Baptized!

Baby B was baptized this weekend!
It was such a great day - we were so lucky to share this event with many family members & friends.

I realized this weekend that my reason for baptizing Baby B was to honour my Grandma's memory...it would have been very important to her, and she was a very special person in my life.  I teared up a little during the ceremony as I remembered her. I believe she would be so proud of this little man (and I wish she were still here to see him & hold him in her arms - I can picture her smile & twinkling eyes).

We were all so happy to see this goofy grin! I think it is safe to say that he is finally kicking the flu bug to the curb!

Thank you so much to all who joined us for this celebration!

Geranium

Just playing in photoshop (again) when I have a million things on the to-do list....

This one is with the "craquelure" texture embedded within photoshop...

Just for the record - I completely give Adobe all the blame for this task "wanderance" (I love it when I make up words)!!! They simply shouldn't create software that is as big and ENDLESS as Photoshop. It just creates too many reasons to play!

Happy Monday :)

The FLU!

Our household has the stomach flu. Baby B has been fighting it for almost a week now...my dear hubby claims he developed some symptoms yesterday.  I had been "dizzy" (yes, yes, I know...I'm "dizzy" most days - but this was beyond the normal, lol) but that seemed to be it for me - until this morning. Not too worried about the adults...but gosh is it challenging to watch your baby feel like absolute crap for an extended period. 

I want the baby that smiles & laughs when his momma is being ridiculous...

I want the baby that is at one end of the house one instant and the other the next...

I want the baby that eats everything in sight (and sometimes that which is not)! 

I thought he was feeling better...but it turns out it was just a "fake-out".

Sick baby = miserable momma!

Here he is a few days ago conked out on daddy. A little "casper"ish... 

Here he is today just chilling on the floor 'cause Momma got tired of holding him...(the fact that he is lying there completely STILL speaks volumes as to how crappy he is really feeling).

Sad eyes...

Get better soon, little bug!

Checkin' Pastures

For those of you who do not know me that well, this one is for you!

For those of you who DO know me well...this is also for you!

I am a farm girl.
It is in my blood.
I feel it is a strong part of what made me who I am today.

I love how smart my dad has always been about the business of farming.

I love seeing my "little" brother work alongside dad as they now collaborate and make farm decisions together.

I feel so lucky that I can still visit the farm and feel like I never left...
Almost.

I had the opportunity to jump in the truck with Dad & my brother for a little pasture checking/crop touring while I was home (aka "at the farm").
I'm not sure I can adequately put to words the feelings that this experience gave me.
It brought back soooo many treasured & very, very fond childhood memories.  It was quite a nostalgic experience to say the least.
I also had the chance to do some serious bonding with the male side of my nuclear family...and while I totally love doing this, it is just not something that happens very often.
To sum up the whole evening...upon arriving back at the farmyard, I just felt like I had this "glow" going on.  I felt so primally happy. Content. Me.
Thanks for the conversation, company, giggles, stories, patience & back road tours.  If you are reading this...I love you both :)

The patience part of the evening came about as we were driving around the pasture looking for the cattle.  It is a big pasture, with lots of bush...but lots of wide open spaces, too.  The grass is doing very well this year - there is little evidence that cattle are even present. We were all staring out the windows looking for tracks or trampled grass as we drove around - basically any evidence to tell us if we were even in the same vicinity as the cattle.  It was such a beautiful evening. 
I just happened to take my camera. (I know you're shocked!)
While staring out the window I yelled (quite loudly I must admit)..."Stop!".  My poor brother.  He slammed on the brakes and looked at me like he was just about to run over my first born.  "I gotta jump out & take some pics of those funky flower-thingies" (I do NOT have a green thumb...I am so "plant stupid").  I'm sure that both of those men wanted to roll their eyes at me.  But they didn't....and they indulged my whim & allowed me to jump out and take those pics.  Only one comment about my big butt sticking up was mentioned after I jumped back in the truck. Love these plants.  They are intriguing!

We did eventually manage to find the cattle...but it was more of a fluke than anything (and I would like to claim responsibility for finding our herd, by the way).

I love cattle.  Always my favourite part of farming (except the horses that is). It was so fun to call them and have them all come up over the hill to investigate (sorry girls...we forgot the chop this time around).

The picture above is one of my favourites from the evening.  Not because it is a stunningly great picture.  It definitely isn't.  But - it really captures the essence of the night...the warm summer evening sun, the bugs (notice my dad swatting at those pesky skeeters), the curious heifers coming to check their masters out (and seriously hoping for chop), the beautiful MB landscape (more about this later)...and of course the way the two men quietly discuss business.  But the absolute BEST part about this pic? My camera battery had died...but I loved watching Dad & little bro stand & look out over the pasture...so in a desperate attempt, I took my battery out, shook it a bit, popped it back in...and my camera allowed me this one picture!! I'm so happy to have caught this moment.

Crop checking...

A crazy year for crops! It is such a stressful thing to have no control over something that has so much control over the success of your business.  Darn weather! No wonder we love to hate it.

So many memories to cherish!

