Valentines, glitter, sprinkles and girls…

Three years ago I started doing a Valentine Tea Party for my nieces and a few of their friends.

They {Katie and Abbie} are considerably younger than my other nieces and nephew as well as my own kids so it’s fun for me to be able to do special things for them.  It also helps {immensely} that we live in the same area.

I had hoped that it wouldn’t be a one-time event…and it hasn’t.  They were 4 and 6 then and now they are 6 and 8.  We’ve had the same group of girls each year and this year we added two more.

We had a splendid little tea party.  As the girls get older they actually now drink their tea and with less sugar…although they use plenty of that.

I tried, for the first time, a little fondue bar with mini cupcakes, a dipping sauce and LOTS of sprinkle options.  It was a grand addition to the other assortments of sweets and goodies which included heart-shaped pizza.

They really liked the sprinkles…

We made a little crafty banner with each girl’s initial on it.

This was more an experiment but it is very cute.  I  took a picture of them, added the words and the sucker ring.  The ring is a little overpowering but they couldn’t wait to get home and give this Valentine to themselves. there is something about sucker rings and little girls…they just love them!

I really made out with a lovely assortment of homemade Valentines.

I made these hats last month for me and them…I got to use them as decoration for the past month and they got to take one home.  Too much fun…they really loved them!

It just wouldn’t be complete without the silly picture…

Better than flowers…

One of my favorite things about making charms is knowing that I can be a part of preserving and sharing family memories and history.

I wanted to include the original picture because it didn’t come out very clear in my photo of the charm.  This is such a beautiful picture and it says so much.

Marie’s grandfather is leaving on a train for the Korean War.  He has a  loving wife and three beautiful little girls…and one on the way.

Saying Goodbye!

I also did a Christmas ornament for her.

I’m wishing I had worked a little harder on my pictures here.  Winter’s light is not always good to me…

Speaking of Christmas ornaments…

Before Christmas I was able to get an ornament and a charm out to a friend.

She had been in the hospital and her family asked that no flowers be sent.  It doesn’t sound like too many people ‘listened’ to that request but it encouraged me to think about what else I could do for her.

With my mom’s resent visit{s} to the hospital I knew that although flowers are nice they are SO expensive and it’s hard when you are trying to recover from a serious illness/surgery to lay there and watch your beautiful flowers die.

I’m just being real here…

Is it possible that we send flowers to make ourselves feel better?

My mom had one gal show up with two quilting magazines {knowing my mom loves quilting} and a crossword puzzle book.  very thoughtful

I was thankful that Amber~Tres Birds Photography had recently done a photo shoot with this family so, with her permission, I grabbed a few pictures and went to work.  My dear friend has some challenging months ahead of her and she mentioned that she would be wearing her charm everyday as she walks through this journey.

Better than flowers?   I think so!

Christmas Love::

We received this thoughtful card from our church family yesterday.

The reason I love it most?….it’s because they show us their love and appreciation throughout the whole year.

We love this group of people!!!

All That Glitter Christmas Open House

Last night, going to the All That Glitter Christmas Open House was a pre-holiday treat!

I took a whole bunch of pictures so if you weren’t able to go last night and can’t slip it in today then at least you can have a few visuals to tickle your fancy…

I didn’t get my own good picture of the girls so I borrowed this from Holly’s Facebook page.

cutie~patooties…that’s what they are!

Everything was stunning, beautiful, festive and glittery.

Their little shop on Trent Avenue is a treat any time of the year and is open most Saturdays.

Sweet Treats!

I love the letter E…it always draws me in…

There will be a drawing for the new Farm Chicks Christmas book which has been autographed by Serena and the other gals who have been featured in the book.

These beauties wanted to come home with me…

…and these did! {oh, lucky me!♥}

for the love of red As I write this we are having our first snow fall and I am feeling very anxious to get out the Christmas decorations…I guess I can at least get the music started…   let it snow, let it snow, let it snow….

This is a picture that Debbie of Mermaids of the Lake shared with me on Facebook…thx. Debbie

glittery edibles!

