On another note, the hubby and I went on a little date to Malibu yesterday. Stopped in at Howdy’s for a delicious burrito (and yes, you can find my review on Yelp!) and then off to the Art Festival. This festival was amazing; so many artists of all types and we loved strolling through the streets filled with color and beauty. We ran into an artist that we immediately fell in love with. What an inspiration! His name is Andy Ann Ha and below is a photo of my hubs looking at one of his display walls. We were oh so tempted to purchase a piece because we loved his work so much — we will save up for something a little later (though we were also impressed by his prices).

We also stumbled upon a gorgeous display of orchids. Art? maybe not; Beauty? absolutely! Orchids happen to be one of my favorite flowers, they are just so intriguing. They are so similar to humans in that they are sensitive to their surroundings and demand a good atmosphere to thrive (and survive). I wanted to buy a little beauty to bring home with me, but I just know she would pass away very quickly in our little home. Orchids need indirect light and fresh air all of the time. That is the last thing that our apartment would provide. And so I walked away in hopes that they would find themselves some good homes where they could live to their fullest. Don’t worry though, we didn’t leave without some lovely photos (are you kidding me? never!).

Thanks for stopping by! Come back soon for some of my latest card creations!

Now on to the FUN STUFF! The fourth of July brings a lot of room for fun creativity. You can make plenty of fun and colorful dishes and desserts or even decorate your backyard to enjoy the special occasion. I didn’t have much time to do anything super creative — actually the only themed items are food! Pretzel Salad (recipe below) and chocolate dipped pretzel sticks with red and blue sprinkles. The photos and links below are just some inspirational posts from some awesome bloggers and sites out there. Hope you find the links below helpful for your 4th celebration this year or next….

• Simply Creative Insanity: Awesome 4th of July Table Design
• Twig & Thistle: DIY 4th of July
• Paper & Cake: Red White and Blue Decor
• Two Hearts Together: Flag Treats
• Taste of Home: Red White and Blue Torte
• Eventagious: Party Ideas

Pretzel Salad

Layer 1: Pretzel Crust
2 C. Crushed Pretzels
3/4 C. Melted Butter
3 Tbs. Sugar

Layer 2: Cream
8 Oz. Cream Cheese
8 Oz. Whipped Cream
1 C. Sugar

Layer 3: Jello
6 Oz. Strawberry Jello
2 C. Water
20 Oz. Sweetened Frozen Strawberries (or other Frozen Berries)

1. Mix the crushed pretzels, melted butter and sugar; Spread into a greased 9×13″ pan. Bake at 400 Degrees for 8 minutes and cool completely.
2. Beat cream cheese until smooth; add sugar and fold in the whipped cream. Spread over the cooled pretzel crust and set aside.
3. Bring the water to a boil and dissolve the jello. Cool slightly (until barely steaming — I usually pour the jello into a bowl to let cool). Stir in the frozen strawberries and let thicken a little. Pour over the cream mixture.
4. Cover the salad and place in the refrigerator to set.
5. ENJOY!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

This year was pretty awesome for me. I made the goal of keeping a blog consistently for the entire year… and I did just that! It grew from a simple blogspot blog to this little place that I call home — created by my big bro and handsome hubby! I look forward to coming here everyweek and know that I will continue to return in 2010 :) I also grew a lot in my scrapbooking & card-making skills and wanted to recognize those newly found designers that have been my inspiration and teachers through out 2009. ENJOY & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

{Click Designer Names to go to their Personal Blogs}

Dawn McVey has a very sweet personality and her passion for color and design truly comes through in each of her projects. I love playing along with her color challenges from time to time and seeing what she creates with the Papertrey Ink products each month!

Mona Pendleton is extremely talented. Not sure how she does it, but it seems that I am always learning something new and easy to use on my projects. Her style is very detailed and lovely.

Jamie Harder has a classy style that no one can resist… not to mention her adorable little girls that are the subjects of many of her projects. She is also very innovative with different products; I have been inspired many times by her beautiful creations.

Nichole Heady is perfect. I so look forward to her monthly projects with the new stamps and products from Papertrey Ink. She is a true artist and I adore her clean style and innovative mind-set.

Dana Gustafson loves a challenge and I admire that! A lot of her creations look more like a dare to me because I would never think to do it that way or even think of it. Her mind is beyond creative… gorgeous, inspiring work — Always!

