Happy New Year!!!

I just wanted to Thank each and everyone of YOU for all your encouragement and support during 2011!! Please know that you are all very much appreciated!!!

Photo Source: Martha Stewart

I hope 2012 is exciting, healthy and super fun-filled for all!! See you in the New Year!!!
Much love and gratitude,

Words Today....

Photo Credit: Unknown

Merry, Happy Christmas!!!!

I truly hope your Christmas is everything you had hoped it would be and more!!

Hugs and Love,

Wordly Wednesday.....

WOW! WOW! WOW....Where has all the time gone??? The season is almost done...gone...over...how sad is that? Hate...that....Hate Shopping too...but that's a lot of what I've been doing...and trying to shop on a tight budget....grrr...hate that too!! Is anyone else struggling this Holiday season? It doesn't help that my Mum is not here and this is the first Christmas without her...so my emotions are up and down and....up and down!! Just keeping it real.

I'm trying to remember these words....because they are sooooo true!

Photo Credit Unknown


Hope to be crafting full time again...starting next week. One of my goals for 2012 is to be more consistent, something I definitely need to work on. The shop is closed until the new year with hopes of having some fun new stuff in there then!!

Hope your Holiday season is going great!!
Hugs!

Wednesdays Words.....

Happy, Happy Wednesday!!!


Photo via Studio Mela

Hope your week is going great!!

December Daily!

I'm always behind. I finally started working on my December Daily! I've taken pictures and I have stuff ready to go into it but....NO pages ready....so today I started working on the cover....

Since this is my first year playing along with the December Daily idea...I'm not sure what size will work best so I went with an 8 1/2 x 5 1/2. I used Martha Stewart wood grain paper on the cover and then embellished with some of my large crepe paper frill ribbon in white. Then using bits from here and there...some red and white twine from my etsy store, a Martha Stewart holly leave and felt pointsetta, a peppermint stick from Michael's, snowflake from Jolee's by You, letters from Pink Paislee...I just started layering...

I can't wait to start getting some pages together!! Such a fun idea!! Are you doing a December Daily? Have any good tips to share?
Well....back to it....Hope you are having a fabulous day!!

Cookies are Made of Butter and Love!!!!

Its the time of year where everyone is baking and cooking all sorts of delightful delectables!! Every year when December rolls around I say I am going to host a Cookie Exchange Party, this is the year! Then too many things come up and I forget about doing it, when I finally remember....well its just to late!! Luckily I was invited to a friend's cookie exchange! So I was able to have all the fun without all the work! We were to each to bring 3 dozen treats....and a $10 gift to exchange!
While I wish I could be like Bakerella....I just don't have those skills in me....so my attempt at snowmen gingerbread turned out looking like this instead of looking like her little adorable masterpieces!! Oh well....they tasted Great!!

Quite a few of mine.....overflowed onto the sides of the cookies...but I didn't mind...those ones stayed home...and got new names...like Melted Snowman Cookies!! They tasted just as good as the "real snowmen".

For the gift exchange I gave one of my mini albums with all green accents...it got traded several times before finding its new home!! That was so fun to watch and see!!! I wrapped it up all pretty too....

I hope you get a chance to go to or host a cookie exchange party! They are so fun...I meet some really nice people!! We played games, ate, told stories, swapped gifts and I came home with 3 dozen different cookies {I wont be eating them though of course and I kinda hope the family gobbles them fast!! Its so hard to resist yummy treats this time of year!!} I'm glad I was invited and went!!! {Thanks MP!}

So whats your favorite Cookie recipe? Is there something you make every year that is a tradition that you can't do without? Do you leave cookies out for Santa?!

Hugs,

*Norwegian Proverb

Hello! Happy December!!!

Wow! December already!! Thanksgiving was wonderful!! Truly! I had family in and everything turned out great! I feel so blessed to have such a crazy and awesome family!! The food was super delicious! Some of the highlights were: Honey BBQing the turkey in the back yard which turned out delightfully moist and tasty. My Sister made a new {to me} stuffing that had sausage in it and that was so yummy, I had an incredible hard time staying away from it. {I did gain 1.4lbs this week! Just keeping that real!} My Sisters and Family laughed a lot, ate a lot and of course did a little crafting!!

