making, doing lately...

...decanting whole tea leaves into cute chalkboard-labeled container (sitting on the table where we see it makes us use & enjoy more often now!)

...sprucing up a mirror with a pretty Shanna Murray decal

...making sweet baby photobooks on Shutterfly (this is a little addicting and fun!)

...making cards & celebrating our 10th (oh wow, I can't believe it) anniversary last weekend!!!

...framing pressed plants to spruce up the walls

...painting...getting into painting again...trying some abstract...the photo above shows a painting in the very beginning stages!  I really don't know what I'm doing for certain but its fun and a little stress-relieving!

fabric buttons...

I discovered a new, fun thing just recently... I picked up these vintage "cover-your-own" button kits at my local thrift store the other day. I do like old buttons...but to make your own!?! Exciting, right? I know! I can't stop... I had just bought some new fabric prior to this with all these little circles filled with cute things like flowers and birds. The bird one fit perfectly onto this tiny button. And I had a tiny scrap of vintage fabric that I always thought was so sweet...and it was just perfect for making a set of 3 cheery, yellow buttons. Hmm...the crafty ideas are really flying now!

baby things {of the bird & owl variety}

Just a few of my favorite baby things so far...yes, it's beginning! ;)

First up, a very old Swedish postcard with owl illustration. I framed it within a pale green & white striped matte and white frame.

I think it's really sweet, but does anyone know Swedish?

"To du ar mig en ljus fogel"

I did this google translation thing and if accurate, it means something like:

To me you are a bright bird!

And speaking of "bright birds," secondly, this modern LED blue bird nightlight from Target. They also have an adorable mushroom one too...it was a tough choice.

Finally, my favorite little snapsuit/gown I've bought so far...I found it a cute, new little baby boutique here in Duluth. I also spotted this one and more sweet Baby Chai clothing online right here.
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P.S. Thank you for each of the sweet, encouraging comments left on my last post. It's such a joy to get such thoughtful, kind comments on my artwork!

moo...

A few weeks ago I took advantage of the free moo and Etsy business cards offer...I'd seen these offers before but never took the time to do them. But the cards are a very good quality and for free, why not try it out...there will likely be another offer again, if you haven't already tried it!

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It's another sunny, gorgeous day here in the North... Going to make a trip to the nursery today for annuals, tomatoes, and herbs!

customer cakes

I thought it'd be fun to share a few cake photos that customers have sent me using my cake toppers. I love being able to see my toppers in action...plus it's just fun to look at pretty cakes too, don't you think? Yum! :)

Happy Friday!

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P.S. Do you have a photo of a LillyBonBon cake topper-ed cake? Send it my way and I'd love to post your photo here too! (Anna?)

look-see...

If you need a little diversion from a long, cold Minnesota winter day, here're a few random links I'm enjoying today...take a look:

This is so sweet, I'm inspired to try making my own version.

I'm smitten with this pretty black horse.

A cute (new-to-me) Etsy shop right here.

And finally, check out this creative Minnesota love...it cracks me up.

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P.S. Our new computer works like magic! Lightning fast too! :)

~xoxo~

right now...

::Right Now::

Our computer has been doing odd things.

{and hub may just be coming home tonight with a new one.}

My craft desk is a disaster.

{and I just can't seem to get back into doing anything crafty...maybe I'm on "crafting overload" from Christmas?}

The streets are so, SO icy-slick.

{and my car slid down a hill today, but I ended up getting control of it pretty well, eventually.}

I started teaching a new class today to older adults.

{and only ONE hearing aid was lost!}

My toes are toasty in one of my favorite Christmas gifts.

{and they're the best slippers ever...I'm on my 2nd pair now but they last so long!}

in the studio {+ going red}

So I've been crafting up a storm lately...making some simple, complimentary tags today to go along with an order...and starting to work on some new deer sculptures for the shop......with red fingernails and all! I'm really getting into the season, I guess. Aren't they lovely?! ;) This is about as wild and crazy as I get!

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P.S. I put together a little "woodland" centerpiece for the table today using some reindeer moss and a sweet, white owl candle I recently purchased...see the sidebar photo!

Hunting...

Where I live, it's hunting season...the deer opener was last weekend...and I think it lasts for about 2 weeks? I guess I'm not certain of the specifics since neither Hub nor I hunt, but I do have some pretty cute recent deer acquisitions of my own...
This little one is so sweet & tiny...only about 2 inches tall.
And I love this one's antlers. It also comes apart in 3 pieces. Sort of a like a kinder egg toy!
And these 3 deer ornaments will soon receive a little crafty makeover of some sort. I'm thinking of painting over them in silver perhaps and doing some glittering maybe.

I know its only November 10th but...now that Christmas catalogs are starting to trickle in and the December issue of MS Living just came in the mail the other day, not to mention some LBB Christmas-y/Wintery projects I've been working on, I'm really starting to get excited!
What about you?

Red.White.Black.

