Felted Mushroom Christmas Ornaments and Owl Ornaments

I love the Christmas season because I get real crafty and "craft" for days in a row! 

This year, we got a REAL tree for our living room and I wanted to decorate it with a "woodland" theme.

Hence, felt mushrooms

and felt owls

I would like to try to have all the ornaments be mostly handmade.. still on the docket to make are a different style of felt owls, felt raccoons and a pine cone garland.

The kiddos got the fake tree in the basement and had fun putting up their ornaments on Saturday! 

I LOVE it too because it is filled with ornaments that we have collected over the years that ALL mean something to us (other than the colored balls) ! Each year, I buy the kids an ornament and put their names and the year on it and it goes on the tree- its fun to "see" what they were into year after year! 

I also have all the ornaments my mom made for me when I was young- she did the same tradition! So, its really a "memory" tree for us! And I LOVE it! 

I also am making all the kids close friends handmade gifts this year- 

I am really excited about them! 

They are turning out SO cute! 

I'll probably post pictures AFTER the holidays so as not to spoil the surprise!

Here are the kiddos picking out the tree!
Its only about 5 feet but its perfectly round and smells amazing!

I'll post pictures of the final decorated tree when its all done! 

{Thankful}

{Thanksgiving 2011}

{A great day filled with Wonderful Family 

and Yummy Food}

{so very blessed}

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands! 

Serve the Lord with gladness! 

Come into God's presence with singing! 

Know that the Lord is God!

 It is he that made us, and we are his;

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, 

and his courts with praise! 

Give thanks to him, bless his name! 

For the Lord is good; 

his steadfast love endures for ever, 

and his faithfulness to all generations.

Ella Bella Creations

This past weekend I had the exciting opportunity to participate in a Holiday Boutique with my Etsy shop-

Ella Bella Creations!

I set up a table and sold a LOT of hair pretties and pins! 

I wasn't expecting it to do that well in sales and there really wasn't a huge crown of people at all either. 

But I was pleasantly surprised how most of the people there bought something from my shop:)

Yeah- a success!

 I still have lots up on my shop so if you need some Christmas gifts feel free to go "shop" there! 

Use the code GET15OFF at checkout to get 15% off your order! I will ship it out right away! 

You can also ask me to make just about anything and I will do it for ya! So, if you need a certain color or style, message me though Etsy and I will be glad to accommodate you! 

Oh, and to find my shop just go to the top of this blog and click on the ETSY heading and it will take you right there! 

 Special thanks to my sweet husband who helped me with the labels and all the "computer" stuff! 

He's the best!

This boutique was sponsored by the twins Girl Scout troop. 

They were collecting toys for Toys for Tots for Christmas.

They handed out cookies, took raffle money and sold some water and soda!

It was a fun event and I think the twins got some good business experience- they will be earning their cookie badge, business badge and one other one that I cant remember!

Growing Up

 Sophia has been bugging em for a while now to get her bike out of the garage so she can ride it-I always say no because she doesn't know how to ride it without training wheels. We tried this summer and we helped her and everything but she just couldn't get it! Well, today it was a nice afternoon (shes in short sleeves) so I said okay and wouldn't you know- she jumped right on the bike and just started riding! I couldn't believe it! She can ride a big bike! She was cruising up and down the side walk and street and was doing great! Arianna tried a few times and did better than this past summer so it wont be too long till she gets it, I think.

Then later on this evening Sophie asked me is she could listent to the Ipod-I said okay and she stuffs it in the back pocket of her skinny jeans and puts the earphones in and off she be-bopped away. I am honestly tearing up as I write this post- she is getting so old and so mature and growing up! 

Pretty soon it will be car she is learning to drive!

Where does the time go? 

My sweet little girl is growing up and Im not quite ready for it! 

{SNOOZE}

Nope, not talking about sleep- the opposite- really! {BREAKFAST}

 Erika and I met for breakfast last Saturday and it was wonderful! 

It was great to really sit down and catch up with Erika without any distractions!

Plus the smell of coffee and breakfast cooking was an added bonus!

 I've heard a lot about Snooze and was very excited to try it out. It did not disappoint!

The ambiance was wonderful- very bright and cheery- fast paced and very retro, which I LOVE!

They had really cool booths like in the Jetsons and I LOVED all the orange and yellow!

The wait was long at 10am (this was the Southglenn location) but at least it wasn't crowded while you wait. Lots of room to move around.

We perused the menu while waiting to be seated and were delighted to find creative and mouth watering dishes with lots of unique flavor combinations.

 I got a Benedict because that is one of my favorite things to eat out for breakfast! It was very savory with squash, beans, carrots, shaved Parmesan .. delish! And the eggs were poached perfectly.

And notice that LARGE coffee cup- oh yeah! 

 I definitely will visit Snooze again!

I  just LOVE that Erika and I get to go out and do things just the 2 of us- its SO refreshing to get away with a girlfriend and catch up! Love you, Erika! And yes, I cropped this picture because the bottom half of me was not looking very pleasant after such a LARGE breakfast:) 

THANK YOU Veterans!

Today we celebrate the men and women who have fought and are fighting for our freedom as Americans!

I am thankful for their sacrifice.

I am honored to have people in my family who have served their country.

I am so very blessed to enjoy freedom today.

I am so grateful that the twins school spends a good part of their morning honoring these men and woman and remembering the wonderful gift of freedom we have in America today! The twins were part of the ceremony since they are girl scouts this year! They were so excited to present the flags and hand out flowers to the vets.

The second grade class sang the Navy song- all the other classes also sang different songs from different branches of the military!  

After the ceremony, I was in charge of the food table. It went really well and looked cute too:)

I'm all about presentation- its my favorite part of the job:)

It was a good morning- remembering that freedom really isnt FREE-

 it cost many people dearly and I will always be grateful and

 pass that spirit of respect for our veterans down to my children! 

Puppies, Puppies Everywhere

Nothing is sweeter than a cute little puppy.

They look at you with those sad little puppy eyes.

Their fur is so soft and wrinkly.

Puppies breath is the yummiest smell ever.

They are just so dang cute!

 And you know what's cuter than 1 adorable little puppy?

13 wriggly, brown, snuggly, calm, sleepy puppies!

We got to visit with Aunt Tina and Uncle Matt's 13 little puppies this past weekend and 

our whole family was in {LOVE}.

It was puppy heaven! 

Now mind you, I do NOT like dogs. At. All. 

But puppies, I adore! 

They are tiny. They are playful. They fit in your arms.

They smell so good!

The kids begged to take one home. The problem is that these are puppies that have been breed so they cost a boatload of money and the biggest problem is that they grow to be the size of my 7 yr olds- no lie! 

They are HUGE when all grown up- like massive! Like they scare me when I walk in Tinas house:)

I must say, they are very gentle though but still- they are beasts! 

So we will just come over again on Thanksgiving to get our puppy fix before they are sold:(

Thanks, Tina and Matt, for letting us enjoy your little pups! 

    

The kids will remember it forever!

And so will I:)