Happy Memorial Day!

Soaking up the sunshine today! Summer is just around the corner, and I can't wait to spend all my days with this sweet boy! Hope you had lots of laughter and good times in your little corner of the world this weekend.....

Gratitude

Ever buy a cute scrapbooking product that you feel you MUST make something with...right away? Well, I recently ordered these flashcards from October Afternoon that feature vintage children's images with the numbers 1-9. These really aren't a new product, just new for me!

I decided to do some sort of mini book about 9 things...hmmm....but nine what? Since it is nearing Liam's first birthday, I thought I'd write a series of nine mini thank you letters to him detailing all of the things that I am thankful I have learned from him in this last year.

I then used the Martha Stewart starburst punch to punch out a piece from all the patterned papers I used in the book. I glued them on the cover in two vertical rows and then added some stitching over top of them. I got this particular idea from this great book, Sharing Your Stories: Recording Life's Memories with Mini Books by Ali Edwards.

On the back side of each "thank you" letter, I stamped out a quote that fits the topic of the letter to Liam.
I glued the patterned paper front to back and stitched a border around each page of patterned paper.

I hope that he understands someday, when he is older, how much meaning and fun and love he has brought to my life! I can't believe it has already been nearly a year.....

BE. Inspired...

We were off from work this week since it was our district's spring break. *sigh* I had a couple of friends over to craft on Thursday. The theme of the day was Be Inspired and we decorated a wooden block with lots of bright papers and inspirational sayings. I added a few details to my dining room to set the mood....

(Created from the new Pink Paislee line called "Soiree"...LOVE these papers!)

Some bright colors to tie in with the black and white...

(Poster from etsy seller Katie Daisy.)

A few postcard images from the etsy shop Inspire Lovely along with other odds and ends collected from around my studio....
Really a great afternoon! These gals are a group of friends who I have known ever since I got my first teaching job here in California, and they have continued to be my very best support system through many ups and downs. They are the kind of friends that you may not see for a few months, but you can pick up with them right from where you left off and feel like you just talked yesterday! I was really in need of some serious girl chat time and a few reassuring words. Many of them already emailed me to thank me for a fun day, but I hope they know how much they did for me in return just by being a good friend!

Sunshine Daydreamin' in Pink

I can see clearly now..the rain here is gone... and it's accompanied by PINK!! What a beautiful day in southern California today! We got out this afternoon for some caffeine (much needed after the 5:15 "alarm" we have named Liam) and a peaceful little stroll around Encinitas. Pink and yellow seemed to be the theme of the day..lucky for me that they are two of my favorite colors. This psychodelic explosion of art was on the side of a trash receptacle by the ocean. Cool!

Absolutely adored this pink garage door...my husband immediately said "NO WAY!" before I could even ask about our own home...

This same house, of course, could not settle for your run-of-the-mill traditional white picket fence and painted theirs yellow and pink instead...

Finally, the reward at the end of the walk- a fantastic ocean view complete with some smiles and giggles!!! This is heaven!!!

Some more love...

Just popping in to show a few more pictures of some select pages of my Love U mini book from yesterday. It's always a challenge when you use a pre-selected group of pages for a mini book because, inevitably, there is at least one page in the mix with which you have no idea what to do!! This right hand page is a piece of heavy upholstery fabric. I almost just quietly disposed of it, but then reconsidered and came up with this page...using a mini bingo board from Jenni Bowlin and a piece of fabric I freehand cutted into a heart. A few sequins attached with some french knots to finish the look....

This "L" is from a booklet of letters and words from the Girls Paperie line with a few fabric scraps stitched on...

And no book would be complete without a photo of "the boys" hangin' out together...

Hope you are enjoying your weekend with family and friends!! It's a beautiful clear day so get out and soak in the sunshine!!

Love U Mini Book

I just completed the Valentine-themed mini book that I started back in February... well, I actually finished it about a week ago but took a break from the regularly scheduled programming for the very fabulous Moulin Rouge Artistic Affaire which was as amazing as expected!!! (Sorry..no pics of the event..too caught up in a whirlwind of creating and having a good time to take pictures!) However, I finally had a moment to snap a few pics of the book today so here they are!! I ordered the book from here..she sends you all the pages with some extra embellishments. I then dig into my much-too-large stash and add lots of other goodies.

Our first beach "practice" trip before going to Hawaii....

The cover is actually clear acrylic so the first page with the cut-out heart shows through...

I'm not too fabulous with the sewing machine, but I was kinda proud of my "L" for Liam. I got the idea for the saying from the etsy shop "Sparkle Power" where I recently ordered this cute poster!

This page was inspired by one of my favorite new blogs called The Pink Couch. LOVE this blog!

I have a few more pics I will post later this weekend...thanks for stopping by!!!

Hawaii Mini Album Part 2

As promised, here are some final pictures of the mini album from our Hawaiian vacation. Wow! Two blog posts in one week...I feel like I've really accomplished something, and it's only Tuesday! :P

One of the biggest "adjustments" of traveling with a baby was the lack of time to get a Starbucks in the airport! That is always something I look forward to right before boarding the plane but, alas, no time for Starbucks after you get the full pat down search and no extra hands to hold a drink. *sigh* Once I got on the plane, I was craving some kind of goodness and thankfully they sold these dark chocolate candy bars on the plane which were the most delicious combination of salty and sweet.....there were angels singing!~

The cover....

We went to the Red Dirt Shirt Factory featured on Dirtiest Jobs on TV. Rich bought a T-shirt, but I have yet to wash it since it needs it's own wash cycle or it will turn everything RED!

Thanks for checking back...enjoy the rest of your week!!