I'm dreaming Summer and PINK flowers...

Welcome.... to PINK SATURDAY...

I can hardly wait till summer. It's my favorite time of year, and PINK is my favorite color. You guessed it, so I plant Lots & Lots of PINK flowers. 25 flats of PINK inpatients and I love every minute planting them. That's about 1200 flowers in different shades of PINK! I am so looking forward to the spring. It's been a very cold Michigan winter. My son is graduating this year, and we are planning a graduation party. I will begin working outside as soon as it begins to warm up. I can hardly wait. Here are a few photos for you to enjoy from last summer...

If you love PINK stop by How Sweet the Sound and see some other wonderful post about the color PINK. I don't know about you, PINK makes me feel so girly!!! Have a wonderful Saturday and enjoy your weekend.

The flowers of late winter and early spring

occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size.

Resale Shop Treasures

Is there something you are hooked on? Come and join in the Hooked on Friday's blog party and discover what other fellow bloggers are hooked on. Thrift stores are definitely something I am hooked on. A few weeks ago I posted HERE some of my thrift store treasures. I promised I would show you some of my creations using those treasures. Here are two plates that I picked up totaling $1.50. Can you believe it! I had the idea in my mind and who I was going to make it for. My friend Amy loves these colors, so I knew it would be perfect.

I also picked up a couple of tapered candlestick holders for .50 cents each.

A small sundae dish.... for .50 cents

I got out my favorite glue and My Creation was complete.

The entire project cost me $2.50 and makes a lovely gift, or make one for yourself. It is perfect to use for serving desserts or fruit and dip.

I hadn't seen Amy in a few weeks and I know she needed a pick-me-up, so what girl doesn't Love chocolate! I made some chocolate covered strawberries for the platter.

I arranged them on the tiered plate. With a decorative polka dot bow and a little card. My gift was complete and ready to give to my friend. It was so sweet, she posted about the gift

From My Heart ...HERE.

Next time you take a trip to the thrift store, stop by and look at all the plates and glassware. It's amazing what you can create for little cost when you think outside of the box! Wishing you a wonderful and creative Wednesday.

"A friend loves at all times."Proverbs 17:17

It's Pink Saturday...

Welcome to PINK SATURDAY.

I love Pink and I love aprons, so what could be better than aprons that are pink. To me it doesn't matter what shade of PINK, what type of pattern the fabric has or even if it is a half apron or full apron. If it's PINK and an it's an apron, it's perfect! Nothing could be more girly than a PINK apron. So I thought I would combine two of my favorite things and treat you to a slide show of some of my PINK apron creations. By no means am I a computer wiz, so I was quite pleased with myself when I was able to create this slide show! Relax for a minute and enjoy all the PINK...

The PINK flowers and PINK dish gloves I've embellished some of the apron with just add to the girly feel. If PINK is your favorite color stop by How Sweet the Sound to see some wonderful posts which all have something to do with the color PINK.

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:8

Submissions for Somerset Life Magazine

Are there certain things you are "Hooked On"? I love magazines and I am definitely hooked on the publications that Stampington & company publish. I decided to take another chance and send in two more submissions to Somerset Life Magazine for some of the current challenges that they were holding. It's kinda scary at first, but since I got my feet wet with being published in the new "Apron.ology Magazine" I figured I would give it another try. I guess they can only say NO, so why not take a chance... It's this just the sweetest picture. I wanted to use this in my creation.

The challenge was titled, "Celebrations of Life". The requirements for the challenge was to send in something you would use to decorate for a celebration or party. I decided to send in my idea for a Baby Shower centerpiece. I had come up with this idea for a friend to use for her daughter's Baby shower a few months ago. They were a big hit. I found this wonderful teapot at the resale shop for $2.50. It was perfect pink and blue, what more could I ask for. The tiny roses screamed baby! I nestled the photo on top of the teapot and added a sheer ribbon bow with some of my favorite buttons to the handle. I just placed the teapot on a glass cake dish and added some iridescent shed.

