Still Here. Still Creating. Still Busy. Still Blessed.

Hello! My sweet friend Tessie had an open house for The Striped Straw in August (thank you Tess!!!) and I have been busy making the custom orders below as a result of the open house. It was such a fun time and a blessing to spend that time with friends, new and old. I've been busily working on a few other custom orders as well as creating new items to restock my Shop. All in good time. I am determined to put first things first this year and give priority to my family and homeschooling. I have three little ones who won't be little forever and I want to give them, and my husband, the best of me. I did not excel at that last fall. As one of my Cs recently said, "No offense Mom, but last year was kind of a flop." And he was right. But God is good and His mercies are new everyday. Where I flop, God lifts up and redeems. So, here's to making good use of time, enjoying loved ones, and allowing creativity to blossom and flourish without taking over. Happy Saturday to you!

Checking In From Busytown

Hello!

It's been quite a while since I've been here. My apologies for being MIA. We've been really busy, mostly having fun, with another two weeks of crazy busy on the horizon. But more about that later. I'd love to catch up and hear how you're doing. Did you have a good 4th of July? We went to a parade in my hometown village with my mom-in-law and some families from our community group at church. It was fun, not too-too hot, and the rest of the day was pretty relaxing. And then on the 5th, a whole host of my loved ones on my dad's side came into town and we had a big family get-together in honor of my aunt and uncle's birthdays. It was so good to see everyone, chat as much as we could, and meet some of my cousins' children for the first time. With everyone living in separate states, we don't get together that often so it was a really special time.

The other big enchilada that's been keeping me busy is Vacation Bible School at our church. My husband and I have the privilege of helping direct VBS and it begins one week from today. Yikes! We spend months planning for VBS and then it's here before we know it. Kind of like running a marathon and then sprinting to the end. Actually, I'm feeling the pre-race jitters of excitement and a bit of nervousness. To keep from dwelling on that, I'm praying, first and foremost, and then staying busy.

One of my favorite projects that I do right before VBS is make t-shirts for our Core Committee. I usually put the VBS logo on the shirts and then draw or write something that reflects that person, often with some touches of humor that are obvious only to us as a team. The team now refers to the various things that are shared among us as t-shirt fodder. And that's about right. T-shirt fodder. All in good fun.

In my spare time, I've also made some new items for my Shop, with more to come. I've also been working on a number of custom orders, which is always a fun challenge. I'll see what I can post this week.

Some of the things I'm loving right now: homemade guacamole (with chips or as a spread for a lettuce wrap), refreshingly cooler weather + rain, and my middle C's perspective that swimming = vacation (when I mentioned we have plans to swim this week, he grinned and said, "we've had so many vacations this summer!")

I hope you're enjoying your summer. I'll hopefully be back sooner rather than later. Until then, take care!

A Sweet Birthday

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake with Walnut Pecan Crust

Today was a big day in our home because it was my husband's birthday. My husband is gentle and kind and thoughtful and godly and fun. I just love him. He's had some really tough days at work lately so I wanted to really make his day extra special. He requested cheesecake for his birthday so I happily honored that request. To my immense relief, the cheesecake turned out well. See the recipe below. My 3Cs were so excited that it was daddy's birthday. They each made him an original something special out of Legos. Our littlest C made a little restaurant with two people eating enchiladas. Cute, no? (Can you tell we live in the Southwest where chile is practically ground up and put in a baby's bottle?) Our middle C made a boat and a jet...so boyishly fun. And our oldest C made his daddy a Lego ipad. So cool. He worked on it for hours and was so excited to give it to his daddy. All of their creations were a big hit. I framed a few of my husband's recent photos (he has a great eye for photography) and got him a few other little things. My mom-in-law joined us for dinner and we had a nice time together. It's my prayer that our love would wash away some of the stress and exhaustion he feels from his 12 hour work days. We love you!

Lego ipad

For the (gluten free) cheesecake recipe...

Post-Vacation Smoothies

Hello! We've been out on a little vacation and family get-together. We attended a surprise birthday party for my aunt over the weekend. The get-together wasn't a surprise but the fact that it was for my aunt and a month ahead of her birthday was a surprise and a lovely one at that. My mom has three sisters and the sisters planned a great party with yummy food, summery decorations and a slideshow of the guest of honor . Another big hit was the jib jab card that my cousin put together. Hilarious. My 3Cs love their cousins, big and small, and had their fill of wrestling around with the grown cousins and swimming in the hotel pool with their little cousins. Father's Day was celebrated in there and then it was time to head home. So, what is one to serve hungry husband and kids for breakfast after being gone all weekend? Why chocolate peanut butter banana smoothies of course! Yes, I winged it but they were tasty. Here's what I did...

