It's Gingerbread To Me

There is no place like home there is no place like home, well .... except the fabulous Marriott's Desert Ridge Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, especially when you have over 2,000 of your favorite family or favorite acquaintances  staying there with you over a long weekend. This past weekend has to be one of my favorite's of the year. As I attend the Grand Canyon Baha'i Conference every year I am able. 

Along with the conference the Hotel designs and assembles a huge Gingerbread display complete with a working train! This year was no exception. This years theme is the classic story of "The Wizard of Oz. Take a look at what Kansas looks like in gingerbread!

The cyclone hits the town 

 

  and the house flies up into the air and goes down right over the witch

 

The village has several tiny houses beyond the yellow brick road

 There is a huge castle

and several sweet buildings

                                    lots of farm houses....                                      

  and corn fields

The witches castle wear the flying monkey's dwell

The vibrant poppy fields....

And the most impressive Emerald City!

Kansas has never looked sweeter!
Thank you for visiting and, let me know what your thoughts are of the sweet city that the pastry chefs at this beautiful resort have created, I would love to read your comments!
And always remember There is no place like home!

Whimsical Winter

This is a special time of year. It's fun to watch people move about working hard to accomplish all the goals that they had put on lists, both every morning and those that they put on at the beginning of the year moving ever so much quicker daily,  as we proceed toward the beginning of the new year.
This is also a wonderful time of year, as the attitudes are more relaxed and there is so much more socializing going on in homes across the globe.

 It's a wonderful day today to grab the children and bring them into your home as they are quite agreeable at this time of year ,it might be fun to bake with them, so take out the baking utensils and your favorite ingredients and create some festive treats  I love cookies and the prettier the cookies the more delicious they are. Everyone will want to try one of these cookies, as they are just as delicious as they are pretty.

Sweet treats are a favorite for all so don't forget to have a little sweet to give as your guests depart from your home. I have the tradition of hanging candies on the tree , so that my visitors can pick a sweet as we say our good buys.

It's wonderful to have guests over to visit.  These are the occasions that build relationships and create memories. I hope that you have many wonderful parties planned this year with friends and family.

There are so many wonderful treats and Pink at How Sweet The Sound  today for Pink Saturday, so please take a moment to visit Beverly and her guests as we celebrate this Pink Saturday.
Thank you for visiting me today for this Pink treat of a day!

It's Winter Time

The doors are open and the sunshine is streaming through the windows. 

I put a long sleeved turtle neck shirt on this morning, which I will have to change before I go out to the local orange market to see if this years navels are for sale.(The locally grown oranges have the sweetest flavor!)

Tonight will be a different story, away goes the sun and the cold air sets in and it becomes cold!

So I gratefully turn the heat on and smile and feel confident that another beautiful day will be on it's way tomorrow! 

Happy Pink Saturday, this week is Pink Holiday Porches. I really don't have a porch, but if I did what would I like? And how festive would I want to be? So I looked for some picture and what I thought I might like.

I picked this one out first, as the decoration is so clever. Who wouldn't want these beautiful big boxes with gorgeous bows on top of them, sparkling into the night?

 

 Then I thought I would like a little sitting area on my porch so when the early afternoon was flooding the porch, I could sit and have a cup of coffee or tea among friends. Therefore I would have to have a little decoration on the occasional table.  I think this tree with it's shiny baubles would be the perfect centerpiece for such an area.

 Of course I would love a little something that would make a big impression, so I would have a fun tree in a big urn next to the door. I think that it would be great to have this tree year round and decorate it for every holiday and festive occasions all year long.

Well, I got to get busy and create a porch like area at the front door. I am sure with these fun ideas, I can create something great! I know that every week I go visiting the friends who post on Pink Saturday, I get so many wonderful ideas, so don't be surprised when I post my little entry way on a Pink Saturday so you can see all the inspiring ideas that are shared each week right at my front door!

For more Beautiful Pink posts, please visit Beverly's Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound.

I'm Sewing It

Recently I have been inspired by several of the hand sewn little felt plushies I've been seeing on the Internet.

 On a recent visit to San Francisco I went to the Japanese bookstore and treated myself to the most wonderful book of little plushie patterns. These little animals are so cute! I have been wanting to create not just one, but several.

I have been sucked in by these little cuties created by others and am anxious to find a little free time to create some of my own! I have decided to share a little of what I have found with you! I am creating a blog list so you too can admire and perhaps join me in this little creative endeavor! 

To begin the journey, I would like to send you to Creative Breathing , where you will find the sweetest little felt choir boy tutorial and the pattern~ which is available to print.! 

.

There are some really cute patterns to delight you at LucyKate Crafts. I have seen at least two or three projects I would like to attempt there. There are several free tutorials there that would be great to start with. 

One real sweet pattern featured is this adorable holiday tree plushie:

but....... If you like pigs, you have to try this little sweetheart:

 

There is a free printable pattern there for you. 

Why stop at one? 

What would it look like to have one little piggy in every color! 

I have seen some really cute dolls available. Such little lovelies at  Gingermelon Dolls. 

