color play: chartreuse and mint

Usually I am covered in glitter, but this time around, I’ve been wrapped in tulle while working on tutus for upcoming half marathons. The green color combination inspired by the Tinkerbell half reminds me of new spring blooms that I’ve been seeing on my blossoming lemon plant.

Creating this poofy 9″ no sew tutu was fairly easy. I used 1.5 inch grosgrain ribbon and about 75 yards of 6 inch tulle. In addition to the ribbon and tulle, I added accent ribbons and a silk flower.

The band: Wrap the ribbon around your waist where you’d like the tutu to sit and measure an additional 2 feet. The excess ribbon will allow you to tie a bow. You can cut the tails of the bow as long or short as you like. I prefer to have them as long as the hem of the tutu.

The skirt: Cut the tulle and accent ribbons in 18 inch strips. I used a 9 inch piece of cardboard and wrapped the tulle around it. Then made a cut on one side to create the uniform sized strips.

Fold a strip of tulle in half behind the ribbon. Take the ends of the tulle and fold over the ribbon and through the loop. Pull to tie a loose knot but don’t pull it tight just yet. It’s easier to move the tulle when the pieces are loose.

Tie the strips all along the band adding additional colors and ribbons. You can create your look by playing with the colors and accents that you’ve chosen. I doubled the darker green strips on my skirt for a tighter cleaner look. The strips of tulle seems to hold better with less flyaway.

Push the knots together as tightly as you’d like to create a fuller skirt. Get creative and embellish your tutu with just about anything. I pulled a silk flower off the plastic stem and secured it with a safety pin.

Turns out this fun and colorful tutu project may have inspired some new card designs after all. I’m sure I can make use of all the extra tulle.
Enjoy your tutu and hope to see you race day!

out of this world

These are for a boy who’s ready to write his own thank you notes. I’d say he’s out of this world!

the handwritten thank you note

I don’t remember writing and sending thank you notes as a child. My “thank yous” were mainly verbal and in person, followed with a hug. It wasn’t until I was an adult, getting married, that I needed to send a note of thanks.

The basic foundation of a thank you card is to acknowledge that a gift has been received and to express gratitude for the item. That amounts to two generic sentences. While it minimally gets the job done, it quickly becomes a boring and tedious task after the first three letters.

I’ve modeled my own thank you notes like short personal letters. I include the standard “thank you for the (adjective) (gift)” sentence so the giver knows that the gift was received. The rest of the note I write as if to a friend I haven’t seen in a while. I include what is going on in my life, a memory conjured up by the gift, or how it reminds me of something. Most of all, I want to convey how much I appreciate the thoughtfulness that comes with taking the time to choose and send a gift.

I am encouraged that in the age of email, text messages, and Facebook posts, a younger generation still values a handwritten note. These are personalized for a recent high school graduate who will be penning her gratitude on custom Paper Musings notes with just a touch of sparkle.

What makes for a memorable thank you note? Share your tips with us!

Swatches and shapes and the dental chair

A little magazine reading at the dentist office and I find swatches of color and sweet floral shapes.

A fun way for the kids to learn hues.

I like how simple shapes can be put together to create something entirely different.

I get it, Mom

My mom’s favorite mother’s day memory was when my brother, sister, and I made her breakfast in bed one year. We got up early to make some eggs, toast, and fresh orange juice on a tray with fresh cut flowers. She heard all the commotion in the kitchen but stayed in bed and pretended to be asleep as we made our way to the bedroom, careful not to drop our tray. She tells this story often and we smile and nod, knowing that we made her happy that mother’s day morning.

That mother’s day memory was special to my mom, but I didn’t get it. It was just breakfast.

Until today.

Hubby ran in to wake me up with a chuckle. Baby was still asleep and he said, “Come downstairs and see what the boys did.” Groggy and all, I made my way downstairs where my boys were waiting with anticipation. As I entered the kitchen, they shoved their cards and school presents into my hands and hugged me with a chorus of “Happy Mother’s Day.” Then they sheepishly said, “We made you breakfast.”

As breakfasts go, this one was simple. A piece of toast with jelly, a hard boiled egg, and a glass of milk. But this mother’s day present was much bigger than breakfast. There was a lot of thought put into this.

My kids don’t do a lot of cooking with me. They see me in the kitchen all the time, but they don’t participate in cooking. Now that I think about it, I noticed my oldest helped me make bagels for an after school snack this past week. I realize now that he was getting some practice in so he could do it by himself. He enlisted his little brother’s help Sunday morning and had him pour the milk. Dad heard the ruckus and went to check on them. They asked for his help with the gas stove to make the egg. Breakfast was complete.

It was just breakfast, but really it was so much more. They spent the morning making breakfast so I could have the morning off. Their faces read that they were hopeful that I would appreciate their efforts. I am so touched that my boys took the initiative and showed so much forethought with this simple meal.

They saw it as breakfast. I see it as a moment that shows that they have been listening and learning the lessons that I’ve been trying to teach. It was a gift of thoughtfulness and reciprocation. It was a gesture of appreciation. It was done with humility and hope that it would make me happy. I was happy. I am happy. And I cried and I hugged them hard because I couldn’t put into words how much this Mother’s Day meant to me.

I get it now, Mom. I too will be telling this Mother’s Day story for a long long time.

oddities

I decided to go through my mom’s china cabinet on my recent trip back home. Mom and Dad don’t have a display of their wedding fine china, but they do have a little collection of oddities from their travels throughout the Far East.

I really like these little figurines from Vietnam with their circular eyes and the long wispy lashes.

The wire work in this boat from Japan is really impressive. I work with wire in some of my card designs (no where near this scale) and can appreciate the intricate details necessary to create such a piece.

a little dose of pretty

Good morning! Coffee is just what I need this A.M. There are so many subtle things that I like about this mug: the curved shape, the visible strata inside it, and the distressed type and floral pattern. I love a dose of coffee and pretty to start the day.

Got Heeem

Some birthdays are special. Hubs celebrated a milestone this week and I wanted to make it a celebration to remember.

1. Surprise Party at Dodger Stadium with his childhood buddies. We got a win and a ball!

2. Lakers Playoff Game. Round 1. Game 2. Great win!

3. Dinner at home with friends. Celebrating with a homemade berry cake and whipped cream frosting.

Mission accomplished!

cover photo

I haven’t decided whether or not I like the facebook timeline but I added a cover photo of my office space. This is when the room is at its best. In reality, there are boxes, papers, jars, and a whole lot of stuff taking over. I do aspire (maybe dream is the better word) to having it look this spotless on a daily basis.

Posts on the go?

Could this be?
While I enjoy the ease of posting on Facebook, I would prefer to have things centrally located on my blog page. Unfortunately, I am not often in front of my computer. When I am, there are usually bills to pay, orders to invoice, and designs to illustrate (okay, there’s also a lot of time reading articles because I am easily distracted and get sucked into the Internet void). Secondly, I have a difficult time taking pictures with a regular camera and then add the extra step to upload it to my computer means nothing ever gets posted.
Well, I hope this WordPress app works because it will mean that I can post while I am out and about and insert pictures from my iPhone (which seems to be the only way I can preserve memories of any event).
Fingers crossed that this will work and you’ll be hearing more from me.