My FAV "Holiday"

Hey Everyone!
I know it's been forever {or about 3 weeks} since my last post. Not good!  I hope that won't happen again.
My favorite "holiday" is coming up! Yep, Valentine's Day.  I love all the PiNk and Lace and Hearts, Sparkles.  In honor of this lovey~dovey week ahead, I made this totally easy bunting/garland decoration.  Lookie Here....

So seriously, these little buntings are the easiest and quickest way to add color and a festive touch to a room.  Whatever shape you can cut out repeatedly is fair game.  The worse part is waiting for the glue to dry.  Or, if you don't glue on sequins & beads, another option is to sew your shapes to the string and you have instant gratification!  I've also used the triangle shape for my other garlands.  Possibilities are endless... besides being a great use for scraps.
I have one up in my shop now ~ that was for sale ~ but I'm donating it to my  Etsy Team-IrihanaArts.  Besides great shops {with equally great items} in this weekends BNR, there will also be a raffle with lots of great giveaway prizes. Here's the link:  All You Need Is Love!

So my pink laptop is officially gone.  It was the motherboard.  Luckily my son is able to remove the hard drive and transfer everything to an external drive. I finally learned my lesson, the hard way and I'll save the important files to icloud or some other happy place beside the hard drive.  Even gmail is better than nothing!  I love how I am continually learning, even at my old age :-)  You may be wondering what I'm posting with.   I'm now a Mac Book user.  It's taking some getting used to but I think it'll be okay.  Did you know everything is on the wrong side?  And what's with the red light, green light thing?  Lol, I do like all the bouncy icons below on the dock.  And my most fav thing is the size.  I have the 13" and I really prefer that over the gigantic one for sure.  Way easier to take along.  So easy in fact, I'm sitting in my backyard typing away... and I think the sun is actually burning my legs right now. Who knew it was so strong at 10:45am in the winter? Gotta love So Cal.
Until Next Time,

* * BNR Going on Now... * *

Roses from my back yard

 
Just a quick post to let you know about {my new fav thing} another      BNR is Going On NOW!   So, feel free to stop by and do a little shopping.  Mother's Day is next month.... avoid the last minute panic!
That's it for now but check back soon because I have lots more to say {oh the gift of gab}.
Until next time,

\*/ FABulous * Female * Feature \*/ And A Giveaway !!

Hey Everyone ! 
My friend Cheri and author of Surviving Motherhood, Early Years, wrote a really great feature for her blog.  The title:  "Fabulous Female Feature" . And, She was kind enough to add me! I feel so honored {Not so much "Fabulous!"}.      In return, I am excited to give her blog a special mention. Click Here To Check It Out !.   Cheri has three little ones and is also taking classes for nursing school.Just the three little ones is a full time job And, just school alone is a full time project ~ I speak from experience! I don't know how she does it....but she does, and she does a wonderful job, too.  She asked me if I'd be interested in a giveaway & I said "YES, of course!"  I'd love to have more blog interaction and a giveaway might be the ticket.  So be sure to stay tuned.
I hope to post again tomorrow.  I have more pics to upload of new shop items, plus {yep, I did it} I HAD to purchase that AdOrAbLe  Stiletto Necklace.  It's not that I can't resist beautiful, sparkly things but I have to look at it from the advertising angle.  It's for my Etsy shop!  Because now that I purchased from KATIE BELLE DESIGN, my shop will be featured in her next BNR.  Twice!! It's just a win-win for all.{see, told you it's not just about my weakness for sparkle}  And, it really works.  I've had a few more sales because of the BNR's.  So, If you have an Etsy shop, you should sign up for one. Without sounding like a broken record ~ wait, do we even have records anymore? Without sounding like a scratched CD, those BNR's are SO fun.  I've met many wonderful women from all over. 
Besides new items, I also have a couple ideas for tutorials.. maybe even a tasty recipe or two!  Oh, and  I haven't forgotten to tell you about the very interesting family tree story ~ time keeps escaping me ~ but I will get to that soon as well.
So, until next time,

What did I purchase from my first BNR?

Hey Everyone!
I have to show you what I bought from my first BNR! Browsing thru KATIEBELLE'S SHOP, I could not resist this Tree Of Life necklace.  It's beautiful !!  And it couldn't come at a more perfect time.  I still need to write about the amazing {family tree} type of connection we had a few weeks ago.  I've been so pre-occupied with happenings at the hospital & hubby, that I've fallen a little behind. I will catch up, promise!

If you CLICK HERE & check out her items, I'm sure you'll agree with me, she has a wonderful shop.  Her shop is actually so wonderful, that I HAD to purchase from her again during another BNR !  {More on that purchase next time}.   Check out this necklace....

