Happy Friday Everyone!...

Yuppers, I love Fridays... it's pizza and slurpee night at my house, so I don't have to cook - Yay! I watch movies or play Wii with my family - sometimes in to the wee hours of the morning because we don't have to get up early Saturday - Yay times two! Friday's I try to catch up with all my sweet Bloggieland friends to see what you've all been up to... and how I love my visits to each of you!

It's the long weekend here in Canada - Victoria Day (Queens Birthday). So my girls get a long weekend. Traditionally it's usually the weekend that we get our gardens in shape and potted florals out, but we've had some unseasonal weather the last couple of days... so that may have to wait a wee bit longer. Last week I was able to leave my bedroom window open while I slept and the sound of the frogs singing in the neighborhood ponds was so wonderful to fall asleep to.

But there is unpleasantness looming... I have to 'Spring Clean'. Yup... I posted way back when, that I would be getting down to business and doing some organizing around my house. Well, that never happened - it's sooooo easy to put that job off! Well it really can't wait any longer, so I must tackle it starting this weekend. Sigh

My new rule is going to be: If I haven't used it, touched it or looked at it in the last year or two, then it's outta here! Yup, I'm going to be really strong - ok, well my intentions are good. Now, of course you know I am not talking about my supplies, bits and baubles right? LOL A girl can never have too much of that!

Hope you lovelies have a wonderful weekend!♥ xox

"What makes my heart skip a beat" Blog Party...

Lovely Marcela at Etsy Cottage Style is having another wonderful Blog Party and the theme is "What makes your heart skip a beat". When your visit is finished here, go have a peak at what other lovelies have shared.

Hmmmm... where do I start? I could write a novel about this one! Don't worry... I won't, lol. I'll give you a list - the short version ;o)

Well, one of the obvious things would be my ♥girls♥ of course, but for this Blog Party, I'm going to list some other yummy things.


♥ Images... old and new especially of castles, floral vignettes, and the Victorian era.
♥ Digital art... oh how I LOVE to create digital art!
♥ Beads, baubles, buttons, jewelry and all things sparkly, then add lots of ribbon.
♥ All things Shabby Chic, Cottage Chic, Paris Chic... you get the idea, hehe.
♥ Baroque and Rococo art, architecture and furnishings.


Those are a few things, how about experiences...

♥ A thunderstorm at night that produces the most amazing fresh air.
♥ Sweet birds chirping their songs.
♥ The smell of beautiful fragrant flowers and perfumes.
♥ The sweet connection of a dear friendship.
♥ Random acts of kindness.


Truly, my list could go on forever. There are so many things that inspire me. I'm grateful for all that "Makes my heart skip a beat". Or as I like to call it... "Makes my heart sing".

I'm so looking forward to visiting you to see what your heart is singing! xo♥

♥ Happy Mothers Day ♥

This is a day that fills my heart... I love my sweet girls and we are very close indeed.

It's also a day of remembering my Mom who passed of Alzheimer's Disease 3 years ago... I loved my sweet Mom and we were very close indeed.

When I was little, I wanted to give my Mom something special for Mothers Day along with the usual hand made card she reveled in. I came across a decorative plate that had beautiful words for a Mother as if I had written it myself, I thought.

My Mom treasured it and it always hung in a special place where she kept things that were dear to her. After she passed, the plate became mine and it now sits on an easel near other things that are dear to me. The precious words read:

Mother

To one who bears the sweetest name
And adds a luster to the same
Who shares my joys
Who cheers when sad
The greatest friend I ever had
Long life to her, for there's no other
Can take the place of my dear Mother

For all of you beautiful, wonderful Moms... Happy Mothers Day♥ xoxo

Another Sweet Bloggieland Award...