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies
1 very ripe banana
3/4 cup of chocolate chips, melted
Couple of tablespoons of natural peanut butter stirred into melted chocolate
Vanilla almond milk
Crushed Ice
Melt chocolate chips in microwave and stir in peanut butter. Add ice, almond milk, banana, and chocolate peanut butter to the blender and blend away. Serves 4.


Not bad in a pinch. And now off to the grocery store.

Making Memories

Hello! Hope your weekend was lovely. Our dear, dear friends have been in town over the weekend and we've had a great time with them. We did a day trip to Bandelier National Monument, which was really cool. We also picnicked in Los Alamos and visited the Bradbury Science Museum that showcases the history and current research of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The highlights of our time with our friends were, of course, the time we got to talk and catch up and the fact that our kids played together like they had last seen each other yesterday instead of a year ago. It's so sweet. We so wished we could spend more time together. But I'm grateful for the time we do have. We have a dream of one day living on the same street together. Doing ministry together. Playing tennis together on into our 80s. Here's to making memories with good friends and hopes that your summer will bring loved ones your way.

3 Little Treasures

I hope you had a lovely Memorial Day weekend. We had a pretty low-key weekend due to work schedules but I always appreciate down time. My husband and I did get away for a date night (we saw Men in Black 3 - funny!) and then had a nice visit with two of my aunts. Our 3Cs were non-stop entertainment and chatter. Another unexpected highlight was taking a long walk with my oldest C yesterday. We had a lovely talk about nothing in particular and just enjoyed some mom and son time together.
Our hearts were also saddened this weekend with the passing of my sister-in-law's mother. She was a lovely woman who will be greatly missed. Taking time to savor moments with my own boys is definitely on my heart and mind. Aren't they awesome?

May your week be filled with memorable times with your special ones.

I Heart the Little Moments

I added a little glam to this glass vanilla bottle and I plan to fill it with little sprigs from the garden.

Life has smoothed out a bit and we're sailing into summer. Unhurried mornings. Lots of time outside. Bike rides. Time to breathe. As my margin of free time has increased in these last couple of days, I find myself noting and taking pleasure, and sometimes finding humor, in the little things. I've loved seeing my oldest son's heart for God and for other people shining forth lately. I've also gotten a kick out of him discovering that if we comb and spray his hair in the morning, his hair will look good all day long. I think it's a small admission that Mom may know a thing or two. I've also loved seeing my boys re-discover the freedom of wearing flip flops because I think their little bare feet are so cute. At the same time, those little toes can pack a wallop that stinks up an entire room. My middle C grudgingly went to wash his feet before bed last night and came back flip flopping with a sheepish grin on his face because he had to acknowledge the absolute necessity of washing his feet. Funny. And again, perhaps a small nod towards Mom and Dad knowing what they're talking about. I've loved seeing our two oldest boys learning to play the piano with their Ma K (my mom-in-law.) They each played a duet with her yesterday and that was really cool. Before my oldest son played, my mom-in-law warned me that her part was written in a chord that didn't sound good so the duet wasn't going to sound great. They played and I heard what she meant; it was a bit discordant. But as soon as they finished, my youngest C said, "That was awkward." Funny boy. He's got a quick wit and he keeps us entertained. He'll sometimes call me "mi rosa", "my rose" in English. He started doing it again yesterday, and I love it. A sweet sentiment but it's really all in his delivery. He bends his body over in half and then comes up and flings his arms up the air as he says, "mi rosa!" Adorable, funny and utterly unique. Yes, these are the little moments that fill my heart and my life.

Little Details

Little Blooms in Mango

I hope you had a beautiful weekend. I had a very nice Mother's Day with my 3Cs, my husband, my mom-in-law and my parents. Good company and good food makes for a good time. I received some lovely handmade cards from my boys. We are a family who says "I love you" many times a day but there's something extra special when it's written down. My middle C especially loves to make cards and his cards usually say something like, "I really really really love you." So sweet. And, I was doubly impressed with my husband who also made a card for me. It had a picture of our 3Cs on the front and then he connected the front and back with a piece of twine and when I opened it up, a half circle of cardstock swung out and there was his message. It was very creative and I was really touched that he took the time to make it with such special details. All in all, a wonderful day.

