Everyday Beauty

A Good Weekend

George came home safely this weekend from a trip to Iraq, and that's a very good thing. We all missed him, as we always do when he's gone. He had a layover in Paris and bought this for me in the airport gift shop. Ironically, he hadn't even read my post about candy boxes! I guess he just knows he can't go wrong if it's pink, heart-shaped and contains chocolate...

Then, drumroll.........Sam took his first steps! We were so excited and proud, as if he had just been accepted to Harvard! Now, he surely needs those cute shoes.

I also managed to squeeze in a little more cleaning time in my craft room. Organizing, organizing, organizing. Never ends, does it?

On Saturday, the mail lady brought some happy mail from a friend. Always nice to see her walking up the driveway with a box. I don't know about you, but getting the mail is one of the highlights of my day! It's so fun to see what's in the pile.

And Sunday night brought us this beauty:

Finally, a snowfall that's worth talking about! They are few and far between around here. George grew up in New England and loves snow, winter, and everything that goes along with it. He was like a kid on Christmas morning when he woke up to all this snow. He even decided to take the day off work from home today so he and Mario could play outside.

 

Here are the neighbors and Mario all playing together. George was shovelling snow, and I was inside making soup. It's noon, I'm still in my pajamas, glasses on, hair in a messy bun. Fireplace is going. Think I'll make some chili for dinner. Some hearty comfort food. It's one of those cozy days.

Hope you had a good weekend too!

{p.s. for those of you who emailed me for a pattern for the dishcloths... I wish I could share it with you, but I didn't use one. I don't even know how to read those patterns! I just double crocheted rows back and forth until I had the desired size. Then, I chain stitched the perimeter to finish it off.}

Strawberry Surprises

   

Some very sweet and thoughtful friends and blog readers sent these treasures to me this Christmas. With the shop being closed, I haven't been checking my P.O. Box too often. So, you can imagine my surprise when I had a stack of boxes waiting for me! Yay! Fun mail! Of course, who doesn't love getting surprises in the mail? Thank you Holly, Jane and Rachel for these beautiful vintage strawberry ornaments. I love them. And thank you to everyone who was so thoughtful and generous. I enjoyed opening all of the Christmas cards and unwrapping the special gifts you took the time to make and select and lovingly wrap up to send my way. You guys made me feel so special! Thank you.

Catching Up

Lots to catch up on, it seems. I've been meaning/wanting to blog about so many fun things, and I thought I'd wrap a few of them together in one big fat post.

If you read this magazine:

Then maybe you saw this ad:

Last week, I received my subscription issue in the mail, and was thumbing through it casually, completely forgetting that I had an ad in there. {don't ask me how that is possible, but it's true.} Then I came to the back of the magazine and saw my ad and was totally caught off guard! It was a funny moment to say the least. I'm so happy to be advertising in this wonderful publication. I've been a faithful subscriber since the premiere issue launched back in 1997, and I love it so!

Choosing advertising partners can be tricky, and you never really know if it's the right decision until you start tracking sales and feedback. I'm optimistic that this is a good fit for One Hundred Wishes! Lots of crafty & creative readers turn those pages every month. Let's hope!

Switching gears {I'm not even trying to create a graceful transition here}.....

I decided to join in the Pre-Silver Bella swap with 12 other bloggers who are attending the event. You may have seen some of their posts about this swap and their pictures of the goodies we all shared with each other. I so enjoyed being a part of this creative group of women! Not to mention, I'm looking forward to meeting them all at Silver Bella. I really enjoyed seeing the unique creative style of each participant. These are some of the swap gifts I received. The pretties pictured above are from Heather. The ones right below are from Holly, Cheryl, and Cheryl.

These treats are from Jennifer and Jessi. {by the way, girls, thank you for the candy. It was all gone before I could even snap the picture. It's been a while since I've poured a Pixie Stick down my throat!}

 

Some gifties from Karla {the hostess!} and Analise.

