THIS IS ALL SOOOOO BEAUTIFUL...

I stumbled across this shop on someone's blog

and

fell head-over-heels in love with everything!!

(Sorry... I don't remember who's blog it was on)

`

I wanted to buy everything, but I'm over-my-head already...

so I used self control and just ordered these 3 patterns and some

dyed floss for the "Summer Pillow" (middle).

I also ordered the purse patterns on the left

and

the pillow pattern on the right

(photo below).

The pillow says,

"From simple things, come simple joys".

It could be made in just about any color combination.

I'll probably use red and white.



This pillow and sheet set is my favorite!

It would look the best in our bedroom. Although I love

all the others too.

When you go to their site... which you must,
you'll find
a sweet treat of eye candy for you!
~
Many of the patterns... all with photos... are
categorized according to seasons.
~
I love "Spring" with it's bleeding hearts that bring back
such wonderful childhood memories.

Here is a close-up of the "Summer" pillow that I bought.

I brightened the photo a bit so you wouldn't miss

any of the lovely yet simple embroidery.

Isn't this adorable?? I'd feel so proud giving this as a gift. It's so feminine! The pears have a different flower on each section of the pear. I have the purse patterns and I look forward to making them and giving them my personal touch.

When Fall is approaching, I will be ready with the next two patterns.

I think the acorn is adorable. It would be fun to adjust the pattern

to several sizes to sit in a wooden bowl.

And Ooooooooo... am I in love with this pumpkin.

I'll work on it this summer.

So... three cheers for

Crabapple Hill Studio

and all the possibilities there yummy patterns present to us!!

xoxo
Joni

"FLASHBACK FRIDAY"

I got the idea for "Flashback Friday" from Nicole at

'These Are the Days'. Stop at her blog and see her flashback.

~

I'm going to try to...

1. Show you a 'flashback'.

2. Show you a technique for scrapping or card making

that I've had fun with.

~

This is my daughter Wendy as I remember her laughing

all the time. (Click on the layout to read the note to her).

The technique I want to share is how I created the

two elephants.

I cut out one of the little green elephants from the background

paper & placed it on my scanner. I scanned it twice into a jpg.

format. Then I printed the 2 different sizes onto cardstock,

cut them out, and attached them with pop dots.

This photo of Wendy always makes me laugh too. I love the

goofy antennae on her head. I cut them off in the photo and

replaced them with wire.

The alligator on her layout is the same scanner technique

as the elephants above.

Scrapbooking is all wonderful flashbacks. I've been doing digital

scrapping for the last year and I need to get my hands dirty

with glue and paper again.

~

Have a wonderful weekend with family and friends.

Love to all you sweet people!

~Joni

A FAVORITE QUOTE

The Plan

1. I found a quote that I really love.

2. I wanted to display it.

3. I wanted to create it in a mixed-media format.

4. I love houses and wanted to incorporate them into the product.

5. I wanted to try some new techniques... explore

mixed-media a bit further.

6. It needed a yellow background to go with our new bedding.

The Process

1. I adhered newspaper (the home section) to a stretched

canvas with a gel medium. Coated it under & over.

2. When it was dry I painted it a light yellow with acrylic paint.

I wanted some of the newspaper to show through.

3. I played with letters to form the quote. I changed them

for several days until they felt right.

4. I cut the simple houses and tried them in a variety of positions.

5. When I felt pleased with the arrangement I glued things down.

6. I added embellishments for detail and depth.

The red house is made from a valentine envelope and the roof
is cut from a card from Syko in Finland.

I'm still adding to this weeks later.

The hardest part is knowing when to stop!

Love to all of you sweet people...

Joni

A BELT & A BIRTHDAY

(no connection... well not quite true)

~

My daughter Kristin called and asked if I'd check out the flower

belts at www.jcrew.com.

"They're $68. each. Can you make one?"

I was at JoAnn's later that day pawing through the silk flowers.

Gerbera Daisies seemed to be the most workable.

So I bought every BRIGHT color.

I could have hot-glued the beads but JCrew advertised

their 'hand-sewn' beads so I followed suit.

I covered the sewing on the back with a circle of orange felt.

Sewed the felt to a grosgrain ribbon and...

DONE!!

~

Kristin wants to wear one with her jeans.

It will look FUN and stylish

wrapped around her tiny waist.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!!

A BIRTHDAY!

Kristin celebrated her birthday in Chicago with her South Loop
friends.
They had dinner at a new tapas restaurant on Michigan Ave
Mercat a la Planxa.
Kristin thought the food was great... so if you're in
the Chicago area, give it a try.

Jeanette, Deb, Kristin, & Lori

Thanks girls for all the fun you brought to Kristin
on her birthday.

Hugs to everyone!
~Joni

I'm so glad to be back!!

I missed you all...

but got a lot accomplished.

~

Because I wasn't with you for Easter,

I want to share just a few Easter decorations

from our home.

Our Easter/Spring tree

I usually paint the branches white but went

for the natural look this year.

Some of the ornaments are from the tree I

made my daughter Kristin when she was a

few weeks old. We lived in Germany and I had

been buying Spring-related ornaments

whenever I found one while shopping.

They still adorn the tree 38 years later...

along with many others collected through the

years.

These chipped little bunnies are also from Germany.

The sign says "Happy Easter".

I need to get some paint out and touch up the chips.

But to me, they're still as beautiful as the day I bought them

for Kristin in 1970. This bunny family is also in need of repairs.

Another 'German find' from there lovely little shops.

This is the card my daughter Wendy

made & sent

for Easter this year. So cute!

I've saved her handmade cards for a number of years

and have a metal ring full full of them.

(see: my Christmas cards)

Well, all I can say is...
Have a jelly bean kind of day!

~Joni

I wish you all a very joyful Easter.

This is a wonderful weekend to watch the DVD

"The Passion"... so very moving.

Love to you all!

Joni

BLOG BREAK

After almost a year of blogging, I'm going to

take a break for a few weeks.

I'm going to close my laptop so I can

attack this house, start working out &

swimming at the YMCA, and work on

odds & ends for my daughter's

wedding.

~

I will check my email

~

Think Spring!

Love to you all!

Joni

Getting Ready for Spring

We are so far from Spring in Wisconsin... but I need to

get some Spring in our house as we need to preserve

our sanity. It's been a bad winter!

~

I'm working on this felt picture (below) to go along with

the new bed linens I ordered.

I'm creating this as I go along but I think it's

almost done. A few more blue flowers...

stitch down the window crossbars...

and maybe a kitty in the window?

~

I'll share the finished picture tomorrow.

It needs a good steaming, a mat, and a frame.

These are the new bed linens... a photo from the catalog

as mine haven't arrived yet.

Our bed tables are red so this should all tie together

and brighten my favorite room.

Off to finish the window picture.

~or~

crawl back in bed for just a bit.

There are school delays as we had a

thunderstorm last night on top of all the snow

and there's lots of ice out there.

Make this a great day!

Joni