Ta Ta 2008!

Hello 2009!! Well, it's not TECHNICALLY 2009 here yet. Soon anyway. I don't have any major plans this evening. No soiree. The hoopla is on the down-low tonight. Mr. WhiMSy love & I will watch a movie & he'll probably fall asleep before the New Year strikes. The girls were told they could stay up as long as they can last. My 6 year old said, "I'm gonna stay up all the way until 10 o'clock!!!"

I found something fun to do in the new year. I decided to jump on the 365 DAYS bandwagon. I'm excited about this new project. 1 self portrait everyday. That shouldn't be too hard for me to do, right? I really think it'll turn into a journey of self-discovery, without intention to be one.

My heart is heavy as the new year approaches though. I haven't blogged about it, but it is a constant source of emotion at random unexpected moments in my days. About a month ago, my family found out that my dad has cancer. A day after his surgery, on the 10th, my sister, brother & I will be taking a 3 1/2 hour road trip to see him at the hospital in Seattle. I'm not sure how long he'll have to stay there. Thankfully, my parents live 10 blocks away from me. And once again, I feel so strange mentioning such a gloomy subject on my blog. But something like this affects all of who you are.

(*awkward pause*)

ANYWAY......

I don't usually make New Year resolutions. I just anticipate the "newness" that the new year brings. A fresh start, ya know? This year, I would like to make a goal though: I strive to continue celebrating life because I am blessed.

I'm loving the new song I found, "Blessed" by Brett Dennen. (Right now it's the first song on my playlist.) It just so perfectly parallels my thoughts.

What do you think of the little mushroom cards? I screen-printed my very own design onto blank white cards last night. I have a whole "woodland" theme I'm working on but I was so excited at the first mushroom prints that I couldn't wait to share! They'll be in the shop in the new year too! This is the same process I used to make THIS cupcake shirt.

Well, my 6 year old daughter just came down for a visit---& to tell me how hungry she is. She said, "I'm so hungry I could eat 10 cheeseburgers.....twice!" OH, & now here's my 4 year old---jumping up & down, listening to the water she just drank jiggle & slosh in her tummy.

Here's to a perfectly beautiful 2009! Happy New Year my friends!

Owlie Love.

I LOVE Valentines Day! And I'm super excited to share my latest owlie creation with you. I've used vintage fabrics on BOTH sides, vintage buttons & under one of its soft wings it holds a little bit of love, in the form of a heart made from stiff felt.

The back of the owlie is actually one of my favorite parts. The vintage fabric is sorta velvety & the color is like a rusty pink, if that makes sense.

I'm also busy stitchin' up this owlie to share in the shop update January 2nd. He's kinda naked right now, but he'll be perfect for the Valentine holiday, & even Spring!It's fun to have these little guys around again. OH! And look what I found while cleaning my art studio last weekend. haha! (Last one. For reals this time.)

Self Portraits & Sassy Gloves.

I had THE most fabulously relaxing holiday weekend EVERS. Totally lazy. Totally chillin'. Totally awesome. Dude.

And that sweet mellowness seems to be following me into the week. How simply lovely.

Today the girls found my old trumpet. We had some fun with it. I'm sure the neighbors were having fun too.

My 4 year old blew so hard on the trumpet that not only did her face turn red & her eyes got all watery, but out popped the cutest little snot bubble from her left nostril. Good times.

I finally got pics of the handmade goodies I gave this Christmas. Just the girlies of my family got them. I learned to make these gloves from THIS TUTE on Little Birdie Secrets blog, by way of One Pretty Thing. I changed mine up a little bit from what the instructions said. They came out really cool & I am now in LOVE with oilcloth. It is so fun to work with! I plan on making some more oilcloth-y things in the future.

I took snapshots of the pairs I made for my mom & grandmother. All the ladies LOVED them! Now I just need to make myself a pair.