I put a photo on each side of the teapot so that it could be seen from wherever the guests were sitting. The photo is embellished my favorite gold paint, silk flower petals that have rhinestone centers, old buttons and ribbon. I also added the word CHERISH. It's a wonderful centerpiece to make for a baby shower and so many of the resale shops have teapots. It's fun to mix and match the teapots and have a different one for each table.

The second challenge I submitted something for was titled, "Sisters". I decided to make one of my memory boxes that I have on My Etsy Shop. I found an old photo of my two sisters and myself. We were all dressed up with our Easter bonnets and matching capes!

Old buttons, ribbon, gold paint and an antique key were used for the embellishments. I'm going to give this to my sisters for Chri

stmas this year.

If you have never submitted any of your creations, let me urge you to take a chance. You could very well be surprised to find out that your work of art has been chosen to be in one of Somersets Magazines. There are many challenges that they run throughout the year. Let me give you a little nudge...Take a look HERE to see what they are currently looking for. It may be scary at first, but once you do it, you will be happy that you did it.

If you want to see what other bloggers are "Hooked On" check out Hooked on Houses you will be amazed at some of the wonderful posts!

CHERISH...to hold dear.

Making a Cloche

Today is a party. Stop by the "I can Make This party". There are lost of links with ideas of wonderful gifts you can make for this holdiay season.

Have you ever bought things for a project and just let them sit around? Well this is the case with my latest project. I purchased the items months ago and just kept moving them off and on my worktable. Finally, I decided to complete it. I've seen many articles about "Making a Cloche". For less than $5.00 I was able to purchased the glassware, a vase from Wal-Mart, and a votive and candle stick holder from Michaels.

All I needed was some glue and it would be complete. This glue worked out wonderful for the project.

The problem was, I had no idea what to put inside it. Over the past few weeks I had decided to sort and scan all my childhood photos and put them on a CD for each of my siblings and myself. As I was scanning, I found this photo and there was my idea.... A photo of my siblings and myself (far right) after an Easter egg hunt many years ago. The photo brought tears to my eyes. It was taken in the backyard of my grandma's house. My grandma passed away about 25 years ago, and the house no longer is there. What wonderful memories, that have been tucked away. As I close my eyes I can see them perfectly, My grandma's house, her standing in the kitchen. Isn't it just wonderful how when we see an old photograph and it can quickly bring back those times that we have tucked away in our hearts. I had forgotten about the old bird stand on the grass or how my sisters and I had decided to start scrubbing the aluminum on the garage and quickly gave up. If you look at the photo you can see that the bottom 3 rows are much whiter than the rest! Grandma didn't care that we stopped cleaning, we were her pride and joy. She was just happy we were there spending time with her. As I sit here writing this, I have tears in my eyes. Where did those years go? What a blessing to have those cherished memories and the photo that has unlocked those memories for today.

A single word sums up everything...MEMORIES The perfect plate to set my creation on...

A few old buttons and a strand of crystal beads that I purchased at Christmas became the perfect embellishments.

I thought it was finished....

Maybe one more embellishment....A large old button.

Now it is complete. It sits on the table between the two chairs in our family room. As I have my morning coffee or work on my bible study, I glance over at the encased photo and joy fills my eyes at all the wonderful memories and people I have been blessed with in my life!

This was an easy project which brought so much joy. Think about gaterhing up an old photo and displaying it. You'll be amazed at the joy it will bring to your heart. Thanks for letting me share a wonderful memory with you ....

MEMORIES...that which existed as present ...becomes past.

Happy Valantines Day and the WINNER IS...

Happy Valentines Day!

I am heading off for a day of shopping with my very special Valentine. He is NOT a shopper, so I was quite surprised when he asked me to spend the day with him "shopping". There is nothing specific that we are looking for, just a day spent together. Sounds like a wonderful Valentines Day to me!. Just me and my hubby!

I want to thank so many of you for posting comments and leaving me emails about my Etsy Shop and entering my FIRST giveaway. Your comments were so sweet and touched my heart. Thanks for the wonderful suggestions.