Since I’m going to see those All That Glitter girls today, I wondered what I could take them so I decided to bake up some of my Great Aunt Betty’s Sugar Cookies and sprinkle them with glitter…ummm, I mean sprinkles!

Oh, Yum!  These are definitely a family favorite and have an almost magical appeal.

All That Glitter…

This weekend my girlfriends, Holly and Becky, are going to have a Christmas Open House at their store in Spokane.

I’m excited to go tomorrow night {Friday}…can’t wait to see these girls again and find out what wonderful glittery creations they’ve been working on.

For a fun, fun post on them and their store go HERE.

Farm Chicks Christmas…

Any day that I can go to Chaps is a good day.

Today was just one of those days.  Serena was there for a book signing for her new book, The Farm Chicks Christmas.

I bravely went there by myself hoping to see some of my gals when I got there…but, they just weren’t there yet.  I whispered to Serena when I got there, “Is there anyone I know here”…she took me around but I didn’t see a familiar face.  So I grabbed my book and got in line to pay.  As the BraveGirl in me was working it’s way out, I asked the gal in front of me, Stephanie, if she was alone and would she like to have breakfast together?  She was alone but wasn’t staying so we had a nice visit in line.

Then I saw another gal sitting by herself so I asked her if she was by herself {so brave of me}.  I had a very nice, long visit with Corey {sp?}.  Delightful gal!  This is a picture of her and her beautiful mom, Helen.

So, I’ll just say that even though I didn’t see any of ‘my peeps’ I had a wonderful morning.

I did see Gladys and Celia as I was leaving… 🙂

Everything was joyful and beautiful.

…and grand!

It was fun to meet my FB friend, Nancy {leaning over with the cute glasses and beautiful smile} in person.  She was there to autograph the book as she has been featured in it.  {so nice to meet you, Nancy}

Celeste and Serena

Celeste you are such a great hostess…thanks for sharing some moments with me today!

The Happiest Place…

I woke up a few days ago in the happiest place on earth {so they say…I say it’s a wonderfully exhausting place…but that doesn’t make a very compelling tag line}

I was able to come with my daughter, Lauren and our friend Becky.  I’ll have to post more later.  Although I paid for a day’s worth of internet just so I could talk to you, writing a post on a computer other than my own just doesn’t work for me {apparently}.

..gotta love those shoes! {his not mine…he gets to dress for cuteness and I definitely have to dress for comfort while I’m here}

More TCC Favs…

Yes, folks…this is the gift {The Creative Connection Event} that keeps on giving.

I had a friend ask me on FB this morning if I miss MN.  I said ‘NO’…Honestly I love being HOME…but, once again, I’ll say that I’m so glad that I was able to go and I think about it all the time

{truly, truly, truly… I’m hoping to go again next year}

and I’ll share a few more hi-lights…

We shared one special dinner together {shared about it here…I also added a picture to that post}.  The Lisa Leonard charms were at the table in front of us and these bags, FULL of wonderful STUFF, were hanging on the back of each chair.

There were so many special touches…everywhere…the kind of special touches that gals love most.   {it makes my heart smile just thinking about it}

It was also fun to casually sit at a table with Melody Ross and use her Stamping Set to make this leather cuff.

I just couldn’t resist this shot…and yes, Trisha…I agree that having YOU would have made this moment complete!

So…what can I say…we found a {not-so} suitable substitute.

We had so many silly moments on this trip…it’s what happens when you have a roommate that just doesn’t want to go to sleep at night! 😉

Thanks, Amber, for letting me borrow some photos from THIS POST!

in the park…

This week my daughter is home.  She brought her best friend, Sarah, with her and her ‘nanny-girl’, Holly.

I say nanny-girl because Lauren was her nanny from the time she was a newborn until she was two…she is now four and Lauren loves to take any opportunity to spend time with her.

We have a perfect little park right in town that has a river running through it {a very small river}.  Today we decided that we would pack a picnic lunch and let Holly play in the water.

Holly has always called Lauren, Lala {as in la la…sing a song…}.

…such a fun, girly day!