My shipping station turned 'holiday gift wrapping central' is now back to a shipping station, ready for orders to start rolling in when the shop opens up again on January 2nd. It's stocked with all the handy mailing supplies & I don't know why I didn't set something like this up sooner. I can actually have everything out & LEAVE it out instead of hauling tape out of the closet, boxes from the basement, scissors from who-knows-where, tissue paper from my art studio, etc. & then put it all back again to only start over the next week. I've set a little crafty ambiance with some miniature Chinese lantern globes & my vintage light-up globe. I'll fill in the blank spots on the wall later with more of my favorite things & inspirational images. It all might not LOOK pretty, but it functions BEAUTIFULLY!Would you like to have a little peek of the Valentine owlie??? Tune in tomorrow!

Lights & Sleddin'!!

I love looking at holiday lights & sledding. And in the last 24 hours I've gotten to experience BOTH! Wheeeeeeee! Last night Mr. WhiMSy love & I took the girls on a spontaneous visit to see some really neato lights. Have you ever heard of those businesses or houses all decked out in lights---& then you tune your radio to a certain station & the music & lights are in sync, flashing & lighting up to the beats & rhythms? It's quite cool! I had never done it before until last night.

And FINALLY I got to go sledding. It's a good thing, too, because the weather is supposed to "warm" up & all the snow will be slush. We had so much fun! My bum was icy cold! We came home to hot cocoa & a toasty sit by the fire.

For the rest of the day I'm going to sit back, watch movies & get to stitchin' some new owlies for the shop. I'm working on the cutest Valentine owlies that will be available once the shop opens up again on January 2nd!

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend & staying warm & cozy!

Merry Day-After Christmas!

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas day & that the holiday happiness continues this day! I had a very relaxing day with my family. After opening presents... (In the picture above you can see my wee one opening her stocking & finding the orange at the bottom. My mom always did that to my brother, sister & my stocking growing up, so now I do it to my kids.)

...we had breakfast in a bag...

...& "happy cakes". That's what my girls call "cinnamon rolls".
Then the girls & I were off to more holiday fun at their Mimi & Papa's house with cousins, aunts, uncles, a "G.G." (their Great Grandma) & lots of other family! I played a Wii for the first time. (My parents got one to have at their house for when kids & grandkids come over.) It was SO much fun! I whooped my brother at bowling & tennis & then we played baseball & golf. I suck at those. I think there might be a night of Wii competition in the works...

All the holiday excitement got the girls pooped out early. I even did a strange thing---I went to bed early too! (Well, after I lined up all my gifts & had another peek at my giftie stash. haha! Did you ever do that as a kid?)

Can't wait to show off the handmade gifts I gave this year! I stayed up until 2am Christmas morning finishing them up----while Mr. WhiMSy love put together a giant Barbie-style dollhouse for our oldest daughter. What a pain in the crafty butt if you ask me! I'm so glad he did it, & not me. I just quietly worked on sewing my gifties & listened to him grumble under his breath from a distance.

My list of handmade items was lots less this year. I only made & gave stuff to the girlies of the family. But they were LOVED much & got the best giggles & grins!

Ok, I'm really, really, really hoping to get some sledding in FOR REALS today. Haven't had a chance all winter.

Stay warm & cozy & drinks lots of cocoa!

Christmas Eve Day

After a bit of last-minute gift shopping last night, we took a tiny light-tour of our neighborhood. And when we got home, a snowball fight broke out. My girls love the snow. My 4 year old even decided to lay down for an impromptu snow angel. (Seconds later she was soaked from the snow.) And I was snapping pictures as the whole thing went on. The funny thing is, it was dark, so I couldn't see much--until I loaded the pictures onto the computer. And among the dark snowy pics, there is a photo of my youngest eating snow! I have told her to not eat the snow because who knows what dog has peed where, etc. but I guess she couldn't resist. She thought her secret was safe in the darkness of Christmas Eve's eve. (Think again you little sneak!)

