How I Spent My Summer Vacation- Part One

Hey Girls! Madeline Mae here posting while Mom is over there with her tongue stuck out- she's concentrating on painting some 3D girls! I thought you might want to see some pictures from our vacation to California! I was pretty good for being such a little baby and traveling so long in the car, if I do say so myself. Our first stop was Big Bear Lake...isn't it pretty? There is so much to do there too! Fishing, skiing, antiquing, and more! We stayed in a cabin there for 3 days! I especially liked rolling the billard balls under the couches and making the grown ups get them. I played a lot with my Grandma & Grandpa Shim too!
Sissy had a great time throwing shoes for horses? I don't get it. She loved it though!
Me? I prefer Ping Pong! Daddy and Shim played for a long time...Daddy picked up A LOT of balls. The paddles are so yummy! Mommy thought it was gross and wiped it down for me!

This is the alpine slide...you get to ride a chair lift up to the top and then race down to the bottom. Sissy was scared at first, but once she figured out the brakes, she had a blast.
I may be an adventurer, but they said I was too little to go down the slide...I watched them very closely. By the way, I'm shoe fanatic...don't you just love these?! They are my favorite!
Mommy made some things while I had some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa Shim. This is a fairy house so that the fairies can go on vacation too! We left it at the cabin.

She painted this outside on the porch... Sissy and Grandma painted too! The long red hair is because of Lillian and the princess has my blue eyes. After all, we are Mommy's princesses! :) Mommy said she is on ebay right now.

That's all for now! Stay tuned for part two...maybe I can teach Sissy how to use this thing too!

I've been a bad, bad girl...

It is SO not the 26th and I am very sorry about that! I've been away on vacation and I thought it would be a brillant idea to draw the winner the day before I left. I forgot how packing, cleaning, and preparing for guests would change all that. So then I thought, "Hey, I'm going on vacation, I'll have lots of time to do it while I'm away!" Yeah, right. Long story short, I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting so long. I do have some great pictures to share though...they will come soon.

I'm including this video because I have this thing for being reminded of songs when people say something. I end up singing a lot! Wow, a meme without a meme!

ANYWAY...A VERY sweet girl by the name of Megan (who I just so happen get to babysit today) drew the winner of my toadstool set...Jenn of Noodle and Lou! Thank you to all who entered and for sticking around while I was away! I am so grateful for this blogland of ours and all the wonderful people in it!

Last Chance!

I'm drawing for the toadstools today! You still have time to post a comment!

My Candle on the Water

Saturday my little girl danced her heart out. All her hard work paid off. She looked like an angel and I had tears by the time it was over. By nightfall, she had fallen asleep behind me, on a chair in our family room, hair still up and glittery, exhausted from all the fun and excitement.

I always feel so blessed to have my two girls, but to see Lillian dance is a miracle for me. You see, she was born with severe club foot...in both feet. The doctors said that had she been born 40 years earlier, that she would be bound to a wheelchair forever. She wore casts from the time she was 2 weeks to 7 months old with a surgery at 4 months. You can still see the scars where they opened up her feet and lengthened her tendons. The scars don't matter in the least...she runs, she jumps, she skips, she DANCES...and loves every minute of it. Thank goodness for miracles. When I am old and in a retirement home, my little "candle on the water" floating on the stage will be a sharp image in my mind.

Taking a Break...

Hello all :) It's almost 3 am here in the desert and I'm getting ready for a non-Hannah Montana, yet Hannah Montana party. Before I get back to work, I wanted to share my toadstool from Lucy Kate Crafts. I am pretty sure that mine made it there by now. My partner, Ginger of Loves to Dream, loves buttons. I had such a hard time deciding what I was going to do for it when my Lillian found the perfect fabric. She is such a handy, crafty, friend. She sews and paints with me all the time. I am so in love with my little girls...gee I get sentimental in the wee hours of the morning. :)

And guess what?? I made an extra set to give away to a sweet blogger friend! Who will it be? I don't know! If you love buttons too, leave a comment here and you'll be entered! Thank you to all that leave me comments! They are bright spots in my day! Drawing will be on Thursday the 26th!!

For a Little Explorer...

How cute is this little guy?? He is the son of a LONG time friend of ours. The kind of friend that you know will always be a friend, not matter where you live, or what you are doing. The kind of friend that always greets you with a smile and a "Hey Guys!" Our fabulous friend and his equally fabulous wife (who sings opera...how cool is that?!) were blessed with an adorable son, Keegan.

They found a wallpaper border that they loved, called Cubby the Explorer. I believe it is discontinued now. They liked it because they thought about how their little guy has a whole new world to explore and how exciting all that newness is.This is our gift to him. I tried to make it match the bears as best as I could. I have the bears on hand for my parties and Lillian stuffed it for him.

