I LOVE HOUSES!!

~

I'm sorry for the sparse postings but I have been using every minute

of each day to get ready for my daughter Wendy's wedding

shower on Saturday, April 12th.

I'm only in charge of the goody bags and banner

but I'm having such fun creating hot pink & green tulip-themed

goodies for the bags.

I'll post photos of everything after the shower.

~

When I take breaks I often go to Etsy.com to prowl the

many pages of things I love.

~

The three pillows below were discovered and immediately

purchased from Creative Babies.

They arrived quickly and are adorable.

They'll be tucked together someplace in our house.

Happy creating!!

xoxo

~Joni

PS On the day of the shower, the girls are running a half marathon

in the morning,

the shower is at 1:00,

and roller skating after that.

Somewhere in between all this we'll arm ourselves with cameras

and try to take some photos of

Johnny Depp

and

Christian Bale

who are filming a new movie in our little

town of Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Isn't that fun!!

TULIPS, TULIPS, & MORE TULIPS

~

These are for my daughter Wendy's shower next Saturday.

My daughter Kristin is giving the shower

but I offered to make the goody bags

to save Kristin some time.

Besides... I thought it would be fun to do.

~

Wendy's wedding colors are hot pink and kelly green

with a tulip theme.

~

The tulips look so cute on my work table all nestled together.

I had to take a quick picture to share them with you.

Next week I'll share everything that's going in the goody bags.

Junie Moon has been a wonderful help with last minute

ideas.

Thanks June!!

~

I'm off to make the banner.

Hugs,

Joni

Love from Junie Moon

~

June from Junie Moon adds such a lovely touch to everything she

makes and does,

I opened this box from her and I had to share the packing.

It's so Lovely!!

~

This called for a cup of tea so that I could sit, sip, and savor

every moment of pulling the ends of the checked ribbon open

and unwrapping the heart paper.

I am in awe of her beautiful stitches... each perfect & uniform.

The heart pillows nestled so well on the doll-sized wicker chair.

Here is a close-up to showcase her beautiful stitching.

June sent 3 back issues of Marie Claire idees.

I searched each page and marked the 'lovelies' that inspired

me. So many, many ideas!

My to-do list has been totally revamped.

The fact that it's written in French is not a barrier.

On my list for today... go to amazon.com and buy a

subscription. I'd hate to miss another issue.

Look at these delicious pillows!!
June also sent a book, A Year in the World, by the

author of Under the Tuscan Sun (which I loved).

I can't wait to dive into this one!

June lives in Southern Arizona where it is hot, hot, hot.

She sent this huge box of HOT candy.

Yummy!!
~
Some people wonder why we blog.

We have the opportunity to make friends all over the world.

And some of those friends become like family.

We know!

They have yet to find out!

~

Love you June!

Thanks for the surprise!!!

~Joni

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

FRIENDS!
~
I think that Helen Hancock is one of the
best photographers
I know.
Not only is her photography fantastic but
she is the Queen of Word Art.
Her layouts are simple yet powerful.
~
Helen had a link on her blog for a site about Word Art.
The gal's name is Bethany and she has
great quotes and thoughts to share with you.
~
I had to give it a try.
~
The picture I chose is very special to me and to the
girls in the photo. The photo was taken
about 1980 or so. These are 5 friends who were always
together. Now, in 2008... 28 years later,
they are still very good friends
despite distance.
~
When my daughter Wendy (2nd from left)
gets married in June, one of her showers is going
to be at a roller skating rink... how perfect for this group
with their little roller skates on in the photo.
Ah... memories!

My oldest daughter Kristin is 2nd from the right.

I predict their friendship will last a lifetime.

~

Have a wonderful weekend!

I can't wait to show you my new bedroom look

on Monday. Time for a change.

Hugs,

Joni

P.S. I didn't mention the other girls names as I didn't ask for

their permission.

SPRING/EASTER INSPIRATION

I curled up with all of the catalogs that have

arrived in the past week. I felt like a 'kid in

a candy store'... well they are EYE CANDY!!

I felt so inspired after browsing the pages and

full of ideas... and an occasional 'must have' to

order.

This quilt is so clean-looking in it's simplicity.

I love the appliqued floral vines.

This is from www.potterybarnkids.com.

Look at the wonderful stenciled walls!!

Bunny place mats, table runner, etc.

A bunny and flower Easter basket.

I had to share this quilt with the yummy colors and

the use of rick rack on some of the squares.

From www.landofnod.com I found these

lovely flowers made from felted wool.

The felted balls can be found at knitting

stores.

My felted wool stash has grown to

over-flowing.

I have to give these flowers a try today.

An appliqued place mat... cute.
I loooove polka dots... and in spring colors.

A must-have!!!

www.potterybarn.com.

At www.companystore.com I found this

delightful beach quilt.

The individual pillows are inspiring, too! Another Company Store quilt.

It makes me think of Koolade or Popsicles.

This lovely bird's nest filled with candy eggs
would make a lovely spring centerpiece.
This is another item I may order or try to make.
I found this at www.williams-sinoma.com.
These towels are also from Williams Sinoma.
The bunnies are from 1920 postcards.Another Williams Sinoma creation...
bunny and chick baskets. Adorable!!
Easy to make or easy to buy.


I'm going to try making some felted wool flowers
this morning. I'll share the results when
they are finished.

I hope your inspiration was sparked...
I know mine was!

Enjoy and create!!

Joni