I am so excited about Christmas! I still get that happy-little-giddy-butterflies in my tummy-Christmas day-feeling every year, just like I did when I was a kid. Although, having my OWN kids, it's even MORE fun now! But before all that holiday happiness can happen, it's gonna be a busy Christmas Eve day. Here's a peek at my 'to-do' list:

*finish making Christmas gifts (this last-minute stuff happens every year it seems)
*finish wrapping gifts (just a few--not too many!)
*make rice krispie treats (it's my dad's favorite treat)
*make caramel corn (yay for a speedy microwave recipe!!)
*go to grocery store to get ingredients for caramel corn & rice krispie treats
*return last night's videos
*pick up some stocking stuffers for Mr. WhiMSy love
*sit with a cup of marshmallow stuffed cocoa & listen to some holiday tunes
*visit some REAL reindeer (I'm serious!)
*make a wreath (I know. Kinda late. But I didn't have one this year & I really want one.)
*charge camera batteries

(I also hope to get in some sledding this evening with the girls.)

If I don't get a chance to say it later: Have a supa dupa Merry Christmas!!!!

Free Holiday Tags!

I recently found these adorable tags from Emily of 'the black apple'. Tags are those little bits on a package that I sometimes forget until last minute! Forget no more! Bella Dia has compiled a HUGE list of blogs & sites where you can download & print FREE gift tags---right from home! Also, check out Tipnut.com for another large stash of gift tag fun. Have fun looking through them all. (I did!)
I printed these onto sticker paper for a quick gift accessory.

Wrap on my friends!!

Tiny Tushie Art

Here's a fun & unique last-minute giftie idea...

When my oldest (who's only 6) was a little baby I did the usual "handprint" gifts for the fam. Do you know what I'm talking about? Oh, you know: handprint on a plate, handprint framed in a picture, handprint on a card, handprint on a t-shirt, etc. etc. But, it got really old after a while. So, I made some baby tushie prints. (Emphasis on BABY.)

This is a 2-person job. Slather the hiney in paint, press it firmly onto a piece of heavy paper or matte board & put it in a frame!

Merry Tushmas!

Sugar Cookies & a Snowy Day!

Yesterday I baked my traditional holiday sugar cookies. I, along with my little brother & big sis, used to help our mom make & decorate these cookies every Christmas. And now I do it with my girls. It's really an all day thing. Quite a job. And now I understand why mom so generously handed down the task to me. I love it though! I make a big production & celebration of it every year.

I must admit that while gathering the ingredients & preparing for the measuring, mixing, sifting & stirring, I noticed the family playing outdoors. In my snowboots & apron, I joined in on the snowy fun!

Mr. WhiMSy love was trying to build a snowman for the wee WhiMSy kidlets, but the snow was too powdery this time around. Not so swell for snowman building. Or snowball fights. But, he had a plan! He built a foundation using some boxes he got from work...

...& then somehow the snowman ate the boxes because it ended up looking like this. This is the weirdest snowman I have ever seen. Poor fella. He is kinda cute though, & the girls ADORE him!

Vintage button eyes....of course! And a red ribbon smile.

After our chilly fun, it was time for hot cocoa & then back to work on the cookies!

My 6 year old is proudly wearing her cupcake apron from Jeanetta of splendid designs. She baked with grandma the day before, so that apron is working over-time!

Sshhh! I snuck some dough.

Now it's frosting time!!

This year the cookies will have a psychedelic theme. I went kinda dark & crazy with the NEON food coloring.

This is my favorite cookie of the day. Compliments of my 4 year old.

This morning we put goodie plates together & will be delivering them to family & friends. (I'm also tucking some away in the freezer to save for Christmas afternoon at grandma's house!)

And I might as well mention now that WhiMSy love is officially closed for the holidays. I'll be honest & say it was kinda hard to do. I've never closed my shop before. So, if you see double or triple blog posts in ONE day, just know that this is my outlet while the shop takes a break!

Now the wee WhiMSy elves & I are off to deliver some tasty treats...