greetings in a matchbox :: diy

how delighted would you be to receive one of these?  i mean, really...

happy weekend friends!  xoxo

trying something new :: abstract art

i'm trying something new. what do you think?

waking sleeping beauty :: personal story :: family photography

because the shop is closed on mondays we spend our mornings at home moving very slow.  my husband works out of town, so most nights "bump" sneaks into bed with me and we snuggle.  i wake first, make coffee, watch a bit of the news... then, if we have to be somewhere, i'll go wake sleeping beauty.  it's my very favorite part of the day.

yellow iris :: nature photography

enough about birthdays.  back to my obsesh with all the surprise blooms popping up in our yard.  i have to admit that although i have always found iris's to be pretty, i never truly appreciated their beauty until recently.  these yellow lovelies grow right along our steps to the porch and they cheer me up each time i pass them.  so tall and bright.  so strong and delicate at the same time...

xoxo

skylander giant cake :: cake decorating

i haven't shared a cake decorating post in a while.  for "the monster's" birthday dinner dessert, i made a simple double layer swirl cake then tried my best to decorate as the portal of power from the skylander giants video game (which is my son's current obsession).  it's actually a neat concept... players can collect action figures and then place them on the portal to enter them into the video game.  for a seven-year-old, this is the perfect combo because he actually plays with the action figures outside of the game as well... kind of like how i did with barbies.

i purchased a set of skylanders to place on top of the portal cake, however, due to the electronics at the bottom of each, i could not let icing get inside.  to prevent this, i traced each onto a thick paper and then cut out the shape.  it was easy to tape the paper to the bottom of the figures and then remove when he was ready to play!

for a little more decor, i placed the instant photos i had taken that morning around the cake table for guests to look at.  overall, this may have been the easiest birthday celebration i've planned yet.  (did i mention "the monster" wanted pizza hut for dinner so i didn't even have to cook?!)

wish number :: birthday photography

for "the monster's" birthday, i asked friends and family to send me a little birthday wish that i could share with him.  a lot of people wrote about how brave, fun, & loving he is.  i then arranged each note in fun envelopes and displayed on the wall in the shape of a 7.  this was a great backdrop for some birthday photos, and he felt super special when he read through them!

friday fun day :: diy

happy friday fun day friends!  here's a cute little diy that serves absolutely no purpose at all except to make you smile.  i found these tiny items at goodwill and glued them to leftovers from this project.  then i simply glued on a stemless wine glass for a terrarium effect.

you might even have all of those supplies at your house right this very moment!  xoxo

birthday face :: kid project

"the monster" turns seven today.  he has a giant day of celebrating... a party with every friend and a treat with every party.

a couple days ago, we had all of our art supplies out and were drawing on large posterboard.  we decided to have a little contest between the family to see who could draw "the monster" the best.  "bump" was to choose the winner.

well.  in a run-by judgment (literally), "bump" chose "the monster's" self-portrait.  i think we all know that my rendering was the best.  however, never a sore looser, i relinquished my clear win to my son.  after all, his birthday was coming up.

things that are special about my little-big boy at seven years old:

• he has a faux-hawk
• both of his two top-front teeth fell out at the same time, leaving a gapping gap
• he is loving and empathetic
• he is tall and awkward and clumsy
• he can ride a 4-wheeler better than me
• also, he can beat me at pretty much any video game
• he can eat more junk than anyone i've ever known and almost never get sick
• he enjoys art, reading, gym & math.  make him do either of those though and he won't.  you have to make absolutely everything a game.
• and that game can only last 15 minutes
• he's oddly good at sorting and picking up, but super sucks at actual cleaning.
• he'll play in the mud, cover himself with it, but won't touch a piece of garbage that fell out of the can on the way down the driveway.
• he has a nose like no other.  the boy can sniff out a cookie baking miles away.
• he's becoming a little man much too fast

2013 old capitol art fair :: event photography

i am one very lucky girl who gets to serve on the 'old capitol art fair' board each year.  it is the largest art fair in the country that is completely ran by volunteers.  it's one of my favorite events of the year and early on saturday morning, when the tents are starting to pop open and the smell of fresh donuts fills the street, i literally become giddy!

above are a few photos that i took during the first day of the fair.  if you haven't been before, i hope you'll join us some spring... it's really very special.  xoxo

trail of glitter :: nature photography :: personal story

"the monster" has lost his two front teeth.  he looks fantastically ridiculous.  i once read somewhere about how the 'tooth fairy' leaves a trail of glitter out of the room after her midnight visit.  i actually tried this when he lost his bottom teeth, but the messy boy didn't even notice shiny glitter adorning his clothes, books and hot wheel cars spread across the floor of his room.

this time, i sprinkled the glitter through-out our yard.  knowing that he always checks the frog house each morning, i started there.  then left a golden trail that ended at our property line.  i thought this to be genius.

"the monster" played along and seemed mildly interested, but was really more excited about heading off to the bus to tell his friends about the few dollars this glittery fairy left him.

o well... i think sometimes being the parent is more fun anyway.  sometimes...