Thanks Dad, for giving up the front seat to your daughter (so I don't get car-sick).  Sorry, Pepe...for making you sit in the back seat with Dad (but you were stinkier than stinky), that contributed (no doubt) to you christening the new truck with dog puke...but I'm sure you got the last laugh as you watched your humans jump out of the truck like a chinese fire drill to get the puke cleaned up! 

This little trip out and about really allowed me to see with new eyes how beautiful MB is...and how many TREES there are, lol! Wish my camera battery had not kicked the bucket on me...there were soooo many photo ops!

Now, I'd better be getting on to greener pastures...I have this thing called a website that really needs my attention if it is to ever get finished.

Open House!

There is some exciting news floating around here, folks!

I have my very own WEBSITE in the works!

Yes...I decided to take the plunge and separate my daily ramblings from my more creative endeavours. (I've registered a domain name and everything...)

The goal for the website launch is June 30th. It will feature my handmade fabric-accented jewellery plus an exciting new venture ENTIRELY NEW TO CANADA! Yippee...

I'm so excited about it, and really, really hope you will be, too!
But for now, SHHHHH!
It is a secret :)

What is not a secret, however, is the OPEN HOUSE that I have decided to host this SUNDAY, JUNE 20th from 2 - 4:30 pm (in Carnduff).  If you happen to be "local", pop in for some amazing gift ideas, handmade cards, home decor items, and stamping & scrapping supplies @ bargain-basement prices! Oh...and of course...a look at current jewellery pieces!

I {heart} bumblebees!

A quick note before I begin...

I have some new jewellery pieces that I'm *super* excited about!

(that is why I've been a little MIA from blogland)

And now for the real reason for this post:

I have a friend that is as into her photography hobby as I am, but has found life a little hectic to have been taking many pics lately (I can relate!)...so when she suggested a walk around town for some snapshot-making, I jumped at the chance to spend some time with her and take some pics. I have to admit...we probably looked like total dorks bent down and twisting around looking for that elusive shot, but we did have fun.

I have always had a thing for bumblebees.  I think they are adorable.

At a certain distance.

I found this little guy whilst admiring the ornamental onions.
I got lucky and actually managed to capture him in half-focus...

Then I got all crazy and started to play with some textures (that the friend from above pointed me to...)

I'm addicted! It is so fun to apply different textures and see what effect they have.

Think this following image is my fav from my play session, although it is what I would call "very heavily textured" lol!

I couldn't help myself - the original pic just looked so "plain"!

What do you think?

I must now give a shout out to the creator of the textures I played with today - they are FREE! (and y'all know how much I love free)...Shadowhouse Creations

And one, final, parting comment...

I'm sorry, turquoise, but I think I'm going to have to kick you to the curb -

I am simply in love with lavender these days.

Don't worry, you can still be my second favourite colour :)

New blog?!

Hello again :)

Its me...
you know,
the short,
blonde,
spunky (some days),
organized (some days),
quiet (ok...now I'm just plain lying),
30-something
DAY.

I know I've been neglecting you, my faithful blog readers.  I apologize. Life is crazy. But that is no excuse!

I had an interesting (rather random) inquiry the other day regarding my jewellery from Europe...yikes! It got me thinking that perhaps I need to separate my daily (rather personal, mundane and sometimes ridiculous) thoughts/blogposts from that of my creative adventures.

I'm just not all that sure how comfortable I feel about people in Europe reading about how Baby B currently has tonsilitis (which he does) when they are interested in purchasing a jewellery item from me.  It doesn't seem all that appropriate.

Thus, I have been thinking about moving my daily ramblings onto a separate blog...

However, I'm just a WEE bit indecisive...so I can't make up my mind whether I want to go to the work that this will entail.  I'll have to come up with a name, a "look", and organize and move posts either here or there.

In conclusion -
well, I'll keep you posted.
Because this short,
blonde,
sometimes spunky,
sometimes organized,
indecisive
and procrastinating
DAY
is in to pondering these things
for...
DAYS.

(and let's face it...because of my last name & all the endless possibilities of the play on words it can facilitate...the new name has to be GOOOOOD).

Suggestions welcome.

IT'S HERE!!

I'm sooooo excited to announce that my fabric jewellery collection has arrived!
I have had so much fun coming up with the designs that follow...and have many more ideas to work on in the coming days :)

Many people have already made inquiries regarding ordering, etc. - therefore here is a bit of information before the pictures arrive.

1. Generally speaking (at least initially), I do not plan to have a SHIPPING service. However, for those of you that may happen upon this blog by chance and figure you can NOT live without a piece of my jewellery, if you send me a message (email or blog comment) including your shipping address, I will endeavour to get a shipping quote for you. Please understand that this may add to the turnaround times, and of course to the cost of the item. (thanks for your anticipated patience!) I will reply to you with said quote before you are committed to the order, and payment must be received before the item is shipped.  For payment information...please see #5 below.

2. ALL items are CUSTOM and HANDMADE! This means that I do not have stacks & stacks of items just waiting to be purchased, but rather that your item will be created once you have sent an "order". (if demand remains high, I will be opening a shop at "Etsy" to facilitate orders & payment).