I must say, that Blogging has opened up a wonderful world to me. I have had the sincere pleasure of meeting so many beautiful people in Bloggieland! The talent, generosity, spirit, encouragement and true eye candy that so many offer through their Blogs is nothing short of inspiring and I'm so grateful to ALL of you who take the time to share so much♥

Sweet Nina of Vintage Nina has given me this lovely Award. Thank You so much! You must take a moment to visit her blog, because she represents ALL of the beautiful things I love about Bloggieland! Her loving, caring creative spirit shines through in all that she writes about and her artwork and hand made creations are beautiful. Lovely♥

Now it's time to pass on this Award to 4 other Blogs. This is truly the hardest thing to do because I enjoy so many Blogs... so I've chosen one's that I want to share with you in case you haven't already found them on your own... all are beautiful, inspiring Blogs to visit.

Cupids Charm - If you haven't found this one... you are in for such a treat. Joy is the talent behind this Blog and in it you'll find some of the most gorgeous romantic jewelry designs. But that's only a small part, Joy is an accomplished artist having been published in various Somerset Publications including "Artful Blogging". There's really so much more I could say about Joy's Cupids Charm, but you'll have to go see for yourself. Delightful♥

Push the Button Alpha - Andrea is the wonder behind this Blog. She inspires you by sharing some of the most thought provoking writings of both the well known, and her own words. I LOVE it when someone can entice me to step 'outside the box' and contemplate life experiences through different perspectives. Soulful♥

The Painted Nest - Deborah is the lovely creator of this Blog. She exudes one of the most kindest of spirits as she revels in promoting others and selflessly encourages all through her sweet nurturing words. Her vignette pictures are so pretty and it's always a treat to see what's new. Gracious♥

Nice and Easy Antiques - Clara & Marcela are the lovelies behind this Blog. While you're visiting, be sure to visit their Nice & Easy Antiques Shop - lots of treasures to be found there. Their Blog is full of eye candy for the shoppers in us, home decor ideas for the decorators in us and wonderful project ideas for the designers in us. All are sprinkled with lots of detailed images and thoughtful quotes, sayings and personality plus! Creative Inspiration♥

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!


Here's a special Thank You... for all the wonderful people whose Blogs I visit, and all of you who follow me - you make my creative heart sing♥

You may download this little sweetie-pie and use it for personal use or your shop packaging... just not for resale please. Enjoy! xox

Secrets of Savvy Etsy Sellers...

I was doing a bit of catching up in Bloggieland this afternoon and want to pass along some wonderful free info that was posted on my Inspiration Avenue Team Blog.

Julie of On the Dot Creations has posted a new, absolutely FREE e-book, titled "Secrets of Savvy Etsy Sellers". That's right, it's free - no strings attached. How often does that happen? lol Click on the picture to take you to the e-book download link.

At first glance, it looks like it offers some great advice; some things new and others you may already know, but it's always good to have a little refresher. ;o)

Hope you find it helpful♥ xo

Engagement Party Vignette...

This was a fun way to use my Sweet Hearts Art Stickers; an Engagement Party theme.

I remember just how all the 'little' things added up cost wise when I was planning my wedding and I quickly learned to prioritize, and do some of my own creating to add a special touch in decorating the tables, etc. to stay on budget. You can easily create your own invitations, place cards, wedding favor labels, 'save the date' cards, etc. In the last year, I have been invited to 3 different weddings, all of which hand created invitations were given. All had a very different look to them, but were equally beautiful.

Don't know where to begin? Does your wedding follow a theme? Find some images that appeal to the look you're going for - Etsy is a wonderful place to purchase gorgeous graphics inexpensively - do a search for 'Collage Sheets'. You'll find all sorts of images that you can create your stationery items with. Print them out on sticker sheets or paper and cut them out. Then choose coordinating card stock, decorative papers, embellishments and ribbon and have fun making some samples until you make the one you love. Don't be over-whelmed with the thought of having to do more than you can handle if you have a large invitation list. When you make them, set up an 'assembly line' and add each element to all cards one step at a time. You might surprise yourself how quickly you can get things done. Of course, help from friends or family and a yummy bottle of wine might help too! ;o)

Perhaps these pictures will get you started on a few ideas.♥

Paris Chic Afternoon Tea Vignette...

Paris Chic style is truly one of my favorites... although these Harmony Pink Butterfly Art Stickers would be lovely for many different occasions or handcrafted pretties, I couldn't help but make a vignette about Oo La La Paris♥





I've posted before about how much I love digital collaging and altering butterflies and I must say, that little passion is not waning as I've made more and a couple of them will be featured on Art Cards I've made for my Etsy Shop.

