Today I went to lunch with a good friend I’ve known for about 15 years and we took a walk down memory lane.

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My twenty year high school reunion is this summer and I don’t know if I want to go; I went to my ten and I felt so out of place. This time around my life has been blessed in more ways then I can count. I have a husband who I and celebrating our up and coming 9th wedding anniversary. Three wonderful children. And my own business. I want to share that with them. Actually I want to share that news with the world. I love my family. My dad and step mom and mother in law included. I can’t forget Bree my k-9 sister. LOL.

We talked at lunch about how different our lives were and still are. Who we would like to see or even better hope they remember us. At my ten year reunion I was disappointed because there was a couple (Yes they got married ) who had made a impact on my life back in school and they had no clue who I was. There are people I went to junior high with that I would love to find and say HI to as well.

The dilemma continues: Do I go or not? LOL

Sometimes we go through life feeling lost and forgotten. Why am I not special enough? When in truth there are people in our lives who are very grateful to know us. We touch lives of others even complete strangers and we never know it. A friend I have known since I was 13 lost her mother in January. They asked us to write our favorite memory of her so that the could make a scrapbook for Nora’s grand babies who will not have memories of her. I looked around the church and I was amazed by the lives she touched. The lives of people who will remember her in the years to come and she will never have known it.
Please when you are blessed even by a stranger let them know because they may need the blessing you just received in return.

Well, I got the pictures ready to go but ran into trouble setting it up. What do you mean I can’t email a gig of data?? LOL!

My co-workers are ordering little Valentines for each other with a small tea light candle. I have almost 40 to do and am totally loving this… Learning how much of what supplies are needed for each project. Wish I could of had this. LOL. I know now for the next time.

My co-workers -gotta keep the day job!- have been sharing jewelry they liked and one even found a great candle idea. I think I’ll try it for Mother’s Day.
Remember I am here to help you give a part of your self. If you have any desires for a perfect gift let me know. Call me up and share.

My husband’s friend gave me a chance to stretch my creative muscles a few days ago. He had a copy of the Declaration of Independence that he wanted framed. Looking at it, nothing good came to mind; I even told my hubby that, “I’m not the right person for this project. The only thing I can come up with is to put it between two pieces of glass and leave a border of at least an inch and frame in a simple black.” Hubby laughed at me and said, “And you did not think you were right for the project.” They loved it and now I am too because I made it happen quite by accident. I surprise myself sometimes too.

The creative juices are flowing; so much so that I can not keep up. I have to write down all the ideas so I can remember them later. Has that ever happened to you?

I’ve started planning for Easter and Mother’s Day too along with Valentines Day. I have the candles in the making and I will take pictures any day now. I promise. LOL. I even have scrap booking baskets for the up coming day of love.

Well I am late with my promise of samples for this Valentines surprises for the special one in your life (this can include you too).
I went to a baby shower for a friend I have known for more than 10 years. His wife was the cutest thing. I was surprised she was not bigger since she is having twins. : – ) . Had a great time. In fact we where there for like 5 hours which really surprised me since it was co-ed and my husband wasn’t bored. LOL.

So the next day I got everything out to make my samples and to my surprise I did not have any beads in the colors I was planning to use. So I have to order the colors I wanted since the local craft store had nothing to even attempt to make my day. My apologizes. However I will have something for you soon and I pray it does not let you down. LOL…

I woke up this morning with a vision and and new projects are on the way for Valentines Day. I hope to have pictures up in about a week. These will be the first items I post that can be ordered. Keep in mind that since they are gifts that are put together by hand each will be different, however equally worth the giving.

I also have a baby shower project in process for twin girls. As always, it was fun to see what I could do… yet be different. The theme for their rooms are Winnie the Pooh, so I looked for stuff that was small enough to work with and found pacifiers and holders; teething toys. This has been interesting to say the least – I love it!

Hope to see you again real soon; have a creative day!

Well, the holidays are over. Thank GOD. Don’t get me wrong; I love to watch my kids open the gifts they received… however getting there is another thing.

Christmas to me is not Christmas unless I make at least five gifts to give. The holiday is about giving not receiving, right? It is not about how much we spend, it’s about the thought behind the gift. So each year someone special in my life will receive a gift I creatively made. This year I did Creative Memory paper albums for my youngest daughter’s first year. Amber was born in December and the album had 12 pages. I dug out the pictures I hoped showed how much she has grown this year, along with special moments of my older two with her.
I got five done, with my own still to do! I’ll post pictures of at least one so you can see the finished project. I feel really bad because two of them were for family I haven’t see in close to 20 years and they are still waiting for me to mail them. I will have to plan better for next year.

With the Creative Dream getting started just before the the Holidays I didn’t really have enough time to finish. I did get all my customer’s gifts done in an awesome turn around time. Most of them finished way before planned. Actually everything was done early. May I always have this great blessing and have customer to share this with. LOL.

I’m now getting ready for my next project, in time for Valentine’s Day. This one will include the kids, having them make special cards for their parents: A 90 minute session with two cards for ten dollars. Each extra card will be two dollars. This will include everything they need to make them. Should be lots of fun… I love working with kids; they’re so creative.

I hope everyone has a blessed and prosperous new year! See you back here soon!

A couple of people have emailed asking about instructions for testing your creative muscles with a simple project, so I’ve included instructions for something like the House of Love.

First pick a project piece. Anything made of wood or paper mache will be good. You will also need paint in your color choices. Note: You don’t need much unless your project is really big.

For the House of Love I used: 3 oz bottles of Apple Barrel paint and sealer [also a 3 oz bottle] and a bottle of stuff called crackle. My project required the use of two brushes; one was like a sponge on a stick about ¾ inch wide and an inch long. The other was a small fine bristle brush about ½ inches in size.

You will need a place to pour out your paints. My favorite tool for this is a small paper plate like the left over cake plates from a birthday party.
Something to hold water in to clean the brushes between color changes.
And for me lots of paper towels. I am very clumsy. If you are I would recommend getting newspaper or something to place on the work area to keep the paint from staining it.

Once you have everything you need you are ready to begin.

First give your project a base coat. I use white paint for mine; I find it works better that the topcoat sealers. Let it dry until it’s not tacky and then give it a second coat. Let it sit for at least an hour before you start to paint with the colors of your choice. Always use a second coat and remember to let the paint dry well before you put the next coat.

With the sponge brush follow the directions on the back of the bottle of crackle. Each brand is different. Let dry over night and your project is complete. If you run into any problems or have questions let me know!

After doing the diaper cake, the diaper wreath, and the laundry basket for a good friends baby shower things started to change in my life. The adventures have begun; I’ve taken a good look at what I have done for many years I decided to share my creative talents.
To my surprise many people were very responsive… So here I am a few months into making my dreams come true.

I have had enough orders to keep me very busy, and with Christmas around the corner I am even more overwhelmed. However… I am loving every minute of it!!

The House of Love was the first project I made and sold. The purchaser was so thrilled with it she wanted to know what was next. Holiday ornaments?? I asked. So far I have made 14 and every one has loved them. I will get pictures up soon, I promise. Then I made a little gift box with pictures and that was a hit. So as we get closer to Christmas the orders keep rolling in.

I have always dreamed of making my projects of the day and sharing with people. Now I am living the Creative Dream. May you continue to see the different projects and someday find one for that someone special.

This is a candle grouping I made for a surprise 60th birthday.
Included are:
Two candle bases with micro beads
Beaded Butterflies to add life
Three votive candles each beaded a different color
Twelve tea lights, four of each color
Two taper candles to go in the candle bases
Basket

She loved the gift so much she used it for her spring table setting.