My Favorite Things

Butterfly Kisses Revisted

Hi there,

Can you believe it's April 1 already?  Is it starting to look and feel a bit more like spring where you are, or are you still bundling up against the cold?  (Or are you on the other side of the world where it's just starting to get cold as you're coming into winter?)  :)

Well, with the first of the month, brings the Senior Design Team Challenge at Papertrey Ink and this month, Nichole has challenged us to dust off our Butterfly Kisses stamp sets and give them a bit of love.  

With Papertrey now carrying three different butterfly dies, making your own custom butterfly embellishments is a cinch, especially when you pair the dies with Butterfly Kisses.  The largest die in the photo above is the butterfly die I designed -- the Signature Series: Butterfly die.  The medium sized die (top of photo) is called the Butterfly die and the smallest one (bottom right) is from the Love Lives Here die collection.

I started out by die cutting a whole pile of butterflies using those 3 dies.  I ran all 3 dies thru the Big Shot at the same time, with a different piece of card stock each time.  That way, I could cut out 3 butterflies at once.  I used kraft, hawaiian shores and dark chocolate card stock as well as clearly creative card stock and vellum card stock.

I wanted to show you the clear card stock butterflies because I stamped them with a butterfly image from Butterfly Kisses, using versamark ink, and then heat embossed them with clear embossing powder.  It may not look like much, but it helps the clear card stock to have a bit more depth when you stack the butterflies up.  You'll see what I mean in a bit.

I stamped each of the butterflies with various images from Butterfly Kisses and after they were all stamped or embossed, I was ready to start stacking them up.  I cut a piece of patterned paper from the Library Ledger collection and stamped the "Birthday wishes" sentiment along the top of the paper.  Then, I used a 2-way glue pen to lightly adhere the butterflies in place, just in the center of each butterfly.  I went ahead and stacked up each pile of butterflies -- 5 butterflies in each little pile -- so I could see how I wanted each butterfly to be layered.  Once I knew which ones needed to go in each stack, I used the glue pen to hold them together just long enough for me to stitch down the center of each stack of butterflies.  I lightly glued all of the butterflies in the top stack, stitched them, and then moved on to the next stack.  

Once all the stitching was complete, I was able to adhere the patterned paper to the kraft card base, easily hiding all of the stitches on the back side of the paper.  When trimming the threads off the front of the card, I left them a tiny bit longer than I normally would, just to give it a more rustic feel.  Buttons were added (with foam adhesive) to each butterfly, as well as a few in the lower right corner (with scor-tape).

These photos give you a close up look at the 5 layers that make up each butterfly.  See what I mean about the clear embossing adding a nice detail on the clear card stock?  

Well, that's it for me today but don't forget that all of the other girls on the Sr. Team have projects to share with you too!

Nichole Heady

Mish Wooderson
Heather Nichols
Lisa Johnson    
Betsy Veldman

I hope you'll pop back by tomorrow......I've got another card to share with you -- one I made for my Grandma's birthday.  

Until then, take care and have a great weekend.... 

 

{Birthday Wishes supplies}
Paper: clearly creative card stock, vellum card stock, kraft, aqua mist, dark chocolate, Library Ledger
Stamps: Butterfly Kisses
Ink: dark chocolate, hawaiian shores, versamark
Other: signature series: butterfly die, butterfly die, love lives here (butterfly) die, clear embossing powder, aqua mist/dark chocolate/fine linen buttons, chocolate baker's twine, sewing machine/thread

A Little Smile For You

Well, hello there.  Hope your Thursday is off to a great start.  I've got another little card to share with you today, that will hopefully make you smile.  This one's a 4 1/4" square card (rustic cream) that was layered with another patterned paper from October Afternoon's The Thrift Shop collection.  Next up, came a kraft doily that I die cut with the Parisian Lace doily die, positioned right in the center of the card.  