Crikey! It's Cracked! The Sequel

When I posted this, my artwork was cracked and I was thinking about how life can also be imperfect, disappointing and broken, but that there's comfort in God. Today, I'm reminded that that which is broken can be redeemed and made new. Although I could have tried to patch up the crack, I decided against trying to fix my Succulent Blossom and just made an entirely new one. A patch job just didn't sit well with me. I wanted the same design but done right. 

Likewise, but in a much more profound way, Jesus redeems that which is broken, namely our very lives. We don't have to clean up our acts to come to Him either. He takes us as we are and makes us into who we were created to be. The Bible says that "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinithians 5:17 Jesus took our brokenness (what we call sin) onto Himself in dying on the cross so that we might have life in Him. He redeems us from sin so that we can live in His righteousness to the glory of God. We are made new. It's a reality that is exquisitely beautiful and of which this necklace now serves as a reminder.

It's a Beautiful Morning

Hello Friends! I didn't get to stop in much last week between spring break and Easter but it's good to be here now. So let me wish you a belated Happy Easter! Although we celebrate the reality of a risen Savior everyday, it is an especially sweet time at Easter to reflect on the Savior's love that sent him to the cross to take upon Himself our sin that we might become spiritually alive in Christ. If you're interested in knowing more about what all this means, I'd love to talk further with you. Just shoot me an email.

Well, when I was here last, my nieces were coming into town and we were preparing for a Resurrection Picnic with our homeschool co-op. My 3Cs had an amazing time last week playing with their cousins and with friends. I was invited to do the devotional for the kids at the picnic,which I really enjoyed because it was a good exercise for me to think about how to communicate Jesus' love and journey to the cross to kids of all ages. Somewhere in the mix, we celebrated my birthday and my husband and I got in a date night. We tried out the new Chipotle's in town (quality, tasty ingredients and easy to make gluten free) and then went shopping and got coffee (thanks M!!!!). In the coming days, I'm looking forward to reading this book and this book that I got for my birthday. And in between reading, I'm hoping to have some time to get busy with some new pieces for my Shop. But before I can get to all of that, let me wish you a beautiful morning. I'm off to wrangle some boys and teach some school. I'll be back soon!

Happy Monday!

Hello Friends! Did you have a fun weekend? We tried to rest and relax as much as possible this weekend. My husband worked 12 days straight (!) and I've been up just about every night with one or more of our boys having sore legs, allergies, bad dreams, etc.  So, we were blessed to have some down time and enjoyed breakfast at a local breakfast/lunch place (I don't remember the last time we went out to breakfast on a Saturday morning but we enjoyed this treat so much!), date night while our 3Cs played with good friends, church, and a nap here and there. And now this morning, the 3Cs and I are enjoying our spring break and are looking forward to a fun and meaningful week of celebrating the Good News that Jesus is alive. What are your plans for the week?

Overheard

Happy Friday! I hope yours has been just lovely. We had our homeschool co-op today. I'm an assistant in the kindergarten class with my littlest C, which means never a dull moment. Today, I overheard him say the following to one of the other teachers while munching on his snack, "What if I painted on my forehead, "Love House" and then this goldfish was the girl and this goldfish was the boy and they went into the house." He then grinned and proceeded to eat the goldfish, or send them into the "Love House" as we apparently like to refer to eating goldfish these days. Isn't imagination a wonderful thing?

Well, in addition to chasing after little ones, I also managed to add this little set to my Shop. Introducing the Little Bloom Dangle Earrings in Periwinkle...

I confess that I love how these came out. I'm tempted to keep them for myself. They seem just perfect for spring. They'd also be beautiful for a wedding or as a gift for a bridesmaid.

Vintage Loveliness

My mother-in-law, during her recent move to our town (yay!), came across some items that belonged to her mother. Before she gave them to me, she prefaced it by saying these items reminded her of what I create for my Shop. And she was right. It was amazing to see these roses that are so similar to my little blooms.

 But instead of making jewelry, my husband's grandmother would create pieces of artwork like these...

My mom-in-law remembered that, back in the day, her mother would use a dough made mostly from bread, which she tinted to various colors. (Isn't the rich plum color above beautiful?) And sure enough, she came across the recipe for the Bread Dough...

I love this connection to my husband's family as well as to the past. I love seeing his grandmother's creativity captured in time through the beauty of handmade treasures. It encourages me to press on in this journey of artistic expression. Here's to exploring your creativity and to bringing forward vintage loveliness!

