May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
~
Romans 15:13 (NIV)
Too Cool for School
I recently added my Fresh Poppies Door Hanger to the shop and not much later received a message from a sweet woman named Mia wondering if it could be used as a pin cushion.
~
I hadn't thought about that. But why couldn't it be a pin cushion?!?
~
So I made her a pin cushion just like the door hanger, only this was stuffed a little more firm, included interfacing, and didn't include the ribbon for hanging.
Mia is heading to a sewing class next week and will be sporting her new too-cool-for-school pin cushion. Watch out Mia for other ladies eyeing it, I would be!
Blueberry Muffins
During a play date this past week we snacked on blueberry muffins, strawberries and iced tea...ahh! I love summertime food!
~
I'm on the hook during the summer (according to my husband) to make these muffins on a weekly basis. So I usually hit up the farmer's market for the best blueberries and then use twice the recipe's recommended amount. Yup, a fork may be recommended for eating these!
~
(Since kids were involved this time, I only used the 1 cup of blueberries, just to help prevent messes over and above the norm)
~
Here's the recipe:
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup margarine
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries
Cream margarine and sugar.
Add eggs and beat until smooth.
Mix in sour cream and vanilla.
Combine dry ingredients and add.
Fold in blueberries.
Bake @ 400 degrees for 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
~
Eat up while they're warm!
Patchwork Quilting
I mentioned recently that I've started on a new kind of project. Over Mother's Day weekend, my mother-in-law mentioned to me that she thought I should take up quilting, she thought it would suit me apparently. So that week I got to work and made up a few little baby-size quilts. I'm really enjoying the quilting process, especially picking out coordinating fabrics. Come to think of it, if someone wanted to hire me full time to pick out fabric combinations for them, it's the one job I would maybe consider not being a stay at home for. Well, probably not, but I do enjoy it that much!
~
Here's what I've got done so far...
Birds, Branches & Polka Dots Baby Quilt
Apples & Pears Baby Quilt
Pink Poppies Baby Security Blanket
(with ribbons sewn over top of the seams!)
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I'm not sure yet if I'll add these to the shop or not. I'm struggling with getting good pictures of them, these just don't seem to do justice. Anyone have any good tips on taking pictures of quilts? Should I just put up a clothes line and try it that way???
Monday's 10 Things
In the Little Bit Funky style, I'm going to take a few minutes each Monday to post 10 things that I'm thankful for. I think it will be a really good way to start the week...so here we go!
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1. A FOUR day weekend with my family!
2. My brother Steven, serving in the Navy.
3. Impromptu dancing sessions with Claire.
4. Starting the week with a clean house and caught up on laundry.
5. Rocking Claire back to sleep this afternoon when she woke up from a bad dream.
6. The Grand Haven boardwalk and our Sunday afternoon walk tradition.
7. My dad and husband who spent two full days and even donated a little of their blood to building Claire a park of her own.
8. Allergy season for me seems to be almost done.
9. Sleeping in until 7:30 the last 3 days.
10. The prayer that Claire is working on learning. Eesus (Jesus) I loov ooh (I love you) Amen!
~
Go ahead and list 10 things you're thankful for today...I bet you'll have a hard time keeping your list at only 10 items once you get started!
Pictures of the Week
Girlfriend couldn't even wait for her new "park" to be complete before taking a ride on the swing! ~
Does anyone know if there's such thing as a motor for a swing? You know, like the baby swings that keep swaying automatically? This girl would swing for hours, so how perfect would it be if I could just get her swaying in her in her swing while I sit in an adirondack chair nearby? Sounds like a win-win to me!
Memorial Day
This is my younger brother Steven. He's stationed with the US Navy in Pearl Harbor. (Rough I know. He tries to tell us that living in Hawaii isn't all it's cracked up to be, but we're really not buying it!)
~
Steven was selected this fall to be a part of the Navy Honor Guard. This means that one of his duties is to participate in funerals and other Naval ceremonies. These pictures show him at the funeral of one of the last survivors of Pearl Harbor. Amazing, huh? And to add to that, he's not just participating in the funeral, he's the guy directing the whole thing! Our family couldn't be more proud. He's collecting some pretty neat stories along the way and I tried to convince him he needs to start a book (or at least a blog!) about his adventures.
~
So enjoy your Memorial Day weekend. It is a great kick-off to summer, isn't it? But in the midst of your cottage trips and backyard bbq's, be sure to thank a past or present member of the military for their service. It takes some pretty amazing people to dedicate their time to protecting us and the freedoms we love.
