birdie lavender mini pillow

I just put this pillow in my shop the other day, and I'm delighted to say it sold within a day! I have been making these little lavender pillows lately, and i am having fun picking out the fabrics and adding a few embellishments. I added a rhinestone for the birdie's eye and a gold/pink cording around the pillow. It's so nice when I sit on my bed and I can smell the lavender. It's my fave scent! I may try using some other herbs like camomile, which is very calming, or rosemary as an energizing aroma. I love making them, they don't take a lot of time to make, and I have starting experimenting with stamps. I have an alphabet stamp kit and I want to have a line of inspiration pillows with quotes and words, like 'Imagine' or 'relax'. I've got to think up some good short quotes to print on them. Do you have any words or quotes you'd like to see on a pillow? Feel free to throw them out!

The big One!

Lulu Belle, our little beagle girl, has just turned one year's old! I chose last Friday, the 22nd of February to be her birthday, because while i know she was born sometime this month, the rescue kennel didn't know her exact day of birth, so I decided the 22nd would have to be the day, since 22 is my lucky number.
Steve thought i was a little nutso to make a cake for her, but heck, I love to bake anyway, and i love having a special occasion to bake something! So I made a carrot cake, without nuts and raisins and made a cream cheese frosting and made it pretty with the red sprinkles on top.


Here she is at the age of 6 months and this is her now:
I wish i could have seen her as a really small puppy! I bet she was such a cutie!


While at the dollar store I found this jumbo balloon, it's supposed to blow up to 4 feet, Cool!



Steve reluctently agreed to blow it up for me...he's full of alot of hot air anyway!! Ha!

He blew until his neck veins started popping out!

Pretty soon I couldn't even see him anymore!

He didn't blow it up all the way though. I think he got about half filled before he had had enough of the giant orange balloon.


Lulu sure had a ball playing with it! We threw it around and she got all excited, barking and baying and trying to bite it. She even bounced it off her nose.
After about 10 minutes she tried to eat it and of course, it popped, um, quite loudly! Poor Lulu's balloon was burst!


But we still had the cake! Yes, we even lit the candle and sang 'Happy Birthday' to her and i blew out the candle for her. (strange, i know, to celebrate a dog's birthday, but being a nutball, i had to!!)

I have to say though, it was mighty good! I'm usually alot more gaga over chocolate cake, but it was nice and moist, and the cream cheese icing was so delicious! I think i may have to make another one soon. Lulu got to eat a piece too! She sure enjoyed that!

Just Do It!

(Warning: long-winded blog post ahead! )



Have you ever had so many ideas or projects, creative or otherwise, that you just feel like your head may explode? I am constantly inspired to make stuff, in a variety of mediums, from jewelry to sewing and painting, and i am frustrated that i can't seem to get into a productive mode. I'm great at writing down the idea, usually with drawings of details and specifics. I often start a project and find it hard to finish it, either because i don't know how to, or because i lose interest. I was complaining to Steven the other day that i think i've lost my creative mojo. I mean i used to be so much more productive in the past, especially when i was in my 2o's and 30's. I used to sew up dozens of bags in a month. Now i'm lucky if it's one a month!! I'm trying to figure out why i've slowed production of projects, almost to a halt. I think one reason is lack of motivation.

I love thinking of ideas, and i get excited about the idea, but then something happens where i just think too much about it when i should 'Just Do it'! I tend to lose interest in the project of the moment quickly and then move on to a new idea. So, does the fact that i have a different life affect my creativity? The difference between now and then, is that i had more energy 'then', than i do now. I now have a big house to take care of, complete with a dog, two cats and a life partner ( I can't say hubby yet and I'm tired of saying fiancee!). So even though Ive got a few more responsibilities 'now', you think i could squeeze in at least a couple of hours per day for creative pursuits. Well, after cooking and cleaning, and in between dog walking and errands, duties and chores, I should be able to. I'm afraid, I'd much rather plunk myself down in front of the boob tube (with Satelite and HD 42" screen) on a comfy sofa and watch a program while multi-tasking (reading, making lists, eating or playing with the dog). I've become., well.....pretty gosh darn hopeless.!I'm not happy being this unproductive. I've got at least half a dozen half-finished projects on my studio table. And YES, i do have a studio now! A spare bedroom has been made into my workroom/cats haven. Back 'then', my studio was my bedroom or my living room. I had to live around constant messiness!

