New Bag

A virtual friend of mine wanted a bag much like the white tote I made up, but a little smaller and a little darker in color so that it wouldn't get too dirty. So, I created this one for her. I hope she likes it! Let me know what you think of it. I also made the proto-type wallet below. The picture of the flower makes the button look very bright, but that was just because of the flash. It really looks more like the first picture in color.

Ok.. this is the prototype wallet I came up with, but it ended up being too long for me, but it does fit nicely into the bags I create and it matches very well too. I made it velcro shut, which I do like, but I'm not sure that I love it all in all. It does have some flaws.

First Tooth!

It has been a big day for both of my boys.

My BABY has lost his first tooth tonight. Whaaa!!!!

And my big boy was SO brave during his first surgery ever. He had a mole removed and wasn't nervous at all before and was only a little upset when they put the needle in. Other than that, he was quiet as a mouse and played Pokemon on his DS during the procedure. I'm SO proud of both of my little guys! I caught G. with his eyes half open. He can never keep them open with a flash.

Fun Mail!!!

Don't you just LOVE getting fun stuff in the mail? Especially suprises??? I have gotten two really fun packages this week and they couldn't have been more timely. I have been sick all week with the flu and these have been big, fat pick-me-ups! Check it out!

My friend Sally from Canada sent me a RAK! She knows how much I love bento boxes, so when she saw these adorable rice shapers, she picked them up for me! Isn't that sweet? They showed up today! So, naturally, I had to make sushi rice for dinner so I could shape it. Here's our dinner... Panko-crusted yellow squash, paprika chicken, carrots and shaped sushi rice! AWE! Thank you, Miss Sally!

Oh..and for those of you who don't know what a bento box is, it is a Japanese lunchbox usually done up beautifully. Here are a few examples. I had more, but PSP is stuck and I have to shut it down, so I'll try to show the others later. If you've made a bento, send me pictures! I'd love to see them!

I have been entering all kinds of fun blog give-aways over here. The Secret is In The Sauce is a great website that connects all kinds of fun bloggers. Anyway, I WON an awesome prize from Joy To The Blog that couldn't be more ME! Loads of alpha stamps, some fun papers in calendar form, stickers and such. Very fun!

Here are some pictures! Joy wrapped everything up so that it was adorable to look at and exciting to open. She also made the card in the bottom picture with the dog in the blue wig. LOL! Very cute! Thank you, Joy!

Mosiac Maker

I was on Whitney's blog "The King & I" today and she was doing a fun Flickr mosaic so I decided to try one too.

If you want to participate, here are the requirements.... Although...I did mine a little differently. I chose a different layout and added one question.

Type your answer to each of the following questions below into flickr search.

What is your first name? Tami
What is your favorite food? Sushi
What high school did you go to? Ridgway
What is your favorite color? Pink (for now)
Who is your celebrity crush? David Boreanaz
Favorite drink? Lattes
Dream vacation? Spain
Favorite dessert? Cheesecake
What do you want to be when you grow up? Mother
What do you love most in life? Creating
One Word to describe you? Happy
Where do you live? N. NY

And so that my mosaic worked, I added
What is your favorite season? Spring right now!

Use only the first page to pick an image. Select the size of boxes as 3 by 4. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Mosaic Maker


1. Create OLW, 2. veggie sushi, 3. Criatura, 4. Against the Colors, 5. David Boreanaz, 6. Here's Tami..., 7. I love coffee, especially Monday morning..., 8. hasselblad summer rain, 9. Lemon Cheesecake Cupcakes RECIPE!, 10. Flowers for Mothers Day- UK 2nd March., 11. Happy Weekend Bouquet for You !, 12. Colonial Theater in Norwich NY, 13. Pannonian sea14. Not available15. Not available16. Not available

Bridal Shower Cookies

Chad and Amy's bridal shower cookies that I made. I just came across these pictures and remembered that I hadn't blogged about them yet. They are sugar cookies with lemon icing. I used the sugar cookie recipe from Martha. They turn out perfectly every time.

I'm in the Mood....

Jeff went to NYC for a technology conference. He was in Manhatten and thought of something really great. He went to Mood Designer Fabrics and bought me some fabric. Isn't that sweet?

