three girls and a boy cat . . .

 Little girls are full of magic . . . 

 . . . and silliness!

They make life pretty special!

Then there is this guy . . . he is around a year old now.  We adopted him back in February.

He has been making us smile and laugh ever since. 

Find JOY in every day!

Miss Sarah Bellum . . .

The last few Octobers I have participated in a Zombie Doll Swap at Yarnigras Swapper Spot.

I enjoy creating a zombie doll and sending it off to a new home . . . 

I enjoy waiting for a zombie to show up in my mailbox . . . 

and I enjoy a new little zombie doll each October.

 Meet Miss Sara Bellum . . . a cute little teacher zombie from Kansas.

Thank you Stacey!  She is adorable!

Here is Miss Bellum with the other zombie dolls I have gotten.

I have a hippie zombie, a bride zombie (which tends to freak people out - but I love her),

and now a little teacher zombie.

Happy October!

zombie doll . . .

My zombie doll arrived at her home in Kansas . . . so I can finally post picture of her.

This year's theme for the the zombie doll swap was "professions" . . . I was give three professions to choose from (gardener, baker or a laboratory technologist) . . . I could not resist the lab tech.

Meet Dr. Helen Walker . . . 

Helen Walker is an amazing little zombie. 

She is smart, creative, kind, and fun to be around!

She really doesn’t mind being a zombie . . . the blood and brains just don’t

seem to bother her at all.  (That’s what protective gloves are for.)

When she is not wandering around her lab trying to figure out

what caused her to turn into a zombie in the first place . . .

she likes to spend time with the people she loves. 

They don’t seem to mind that she is a zombie either.

They just love her for who she is!

I love participating in this swap.  I am still waiting to receive my zombie doll.

I will post pictures as soon as she arrives.

Zombie Doll Swap

Once again this year I am part of a Zombie Doll Swap at Yarnigras Swapper Spot.

I have so much fun doing this swap . . . not only making and sending a doll, 

but also waiting for a zombie in the mail!

Just a sneak peek of the doll that I made.  I will post more pictures after she arrives in Kansas.

I really need to get back to this blog again . . . I miss posting regularly.  

Stay tuned . . . 

let's paint . . . .

 She wasn't sure what this was all about at first.

She was a little timid about getting her fingers in the paint . . . 

 So then we had to try a paint brush . . . 

 I think she may have looked at grandma's hair and thought that

she needed some color in her's also.  :)

 I guess she started taking this painting thing a little serious.

She can be a sort of serious little person . . . 

 . . . and she can melt her grandma's heart in an instant.

I think she enjoyed her first time painting.

I think next week we are going to finger paint with pudding!!!

Be brave!

Be creative!

Be kind!

Be thankful! 

Be happy!

Be you!

full of hope . . .

I have to take better photos of her for the giveaway, but I 

wanted to share a picture of my little earthy flower child doll.

Hello Spring!

made with love . . .

I was invited to be part of a doll giveaway on Instagram.

The theme is "floral fantasy".  I actually had a doll started that I could make work for that.  

That not only saved me some time as far as getting a doll finished by the deadline . . . 

but it also worked to get myself busy finishing a doll that I started awhile ago,

but had never finished.   (What that is all about - I don't know.)  

Anyway . . . I am glad I finally had the motivation to get her done.  

I think she has more of an Earth Day look to her . . . so I am working on the "floral fantasy" part.  

Either way . . . she will be part of the giveaway.

I will have complete pictures of her soon. 

Happy Friday!

“For a moment at least, 

be a smile on someone else’s face.” 
― Dejan Stojanovic, The Sun Watches the Sun

the birthday girl . . .

"Joy is not in things . . . it is in us."

                                                                                            ~Richard Wagner

unicorn photo frame . . .

I haven't posted in so long . . . and I am not really sure why, other than I am busy, 

but I'm almost always busy - so that is no excuse.

So time to get back to posting . . . 

I had forgotten that I hadn't posted pictures of Avery's birthday . . . or of the photo frame that I made for her 1st birthday party.  In case it isn't obvious . . . the party had a unicorn theme.  

The frame was really fun to make . . . except for using glitter spray paint to paint he main part of the frame . . . the cans kept clogging.  I think they need to design a better nozzle for glitter paint.

Three weeks later . . . and I am still seeing glitter in my house.

Happy Birthday Avery!

celebrating . . .

I tend to take very few pictures at weddings . . . especially when it is someone I love.  I want to enjoy and celebrate.  So I have very few pictures of Sarah and Daniel's wedding, but will share a few that I  do have.  This is Sarah and her Uncle Whitney . . . an emotional dance . . . with Sarah missing her father on her wedding day.  Sarah was such a beautiful bride!

There were these two "Bridesmen"

 . . . and these three characters.  

How they make me smile!

. . . and always some crazy Grandma love!

Beautiful wedding!  Fun night . . .  celebrating love and family!

hey doll face . . .

I ended up spending more time reading this weekend than making dolls - which was not my plan, 

but I did get a little bit done on these two. 

The doll on the left is another doll that I started awhile back and am finally getting around to finishing.  The doll on the right is new and my original idea just wasn't working for me . . . so finally decided to just throw that idea out, not think so much about it, and go with something else.  I now am excited about working on them again.   

I think they are going to be fun when they are finished. 

birthday card journal . . .

 A card from my Aunt Hess usually includes a rooster stamp . . . I love these colors!

Every year I take my birthday cards and turn them into a journal.  This year I included some Valentine cards as well.  I used washi tape and simply taped the cards together.  It isn't the sturdiest thing, but makes a cute journal and this way I get to enjoy the cards again.

I also received this great journal with wonderful family photos from Brent, Ashley, and the boys.  Ashley ordered it through Shutterfly.
 I LOVE IT!  I can't wait to fill up the pages!

enjoy the little things . . .

Another doll that was stuck away before it was finished.  

This little doll is very special to me.  It was created with the help of my granddaughter Charlotte.  Charlotte asked me if she could help . . . so she drew the face and picked out all the fabrics and yarns to use for this doll.  She was three years old at the time. Original post here.

It really only needed a few small touches in order to be finished.  I am not sure why it got stuck away . . . but glad she is finished now.  

If my grandchildren have taught me anything, it is to take the time to enjoy the little things.