Now for the fun part.... The winner of my giveaway is....

Tammy from "Tammy's Time Flies".

Congratulations!!!

I am wishing each of you a wonderful Valentines Day. May your day be blessed with Love and Happiness.

Love is missing someone whenever you're apart,

but somehow feeling warm inside because you're close in heart.

A Handmade Valentine...

Well with Valentines Day fast approaching, I thought I would share with you a Valentine I made for my sweetie! I just can't bring myself to purchase a card at the local store. First of all the thought of spending $5.00 on a card that will more than likely be quickly glanced at, makes me cringe. I love to give and get handmade cards that have a special meaning. How about you? Would you rather get a handmade card? One of my husband's wonderful qualities is that he knows how I feel about cards. He is usually very creative when it comes to card giving. I have a box of old cards which I store in my closet. Each cherished card is labeled with the year I received it. Every now and then when I spot the box, I will slowly look at them. Some date back twenty five years. They are boxed up with all the letters we wrote to each other while in college. Do young couples even write letters to each other anymore? We didn't have text messaging or cell phones years ago, so I waited with anticipation for the mail to be delivered to my college dorm. What wonderful memories!

Here is the card that I made for my husband...

It's an accordion fold out card. I love to incorporate photos of our family over the past year. There we are... My Valentine!

FAITH...HOPE...LOVE... but the greatest of these is LOVE.. I included a little pull out tag where I could write a sweet little keepsake note. (I hadn't written the note yet, so I just put in last years note to show you where it would go.) It's all neatly folded and tucked away in the matching gift bag. I'm planning a quite dinner for our Valentines celebration. I want to rent the movie Fireproof for us to watch. I'm currently doing a bible study about the "the Proverbs 31 Woman". We are incorporating the book "Love Dare" that goes along with the movie. It seems like a good movie to watch on Valentines. If you haven't gotten your valentine a card, think about making one. It doesn't have to be fancy. Just make it a simple "Creation From your Heart". I definitely hooked on Valentines...Stop by Hooked on Houses to see what other people are hooked on and don't forget to sign up for my Valentines Giveaway HERE. I will be choosing a winner on Saturday. Wishing you a wonderful Thursday and thanks for stopping by. LOVE Bears all things, Believes all things, Hopes all things, Endures all things. LOVE Never ends. 1 Corinthians 13:7-8

Valentines is Coming...Lets Have a Giveaway!

I love Valentines Day, so lets CELEBRATE by having my first giveaway. So many of you have left such sweet comments about my pincushions, and I have sold quite a few on my Etsy Shop. So that will be the Prize. This lovely mini teacup pincushion with matching gift bag and a new item that I am going to start stocking in the Etsy shop. They are wonderful little page markers and I'm going to sell them in sets of 6.

Even if you don't sew this would be a lovely addition to any craft room.

These would make a great little gift or a thank you for someone special.

How can you enter to win this giveaway? You can have two chances....

1. First chance to win....Visit my Etsy Shop (click on the Etsy store button on the top right side of my blog). Leave a comment right after this post or email me if you don't have a blog but enjoy visiting. Please comment by giving me a suggestion about my Etsy Shop. I am new at selling on Etsy and I would like to know how I can improve it. Let me know what items you would like me add, what you don't think will sell and why, or even suggestions on adjusting my pricing. Whatever the comment is will be helpful.

2. Second chance to win.... Mention this giveaway linking back to this post. You can use my blog header to add to your post.

A winner will be selected and posted on Valentines Day, February 14th! Wishing all of you a wonderful weekend. Thanks for visiting and good luck.

Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time,

destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end.

Been Busy Stocking Up...

Thought I' share with you what I've been up to the last few days. I've been working on some Etsy items, just in time for any last minute Valentine gifts. More red and white pincushions, rooster tassels and an apron that will make any girl feel like a million bucks. Don't you just love this flower. HOT PINK may favorite!

Don't you wear pearls with your apron?

I added matching dish gloves with the arpron. Pink and Lime Green what a great combination.

