1 2 3 part 2

As promised the second little counting book..........

Hope you are enjoying the rest of the weekend.  I have some fun new projects to post soon, so  stop back for a visit.

1 2 3 part 1

Did you ever come across a scrapbook supply that provided you with instant inspiration.  I love it  when that happens.  On a recent shopping trip, I discovered these plain chipboard albums from the company Cloud 9.  The coolest thing about these little books is that they also came with a box that the finished album could be stored in.  In my hast to get creative, I forgot to take pictures of the before project but I have lots of after pictures to share.   The shape of these little books were so unique I instantly thought of turning them into a counting book.   And with the perfect number of pages provided,  my mind was twirling with ideas.  Some time ago I purchesed two clear stamp sets from Sandylion designs.  I admit I have a thing for big chunky animal stamps and these sets were too adorable to pass up. There is a little girl set as well as one themed for little boys.  After stamping the images on patterened paper, I cut them out  in the appropriate number and created this fun little book. 

This project was so much fun to complete. It takes me back to when I used to read counting books to Alex.   I am showing the little girl version today.  Check back tomorrow and I will post pictures of the little boy version.  Have a Happy Friday!!!!

And the Winner is............

Before I announce the winner of my little blog contest, I just want to Thank You  all for playing along and leaving me such sweet comments.  I was happy to see so many regular friends as well as several new readers joining in the fun.  I  truly appreciate each and every one of you.  Now onto the winner.  I was unsure how to pick the winner so that it would be fair to all.  I decided to enlist the help of my son. (what a good sport he was to help out his Mom)   I asked him to either write down or with a show of fingers, a number from 1-13. (the number of comments that were made) Without further delay.......   

The winner is Melinda of Country Dreaming. Her comment was the seventh one.  Melinda has a delightful blog full of fun. Hurry on over and say Hello.   Congratulations Melinda--I hope you enjoy all of your surprises.  If you could e-mail your address I will get your package in the mail right away. 

Well I am off to visit several new blogs.   Thank you again to all of you for taking a moment from your busy day to say Hello and encourage me with your thoughtful words. 

A Day to Love and a Surprise Give Away

Apart from Christmas, Valentines Day is my favorite holiday.  I love everything about it. After all who could not adore a day dedicated to LOVE.  A day to tell all those you hold dear just how special they are to you.  A day to do that little something apart from the daily routine to surprise your loved ones.    The colors of this day are so sweet and romantic.  I so enjoy designing projects at this time of year.  Pink, red, white, hearts, buttons, lace, ribbon, vintage valentines from days gone by all come together into the most delightful  creations.  I wanted to share with you tonight two Valentine banners that I  recently completed for my shop at Sweetpeas.  The first one made with my nestabilities die cuts.  A scalloped circle for the base coupled with a plain circle of patterned paper and white cardstock for the middle.  I added letters to spell "Be Mine",a few pretty pink flowers, ribbon and some bakers twine. 

This next banner is created in the other color of the day--Red! Again using my square scalloped nestabilities as a base coupled with a plain square of patterned paper in the middle, buttons, ribbon, bakers twine and a couple of hearts punched with my new Martha Stewert heart punch 

Now I have a little surprise for all of you my blog friends that I hold dear.  In celebration of this my 100th post I am having a little give a way.  If you would like a chance to win my love banner (and a few other little surprises) just leave me a comment on this post and I will pull the winning name on Monday.  That will give you all the weekend to enter.  I am so excited to send this surprise to one of you.  Not only to say thank you for reading my blog and leaving me encouraging comments but for your friendship.  I appreciate you!!!

I love you "deerly"

As my close friends and definitely my family all know, I have a great fondness for deer.  I think they are one of the most amazing creatures.  I love to see them in the wild and I can spot them no matter what the situation.  A slight twitch of their tails as they wonder through the woods---the gleam of their eyes when caught by the beams of car headlights---their silhouettes atop a hill against the moon lit sky.  Sometimes my family thinks I am seeing things but upon further review they see that I am usually correct. 
We had such a beautiful day here in Pittsburgh.  The temperatures actually reached 32 degrees, there was not a snowflake to be seen and the sky was a beautiful shade of blue.  After running a few errands I thought I would take the long route home by way of a local park.  It sure felt great to be out and about.  I just happened to have my camera with me so when I came upon a group of deer enjoying this pretty day I just had to capture their beauty on film......

Sometimes it's the simple things that bring the most pleasure.

A Valentine Quilt

I have shared in previous posts what a talented quilter my mom is.  She has made some amazing quilts for me that I will treasure forever.  Most recently she completed a quilt for me that I could hardly wait to share with you all.  It is perfect for the coming Valentine holiday and looks so sweet in my red kitchen.  I placed it on my table and took lots of pictures to show you.  However the lighting in my kitchen is not the best and with another cloudy day on the way I just could not capture all of it's beautiful detail.  A dilemma for sure for this blogging girl.  Then the idea came to me.  I should take the quilt outside where the lighting is much brighter.  With the temperatures reaching a high of 11 degrees today, I grabbed my coat,  my furry boots, and with camera in hand headed outside.  I only hope the neighbors didn't spy me in all this silliness.  I was freezing but I finally captured some pictures for you to see......... 

Can you see the icicles hanging from my neighbors house.  I think I must be crazy :) I took some close up pictures as well so that you could really see just how fun this quilt is. 

The last picture is of the back of the quilt.  I wanted you to see how fun  this fabric is and the whimsical way she quilted it. I also wanted to share with you this simple table decoration that I put together.  It keeps with the theme of my quilt.  

Just fill a vintage ball canning jar with your favorite Valentine candy.

****HINT****buy extra bags to allow for taste testing :)

Top each jar with a  "clay pot" shaped glass votive.  Add a little tea light and there you have it.  I made three and arranged them on top of my vintage milk glass cake stand.   

(Thank you to my wonderful friend, Joyce from Scrap for joy for sharing this "sweet" idea with me)

Stay safe and Warm!!!!!