And finally, the goodies sent by Carol, Kim, Tiffany and Natasha. Thanks girls, for a fun exchange of creativity!

 

Speaking of Natasha.....she sent a beautiful package across the ocean not too long ago. All of these goodies are from her shop. She draws, she paints, she sews, she makes faux desserts, she seems to have endless, boundless energy that makes me feel like a slacker! She's always up to something creative. She painted these beautiful vintage prom dresses, which I love. I've told you before that I cannot paint, so I think I appreciate painted pieces all the more.

She also sent some of her sweet faux cupcakes. Looking very cute on a shelf in my kitchen, I might add.

And she made these lavender-filled velvet strawberries {yay!}. They are wonderfully fragrant sachets, and I have one tucked into each drawer of my unmentionables....

She also sent some her beautiful original designs on greeting cards and postcards. Prom dresses, a cupcake and roses...all things Natasha is known for. I'm always looking for special cards and have already used a couple of these. Why is it always so hard to part with pretty cards?

She spoiled me with all of this and even more! There were vintage trims and rhinestone charms {which I put in my jewelry box and forgot to photograph} and even a SO thoughtful gift for Mario. She sent balloons of Australian animals and also some Cadbury chocolate bars. I told Mario that my friend sent these gifts for him, and that she lives far away where The Wiggles live. His eyes grew as big as quarters!

Thank you again Natasha, for so many thoughtful and beautiful gifts.

Whew! Now you're all caught up. Well almost...

Halloween goodies coming next week, my little witches! {I mean that in the nicest possible way} 

Shop Girls

These days, there are so many wonderful shops owned by women in Blogland. After reading their blogs for some time, I almost feel like I know some of these girls. I'm sure you probably know what I mean. The amazing Internet connects us all in big ways. I always try to support my fellow women entrepreneurs, and wanted to share a few pretty packages that have found their way to my mailbox recently.

The picture above is a new (old) hat I bought from Heather's shop, Pretty Petals Boutique. It's covered with strawberries and, well, you know I couldn't pass it up. Heather sure knows her stuff when it comes to pretties! One of my "to do" projects is to get my collection of old hats hung on the wall in the studio. It will require a ladder and moving an awful lot of stuff....but one of these days I'll do it!

Do you remember a month or two ago when I wrote about the tough week I was having, being sleep deprived and still trying to adapt to my new role as mother of 2? Well, that week I received this surprise package in the mail from my friend Jeni.

At that time, I didn't really know her and she didn't really know me, but she read my blog and wanted to send something to make me smile. As I stood in the kitchen and opened the box, tears rolled down my face. I was so incredibly touched by her kindness and thoughtfulness. Can you believe how wonderful this box of goodies is? She filled it with pink things she knew I would enjoy such as millinery flowers, note cards, heart marshmallows (yum) and the cosmetics bag you see with the ruffled trim and pink bird on it. She is one of 2 women behind the company just be, a fabulous web boutique that sells one of a kind handmade purses and girly ruffled skirts. I love their stuff! The philosophy and tag line of the company is that there is beauty in individuality. It's so true. Thank you again, my friend.

These fun and colorfully wrapped parcels came from the Ohio girls at McMaster & Storm. Shop owners Kara and Darcy have a brick and mortar store and are expanding into the world of e-commerce in March! (Great for them and bad for my checkbook.) I called their shop recently and got to chat with Kara. What a sweetheart. We talked shop as I placed an order of luxury soaps (for my mom's Easter basket), gourmet candies and this fabulous "fastener", among other indulgences.

If staplers can be graceful, this one's the ticket! It gently fastens pages together with tiny little brushed metal staples, and it doesn't jam. I think I am in love with it. I just want to staple everything! I would like to take a trip down to their store sometime when I'm visiting family in Ohio.... even though it's on the other side of the state. Maybe someday I'll take a detour.

These are just a few of the many warm-hearted women I have "met" through their blogs and shops. There are so many more that I think I'll do another post soon .....Shop Girls ~ Part II. Stay tuned.

