number 4

My sister, Sabrina, and her family arrived from Las Vegas. These are pictures of my parents discovering that she is 5 months pregnant with her 4th. She is good at keeping secrets...



Sylvia, Isabel, Luke (numbers 3, 2 & 1)

After the Vincent's arrived ...

the boys played video games...

the girls "slept" in their Grandpa's hammock after swimming...

Leezza Rose

My brother, Brad, is a daddy. I never got a good picture of baby Leezza so I'll have to post one later...one I didn't take. On Sunday we went to the hospital to see baby and parents. It was really tender to see Brad holding her. I was sick so I'll have to hold her later.

Hai Minh & Leezza

Brad

Vern

my Dad

Wedding

Justin's best friend, Brian, got married this weekend in Ojai, CA.

This is the view I had from where I was sitting at the ceremony. Kris is a beautiful bride. Both she and Brian were really good about honoring their families and spending time with each guest at the wedding.

After the ceremony all the guests took a trolley ride out to this cool barn for the reception.

We had so much fun the whole day but especially at the reception. I even danced...which for anyone who knows me well realizes that this is a big deal.


Here is Justin with is friend, Scott...you can kind of see what the outside dining area looked like at the reception in this photo.

Hanging out in Ojai, CA

We were in Ojai, CA for the weekend living it up...well, relaxing and enjoying time with friends...and each other. Is Justin cool in every picture or what?

Cigar Box Craft

Justin had an extra cigar box from a project he was working on and I've been using it as one of my jewelry boxes. I kept thinking that it needed to be prettier and I finally got around to doing it.



The photo is of my great-grandmother.

Rainbow 6

I really wanted to make a doll for each color of the rainbow and since I was feeling well enough to sit up while recovering from my surgery...I figured it was a good time to accomplish the task. It distracted me from recovery and gave me something to post other than my post-surgery photos.

Eliza Magazine

www.ElizaMagazine.com

I love the variety that Eliza provides...beauty, health, fashion, entertainment and lifestyle with a modest twist. If you're looking for a fashion magazine that maintains high standards then Eliza is for you. Check out the Eliza blog.

About Eliza Magazine (in her own words):

ELIZA Magazine is created for women who want to be stylish, sexy, and engaged in the world while retaining high standards in dress, entertainment, and lifestyle. In a media culture that frequently objectifies and commercializes women and their bodies, ELIZA strives to provide an alternative to the current mainstream media that emphasizes sex and skin in order to push products or sell magazines.

skirts

I made these two skirts this weekend. Last week my friend Kristen said she wanted to make a skirt for herself and explained that she really likes wearing skirts. I do too and was determined to find something online that was close to what she described. I found this "how-to" and thought I'd better try to make mini versions of the skirt before I tried one for an adult. These are for my nieces...Isabel and Sylvia. I picked out the fabric especially for them. I was going to wait and post a picture of them wearing the skirts but that won't be until July. Thus the skirts are pinned to a live oak tree.

4th anniversary

For our 4th anniversary Justin and I went to Salado...it is about 30 min. North of Round Rock. The day was hot and humid (what is new?) and we mostly just walked in and out of the art galleries there. There were lots of little "arts and crafts" stores but a lot of them were closed because it was Sunday. We had lunch in a cute little cafe...it was a fun day together.

SLOV

Among many other things my sister is an artist. I adore her work and admire her creativity. She recently opened up an Etsy shop with some of her original watercolors. She'll be adding to it frequently/weekly.

Why do Texans love the shape of their state?

I found this little recipe for "brownie roll-out cookies." I used my new Texas-shaped cookie cutter. They're good plain but better with vanilla ice cream or some kind of frosting. Click here for the recipe...and better photos.

Kristen

Kristen came over after dinnertime and we made a doll for her daughter's birthday. Well, pretty much I just sat and watched while Kristen did it. I love the bright colors. My favorite part was just chatting with Kristen. I'm glad we're friends.

Comments

I've had a few requests for comments to be enabled on my blog. You may now leave comments and they'll show up. They weren't for a while. Don't feel obligated to comment though...I'd love to hear from you but I don't expect anything.

If I had a link to your blog and it is gone now...please do not be offended. I lost everything when changing templates. I use Google Reader so I'll be checking your blog anyway...I just may not have a link to it. Happy commenting!

Ants

If you look at this picture long enough you'll feel like ants are crawling on your scalp and arms. Well, maybe not. What looks like rice is really eggs or something. Justin pulled up the blinds in his studio and found this little pile of science. These aren't just little sugar ants either...they had their abdomens all up in the air ready to pinch. Justin got rid of them somehow...some kind of ant killer poison. I'm glad I wasn't involved.

Memorial Day

While some people spent their weekend doing yard work or at a barbecue...I was in my craft room making dolls. O.K. so I did clean the house, went to a barbecue with friends, watched 3 movies, and a bunch of other things but the whole time I just wanted to finish these 3 little dolls. Which I did on Monday.

I wish I could keep this one. I'm sending it to Jocelyn because I said I would and I used her fabric.

This one is mine...a little ginger wearing black and white.

I really liked that fabric with the cute cowboy cookin' over the campfire. And since I'm in Texas...why not? She doesn't belong to anyone yet.

If you have extra buttons you don't know what to do with...I could use them to fill my jars. It is a lot easier when they're divided up by color.

Eva

Liz and Reed had their baby last Friday 5/23. Liz gives me hope for an easy pregnancy and delivery. No horror stories at all. We went and saw their baby, Eva, on Sunday afternoon. She makes really cute faces and she is so tiny. I made that blanket she is wrapped in. (:

Craft Room

This entry is about our little back house. It was originally supposed to be Justin's studio but the lighting wasn't right for painting. It was used as storage for about a year. Just a few months ago I turned it into my craft room/studio. In January I was talking to Justin's aunt Toni about my need for a creative outlet. Somehow we came up with the idea that I really needed a room of my own. Thanks for inspiring me Toni. I really enjoy having this room to be "crafty" in. (:

I pieced two photos together here.

Before: This is the way it was set up by the previous owners.

Before: I know it is a little blurry but it still gives you an idea of what it looked like. These are the only semi-decent "before" photos I have...I somehow lost the most recent ones I took.

The shelves are hidden by old bed sheets and sheer curtains.

I wish I could paint more doors this color blue. And, yes, if you look closely you'll see I labeled the light switches.

I was in the middle of sorting buttons last night.

It is nice and cool in the Summer and there is still plenty of light from the window.

I'm making my first quilt. Very simple...

Fabric and button ideas for more dolls.

These two little guys sit outside the door on a rock. I guess this means I can only "hear evil" right?