I must find some way to get my creative mojo back! Do you have any suggestions? Please be as candid or blunt as you like! I could use a good kick in the pantaloons!
If you've read this far i do apologize for the long and boring post. I tried to make it a bit less tedious by inserting some of my latest winter wonderland photos of our views from the back yard. As much as i am sick to death of winter i do appreciate how beautiful the trees look after a snowfall.

A Rose is....

a Rose is a Rose is a.....well, you know how it goes, right?

Happy Valentines's Day!!!!!!!

to my family, friends and especially to my sweetheart Steven, who gave me the roses in the photo!


I wanted to introduce you to my new friend Penelope. She is my new friend from Madison Wisconsin. Penelope is a gal you might see around town, riding her bike, at the co-op or tending her community garden plot. She is very friendly & likes to be with people of all ages. She loves to hang out and play in the kitchen because she loves to cook and bake as well, especially cookies!

Penelope and this sweet little house are my latest treasures from Etsy. They sit on my window sill in the kitchen and are so nice to look at while i wash the dishes. I have a love for painted wooden handmade crafted things. Maybe one of these days i'll make something similiar. What fun they are, don't you think?

and speaking of handmade, i made these necklaces, i love the sparkly hearts which i picked up at a bead supply store in NYC years ago. They are fun and funky to wear. I am wearing the gold one today, and i gave the silver one to my niece Melissa.


I also have been making some lavender sachets. I used a silk scarf that my sis Carol painted years ago. I added a beaded wire heart to make it even prettier! I hope to add these to the shop soon!
Well have a lovely day today! I hope you do something special and fun this Valentines!

Lazy daze

Ever feel like just lounging the day away?

After the recent snow storm, i feel like jumping in my bed, under my two duvets and wool blankie and hiding until spring!

Lovely, is'nt it?

Lulu doesn't mind the cold, in fact she loooooves jumping in snow drifts and eating fresh snow cones....silly dog!


Just thought i would leave you with something fun and silly....meet Mr. Cheese! As i was making my sandwich the other day, i laughed when i saw this piece of swiss cheese. He reminds me a bit of Mr. Bill, from Saturday Night Live. He seems to be saying...
'NoOOOOOO! Don't Eat meeeeeee!!!
I let Lulu Belle eat Mr. Cheese. I don't think he suffered much, she gobbled him down in 2 nanoseconds.

Happy February!!!!!!!

Yeah!!!! We made it past January. Even though it is still winter and cold, I'm celebrating the begininng of a month that is going to be great and so much better than boring depressing January! It just wasn't my month but I just know in my heart (catch the pun? Valentines....heart) that it will be a much better month.

So whats so much better about February, you may ask? Well here's a little list:

1. Valentines Day - I am a very lucky and spoiled girl who gets taken out to a nice restaurant for a lovely dinner...I love eating out!!!


2. 3 birthdays: Little sis Carol on the 13th, big bro Tom on the 17th and friend Susi on the 15th.


3. Groundhog day tomorrow when we find out what that cute little rodent has in store for us!!


4. Chinese New Year - It is on the 7th and it is the year of the rat, i believe! or is it refered to as mouse? hmmmm....correct me if i'm mistaken. To find out what your Chinese Astrology is, go here. I'm lucky year of the rabbit...woohoo! (actually i do love nibbling on carrots).


5. My big sis Cathy will be visiting from out west on the 13th, yeah!!! Can't wait to see her and hear about her trip to Hawaii! (Lucky girl!!)


6. It's my Lulu Belle's 1st birthday on the 22nd. Well, technically we don't know her birthday but i made it up cos 22 is my lucky number and we know she was born sometime this month! If you are wondering who the heck Lulu is, she's my cute little beagle/basset doggie.


7. The wonderfully frustrating tv show "LOST" is back in tv land for me to enjoy (it's been a painfully long wait since last seasons show back in May 2007, i think it was). Maybe we'll find out some of the deep dark secrets of that mysterious island. I have to say, the writing on that show, the ideas and characters and the cinemaphotography is just top notch!!

So, as you can see it is a much more positive and fulfilling month (for me anyhoo) and who knows, maybe some other nice things will happen!!

Oh, i almost forgot!!! I wanted to leave you with this fabulous recipe from one of my fave blogs 'Posey gets Cosy', for Swedish pancakes. I'm tres excited about making them this weekend. They look wonderfully delicious, crepe-y type pancakes and i have a can of whipped cream in the fridge that i am saving for them. I'm gonna load on the whipped cream with some pure maple syrup and some sliced peaches and wild blueberries. I hope you try them out too! Yah Yah!