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!!!!!

What's a girl to do..............

I woke this morning to SNOW!! The weatherman warned of it's arrival and I was ready for it.  Yes I am one of those crazy people that feels they must get to the grocery store before a snowstorm.  I stocked up on bread, milk, toilet paper and the ingrediants to make wedding soup yesterday while there was a break in the weather.  I even stopped at Michaels to purchase extra scrapbook adhesive-you know just in case I would be snowed in until March.  With the schools cancelled and more snow on the way, it was clear to me that I was indeed snowed in.  What's a girl to do with a snowy day----send your 18 year old son outside to shovel the walk, make yourself a cup of coffee, put in your favorite movie (Ever After with Drew Barrymore) and CREATE.  I am still in the Valentine mood so I decided to make a few cards. 

(I apoligize for the quality of the last two photos.  It is hard to get good lighting on a dark snowy day)

I used my favorite stamp set from Papertrey Ink called Everyday Buttons Bits.  If you are looking for a fun stamp set this is the one for you.  On the 15th of every month, they introduce several new sets.  Each day up until the 15th they provide sneak peeks and I gasped with excitment to see sneak peek #2---another button bit set!!!!! I know just what I am going to spend my Christmas gift certificate on. 

Since the clock reads 4:15 already and I have played the whole day away, I'd better be off to get dinner started.  Wedding soup and corn bread muffins :)   Hope you have a safe and warm weekend

I took these pictures last night as the snow began to fall.  I hope you can see the tiny snowflakes.  They were  so very beautiful.  Nature's beauty is simply amazing!!!

Winter Fun

Snow can be beautiful and fun---as long as I don't have to drive in it.  Hope you are enjoying this Winter Season.

A Cozy Sunday Afternoon

I woke this morning to a blustery wind blowing outside of my window.  The kind of  morning that makes you want to crawl right back under the covers and fall back to sleep.  But with a Golden Retriever puppy woofing in that urgent voice, I pulled myself up and stumbled to the door to let her outside.  She took one sniff of the freezing air and promptly changed her mind.  With much encouragment she decided to go ahead and venture out staying only as long as necessary.  Once awake I thought about the day ahead.  A perfect day for homemade beef soup.  But just like the nursery rhyme "Old Mother Hubberd" my cupboards were bare.  So after a quick trip to the local grocery store, I had a big pot of beef soup simmering on the stove.  Oh what to do with the rest of this blustery afternoon?? I could take down the Christmas decorations or create something fun in my scrapbook studio.  With Valentines Day on the way,  and my little shop at Sweetpeas needing to be replenished, it was not a hard decision to make----create!! After gathering my supplies, I set to work.  The result.............

I had such fun with these little notebooks at Christmas I thought I might make a few for Valentines Day.  The images are vintage valentines that I scanned except for the the little bluebird.  I borrowed her from the wonderful flickr site belonging to Elizabeth of Creative Breathing. 

Then I created these Valentine peek a boo notes.  I love the colors of Valentines Day---so sweet and romantic.   I hope you all are snuggled safe and warm today enjoying the peacefulness of a cozy Sunday afternoon. 

*********EDIT**********

I have had a request to share the vintage Valentine images that I used for the little altered notebooks. I have added the images.  Just click on the image to enlarge.  Happy creating.  I would love to see how you use them :)

Happy New Year!!!!

That is my wish for all of you in this new year. 

Before I rush off to welcome in the new year with my family, I thought it might be fun to share this yummy recipe with you.  I made it this morning to take along to a family gathering.  It is super easy and oh so delicious. 

Cinnamon Sugar Coffee Cake

(3) cans of Pillsbury flaky buttermilk biscuits

1/3 cup of sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

***Cut each biscuit into quarters and roll into tiny balls.  Place sugar and cinnamon into a plastic bag.  Add the little dough balls and shake to coat.  Place coated biscuits in a bundt cake sprayed with cooking spray. 

Make sauce below and pour over dough balls

1 1/2 stick margarine

1 cup of brown sugar

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

****Bring to a boil and stir until carmalized (about 1 min.)

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Cool slightly and transfer to serving platter.

ENJOY!!!

Happy New Year my friends.

Love,

Mimi