Before & After

Over at Alyssa's blog, she posted a photo before & after a little editing done by her Man.  Then she challenged us to go ahead and do the same with a photo of our own, so here it is!

Before

After

I love this photo!!   I took it on Mother's day of the gorgeous flowers that my brother sent to Mom!  They were so fragrant, and so big!

So let's see you do a little editing with one of your photos!

Always,

Hello Happy Tulips!

Before sewing today, I just had to take a walk thru Mom's garden!  The joy of Spring and new blooms!

 

Beautiful flowers on a beautiful day!

Always,

We got our wish...

For a White Christmas! 

The storm that was predicted has hit and continues!  And is it ever beautiful!  Couldn't ask for anything better on Christmas morning :o)

It looked like someone had given the snowglobe a mighty good shake!

“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence

of a happy family all wrapped up in each other."

―Burton Hillis

I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday with you and yours!!

Hugs & Giggles!

Slightly on a Fabric High!

What a great day it was (okay.. blogging late, so it's really still Saturday to me)!

(For many out there..sorry if you really don't want to see this)... It all started off when I woke up this morning. I looked out the window, and there was a bit of white on the ground! I know it's only October, but I am ready for some snow (can't wait to snowboard!), and absolutely love the Christmas season! Here's a little smattering of what I saw when I got to Mom's for our adventure day:

Love the red berries in the evergreen bush!


Beautiful flowers dawning a little snow cover!

And now that I got that out of my system (for today), onto the real plan of attack today! Mom, Dani and I planned a shopping excursion for, what else, fabric! Well...3 ladies, over 100 miles in the car back & forth and all over, 9 hours, and 7 stores later this is what we ended up with:

A ginormous amount of fabric, and multiple projects each!

I have fabric for so many different things, some in progress, some in planning, and of course, some new!
~ Binding fabric for a Nancy Halverson Christmas wall hanging
~ Fabric for a few Christmas gifts
~ A smattering of different fabrics for an out-of-the box quilt for me
~ A bunch of batiks for a batik quilt using the 4-Patch Flip pattern from Heather Mulder Peterson
~ Fun & whimsical fabric for a Christmas quilt!

Such a great trip, and many happy hours later I'm now home! Dani is here scrapbooking, I'm cutting some batiks for the quilt, and we're watching Elf (who doesn't love that movie)!!

Off to a bit more cutting! Hugs & Giggles

Hello Fall!

And welcome to all of your fall-ish goodness! I love your cool days, your stunning colors, and all the fun that is to come in the next few months! You are my favorite of the four seasons (just don't tell the others)!

There are always gorgeous colors when you are near!


We may not have a fireplace, but there is always warmth in our home!


And I don't get laughed at for having pumpkin pie, like I do all the rest of the times of the year (what can I say...I just love pumpkin pie)!!

Yep, even made some tonight :o)

Hugs & giggles,

A brightened end of the day!

Oh what a day it has been....

Got up early to realize that I didn't have to go to work right away because I had a dr. appointment (which meant I had to drive today- I usually bus it to work). So I got up, got ready, sat around, ate breakfast, read thru some blogs, packed my bag for work, then headed off to the appointment. And of course, even though it was a usual check-up, it always takes longer than expected! Thankfully, all is good and "normal". Well, at least my normal. Then off to work to be busy all day. And halfway thru the day, I realized I wasn't wearing any make-up... I can't even tell you who I talked to, or what all I had for lunch, it was just go, go, go... And since I got there late, I stayed late to make up the hours, which meant I didn't leave until 7pm. Ick. Then walk 15 minutes to the car (the joys of parking far away to get a cheaper parking charge), 30 minute drive home, and I was finally having some dinner by about 7:50pm. A bit more blog reading, coupon searching, and then I looked outside. And this is what I saw when I walked out onto the deck:


I can honestly say that I did not do any editing to this photo, it was this striking!

Nothing like an amazing sight like that to remind me that all things that happened today, all the busy-ness and crazy-ness, is just a little spec and to never miss the little things. As they say "Don't forget to stop and smell the roses." Absolutely AMAZING!!

What made you smile today?

Always,

Busy little worker bee

Today was quite a busy, and quick day, thankfully! I finally can say that work has gotten busy again. And I can't tell you how nice it is to say that. Though it may be a bit stressful with deadlines coming quickly and all, but its nice to have work again and not just sit at work.

So with being busy, and productive all day, I decided to continue that at home tonight! I finished all of the quilting on my little projects I've been working on, and am now sewing binding on. I should have them all finished tomorrow! Here's another little sneak peak!


I also spent a little bit of the evening after dinner out on the deck. Ever since I was little, I have always loved watching the clouds, and grew up with a love for storms! (Okay, so maybe not thunder storms in the middle of the night when I was really little...) But I am fascinated with storms, and lightning, and thunder. And I just love different cloud formations and the absolute beauty of them! Its so interesting and intriguing to sit and watch them change as they move across the horizon. We've had some major storms here in the midwest lately (at least 4 tornado touch downs near here yesterday), and this evening was no different. The sky was really dark to the north when I drove home, and this is what I saw when I looked out the deck door after finishing dinner:

Such a beautiful sight! Maybe scary to some, but it all just amazes me!