There you will see some little hugables!

Get out your needles, there are a few tutorials found here so you too can create your own special friend!

If ornaments are your thing, you can join the party at Fellow Creatives and have a Felt a palooza and create a dozen of fabulous little treasures. There you will find a PDF to download and make dozens of felt ornaments!

  

And now for something very sweet and special,  You must visit Erica who is also a lover of little felt creatures. There at her blog she has special cute dollies for the very young.

She has the most wonderful blog, and even has some patterns available to recreate some of the gorgeous little darlings she has created.

 

 A colorful garland made with birds and owls strung together with trad and beads!

This week I did manage to cut out and a felt project. I took this one to girl scouts this week. I did manage to complete one mitten, but I believe that I gave the other side away. This is a sweet pattern that can be created very quickly and it is so much fun.

I enlarged the pattern slightly so it would be easy for younger girls to sew, however you can also reduce the size and create  smaller ones, in dozen of colors. This one can be stuffed with other little treats, too! I could not resist and created a heart to sew on the top! Find the pattern here. I had so much fun learning blanket stitch for this, I can hardly wait to cut out more shapes and continue this wonderful creative process!

 

I hope you join me! If you can please send me a link to your post project, 

I will be so delighted to see what you create!

What a Wonderful World

This is such a wonderful time to be alive, there are so many beautiful things and comforts around us to enjoy.
For this Pink Saturday, dedicated to giving thanks, I share with you the beauty that I appreciate and enjoy all year long. A beauty that leads to creativity and is truly inspirational.
I am so grateful that I live in an area of the world that allows me the freedom to choose my path, wherever it may lead to- every day of this life. Along that path there are beautiful sights to behold.
Please join me on this path and enter a neighborhood garden with me.

This garden is so very close to my home. What a joy to visit it as the birds sing of joy as they enter this magnificent garden.

I am so grateful to visit this space, it is a place of beauty and a true blessing to be able to enjoy it in the month of November!

 It inspires me to be more creative and to work a plan to have a beautiful blooming garden of my own.

The roses in this garden are so beautiful. The scent of these flowers permeate the air with their intoxicating perfume.

This space is so beautiful with the various colors of roses and other flowering plants. Their beauty is such a treasure. The birds are inspired by it, as you can hear by the enchanting melody of their songs.

This garden was created to be enjoyed both day and into the evening.

Imagine sitting around the fire at night with your loved ones among the stars above and

 statues that decorate this garden.

Imagine sitting at the pond in reflection among the coy swimming under the lily pads.

Be ready to select a handful of blooms to take as a memory to flower, seed and plant again for pleasure and enjoyment.

I give praise and thanks for the bounty of being a part of this wonderful community and hope that you were also inspired by this trip in this magnificent desert, that blossoms like the rose!

Please join Beverly at How Sweet The Sound with Sarah and others as we spend this Pink Saturday with Giving Thanks.

 Please leave a comment on how wonderful world is where you are , I would love to read them!

And There is More

Once I got started on those wonderful ornaments, I wanted to continue creating and that, I did.

One of my wonderful friends, who happened to come over to the house, saw the garland and was so complimentary towards the work, she was quite interested to make the ornaments into gift tags. 

What a wonderful idea! I had to make at least one to share, so I began with by cutting out the templates. They can be downloaded from the Creations from Adela site

So I cut out a handful of ornaments!

To give them a little depth and dimension, 

I added a little ink around the edges with two colors of ink applied with brush. 

A light and a dark shade of blue was selected.

With the shading complete, a few embellishments were created to apply to the ornament.

 One more finished ornament to add to a pretty gift wrapped package or onto the garland!

There are so many wonderful templates to chose from Adela, that I had a hard time picking just one, so I selected a digital stamp to use to make a card, called Ho Ho Ho.

This cute guy was colored with pencils and blended with mineral spirits, cut out and glued onto a paper punched and sewn embellished card. The little snowflakes shine and sparkle with a little Stickles applied to them. A sharp sewing machine needle threaded with a complimentary color of thread was used to attach the background papers to the card. What fun this was to make!

I hope that you, may be inspired to create some fun holiday projects, too. Please leave me a comment to share any  holiday projects that you have created with me! I would love to see them!

Holiday Blog Hop

Creating for the holidays not only creates fabulous cards, decorations or party favors it also creates great joy. Crafting for the holidays and participating in the Paper Craft Planet AR Customer Blog Hop  is no exception. While visiting some wonderful blogs I see many banners and garlands and have always wanted to create one for my home. Adela creates the most wonderful templates, so I thought there would be something wonderful to start with. And there was...her Ornaments cutting file are brilliant.

The three different shaped ornaments are a perfect size for decorating and displaying a festive message.

I copied the PDF and cut them out by hand, it was so easy! Next came the decorating! A little ink, some stamps and glitter and you have created a wonderful decoration!

The paper used had wonderful snowflakes printed on it and they are so beautiful when glittered up to make the ornaments shine!

The finished  ornaments were hung one by one on a handmade fringed crepe paper streamer giving the garland a festive look. And your ready to hang to make that special space a little festivity!