Then came another button card from my stash -- this one with dark chocolate buttons.  Yum.  Tucked behind the button card and peeking out to the right is a cluster of leaves die cut with the largest Turning a New Leaf die.....the yellow patterned paper is more October Afternoon.  Can you tell I'm on an OA kick this week?  :)

Lastly, I added another postage stamp (also from my recently stamped stash) -- this one, stamped in summer sunrise ink and die cut with the postage die.  And to finish things off, I added a tiny tag die cut with the tiny tag die and stamped with a coordinating tag image and the smile sentiment - both from the Tiny Tags stamp set.  Just a fun little cluster of goodies that make me smile.  Hope they do the same for you.

Before I go, I've got a book to recommend.  A Billion Reasons Why by Kristin Billerbeck

This is a modern day (smut free) love story.  It's like one of those great chick flicks where you know which two people are meant to be together, but you have to sit back and watch them struggle to figure that out for themselves, and all the while you're wishing the wrong people would just get out of the way to make room for the right people and you're also wishing the meddling family members and friends would stop their meddling and then when the main characters finally figure out they're with the wrong people (even if they haven't figured out who the right ones are yet), you're still cheering that the wrong people are finally out of the picture and then before you know it, all the pieces fall into place and everyone's happy....maybe even the meddling family and friends.  It's kind of like that.  :)

There's no murder mystery or suspense or action in this one.  Just a good, clean love story.  If you're a chick flick fan, you'll probably really enjoy this book.  I did.

Also, did you happen to see this cute little card over on the CARDS Magazine Blog?  Hannah Craner made it using some of the embellies from my Color Couture line.  Totally made me smile.  :)  (Very cute, Hannah!)

xoxo,

 

 

{Smile supplies}
Paper: rustic cream, kraft, October Afternoon patterned papers - The Thrift Shop collection
Stamps: Button Boutique, Tiny Tags, Postmarks
Ink: dark chocolate, summer sunrise, vintage touch tea dye
Other: button card dies, postage die, tiny tags die, turning a new leaf die, parisian lace doily die, dark chocolate buttons, rustic cream button twine, chocolate baker's twine

Inspired Birthday

This gorgeous photo comes to you, courtesy of the brilliant stylist & photographer, Leslie Shewring of A Creative Mint.  She creates the most amazing displays of color by grouping pretty household items and then photographs them in such a way that always leaves me inspired and anxiously awaiting her next color story.

So my sweetie-pie friend, Melissa Phillips, posted this photo on her blog a few days ago for all of us to use as inspiration for a crafty project.  I couldn't wait to whip up a card inspired by this photo.  

Here are a few things that I pulled as inspiration from the photo, and incorporated into my card:

• shades of aqua
• patterns, patterns, patterns!
• a bit of kraft color thrown in for good measure
• creamy white
• a pretty label
• twine
• a touch of bright pink

The card base is hawaiian shores card stock and to that, I added a layer of rustic white card stock that was stamped with my favorite pattern from Background Basics: Diamonds using hawaiian shores ink.  I stitched the layers together with my sewing machine, using a zig zag stitch across the top.

The focal point here was a really fun one to create.  If you look closely, I've added 3 more patterns to the card here, on the kraft label, the smallest flower layer, and the leaves.  The kraft layer was cut out with the mat stack 4 die and stamped with a coordinating image from Mat Stack 4 Collection, using versamark ink and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  The next layer is rustic cream card stock die cut with a Rectangular Labels die and stamped with the coordinating label image from Label Basics using hibiscus burst ink.  The "happy birthday" sentiment is from 2011 Birthday Tags.  

For the flower, I used the two smallest dies from Beautiful Blooms II #1 and cut one layer from hawaiian shores card stock and the other from rustic cream.  I inked the edges of both with vintage touch tea dye, and stamped the cream layer with the text image from Background Basics: Newsprint.  An aqua mist button was threaded with chocolate baker's twine and adhered to the center of the flower with foam adhesive, so that it pops off the flower a bit more than normal to allow the flower layers to curl forward a bit more.

The leaves were die cut with one of the Turning a New Leaf dies and stamped with another pattern from Background Basics: Diamonds using dark chocolate ink.  A couple more aqua mist buttons finished things off.

