Egg Huntin'

For several years when the grands were little, we had Easter egg hunts up on the hill behind our farmhouse. Always SO much fun!! This Easter, I decided it was time to renew the tradition. My son's upcoming marriage has provided us with three "new" great-grands, and yesterday they were welcomed into the family...

Hope you all had a blessed Easter!!

APRIL Pretties from ETSY

APRIL

(click here to go to trej and visit these shops)

I recently made this welcome-to-April treasury on Etsy and realized how much I like this color combo. So I decided to search the shops of my wonderful Etsy friends from TEAMEPE EtsyProjectEmbrace for more selections. The links under the photos will take you to each of the shops where you can read about these items and browse others.

botanicalbird

dancingintherains

polkadotmagpie

theBeadAerie

kasiablue

ShebboDesign

baconsquarefarm

lisadjewelry

happyment

hoganfe

wishartglass

tinahdee

sharonclancydesigns

dbabcock

sendinglovegallery

GlitzGlitter

All of these artists/crafters donate a portion of their proceeds to the American Cancer Society or the American Hospice Foundation. They are just a few of the 200 plus sellers who make up this very loving and caring team!!!

Spring Fever

"It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"
~Mark Twain

Spring fever, for me, is an uncontrollable urge to get outdoors and dig in the dirt. When my friends tell me of their concerns with spring cleaning - washing windows, scrubbing walls, and cleaning out closets - I can think only of cleaning out flower beds, moving plants, pruning trees, and mulching. The need to breathe the fresh air and enjoy the changes taking place is very strong within me.

Last evening, just before the sun was setting, I walked up on the hill behind my house to see what was new and in less than five minutes I took these photos.

"Every spring is the only spring - a perpetual astonishment."
~Ellis Peters

"In the spring, at the end of the day you should smell like dirt." ~Margaret Atwood

Awakening

"First a howling blizzard woke us,

Then the rain came down to soak us,

And now before the eye can focus -

Crocus." ~Lilja Rogers

"Autumn arrives in early morning,

But spring at the close of a winter day."

~Elizabeth Bowen

Twelve Months of Beauty from EtsyProjectEmbrace

I am a proud member of EtsyProjectEmbrace or TEAMEPE, a group of Etsy sellers who give part of their profits to help in the fight against cancer. This is just a sampling of the wonderful artists that, along with vintage and crafting supply sellers, make up this great team.
The beautiful fabric origami cranes are available from Asianexpressions. Links to the wonderful TEAMEPE jewelry artists are at the bottom.

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SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

























DECEMBER

Jan. atlantisak

Feb. GlitzGlitter
Mar. ErikaPrice

Apr. dbsj
May lisadjewelry

June kasiablue
July littlebugjewelry

Aug. adornbyamysingley
Sept. Studio1980

Oct. LimeintheSky
Nov. cherryandviolet

Dec. Colettesboutique

Where's Cricket??

What's On Your Tree?

I have ALWAYS loved Christmas!! I've been collecting decorations since I got married, and needless to say, I have way too many. Each year I drag out the boxes and decide which ones I will use. One year the theme is cranberry and silver, the next is red and gold, and some years it's just the earthy, natural feel like this year. Since my tree is in the livingroom, that is where most of the decorations are, BUT I also do the other rooms, in colors to match their decor. I am nuts!!








Up until three years ago, I always insisted on a real tree. But age finally brought me to my senses, and I no longer wanted to clean up the "needle mess" and deal with the strings of lights. I came upon a 50% off sale at Hobby Lobby and bought myself a prelit tree that really does look real. The only problem is that it is SO heavy that only my big strong son-in-law can drag the three sections down and up the stairs each year. Fortunately, he does that. I also have lots of tree ornaments and sometimes use glass balls and sometimes not. This is a not year.

My favorite ornaments are the handmade ones. Many years ago, when she was still a teenager and I was into gnomes, my middle daughter made me a hand stitched felt gnome and it still holds the place of honor on my tree.

Several years later, when she was into scherenschnitte, she made me a set of paper ornaments which I also cherish.

Recently I received another special one, sent to me by a dear Etsy friend, Liz of twolefthands. I have admired her work and her patience for "tiny work" for so long, and am honored to own a piece of her art.

I hope you have all enjoyed "visiting" me this holiday season and that you will have a happy, healthy Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!