A Forest Frolic

Happy Independence Day

Remember this post...where I mentioned Mamarazzi's Red, White, & Blue Swap?  Well, It's July 4th, so I'm gonna show off what I received from my awesome partner Jessica over at 'The Great Northwest' ...and click here if you'd like to see what I sent her.

Look at all the wonderfully festive goodies she sent...

...I loved everything and was so excited when I saw the package on the front stoop!  Jessica really put some thought into the package and wrapped every item so nicely, yay!

She even hand-made this awesome cherry pin cushion (and I've been needing a good pin cushion for a while now).  Of course, she wrote a little note...

...but I'm sooooo glad she sent it because it might have been my favorite item.  I've  been meaning to make a cupcake pin cushion forever now but just haven't done it.  So maybe I'll use her kindness as an inspiration to make some for gifts too. 

And she must've seen my Mimi Jam post and known that we love some home-made strawberry jam...yumminess from her Momma...a girl after my own heart ;-)

So, thank you Jessica...I had so much fun being your swap partner, you are a rock star!

And the winner of my Mad Tea Party giveaway is...Erin from Treasures Found, yay...what a fun time that was!  And she makes beautiful jewelry and has a great blog so go give her a shout if you can.

Last but not least, this awesome button bracelet and fabric brooch are from my girl Lori over at 'Morning Glories and Moonflowers.' 

I traded her some of my fabric cards for this 'Creme Brulee' bracelet and she sent the brooch as a special treat, how fun!  She's actually got one in her shoppe for sale so if you love it or need a cute button bracelet go check her out.  Thanks for the trade Lori...I really appreciate it!

Now, we are off to take the kiddos to the pool.  I hope everyone has a wonderful fourth of July!

Jamie :)

'We're all Mad here!'

One evening in early summer, we decided to take a stroll in the forest...when we stumbled upon this beautiful tea cup & saucer...

When we picked it up...poof!  A magical door appeared at the foot of the nearest tree...

And as you know, Brownie McMillan, is a very curious elf...just like her creator, Ms. Vanessa Valencia...so she had to go in and explore.  We weren't far behind her of course ;-)

When she opened the door, these whimsical party hats appeared on our heads...

...and who am I to complain!?  Anything glittery and sparkly is wonderful in my book!

So we kept on walking to see what else we could get into...and boy oh boy, did we see the most wonderful pinwheel garden ever!  Full of bright colors and spinning tops...we had to pick one just for you...

Along our  way, we saw many gorgeous dancing ballerina's like this one...

...they were like little frolicking fairies...I wanted to keep them all, they were so cute ;-)

But, before I could even think another minute about it...we heard this beautiful music...and saw these two little sets of eyes peering at us through the tall grass...

 

...a little boy & little girl...wanting to show us the way, they say...to the Mad Hatter's Tea Party!

'Oh, well if we are attending a tea party of the Mad Hatter variety...I must freshen up a bit,' I said.  But, they just smiled and nodded their heads like a genie would.  Next thing I know...I'm wearing this beautiful frock, leather wedges and have pink toenails...

Then, they said to take the 'path less traveled,' and we would find what we were looking for...

...and boy did we?!  There were mermaids and birds humming that beautiful tune we heard...and princess crowns galore!

There were sweet treats that we couldn't keep our paws off of...

...and lots of fresh fruits and even ice cream...

...of course, you know we had to have lots of tea too...seeing as how it's a tea party and all...

So, when we just couldn't eat another crumb or taste another sip...we said our Thank you's and good-byes and said we'd visit again soon.  I made a comment on the walk back home...something to the nature of why the Hatter was called 'Mad,' because he seemed so sweet and, well...NOT Mad. 

The Cheshire Cat happened to be lounging in the tree above us and said...

That's it folks...'We're all Mad here,' but in a good way of course ;-)                                                                 
And as Alice says, "If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?"

Now it's time to head back to 'A Fanciful Twist' to do some more partying.  Please fairy Godmother, would you please send us over...                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Thank you, thank you, thank you for such a lovely journey :)  And thank you, Ms. V, for hosting such a fun filled party!  See ya sooooon...

Jamie & friends :)

p.s. I completely forgot to mention that just for commenting you'll be entering to win any 2 (your choice) paper punch embellishment sets from my shop, yay...

Sneak Peek...

...as promised!  Can you guess what we are doing?  Other than Mad Tea Partying waaaay in advance!?!  I have glitter and paint, a wee bit here and there...so, off to finish that up.  But wanted to stop in and see what you are up to!  Are you partying...having tea and sweets?  I can't wait to see...

Jamie :)

Life is what you make it

I'm sitting on the back deck with the dogs, baby and some coffee...it's breezy, the baby let me sleep in til' 9am (hallelujah), I'm letting Daddio sleep in even more, and my other two girls had a sleepover at Oma & Opa's. 

This is a perfect morning if I do say so myself :)  If I close my eyes, I can even pretend that I'm at the beach in a lounge chair soaking up some rays with the breeze on my face.  The rattle of the neighbors air-conditioner is just the waves rolling in, ahhhh...deep breath...zen moment.

Then, I get whacked on the head with a cheerio, open my eyes and see the baby smiling ear to ear with a milk mustache and her finger clinched in that cheesy grin... 

 

How could I resist that face?  Honestly, these are the moments that I never want to forget.

I've realized Life is what you make of it.  You can focus of the positive...or negative.  It's your choice.  You can dream, you can imagine, you can wonder about 'what if's.'  But, the reality is...your life is wonderful...could be wonderful...if you just find the positive things, the fun moments, the little things that make you smile!

Speaking of little things that make me smile, I'm participating in...

...and am very excited because I just received my swap partners info.  More to come on that.  If you get a chance though, do stop by Mamarazzi's blog...she's a true gem ;-)

Now, go on and have a happy Sunday...

Jamie :) 

Peace & chicken grease (& Anthro bowl winner)

Yesterday, well...let's just say it was one of 'those' days.

Dogs are boycotting going potty on the leash instead of their beloved backyard.

Girls were extra whiny...& this mommy doesn't do whiny.

But everyone has their moments...and this was one I was glad to catch...

At the end of each day, one of my fav things to do is upload the pictures that I took that day.

Sometimes I get bummed because something I was excited to shoot, didn't turn out.  But most of the time I get a good laugh because my family is goofy & someone is always doing something silly. 

I had no idea she was back there throwing up the peace sign...until now! 

That just made my day! 

I love those little boogers...goofiness and all, even if they are whiny sometimes ;-)

I was actually trying to get a cute shot of my new earrings from 'the buzy bee.'  Check her out if you get a chance, she's got some cute handmade stuff...and a bag that's on my wishlist, yay.

Speaking of checking things out...you should definitely check out 'The Magic Onions.'  Because she's the WINNER of this lovely Anthropologie bowl and gift tag set from my shoppe!

And if you just can't stand that you didn't win those tags, click here for a set of your own. 

Better yet, since I'm in the giving mood...you'll receive 15% off your total purchase in my shoppe through Sunday, by putting 'Peace & chicken grease' in the notes to seller.  Yeah, I thought you'd like that ;-)

Peace out chicken...

Jamie :)