Tree of Life necklace from KatieBelleDesign.Etsy.com

I have a weak spot for jewelry {the more bling, the better, as you'll see with my next purchase}, and Shoes, and Fabric.  I have way too much of all of these things.   Do you have a favorite Etsy shop? I'd love to hear about it.  What do you have too much of?
I should sign off for now before I start blogging about American Idol !  Lol {another weakness}.
Until next time,

** Wednesday BNR **

Woo-Hooo!  Another BNR {Buy & Replace} treasury.  Follow the link and go shopping :-) Support Handmade!  If you purchase something {and also have an Etsy shop}, your shop will replace the shop that you bought from.  No minimum required.  A fun way to meet others and bring traffic your way. Go ahead and click H E R E and join in the FuN !
Until next time,

~ It's The Last weeK of MaRcH ~ Time To Warm UP!

Hey everyone!
I've had such a blast this past week being introduced to the BNR's on ETSY.  What a cool way to meet others and shop and talk and have extra traffic stop by your store! FuN for All  :-)   Thank goodness I don't have tons to spend because if I did, I think I would!!  The talent on ETSY is amazing ~ and equally hard to resist. I can only sew {and knit & crochet scarves only}.... but some shops I visit, display beautiful works of art. I mean like jewelry, or ceramics, photographs, or even food.  I've said this before, the photos are a huge deal. Everyone should be familiar with basic photography. If you think about it, the picture you pick to represent your wares, is all that a shopper has to go by.  I fail at this miserably !!!!   Sometimes I'm so impatient to post a new item, that I'll take a picture with my phone. {and tell myself that I'll re-do it later}.  As you can tell by glancing at some of my photos.... "later" never happens!  I move on.  Bad, bad thing!!  My hubby said he'll re-shoot my items for me when he's feeling better.  I lOOk forward to that! update:  speaking of hubby, I brought him home over the weekend. He had been in the hospital over a month with not much change. They aren't too sure how to handle his case ~ except to wait for the clots to dissolve and for new pathways to form in his leg & allow for venous return. This is a very slow process, even with blood thinning medication. A little walking would help but the pain is so severe that he cannot walk. Vicious circle for sure. {Accepting all prayers!} What I've realized in the last two and a half days is that I'm getting great training for my future as a home health nurse {although this makes home health seem like a cake walk! Lol }.The other thing I realized is that even though my throat is on fire & feels like it's been playing with a pack of razor blades AND my ears burn, ring and ding, it's a known fact that Mom's, nurses, & wives, aren't allowed to go down. There simply isn't enough time!  I'm sure it's because of very limited sleep and of that limited sleep, it's pretty much broken. Every three hours, morning and night, an alarm goes off to remind me to give meds.  So if you see me on Facebook at strange hours, that's the explanation.  Even though I'm tired, I still can't sleep. 

Before I sign out, I thought I'd post a pic of a small item I made...

Pink Check Book Cover- Inside

Pink Check Book Cover with Button Closure

I know, who uses checks anymore? Maybe once or twice per month you might need to ~ and even if it just sits in your desk drawer, at least it'll look better than the plastic one you get free from the bank.  I'll probably remove the white pen holder {seam binding}.  I didn't realize how much it stands out !! Lol. I thought I'd mention that before someone else did!
I hope your week is a great one and be on your guard.... remember, this Friday is April Fool's Day !!!
Until next time,

Woo ~ Hoo! Another BNR is going on NoW **

Oh my, can you tell I'm so excited?  I just learned about this a couple of days ago. Chatting with everyone while shopping is the best thing ever!  So I just wanted to quickly mention the place to be now   IS RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!!!    Stop in and say Hello & let Laurie know I sent you.  Everyone is so sweet and maybe you'll find that perfect something for someone, or even YoU :-)     Enjoy!
Until next time,

BNR {Buy and Replace} today !

Hey everyone!
I just thought I'd mention the BNR "event" I'm participating in today.  While posting a new item in my shop earlier, Laurie of Created By Laurie invited me to join.  Before today, I had no clue what BNR stood for. Laurie was so sweet to explain.  She gave me a link to follow which lead me to the treasury that she is the curator of. The way it works is, you buy from one of the featured shops, post the purchase info on the ongoing message blog on the treasury page, and then she replaces the shop you purchased from with your shop! There is no limit. What a great idea for increasing traffic to you shop! You should check it out! What ever shops are remaining at the end of the day will carry over into her next BNR, probably this weekend.  Just click here to view the treasury !
Until next time,