I've been working on some new votives lately, including a custom order one for a gal who's mother used to own a shop with the word "ladybug" in it. Yesterday, with all of my tiny handcut ladybugs lined up on my desk, I was distracted by color and decided to take a mini-break (and give my scissor hands a rest!). I grabbed all the little things around me that I saw were in the colors of red and black. I have tons of things on my desk in shades of green, pink, and brown...so finding red & black was a bit more challenging. And then I tried my hand at a very hasty, impromptu (not to mention poorly lit) photo of this color compilation. I've seen these lovely photographs on blogs (or Etsy?) in the past where the artist has compiled various things/trinkets/misc... in just one shade (I think?) and then takes a photo of it (but I can't remember who or where?). Anyway, I always thought I'd like to try it sometime with my own trinkets...I guess because I delight in all the simple little things and it just looks cool when they're all organized by color. I really like organization too. ;) So like I said, mine was hasty and poorly photographed and sometime I'd like to try to do a better one...but here's my first attempt, as well as my new Ladybug Luminary papercut votive. I love how this one turned out. Ladybugs really are kinda cute and have since grown on me. Even at this time of year, when I'm pretty much ready for all bugs and slugs and other such garden critters to vanish until next year.

PGA & Family Artwork

We went to the first round of PGA Championship Tournament yesterday. Cameras were not allowed. Nor cell phones. So since I didn't have any photos from the event to share, I thought these handmade birthday cards (that Hub received the night before at a little suprise party for him) were the next best thing. The cards we get from our little nieces and nephew are always the best. We have a bevy of budding artists in our family.

The rope in the cute card above really stands out to me as I at times felt very much like cattle yesterday. The whole course was covered in rope. And you had to stay on the right side of the rope. Sometimes it would be moved from one pole to another so you could walk through before it was closed up again. Sort of like cattle, no?
We were there for over 10 hours and walked about a million miles. (Okay, more like 10 million.) My legs felt like they were about to fall off. We walked a lot. Did I mention that we walked a lot? It felt good though. I felt strong. But near the end of it I kept wanting to "borrow" the big, fluffy-looking, gray mic pick-up thingy that the cameramen would walk around with and put it close to the golfers as they were about to hit. It looked like one big cozy pillow. I just wanted to sit on it for a little while. That's all. Oh, and it was really hot and sunny too.

There was also some security around. But I didn't see anyone get arrested or in trouble, as this card may suggest. It's quite a cheery birthday card, don't you think? ;)
(It might make more sense to note that my nephew has a slight affinity for cops and crime-fighting in general.)

And we saw Tiger...a lot. I heard him say "thank you" to the lady right next to me who wished him good luck as he walked by us, just 2 feet away.

Other things...we saw 2 guys get hit by golf balls, just after the fact really. One was a spectator. One a PGA worker. And we watched as Ian Poulter ran off the fairway in his crazy plaid pants, escaping the (cattle) rope to use the nearby biffy. So from then on I referred to him as "plaid porta potty pants Poulter." Fun to say, right?

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Hope you have a lovely weekend! I plan on "not walking" very much. How about you?

Tiny Feather

I found this tiny feather yesterday. Can you guess who it belongs to?
Here's a clue...spot the emerald green on the tip of the feather?

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.

.

It's a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird feather!

We have a hummingbird feeder hanging from a little post within a flower planter on our deck and I found it clinging on the base of the feeder. I'm pretty certain that if not for that particular placement of the feather, these feathers would be nearly impossible to find given their diminutive size.

The hummers have been insanely busy here in recent weeks and I'm always fascinated whenever I watch them. I never seem to lose the awe and wonder I feel when I see them...the males have such a brilliant ruby throat, that looks almost like an other-worldly color when the light catches it just so...the amazing way they can fly backwards...the speed of their wings when they flutter at the feeder which my eyes can only absorb as a blur. They've also been chasing each other like crazy too. Perhaps its a game. Or perhaps they're just trying to keep the feeder all to themselves. Very seldom will 2 hummers cooperate and sit at the feeder together, drinking the sweet sugar water peacefully.

It's fun to hold just a bit of their emerald green-ness in my hands...to view it up close. Just how tiny is it? It's just a little over a 1/4 of an inch. Here's a little perspective...

Hope you're having a swell week so far! :)

Rather than Wrap, Punch!

We're celebrating a smattering of late summer birthdays and anniversaries at our home next weekend. In lieu of wrapping paper, I thought I'd adorn some of the plain brown gift boxes with white cardstock objects made by using a few of my craft punches...a chain of itty bitty flowers, hearts in a scalloped ring, and the ubiquitous butterfly trailing across two sides of a box.
Although I do love wrapping paper, I must confess this is much easier!

Watermelon Hearts

While cutting into a juicy watermelon the other day, I noticed that there almost appeared to be a trio of hearts in its cross-section. I'm not sure why I've never noticed this before?

As I was slicing it into pieces, I was inspired to pull out my heart cookie cutter and make some actual heart slices with a couple tiny basil leaves from my garden tucked alongside. How pretty would these be at a very lady-like lunch or tea party? I haven't seen this before but I'm sure I can't be the first one to use a cookie cutter on a watermelon, right?

So simple and sweet!