Polka Dot Parade
I had so much fun last time around, that I've joined yet another Polka Dot Parade found at On The Dot Creations. So head on over there and add some of your own polka dot goodies (free advertising!!!)~
Here's what I submitted this time around...
Sweet Green Birdie Anytime Card
Birthdays & Babies Galore
If you're anything like me, you know of a whole lot of people having babies right now, and just as many little kids celebrating one of their first birthdays.
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I've found myself making individual tags for each gift, and finally just gave in and made little sets so I'll have some on hand when I need them.
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Lucky for you, they're now in the shop!
My gift of choice right now: a sand bucket full of sand toys. Use the bucket as your gift packaging, and try personalizing it with stickers spelling out the recipient's name. So sweet!
Back At It
So things have been a little slow in the Cora Anne world....probably because my craft room has looked like this...
Yeah, remember those storage cubes that I planned on picking up at Michaels? Well, I got them. They took an ENTIRE Saturday to assemble thanks to no pre-drilled holes and not exactly being square. But that wasn't even the biggest problem. You see, once they were assembled, they hardly looked like the amazing piece of furniture they show on the box. Remember this...
Oh no, not even close. They looked pathetic.
~
What to do? What to do? Well, I called on my favorite carpenter (MY DAD!) and as always, he saved the day! (Note: I highly recommend finding your own carpenter/handyman, especially one who charges ZERO for labor.) I commissioned him to build a frame to surround the cubes, hold them tightly together, and also lift them off the floor. That was pretty much the extent of my directions, and he took it from there. He took a few measurements of my non-square cubes, left my house, headed over to Home Depot to get the supplies he needed, and one week later, I had a HUGE piece of furniture delivered to my door.
~
(Unfortunately, after he was so snappy at making the thing, it then took me a month to get it painted...ugh!)
~
So......without further ado....here she is!
Isn't it amazing?!? Now everything in my craft room has a home! I'm going to look for a basket yet for the cubby on the bottom right, maybe to hold my fabric scraps.
~
And now I'm back in business with projects including something complete new to me which I'll tell you about soon!
~
Thanks Dad, I love it!
Grandma's Sand Cookies
In preparing to host on Mother's Day, I pulled out my Grandma's Sand Cookie recipe. I have the best memories of these cookies from growing up. Grandma would always keep a supply in her freezer and would deliver them in a tin lined with wax paper. I would sneak extra cookies out of the tin when no one was looking! It just seemed fitting as a remembrance of her to make her cookies for Mother's Day.~
Here's the recipe:
3/4 lb Oleo (Grandma used Imperial)
3 cups flour
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
Mix all ingredients together.
Form the dough into rolls wrapped in saran wrap.
Chill in the refrigerator.
Form the dough into rolls wrapped in saran wrap.
Chill in the refrigerator.
Slice rolls into 1/4 inch pieces.
Bake for 15 minutes at 325 degrees.
~Bake for 15 minutes at 325 degrees.
Enjoy!
~
(And when you're done,
go ahead and eat a little leftover dough,
why not!)
Proud
I had an amazing Mother's Day.
~
I think what I felt the most on this Mother's Day was pride. I'm so proud of Eric and I for our almost six years of marriage and how it just keeps getting better. Almost four years into our marriage, we decided to add a new little person in our world and I'm in awe of her daily at what an amazing little human being she is. She's a sponge like none other and at times it overwhelms me to think that the responsibility is primarily on us to help her soak it all up.
~
My heart was so full this morning just standing outside Claire's door listening to her talking in her crib, "mouth.....eyes.....nose...." I can't believe how proud I can be of a human being for knowing those words and what they mean! That must just be part of being a mumma!
~
Big thanks to Eric and Claire for being so wonderful,
I love you two!
Gerbera Daisy Bridal Shower
I had the opportunity this weekend to help my mom out with a bridal shower that she was hosting. The theme was gerbera daisies, and I must say, everything turned out great!
~
Here's a few photos showing the daisy-goodness details...
Very sweet table decor
Cupcakes from Rykes, the best bakery around
Even pink sorbet and pink spoons to compliment the cupcakes
Leftover invites were trimmed down and used
as personalized tags for the favors
Fabulous party, Mom.
Etsy Selling Secrets
Congratulations are in order to Julie at On The Dot Creations for the release of her e-book Secrets of Savvy Etsy Sellers! This is a great resource for anyone new to Etsy, but also for the experienced seller as well. It's full of tips from the experts on everything from how to market and package your product to how to keep a balance in your life between your Etsy-time and your personal-time. ~
Thanks Julie, what a great (FREE!) gift you've given to all of us in the Etsy world!
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