Thursday, January 31, 2008

Creative Every Day: Valentine Cards

Creative Every Day: Finally got around to getting a decent scan of the cards I made! These were my first attempt at card making, and honestly, a little on the smurfy side for me style-wise, but I didn’t have much of a choice in the class. These were the supplies and directions provided. I can definitely see the draw to card making, as it’s a fairly easy process in which you can get some nice results pretty quickly. I can see where rubber stamp enthusiasts get addicted. I made six cards in this class in less than two hours.

I guess I've been a bit of a creative slacker here lately. Just a little too much going on. I’ve looked at some of the other blogs that are participating in the Creative Every Day project and I wish I had as much time to create as some of them seem to have. With a full-time job and twin four-year-olds, my “spare” time is just that…add one letter and you have “sparse”! And that’s a frustration for me. Just not enough time in the day for the things I would like to do. Hard to find that happy medium, isn’t it? I've signed up to complete a challenge that has to be posted by February 5, so hopefully I'll get that done this weekend. I've had the vision in my head for more than two weeks....the bigger challenge has been finding the time to get it done!

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Monday, January 28, 2008

The Magic of the Magic Kingdom

Well, yeah! We survived the girls' first trip to Disney World! And the Magic Kingdom is most certainly magic through the eyes of two 4 1/2-year-old little girls. I have to admit the look on the girls' faces when they walked in and saw Cinderella's Castle was worth the cost of admission alone. Here's the girls and I just after riding Dumbo. The book I read (um, I mean scanned in the car on the way down...) said to take little ones straight to Dumbo first as the best way to get them acclimated to the park. So our first experience was a 40 minute wait in line for a 90 second ride, but what the heck! They managed to do very well both in line...crowd watching...and on the ride. From there we were on to Pooh, Peter Pan, It's a Small World (a favorite for them for the sole reason of getting to ride in a boat), and a visit with Ariel from the Little Mermaid. It's here we first learned that they preferred to keep their distance from the characters for the most part. Sarah had her picture taken with Ariel, taking very tentative steps toward her, but Livvie stuck to my leg.

There were rides in Indy Cars, laser practice with Buzz Lightyear, even a little bit of fright followed by laughter in Pirates of the Caribbean. I had forgotten how scary Pirates can seem to little ones at the beginning, but once we got to the "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!" part, they were okay. Again after all, they were riding in a boat! They loved the train, which with two turns around the park gave us all a nice little break, and I understand they really loved Tom Sawyer's Island. I, unforunately, had to take a seat after first going into Tom's Mystery Mine since the lopsided room in there really did a number on my vertigo. Note to self: stay out of lopsided rooms. So the DH stayed with me, stuffing pastachios into my mouth to keep me from losing my lunch because of my spinning head, while the Granddad and Grandma Kathy helped the girls explore the island. Here we all are in front of the castle.

The light parade was also a big hit, and apparently Sarah is in training to be a parade Grand Marshall; she narrated every float that came by, informing everyone around us who was on it. After two full days in the park, we had dinner with "Cinderella and Friends" at the Grand Floridian. Very cool. Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Fairy Godmother, and Drusilla and Anastasia (the wicked step-sisters) visited our table for pictures and a chat while we ate dinner. I understand Cinderella's wicked step-mother had the flu so she was unable to join us. Just as well, since the girls really don't like her. It took some begging for Livvie to join in the pictures, but she begrudingly did. She'll laugh at those pictures when she's 25. I'll try to post all the pictures in my Flickr account and let you know when they are up.

I had a "moment" the morning we were leaving that caught me off guard and brought out some tears. It hit me how much my Mom would have loved to go on this trip. I'm certain she was watching down on us all weekend, and I know she enjoyed the view. :-) Really miss you, Mom. All in all, a wonderful trip....I can't remember my first trip to Disney but I will always remember my girls' first trip. I hope they do, too.

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Thursday, January 24, 2008

Off to Disney...

