Happy Birthday Cole!

Happy Birthday my now 8 year old son!! Wow how time does fly by. I am so proud of you kiddo. You make me laugh all the time. I don't know what I would do without you. You are one amazing kid. I am blessed because of you. You have made me have more gray hair than the other two I believe, but I guess I can live with that. (You are the middle child). You will always be the one to keep me on my toes. I guess I can't say I will ever have a dull moment when you are around. Here's to many more years of good times.

I love you, son!!

Your Proud Momma

Happy Valentine's Day

Hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day!! XO XO

What do women want??

Ok girls, I need your help! I live in a small farming community where there is nothing for the women to do. We are an hour from a mall, unique shopping, and a variety of great restaurants. There are pool leagues, basketball, the local hangout for the guys, but there is nothing for the girls to do to really get together. A lot of the women are working moms who are so busy with work then come home to take care of the kids and then find out there is never enough time for themselves. I think we all feel like this at some point in our lives.

I would like to know what women would like to do if they could get out of the house and get together with other women to be creative and get inspired.
Would you like to take a class and learn how to do something you have always wanted to do? Would you like to have a place to have coffee with the girls, read a good book, make an exciting project out of "junk", cooking lesson, photography, scrapbook, etc...

I would like some input for a project I am putting together.
Can you let me know what you would like to have available to you and the girls to feel like you can have a creative outlet? I would appreciate any ideas.

Bottle Photography

I was just playing around with some photos today. I sometimes get an idea in my head of a certain picture and wonder if I can capture it or not. Sometimes it works and most of the time not. So, I thought I would just go for it and see what I come up with. Practice! Practice!

I started with a bottle that I tied a few trinkets on and braved the freezing cold weather and started snapping away. The sun started fading by the time I got out there, but I don't think they turned out too bad. It's just fun to see what the pic turns out to be after you snap it. I just have a regular old Sony digital camera. I have just started playing around with it.

I think this is therapeutic for me. I love to create vignettes. I don't know why, but I just do. I think this is a great way for me to create. Until I can have my own shop to actually display the items and sell them this is a way for me to get images from my head to the computer if you will!

Certain images spark an inspiration for me. I was thinking of Valentine's Day and just thought of an old bottle with a key and ribbon. "A key to my heart", I don't know something like that! Then I thought of the beautiful white snow, that we have plenty of around here, and thought why not try it as a backdrop. I might do some other items with it like a satin red fabric and a silver tag with the word love on it tied to the bottle. "Message in a Bottle". The possibilities are endless...

(The first image reminds me of an Anthropologie ad with the texture of the clear glass bottle and the old concrete urn with the hint of ribbon.)

What do ya think? What do you do that is a fun way to get your creative juices flowing?

(All pics mine. I used one as my new blog header. My fave one.)