Happy Mother's day!

Happy Mother's day to all the special ladies in my life, including my blogging ladies.  

 Hope you are having a marvelous weekend.

XOXO

  

Celebrating Mom!

Wishing all the other wonderful ladies out there a happy Mother’s day (not just on Sunday) but every SINGLE day.

Thank you for all your guidance, wisdom and creative talents, Mom. 

Thank you for all the special ways you spoil me and the girls.

 Have a splendid weekend doing whatever makes you happy. 

In honor of Mother's Day...a note to Josie's birth mother

I don't expect that we will  ever have any information about Josie's birth parents.  We do have a few pictures of her life at the orphanage that were taken with a disposable camera.  Based on what we were told from her finding ad and her nannies, she was only with her birth mother for a few weeks before she was abandoned and came to live in the orphanage.  

Over this past year , Josie been asking more about her orphanage life in China and her birth mother.   

In the past, I've posted a message to Josie's birth mother on my blog.  As mother's day approaches, the message is worth repeating.

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Your daughter is growing into a beautiful little girl.  She's lost many baby teeth this past year and grown several inches.  

Please know that her medical conditions have been taken care  and she regularly sees a cardiologist who monitors her condition.   In fact, most people are surprised that she has a congenital heart defect because of her never-ending energy.  

She’s smart, funny, and brings a positive spirit to our family.   She still jumps up and down with joy every time I come home from work and I will never grow tired of my one-person welcoming committee.

She LOVES going to school and has many many friends...especially boy friends. 

She loves to eat...chocolate is STILL her absolute favorite.

Playing outside makes her extremely happy...especially if her big sister is playing with her.

She has a beautiful big sister that is a wonderful role model (and sometimes wants to be her extra mother).

Her big sister loves her very much and Josie loves her back unconditionally....even when they squabble. 

When I see our two daughters together, we know our family is now complete.
Thank you for your sacrifice and your selflessness.

Thank you for choosing life for this precious little girl.

You have shared with our family a priceless gift. We are forever grateful. We will never forget you.
Happy Mother's day to all the special ladies in my life.  I hope you have a marvelous Sunday.  Have a splendid weekend doing whatever makes you happy.

Yarn wreath...inspired by Creative Breathing

I fell in love with Elizabeth's (Creative Breathing) yarn wreath when she posted it here.

Only using supplies that I had on hand (I really miss driving and shopping...I can't wait to dump the crutches/knee scooter) I modified her design slightly.

 I definitely would have used a Styrofoam wreath if I had one available in my stash of supplies. The straw wreath worked well enough, but it was messy until it was covered.





Even Luna enjoyed helping me wrap the wreath with yarn. 
Here's my version.
The toadstools were available last year in the Target $1 bins.
I covered the toadstool caps with a bit of glue and glitter.

Elizabeth is always so good about explaining how she creates things and her felt flower tutorials came in handy.  Be sure to come visit this post on her blog for instructions.  Thank you for the inspiration, Elizabeth. 

Linking up with:
Someday Crafts:  Mother's Day Link

A Birth Mother & Mother's Day Message

Although not officially on the calendar as a holiday, did you know that the Saturday before Mother's day is celebrated in the adoption community as "Birth-Mother's Day?" If I could share message with Josie's birth mother, this is what I would say.

Your daughter is beautiful.

Please know that her medical conditions have been taken care of and she is now healthy and full of endless energy.

She’s smart, funny and brings incredible joy to our family.

She has many friends, and will be going to Kindergarten next fall!

She loves to eat...especially CHOCOLATE.

Playing outside makes her extremely happy.

She has a big sister that is a wonderful role model.

Her big sister loves her very much and Josie loves her back unconditionally.

When I see our two daughters together, we know our family is now complete.

Thank you for choosing life for this precious little girl.

You have shared with our family a priceless gift.
We are forever grateful.

Happy Mother's day to all the special ladies in my life.
I hope you have a marvelous weekend!
I love you Emma and Josie.

I love you MOM!

XOXO
♥

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Can you believe Mother's day is May 8th this year? Just in case you want to get started on a few projects over the weekend, I'm going to recycle a couple of Mother's Day gifts that have become favorites at our house for all the special ladies in our lives. This first one is something that kiddos can actually help out with.



Supplies needed:

Box of tea bags
Photographs (or your kiddos can draw tiny pictures with crayons, markers and paper)
Scissors
Tape

Step 1. Open up a box of tea and pull out the individual tea bag envelops.

Step 2. Unseal each tea bag envelop and carefully pull out the tea bag.

Step 3. Take a bunch of pictures and cut them to fit onto the paper that is attached to the tea bag string. My printer actually has a photo ID function which allowed me to print them off quickly in smaller size which I then cut apart.


Step 4. Attach a picture to the tea bag string with glue or tape and then place the tea bag back in the original envelop (this is the most time consuming part).