As for the sentiment label, that came from the Mat Stack 4 Collection stamp set and was stamped in raspberry fizz ink.  The "celebrate" sentiment came from Mat Stack 1 Collection and was stamped in dark chocolate.

All in all, I'm thrilled with how the card turned out and I have to thank Melissa and Leslie for the inspiration!  Thanks, Girls!!  Have you used Leslie's photo to create a card for Melissa's challenge yet?  

Have a wonderful Wednesday, friends!

Chat soon,

 

{Happy Birthday supplies}
Paper: rustic cream, rustic white, kraft, hawaiian shores
Stamps: Background Basics: Diamonds, Background Basics: Newsprint, Label Basics, Mat Stack 1 Collection, Mat Stack 4 Collection, 2011 Birthday Tags
Ink: hawaiian shores, raspberry fizz, hibiscus burst, versamark, vintage touch tea dye
Other: beautiful blooms II #1 dies, mat stack 4 die, rectangular labels die, turning a new leaf die, clear embossing powder, aqua mist buttons, chocolate baker's twine

Craft Worthy

Hi-ya!  

How are you?  Just poppin' in with another button card card (haha!) to share with you.  

Sometimes I get questions about if I ever make an ugly card.  Most of the time, I don't let it get so far (in that I don't glue everything down) as to actually create a card that looks ugly to me.  Usually I have the good sense to not commit to anything (with permanent adhesive!) until I'm sure I'm going to like it as is.  ;)

However that, my friends, was not the case yesterday.  I made a card that I really liked.  And then..........well then, I made a really ugly card.  It just wasn't workin' for me.  But here's the beauty of it.......it's onnnnnnly paper.  Repeat after me......."it's onnnnnnnly paper".  We can always start over.  :)  So the first thing I did when I got into the studio this morning, was to rip apart that ugly card, salvaging the parts of it that I DID like, and this card I'm sharing with you today is the end result.  

Those are my two bits of creative advise for you today.....first of all, don't glue it down until you're sure it's where you want it!  And secondly, even if you do make something you're not happy with, you don't have to settle for that!  Take it apart and create something that you love.  :)  Remember......it's onnnnnnnly paper.  I have to tell myself this every once in awhile too.  

I pulled out a couple of October Afternoon patterned papers for this......both from The Thrift Shop collection.  It's still one of my faves.  So I cut a block of the stripey paper and used my Edgers #1 Die along the bottom edge.  

After adhering the panel to the front of the card, I stitched two simple lines across the top of the card with my sewing machine.  For added interest, I decided to keep the thread tales on the front side of the card, however I trimmed off the ones on the inside.

I also used another of the button cards from my recently made embellie stash, and on this one, I tied a bit of summer sunrise grosgrain thru the hang tag hole at the top of the card and trimmed off the edges in fun little v's.

Behind the button card, I added a kraft doily that was cut out with one of the Doily Details Dies and cut in half, so that it peeks out on either side of the button card.  Behind those doilies is another October Afternoon patterned paper -- a yellow damask.  And of course, to finish off the card, I die cut a butterfly with a Love Lives Here die and stamped it with a small flourish from the Postmarks stamp set.

There's not an official sentiment on this card, so I'll be able to use it as a "just because" or "thinking of you" type card for a friend.  

Well, I've got some more crafty projects calling my name so I'd best get too it.  

What're you up to today?

xo,

 

{Button Card supplies}
Paper: October Afternoon - The Thrift Shop, rustic cream, kraft, hawaiian shores
Stamps: Button Boutique, Postmarks
Ink: hawaiian shores
Other: Button Card die, Love Lives Here die, Doily Details die, Edgers #1 die, hawaiian shores buttons, rustic cream button twine, summer sunrise classic grosgrain, sewing machine/thread 

Monday, Monday....

Hello there, sweet friends......

