January 11th, 2010 by April
That is what I named the beautiful necklace my mother created and gave to me for Christmas this year!
When I opened the box I gasped…I thought it was gorgeous and it’s all so nice when you receive something you know the giver has put their heart & soul into!
Isn’t it lovely??
My mother has been super busy creating all sorts of stunning pieces for her new store Zimaj. She does custom orders and you should totally check it out if you get a chance!
January 8th, 2010 by April
Here are two of the presents I made for my daughter this Christmas.
* The first one is a fabric ruffle necklace
It was very easy to make and she just loves it! Basically I just folded a small piece of fabric over – sewed along the top making sure to leave enough room for the chain – and then added some small jewels to the left hand side using a super strong glue!
I actually made my daughter a couple pairs of clip on earrings as well (will show picture later) and I knew she would be getting some fabulous jewelry from her gigi, so I wanted to get or make her a big jewelry box. My aunt found this jewelry box at a garage sale for $6 and I painted it and then added some pretty patterned paper and embellishments to dress it up!
I used Jacquard’s Lumiere acrylic paint in Halo Pink Gold to paint the enitre box and even though it didn’t totally cover up the little dings it came with she didn’t care at all and I had a great time dressing it up!
I used modpodge to attach the patterned papers (papers from sassafrasslass), and added some little rhinestones around the handles.
I stuck on some foam alphabet stickers and used Ranger’s Glitz Stickles in Champagne to embellish the stickers. I also used the stickles on the tops of all the box handles to add a little more sparkle!
This is the second old jewelry box I have re-done and I really enjoy the process of bringing them back to life. I shall forever be on the hunt for them at garage sales now!
Peace, Love, & Happy Creating,
April
January 7th, 2010 by April
I have several things I want to post about today…
First off, I don’t know if this deal is still available, but if you visit this post on MoneySavingMom, you can get hooked up with a subscription to Rachel Ray for only $4.99 (free shipping). This is a super deal and I love this magazine! I already signed up for this deal but just wanted to pass the info on in case you hadn’t seen it.
Second, Wanna get 50 prints for just 50 cents??? I just found this post today on MoneySavingMom, but you need to hurry because today is the last day for this awesome deal!!
* Earlier this summer I was at a friends house and she showed me this cook book that her grandmother had passed down to her. It was called, “Favorite Recipes of America Desserts” 1968
After looking through it and wanting to dog ear almost every single page I knew right away I had to have a copy of this book. This precious book contained all the dessert recipes I could ever want and I could totally picture all the women cooking up these amazing desserts in their kitchens! I’m talking old school recipes – ones that won at county fairs, etc…
Turns out there wasn’t just the dessert book, but an entire collection of these books…
Jessie and I spent the entire day going through them and bookmarking recipes we liked so we could scan, copy, & print them! I mentioned the book to a relative of mine and to my surprise she ordered the set and gave them to me for Christmas. I started crying…okay I know you are like…uh it’s just a cookbook April. But I seriously wanted these like no other cookbook – that’s how awesome I thought the recipes in them were!
Last week I tried my first recipe from them and I even used a pencil to mark the date I created it and special notes in the book. My thinking is that someday they will be passed down to my daughter and this way she can read my notes, see my faves, etc…
I had some leftover canned pumpkin from another recipe I had made for Christmas, so I just flipped through the book and found Pumpkin Cookies!
They turned out delicious and I would say they were almost more like little cookie cakes -very moist and scrumptious!
I thought I would start sharing the recipes that I use from my fabulous new collection and I’m also trying to decide what new treats to make for this year’s 2010 MemoryVilla Retreat so I think I will let the croppers vote on some of them after I share them.
* Today I am working on my CREATEMAIL and hope to have it sent off by tonight!
* Last but not least, just wanted to share a picture of Castor that I took yesterday!
Peace, Love, & Happy Creating,
April
January 4th, 2010 by April
Just wanted to share some of my favorite holiday photos!
Castor in his first walker!
Get in Line…all the kids were so anxious to help pass out the presents I thought they were going to knock each other down!
Even Daddy was excited about this gift!
My nephew Logan is showing off his new Transformer!
My Niece Colbie enjoying our Christmas morning!
We went to Texas the weekend before Christmas to have celebrate with our family and had an awesome time!
I received a gift from “Aunt Clara”… and yes it is what it looks like…a pink bunny suit!
My sister Crystal got one two…and they did make us try them on for pics…but unfortunately this is all anyone outside of my immediate family is going to get to see from that photo session!
Castor enjoying one of his new toys!
Logan sporting his new 3-D glasses and chalk set!
This is at our house on Christmas morning and the kids were enjoying cups of Hot Cocoa I made them before we opened our presents. I always like to have lots of things for the kids to open..that’s just the way I am. They don’t have to be big things…and this year I have to say that I was very proud of myself because I made over 70% of their gifts and they loved all of them!!!
Here is Charlie showing off her tutu I made her.
I love this picture because it shows the classic face that you hope to see when a child opens a present! Her brother got a red rider bebe gun last year and this year she asked for a pink one. So like last year we hid it behind the couch and waited until all the other presents were opened and then happened to notice there was one left. She couldn’t wait for Daddy to put her through his safety course so she could use it!
This year we made Marsh mellow guns for our nieces and nephews and they were a huge hit! The only problem we ran into was the fact that all the big guys wanted one too and they were constantly trying to get the kids guns so they could play.
Love this one!! I wanted to get more with the three kids, but unfortunately Castor was asleep everytime we had an opportunity.
Last but not least, I leave you with my favorite pic of the season! It’s certainly not the best in quality, but it’s the most meaningful!
For months I have been asking for a Snuggie. For months Scott has been making fun of me for asking for Snuggie…but he got me one for Christmas anyway. Guess who the first person was to actually use the Snuggie??? That’s right and shortly after putting it on he commented, “I guess this is kinda cool after all.” So here is Charlie and Scott wrapped up in their snuggies and I can show this because I’m pretty sure my hubby does not read my blog! Hahahahahaha
*Note: Only 15 spots left for the 2010 MemoryVilla Retreat!!
January 2nd, 2010 by April
Registration for the 2010 MemoryVilla Retreat starts this morning at 10am central time!! You can call (501-556-4350) to register and just click on the page link at the top of my blog to view all the details!!
Happy cropping,
April
