Christmas Crafting

One of the many Christmas Trees we have in our house for the holiday season. This one sits in my craft room where I can see it when I'm playing working on my computer. It's a sweet little aqua colored tree decorated with peppermint dangles from one of my favorite blogs, ALLSORTS . I printed these onto white cardstock, cut them out and punched a mini hole for a twine hanger. I also had to add a little extra sparkle to some of them by adding a tiny red jewel to the center. Sweet, yes?

Autumn in the Midwest

Goodbye summer.....I will miss your long, sunny days!

Yes, autumn has arrived with it's crisp mornings, cooler days and those gorgeous, rich russet colors appearing in the landscape.

And....we're seeing more of these in the neighborhood!

via martha

Black & Yellow Bumble Bee Party

Had the "BEES" over for lunch a couple of weeks ago. We're a group of friends that have been getting together for years and I thought it would be fun to go with the black and yellow decor for lunch. Everyone got a little jar of local honey as a take home favor.

The centerpiece complete with chocolate "cake pop" bees....

And a cute bunting decoration using, what else, bumble bee fabric.... I had to make a mini bunting to match!

And one of the girls brought each of us a yummy home made banana pudding with meringue topping baked in these cute little mason jars....so yummy!!!

What a sweet day spent with friends!!!

July 4th Celebration

We had a festive July 4th celebration this year. Son #1 has a birthday on July 3rd and he made a trip home for a few days. The tradition is that we always bake some kind of USA Flag cake on his birthday. Here is this year's version complete with a wee bunting in the colors of the day - thanks to Jenny at her Allsorts Blog.

This cake idea from Glorious Treats. What a fun surprise to cut into!

A couple of other photos from the day . . .

I just love this time of year....don't you?

Walnut Antique Show

I visited the Walnut Antique Show in Iowa last Friday. This small midwest town hosts a wonderful outdoor show with so many vendors, it takes all day to make your way through town to see them all.

I happen to like vintage letters and outdoor signs....loved this "SHOP"

And these garden floral stakes made from vintage plates and buttons...

Most of the downtown area is filled with antique shops, so this is a fun place to visit any time. This was once a bank and now is a shop called "The Vault". Cute!!!!

And the homes here are so charming . . .look at the front porch and windows in this one.

The show is always held the weekend of Father's Day. It's a fun day trip and I'm planning to go again next year!

Map Wrap

I recently participated in a Collection Trade over at oh, hello friend. My trade partner sent me the sweetest package! We were encouraged to creatively wrap our gift and I'd say she did just that...

from the use of the decoupaged map wrapping...

to the sweet ribbon and scallop edge kraft paper...

and the charming little hand-written tag...

The surprise was nestled safely inside...

A lovely pitcher to add to my collection.

Yep...she did it! Thank you Gabi!

Irish Soda Bread

Happy St. Patty's Day! This bread is soooo good hot from the oven with butter. I think I'll have some for breakfast. Yummy! Find the recipe HERE.

Vintage Valentines

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope yours is a sweet one!

Valentine Cupcakes

These toppers add a little extra sweetness to your valentine cupcakes. Click HERE (click on file, then download original) to download the pdf for printing.

And for those of you who prefer some orange for your Valentine's Day celebration, click HERE.

The best part of this little project....I get to eat these cupcake samples. SWEET!

Valentine Banner Printable

Here is a little quick & easy valentine banner. I used some red rick rack, but I think it would look cute using ribbon, too. Download here (click on file and download original, due to the fact that I don't know how else to do this just yet), print onto cardstock, trim, punch holes in the corners and string with rick rack or ribbon. Get ready for some L-O-V-E ! !

Weekend To-Do List

Don't you love it when you can check something off your to-do list? I finally got the task of cleaning and polishing the kitchen counters completed today! Countertops....CHECK! Now, about the rest of that list...

Favorite Colors

Two of my favorite colors....pink and turquiose. These 2 pots are sitting on my desk. I guess it's about time to put away the Christmas bulbs!