Learners Permit

It is so hard to believe that it has been 16 years since I first held Tyler in my arms. He is now 5'11", still growing, and yesterday his Dad took him to the DMV to pick up his learners permit. It is unbelievable to me that this day has arrived. I am thrilled for him and scared for him. It is an exciting time for him and us, but I am in awe that it is here.

Cake pops for a wedding

I was so excited to be asked to make treats for my friend Jerri's daughters wedding. Originally we talked about Rice Krispie treats dipped in chocolate, but then I asked if they had ever heard of cake pops. They hadn't so I sent them to Bakerella to see them, and of course once they saw them, they loved the idea!  I had never made that many cake pops before, but they turned out great! If you haven't heard of cake pops before, check out this site,  Bakerella, to learn how to make them. That is the recipe I used for these, and they were yummy! To turn the cake balls into pops, you just dip the sucker stick into chocolate and then into the ball, just like I did here. I was thrilled with how they turned out. Besides, I got to go shopping and get sprinkles! Have I mentioned I love sprinkles?

 

Seriously, I have a sprinkle addiction. LOL!

The color of the wedding were blue, green, and silver. I made a custom mix of sprinkles, and got to work the day before the wedding to make 212 cake pops. What do 212 cake pops look like?

 

all rolled out and ready for sticks

 

some dipped, and some waiting for the white chocolate and sprinkles

 

all wrapped in cello bags and tied with a silver twist tie

 

I was thrilled how they turned out.

 

Of course I forgot my camera, so I grabbed this picture with my phone. 

Those cupcakes were yummy!

The wedding reception was a lot of fun, and people loved the cake pops! I was in the kitchen with my friend Donna, helping serve the refreshments, and we had a blast! We don't get to see each other often (just on Sundays when I am running into the library to get copies made, and then off and running again), so it was a chance to just hang out and catch up. I wish my best to  Taylor and Derek, I was honored to be part of your special day if even just a small way.

Office Makeover Part 2

So far the process has taken a week, and this is what we have done up to today.

• emptied office - the contents of which are now everywhere downstairs. Don't enter my home without donning hazard gear!


• painted the walls.


• built and installed the base cabinets


• painted base cabinets


• stained 3 pieces of pine for the counter tops - turned out so pretty!


• installed the pine for the counter top


• removed the pine from the counter top - looks like it was quilted together, and not in a good way. We will use the pine to build Tyler a head board, night stand, and possible a book shelf so it won't be wasted.


• Good friends came over and gave us some ideas for the counter top


• 3 trips to Home Depot and the laminate sheet is ordered


• mdf is glued together to create a very strong top


• repainted under the counter top - I had it white, but needed to be the blue to match the walls. It didn't look right the other way.

oh, and during all of this, I had sales on etsy, so I am working on top of whatever surface I can find. In one picture you can see all the orders ready to head out the door. Crazy!

Here is the paint, it is still wet, but I love it! It is what is painted in our family room as well.

Here are two of the pieces of pine that I stained. They turned out beautiful!

The cabinet bases are installed, and I have one of them painted.

Here I am trying to get packages out the door for my etsy orders. It is crazy trying to do with everything everywhere! LOL!The room with paint under the cabinets. It gives it more of the built in look this way, and oh so much better! Isn't it crazy how different the wet paint to dry paint looks? This is what the color really looks like. :)

Office Makeover

My office has been my pit of despair for a while now. Piles of beads, pendants, scrabble tiles, everywhere, not to mention the paperwork, was all out of control. Part of the problem was I didn't have enough shelves to put all my trays. It is always bad after the busy holiday season, which of course is my busiest time of year where it is pretty normal to spend at least 10 hours a day from Oct - Dec working on something or other related to my business. So, I finally decided enough was enough and I wanted a new office space with more storage, work surface, and lighting, and I am getting it! We are building cabinets all around 2 walls, and I couldn't be more thrilled!

