My budding beader

Just a quick post today to share one of my son's creations.  He made this special for me and I just love it.

I attached the clasp but he selected the beads and strung it himself.....not a bad design for a 4-year-old!  I love that it has many of the colors I wear on a regular basis so it looks good with a variety of things in my closet.  He always wants to play with my beads but it takes a VERY watchful eye to let him do so.  All those little beads go scattering and we're in trouble :)

Do you have a budding artist at home?

New arrival

No...not a baby....well they are sort of my babies.

I absolutely LOVE when my new beads come in the mail.  

It's like Christmas morning for me.  

Even though I know what it is, it's exciting to open and see how they look.  My husband and sons just roll their eyes at me so sometimes I act extra goofy just to push their buttons ; )  My almost 5 year old is really into saying "oh mother" these days and last night's call to attention as I opened the package was no exception.  Usually he will come around a little later and say "I like those ones Mom".

My beautiful antiqued Rajasthani Sterling Silver beads (from Fire Mountain Gems and Beads) greeted me cheerfully from their humble packaging.  All shiny and new and begging for some attention.

Forgive the less than clear pic...I took it with my phone

Can't wait to play around with them and see what I can come up with.  Thankfully as of late my husband is helping more and more with the business side of stuff so I can concentrate on what I do best, design.  

After all, that is the fun part!

I'm linking up today with the Busy Budgeting Mama, check out her site!

www.thebusybudgetingmama.com

Spring Fashion... done Etsy style!

Just when it was starting to feel like spring around here, winter came back to bite us in the butt!

We woke up to school closings and traffic delays :(  

Oh Spring, where for art thou?

At least we can think spring when it comes to fashion!  Here are some great Etsy Fashion Finds that can be

nicely complimented with some beautiful behind the moon originals!

Cascading Petals Sleeveless Dress  $64

GoldLip Shell Earrings  $16

Love this simple spring dress paired with my Goldlip Shell earrings.  Add some other Silver accents and...voila!

 

 

Delicate Pink Sweater   $55

Forest Frolic Tourmaline Necklace  $32 

Rose Quartz Earrings  $12

 Talk about Pretty in Pink.  These super soft rose tones are so sweet.  My Forest Frolic Necklace would nestle perfectly in the V-neck of this beautiful sweater.

 

Sheer and sophisticated Deb dress  $75

Golden Pear Earrings  $10 

Bohemian Woman - Love this sheer flowing dress paired with my Golden Pear Earrings for a fun flirty look!

 

Elegant Spring Summer Shrug Bolero  $69

Carolina Moon Earrings  $8

Tahitian Winds Bracelet $22

This adorable shrug would look great over a tank-top and jeans.  Pair it with my Carolina Moon Earrings and Tahitian Winds Bracelet and you have a casual look that just can't go wrong!

You know it's love when...

You send your husband emails 
every hour of the things 
you love about him.

This is one of the things I'm doing for my husband today to sneak into his day and let him know how much he means to me.  I'm going to send him one every hour, even when we are both home tonight....just for fun ;)

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Tea Anyone?

I thought I'd share some pics of the Tea Party my sister and I put together for my
mother's 60th birthday.  We wanted to do something special for her and a party was just the thing.  But over-the-top is not really my mom's style.  We settled on a tea party for her and her friends/family.
We had about 15 guests in my dining/living room!
I think it turned out quite well though.  Everyone was very relaxed and had a great time.

My sister and I split the duties.  She was on food (totally her thing) and I was on invites/decor/overall planning (more my thing) and it worked out beautifully.

The decor: Creams, Cranberry, Gold, and Silver  (this was a fall tea party)

What does every classy tea party need?  Flowers!  So I used maroon-tipped cream carnations, cranberry mini carnations, and nuts and berries to dress up some silver tea set pieces I found at a garage sale long ago. 

I embelished the flowers with my own beaded pearl details....hmm...may have to add these to my Etsy shop!

Tip for cleaning silver - line a glass baking dish with foil (shiny side up).  Lay item in dish, sprinkle liberally with baking soda, and pour boiling water over top.  Let sit a few moments then buff with a clean cloth.

The fireplace/bookcase my husband built served as our buffet.  God it's great to have a handy husband - he really did a great job!


The food: Decadent creations from my sister who has a real talent for making fairly simple items into delicious gourmet!

Tea Sandwiches: Chicken Salad, Cucumber, and Smoked Salmon

Poached Pears in wine sauce with gingerbread

Scones with clotted cream and jam


We also had lemon bars and pumpkin spice cupcakes which my sister garnished with edible crystals.   
And of course, there was the tea - 
English Breakfast and Earl Grey were in abundance.  
We used my sister and mother's china tea cups and saucers and felt quite ladylike when sipping from them!


It was really an enjoyable day and I hope my Mother felt all the love that went into it!
Lord knows she deserved it!

Where is the LOVE....and creativity?

Valentine's Day is approaching and this is my oldest son's first Valentine's day in school.  I received a notification from his teacher about how the Valetine's are to be presented.
I was alittle surprised at what it said.

