Weddings, babies, Christmas and friends~

Four of the most wonderful things in the world!

Since $ was tight this past Christmas, my siblings and our significant others decided to keep the gift giving simple and exhange ornaments.

Since my brother and his wife were still technically "newly weds", and my sister and her beau are getting married this summer I decided to make quilted ornaments in their wedding colors.

Jake got married in his Air Force dress blues. He and his bride Mandi chose navy and light blue for their colors. It was gorgeous! You can see more about their wedding here.

They were all about the *bling* so I wanted to be sure to add some rhinestones to their ornies~

I had a hard time finding a fancy matching trim for these tho~

My sister Jonna and husband to be Richie have chosen orange and pink for their colors. I had better luck finding supplies for theirs! Jonna wants to use this pretty irredescent orange/pink ribbon in the wedding, so I had to include that. Then I found some awesome beaded trim to match~

Since by brother is a new daddy, I wanted to make a special ornament for him and my niece Jaidan~

Hey, he's wearing the same shirt as in the ornie photo, hehe...

I also made a quilted candy cane ornament for my SIL Joyce, and since Jaidan's room is done in turtles I found a little turtle and jazzed it up to add to her "my first Christmas" ornie collection.

...and here they all are together...
Did you notice the extra one? Recognize them?
Yup~ none other than our sweet blogging friend Rue and hubby Rich!

Pink Saturday, Episode One!

Hello folks! Thank your for joining me in my first Pink Saturday post, hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. Be sure to check her blog for more *Pink Ladies*!

(I'll be cheating and posting this early as we won't be home Saturday. I think I figured out how to post date but I don't want to chance it right now!)

This is a photo from last year showing my dried hydrangeas. I had just found this little cherub statue for $3 and thought it would make a great hat stand. Pink blush pearls were $1. The shells were brought back from Florida by my SIL. My husband gave me the baby roses that are shown dried. They were some of the most gorgeous miniature roses I had ever seen! The green vase was an estate auction find. It's one of my favorite pieces.

I found this photo of the roses before they dried. I don't know where the original picture is. I had modified this one for my Ivy and Lace friends. They were the most beautiful blush pink.

And here is a photo of the same vignette from this year. Fresh hydrangeas! This is in my dining room. The dresser was practically free, as we had a gift certificate from our wedding to an antique store. The hat stand here is a broken lamp I found in the trash. My mom gave me the heart vase and beaded lamp. The pink depression glass was my mom's, who gave it to my sister but she has no place to store it~ goodie for me! (There's lots more where that came from!) The little Titanic era dress form was a gift from my MIL, and next to it in the cherub frame is a photo of Nova after his first bath. Oh! and the "Walk Over Shoe" print of the girl in the background was a gift from my girlfriend Linda. (We call her Zsa Zsa!)

I'm just amazed at the different hues in this bouquet from the same bush. Click to enlarge this one, especially you Heather!
How about a bit more Christmas in July?

I made the quilted ornaments. You can find instructions here.
I use 4 different fabrics on mine tho, so get extra fabric if you like that look. I would like to make a giant one some day! Here are some photos I took while crafting these for a Secret Santa Swap with friends. The recipient of my gift loves violets and the color lavender. Katie thought she'd help me cut out the squares. I found the cutting grid in the neighbor's trash!

These pink place mats came from eBay.



I love the pink velvet ribbon I found at Walmart. I think these are so fun to make and the possibilities are endless. Wouldn't brown and pink be pretty? Pink and aqua? Brown, pink and aqua?