Crikey! It's Cracked!

Well, friends, I would have loved for the above photo to have been a finished piece of jewelry. I worked on this Turquoise Blossom at length only to have an imperfection arise in the final stage of the process. I fixed that to my satisfaction. And then I noticed a noticeable crack running along the bottom edge of one of the petals. Ugh! I was disappointed and floundering in uncertainty about whether I should keep going. But the final test was my husband. He's a very encouraging person with nary a critical bone in his body. He listened to my tale of woe, took a look at the blossom and said, "Yeah, I see what you're saying. Could you fix it somehow?" Total confirmation that this was not good to go. The answer to whether I can fix the crack is still being worked out. Maybe I'll be able to fix it. But maybe not. And that's just how life sometimes is...imperfect, disappointing and broken.

The backdrop to my little dilemma was that I attended a women's conference at my church this weekend entitled, "Fear Not! Finding God's Comfort for My Fearful Soul." At the end of the first session, our speaker had us fill out a little card sharing what we fear. She then sorted our responses to come up with the most common area of fear for the women attended the conference. Before revealing the top area of fear, she went through other common responses...finances, issues related to children and grandchildren, medical concerns. Each one of those seemed a likely candidate for the most common fear among us. But in fact, the most common fears dealt with various aspects of shame. Being afraid of being found out as a fraud, an imperfect person who doesn't measure up. Wow. As soon as she said that, I was right there identifying with those women even though that hadn't come to mind when I filled out my own card. I've struggled with those feelings in lots of areas but especially through making and selling my jewelry. I've had loads of fear...will I do this right? Will anyone like this? Will I be able to come up with new ideas? It can keep a person up at night. For me, I truly find comfort in the God who is always with me. He knows that I'm sooooo imperfect and He loves me anyway. There's no pretending with Him. As our speaker Tara Barthel said, "Shame rejects but the Gospel accepts." So true. Jesus accepts me no matter what the cracks in my life are. And that gives me the comfort and courage to keep going. Peace to your souls.

Have a Relaxing Weekend

Madewell

It's Friday and I'm ready to hang up my bag and relax a little. What are your plans for the weekend? Tonight, we have friends coming over and my 3Cs are counting down the minutes until they get here. I'm going to a conference all day tomorrow so I'm looking forward to being refreshed and encouraged. And then I have a date with my husband on Sunday night to look forward to. A little busy but good things going on nonetheless. Hope your weekend is relaxing.

From My Heart to Yours

Happy Valentine's Day! I know this day means a lot of different things to different people. For me, I have a warm and fuzzy feeling about Valentine's Day and that actually stems from the way my mom made Valentine's Day special for us as we were growing up. Valentine's Day in our house meant heart-shaped, homemade goodies, usually decorated sugar cookies or cupcakes. And it meant a little gift waiting for us as the breakfast table...maybe a pair of heart earrings or a heart-shaped rubber stamp and candy of some sort. And it would be packaged prettily and full of the love that my mom had poured into it. And when you begin the day like that, knowing that you're loved, it doesn't matter so much what the rest of the day holds. 

So for my 3Cs, I gathered a few things I knew they would enjoy... heart candy, dessert flavored gum and brightly colored pencils and wrapped them up in special bags that I stamped. I hope to pass on to them the blessing of knowing that they are loved and cherished by their parents and especially by the Lord. 

Here's to a day full of love and joy!

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

Overwhelmingly Precious

Photo by my husband

As I sit here at my computer, I confess that I'm feeling rather overwhelmed. I see numerous piles of papers that I need to file away. I see jewelry projects covering this surface and taking over that space. I'm also thinking about the many things I need to seriously sit down and try to figure out...like how do I feed my children healthy and tasty food when I have a modest budget and their appetites are anything but modest? (I'm mean these boys can eat and they're not teenagers, not even close. For example, I bought a bag of apples on Sunday and it was gone in less than 24 hours. Yes, I'm very happy that their go-to snacks are apples but it does present a problem of how to provide enough apples when there isn't an orchard in our backyard.) And what about all of those fun projects that we're supposed to be doing as a homeschool family? We did a couple of little experiments with static electricity today but come on, we're not exactly carving Mt. Rushmore into a sweet potato. And now my youngest C is scratching a game of tic tac toe onto his arm with a rogue skewer from our science kit. And did I mention that the skin on my face has decided to freak out a bit and create some new topographical features for me? Eek! What a day.