Happy Weekend everyone!

Mailbox Pretties

I thought I'd to share with you a few pretty things I've gotten from the Mail Lady lately. There are so many Internet businesses out there offering such pretty & unique goods, it can be hard to resist!

When I saw this bag from Sis Boom, I was just in love with it. It's actually pretty large, which was a pleasant surprise since I usually carry around everything but the kitchen sink. Jennifer Paganelli's fabrics are so inspiring and fresh and fun. It's always a treat to visit her blog.

Here is a detail shot of the vintage dome style button she used for the closure. So pretty!

How sweet is this personalized stationery fom The Paper Princess? Leslie has the most adorable vintage-inspired paper goods in store. I've long admired them and finally placed an order.

All of these vintage paper goods are from Sepia Art Studio. Delila's shop is now open! It was such fun unwrapping all of her packages that she so delicately nestled in the box and tied up with ribbons. There is something very unique and authentic about Delila's art that I really admire.

And last but not least, I ordered some bath luxuries from Flavia Soaps & More! I'm a bath and body product junkie, and these are wonderful. The owner blends her products in fresh batches and packages them in glass bottles. The fig scent is just heavenly. Good stuff!

On a different note, over at One Hundred Wishes, the Silver Alphabet Dresdens are finally back in stock. I also got in 2 new colors of velvet ribbon, Fig and Cherry. Two new colors of seam binding were added as well, Licorice and Leaf Green. I've got  a couple of brand new styles of ribbon and twine to list this coming week and so much more to do. For now, I'm glad it's almost Friday! There are more rooms to be painted this weekend, and some of our new bedroom furniture is being delivered. (yippee!) The upstairs of our house looks like a bomb went off in it. I can't wait until we finish these rooms. I know it will be worth the wait, but for now, it's a mess.

Bye friends. I hope you have a wonderful day! 

Giving & Receiving

Hi everyone. Yes, I'm still here! Just having a bit of a rough week, physically speaking. The car ride to Ohio and back was torture on my poor legs. They are throbbing. And lots of other pregnancy-related pains seem to be presenting themselves on a daily basis. On top of that, I am no longer sleeping. Some nights I sleep an hour or two. Some nights not at all. I'm running on empty! Oh, well, I guess it's just all normal pregnancy stuff. I just didn't have these issues with my first pregnancy, so it has caught me by surprise.

Anyhoo, I hope you all had a nice long weekend. We enjoyed the company of family and change of scenery. Mario and his cousins ran around the yard like maniacs and had a ball playing together. My new niece was baptized, and I'm so glad we were there for that special day. My mom and I hit the flea market (another reason my legs hurt......shame on me.) and found some treasures. The picture at the top is a glimpse of some old jewelry I found. I'll finally be able to get the Flea Market section of the website up and running with some Bundles of Baubles and Bundles of Buttons! I hope you like them. I'll let you know when they are listed. I also found some vintage ornaments in my colors to add to the tree this year. I hoping to finally get around to making a wreath out of these.

And now, without further ado, the winner of the 100th post Sparkling Glass Glitter Giveaway is Dede!!!!!! Congratulations Dede! I'll be sending you an email to get your mailing address and shipping your two bottles of glitter out this week! I hope you enjoy them!

For any of you who may be interested, the 2 new glitter colors will be for sale in the shop on Saturday. I'll post again to let you know exactly when.

Speaking of giving things to people, so many sweet and thoughtful gifts have come my way lately. I just wanted to share a few of them with you.

This is a gift from Wendy, a sweet woman who I've kind of gotten to know through my blog. She wanted to share some of her vintage lace collection with me. Lucky me! The box arrived covered in vintage wallpaper, and I hated to have to tear it open. I love how she covered this container and embellished it with tags and lace and an old rhinestone jewel. Pink and brown......she's got my number for sure. Just look at all of the lovely aged lace. Yum.