Okay, so I should probably get to bed here soon if I'm going to get up and get some work done tomorrow! Night and sweet dreams to you all!

Always,

It's going to be a wonderful day!

I can just feel it!!

I feel good, it's a gorgeous sunny day outside, and I got to sleep in! When I did finally wake up, the hubby had just gotten home from the Farmer's Market with a large, beautiful bouquet of flowers! What a wonderful way to start a day, right?? I knew he was a good one! Aren't they simply grand?? And such a variety! I guess they were grown not too far from our house either, he said he has seen the area that the woman was talking about that they were from. Nothing like supporting local businesses! And really, who wouldn't have a good day after seeing this??

Also on tab for today...
*Make a few more coasters - love how quick they are!
*Run a few errands
*Get together with the girls for a little research trip! We're heading off to a couple tattoo shops to check things out. I have been waiting 8 years to do this, and I think I finally have the courage and all!
*And whatever else may come up!

Hope you have a wonderful, glorious day!

Sunday Stash #3 and some purdy flowers!

My stash shot today is of some other brights that I picked from mom's closet of fabric. I thought I had enough blocks finished for my "Summer Fun" 9-patch, but after we did some figuring, I need some more blocks to make it the size that I want. So we dug out some others, many that have been used on previous projects and have great memories. I know what I'll be doing tonight!

Today was also garage cleaning day and getting ready for a garage sale, but I snuck away for a couple minutes after cleaning and got these shots of some of mom and dad's gorgeous flowers!

The beautiful climbing rose vine around the front light


Gorgeous white peonies with the fun pink on the edge


And one of the deep pink peonies about ready to open


Hope you had a great weekend! And happy creating!

Day 22: Happy Earth Day!

First off, Happy Earth Day to all! The wonderful inspiration today was seen tonight on a nice evening bike ride with my hunny.

After a long, and somewhat stressful day at work, I was ready to do something a bit active. A bike ride on a cool, spring evening was just the answer! And not only did it get my blood pumping, but I saw this beautiful sight on the way home:

What more does one need than a beautiful sunset that fills the sky with color to end a rough day?

What inspired you today??

Day 13: And it's open!

My inspiration for {yesterday} was actually taking the step to open my second store on Etsy, Starbound Photography! There isn't too many in there just yet, but I have listed a few that I hadn't yet added to my original store, Starbound Studios. Ever since I opened my first store, people have commented that I should have a separate store for my photography, and I was going to maybe, possibly do it eventually, but wasn't sure I wanted to take that step just yet. After having someone in the forums tell me that they were a little confused with how all of the items in my store went together, I decided to just do it. It can't hurt, and its about the buyer's ease, right? So there we are! I have one store for all of my photography, and the other for my handmade items, two passions of mine that I am sure I will forever continue to do!

What inspired you??

Day 1: Beauty of Mother Nature

Well...waking up this morning, I looked outside and thought "Mother Nature is playing an April Fool's joke on us!" That's right, 'Spring has Spring', and last night/today it snowed. Now I must say, I love snow, (and would have loved to go snowboarding one last time), but I am ready for spring and some warm weather & sun! So you are asking, 'Why is a bit of snow inspiration?' It was just that type of snow that comes down in huge flakes, and sits delicately on all of the branches of the trees. And you get that peacefully, serene feeling as you drive along and look at the landscape.

Then on the way home from work, I noticed something along the road that brought a smile: a sign that spring is coming (or here)!

That's right, the golf courses are open!

So there's my inspiration, and a couple smiles for the day! What inspired you today?

And another one!

Treasuries must be the thing right now!! When I checked Etsy at lunch today, I found a convo from Beadliotheque that she included one of my photos in her treasury! Be sure to check it out: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=47003!! Such a great week, and now all I need is a sale to top it off!

Then end of another good day

The almost end of another good (well, rather good at least) Saturday! Went snowboarding for the last time of the season today, and had a few good runs, but then had a bit of a wipeout. But I did get to work on more of my vintage feedsack flowers on the way up north and the way back! I am so excited at how they are turning out! I know it will take me a while to finish this all, but I can't wait to see what it will turn out like when it is done!

As far as the Etsy shop, I have added quite a few items this week. Many of which was photography, so check it out and let me know what you think! There haven't been as many views as hoped for, but thats alright, I'm still working at it.

I hop you enjoy the new items! I'm back to my flowers...

Fillin' it up a bit..

I am working to fill my store on Etsy.com! I listed another wine vest tonight, and a few of my photographs. I know people on there say to just list a few a night, but I just have so much! And how can it sell if nobody sees it? Right? So check it out, let me know what you think! I'm off to work on it all more! Enjoy :o)