I wish you could come over this afternoon for a coffee and a bit of crafting.  But since that's not too likely to happen, I suppose I can share this card with you that I whipped up in the studio a bit ago, and perhaps a story or two.  Will that do for now?  :)

 

Let's chat about that flower, shall we?  I had a bit of fun die cutting various layers of the flower and roughing them up before stitching them all together.  The raspberry fizz layer was cut with the friendly flower die, the rustic cream layer with the medium sized beautiful blooms II #1 die, and the berry sorbet scalloped circle was cut with one of the love lives here dies.  I know you can't see it very well in the photo, but I stamped teensy polka dots on that berry sorbet layer.  The leaves were die cut with a die from the Turning a New Leaf collection and then I stamped them with the same teensy dots from Polka Dot Basics II.  I haven't pulled that set out in a long time and I must say that it made me very happy to do so today.  You know I love me some polka dots.  :)

Oh, and how about that crazy, sparkly button?!  It's a little weird by itself, but oh my Lordy bees -- it's fabulous when stitched to a colorful layered flower, don't you think?  Love it's sparkles!

Below the flower are a couple of other fun elements.  I used one of those labels from my newly created stash.  This one is rustic cream card stock die cut with an Angled Labels die and stamped with a coordinating image from Label Basics with ripe avocado ink.  The "Sending you birthday wishes" sentiment is from the Sending You stamp set and I added a little berry sorbet button to the side of the label, stitched with a bit of rustic cream button twine.  

Before the button was added though (or rather, after the button was added and after I realized the button had been added too soon, and after I peeled the button back off so I could add some stitching) I added a scalloped strip of vintage book print behind the label and stitched across them both with my sewing machine.  THEN, the threaded berry sorbet button was added.  Again.  Just keepin' it real.  :)

 

And how about that super pretty background?  That was created with the Picnic Plaid impression plate.  I love that one. Such a great, detailed impression. It really adds so much detail in real life, without being too busy or distracting.  Love that.

So a couple days ago, this was the scene around our yard.  Green sprouts were popping up off of just about every living plant, tree and flowering shrub in our yard.  Lots and lots of green.  I had a bit of fun walking around the yard and snapping photos of everything.

All of those green sprouts are something that I haven't necessarily paid a lot of attention to in the past.  I usually just wait and get excited once everything is actually blooming.  However, the older I get, the more I'm learning to appreciate the little things.  The blooms and sprouts that will eventually become those gorgeous flowers and colors around the yard, are something to get excited about too.  I'm also noticing the various birds and their bird songs a lot more these days , but that's another story.  

 

Anyway, there was just so much green popping out everywhere.  And then yesterday, this happened........

More snow.  Um, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it going to be April in like 4 days?  I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be snowing still.  

Plus, I've recently decided that the romance of snow is pretty much over once our pile of firewood is gone and the yard starts bursting with green.  Somehow now, the snow has lost a bit of it's luster.  *wink*

So this was the scene around our backyard just this morning.  Thankfully this afternoon, the snow has entirely melted.  However, we'll have to wait and see how all of the plants fair after being frozen and snowed on.  Boo.  

Hopefully they'll be able to tough it out and still put on a spectacular show later this spring.

Enjoy your evening, dearies.  I've got another card or two to whip up.  :)

much love, 

 

{Birthday Wishes supplies}
Paper: berry sorbet, raspberry fizz, ripe avocado, rustic cream, vintage book print
Stamps: Label Basics, Sending You, Polka Dot Basics II
Ink: ripe avocado, berry sorbet
Other: Picnic Plaid impression plate, Beautiful Blooms II #1 die, Friendly Flower Die, Turning a New Leaf Die, Love Lives Here scalloped circle die, Angled Label Die, Small Scalloped Border die, berry sorbet buttons, rustic cream button twine 

Balsa Wood

Have you ever worked with balsa wood?  It comes in thin sheets and is lightweight enough to be used on cards and other paper crafted projects.  Balsa wood may be an item that you've used on your projects before, but did you know that it can be die cut or embossed with Papertrey's dies and even stamped on?  It's perfect for adding a masculine flair to cards, but it's gorgeous woodgrain pattern makes for really interesting detail even on the girliest of cards!  I've got several examples of how to incorporate balsa wood onto your next project, to show you today!