3. No two items will be EXACTLY alike (although styles may be similar), and may have slight imperfections.  This is due to the handmade nature, and makes each item uniquely yours :) Most of the items (with the exception of beaded necklaces) are washable due to the way they are constructed.

4. Turnaround times & sizes are approximate. Please let me know if you have a specific requirement as most styles are completely customizable!

5. At this point in time, only cash & cheque payments are accepted. Payment must be received before the item exchanges hands.

6. TO ORDER: (please be as detailed with your request as possible) 
a) send me an email message - jmdcreate2009@gmail.com
b) comment to this blog post
c) send a facebook inbox message
I will REPLY to your request so you will know I have received the order - please leave me an email address that you wish to be contacted with.  I frequently travel out of town, so a reply from me may take longer than 24 hours.

Thank you so much for your interest in my product! I am so excited to "glam" you up :)

Here is a link to my facebook photo album cataloguing the items offered.  Feel free to check back frequently as items will be updated.

NOW...here are some pictures!

NECKLACES:
"The Wedding Guest"

details: 
- as pictured: "COFFEE & CREAM" colour palette - chocolate, mocha, champagne & cream satin, silk & organza tied with a chocolate satin ribbon (therefore adjustable length)
- also available in "NEWSPRINT" colour palette (black, white, silver/grey) and "RAINBOW" colour palette (any combination of royal purple, orange, fuschia, baby blue, teal, white, yellow, turquoise, lime green, chocolate or black)
- roses vary in diameter from approximately 1 - 3 inches
- item dimensions: approx. 6.5 inches (width) x 7.5 inches (height) - length is adjustable
- price dependent upon fabric & number of flowers
- the picture does not do it justice! stunning in real life :)

"The Rockster Chic"

details:
- silver lame flowers with chunky, multicoloured "grunge" beads
- ties with double width of black satin ribbon (therefore adjustable length)
- no other available colour palettes at this time
- flowers vary in diameter from approximately 1 - 2.5 inches

"The Garden Party"

 details:
- multicoloured, multiple flowers & beaded necklace on a metal chain & clasp
- as pictured: yellow, turquoise & mocha with matching mocha beads
- many colour palettes available - please state a preference when ordering (beads & chain will vary and will be chosen to complement the fabric of the flowers); all flowers may be made the same colour if that is your preference!
- largest flower is approx. 3.5 inches in diameter

"The Princess"

details:
- as pictured: silk & organza flower (lime green & fuschia) with coordinating beads & metal chain (clasp closure)
- flower is approximately 3 inches in diameter
- other colour palettes available include "OCEAN" (turquoise & silver) or "SUNSET" (orange & fuschia)
- necklace is approximately 16 - 18 inches in length depending on beads used

CLIPS/PINS:
(may be added to an existing necklace, pinned on a sweater, shirt or jacket, clipped to a purse, belt, headband, shoes, worn as a hair elastic or bracelet...the possibilities are ENDLESS)
 - most of the following styles have your choice of the following back styles:
          - pin
          - clip (alligator clip - like clips used to create pincurls in hair)
          - hairpin
          - elastic hairband/bracelet

"The Cocktail Party" (clipped to an existing pearl necklace & a long chain necklace)

 details:
- as pictured: "NEWSPRINT" colour palette (black, white & silver)
- virtually any colour combination possible
- flowers range in diameter from 1 1/4 - 2 1/4 inches; total piece approximately 5 inches at largest dimension

"The Poppy" (clipped to a sandal)

 details:
- as pictured: orange, royal purple & fuschia satin, approximately 2 1/4 inches in diameter
- may be ordered as a pair or individually
- other colour palettes available include any combination of the following: royal purple, orange, fuschia, baby blue, teal, brown, white)

"The Rose"
     - organza, silk or satin

details: as pictured - silver organza, approximately 3 inches in diameter (medium size)

- other colours available include: silks: lime green/fuschia, orange/fuschia, turquoise, emerald green, red, black, light grey, white 

organzas: silver, fuschia, cream

satins: royal purple, fuschia, orange, teal, baby blue, brown, white

- printed cotton

 details: as pictured: approximately 2 inches in diameter (small size)
- other colour options available (both print & solid); please state a preference when ordering
- sizes available: small (approx 2 inches in diameter), medium (approximately 3 inches in diameter), large (approximately 5 inches in diameter)

"The Posie"

details:
- as pictured: hair elastic back style, orange center, multicoloured print fabric
- other colours available (please state preference when ordering); fabric will be chosen to coordinate with the following center colours: bubblegum pink, orange, red, brown, grey, tan, lime green, bright blue
- approximately 2.5 inches in diameter (small size)

"The Daisy"

 details:
- as pictured: striped print fabric with brown center with hair elastic back style 
- other colour options available (see above)

"The Peony"

 details:
- satin multilayered, petal flower with jewel center
- as pictured: chocolate with "diamond" center with hair pin style back
- approximately 4 inches in diameter
- other colours available (see satin colours above)

If you don't happen to see what you like here...please send a request detailing your idea...it is more than likely I will be able to accommodate you!

An open house is coming soon! Watch for details to come...