Christmas Traditions

Earlier in the month I taught My Heritage Scrapbooking Workshop...The topic of discussion was the importance of Family Traditions. We all have traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation and these traditions do evolve and change.

This year I had to change a family tradition...I figure about the middle of March I might be over the trauma I have been going through with this change of tradition.

 I grew up with a live Christmas tree and when I got married we continued the tradition...only my darling husband and I went out in the woods (with permit in hand) and cut down our Christmas Tree.

It became our tradition. 

 This year the tradition changed...we purchased an artificial Christmas Tree. I was about in tears over the whole ordeal. An artificial tree does not have the same look, feel or fragrance as a real tree. It doesn't even decorate the same! I reminded myself that I'm a floral designer and It's my job to make botanical look good. We did get the tree up (2 days before Christmas) and it looks...Okay. But I don't think I will ever it comfortable with the idea of an artificial tree. Hopeful I won't break into tears next year when we pull it out of the box. Oh great...now I need to find a place to store the darn thing!

Thanksgiving Leftovers

We had Thanksgiving Dinner at my darling daughters house yesterday...there was enough food there to feed an Army. Needless to say we are eating leftovers for the rest of the weekend.

While we were enjoying all our festive meal, we had a visitor at the window. I have posted before about the chickens my DDs raises. Lately some of the "girls" have started peeping through the window to see what is going on inside the house...I guess turnabout is fair play, we watch them too. This hen decided she wanted to inspect the workings of  our Thanksgiving.

In honor of DD chickens, I create  "chicken" cards for her birthday.

DD is also raising a BIG black pig, name Lola. I understand raising the chickens...I have benefited from the "girls" by enjoying their eggs, when they are happy enough  to produce.

 

But the pig...there is no way the grandkids will let us have Lola for Easter dinner!

Chocolate Birthday Cake

The focus of this "Fall" Birthday Card is CAKE...not just any cake, a chocolate birthday cake. Decorated with creamy frosting and loaded with candles...

Seriously how can you celebrate a Birthday with out a cake? Cupcakes would work...they're small so you can get a way with eating a couple...after all its a Birthday, go for it!

And if it's your Birthday you are celebrating with a cake is even better...

you get to have any of the cake that's leftover for a late night snack...maybe with a big glass of milk!

Happy Halloween

Here's to ghoulies and ghosties...

 And long-leggedy beasties...

 And things that go bump in the night

 Happy Halloween!

Fall Birthday Cards, 31 Flavors and the Perfect Food...

Fall is the beginning of  birthdays for family and friends...clear through until the end of January. I have been working away on Birthday Cards. The hardest cards to create are the guy cards. These take forever to come up with a design that isn't cutesy or girly, but still screams "celebrate". 

 

 Ice Cream...is the all purpose, equal opportunity, ultimate way to celebrate. You have to have Ice Cream and Cake for a birthday...I know it's has to be in a rule book some where.  What would Apple Pie be without Ice Cream..spicy over cooked apples and crust. You can's have a Butterscotch Sundae, without Ice Cream. There would be no Ice Cream Cake from 31 Flavors with out Ice Cream...OH NO, there would be no 31 Flavors at all! 

 

 Let's face it, how the heck are you going to handle a really no good rotten day with out eating ice cream out of the carton with a big spoon.

 

   Ice Cream the perfect food!   

Arrival of "Sweet Baby Girl"

She's here...

I don't know if she is ever going to be able to sleep in her Pinterest room.This Sweet Baby Girl has been held, rocked, sung to, told stories and loved since she was born.

A Room of Her Own in the Land of Pintrest

Last year my darling daughter and her family bought their “dream home”. She had me come over and help her “move furniture and hang pictures”. We started with the down stairs, living room, kitchen, family room...moved up stairs to the kids rooms. Turquoise and Lime Green for my granddaughter and Diamondback Base Ball of my grandson. The last room on the list was going to be a room for my DD. You know the kind, for reading, crafts...a real get away just for her. 

We start working on her room this summer. She picked out great colors...Turquoise and Persimmon with some taupe. 

 Her husband found her a awesome chair to curl up in to read. We just got lucky that the cat matched the room. She had picked up the old window yeas ago and add the fun rag banner. Of course every ladies room need a chandelier. 

 The window valences are made from vintage embroidered dresser scarves that I had gotten from Tucson Sister.

The day bed adds an extra place to sit, take a nap or for overnight guest. We covered pillows in the “theme” color fabric.

  DD painted the dresser and picture frames turquoise. One frame is a mirror, the other two she removed the pictures.

 One empty frame has a painted initial...

and the other has a framed vintage handkerchief ,

Persimmon color butterfly that she had found at an auction years ago.

This is the point where we should have been bringing in shelves to store all kind of crafty treasures and large craft table to create all those cool Pintrest projects...

  

In all this planning we never figure that someone else had a different idea for this room...a surprise baby girl who should be here any day...

 so instead of a big table we added a crib with a turquoise and persimmon bumper. 

