Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year My Friends!

my dog Willow smirking and perplexed at all the snow...

Willow finally getting used to the snow and watching the little birds in our yard...

Much love to you at Christmas and hoping you are dry, warm and happy...
Blessings, Joy and Peace!
Amber XXOO

{to the best of my knowledge, above vintage images are all copyright free} 

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

23 year Anniversary and The greatest ideas from Blogland...

My Hubby and I celebrated our 23 yr. Anniversary on Sunday. He gave me a sweet heart necklace that I really loved, took me out to dinner and a movie while my daughter watched the boys for us...you know, I'm glad he's the one I get to share my life with :)

We've been in our home just over a year now and last year I baked cookies and took them around to our neighbors at Christmas time. It was so fun and we got such a warm happy response that I will be doing it again this year. The Melted Snowman recipe below is one I came across that made me chuckle and that I want to bake for the families with young kids on my block. I can't wait to make them...

http://smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-traditions-melted-snowman.html





Another Super cool find to check out in Blog-o-sphere land

http://www.artwallonline.com/about/     Art Wall Online is a virtual display space created to exhibit the artwork of independent artists. The pieces are showcased in the form of an “Art Wall,” — an arrangement of artwork placed on a virtual wall. Each one is curated by proprietor Katie Stephenson. Everything is either made by hand or is a print of handmade work and is priced between $5 and $500. Art Wall is not a shop, but a curated gallery. 




What a fun idea...XXOO!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Holidaze are here!! Hip Hip Hooray for a Give Away!

http://mbshaw.blogspot.com/2010/12/holidaze-are-here-hip-hip-hooray-for.html

Mary Beth Shaw is a mixed media artist, a teacher, a sometime designer, a writer, and a store owner who is generously giving away some wonderful stencils and Wood icing to not only 3 but to 4 lucky winners! I had to share with you , because I know my heart skipped a beat at the chance of winning!

Prize 1 - Set #1 of my new baby stencils
Prize 2 - Set #2 of my baby stencils
Prize 3 - Both of the clear stamps
Grand Prize - Container of Wood Icing and a set of large stencils. 
video demo of products @ Stencil Girl Products


Creative hugs!!!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

wordle...quite fun really and Holiday inspirations



Wordle: Untitled
Wordle: The Season

 Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide.  You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. 


The two examples are the ones I did just for fun to try it out, but I think it could even be used to make project flyers or help with the kids homework assignments.






http://blog.lobsterandswan.com
Also if you click on the link above it will take you to a post about some delightful online magazines...
  
I love finding little bits of inspiration all through the blogosphere... Here is one  of my own suggestions; 
Very cool and creative online publication  gifted-magazine

Hope this day finds you well!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

festive looking visitors

We had some beautiful backyard visitors after a snowy winter storm today. The birds perched on the branches of our juniper trees and looked for the berries that were hidden beneath the blanket of white soft fluff. The robins look so Christmas-y and dressed for the season...all they need is a top hat to complete their attire :)

Sunday, November 28, 2010

a brief Interlude~but I am back and the more Thankful

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving started out as any other normal day of preparations...looking forward to the coming holiday, planning the menu and cleaning...then BAM I unexpectedly ended up in the emergency room.
They are still trying to sort through what the cause was but I had all the symptoms of a heart attack. Severe indigestion, radiating pain, etc. and after scaring me to death, it was determined that it was NOT a heart attack even though I had an abnormal ekg...I still think it was an acute case of indigestion but they think I should follow up with an evaluation, so OK I will, just to be sure. I don't have any predetermining factors against me, so I feel fairly confident about this...

But it did shake me up to say the least. So yes, this Thanksgiving has a new meaning for me. A time to re-evaluate and truly be thankful for the blessings that I have...

My family of course, the most precious sweet people I could ever imagine sharing my life with...
The things I use every day to function; my heart, to love; my hands,to hold; my ears, to listen and hear; my eyes,to see the beauty...


I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed every minute!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

November challenge...Green paper

It's been a while since I've indulged in a challenge...I needed a break from my crazy schedule and decided to have a bit of "me time." 
I played around with Mary Green's  images from her November challenge and came up with something just for fun...
It reminds me of the Summer that we just left behind so I'm calling it "Memories of Summer"...


These are the original images
 and we were supposed to

create something, anything, using the images in the collage sheet at least part of each of the 3 images.



Friday, November 5, 2010

Digital magazines...love them!

I'm not sure how long digital magazines have been around, but I've just recently discovered them.
They appeal to me on so many levels...they're eco-friendly & space saving/clutter free, to name just a few.
I was sipping my morning coffee and found this amazing issue by the talented Amy Powers and friends and let me tell you~ it is as the title says! You can't help but be inspired after browsing through this gorgeous issue... well at least I was :)

Inspired digital magazine Christmas issue     I hope you enjoy!













I'm working on trying to get the final pieces of my Etsy shoppe put together so I can open up (hopefully) at the beginning of next week...or sooner!
Hope everyone is enjoying their day :) TGIF

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Hello November~welcome


October is said and done and November is inviting itself in for a visit.
It promises to mind its manners so I guess I will welcome it in...


The lovelies over at oh, hello friend are offering up their goodness in the form of a free desktop calendar for you. Click the link below 
and HAPPY NOVEMBER !

                                                                ohhellofriendblog

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Autumn colors... basking in the warm fall sun




Crab apples, pears and papery evening primrose pods gathered from my back yard...
Balloons leftover from my son's birthday...


Yesterday we had a snow storm...and it sure was beautiful! This morning was only 25* so the warming sun and the highlighted hues of Autumn were a very welcome splash of color...
 :)