We are big fans of Project Runway! Anyway, he picked out silk. Hmmmm.. I have no idea how to work with silk, but I guess I'm going to learn! It is really pretty and very masculine. I will try to make a tie. Maybe some silk boxers? Yum!

Spring Fluffing No. 2

I went to the dollar store today. Yes, I LOVE our dollar store. It is an original one. Not Dollar General... not Family Dollar, but it is the Real Deal. I get the real deals when I go there! Love it!

It is great for crafters for sure. They get some really different things in there.

Anyway, I found these dishes which my friend Wendy MADE me buy. 4 for $1. Twist my arm! I also found this cute little napkin holder which has a ceramic flower to hold the napkins in the basket. I guess for when my kids make tornado-like winds by running around the dining room table.

Oh... and these are the Spring fabrics I bought the other day. Wendy, I know you wanted to see them.... here they are!

Also, I went to Salvation Army today and found these ADORABLE little yellow cups for $.50 each. They are about the size of cappuccino cups. My boys will love drinking their tea out of them in the morning. LOL.. okay maybe not love (like I would love it), but they will tolerate them.

And here's my Sweetie after a big swig of Pepsi. LOL! I'm sure he loves when I take pictures of him at the most opportune moments. Isn't he cute though? That's where our boys get their good looks! LOL!

How to Make Your Own Signs of Spring

You can click on this picture to make it larger to see detail.

I bought up all of the wooden signs they had at 90% off at Dollar General after Christmas. ($.10 each!!!) I wanted to do something fun with them, so I decoupaged this one. You can do it too! Totally easy. The steps are as follows.

1. Paint the sign all white. It doesn't have to be perfect because you will be covering it. The white paint just covers the ugly stuff that was already on the sign so it doesn't show through the fabric, paper and tissue paper you are going to decoupage on the sign. Let it dry.

2. Gather any old scraps of scrapbooking paper, newspaper, magazines, fabric, etc. that you have. Gift wrap and tissue paper work well too. Rip the scraps to the approximate size of the sign. I ripped a bunch to fit vertically. Some scraps were small so I just left them the way they were.

3. Get your bottle of glue out. I used Eileen's in the brown bottle. It is nice because it is drier and therefore dries faster than some other glues. Do a quick layout of where you want your scraps to go. I just did them haphazardly, but you could do them in stripes or in a specific pattern.

4. Start gluing!

5. Cut a branch and a bird from a scrap of plain paper or fabric. I did so many different patterns that I wanted the bird to show up. If you can't draw, here is a pattern that you can print and trace onto your paper.

6. Next add a ribbon bow to the wire hanger, glue some cute little doo-dads that you might have in your scrapbooking or papercrafting supply. Little ribbons, flowers and gems, and brads are nice. I also used an inkpad and inked the edge of the bird. I had some scrolls made of chipboard so I used one for his wing. These chipboard elements are great and you can find them at your Family Dollar if you have one. (Cheep! Cheap!)

7. Next, I took some indoor clear varnish that I had sitting around and applied two coats to the whole thing. It really pulled it all together. The whole thing is shiny. Let it dry after each coat.

8. Hang it up and be proud!

Other signs of Spring....The boy... home from school again.

Spring Fluffing No. 1

I know it is really too early for Spring decor, let alone Easter, but I'm already decorating with some of my Easter stuff. I'm ready for some pretty Spring colors and I'm using them! I'm also really into pie racks, cake plates and plate racks right now. I love cake domes and all things on pedestals! Here are a few of the things that make me think Spring is coming!

In the top picture, I created a bird's nest using some pretty tissue paper that came with a purchase from a boutique here in town. I loved the paper so much I wanted it to be part of my every day life. (I know... pathetic) I ripped it and twisted it into little ropes and intertwined the ropes to create a little bird's nest which I then put into a vintage candy bowl.

I will soon get out the other Spring decorations, but for now, my pretty table and countertops will remind me that Spring is on its way! If you want to see more Spring decor, check out Southern Hospitality. There is a whole Spring Fluff Blog party going on over there!

The party is over here at our house. Time for sleepytime! Happy Spring!