Step 5. Repeat steps 1 - 4. Get the kids involved in this project. They might not be able to take apart of the envelops without ripping them, but they can help with assembling and taping the pictures. Your kiddos could also draw tiny pictures that you could scan and cut apart if you have two sets of grandmothers that need this gift.

What a fun way to start out each morning seeing a special loved ones face over a cup of tea!

For my adoptive Mommies who enjoy Jasmine tea, my favorite online store is Pearl River. Their prices are amazing (100 bags for $3.25). I've enjoyed this brand for the last five years.

While I'm focusing on tea, I have to show off my favorite tea set. When we were in Josie's province of Nanchang, I picked up this set. The teapot and six cups are handpainted and the butterflies are just gorgeous.

This second gift idea is a decorative candle project that I made last year for my mother, sister and aunts. I've made some new ones this year with a couple of beautiful images that I found on Miss Rhea's Sweet & Shabby Roses blog.

*Mom, Sis & Aunties...skip the rest of the post.

Supplies needed:
Sheet music (additional graphic optional) you can find sheet music all over the web
Jar candle
Lace/tulle
Silk flowers
Costume clip-on earring (optional)
Glue
Brush
Hot glue gun


1. Remove the label from your jar candle and cover your jar in glue. I poured my glue onto a paper plate and used a paintbrush to evenly cover my jar.

2. Cut your sheet music to the width of your jar and cover. I overlapped the edges of the music.


3. Take your lace and cover the sheet music. Use your hot glue gun to secure the lace in place.

4. I then covered the lace with a strip of pink tulle and tied the tulle into a knot. I secured a costume jewelry earring onto the center of my tulle knot and hot glued a couple of silk flowers around my earring.

Linking up with these fabulous parties:
Thrifty Thursday Blog Hop
Thrifty Things Friday
Inspiration Friday at the Picket Fence
Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge
Feathered Nest Friday
Crafty Soiree #35 from Yesterday on Tuesday

More ideas coming on Monday. In between watching the royal wedding and catching up on laundry, my craft room is going to get extra messy.

Have a thrifty/crafty/fairytale weekend!

XOXO

♥

Last Minute Mother's Day Gift Idea

Need a last minute Mother's day (or Grandmother's gift)? How about making a wire photo holder?

Supplies:
Vintage clip art
Old bottle
White glue
Glue gun
4 inch craft wire

I took one of my vintage bottles, glued on some clipart and used 4 inch craft wire to form the photo holder. I wrapped the wire around the bottle rim and then used my thumb and finger to make a coil at each end. This coils serves as a clip to hold photo. I hot glued the wire onto the back of the bottle to keep it from sliding around.

When I was collecting old bottles for my Halloween potions, I saved back a few. You can find these bottles at many thrift stores and antique stores for less than $2.

If you are looking for fun vintage images to dress up your bottle, the Graphics Fairy is one of my favorite blogs to visit. I'm on a strawberry kick right now, but this blog has all kinds of lovely flower images to download. Happy Crafting!

I hope you are able to have some fun this weekend - whatever that may be.

Give-away with a twist! Shabby Chic Candle

I love sharing crafting ideas with my followers. Even better, I love it when you tell me that you attempted them. This week's give-away comes with a slight twist. Instead of me giving you the finished product, I'm going to give you all the supplies (minus the glue and the candle). It's easy. I promise. This shabby chic candle is a perfect Mother's day gift or special gift to yourself.

*Mom - Skip this post!

Supplies needed:
Sheet music
Jar candle
Lace/tulle
Silk flowers
Costume jewelery earring
Glue
Brush
Hot glue gun


1. Remove the label from your jar candle and cover your jar in glue. I poured my glue onto a paper plate and used a paintbrush to evenly cover my jar.

2. Cut your sheet music to the width of your jar and cover. I overlapped the edges of the music.


3. Take your lace and cover the sheet music. Use your hot glue gun to secure the lace in place.

4. I then covered the lace with a strip of pink tulle and tied the tulle into a knot. I secured a costume jewelry earring onto the center of my tulle knot and hot glued a couple of silk flowers around my earring.


So, if you're interested in receiving the supplies to make your very own a shabby chick candle (this includes the sheet music, the pink tulle, the lace, the costume jewelry earring and a couple of pink silk flowers) just leave me a comment in this post. I promise I won't make you show us your final product...although I'd LOVE IT!!! I'm really hoping this new give-away concept doesn't fall flat (in other words please leave comments my faithful followers). I'll draw a winner on Sunday April 25th at 6pm Eastern Standard time. Happy Crafting!!


Please continue to keep this family in prayer as their adopted daughter Jiliang underwent open-heart surgery Tuesday morning.

I also ask that you keep this family in your prayers. Their son Andrew undergoes open-heart surgery today.