I found balsa wood at my local Michael's store -- simply ask a sales associate if you can't find it, but I think mine was located near the dowel rods and cork.  It is approximately 3/32" thick and comes in long sheets that are 4" x 36".  

To start off, let's talk about die-cutting the balsa.  I used the standard die-cutting sandwich with my Big Shot to die cut a mat stack 1 shape.  Your sandwich may need to be adjusted slightly for your individual die-cutting machine.  In my Big Shot, the sandwich was quite tight, so that when the balsa went thru the machine, it came out significantly compressed or flattened.  You may also notice a little warping of the wood, but it will flatten back out easily.  NOTE: Balsa wood is somewhat fragile, so you can't really man-handle it.  Be gentle so as to not tear it!  Don't ask me how I know this!  ;)

After die cutting the mat stack shape, I pulled out the Through the Trees stamp set and stamped the tree trunk in dark chocolate ink followed by the leaves image in spring moss.

Once the stamping is complete, you can even distress the edges of the balsa wood, just as you would card stock, for a bit more dimension.

Now the balsa wood focal point is ready to be used on a card.  Obviously I was going for a more masculine feel to this card, so I started out with a vintage cream card base and then added a panel of dark chocolate card stock that was impressed with the Woodgrain Impression Plate.  I love how well the woodgrain background pairs with the balsa wood, for a bit more texture.  

A strip of patterned paper from the Sugar Plum collection was roughed up along the top edge with an edge distressor and all four sides of the strip were inked with vintage touch tea dye ink.  Three spring moss buttons were adhered to the tree with scor-tape.

For the sentiment, I die cut a bit of rustic cream card stock with the double-ended banner die and stamped a birthday sentiment from Mat Stack 1 Collection in dark chocolate ink.

Now, in case you thought balsa wood wouldn't work on girly-girl cards, think again!!  Balsa wood looks gorgeous on any type of card because of the great texture it adds.  In this case, I die cut an adorable balsa wood butterfly using the Signature Series: Butterfly Die!

Again on the kraft background of this card, I used the Woodgrain Impression Plate to reiterate the wood theme.  To that, I added one of the button cards I showed you last week, made with the Button Boutique dies and stamp set.  To the left side of the button card, I stitched a bit of plum pudding grosgrain ribbon, so it peeks out from behind the card.  

On top of the balsa butterfly, I added another little die-cut butterfly -- this one using the Love Lives Here butterfly die -- and I topped them both with a little purple rhinestone.  A strip of dotty patterned paper from the Sugar Plum collection was added to the card base and on top of that, the sentiment strip which was die cut with the double-ended banner die.  The "You're the best" sentiment is from the Blooming Button Bits stamp set.

Now, suppose you don't want to actually die cut the balsa wood, but you've got a die with a beautiful silhouette, such as the Turning a New Leaf Die I used here.  

You can easily emboss the balsa wood by making your sandwich in your die cutting machine, a little less thick.  In my case, I removed the Tab 2 from my multi-purpose platform, therefore making the sandwich much less tight.  Then, I went ahead and placed the die on the balsa wood cutting edge on the balsa, as though I was going to die cut it.  Because the sandwich isn't as tight, the end result will be a pretty embossed piece like you see here, without actually cutting thru the wood!

I stamped the coordinating leaf image from the Turning a New Leaf stamp set on the balsa wood using dark chocolate ink.  I let the large panel of wood serve as the background layer for this card!  

A couple of flowers were die cut from aqua mist card stock using the Friendly Flower die and the Flower Fusion #2 die.  The large flower was stamped with a birthday flower from my Hello, Friend stamp set and the small flower was stamped with a coordinating image from the Flower Fusion #2 stamp set.  A couple of hawaiian shores buttons finished off the flower portion of the card.