We are off for the girls' first trip to Disney World tomorrow! This is all they've been talking about for weeks. We have reservations to dine with Cinderella and all her princess friends Saturday night, so my little princesses are particularly excited about that. They've been walking around in their "ball gowns" every day for the past month. I haven't been to Disney in about 15 years and my DH hasn't been in probably 30, so this will be quite a treat for all of us. I'm sure I'll share some pictures next week! In the meantime, have a great weekend!

Behind the Camera: Southern Sunsets


Creative Everyday Day: I've been playing around with my new Nikon D40 trying to learn all its functions and took these two shots the other night. Though the power lines and the power plant mar an otherwise very picturesque horizon, I certainly can't complain about the water and the sunsets we get! The sailboat at our dock belongs to our neighbors across the street. As I get more used to this camera and all it can do, hopefully I'll be able to bring you more beautiful shots than these!


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Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Number One "What I Would Have..."

...loved to have for Christmas. Isn't this just beautiful? It speaks to me in so many ways. It represents the innocence of life, the wonderment of babyhood, the double joy of twin babyhood and so much more, including the girls' first birthday picture, here with me below. And it touched me even more when I learned the story behind it. This painting was done by Lauriann Wakefield, who like me, longed for a child, but had to go through many measures to have one. Lauri and her husband had hoped to adopt twins, which is what inspired this painting. The twins did not work out for her, but they did adopt a beautiful baby boy named Jack, and Lauri chronicles her journey and new life with Jack in her blog here. About this painting she said, "The little dresses show that twins are similar in so many ways, yet are different individuals, and they are beautifully different."

Not only do I live that sentiment daily, I am amazed, inspired, overjoyed, overwhelmed, and forever grateful for it daily....even on mornings like today when it was a struggle to get them dressed and out of the house and to school on time so Livvie could have her toast with Ms. Mary. "Gotta have toast with Ms. Mary, Mommy." Sometimes we get so caught up in the daily trappings and responsibilities of life that we overlook the tiny blessings. Livvie's tiny blessing is toast with Ms. Mary. Sarah's tiny blessing is Bunny's new twin sister Rosie. Mine is cherishing the moment I learned I was pregnant with them...on the anniversary of my mother's death. What are yours? I'd love for you to share them in the comments box below.

Lauri is also a very talented photographer, so be sure to take a look at her pictures both on her blog and in her Etsy store. We'll call this another Creative Every Day post for this week as well since I really like what Lauri's painting inspired me to think.

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Sunday, January 20, 2008

Saturday in Gainesville Creative Every Day...

Finally getting back to the jewelry bench to fulfill some custom orders and a Creative Every Day entry. This is my "Saturday in Gainesville" bracelet that I get quite a few requests for. Being a Florida State grad, I like to joke that I have to charge a little more for these because they are so painful for me to make. :-) Just completed this one for Michelle F., who like me is a Florida State grad....but she married into a University of Florida family! My DH is an Alabama fan and my father-in-law is a die-hard Gator, so I'm outnumbered around here too. My sister went to UF as well, but she doesn't really give a hoot about sports so we're fine there! That allowed my dad to remain a loyal Florida State fan when Kim went to Florida. Anywho, I can do "Saturday in...", or "Sunday in ..." for you NFL fans, in just about any color scheme. Just let me know what you'll looking for and we'll figure out a way to make it happen!

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Friday, January 18, 2008

Free Bling Friday Number 35!

It's Free Bling Friday time! Congrats to last week's winner, Sandi S. from Tallahassee. Now that we're three weeks into a new year, I'm making a few changes to Free Bling Friday. I love being able to reward my loyal readers with free stuff, but doing it every week is becoming a little too much for me to keep up with! So after much thought I've decided to cut back to the first and third Fridays of the month. Of course, if my sales start skyrocketing, I'll try to go back to weekly, so continue to spread the Happy Shack word! Here's the next entry: lovely circles of aqua quartz briolettes and Montana Swarovski crystals hanging from sterling silver lever backs. These hang approximately 1 1/4 inch in length. To be eligible to win this pair, simply email me by midnight Thursday, January 31, with the subject line FREE BLING and include where you're from. The next winner will be drawn Friday, February 1. Don't want to miss a single Free Bling Friday? Click here to sign up for free weekly email reminders. Click here for the Happy Shack Designs website!

