Spice's Vacation

Well I'm finally getting situated after a weeks vacation in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. What a blast! My sister Julie and I went to visit my daughter during spring break. My daughter Stephanie attends the St. Croix campus of the Univ. of the Virgin Islands. The island is absolutely awesome! Boy was I ever inspired by the history, beaches, hills, the rain forest, and watching the ever so glorious sunset. The lemon yellow, coral and sea blue buildings gave me plenty of ideas for my art projects. The colors are so distinct. The pictures you see here are of the city of Christiansted, shots of the rain forest, sunset, and beaches and historical Sugar Mills. The sunset pictures were taken from the Sand Bar in Frederiksted. Needless to say I can't wait to go back!

Passion for Pink and Brown

Yummy pink and brown goodness!!!! All of these wonderful finds are brought to you by the incredibly talented and creative mommies of the Etsymom Street Team. I had a hard time choosing so looks like there will have to be a part II. Go on...take a closer look! Click the photo above to shop. Also visit us here: http://etsymom.com/ Happy Easter to all of the fabulous Etsymoms!

Spotlight on the Chenille Chef

This post is long overdue! For Valentine's Day, I bought my kids some chenille playfood and I just have to give props to the creator, the Chenille Chef, an Etsy artist. Aren't these ice cream cones just dreamy? I stumbled across her website (http://www.chenillechef.etsy.com/)

after opening our shop and just knew my children would have a lot of fun with her play food sets. I queried Kathy to find out her source of inspiration for this lovely work. Here's what she had to say. "Lets see, my inspiration... I started out making tea sets and birthday cakes several years ago...but I have 3 Grandsons! I needed to make Playfood sets that both boys and girls could use! Now my customers will request/suggest foods they would like. One customer even gave me my name, in one of her thank you note she said I was a great CHENILLE CHEF!, and it became my new name. Another very loyal customer told me about ETSY and I have been very gratefull. I recommend Etsy to eveyone!" Thanks Kathy for making this year's Valentine's really special!

An Afternoon of Salt Dough Fun

A couple of weeks ago my 5-year old daughter and I had fun in the kitchen with one of my new favorite materials, salt dough. More and more I'm finding out what a multi-talented little artist she's becoming. Art classes here we come! The turtle is her creation. All I did for her was color the dough and here you have it. She's even asking me if she can sell her work, looks like we have another Etsian on the horizon! I made some bunnies, just in time for Easter and I have big plans for the rocking horse. I was just experimenting but I think it turned out well and will match the baby shower favor tins I made a while back. I had been baking the pieces but experimented with air drying for these figurines and it's fabulous. No more worrying about how long the pieces have been in the oven and overcooking them. Instead of the triple thick glaze I've been applying to pieces, I opted for a polyurethane finish on the turtle (other pieces are not sealed). A couple more coats and it will be lovely! Sculpting with salt dough makes for a great afternoon arts and crafts project for the wee ones (not to little because they'll eat the dough!). There are too many websites to count, but here's a fun one. Check out salt dough and creative hobbies in Provence: http://pateaselenprovence.free.fr/visiteuk.html

Here Comes Peter Cottontail... Altered Art Easter Frame

Just in time for Easter! I wanted to create something fun for Easter and the "torn" bunny was my inspiration for this altered art piece. Check back for a tutorial on the tearing technique. Green has always been a favorite color of mine, but I never wore pink until my daughter was born. I certainly never would have put pink and green together but the color combination is definitely growing on me. Scrapbooking is my passion but who doesn't love a beautiful picture frame? I think I will make another one for me and use it instead of the traditional, staged shot with the "Easter Bunny". No one in a bunny suit could be cuter than mine!

Overall frame size is 7 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches. Holds a 3 1/8 x 3 1/8 inch photo.

Cinnamon & Spice, Baby Boy Premade Bo Bunny My Word Album

Spice and I agree that this is by far the best scrapbook I've done! All the work it took was definitely worth it. This is a "My Word" album by Bo Bunny covered with papers, tags and frames from "Granny's Kitchen". The album comes in many more styles like, "Family", "Friends", "Travel" and more. Aren't the blue and brown nice together? Let's take a peek at the inside...