Thank you for visiting during the Creations by AR Customer Blog Hop(http://www.creationsbyar.com/)
Customer Blog Hop will begin at 6:00 AM Eastern Time on Saturday, November 17. There are nine blog participants waiting to inspire you with their Creations by AR template projects. You are invited to hop and leave some love (comments) along the way. One randomly chosen commenter will receive a CbyAR gift certificate. Comments will remain open until midnight (Eastern Time) on Monday, November 21 with the winner being announced the following afternoon on the CbyAR FB page and on my blog. if you haven't visited the other participants find them here:

Here is the complete Blog Hop list:
Lisa http://craftingwithprincesslisa.blogspot.com/
Debbie http://www.atimetostamp.com/
Lyn http://lynspaperpetunia.blogspot.com/
Mary http://handmadeheartfelt.wordpress.com/
Diana http://kreativfenster.blogspot.com/
Carolyn http://www.grandmacarol46580.blogspot.com/
Raissa http://www.raissastamps.com 
Rhonda http://bluepoohbear753.blogspot.com/
Gigi http://sunshinelollipopsandbutterflies.blogspot.com/
Once you are don hopping, please visit the Creations by AR Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Creations-by-AR/154314751303824
Have fun and Happy hopping!

Creative Inspiration

Autumn is a wonderful  time of year here in Arizona.     There is beauty to be found everywhere you look.   

The blue of the sky, the green of the winter grass coming in and the beautiful birds with their enchanting melodies that come south for the winter. 

 

It's also fun to get away from the city and pack up the car  and take a drive into the mountains and enjoy the beauties of the high desert. Enjoying the scenic views  abundant with Aspen trees and Ponderosa Pines.

There is so much beauty in the high desert, from the beautiful foliage along the road to the majestic silhouette of the San Francisco Peaks. If you look carefully along the roadside you might find a pair of eyes looking out toward you.

 What you may find along the way are visitors taking the train to view this beautiful setting. 

Once you do get up to the Rim you see a great deal of wild life just grazing the area. 

They come so very close to you it's both enjoyable and spectacular.

 

The are deer and elk are in abundance. You need to pay attention as you drive through the mountains as these animals  wonder into the road frequently and can cause accidents.

There are always birds circling above waiting to drop down for a tasty dinner.

    

 Once you drive beyond 7,000 feet the air really does get chilly, and you can begin to expect to see snow.

 

However the weekend is short and it's time to drive back down the mountain , in fact it doesn't take long to get down the mountains back into the city, where you begin to see again the desert bloom jutting out from under rocks and around trees enjoying the warm sunshine of the desert.

Several weeks ago the wonderful Birgit of Swapping Howdies, wrote about the wonderful festival in October that is held in her part of the world. It was such a wonderful post. She also had a little blog candy to offer her readers. Well, I was so delighted when I was told that I had been selected to receive the fabulous gifts. The gifts arrived here wrapped beautifully , by the amazing Birgit. The collection is so wonderful and I am so delighted with these goodies. They will certainly be useful to keep me organized with the activities I am currently participating in.  Thank you so much Birgit, thank you for sharing your life on your blog as well as offering and delivering such wonderful blog candy! The photographs are from Birgit's blog site, please visit Birgit, if you haven't already, her posts wonderful.

It has been a fabulous Pink Saturday, time spent with friends , time spent with children, time spent doing all those things that are put off during the week. Thank you for spending part of your day with me! To enjoy what others are serving for this Pink Saturday, please visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound and enjoy visiting so many wonderful places on this gorgeous Pink Saturday!

A Little Crafting Going On

Life has been passing by so quickly it seems that the today's are becoming yesterday's and as I cross these days off on the calendar I wonder if there will ever be time again for creativity and crafting. So when the opportunity arises for a creative project to give to others, I immediately seize the opportunity to be a little crafty.

Such an occasion appeared and did I create!

The creations were little birdcages glued onto a clothespin with a magnet on the back, this little piece can hang photos or any important papers the recipients may have onto their refrigerators.
A sample was created first to establish how much time and what supplies would be needed for each piece. 

After the sample was approved, production began! The first step was to die cut all the bird cages. I just adore this die. It's from the Tim Holtz collection. You can find the die at Tim Holtz .

After die cutting the cages,  scrapbook paper was then cut into rectangles and glued to the backs as the substrate for piece.   Next a quotation was selected and printed on 90# white index and punched from a label punch. Afterward this quotation was applied with glue to the front of the bird cage.
The bird and branch punched from Stampin' Up in coordinating paper came next and was then assembled and glued onto the label. Next came the piece of ribbon and flower punched paper. To give a finishing touch Stickles was applied to flower centers and on leaves. After all was glued and in place on the front,  I had a friend help me glue  the clothes pins- clip style, which were painted white, complete with the magnets previously applied to them onto the backs.

 You can see the finished project modelling on my refrigerator.

This project was so much fun and the results were so pleasing. It was enjoyable to hand them out to  friends to commemorate this event, they were so happy and grateful to receive their gift!!