Along the bottom of the balsa, I adhered a strip of rustic cream card stock that was die cut using the small scallop border die, with a strip of scor-tape.  An aqua mist twill bow was tied around the wood panel before the panel was adhered to the card front with more scor-tape.  I created a teensy little birthday tag using the Tiny Tags Die and the coordinating Tiny Tags stamp set.  The tag was topped with a hawaiian shores bow and was tied to the aqua bow with a bit of chocolate baker's twine.

I hope you're feeling inspired to try using some balsa wood on a project of your own soon!

Thanks so much for visiting me today!

Have a great weekend!

{Wishing You a Happy Birthday supplies}
Paper: vintage cream, rustic cream, dark chocolate, sugar plum
Stamps: Through the Trees, Mat Stack 1 Collection
Ink: dark chocolate, spring moss, vintage touch tea dye
Other: balsa wood, mat stack 1 die, double-ended banner die, woodgrain impression plate, spring moss buttons, Heidi Swapp edge distressor 

{You're Just the Best supplies}
Paper: kraft, rustic cream, sugar plum
Stamps: Button Boutique, Blooming Button Bits
Ink: plum pudding, vintage touch tea dye
Other: balsa wood, signature series: butterfly die, love lives here butterfly die, button card die, double-ended banner die, plum pudding & royal velvet buttons, rustic cream button twine, purple Kaiser Scrapbook rhinestone, sewing machine/thread

{Wish Big supplies}
Paper: hawaiian shores, aqua mist, rustic cream
Stamps: Turning a New Leaf, Hello, Friend, Flower Fusion #2, Tiny Tags
Ink: hawaiian shores, dark chocolate
Other: balsa wood, turning a new leaf die, tiny tags die, friendly flower die, flower fusion #2 die, small scalloped border die, hawaiian shores buttons, aqua mist topnotch twill ribbon, chocolate baker's twine 

Cheery Daffodils

Hi there,

Another iPhone photo for you today......the daffs in our front flower bed have popped up this week.  They're such cheery little flowers, don't you think?

I've got a big ole crafty post coming for you first thing in the morning tomorrow, but until then, I thought I'd share a few fun links with you today.

Have you heard of Pinterest yet?  Goodness me, but it's fun!  Basically, when you find photos around the internet that you love, you can "pin" them on your own "pinboards" on the Pinterest site, so that all of those photos that you found inspiring and loved for one reason or another, can all be kept in one handy dandy place, AND with the link to the original site where you found it!  That's nice because firstly, it makes sure that the credit for that photo goes to the person that originally shared the photo, and secondly because the photo you love might link back to a recipe in the photo, or perhaps a favorite crafty tutorial that you don't want to forget.  Just "pin" it and you're set.  You can go back to see it again any time!  For those of you that are always finding things around the internet and then forgetting where you saw them, Pinterest is perfect for you!  

Here's a couple screen shots of some of my boards....

Oooooh, the color!

 

 

And some gorgeous spaces.....

 

You can view all my Pinterest boards here.  The other thing I love about it is that it's just pure eye candy and inspiration.  If you get stuck in a rut and need a little inspiration, just refer back to your boards for a fun new color combo you'd like to try or some technique that you saw and loved.  It's really the handiest site, and pinning things is sooooo fast and easy.  Anyone can easily use this site!  You can request an invite to join Pinterest here.

Also, do you have the Instagram app for your iPhone yet?  This is one of my favorite apps right now.  It's a free app that allows you to select from different effects to add to your photos.....here's an example of the above photo after I added some Instagram actions to it.

Fun, huh?  Soft and sweet.  I don't use Instagram on every photo that I take on my phone, but I have definitely had fun using it on some of them.  You just never know how the different actions may affect a certain photo.....and sometimes, the results are gorgeous!  You can also follow people (and their photos) on Instagram.  If you're looking for me on Instagram, just search "dawnsing" and my photos should pop up.  

All righty, time for me to shoot a video so I'd better run.  Happy Thursday!

See you tomorrow, Sweets.....

First Colors of Spring

 

 

Hello there!  Happy Spring!

