a change of plans.

The inspiration post will have to wait until next Thursday.
There was a slight change of plans as of yesterday evening.

Andrew got his first set of stitches!!
He was riding his bike in the neighborhood and crashed into a palm tree.
Sounds not-so-bad?
Well...
the sharp pointy palm tree leaves seriously sliced into Andrew's cheek!!
Enough that an urgent trip to the emergency room was in order!
So off we went...

Yuck, yuck, yuck!!!
This had to hurt.
Poor little Andrew was so brave,
and sat for hours in the emergency room
waiting for someone to stitch him up.


Eventually someone came to the rescue!


Andrew thought he was going to be fully put to sleep for the procedure,
so he was shocked when he learned this was an awake sort of thing. :)
He did wonderfully though, so so brave!!!

And seven blue stitches later....

...here is my little boy!!
His new nickname is "Stitch."
I've been using it, and he thinks it is quite funny.
He is in no pain, on some antibiotics to curb any infections,
and is in very happy spirits that he gets a few days off from school.
His only concern is looking in the mirror.
That is not jazzed about.
We will avoid all mirrors for a while... :)

We told Andrew to tell his friends that a werewolf attacked him.
The palm tree story is cute,
but the wound looks pretty animal-like to me.
:)

So I hope everyone else is staying well and not enduring any ER trips.
We will be safely relaxing today, no crazy palm tree bike rides for us.
Happy Thursday!!
xo!

sweet & happy.

I love when Andrew is quietly crafting.
So sweet and he is so darn happy with a few markers, a bit of paper, and stickers.
I love to snag up some of those dollar goodies at Michael's or JoAnn's to keep on hand for afternoons that we need a little craft time. Andrew loves to be surprised by these goodies, too! Perfect idea for rainy days when momma needs to clean the house as well! ;)


That face is just the sweetest, right?!
Andrew, be still my heart.
Love, love, love. :)

And here is another sweet little item to hit the shop...

I adore these brown paper cardstock heart cutouts! :)
SO many ways to use these...
you might need a pack or two in your crafting collection.
I know Mr. Andrew already snagged some from my office. :)

Happy crafting, and stay tuned tomorrow for my inspiration post!
{Did you make anything inspired by bicycles this week? I did!! Can't wait to share!}
xo!

personalize it. :)

Another sweet addition to the personalized collection in the shop! :)
These would be SO cute for a number of things...

weddings

anniversary parties

save the dates

envelope confetti

bridal showers

or...
You can personalize it with one initial as well for baby showers or birthdays!
Anything you can think up would be so much fun! :)

Find them here.
Convo me for custom orders, I would love to help you out!

OK, back to work for me...
I've got a billion orders to catch up on!
Happy Tuesday!
xo!

inspiration: bicycles.

I am a hugely visual person.
Photographs inspire me on a daily basis.
I would love to share my inspirations with you,
and then the following week I will share
what I created from these inspirations.

Want to play along?
I'll be linking up your creations through inspiration very soon.
It's simple.
Use my inspiration photographs that week in a creative way,
and we will all share what we made.
Fun, creative, and a bit of a challenge each week.
Let me know in the comments if you are thinking of playing along!

Last week, I blogged about the inspiration of rainbows.
Here's what I decided to make....

{bright rainbow umbrella cutouts!}


{bright rainbow butterfly cutouts!}

-------------------------------------------------------

Up next for week number two's theme:
Bicycles.
I adore the shape and colors of vintage bicycles.
The idea of using a bicycle as transportation
makes me happy and it seems so romantic.
I think they are gorgeous.
Is that just me?? :)

Enjoy my inspirations...
and create something from this.
...and what inspires you this week?














{motorbike print on rome street map found here}





happy thursday!
xo!

{all images found via weheartit}

fancy coconut cake!

Birthdays are alive and well around my house at this time of year.
This past weekend we threw a birthday party for my grandma,
and today is my sweet boyfriend's birthday!
{Happy birthday, babycakes!!!}

Which in turn means that there is
a lot of birthday cake around the house as well. :)
{Hey, I am not complaining!}



I am a huge fan of baking cakes from the box, thank you Mrs. Crocker. :) But for the party this past weekend, I wanted to jazz up the white cake and frosting deal and make it a little more special.

Fancy Coconut Cake

What You'll Need:
1 Box Better Crocker White Cake Mix
2 Cans White Frosting
1 Bag of fluffy Coconut

Bake the cake as directed on the box, with one exception. I have learned from my mom to substitute olive oil for vegetable oil. It makes the cake super moist and delish! After the cake is baked and cooled, frost it completely. This does not have to be an award winning frosting job, since you will be covering the entire thing with coconut.

After it is all covered in lots of frosting, take small handfuls of the coconut and gently press it all the way around the edges of the cake, being careful to cover the whole surface, sides and all. After it is covered, go around the edges and clean it up to make it all look pretty. Easy, right? And the cake looks much more impressive than the time it took to whip it up!

Happy cake eating to you all!
I am off to bake another one for the boyfriend! :)
{Did I mention I love birthdays?!}
xo!

happy hearts day! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!
Hope you all have a day filled with love. :)
I feel so lucky to share this year with
my super darling little Andrew,
my amazing boyfriend John,
and I am so thankful to have a life filled with lots of love.
I wish that for you all as well!
extra xo's for you today!!

{image via weheartit}

inspiration: rainbows.

I am a hugely visual person.
Photographs inspire me on a daily basis.
I would love to share my inspirations with you,
and then the following week I will share
what I created from these inspirations.