My Niece shared with me a web site that I had never heard of but was super fun... Cut Out + Keep from it we made little stuffed owls..

These owls are from the two youngest members of the craft team! A D O R A B L E!
Unfortunately...everyone took home their owls with them before I was able to get a picture with them all together! Everyone of them turned out beautiful and fun though!! Success!!!

The next day we painted rocks. Painted rocks?! Yes....we painted rocks! Our intention was to paint them and them leave them all over town on our travels...perfect for making someone else have a smile! The idea that made me want to do it came from Chicken Nugget Lemon Tooty but really I've been seeing it everywhere, Renton Rocks and my favorite, Color Me Katie Here are a few we did....

While I went to the gym, half of the crew went to the mall....I forgot about taking pictures of the dried rocks but the Kids didn't forget to take them....they placed them here and there and when they were done shopping retraced their steps.....ALL the rocks were gone!! Found new homes!! There was a cat one and a mustache one....one that looked like a a gourd, painted orange that said "Eat More Squash", ones that said things and some that didn't but they were all fun....and ALL were gone by the time they came out of the mall! The Kids came running into the house to tell me that they were all picked up!! They loved it!! I was bummed that I didn't get pictures of all of them before they were placed and I was a little sad that I didn't go to get pictures of the actual placement but Mall shopping on Thanksgiving weekend...NOT for me....its okay though....another batch is going to be made soon {LOVE}....and I'll make sure I get pictures next time!!!

I hope your Thanksgiving was full of blessings and Family and Love!!

Now that December is here I'm gonna try to do a December Daily. If you don't know what a December Daily is... you can check out Ali Edwards posts on it....basically its an accounting of your life in the month of December! I think it will be a wonderful thing to bring out each year to see what the previous year before was like! Like I said....I'm gonna try!!

I downloaded these free number tags from Cathe Holden's Spool Advent Calender! {Which is so fun!} I printed them directly onto card stock to use in my little album....I'll show you as it progresses!!

I'm off...Hopefully your having a great day!!! Happy December!!!

Happy Beautiful Thanksgiving!!

Photo: Unknown

Just popping in....

I didn't want Thanksgiving to go by without saying how very Thankful I am to YOU...my visitors to HappyLittleArt....I love that you take time out of your own life to see whats going on in mine!! Thank YOU!
I hope you all have a Happy and Joyful Thanksgiving!
Hugs,

Wednesday's Word...Right on Time!!

Photo Via Sherbet Blossom

I feel happy today! I hope you do too!! Do you? I hope so!! I havent been very crafty though...trying to take care of the normal stuff...the everyday stuff...bills, laundry, cleaning, Snack Mom duties, shopping....everyday life has me busy...and I'm glad and Thankful and Content.

Thank you for stopping out of your busy day to visit me!! That was super nice!!
Hugs,

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving!!!

Whewwwww....its been crazy busy around here...with what...I don't even know but I feel like I'm just going, going, going!! Ever feel like that??

Thanksgiving this year is at my house and I am pretty excited about it!! Someday...my Whole Family will be together for the Holidays and that will be pretty incredible...but this year both of my Sisters will be travelling here and that makes me happy, happy, happy! I'm hoping for a fun, relaxing...family love fest!! {Hoping, Hoping, Hoping!}

I decided I wanted to put out a few favors this year and so I made little pockets with candies in them....Butterscotch sticks and Ghirardelli squares...Yum! I think I only have to make 5 more and I'm done!!! I downloaded the Free {Yay and Thanks!!} tags here at Shingdig Parties and here at Hostess with the Mostess! They were the perfect little tags for these bags!

The goal will be to have a bowl of cute papers and pens available and have everyone write something nice about each person and tuck the notes into that persons pocket....Then they can take their pocket and read all the little notes inside!! Fun!!

I'm hoping everyone will want to take part....what a happy thing to take home with you! Little love notes from people who love you and you love! I can see a mini album coming on.....

I've also decided to give some sweet sticks out to the Kids..and a few adults{kids}!! I love these candies on a stick! Gummies, lace, licorice, Cinnamon squares, lemons, peach O's...all fun fall colors... and they are so yummy...I know for sure because I've already eaten one!! Bad.

So that's what I've been up to...how about you?!! Do you have some fun Thanksgiving Traditions that you would like to share?
Hugs,

The Race was on.....