These little beauties greeted me the other morning when I opened the front door.  Crocus are always the first bright pops of color we get around here each spring.  They're the sign that warmer temps and sunshine are just around the corner.  Crocus are really kind of a symbol of hope.  Just when you think winter just might stretch on forever, there the crocus are, popping their pretty little heads up to say hello, wish you a wonderful day, and remind you that spring will be here soon.  

The same could be said in our every day life, I suppose.  If you're struggling with something and feeling like you can't make it much longer, hang in there.  Take heart!  Be encouraged!  Just like the crocus remind us that winter won't last forever, the "winter" in your life won't last forever either.  God knows our struggles.  He knows what we're facing and how hard life can be sometimes.  But He's given us sweet little reminders, such as the crocus, that He'll never leave us.  He'll bring us through whatever it is that we're going thru and we'll probably be better for it, for having gone thru it.

I didn't really set out to get all philosophical on you this afternoon.  *wink*  I really just thought I'd pop in and share a pretty crocus photo with you, but I have a feeling that some of you might be going thru some tough stuff right now, and perhaps this post can offer you a little bit of encouragement.

As for me, I'm plugging away in the studio this afternoon.  I've got a few crafty deadlines this week that need to be checked off the list.  

Wishing you a heart filled with hope today,

 

My Brother, the Rock Star

My brother, the rock star.....as you know, the sisters get a lot of camera time here on the blog-o.  However, I thought it was high time that my brother, David, got a little face time around here too!

He is referred to by the littles as "Uncle Dave", he's known by the guys in his band as "Little Dave" because there is also a "Big Dave" in the band, he's known by all other friends and family simply as "Dave", but he'll always be "David" to me.....just like he was when I was 12 and he was born.  I remember his sweet little blonde buzz cut when he was a toddler.  Oh my gosh, it was cute.  We loved to rub his head.....it felt like a little puppy!  Ha.  He wasn't quite as amused by all that head rubbing as we were!  

I remember the time we, his 3 older sisters, dressed him up in one of Grandma's old wigs, a scarf around his neck, some crazy glasses, and nothing else but his diaper......oh, and his binky!  I think he was about 2 when we did that.....maybe a little younger.  And now that I think about it, there may have been some cowboy boots on his feet!  LOL.  That picture in one of the family photo albums still makes me laugh to this day!  

I remember when he was about a year old, there was a period of time when he slept in my big bed with me -- I was 13.  I don't remember why he slept with me for awhile......perhaps it was because he was a climber and he couldn't be trusted to not climb out of his bed during the night and hurt himself.  Who knows.  I'll have to ask Mom.  Ha.  

Man, I loved that little boy, but sheesh he would not stay on his own side of the bed.  I'd be on my side and him on his, and he'd roll over right up next to my side until I rolled over on my side to give him more room.  Then he'd be pushing up against my back until I'd scoot over to the edge of the bed to give him more room.  Then he'd push and push (all, while snoozing away in sleepy little toddler dream-land) until I'd crawl over the top of him and move over to the other (wide open) side of the bed.  Then, we'd repeat that entire process going the other direction.  Hahaha.  But you know what?  I loved it because I thought he was just about the cutest little boy ever.  Poor boy....3 older sisters and 1 younger sister.  Thank goodness for our dad.  And our dog, named.....wait for it.......Goliath.  David and Goliath.  I mean......we HAD to name our dog Goliath.  It was too obvious.  And too perfect.  lol.

A few months back, my brother the rock star, moved with his band to Nashville.  We're so proud of him and so happy for him to be pursuing his dreams, but I must say that we miss him terribly.  No one can make us laugh more at family gatherings than David....Uncle Dave.....Dave.