I remember when my girls were little, we'd have tea parties with their miniature tea sets and we would invite their favorite stuffed animals of course! Both of their Nana's enjoyed many tea parties with the girls too. I didn't have the extra time back then to make little place cards, invitations and cup cake toppers to make it extra special. Hmmm... maybe it's time for a Big Girl tea party with all the trimmings♥

Birthday Party Vignette...

Well, James and I did indeed 'build' the light box. We sort of modified it a bit in that I chose not to glue it together so I could change the length of the legs depending on what I'm shooting. I need lots of practice and I've discovered too that I need much brighter lighting, but Victoria and I had fun playing with different shots.

I did 3 different vignettes that I'll post over the next few days. The main purpose is to feature the Art Stickers I offer in my Etsy Shop... I love it when sellers add pictures in listings of their items in use, so I wanted to create my own suggested ideas for the use of my stickers.


Here's the Birthday Party Vignette using the Shades of Blue Butterflies Art Stickers. Victoria set it up and took the pictures, I think she did a great job. Funny how ♥pink♥ always plays a big part too, lol.



I just received treasures in the post, scrumptious colors of vintage seam binding and glorious other ribbons... sigh, I'm in my happy place! Off to finish some tags now ;o)

Hope you all are having a lovely day♥ xo

I've been Featured!...

Oh my goodness, 2 posts in 1 day? Something must be going on here... Yuppers!!! I got a message through my Etsy shop that my Upper Lane Personalized Labels have been featured along with some beautiful labels made by other fellow Etsians, at FoundHandMade.com Yippee! Click here to see my feature.



Here's the Site I've been featured on... click the banner and it will take you there. It looks like a wonderful venue featuring many artists and shop owners that sell hand made or vintage. Have a good look around while you're visiting, they offer some other information categories to peruse too. Particularly interesting to me, was their page of Alexa Traffic Ranking stats on lots of different on-line places where hand made is sold - all on one page for easy reference. Very informative.

Happy Sigh... ok, back to work I go now ;o) ♥xo

Make a Light Box for Great Photos...

Well, I've been a busy girl lately doing digital art for my Labels and Art Stickers for my Etsy Shop. I've also been doing some Art Cards and Gift Tags to add as well, but since I've mostly done digital on the computer for quite awhile now, I'd forgotten how tricky it is to get the 'perfect' shot of an item close up. So, I've been playing around with light, different locations in my house to shoot, set up, etc. I finally decided that perhaps a Photo Box or Tent would be in order because I just am not happy with the results I'm getting.

I decided to do a search on line to price one out or learn how to make one myself. Now, I've seen lots of suggestions on making these before, but I haven't been inspired enough to try it as the directions are not very clear and I just can't find the 'stuff' to build one.

I found this link today and am absolutely thrilled, so I thought I would share it with you♥

Bill Huber has done an amazing job with detailed instructions and photographs on how to make an excellent, inexpensive light box. He's even given examples of photos taken in the finished box with different backdrops and lighting, etc. Click here to go to his instructions.

On that page, there's yet another link to Kevin Criscione who has also done this light box and offers even more suggestions and photo taking tips. Click here to go to his instructions. Once there, just click on the Welcome button to get the tutorial started.

I can totally see this as a plausible project and it sure beats spending big moola for a professional tent! So... I hope James doesn't mind giving me a hand this weekend, cuz I have a light box to build with a whole lot of pictures waiting to be taken! ;o)

Maybe you take amazing shots already, or have done this research yourself and built your own... but if you're like me, *pulling hair out - trying to find just the right lighting, just the right setting, etc., etc.* then perhaps this little bit of info may be useful for you.

Have a wonderful weekend lovely Sweets! ♥xo

Yay, A Blog Party!...

Blog Parties are so much fun - it's great meeting new lovelies♥ from Bloggieland too!