More pincushions. The Red & White ones have been a big hit.

This one is my favorite...

This is an espresso cup. I Love the shape of it. They all come with a matching gift bag. Finally got to making the rooster tassels many of you have asked about. If you don't see the right color, email me and I can make a custom one just for you! I've added a button on the ribbon tie. I have one just like this hanging in my kitchen.

Stop by on Saturday....I'm posting my VERY FIRST giveaway just in time for Valentines!Enjoy your Friday. The weekend is almost here. WHIPPIE!

"The dedicatd life is the life worth living."

Ann Dillard

WHIPPIE.....It came in the mail today!!!

I wish you could have only seen how excited I was when the UPS driver handed me the white envelope and I saw the return address was from Somerset Life Magazine. I ripped open the envelope and began squealing. The first edition of new Apronology Magazine. Yep, the magazine with my apron and article beginning on page 34. Here's the cover of the new Apronology magazine which hit newsstands on Feb. 1st. Joann Fabrics and Michaels Crafts carry the Somerset Life Magazines.

It is a beautiful magazine and if you LOVE aprons, it's a must have. It is filled with eye candy for the woman who love to create with fabric. The apron on the front cover was created by Dawn at "The Feathered Nest" . Her work is always amazing and this is apron is no exception. Dawn is a wonderful person who I met through her blog. She had seen some of my aprons and encouraged me to send in an apron for the magazine. I would have never done it on my own! Isn't it wonderful when we encourage one another. As I flipped ecstatically through the magazine my two teenage boys thought I had lost my mind. If I jump up and down and scream when they hit a triple during baseball season, that is totally normal. Screaming with excitement about an apron magazine...that's not normal to them!!! At that moment they thought I lost my mind. What they can't understand is how I can get so totally excited about something made out of fabric. I know as you read this, you understand exactly what I am saying! They laughed at the apron the day I sent it in, questioning if it really was an apron or a dress. Well I guess that was understandable....it's not your typical apron. I copied the photos from the magazine for you to look at. You will be amazed at all the wonderful creations in this magazine that are made out of simple fabric. This magazine has so many truly wonderful artists that have contributed.

Here's a look at my apron that is featured in the magazine. This is NOT me wearing the apron. They photographed it in California.

A view of the neckties on the apron.

Over at Somerset they named it "Black and Creme Dream". I like that!

A pair of matching dish gloves. Why not wash the dishes in style... Here are some photos i took of the apron, before I shipped it off to Somerset Life. Are you saying to yourself, "that doesn't look like any apron I have ever seen." It's really more of an "accessory" to be worn over your dress for that special dinner party that you are preparing for. Made of silk , tulle, Swaroski crystals and ribbon roses with tiny rhinestones. Doesn't every girl want to greet her dinner guests wearing one of these? The rhinestone broach is the perfect embellishment! Can't do the dishes without a pair of fancy dish washing gloves. These are guaranteed to make you feel like a million bucks while doing a sink full of dirty dishes!! Check out my Etsy shop where you can purchase a wonderful pair for Valentines or email me about custom ordering a pair of the black and cream ones! The back of the apron had a large bow made out of cream silk and the neck ties were finished off with beaded tassels. No need to wear any jewelry with this little number.

Head on out to get your copy of Apronology. They were in stores on Feb. 1st. Once you look at some of the amazing aprons you will be heading to the fabric store to start creating your one of a kind apron! Barb at "Treasures From My Heart" has a wonderful tutorial about making this bird's nest and a giveaway. Head on over and check it out.

It's Friday....Head on over to HOOKED ON HOUSES and see what others are hooked on. Hope you enjoyed all the photos. I hope I didn't sound as if I was bragging about the apron. I was just so excited to see something I created printed in a magazine. I wanted to share it with many of you who have been an inspiration to me! Now let me encourage you, if you love to create send in something to somerset Life all you need is a little nudge. You never know, you may be viewing your next creation in newsprint!!!

I like hugs and I like kisses,

But what I really love is help with the dishes!