So last week, while the littles were here in town and staying with my sister, Grace, and her husband, Chris, "Uncle Dave's band" came to Kansas City for a concert on their tour.  Needless to say, we were all in attendance at said concert and we had so much fun.  I can honestly say that I can't remember the last time I felt So. Gosh-darn. Proud. of my brother.  When his band started to play (VERY loudly - *wink*), I was so surprised and overwhelmed that I almost got a little teary.  I mean, I've heard David play at church countless times over the years.  But I haven't seen him play with any of his bands very often, and never with his current band -- Satellites and Sirens.  I've never seen him play in such a professional capacity, much less a setting where they were literally passing out ear plugs, just in case you needed them!  Hahaha.  And they were SOOOO good.  HE was soooo good.  And I was soooo proud.  You see, my family may go to different churches now because we live in different parts of town, but we all go to contemporary churches where the music during the worship services are pretty lively.  And I love that.  My parents and siblings and I have all been a part of the worship team at church at one time or another and in one capacity or another over the years, however David can pretty much play just about any instrument.  Except perhaps horns.  I've never seen him play a horn.  Or bagpipes.  However, I'm pretty sure he could play those if he tried!  Nevertheless, seeing my little brother rock out with his band, in the church where I grew up, was so much fun.  Watching him pose for pictures with fans after the concert and sign autographs was so cool.  I was just so proud of him.  

The littles were SO impressed that Uncle Dave was up on the stage playing his base guitar and singing and they couldn't wait to go see him after the concert.  (Yes, they wore earplugs.)  :)

I've been listening to our Satellites and Sirens' CD the last few days....it's great music to craft by!  

They were also nominated for two Dove Awards this year!  The Doves are on tv in April (check your local listings) so we'll find out then, if they won!

I would totally recommend checking Satellites and Sirens out on iTunes and check out their website......you can hear some of their music on both those sites.  In fact, I'm actually listening to some of the music on their website, as I type this!  Regardless of the fact that my little bro's in the band, I can honestly say that Bart and I both really like their music!  

Plus you can follow them on Twitter or check their website for information on upcoming concerts (or to book them in concert).  And for goodness sake, if they're coming to your town, go see them......and tell "Little Dave" that his big sister sent you!

xo,

P.S.  Davis and his band got to stop in at my sister, Diann's, house on their way into the city.....so Uncle Dave got to meet his new niece, Baby Zoey.....just in case you were wondering.  :)  Actually, the whole band got to meet Zoey!  Haha.

Spoonful of Sugar

Just popping in to say hello, this evening.  Took this photo the other day, in the back yard.  I love how that robin is standing on our fence, head held high, totally picture perfect, almost a little fake looking.  Ha.  It makes me think of the robin in Mary Poppins, when she sang A Spoonful of Sugar....heeee.

1964 Walt Disney Pictures

Today......

....we watched a movie on Direct TV -- Life As We Know It -- w/Josh Duhamel and Katherine Heigl.  I liked it a lot.  Bart says he did too.  :)

....we went to a movie in the theater this afternoon -- saw The Adjustment Bureau w/Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.  Haven't gone to a movie since....well.......probably since before basketball season started last Nov.  It was fun to share popcorn and get sucked in to the action of the movie.  We both liked it, though I think Bart liked this one better and I liked Life As We Know It better.  *wink*

....it's rainy and gray here, but we're snuggled in front of the fireplace.  We're burning the last firewood of the season today, so that's always a bit sad -- you know how I love a cozy fire in the fireplace.  But once the wood is gone, it just means that spring is just around the corner and that's always a good thing.  I really do enjoy each season.  I'm so glad we get to experience all four of them here.  

....we're about to dig into a pizza from one of our fave local pizza joints.  Kind of excited about that pizza.  Ha.

....we're watching House Hunters International.  Oh my lands, I love this show!  I had no idea there was an international version of House Hunters until about 20 minutes ago.  I'm totally gonna have to look for more episodes.  In this one, the family moved from London to Switzerland.  LOVED seeing all of the European scenery.....the countryside, the buildings, the cities.  So fun!

.....we're getting ready to watch the K-State basketball game.  I think you know which one of us is more excited about this...haha!  ;) I'm wearing purple -- gotta "represent".  I'll be sitting right next to him while the game's on....probably reading a book and glancing up once in awhile so I sorta know what's going on.  Haha.

....we're looking forward to tomorrow.  We'll go to church in the morning and then meet up with my family for a little more time with the littles before they go home.  Can't wait!

Hope you're enjoying your weekend, Dearies!