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Creative Every Day Painters...


Thought I'd let the girls participate in the Creative Every Day 2008 project, since as we all know, children truly are creative everyday! The girls really love painting with watercolors. I ordered them some of the crayons I featured below, and they said, "Oh, cool, Mommy. Thank you! Can I paint now?" as they put them in their crayon box. And as you can see from the photo below, the princess costumes remain on most of the time. I took this picture during nap time the next day!

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Behind the Camera: The Hug

Well, I have to say this may be my new all time favorite picture of my girls. The family and I spent a few days down at my dad's in West Palm Beach over the holidays and we had a professional photo shoot while we were down there, so I can't take credit for this, but don't you just love it! It was shot by Gary Kane. I finally got my new camera up and running, so I hope to be taking lots more pictures myself. Creative Every Day 2008 update to come tomorrow....if I can figure out how to work my new scanner! I took a class last night! Like this post? Click here to sign up for free weekly email reminders.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Free Bling Friday Number 34!


It's Free Bling Friday time! Congrats to last week's winner, Maurie H. from Jacksonville. This week's entry features some fun little purple and green lampwork beads accented with amethyst Swarovski crystals and 14K gold filled findings. They hang approximately 1 inch on 14K gold filled posts. To be eligible to win this pair, simply email me by midnight Thursday, January 17, with the subject line FREE BLING and include where you're from. Don't want to miss a single Free Bling Friday? Click here to sign up for free weekly email reminders.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Just a Random Thought....

For those of you in faraway places, this just struck me. It's 6:26pm, and it's 73 degrees outside. We currently have all the windows and the back deck French doors open. I'm so glad I'm a born and bred Floridian. :-)

Friday, January 4, 2008

Free Bling Friday Number 33!

Welcome to the first Free Bling Friday of 2008. And I have a request of you all...One of my goals this year is to really get the word out about Happy Shack Designs in general. The best advertisement is word of mouth! Please share the Happy Shack website with your friends and family!

Also, for those of you within a couple hours of Jacksonville, I'm currently scheduling a few home shows for January, February and early March, before my spring festival schedule kicks in. Then I'll be doing home shows again over the summer. Home show hostesses earn 20% of the sales in shopping credit or 15% of the sales in a cash donation to the charity of their choice. Contact me if you are interested!

And now for the Free Bling. This week's entry is a lovely combination of purple chalcedony gemstone briolettes and Swarovski crystal in shades of purple. They hang approximately 1 1/4 inches on sterling French wires. To be eligible to win this pair, simply email me by midnight Thursday, January 10, with the subject line FREE BLING and include where you're from. Don't want to miss a single Free Bling Friday? Sign up for free weekly email updates here!

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Creative Every Day 2008

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to challenge myself to try new things when it comes to my creative brain. I mentioned in my Out with the Old, In with the New post that I’m going to be adding other pieces of art, wearable and otherwise, to my website this year, and this is my kick in the pants: Creative Every Day 2008. This project was started last year by Leah over at Creative Every Day, and I asked her to count me in this year. I know that with my crazy schedule, the chances of my posting something creative everyday are rather slim, but thankfully Leah assured me she’ll not be acting as the Creative Every Day taskmaster, especially since the measure of creativity in this project casts a very broad net!

So for today, I’ve been thinking about my first creative project, and I’m actually getting paid for it! There’s a bonus! I’ve taught college English off and on for nearly twenty years (I started when I was 12), and I’m getting back into the classroom this semester with one class. So today, I’ve been putting my creative brain to work on my course outline. Classes start Monday and my class meets Wednesday nights. Wish me luck!

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Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy New Year Blog Special Sale!

I have a special sale just for my loyal blog readers! Right now everything on the Happy Shack Designs website is on sale 15% off. However, if you enter "blog special" in the "How did you find me?" box at check out, you get an additional 10% off! Wait for me to invoice you the correct sale amount before paying as it won't show up in your invoice. I'm ready to clear out some 2007 pieces and make room for 2008! Now, help me start the new year making room for new items, and Go Shopping! Sale runs through January 15.