We got the clothes at Build a Bear and I embroidered his name on the cap. He is not attached so he can come down and explore Keegan's new room and play.
This is the night light, fireflies with vellum wings, sticks, and leaves.
Welcome little Keegan! Better get started...it's a big, big world!

Deena's Garden Tour for a Cure

Here is my little piece of the desert. It's not much, but we've done a lot of work in it the past couple months. Digging up beds here and there, decorating the fairy tree, etc. Before the kids, we used to have a grown up garden, everything very matchy matchy. Lil was born and we not only had time to tend it, but didn't see it as a livable space for a child to play. By extending the patio, adding misters, and little magical touches, it is becoming a no longer matchy garden, but a garden that has things in it that makes everyone happy. I didn't show it all...one day I will. We did just put up a swing for Madeline Mae on the fairy tree. She loves it, sings wee the whole time, and the windchimes sing along with her sing she is practically moving the whole tree!

That's all I can write...I have to get back to my Father's Day duties. Love you Deena! So happy to hear your wonderful news! xoxo

In the fairy tree...

Our bird feeder...a find at an antique store...even though I don't think it is that old!

We have a hummingbird that visits us and a huge yellow and black butterfly. Our fairy trees grows lemonems (as Lillian once called them).

Under the fairy tree... a fairy house in progress and our first visitor! Lillian is growing wildflowers here from seed...they aren't up yet.

Playhouse for the girls...

Happy Father's Day

A little girl needs Daddy

For many, many things:

Like holding her high off the ground

Where the sunlight sings!

Like being the deep music

That tells her all is right

When she awakens frantic with

The terrors of the night.

Like being the great mountain

That rises in her heart

And shows her how she might get home

When all else falls apart.

Like giving her the love

That is her sea and air,

So diving deep or soaring high

She'll always find him there.

-Nicholas Gordon

Happy Father's Day to Awesome Guy and also my camera shy Dad! :)

Happiness is CUTE! :)

Imagine my surprise this morning when I saw that my "Happiness Is Where He Is" is featured on Cuteable ! I read the site everyday, but never dreamed they would ever find me! I am tickled pink! Or should I say blue? Here she is again...she is on ebay. :)

I Love Crackles and Wallpaper

Hey all! :) Here are some goodies that went out. My bluebird giveaway, just because gift to a fellow blogger, and Caroline's 100 year birthday card were among them. I recently got my hands on some wallpaper books and am loving them. I sewed these envelopes with my machine. Here is Caroline's card. It's a collage made with more wallpaper, one of my girls, and even a fabric swatch! I don't know if you can see it, buy she's holding the number 100.
Lillian wanted to put her little touch on it too. I put our picture in it because I thought she might like to know who it came from. :)
Here's my new item on etsy! It was a tarnished silver frame. Tarnished because who has time to polish? Plus, when I used to (I used to work in the china department in a department store), I hated it....I always used too much and could never get it off again!
It's painted and crackled and looks like REALLY old wood. Even the velvet backing has been aged. What's in the middle? Why more wallpaper of course!

I'm off to buy embroidery floss...awesome guy tried to pick it up for me since I'm watching some of the neighborhood kids and can't get out...Walmart doesn't carry it anymore! He went to three Walmarts and a Joann's, but it was closed by the time he got there! Poor guy!

On a family note, Lil's ballet recital is coming up soon and she won't take her "real" ballerina shoes off...it's the cutest! Hugs to all!

Happiness Is Where He Is

There are a lot of things this bluebird has yet to do and places she has yet to see. She spends most of her time taking care of the little ones in her humble nest. She loves her role and adores her family. Those things? Those places? They can wait. Right now, in this moment, she IS happy. It's the end of the day, the sun is setting, and her love returns to the nest. This is the life they are building together. And she knows, that no matter what she does or where she goes, true happiness is where he is.



This was SO much fun to do. I drew this on the wood on Mother's Day evening, overwhelmed by how sweet awesome guy was to me with all that he planned. He was SO tired by the end of the day. The card he gave me had a one bluebird on it and when you opened it, it played "Life Would Be a Dream." I think it is my favorite card from him by far. I wood burned the drawing with my soldering tip lol and then painted it so there was a sunset in the background. I LOVE doing gradients like that! The bottom is an altered raspberry and goes up to the flesh color by Delta. It is more orange than flesh to me, but I love using it for sunsets...it almost has a glow to it.

She's on ebay and I have a new item in my etsy too with another coming tomorrow...a silver frame that I painted and of course, crackled!

A big thank you to Adri for showing me how to do a light box. You like? I am loving it...even redid my singing church photo!

It's my Mom's birthday, so I am off to get the girls ready! Have a great day all!