My friend Pam made this special journal and brought it over to my house the day before I launched One Hundred Wishes. I use it to record my thoughts and plans and milestones for the business. I know I'll enjoy looking back through this journal in years to come to see how things have evolved and to remember the beginning stages of One Hundred Wishes.

Pam also made this! It's a vintage wooden spool that she crafted into a vase of sorts to hold all of the "flowers" she tucked inside. It sits happily on a shelf in my studio. I really enjoy surrounding myself with art made by friends and fellow crafters. It makes me feel that I'm a teeny tiny part of a creative web of wonderful, generous women.

This was given to me by my friend Dana. A tablet of stationery covered in floral paper with an "A" on top. And this little old stork! She knows I fall for anything vintage-baby related. How cute is this stork? I just love it! Can't wait to find the perfect little nook for it in the nursery.

Those are just a few bits of generosity that have come my way lately. It's fun to get surprises and just as fun to give them to others. George says I do so many giveaways, I'll never make any money! I don't care......it's fun!

The weekend is almost here. I can't wait. I'll be back (I promise) with a shop update this Saturday (or sooner). My foyer looks like a warehouse. Lots of shipments arriving and newness to share with all of you, including new ribbons, garlands, and some velvet surprises!

Have a lovely day!

Published!

Looky what the mailman left in my mailbox over the weekend while we were gone. It's the premiere issue of Artful Blogging. I'm just so excited and very honored to be one of the blog authors included in this publication.

It really is a great issue that features many, many blogs that you know and love....and some I bet you've yet to discover. There were several I had never heard of, and I can't wait to check them out. (just what we all need.... more blogs to read each day!)

It's expected to hit newsstands around August 1, but I have an extra copy to give away. Just leave a comment with your email address and I'll draw a name this weekend! I just saw that Kari is doing the same type of drawing, so enter both to double your chances of being a lucky winner. Kari's blog is also featured in the magazine and let me tell you, it looks fabulous. Stampington did a super job with this new venture of theirs. Very exciting!!!

Mailbox Things

Don't you love when the mail comes? I don't know about you, but for me getting the mail is fun.  Well, usually. Sometimes it's nothing but bills and flyers. But sometimes, like yesterday, it's this:

Gotta love Marie Claire Idees. The pictures and ideas are so creative and inspiring. Now if only I could read French. You can purchase a subscription through Amazon, by the way.

And even better......this:

A gift from my friend Lisa. She made this piece of art for me. Isn't it sweet? A fun surprise to open up! It says, "Friendship is a serious affection; the most sublime of all affections because it is founded on principle, and cemented by time."

And then, this arrived in the mail a few days ago. I ordered it from Lauren Mumford's etsy shop. It can be worn as a necklace or belt or it can be hung on a hook or peg or draped around a dressform. It's a length of old velvet ribbon with here and there "bits" of lace, buttons, jewels. Just wonderful, don't you think? I saw it and had to have it.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Olive Juice & Co.

I was one of the lucky girls to have my name drawn for a prize celebrating Kim's Blogiversary over at Olive Juice & Co. And look what she sent me! I couldn't believe my luck.

She knew I was pregnant so she appliqued these flowers from vintage fabric onto a maternity t-shirt.

And then, as if THAT wasn't enough, she made this gorgeous ruffled apron from the same fabric! Her sewing is meticulous and everything is finished so nicely. I'm not such a great seamstress myself, but I know how to spot one.

Since I don't have a dressform, {George, I would love one for my birthday. An old one. French would be nice} I had to use this wicker basket to show the ruffles of the apron.

Kim, thank you! I just love these prizes and appreciate the time you put into making and wrapping them. There's nothing quite like a handmade gift, is there?

She's got a website in the works. I can't wait to see it when it's complete! I love her style and the fabrics and colors she selects. Always beautiful! But, in the meantime, visit her blog for loads of inspiration.

Run, don't walk

If you're not a subscriber to this magazine, put your shoes on and run for the nearest bookstore! I promise you'll want to see this:

and this

and this

Oh, Mary. You've done it again! My favorite magazine by far.