As I look back to my own childhood, the absolute best part of Valentine's day in school was making your valentine's box and exchanging valentines.  

We would all decorate our own shoebox (or other box) to receive our valentines in.  There would be contests, fun and food.  And I loved seeing what my friends wrote in my card.  Some kids didn't really write much of anything but there was still something about seeing your handwritten name in the To: and the giver's name in the From:.  After all, when your a kid you don't get much mail or handwritten letters so it was fun to get......and in this day and age you're lucky to get anything handwritten.....ever!

My most memorable valentine's in elementary school was the year my sister helped me make my LOVEbot.  We made my valentine box tall and made it look like a robot.  It had foil and hearts all over and dangling heart antennas on top of it's head.  It was so cute, I wish I had a pic to share.   

I of course won for best valentine box, 

all thanks to my big sis ; )

Anyway, back to my son.  The email said they are not to have anything written on their valentine accept the giver's name.  Absolutely no personalization allowed.  Any envelopes are to be left completely blank. 

How sad!

And while they are not making valentines boxes, they will be able to make a bag that day to collect their valentines.  The bags will be made with the materials provided at the school.  While there is certainly nothing wrong with this, I longed to see how my son would decorate his box if allowed to plan and use anythign he wanted.  
Maybe another year : )

So when I asked him if he wanted to make his own valentines or buy some Thomas or Spongebob valentines, I was happy to hear he wanted to make them himself.  Oh yeah, some of my creativity got passed down!  We creative souls love to find kindred spirits : )  

I helped him cut out the hearts but he loved picking out the paper we would use, stamping them (the boy loves a rubber stamp), and gluing down the hearts.  So proud of my budding artist!

On another nostalgic note, my mother always made a heart-shaped meatloaf for Valentine's Day and I always looked forward to it.  My boys love pancakes and sausage so we are making them heart shaped for Valentine's dinner....yes dinner...we love breakfast.... anytime.

What Valentine's traditions do you have?

Check out the other great blogs at The Busy Budgeting Mama Blog Link-up!

Etsy Treasury:There's Always Room for Ice Cream, Um Pistachio Please!

My Pistachio Pearl Earrings were featured in an Etsy Treasury!  

pistachio pearl earrings

A sincere THANK YOU to OhForCute for including me 

in this beautiful Treasury.  Take a look at all the georgous items in this treasury, 

I could eat them up!  Especially that pistchio ice cream lip gloss....yum!

You asked for it.....

As recently polled from my blog readers's......Blushing Rose Quartz is the preferred stone for Valentine's Day!  Take a look at these romantic rose quartz chandelier earrings...available now at my Etsy Shop.  

Thanks to all who voted!

A Few of my Favorite Things.....

For today's "Day in the Life" bog link up with the Busy Budgeting Mama I thought 

I'd share a few of my favorite things : )

Get your Read on

Outlander Series

Seriously THE BEST story telling EVER.  There are 8 hefty books in the series.... 

not for the faint of heart but totally worth it!

God Crazy

A wonderful instruction manual on how to surrender.  An excellent book that I read over and over.

The Shack

True or not it makes you think and helped me strengthen my relationship with God.

Twilight Series

I know I know, these are for teenagers right?  Come on, who can't relate to a teenage girl who's totally smitten!  I know I can.  And the classic Romeo and Juliet theme never gets old.

Get your Music on

Jason Aldean - A good ol' country boy rocking in out!

Need to Breathe - "Something Beautiful" is a must hear.  Check it out on YouTube!

Brandon Heath - mellow christian grooves

BNL (Barenaked Ladies) - an all-time favorite.  These guys can sing anything.  If I was stuck on a deserted Island and could only have 1 band to listen to, they would be it.

Dave Matthews Band/Counting Crows/Live - Musical geniuses!

Get your Grocery On

ALDI - I can feed a family of 4 for $75 per week!  Need I say more?

Aldi's carries their own brand of foods at awesome prices.   There are several items that I prefer the Aldi brand over the big name brands!


Get your Style On

My favorite clothing store is New York & Co.

Stylish and sleek, reasonably priced.  Sign up for a NY&CO credit card and receive promotional offers like $25 off of $75 purchase.  I wait until I get one of these coupons to make my move.  Shop the sales and use this coupon and you can walk out with some major deals!

Get your Mama On

I See Me Personalized Books

Both of my boys have these and LOVE them.  Makes them feel really special and helps them learn to spell their names.  A great gift for a new baby!

Fisher Price Booster Chair

Goes from babyhood to toddlerhood.  Easy to carry anywhere....restaurant, relative's, even a picnic.

Don't leave the house without


iPhone 4

I love it....probably a little too much!
Best part is using facetime to see my boys when they wake up if I have already gone to work.
Not to mention all those nifty apps!

Granola Bars

Not going anywhere for a while?
Don't grab a Snickers, grab a Quaker Chewy Granola Bar (90 calorie variety).
Much more nutritious and for a gal that gets hungry in the blink of an eye,
they are perfect.  Great for the kids too!

What are some of your favs?