Easter, Chicks and Grandpa

I have a wonderful childhood memory of a Easter at my grandparents house. We had a big family dinner and a egg hunt with my cousins.

 

  The big excitement was Grandpa brought home chicks and bunnies from the Feed Store.

All of us grand kids held, cuddled and loved on those cute little babies.

The world was different back then...simpler, or maybe that's the way I remember it. Now a days you just don't bring home chicks and bunnies to entertain the grand kids.

Still...it's a nice memory, of Easter, Family and Grandpa.

Happy Easter

Pinterest, Instagram and Easter

I missed the entire month of March...I blinked and it was gone. It must have been the insanity of January and February that did me in. Here we are heading into Easter.

We can break out all the spring decorations and add a few more to our collection...

Pinterest is full of creative ways to celebrate Easter...even if you never make any of the projects  you can still feel fulfilled having a board full of new Easter ideas.

While you are on the go check out Instagram...you know it will satisfy you craving for what's new and wonderful in DIY Easter/Spring decor.

As an added bonus, when the holiday is over you get to figure out where you are going to store your new decorations until next year...

Happy Valentines Day

Wishing you 

A Very Happy

Valentines

 Day

Full Moon, Flowers and Love Potion 31...

From the first day of January 2014 to the last, was one long "full moon"...one crazy mini drama after another. Throw in a extra mega drama and that's how the New Year started. I don't know if that is the way the next eleven months are going to go, or if  things can only get better.

All of a sudden it's time for Valentines Day. I had great plans for Valentines cards and tags...I managed to get two tags done...

I get to spend next week in the flower shop designing flowers for the big day. The week will be one big blur by the time we get to Friday. A florist job it to make other peoples holiday special. This is where I remind you all to CALL YOU LOCAL FLORIST for your floral needs.

My sweetheart has already giving me my Valentines gift...a large container of Baskin Robbins "Love Potion 31" ice cream...it's mental health survival food for the holiday.

The man knows the way to my heart!

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!   

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.

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?

Redford, Gatsby and 3D...

I hear the new "Great Gatsby" movie is suppose to be good. A friend of mine (with fantastic taste and a wonderful imagination...so she would know) says the movie is good and worth going to see. Oh by the way, she saw it in 3D. It's not that I'm doubting her, I just can't see any actor but Robert Redford playing Jay Gatsby.  Now there's a classic!

I love that era...the 1920's with the Art Deco design...and the stunning fashions.  The clothing was dazzling...Rayon dresses up to a ladies knees...how shocking!

  Hair was cut short and with a Marcel wave...what would their grandmothers say?

 The time of  "Gatsby"...the Roaring Twenty's, was pretty hot stuff...plenty of inspiration for a movie.

Dancing through the Daises

This dainty little  girl is dancing through a back ground of pink daises,  blinged with Fruit Punch and Lime Green Stickles.

She is all dressed up in a blue frilly dress, that has been outlined with a glitter pen and Waterfall and Star Dust Stickles. She is carrying three gold hearts in her skirt. Handing from her hand are two red heart rhinestones.  The edges of the tag are inked with Spun Sugar Distress Ink

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas...one last tag:

I have used this vintage image before in a Christmas card...it's one of my favorites.The idea for this design came from a 2008 Somerset Studio November/December magazine cover. Rachel Killpack had used the image to make a  fabulous "Christmas Star". The image is from a very erethral  French Christmas postcard. Those type of  photos were very popular in that era. The top of the postcard (which I cut off) read "Joyeux Noel". The tag was distressed front and back  with Tim Holtz's Bundled Sage. The edges were distressed with Iced Spruce ink. I used the Stampendous Shabby Pink embossing enamel and a flourish stamp to create the back ground. The edges of the image were distressed with Antique Linen ink. The tag is embellished with gold star tinsel garland and a larger gold star.

Red and Green

I know there must be some little kid out there that's is feeling like Christmas its taking for ever to come...on the other hand I feel like it's barreling down on me like a high speed train!

Back to the Christmas tags...
 This vintage post card is of a young lady all dressed up in a white fluffy snow suit holding a a ball of Holly.

 The background of the tag is Holly patterned paper edged with Antique Linen distress ink. The snow suit and the Holly ball are accented  with Stickles. Two  green Holly leaves with red berries are place on the corners of the image.
I wonder who decided that red and green would be the official  Christmas colors?

Twelve days to Halloween and nothing to wear for a costume.

I love the look of vintage Halloween...I'm talking way old, like 1920s-1930s. That was the era that Halloween parties and dressing up was for the adults. They would have big extravagant parties that would last way in to the early morning. The costumes at that time were very creative.

With that in mind, I created a tag with a vintage 1920s look.

 I'm not sure where I found this image of a woman draped in a textured shawl, from that era. I dressed her up in a pair of black and orange butterfly wings that came from Graphic Fairy (thanks GF love the wings!) and embellished with Black Stickles and a glitter pen.

The background of the tag was stamped then layered with a black doily and a “Petrified Butterflies” label.