WOW...the last couple of weeks RACED by...literally...it was all a flash...and quite a thrill. Whats been happening??!!! For me....A Friend of mine asked me to go on a quick trip with her...so..I headed out to NC and VA...Halloween weekend, leaving on Friday at 4:30am...Really...who flys that early? Why are the airports even open!? When my Friend and I arrived in NC we were slightly unprepared for the weather difference...it was F R E E Z I N G there...Thankfully my Sister lives in NC and was able to bring me a coat....We were there to meet this guy and go to the Races...

Now I'm not a true NASCAR fan, in fact I've only been to, I think, one other race but it was fun to go behind the scenes at the race track and to meet Jeff Gordon {#24} in person...it didn't hurt that he was also a cutie, nice and just my height...Just sayin!

We spent a lot of time looking around the garage on Sat., looking where we would be sitting on Sunday and just generally taking in the whole NASCAR experience....

On Saturday night my Sister and I headed out to the Woods of Terror in Greensboro, NC...What a blast that was!! It was so scary and my Sister kept shoving me to the front....I definitely didn't want to be the lead going through, but it kept happening....20 acres...20 big acres!! Outside...in the woods...in the dark...with scary dressed up people...and screaming everywhere...and chainsaws...and it was a TOTAL Blast!!!

Photo Credit: Unknown

I arrived back home Halloween afternoon and quickly planned a dinner of spooks....we ended up having Mummys {Wrapped hot dogs}, Fried Rattlesnake {Tatar tots} and Brains {Sweet and Sour Rotkohl} .....it worked out great..I didn't have to spend lots of time on it, {jet lagged and tired} Everyone gobbled it up...the neighbors even came over and ate all the leftovers!! Yay! Here are some of the crew...My Honey makes the best Michael Meyers eva! He stands around perfectly still and freaks people out!! Love! Ms. M. was a "Modern" fish. Her outfit was Cool enough to hang in and trick-or-treat! She picked out all the material and cut all the gills herself!! Like, Like, Love!! Ms. H.....of course was the Toadstool! All Fun!!

The rest of last week I spent getting ready for a craft fair. My Girlfriend, Marianne came over and helped me make lots of chocolate covered pretzels we took to the show on Saturday. {Thank you so much, Marianne!!} I have another show on Wednesday of this week but I'm already ready for it so I wont have to run around like a chicken with its head cut off this week!!! Wooohoooo!!
If you happen to be in the Bay Area please stop by the Holiday Fair at Monte Gardens Elementary Wednesday, Nov 9 12:45p to 7:00p at Monte Gardens Elementary, Concord, CA...swing by my booth and say Hi, I'd love to meet you!!

That's whats been going on with me...Whats been happening in your world?! I hope to be starting on handmade Christmas gifts this next week....so you'll be seeing some of that and I hope to update my shop soon as well!! I will re-open my shop on Thursday of this week! Fun!!
Cheers,

My Favorite Little Toadstool!!

I made my Daughters' Halloween costumes this year. A seamstress, I'm not...so we looked around online for "beginner" costume ideas....When my youngest saw a Mushroom costume on Family Fun she said that's what she wanted to be! Okay....looked super easy to make...

This mushroom cap was a little time consuming because of all the hot gluing but easy, easy, easy to make....You only need a couple of items to make it too!!
1 Sombrero
1 yard of red and white felt {which is on sale right now at Joanns!!}
Hot glue gun
scissors
paper {you could even use newspaper!!}
Bubble wrap

It came together fast and she looked adorable and the best part....she loved it!! My other Daughter wanted to be a fish, she picked out some fabric and cut all the gills herself and pinned them....I sewed them up and her costume is super cute too..however..I was unable to get a picture of her just yet...hopefully on Halloween!! They went off to a Halloween party last night and they were both a big hit!! Love that!!

Are you ready for Halloween? Did you make a costume? What did you make if you did?

Have a Happy Halloween!!

Word Day....

Photo via Pinterest

Working on Halloween costumes....be back soon....
Have a Great Day....

Tick Tock...You Don't Stop.....

I'm working on things for a couple of upcoming craft shows and I will also be heading out of town soon too...so I'll be in and out for a little bit....but mostly out maybe....