I'm taking part in the Etsy Cottage Style Blog Blue Party. What's it all about? The yummy color Blue of course ;o) Participants are asked to simply post about anything related to the color blue. One of the suggestions was to share some of our latest creations. Since I haven't had time to prepare anything else for you (the real deal - my camera battery is dead and it's late and there's no way I'm going to capture some Sweet Blue images for you at this time of night anyway, lol ;0), I'm going to share some of my latest creations.

I've added a new line of Personalized Labels in my Etsy Shop and these are among my favorites.






This one is called Upper Lane. Lots of scrolly lovelies on this one.









LOVE this poshy one, that's why I called it Truly Posh.









This one has Blue in it and I call it Cottage Chic, so I thought it would qualify ;o)











How about some more Blue... Heather Blue Scroll






I guess it's pretty obvious that I like the color blue, it's such a lovely color with all of it's varying shades. Even my Blog Banner is full of blue!

You know what's funny? I always thought I loved the color Pink the very most. But, when I look at a lot of the digital collage work I've done, I have more Blue than any other color.

Ok, I think I've covered my fair share of Blue here, lol. My goodness - I think most of my entire Blog set-up is Blue! Sheeesh - It's true - Blue has replaced my Pink... sigh.

Thanks so much for visiting and I'll be popping in to your Bloggieland homes to see your lovely Blues too. xo♥

PS: While you're here, please help yourself to any of the images I've posted in past posts - they're labeled 'Free Image'. Perhaps you'll find a little something you'd like to have♥

Sweet Bloggieland Awards...

A while ago, my sweet friend from "Mana Moon" gave me a Karma Award. Then just recently, another lovley from "Shhh...Confessions of an Artist: Lunatiger" gave me a Sisterhood Award. Isn't Bloggieland a wonderful place? I am so honored that these ladies chose to give me these awards and I thank you both very much.

The rules for these awards were very similar, so I decided to just post the ones that came with the Sisterhood Award.


The rules for this award:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 5 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!

3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.


So I have chosen to pass on the ♥love♥ to:


LuLu from LuLu Kellogg (aka Coastal Sisters)
Catherine from La Perle Jewellery
Sharon from Mana Moon Studios
Angie from Art Angel Studio
Abbie from Down Abbie's Road


Go have a look at the blogs of the incredible ladies I've listed above♥

So Sweets, pass on whichever or both of these awards you want to. If doing so isn't your thing, then no worries - just wanted you to know I think you're wonderful!

The truth is, I've come to love Bloggieland and have read some fantastic blogs. I'm also grateful for all of you lovelies that follow me here, so here's some big "Karma" and "Sisterhood" Love from me to you too♥ xo

Happy Easter Sweet Friends...

Happy Easter! However you spend your day today, I hope it's wonderful for you. ♥

Can you believe my girls still love an Easter Egg Hunt? Yup, they certainly do. They told the Easter Bunny that now that they're older, he could take them off his list under one condition... that he would pass on a few Egg Hunt secrets to Mom so she could carry on hiding yummies for them.

So that's exactly what I do! It's quite fun - I make riddles and clues and they have to solve each one to find the next. Our favorite treats include; Reese's Peanut Butter Cup minis, Robbin Eggs, Cadbury Mini Eggs and yummy flavored Jelly Beans. Of course, the treasure at the end of the hunt always includes a solid Bunny. Yum.

Hmmmm... I think I hear the stirrings of waking family upstairs. I'm off to have some fun ;o)

Will you have some treats today? If you were here, I'd share mine with you♥ xo

It went too fast...

Spring Break is almost over - the girls are back in school tomorrow... sigh. We had such a wonderful time together! James took the girls skiing, they had such fun. We have enjoyed Mini Golf, a movie at the theater, shopping, Wii, looking through old family pictures, and crafting among other things.

I was looking at my last post and laughed as I had hoped to accomplish some things around the house as well. Not one single thing on that list was even thought of, lol! Oh well, the basement and sorting, etc. will still be there to do. A week off with the girls was way more fun!

Back to routine tomorrow and a whirl wind of work to do to list new goodies for my Etsy Shop. I need to catch up with my Bloggieland list and visit all of you lovelies too! ;o) See you soon xo♥