers...how cute are they? They really got into the roll, checking names and VIP passes and handing out glow sticks and necklaces.

Here is the front of the invite all the guests received. The details were on the back. She decided on a purple/silver/black theme and requested they "dress to impress". I thought that the kids wouldn't appreciate this, but actually they loved it. Even the boys wore ties ... so cute!

We moved all of the furniture out of the family room to create a dance floor, rented a helium tank and blew up about 2oo balloons, found  strobe lights (Spencer's Gifts if you are in need -around $20.00)  and  she had her ipod blaring. It really did feel like a little club of sorts.

We adults were pleasantly surprised to see that all the kids danced and had fun. Here's the birthday girl with friend in the center getting the dancing started...

It didn't take but a minute to get them all going.

Hey wait...do I see two party crashers? I guess the bouncers were no longer worried about what was going on at the door. One too many pretty girls must have walked by. As you can see the big girls were sweet to the little guys, but the big boys were really sweet to them too. These two were in heaven.

After lots of dancing, there was cake and ice cream and then the party moved into the living room for a very large game of Catch Phrase. 

 

Gee, do you think she had fun?

 

Of course she did. And you know what? We parent chaperons did too, much to my surprise.

It was quite a night to remember.

 

the weekend

(sorry the photos are all  fuzzy...not fuzzy in iphoto so must have been something in the exporting process, but I have no idea what...and gave up on fixing it)

The "nerd herd" as they called themselves (my daughter in pink) getting in the spirit pre trick or treating. It was indeed a crazy night here. I stopped counting after trick or treater number 200. Luckily there was not much mischief, just a steady flow of groups.

Then we had this:

and usually we have this too:

I must admit that as fun as it is to cheer them on,  I am happy the seasons are coming to an end. All those practices...so much easier to get homework done and dinner at a decent time without them. I won't miss the constant uniform laundry either. I know there are so many of you that know exactly what I mean!

Looking forward to some  free weekends - maybe I'll even get around to crafting. :)

we spend memorial day in the garden

Hope you had a nice Memorial Day weekend, we did. The weather was gorgeous, and it is always a great feeling at our house when there are no sports engagements and no work for my husband (although his damn blackberry did buzz all weekend, and he did have to reply, at least he was here). Three days with no commitments feels like heaven. My Dad is home and feeling much better (thanks for the well wishes), so it was smooth sailing. My husband and I went out to the oh-so-neglected garden. After not too long, I took a break and went in search of my garden journal. Funnily enough, I found the last entry was Memorial Day a year ago. I told you, I was really into it once, but not anymore. I'm back to wanting all the results, but not wanting to do the work. I can see the potential, I have always believed in it's potential. I thought I'd show you my garden journal...I am going to journal in it again before a year from now too!

I bought a garden book for about $5.00 at Borders over 4(!!) years ago.  It had some pretty herb pictures, so I just write or paint etc. over the other pages when I make a journal entry.

As I said, I used to be really into gardening, and I was really into documenting all the beautiful flowers that grew in the garden. I would take photos (film) and then spend hours cutting them out and gluing them down. As you can see, I've always been a bit mad for the David Austin antique roses. Here are some pages from my old garden journal.

Back to this weekend... While chatting out front with a neighbor I heard this loud humming, looked up, and saw thousands of bees gravitating toward a tree. The next morning, I took this photo assuming that it was a hive. The kids were all excited so when the other neighbor children came out, they called them over to see. There was nothing there, they were completely gone. What gives? Any bee experts out there?

Anyway, we pretty much only worked on the side yard , I tend to move slooowwwlllyy in the heat, but here's a shot after we called it a day. I think that we should hire a gardener, too much neglect goes by if you wait a year to really tend to things.  If you were up close, you'd see the weedy lawn and empty spots. Here's the view from the back of the side yard looking to the front yard:

and the reverse view:

New Beginnings

Hello, and welcome to my blog. It seems I'm going to give it a go...the to blog/not to blog question still remains, but I guess one can't know without really trying, so I shall.  Let me just say, it's a bit trickier than I thought, so please be patient with me as I've nowhere to go but up on the how to blog/photo etc. with style scale. Ever so thankful to my graphic designer brother for all the help already given.
   Blogs have been so creatively inspiring for me, and  such a  comfort knowing that there are others like me out there, those that  need to create, and like to share.  I have a few friends locally, that love to make things like I do, but we don't live close enough (and that whole motherhood/wife/life thing gets in the way) to share regularly other than over the phone, and well, you know, describing arts and crafts over the phone is just not the same as a photo or in person. So you see, the amazing community of craft/bloggers out there has been a real find, and I hope this is the start of a positive new journey in which I have something worthy to contribute.
   Since it is still the  beginning of  the new year, it seems a good time to start, thus the cards pictured.  Please think of it as a New Year's greeting from our home to yours.  It is actually what we sent out for Christmas this year. You'll see my family as seen through the eyes of the oh-so-talented miss tara whitney, and the three different versions that I made for the cover.  I sewed vintage flocked wallpaper on (flea-market find) with a contrasting thread so that I could use the stitches to make a roof outline across the top.  I cut slits for windows/doors inspired by the old advent calendars I loved as a child.  Lastly I added a little bird and nest diecut (Paper Source).  I made 100, and although I was a bit worried that I might regret what I had gotten myself into after commiting to the idea by way of making copies of the photo sheet (Kinko's), it was actually enjoyable  and not an overwhelming mistake.  One can only hope the same for the blog.  Here's to new beginnings!