My Girls want me to make their costumes this year as well...A Toadstool, complete with Gnome and one wants to be an modern Fish..Adorable..but Wow..am I'm feeling a little overwhelmed...I hope I can get it all together....we still don't even have all the inside decorations up...

They {The Girls} did manage to put the dogs in their Halloween costumes and I just love this picture of THOR in his "Bad Dog" costume which matches his personality perfectly!!



Other Stuff in my World:

My "Smart Phone" decided to go swimming with me....it floated to the bottom in slow motion as if to say....hey look I can swim too...I don't think its very smart anymore. All my pictures were lost and the camera no longer works but I am thankful it is still working at this time...I have no upgrades available for 583 days!! ooops!!

We went and saw Footloose.....loved it...I did cry this time, unlike the first movie, only because the Kid had lost his Mother and this time I could kinda relate.

Heading into the City tomorrow to do the Ferry Building Farmers Market and visit with my God Parents who are in town from Michigan.

I have over 50lbs of candy in my office for some Sweetie Sticks I'm going to be making and every time I walk into my office I am greeted by the sweet smell of lemons, cherries, strawberries....its a good thing none of the bags are opened yet....Okay...I opened the Carmel squares but they don't really have a smell because they are individually wrapped! {and I haven't really eaten That many!!}

Tonight is my first Water Aerobics class....hope its fun!!

I'm off...much to do...Hope you're doing great!
xoxo

Wednesday Words....Late....

Wow...did time get away from me!! I didn't manage to even do Wednesdays Words....ugh....

Photo via Pinterest

I will have the minis/journals in the shop sometime before the end of this weekend!! I am still packaging some of them up!!
xo,

Mini Art Journal Fun!!!

A while ago, I bought my Girls the Smash Journals from K & Company {Okay, yes...one for myself too!}. I love the idea of it but soon realized that its just too big for me to lug around. The Girls like them but don't take them with them for the same reason and because they are too big for their already over laden backpacks. After seeing some of Amy Tangerine's albums I thought I would make something similar that I could shove in my purse and the Girls could tuck in their backpacks! This is what I came up with....

So Fun! Seriously. I sewed all these fun pages in there...like vintage atlas pages and vintage sheet music. Plastic overlays, a card stock card, graph paper, ledger paper, regular paper. An envelope and more. Ends up to be 40 pages to put pictures on,decorate, stick stuff too and of course write on!! Here is a peek inside....

I made lots of them. I'm doing some craft fairs this coming Holiday season and need to start getting prepared...They are packaged up with some Happy Little Bits to use for the cover and inside the mini journal...This is what the pink bits look like...I thought this would be so perfect for Breast Cancer awareness...

I didn't just make pink embellishments....I made the rainbow of colors...Whats your favorite color? I probably made one in that color too! Inside is fun foreign stamps, cork board tags, glittered clothespin, felt circle, paint chips and more!! So Fun!! I'll be putting some of these in my etsy shop tomorrow...fun part is you can pick what color you want your embellishments to be!!!

So, I've been busy, busy! What are you doing? The weather here has finally turned into fall....with rain and all! I kinda love it!! I love sweat pants and sweaters, rain boots and warm crock pot food!!
Hope your having a great week!! Thanks for stopping by!!!
Hugs,

Spooky Pillow Boxes!!!

Edited to add: I put a Kit to make these in my etsy shop!

Hello!!! Happy Tuesday!!! How is the start of your week going? Busy as always around here...and still feeling like I never get anything done.

Just a quick post today...wondering if you ever package up gifts in pillow boxes? You can make them or buy them in all different sizes and they decorate so easy and fun! I love them!!! I decided to make some for Halloween treats and stuffed them full of sweet candy {that I wanted to eat the whole time!!}

Using my hand dyed ribbon and some bling these little pillow boxes really came alive...love them...and they would make perfect classroom treats or party favors too, dontcha think??!!

Its so hard for me to be thinking about Halloween and Thanksgiving and the Holiday season when the temperature around here is still in the high 80s and 90s and I'm sweating in my house!! I like fall...I like the seasons....I love snow....its crazy that I still need to hit the pool to cool off!!!!

Okay....I'm going back to work...I am going to do a few craft fairs this season and I need to really start working on some projects so my table isn't empty!!
Hugs,