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…

:so{very}lucky in love:

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could know that everyone was loved♥.

I literally feel enough love♥ in my life that it makes me want to share…maybe that is one of the key ingredients that does help us reach out to others…impact the lives of other people in a positive way…share ourselves with others.

I appreciate every bit of love♥ and support that I receive from others.

our parents

our kids

our family members

our friends

i say ‘our’ because when i said “i do”, his became mine

…and when I said “i do” I didn’t really know what I was agreeing to {exactly} I just knew that I was willing to ‘do’ what I needed to ‘do’ to make this work…till death do us part.  We’ve been ‘doing’ for almost 28 years and the journey keeps getting sweeter…it’s never been perfect but always good and right .

Yes, I am {so very} lucky in love♥…let me count the ways:

1)  when we were dating Mr T. would write me poems on parchment paper and burn the edges

2) he has always loved♥ buying me jewelry {nice jewelry}

3) he loves♥ to take me on vacation {especially cruises…we don’t go often but it’s very special when we do}

4)  he puts silly thoughts into songs

5)  he lets me have girl parties and he even helps me get ready for them

6)  he takes being ‘the provider’ very seriously and does it very well

7)  he makes sure that we are warm by getting wood and keeping the fire{s} going {no small task}

8)  he lets me watch Hallmark movies and will even watch them with me

9) he often gives me the remote control when we watch TV in the evenings {this is BIG}

10) he lets me dream

and he just plain loves♥ me on the good days and the bad days!

I love♥ him too!

We’ve actually become quite boring and we really like it that way!  😉

of Love and Valentines…

…thinking today of the Forever Valentines who brought ‘us’ together and am so thankful for their LOVE and COMMITMENT to one another!

Thanks Mom and Dad!

…and getting ready for 7 little girls!

I’ll take more glitter and tea, please?

I’m not sure I can adequately describe yesterday’s Valentine Tea and Glitter Workshop but I’ll try and hopefully the pictures will fill in nicely where my words didn’t.

Thanks to Erin Hudson Photography for doing such a beautiful job capturing the day.

I was so excited when I woke up, it felt like Christmas morning.

There were 20 gals here who knew how to make the most of this fun day.

They were such gracious guests and oh, so CREATIVE.  With some instruction and inspiration from Becky Ellis and Holly Baublitz of Spokane’s All That Glitter, each Valentine Banner that left was exquisite.

I’m really not trying to brag, but the food was beautiful and delicious.

Thanks to Meyer Imports for sending a little ‘goody’ for each guest.

More YUM!

I think that this is my favorite picture so far…Hollie and her “J.O.Y.” banner…. so beautiful!

I actually sat down and did a little creating…I’m happy to say that today I finished my banner.

Here’s the whole crew.

An amazing group of gals….Can we do it again???   Soon???

♥

Truly this was a day that fit right in to the design concept that I have for my Bσhσ Art Reatreats.

An unconventional, artistical gathering  to renew Body, Soul and Mind…with a bit of added whimsy here and there!

the Importance of such little things…

I don’t usually get so excited about Valentine’s Day.

I know that my upcoming workshop/tea has something to do with it.

We had an open house/Sunday brunch here last week for the people in our church which gave me a nudge to take advantage of an excuse to get some decorations out….that helped a bit with my excitement.

I also have my {3rd annual} Valentine Tea Party coming up that I do for my nieces and their friends each year.  That really has me excited.

party 1 & party 2

Actually, it’s quite possible that since this is my first year without any of my own kids around I now have time to enjoy such {un}important things.

Mmmm…that’s an interesting thought!

Cowgirl Valentine…

I have a sweet cousin who is a cowgirl through and through.

I saw this picture in a late 1800’s scrapbook that I have and I knew that I had to make a charm for her.

~: ♥ :~

It seems that I’m always keeping an eye out for something for her…

…and that ‘something’ slightly resembles the fellar with the loving look in his eye…

Just in case you haven’t heard…

Pantone®, a company who has been the world’s leading authority on color for almost 50 years, chooses one color each year and names it Color of the Year.

While this may not have a life-changing affect on you {or me}, it does influence color and design world-wide…therefore, I find it interesting.

It might also be interesting to see how Honeysuckle weaves it’s way into our lives in 2011…

I know for sure that Honeysuckle will be find it’s way into my home on February 5th when

Holly and Becky from All That Glitter

and I team together for a

Glittery Workshop and Valentine Tea.

I’ll have more information for you tomorrow.  Space will be limited so let me know if you are interested!

Valentines, sprinkles, glitter and girls

Sweet girls are just so much fun.

I really like sweet girls.

I would do just about anything for sweet girls.

I have two sweet young nieces and I love to do special things for them.

they don’t seem to mind

This was our 2nd annual Valentine Party {here was our 1st} with my two nieces plus 3 girls of their choosing.

I made aprons for them and they added their hand prints.

I have another sweet niece (Lindsey) who came and helped them make some Valentines.

We had some tasty yummies! {using 3 lbs. of butter will do that}

a little ring-around-the-rosy

and we ended up with five happy girls

FooFooFun…

It’s really so much fun to sew for little girls…and ♥Valentine’s Day♥ is a particularly wonderful occasion!

L*O*V*E

Taking good pictures is my greatest challenge when it comes to maintaining my blog!

Most days I feel that it is a challenge that I’m up too.

Other days, I am so unsure…

This is one of those days.

Being forced to ‘take it outside’, I’m still not happy with the pictures.

It’s hard to go wrong though when there is a combination of red and polka dots thrown in…and a few fresh snowflakes.

And then there are those times when a fuzzy, little creature joins in…

Oh well, it’s time to get ready for a party…like the one we had last year.  The invites are in the mail and since I’m dealing with young ladies between the ages of 5 & 7 there is no turning back now!

I’ll draw a name in the morning for my valentine give-a-way so skip over here, leave a comment and you too will be entered in to be a WINNER!!!