Here are some of the inspirations I found for my new creative space. :) I can't seem to get them to show up as a slide show, but here is the link to my idea book.

my office/creative space idea book

Now, for every great makeover is the dreaded before picture. I can't believe I am going to post this, but what the heck right? LOL! I bet most of my creative friends all have a space like this where they create. Hopefully theirs aren't as bad as mine is. I will say this in my defense, this is as bad as it has been in forever, I just had no time or energy to even try to put things away after finishing things up for orders, and shows.  So here it goes.

My computer area where I do all my listings, photo editing, well all of the "work" part of my job. LOL!

This shows the jewelry creating area and to the left are shelves that are home to many things. You name it, it is probably there!

The tall cabinet is home to scrapbooking supplies and the lateral file is home to shipping supplies and of course my photo set up.

So there you have it, my disaster area that has been driving me crazy. It is no longer there,  but now everything that was in there is now  all through out my entire downstairs as we are in the building process of the new office/creative space. Can't wait until it is done. I want my kitchen table back! LOL!

 

Office Redo

Thanksgiving

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving Day with friends. I will be adding pictures as soon as I return home, they are on the other camera!

It's Sticking!

Yesterday morning, those are the happy sounds I awoke too. The girls were overjoyed that it was not only snowing, but sticking. :) I on the other hand wasn't thrilled. I had the last day of my show to do, and snow is not bead buying weather.  Now that it is Monday however, I love the snow! I am thankful for the 2 hour delay that the kids had for school, we all needed to sleep in. Here are the girls as they are walking down to the bus stop. Allison of course already had a snowball!

Charmed Pennies

I have been having fun the past few years making and selling scrabble tile pendants at the shows that I am at. They have been a huge hit. I wanted to do some in a round shape, and after a light bulb, finally went off, I started using pennies to make the pendants on. They are an even bigger hit than the scrabble tiles. So today, I have been tripping over pennies all over my house.

First I have to clean them up, and then sort through them picking out the "pretty" ones. Then I get to play.

Here are a bunch of pennies done, just have to wait 24 hours for the epoxy to set.

And here are some Charmed Pennies all finished up just waiting to be put on etsy later this weekend.

Mom, I have no socks!

This morning, I am very thankful for the fact that Allison was getting her shoes and socks on 15 minutes before the bus came, not at the last possible minute which happens a lot!  Turns out she has no clean socks. They are all in the washing machine. So, I grab the hair dryer in one hand, the iron in the other, and with a minute to spare, she has on toasty warm socks, and she and Daylyn are off and running down the street to catch the bus.  I am a little worried though, she loved the warm socks. Hope this doesn't mean she will want them warmed for her every day! LOL!

Veteran's Day

Yesterday at the girls school, they held a Veteran's Day assembly. Daylyn's choir sang 2 songs, and Allison gave a little speech.  Here what Allison wrote, with just a little help from Mom and Dad.

All of my Great-Grandpas served in World War 2. One commanded a sub chaser, one was a medic, and one flew in a a torpedo bomber. Both of my Grandpas served as well. One served for 20 years in the Air Force. My uncle also served in Iraq. They have all worked very hard to keep all of us safe, just like our soldiers do today.

Please help celebrate the hard work they do for us. What they do for us is so special, we should help them back. Help give gifts, send letters, do whatever you can. If you have someone helping, when they come home, throw a party.

They risk their lives for everyone,. So everyone should do the best they can, to be the best person they can be. So please help us celebrate Veterans Day.

Thank you.

Bagel Pizza's

The other day Daylyn asked if she could make dinner. I have to be honest, as a busy mom,  sometimes I don't have time to have my kids make dinner. I just need it done, and done fast, but I actually had time to have her make dinner. She wanted to make one of our families favorite easy dinners, bagel pizza's.  Here she is making them.

Bagel Pizza's

• small bagels


• jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce


• shredded cheese


• turkey pepperoni

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place bagel halves on a cookie sheet. Spoon spaghetti sauce onto the bagels, sprinkle shredded cheese on, and then your turkey pepperoni or whatever other toppings you love. Bake for about 8 minutes, then take out and enjoy!