And yet, I know these days of little ones swirling around me and Legos and puzzle pieces crunching under foot and pile upon pile of carefully colored drawings are fleeting. I have to pause and appreciate what my day has held. Like when my 3Cs told me that I'm so pretty that they want to faint. (Isn't a son's love for his mama just the best?) And when my middle C laid down on his back and pedaled his feet (also fondly referred to as potatoes) in the air to ask if he could go on a bike ride. And when my littlest C gave me the tiniest foam duck that he had decorated with little square stickers as a gift. And when my oldest C admitted that working on writing a paragraph wasn't so bad. Ahh... these are the days of my life...overwhelmingly precious.

Lovely Surprises

Hello friends! Did you have a good weekend? We went to a very fun 30th anniversary party for my aunt and uncle this weekend that included a number of awesome surprises. They knew we were having a family dinner but they didn't know what else was awaiting them. As they entered my parents' house, around the corner in the dining room were several of their friends who came into town to help them celebrate. As they took in who was there and greeted everyone, the doorbell rang and in walked my cousin who had flown in from Seattle as a surprise for his parents. The tears of joyful surprise started flowing. Then, the party moved over to the computer because my other cousin had arranged to skype into the party from Israel, where he currently lives. We all gathered around the computer to say "hi." He went to go get his anniversary present for his parents to show them and it seemed like a good time for a group photo since we were all crowded around the computer. While we're taking the photo, my cousin, who had actually been skyping from upstairs, came and joined in for the group photo unbeknownst to his parents. After the photo, he tapped their shoulders and they turned around for the biggest surprise of the night. There wasn't a dry eye in the crowd. It was one of the sweetest scenes I've ever seen. So, here's to a week full of all of the best kinds of surprises and sweet time with loved ones. Cheers!

p.s. Aren't these roses beautiful? My mom decorated her dining table with an arrangement of white roses and then had these pink roses on the smaller tables.

Where I'm At...and Where I Was

White Sands

Hello! It's been a quiet here for the last few days because I've been out of town. We took a trip to visit my aunt and uncle and had such a lovely time. (Thank you L&L!) We hung out, watched movies, went to the local farmer's market, picked up some books at a huge used bookstore, went shopping and took a trip to White Sands.  We met up with my mom-in-law at White Sands, which was extra fun. It was such a blast swooshing down the hills on a pod. If you ever get a chance to visit White Sands, I highly recommend it. Not only is it beautiful, it's a lot of fun.

My 3Cs almost didn't know what to do with themselves this weekend because they were having so much fun. My littlest C was particularly on top of his game with his too-too-funny comments. When my uncle asked him where he gets this stuff, he replied, "From my armpits." This morning during school, he was trying to figure out 9+8. He stuck his head in his shirt and said, "it's 16." I told him he was close but didn't quite get it. His response? "But my armpits told me it was 16." Well, there you go. You can't always trust your armpits.

So today, I'm trying to play catch up after all of our fun. I'm also having a return-to-reality, overwhelming, how-about-a-lesson-in-humility kind of day. As I've ventured out with my Shop and selling my jewelry, it's been a huge step of faith. And I've been feeling the learning curve lately. But I know it's good for me to persevere and not give in to my feelings of insecurity. But for someone who wants everything to turn out right the first time, it's hard some days to look at where I've gone wrong and realize how much I still need to learn. But I definitely couldn't do it without all of you who have encouraged me, bought my jewelry, and read my blog. Words cannot express my thanks for your kindness.

That's where I'm at right now but I will be back soon with something very fun.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I hope you've had a great beginning to the new year. When I began 2011, I had no idea that I would be making jewelry much less selling it on Etsy much less blogging! I did begin 2011 with a specific prayer request that the Lord would direct me on my creative pursuits and He was so faithful to guide me onto a whole new path. So as I begin 2012, I'm excited for what the year holds. And I'm grateful to you all for keeping me inspired and encouraged. Thank you for supporting my Shop and for reading my blog! You're the best!

As 2012 gets rolling, I have lots of new ideas floating in my head. And I've been designing new pieces this past week. I'll be adding to my Shop very soon so keep checking in often. And as I think about new designs and new ideas, I'd also really love to hear from you all. If you have any ideas for my jewelry or things you'd like to see on the blog, please leave me a comment. I really appreciate the feedback you've given and would love to see more. Thanks!