First Day of School

Many, many years ago when I was a young mother, there came a time in each of my children lives when I sent them off to kindergarten. At the time it was a semi traumatic experience.

They were 5 years old, so of course they at the age where they making me crazy...  naturally I was looking forward to sending them off for half the day, I wouldn't even have to pay a sitter. When their first day of school arrived I admit panicked...my baby is going off in to the big bad world with out me! What if they get scared , what if they get dropped off at the wrong bus stop, what if...? 

One by one over the years I walked my little dears in to the big scarey school, took them to their class room and each one of them took off with a skip and a jump to look for new friends and play with the “educational” toys. Never looking back or giving me a wave good-bye. They were much braver than I was.

Back to School, Home Work and Standardized Test

The kids in Arizona are going back to school...in my opinion it's way too early.

One of the happiest days of my life was the day I didn't have to get my kids ready for the first day of school. One by one they they had graduated.

I didn't have to do back to school shopping for new clothes and notebooks. No more  fill out all the endless form they brought home in their backpacks that first day. No longer did I have to worry about spelling test...history papers that were completed, but some how never got turned in to the teacher.

  

No more asking the question...”have you finished your homework?” An end to calling in absences, missed school buses and standardized test.

They were off on their way to being “grown-ups... and all the mini drama that goes along with being an adult.

Weather Report, Big Black Cat and the Bathroom Sink

The weather forecasters have been reporting that we are in the "dog days of summer"...which in Arizona means it's hot and muggy. When you walk out side of your air-conditioned house, it's like stepping into a sauna.

What is a big black cat to do to keep cool?

Stretch out on the cool ceramic tile away from the house traffic...

No...even better, curl up in a ball in the  bathroom sink. Now the big black cat can stay cool and inconvenience anyone wanting to wash their hands or brush their teeth...a happy, cool cat.

What do you do with a bunch of doilies?

I have been collecting doilies...

a lot of doilies...

a whole big bunch doilies...I enlisted friends and family in this search...

An older lady at one of the thrift stores I stop in a couple times a month while on my  search  calls me her "doily lady". She would ask me how many I had found...I have no clue, I had never counted. I just knew I was going to need a lot for all the project ideas I had. 

I finally got the time to work on a banner/garland for my Darling Daughter...

I hung the doily banner on the front window at my house to take these photos. The window in her house is much larger than mine, so I draped the ends on either side of my window, then pulled up on parts of it to create some swags.

I created scrunchy bows out of crinkled seem binding ribbon and placed one between each doily on the banner...

DD hung her  banner up on her window, looks pretty good. Now I need t come up with some other creative ideas for all those doilies...yes, I'm still collecting.

Happy 4th of July

Hooray for the red, white and blue!

Arizona Flower Fairies

It is that time of the year here in Arizona, when we hit in the neighborhood of 115 degrees or higher during the day. Which creates a real hardship on our “Flower Fairies”. 

In Arizona we can pretty much garden year round...except July, August, and most of September, then it gets a bit rough for any thing to grow, except weeds. During the rest of the year our flower fairies reside in among the flower and vegetable gardens.

In the winter while the rest of the country is freezing cold and up to their knees in snow...Arizona has beautiful gardens and the flower fairies are doing their happy dance.

 

Are you wondering where the Arizona Flower Fairies go to in the Summer...
 they hide out at the mall or the movies where they can use someone else Air Conditioning to keep cool, just like everyone else!

Once upon a time, dad was a Cowboy...

Back in the 20's and 30's Western movies were a big deal. Kids would save their pennies to catch a matinee with Buck Jones, Ken Maynard, Tom Mix and many other cowboy movie stars. These "horse operas" brought action and adventure to children and adults alike. The shows were full of riding, roping and of course a lot of shooting. 

When I was a kid, my dad told me stories of him going to the movies to see his cowboy heroes, one of his favorite was Hoot Gibson. Hoot was such a big movie star at the time he has his own “star” on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

As a teenage dad was a cowboy too...I don't think he ever moved a heard of cattle, but he did ride bucking broncs in the rodeo. And he was an "extra" in the 1952 movie "Half Breed". If you blinked you'd miss him.

So this cowboy card is for you dad...and all the Cowboys out there.

Lily of the Valley, Mr. Selfridge and black dresses...

I worked on this card while "Mr. Selfridge" was airing on PBS. The program had more story lines then a Soap Opera. The first couple of weeks I was having a hard time of keeping track of who was who at Selfridge's store...every one dressed in black...very professional. 

 The logo for the perfume line that Mr Selfridge had created for the store...that "anyone could afford" was Lily of the Valley. Probable a very abundant flower in the English country side...

Those delicate little white fragrant bell shaped flowers have a marvelous vintage look.

I wonder if you can still find the Lily of the Valley cologne at Selfridges in London...or do they only carry the modern designer brands?