Making Flower Fairies

1. Take photos and glue to cardstock.

2. Cut out photos and gather supplies.

3. Arrange and arrange some more.

4. Glue and glue some more.

5. Add a stick and some grass.

6. Plant!

Tessa's Mosaic

Her questions:

1. What is your first name? Tessa
   
2. Favorite food? Corn
   
3. Where do you go to school? Cornerstone Academy
   
4. Favorite color? Lime Green
   
5. Celebrity crush? Jack Sparrow
   
6. Favorite drink? Grape Juice
   
7. Dream vacation? England
   
8. Favorite dessert? Ice Cream
   
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? Horse Rider
   
10. What do you love most in life? Family
    
11. One word to describe you? Enthusiastic
    
12. Hobby? Drawing Horses
    

YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND!

You asked, Renee, so here you have it! This really took quite a while to figure out, but it was fun. If anyone else wants to play, just read the directions below. I tried to make the process easier to understand. Enjoy!

1. Create a mosaic 3x4 at fd’s mosaic maker. 2. In another window, open Flickr Search. 3. Plug in each of your answers to the questions below--one at a time--into the search on Flickr. 4. Using only the first page that comes up, choose an image--this can prove to be challenging! 5. Copy the image location by right clicking and paste it in the corresponding space on the mosaic maker. 6. Save image to hard drive and post to blogger. 7. Copy HTML code if there is one for flickr photo credits and paste into blogger at the bottom of the post.

1. What is your first name? Denise
   
2. Favorite food? Vegetables
   
3. Where did you go to high school? Connecticut
   
4. Favorite color? Green
   
5. Celebrity crush? Impossible question!
   
6. Favorite drink? Chai Tea
   
7. Dream vacation? Europe
   
8. Favorite dessert? Creme Brulee
   
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? Happy
   
10. What do you love most in life? Family
    
11. One word to describe you? Faithful
    
12. Hobby? Making Memories

Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah

Tessa went to sleepover camp for the first time this year. She left on a Thursday, and we were able to visit her on Saturday. She had a great time, but came home totally exhausted. Why was I not surprised?

The Thrill of the Hunt

Recently, I happened upon a blog that provided me with the most fun that I've had all summer. You can read into that statement that I haven't been out much lately or taken a vacation like everyone else I know. This site inspired me while at the same time depressed me. I laughed out loud and cried silently into the wee hours.

I am a creative person--check out the name of my blog for goodness sake! I also love to find humor in almost every situation. It is frustrating to me that I have so many ideas and so many chuckles locked up inside with so little time to do something with either of them. I especially enjoy working in my home, making it a step up from ordinary and predictable. I would hate it if people thought I was ordinary and predictable. Horrors! But, it takes time and energy--lots of time and energy--to work at not being ordinary and predictable and thus the dilemma.

Well, baby steps. Last week while Tessa and Ross were at camp and Nate was at the boat with Grandpa, Kelly, Kenzie, and I decided to have a girls' day out. We just knew that somewhere out there, the treasure we needed in order to reach our creative fulfillment awaited us.

We started at a local store called As Is. Now, this would be a great place to include a picture of what we found there--but of course, we forgot the camera and missed a really awesome shot of what we literally almost stumbled upon. (possibly another post?) We're flexible though and just knew that the day was going to hold all sorts of photo opportunities, so we ran home to grab the camera for the next one.

Next, we went to a local sandwich shop. We entered with camera in hand ready to get that perfect shot. I just knew my friend Renee was going to be impressed when we captured the veggie rolls and soup at just the right angle. It truly is a shame that after talking about it on the way through the door with the camera in hand, we promptly forgot about it until--well, until--well, just see for yourself!

Before I was a working girl and time was not so scarce, one of my main hobbies was treasure hunting. Now for some that may conjure up a pirate-y image of, let's say, Elizabeth Swann diving for pearls off the coast of some exotic island--but that wouldn't be quite right since I have a problem with water going up my nose and visits to exotic islands are not likely.

Treasure hunting for me is simply embracing and enjoying the process of looking for and finding something that you didn't know you were looking for in the first place. And when you see it--at the right price--it instantly inspires you and starts your creative juices flowing. Wow, that's a pretty good definition! It's not the same as hitting up an advertised sale in order to purchase a specific, predictable product--no, can't be predictable. A true treasure hunter like myself loves the process almost as much as the find.

My recent finds include the following:

mirror to replace the grouping of mirrors over my dresser
local furniture store, $60

metal bowl, candle stick, flower pot, glass something or other
Goodwill, $10

pillow shams
Ross, $2.99 each

rubber Glovelies
Ross, $2.99 each

mineral make-up bowls and tray
(of course, that's not what they really are)
Pier One, $5

twin duvet to use as shower curtain
Ross, $6.99

tension wire thingy

Ikea, can't remember had it so long

wall words
daughter Kelly, priceless

Wow, that was fun! Now I just have to finish the projects on my dining room table, and laugh out loud a few more times, and I'll really feel fulfilled this month!

4th of July

"I think I'd like to try my hand at fishing," said Tessa.

"I don't think it's that hard once you get your line untangled," Ross replied trying to sound enthusiastic.

"It's all in the technique, isn't that right, Mike?" interjected Travis.

"Maybe so, but proper bait application is important, too!"

"What are we going to do if we actually catch something?" whispered Ross.

"I guess we'll send Nate out to get it!"

"Man, I think it's just a bush! Yes, I'm sure it's just a bush! Are you sure you wouldn't rather be taking a ride in the boat with Ryan?"

"I am not giving up that easily, Nate!"

Look, Kenzie, we have company! Isn't this fun?

Recital Photos

Tessa's jazz dance was a battle between the angels and the demons. I was so happy that she was an angel.