They dont know if this is going to be a boy or girl (crossing our fingers for a girl!) so I went with a Purple, Blue and Green color theme. Peacock feathers were my initial inspiration, but I never ended up using any in the decor — mind you, I had them, just forgot to use them! Woops! I wanted the shower to be elegant, so I had some fresh flowers, crystal glasses and we even had it outside; what a blessing to have warm weather the week of Thanksgiving! Ever seen anyone use POTS as elegant decor? Well, my dear friend, Karen came up with this great idea to use them to hold the Cotton Candy Cones and the Champagne… all it took where a few extra strands of ribbon and voila! Beautiful!

I couldn’t pick just a few photos to show you, so I placed them in a slideshow below … Enjoy!

The Menu:

Lemon Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies
Cafe Mocha Creme Sticks
Cotton Candy in Paper Cones
Cherry Cordials
Grape Mike N Ikes
Blueberry Candy Canes
Sugar Plums
Champagne with Raspbrries
Sparkling Cider with Raspberries

Inspirational & Helpful Baby Shower Sites:

• Lolliblog – Sugar Spice and Everything Nice
• Hostess {with the Mostess}
• Shower Games A to Z
• Create My Event

Thanks for taking a peak at all of the fun I had this weekend! Now off to get into the Thanksgiving spirit!

Many Blessings to you and yours!

Have you seen the deal of the month!! Buy two get one free NOW… click HERE

I know that I have been missing in action lately… it has truly been busy around here and I believe it is only the beginning of the busyness! In 3 weeks we will be moving into a new apartment. We currently rent a one bedroom apartment that has been perfect for the two of us the last three years –but we are now quickly outgrowing it! Next upgrade is the two bedroom apartment, that just so happens to be located just across the street :) Looking forward to the easy move!

Now for the fun part! The main reason we need more room is because of all of our art stuff that is just gushing out of the sides of our kitchen! The 2nd bedroom will officially be the Art Room. No, not the scraproom… because it isnt just mine and it isnt just for scrapping! It is also for my handsome hubby who enjoys painting and collaging.  So here I am day-dreaming of the way I want our room to be.

INSPIRATIONAL — PEACEFUL — CREATIVE

These are the main words that come to mind and in this post I will share a few of my favorite scrap rooms that I have found to be extremely inspirational for our future art room! — Also, see the fabric above by Amy Butler that is the inspiration for the room colors :)

Karen Russell — Vintage Style

Liz’s Yellow Haven — Bright and Bold

Lisa Brown — Clean & Simple

The Posy Studio — Cute & Aclectic

For more inspirational scrap rooms, check out Jeanette’s list of Studios that Inspire. Hope you are having as much fun as I am! I cant believe how excited and inspired I feel right now… there are some amazing ladies out there!

I just realized that I never shared any photos of my 1920s style Birthday Party! It was a huge blast and I am thankful for everyone who was there and dressed up ever so wonderfully. (The photo above from the Left: Kate, Me, Grace, Holly, Jenn & baby Noah)

We had a ton of fun and creative ideas that me and my girls threw together for a great party! We had plenty of wine, champagne and sparkling punch to drink (Boxed grape juice for the kiddies)… Grapes, Cubed Cheese, Crackers, Olives, Old-Style Candies all dished up in some beautiful crystal bowls and dishes. We of course had a pie contest and the winner was my Grandma with her Lemon Meringue Pie (which is my all-time favorite by the way).

For fun, we set up some lounge areas complete with a single red rose in a small glass vase and a strand of pearls. The guests enjoyed some night croquet that was lit up by some lovely Mason Jars with candles that lined the whole backyard. My friend Karen and I also created some fun paper lanterns to hang (using white paper bags, stamps, ribbon and fake tealight candles from the $1 store)… template, courtesy of Martha Stewart!

Other decor included some gorgeous long-stemmed ostrich feathers in vases, Dark Turqoise Velvet Draperies, Poker Tables, and we even dolled up the Wine Glasses. I found this absolutely gorgeous gold paper and printed up a bunch of “Important People” of the 1920s (a.k.a. Bonnie & Clyde, Charlie Chaplin, etc), used my punches to punch em out and adhered them on some black squares. I added a couple pearl accessories, glue gunned some gold ribbon so that it would hang around the stem of the wine glasses as a simple name tag. I think they turned out beautifully!

Enjoy the photos :)

Me & My hubs, Garrett …………………….. Our Nephew Ty with Garrett

The boys from the Left: Seth, My Big Bro Tim, Owen, Ty and Dad