1. Place bagel halves on pan, and spoon on spaghetti sauce.

2. Sprinkle on some cheese

 

3. Add your toppings, we love turkey pepperoni!

 

4. Taste testing, got to make sure that the turkey pepperoni is good!

 

5.  Bake in oven until cheese is melted and golden brown.

 

Thank you for a wonderful dinner Daylyn!

 

and my favorite picture where she is saying, "Mom, my cheeks hurt from smiling!" :)

Show Schedule

Tis the season for me to be busy! If you are in the area, and would like to come and see me, here is where I will be at....if you want to schedule a show, just email me and let me know!

The Original Mt. Country Christmas Bazaar

November 5-6th

Fri ~ 6-9pm

Sat ~ 19-4pm

at the Eatonville Lions Club on Carter and Rainer in Eatonville, WA

Thie show is a special event sporsored by Dr. A.W. Bridge Orthopedic Guild in support of Mary Bridge Children's Hospital.

Sassy Mei

November 11 -13th


Thurs ~ 6-9pm
Fri ~ 10-6pm
Sat ~ 10-4pm

at Sawyer Crest Homes in Maple Valley, WA

Spanaway Lake High School 29th Annual Holiday Craft Fair

November 13 -14th

Sat ~ 9-5pm
Sun ~ 10-3pm

Bellevue Bead Festival

November 20-21st
Sat. ~ 10am-6pm
Sun ~ 11am-5pm

at the Meyedenbauer Center
11100 NE 6th Street
Bellevue, WA
www.bellevuebeadfestival.com

The Yarn Deli

December 1st

Weds ~ 11-9pm

515 New Jersey Street, Suite C
Redlands, CA

Taking Time...

I was reading a friends, Rebecca's blog today and she wrote,"Why is it so easy to sacrifice our time for others but so difficult to sacrifice it for ourselves." It is true. As women we were so many different hats in our lives, wives, moms, daughters, sisters, and friends. Many of us work and volunteer and serve in our communities, schools, and churches. Most of the time there is very little time left at the end of the day, and if there is, we probably just want to sleep or do nothing. There is a simple joy in doing simply nothing.  We need to remember to take care of ourselves, that we are just as important as the people we serve. What a great example we can be to our children if we  let them see that Mom is important, her dreams and goals matter.

I think it is an important lesson to show them that when we do take time to put ourselves first, once in a while, that we are reaffirming who we are. We were someone, an individual before we married and became parents, and it is important to not lose sight of that person. When we do this, we will be more able to continue to serve those we love. We can only go on so long without taking care of ourselves. So today do something for yourself, take a few moments, remember your dreams, and make a plan to realize them. You and your family will be blessed for it.

Trick or Treat!!!

What could be more fun for kids than dressing up, and getting candy with friends? My kids and I had a blast this year.  Travis went out with a couple of friends from school, the girls and I went with one of their friends, and Tyler doesn't go trick or treating anymore, but helps hand out candy for us. Here we are all dressed up and ready for fun...well, except for me. I am really in costume the entire year, and on Halloween, I can reveal my true self! :)

A spunky witch!

A Gothic Empress!

Harry Potter!

Any guesses? He is a "cereal killer"

and more pictures

[slideshow]

Halloween Brownies!

One of the kids favorite parts of any holiday are the parties at school. We try to send in goodies with them. This year Daylyn took the Marshmallow Mummies that we made earlier, and Allison wanted to bring brownies. I am sure that many other busy moms out there know that helping our children make things takes more time than just simply making it ourselves, but in my quest to have and create more memories with my kids, I thought it would be fun to have her help me make them. She was thrilled.

Read instructions

Pour brownie mix into bowl.

Crack and add eggs.

add water and oil

stir, stir, stir!

Pour the batter into pan and bake. While brownies are baking, run upstairs and get dressed for school!

Let brownies cool and frost with orange frosting of course.

 The big decision, what sprinkles to use? 

(I have a sprinkle addiction, so there is normally more than one choice available. LOL!)

Sprinkle away!

 

 Smile, and look what you did. :)