Unintentional Stamp Collecting

The other night, while cleaning off and reorganizing my "inspiration/bulletin/everything" board above my desk (as it has a tendency to become quite the catchall for most any little piece of paper), I realized I have a variety of stamps I've liked and tucked into places on my board in random fashion. Pulling them out and piling them up, I recalled why I'd kept these various stamps. I remember the "bird" stamp was one that Hub had given to me after work one day, shortly after we'd been married. He said he tore it off an envelope simply because it had a bird on it and he thought of me. Sweet memory. Then there are those I've kept simply for the neat design, like the "bee" and "love" ones. Or the recent "MN" stamp for our state. One from my cousin who lives in Israel...and a couple from my Japanese friend who sent a card from back home. Obviously these stamps are worth keeping since they come from foreign places.

Oh, and I'm often surprised to see what stamps come in the mail on envelopes from my mom & dad...being that my dad has quite a stamp collection of his own, it's not at all unusual for me to find tucked inside the envelope of a lovely handmade card from mum, a little note on a scrap of paper, written in my dad's scrawl saying, "save the stamps!"

A good reminder indeed.

Map Postcard {a tiny story}

While shopping at my newly found favorite antique shop down in the Cities last week, I came across a neat old postcard with cute little illustrations of a hunter, pheasant, deer, fisherman, etc... Of course I was drawn to it because it's a map of the region where we live. Plus it was in great condition and I thought it would be fun to frame and hang up in our guest room. And an added bonus is what's written on the back...postmarked in 1947 the writer starts out...

Dear Ethel,

You never said you liked map cards but I thought this one would be interesting...

She goes on to say...

Yes, I think Minnesota is pretty country but oh so cold in winter! Too bad we aren't all rich so we could go south with the birds!
I found it funny because who ever says they like "map cards"? Maybe in 1947 they did? But her statement about Minnesota winters and flying south couldn't be more true!

Yes, I know...I'm easily amused. ;)

I loathe...

…packing! But I love shoes. Hence the conundrum. Hub and I were in such a disagreement today over just how many shoes a girl really needs to pack for a trip. So I took some photos instead…to alleviate my packing stress.

I really can't complain though as I'm so looking forward to leaving behind this frozen tundra for a bit...yet not looking forward to the plane ride. Especially after seeing that plane in the Hudson River. Oh what a scary thing. Thankfully no serious injuries though!Have a happy weekend! :)

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P.S. Here are a few things I'm intrigued by, finding inspiring, and simply loving recently:

These terrariums...especially this red syrup one although sold already...have really been on my mind. I like how she styles her photographs too. They are just fun to look at.

This clutch...oh so sweet!

This sugar bowl candle...which I've long admired.

The sweetest pair of deer art print. LOVE at first sight!

This pretty floral fabric. (I'm still trying to inspire myself with regard to my sewing machine!)
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The Pink Bird Cage...

I fell in love with and just had to buy this pink bird cage last year, sometime back in May I think (remember?), and I'm ashamed a bit to admit that I have not put anything inside of it until just yesterday! But that is just completely me...I overthink things and try to figure out just the best thing to go inside it and all the while it sits (or hangs rather) looking so forlorn and empty!

I was frustrated by this fact the other day and had the idea to make a little collage of "love birds" to hang inside it...but I'm not too excited about how it turned out. I was more excited about the idea of it and now I'm really not thinking it looks all that great in there. So I'll just stick with it for the time being...until Feb 14th I guess.

So what do you put in a bird cage that is just for decor? If it were sitting someplace, I'd feel better about putting a pretty ivy plant in it as I had originally intended to do. But no way would I dare put one in there now with the little bench that sits below it. I can just imagine how many times Hub would stand up and bump into it with his head. I've thought about putting a votive in it. But I'd be reluctant to light it. I also had what I thought was a wonderful idea...but Hub didn't seem to share my same level of enthusiasm...I suggested we use it as a little place to leave each other love notes! Wouldn't that be the sweetest? To come up to our room and see a little note laying within pour moi! And no way would a real bird work inside of it! The bars are too far apart...not that I'd want to cage up a real bird anyhow. So my next idea I'm thinking will be to cut about 3 birds out of stiff pretty paper, in differing sizes and let them dangle within. I just want it to be something fun to look at, a little bit artsy...that's all really. So we'll see what happens next...let me know if you have any suggestions. Really important stuff going on here, huh? Well, my brain is a bit frozen as I've been tucked away today for most of the day working on a couple fun new projects I have in the hopper. Other than dropping Hub off at work and going to pick him up, I didn't leave the house at all. Which was not half bad considering the temperature was 23 below this morning (40 below with the windchill!)...hence why I played "chauffeur" this morning.

Given this frigid cold snap we're in, these mittens I'm knitting couldn't be more timely! I finally finished my first one last weekend. I'm a bit of a slow knitter...so at this rate I may have the 2nd one finished in time for next winter. In reality it didn't take me too long (considering I was learning and had to "undo" things a few times) and I think this pattern must be for very simple, beginner's mittens...which is perfect for me. I'm planning to bring along my knitting to do the other one whilst on holiday...oh vacation, please come quickly!