About Me

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Wife, Mother, Mimi, lover of all things creative... sewing, embroidery, painting, collage... God and family are the most important things in my life.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Picnic Wedding Shower



My niece is getting married soon, and I wanted to give her a bridal shower to remember. And for as long as I can remember she has loved picnics, so what better theme than a picnic shower.


The sign they are holding says, "We're getting hitched." it doesn't really show up in the picture.

For you regular readers, no, I haven't figured out my new camera yet, but it's on my to do list, by the way where did I put that list? Never mind.

God blessed us with another beautiful evening which made this time all the more special. I love it when we actually have a spring. It doesn't always happen here. Sometimes we jump right straight from winter into summer.























Gingham was the fabric of the day, what else for a picnic? It is by far my favorite of all fabrics, and I would love to own bolts of it, wouldn't you?
















See that really large pickle jar on the table? My mother used to fill it up with chocolate chip cookies at Christmas time. I mean full to the brim! They didn't last long once she gave us the green light for eating them. Remember, I had four brothers so I didn't finish off the jar alone, but I probably could have. They were delicious cookies! Especially when she would put peanuts in them!






The little gingham flowers on the branches were made like the ones my daughter-in-law made for my daughter's shower earlier this week. They were made from a tutorial found here, but be very careful if you try them. I have a big ugly blister where I burned myself with hot glue, OUCH!

When everyone began to arrive I began to get excited, and hungry! I told you we have excellent cooks in our family!










The happy bride and groom to be, aren't they cute? Yeah, I think so too!








Our family keeps growing, so much so that it would probably take a panoramic lens and a magician to get us all into one photograph. So we just divide and conquer. A little here..



and a little there, and there still are a few missing.



No my sister-in-law is not smoking, or giving the peace sign. Maybe she's impersonating Nixon. No, I guess not, it's only one hand. I'll ask her later.





Can you tell I love sweets? I didn't get any close ups of the real food, but I promise it was there: hamburgers, over the top mac and cheese, fried dill pickles, and potato salad.


That's in addition to all of the sweets you see here. There was supposed to be an appetizer too, but someone forgot to put it out. I won't call any names, and nobody else better rat me out either!




























































Dusk began to settle so we lit the lanterns and tried to create a little ambiance.



























Then it was time for a little gift giving,





















and a little swooning.






















I won't bore you with each and every gift, but there was some good stuff there.
































And these youngsters are the parents of the bride. Now be honest, they don't look old enough to have a daughter getting married now do they?












Tip Junkie handmade projects

Monday, April 4, 2011

Garden Party Baby Shower

I am expecting my 8th grandchild in a couple of months, and we celebrated this occasion this week with a baby shower. The weather cooperated in a most pleasant way, and we were actually able to hold the event out of doors. This, by the way, was a very good thing since my interior was in the process of being painted at the time, and no one could have gotten into it safely.








Just look at that beautiful diaper cake, fabric flowers and pretty painted bottles. These were all put together by my very talented daughter-in-law.

I tried to incorporate pink wherever I could, and when I came across a pink popcorn recipe here I just had to try it. It tasted a lot better than I thought it would.

I had lots of help with food, and since there are so many great cooks in the family I always look forward to trying whatever they bring to any function! As usual everyone out did themselves.



















See that lovely tablecloth? My sister-in-law from Atlanta sent that home with me last weekend and it was just the thing I needed to make this all come together.











































Of course the baby and mom were showered with precious, adorable gifts.









Each guest wrote a prayer for the baby and hung it on the tree located on the gift table. My daughter is planning on having them mounted in a frame to hang in the baby's room.







Even the little ones oohed and awed at the sweet little dainties.

















It really was a wonderful evening, surrounded by family and friends, celebrating the beginning of a new life on a perfect spring evening.


























Of course as with anything we do there are kids everywhere, and they really had a blast...











chasing bugs across blankets,











eating sweets galore,















and even enjoying a little baseball.

Tip Junkie handmade projects

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Upcoming Posts




I have so much to tell and show you, but here's a little teaser for now because I'm too exhausted to put all I want to say into words, so more words and pictures soon.

Until then...





















Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Trying to Slow Down Time










When a family gets the size of ours there is a celebration of something every week or so. There are birthdays, weddings, graduations, births, and the list goes on and on.





This week we celebrated three birthdays. My wonderful daughter has brought joy into my life for twenty-six beautiful years. I am beyond blessed to be her mother.
Sweet little Pooh Bear has filled our hearts with so much love with his bubbling personality and infectious smile for a year now. How did we ever get along without him before he arrived?Doesn't that first year just fly by? It always amazes me the changes a baby goes through in that first year, from being totally helpless and dependent to walking and communicating and developing their own traits and temperament. When he smiles he smiles all over and you just can't help but smile too.

Then there is little Sweet Cheeks who has brought us so much laughter and entertainment for the last three years with her funny ways and tender love. And to think when she was one I thought she was going to be shy and quiet. I was totally wrong and I'm glad. Her spunk is part of her charm. I have to tell you my heart just overflows!

As these years go flying by I find myself wanting so much to catch each moment and preserve it forever. Each one is so special, how can you effectively hold on to one moment while simultaneously living the next one. If I stop too long and try to etch yesterday in my mind I somehow lose a little piece of today. So I'm trying to savor each and every moment, while silently praying that time will slow down just a little bit because today is just too good to rush through!

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Thankful List

Continuing my list of things I'm grateful for:

22. my health (I've had the flu this week, it sure has made me appreciate days of wellness.)

23. rainy days

24. cozy cover

25. gifts of food prepared for me

26. good books

27. people who listen

28. the color red (it makes me happy, what can I say?)

29. old friends

30. new friends

31. prayers

32. tea and honey