Close to Her Heart

I enjoyed one of my sister blogs so much today that I decided I would borrow her idea and put my spin on it.
My niece and her daughter (my great-niece) are leaving for a two week vacation to Germany soon. I see my great niece most everyday and while she is away...I will miss her very much. :(
I wanted to give her something to take with her... that would remind her of me...if she began to miss me.

So, when I saw the new post by maya*made and what she had put together for her daughter, I decided that it would be the perfect gift, so I borrowed the idea and made a heart necklace for my niece. I hand stitched it...as you can see the imperfections. I'm not to savvy with a needle. lol I have to say that maya*made's heart is so much nicer. Although, I don't think my niece will mind a bit. She will love her one of a kind gift. I let her pick out the cloth and felt (with sparkles of course). You know she wanted to know what I was making, but I told her it was a surprise! She is very excited and she guessed right away that it was for her. :)
I made each side different... just in case she needs to coordinate with an outfit. lol I even sprayed it with my perfume. I stuffed it with a peace of plastic grocery bag, so it makes a crinkle noise when you squeeze it. I call it a Snuggle heart...sounds silly...but as you know the smallest thing can bring joy to the heart of a child. When she wears it...I will be close to her heart.

I just want to say thank you to maya*made. Keep inspiring us. If you haven't been to her blog...go check it out she is on blogspot. I also have her listed as a blog that I follow. :)

Enjoy The Newness

I am so excited! The week after next...my daughter and I are going to repaint my living room and hall! I can't wait. I bought the paint to do this project...forever ago. You see...our house is under construction and has been for a long time now. We have so much work to do in the house and it has been a very slow moving project. I have a two week period coming up where I will be kid-free. So, the walls are getting a little tlc. A fresh coat of paint will not only do my walls some good...but, it will do me some good as well. :) Don't you just love it when you change the color of a room. It's like a refreshing breeze blowing through your house...makes you enjoy that space in your home again. Honestly, I'm not even dreading the prep work. I will just be glad to get it done! Yippee. Then...I'm going to sit back and enjoy the newness of it all. ;)


I know this does not look like a living room. Well, when I took this pic it was our dining room. We were getting ready for a Christmas dinner. This is one of the best pics I have of the color of the wall in the room without a mess. lol The next time you see it...the room will be spiced up a bit...and of course it will look more like a living room. ;) The mural is the one at the top of my blog...that my husband managed to get and bring to our house when the coffee shop closed. My hero. :) I plan on repainting it too. (At a later date.) I'm going to turn it into a wine vineyard. I will post pics when I touch it up.

Cheerful Purse Parade

Today I decided to upload a few of the purses that I have painted. I grabbed my camera and with my purses in hand, I ran outside while the sun was shining and wouldn't you know... the sun decided to hide behind a cloud. I did not let that deter me and I still managed to get some alright shots. So... here they are... this is a denim purse with country flair.

If you like chickens and roosters you will love the next country bag! I have to confess...I love those little farm critters...in fact I have a collection of roosters and chickens in my kitchen. I guess, a little bit of growing up in the country, has stuck with me after all. It's a good thing. :)



The next purse will put a smile on your face. These little frosty bites are perfect for the holidays!


It makes me think of Christmas and Valentines Day! Can you believe those cheerful holidays are just around the corner?


Well I hope you have enjoyed my purse parade! Let me know which one is your favorite.

Note: (These are not my complete original designs, but the original has been tweaked to fit my purpose and personality, with my own art work added.)

Oh' How Sweet It Is

My husband and I just celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary a month early. Why? You might ask...

Because our wonderful friends also share their anniversary close to ours...and we celebrate together. We went to a nice restaurant and enjoyed good food and great company. Life is so much sweeter with friends.


We started this anniversary tradition last year and I am sure that we will celebrate many more together. We are so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives. The kind of friends that stick closer than a brother. If you have friends like that...then you are blessed too.

This is not the man I married...

This is my husband...but he is not the man I married. Next month we will be celebrating seven-teen years together. We have had our ups, downs, twist, turns and bumps in the road. lol Like most couples out there, but we have both changed so much since our walk down the isle.
We recently took a little vacay to Florida and these pics are from that trip. We had a great time, just the two of us. It was a much needed get-a-way. Things are about to change drastically for us and we do not know when we will be able take a little retreat again. I enjoyed the trip so much and I wasn't ready to come home. You know how it is...when your on vacation...if your enjoying yourself...you think you could just move there and be happy forever. :)
Today is my husbands birthday and I just wanted to let the world know that even though...this is not the man that I married...he has became so much more. A few things have changed since our wedding day. First of all, his hair was not this long... he was a military man back then... I wasn't sure it would last... and neither one of us knew the love of our Saviour.
Now, I can honestly say...he is the love of my life! Our marriage gets better every year. Jesus is the glue that binds us together. I look forward to many years with this man by my side. I am so proud of him and all that he is and all that he will become. One more thing...even though he is not the man that I married, he looks a little more like him with his new hair cut. ;)

Love What You Do

Today my niece came over and she discovered the art station that I had created for her. She was so excited...in fact...she is glued to the spot.

Having all the colorful shapes and glue (yes, I am monitoring her creativeness) at her fingertips is so exciting for her! She has not wanted to do anything else. Although, I did insist that she stop for lunch, but as you can see...she is back at the drawing board.

Letting her creative spirit soar. I'm not sure we will have any paper left when her imaginative energy runs out...but after a hard day in her creative zone...I'm sure she will take a good nap.
Then maybe I can get back to my easel and let my creativity take flight or as my niece would say, "I have to go and do my work". It's a good thing when you love what you do!