Up first for week number one?
Rainbows!
The colors are spectacular, whether muted or bright.
Rainbows are everywhere, whether literal or not.

Enjoy my inspirations...
and what inspires you this week?








{tissue paper pom poms found here}


{photograph print found here}

I look forward to next week when I will share more
inspiration,
creativity,
and ideas! :)
xo!

{unless otherwise stated, all images found via weheartit.}

happy monday & a winner! :)

Happy Monday!
Around my house, Monday morning brings a lot of stress to my life. After the weekend and a very happy Andrew, it is back to setting an alarm, getting up to get dressed and ready for the day, feeding breakfast to a very grumpy 6 year old, and selling the idea of school to him as well. It is a constant battle to get out the door on time and get Andrew to school, of which he is not a huge fan of lately.

But... then when I come home to a quiet house, Mondays seem so peaceful to me. A cup or two of coffee greets me warmly and starts my morning off right. Then the idea that I have until 2:30 in the afternoon to calmly wrap up orders from the shop, work on new items, clean up... that makes me actually like Mondays. And then of course, when school is out, Andrew has a brand new and bright attitude and is so happy to be headed home with me.

How are your Mondays?!
Please tell me I'm not the only one that fights to get going each week! :)

And for one lucky person,
this Monday is off to a fun start as well.
The winner of the Mommy Holly giveaway from last week is....
YOU.
Email me your address and I'll pop your bird notecards in the mail to you asap!

A very happy Monday to you all!
xo!

image via weheart it and altered by me.

happy birthday, sissy.

"Happy girls are the prettiest girls."
Audrey Hepburn

Happy birthday
to my
talented
wonderful
gorgeous
sweet
creative
caring
lovely
sister!

I love you lots and lots.
:)
xo!

so close.

I have almost hit 1500 sales in my shop!!

Who will receive the special free goodies?!
This time around, it is a super fab little package of paper products!
You seriously don't want to miss it. :)

Only two sales to go.
Ready..
Set..
Shop!
xo!

a little monday giveaway! :)

I am so excited to share a new line of products that I have been working on for my shop! I am going to be offering many different customized hang tags for weddings, parties, gift tags, or even for use on your own products if you run a shop as well. These can be customized however you'd like and you can order as many as you might need!

I adore this darling heart tag, and think these would be absolutely perfect to use at Valentine's Day for your own personal gifts, or used at a wedding on your favors. They add a little extra touch of handmade that is so personal and sweet. Convo me through Etsy for custom orders and I would be happy to help you out! :)

And in honor of these new fun and fabulous tags, I am going to be sending one lucky reader a pack of flat notecards with a sweet birdie hand stamped on them, complete with one of my new heart tags! :)

Want to win?
Just leave a comment on this post
and I'll announce the winner on Friday.
Easy, peasy! :)
Happy Monday, friends!!
xo!

momentous!!

My child slept all.night.long.
without waking up and coughing!!!!!
This is a very happy day for this momma. :)

Oh yeah.
And I have a date tonight with my fab boyfriend
who I haven't seen since Sunday.

Like I said....
Happy, happy, happy.

I hope you all enjoy the very happiest of Fridays as well!
xo!

so, what did you think?

Where are my American Idol peeps at??! :)
What did you think of the premiere last night?

Here's my take...

I love American Idol, therefore I will watch no matter who is judging.
{I *think*. Unless it was someone like Glenn Close, who I totally despise. I know that would never happen in a million years, but just had to throw it out there.}

I am not in total love with this stage of the competition, but I do love when the good singers are weeded out from the freaky people, so I will patiently endure the tryouts for a few weeks.

Steven Tyler's small eyes really scare me, but he does seem nice and he entertained me with his snazzy voice.

Randy. Dawg. Enough said.

I love J. Lo's hair. And whatever kind of lip gloss she is wearing. She is so darn pretty. I adore all her movies, so I am hopping on the J.Lo bandwagon as of now.

And what did you all think?!

PS.
Remember that there is a sweet little sale going on in my shop for those of you who have the secret code. Use the code "SWEET10" to receive 10% off until Sunday.
Happy day, friends!
xo!

all stocked up! :)

The new year has been busy, busy around here!
Andrew went back to school for a week,
we had lots of playdates, events, and birthday parties to go to,
and now he has caught a yucky pneumonia-like cold
and is home being pumped with antibiotics.
Poor little thing.
So work is being fit in sporatically
around playing nurse to a sweet little boy. :)
But here are the things that have finally been added to the shop....
I am SO excited about all of this! :)


happy heart confetti in sassy valentine colors!


all you need is love heart shaped tags
and
sweet XO tags


the bird & flower confetti has a newly debuted color... aqua!!


kiss me, kiss me! add these cuties to your valentine gifts! :)


lots of amazing greeting cards, take a peek! :)

MORE will be added in the next few days!
As always, contact me if you are looking for something specific,
as I adore custom orders & creating something special for my customers!

And because I am feeling super sweet and happy today,
having just finished two delicious cups of hot coffee,
enjoy 10% off in my shop!
Use the coupon code "SWEET10" at checkout.
{I am loving etsy coupon codes, yay!}
Discount will be active until Sunday night, so shop away!
xo!

the first of many...

...new items to pop up in the shop!
Lots of Valentine's items are coming as well,
and I couldn't be more excited!! :)

sweet cupid cutouts found here!

Now I am off to enjoy Andrew's last few days of holiday break! Back to the grind of getting up early and heading to school on Monday... Three weeks fly by, don't they?
Happy Friday, friends!!
xo!