Here's a place to record photos of your new baby as well as the vital stats. Check out the little brown corduroy flower on the left.

The chocolate tear bear is my favorite!

Can't you just see your baby boy's photos on this page? I really want this album for myself, guess I'll have to make another one!

Cinnamon & Spice, Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice

I had a lot of fun making this album. As I've mentioned in earlier posts, I'm crazy about mini's - typically ones that are 6 x 6 inches and smaller. I think they're perfect for the busy mom that enjoys browsing through the memories preserved in a scrapbook but doesn't have the time or the interest to do it herself. We capture so much through our pictures, a child's personality, the look of surprise and total appreciation from a surprise birthday party recipient, a stolen glance between people in love or that great family vacation at the beach. For me, scrapbooking or "cropping" is my artistic, creative outlet. I might have trouble decorating my home, but I can sure pull together the right colors and patterns for a scrapbook, go figure! Enjoy the rest of the pics!

I lucked up and found these stitched letters to match the stitched cover! I'm also diggin' the tear bears, which are torn or fluffed from mulberry paper. You'll definitely be seeing more of these.

These are some of my first paper piecings. I used fabric and paper to make the flowers and different papers for the ladybug, too cute IMHO!

Another adorable tear bear and more fabric and paper piecings!

Don't ever grow up...I've often thought how my kids grow up too fast!

Best of Etsymom Auction

This is an Etsymom Promotional Auction starts March 3rd ~ half of the proceeds go to the Ronald McDonald House Charity, so you are bidding for a good cause! Etsymoms entered their best and favorite for spring, and you have a chance to win it all! Please visit EtsyMom.com for more information, and thank you for looking at our Etsymom Auction!
The Auction will take place on Mommyauctions.com in HappyHouseQuilts Shop

Rosie's Cozies has a cute toddler tote, cute bunny on the front
Happy House Quilts presents Threadabilities Craft kit, design and make your own spring flower clip!
Buttercup Corner has another craft kit, felt an egg and a chick to go inside! It's absolutely darling, and a perfect activity for the family.
Andrea Baker provides a fun library tote, with fun spring critters in pastels
Aebaby makes these *adorable* tag toys. This is a minky rabbit with colored ears. Really cute!
GreenBeanBoutique makes little fruit babies in various colors
Caelista sent this adorable fried egg catnip toy. Something for everyone in the family!
Peek-A-Boo Studios made little Suzy Zoo spring hair clips. Custom designed just for Etsymom!
NightOwlStudios contributed these adorable spring hair clips. Made from imported fabric, these are way cute! Love the hedge hog.
WylesStyle made this super cute egg pouch. Perfect for a teen's Easter, you know how hard they can be to buy for!
BeadedSocks makes cute doll diapers and... beaded socks! The doll diapers are a favorite among the toddlers, and they hold up to rough toddler play much better than disposable dipes.
Sassy Stitches made this totally cool clutch! Fun 3D flower on the front. Perfect for mom for Easter!
Mommy3Jesse put together this beautiful diaper cake! How fun would this be at a baby shower? A useful gift that is guaranteed *not* to be returned to the store for sure!
AllGrownUp2 made this sweet spring charm bracelet. Bunnies, eggs, and chicks!
Minefull made this cute pendant featuring a cute little chick! Nice and simple, classy moms would love to wear this this spring.
Thumbelina Creations made an amazing pendant with lampwork beads, buttons, and wrapped wire. Be sure to check this out in more detail (click her name) to see it 'up close'.
Mellberry4 made this beautiful pendant, reflecting Easter.

Cinnamon and Spice, Inspiration from a Budding Artist

Funny how you never know where your inspiration will come from! I was decluttering the other day and came across this beautiful piece my daughter did when she was three! I don't have to say much, I think the picture speaks for itself. So, after looking at her work and Spice suggesting I try incorporating fabric into my scrapbooks, I designed one of our newest scrapbooks: "Sugar & Spice". Pictures of this paper album bag to follow...