Sweet Spring

Tucked away in a hall closet was this beauty...

I had tucked them away and they've been just sitting there

waiting to be rediscovered...

A perfect backdrop for more little sweet birdies...

making a wish...

Expecting miracles...

Awakening to Spring!

BIG SALE!

BIG SALE was written on a neon pink board right there this past Friday as I was driving down the road after lunch with my daughter, and who can resist a "big sale"? Not me!
I became overly excited when I saw the sale was inside the house in the neighborhood, I'm smelling an estate sale!
It was! Oh, yeah! I saw some things I wanted and couldn't buy, like three antique storefront spool holders, two for $100 each and the large one for $350, but I did find some vintage/antique postcards with pretty images!
I bought a few...

Love this! They were marked $2 each but I got them for a buck each...

and also some wonderful religious images...

We get home later and I'm thinking to myself,

WHY didn't I offer to buy the whole box from them?!

I love these!

My daughter says, let it go, Mom. You have enough.

I can't stop thinking I wanted the rest of them.

I think about it all day, and the next day while I'm working

and decide I just HAVE to go back and see what's left.

I have hubby go with me..

A lot of the good ones were gone, they said one woman spent $70 on hers!

Wow!

They count them and say, well, there's 200 in here!

Um, well, how about $65?

I offer $45, and they say ok.

My husband thinks I'm nuts...

My daughter just again said, Oh, Mom...

Don't you HAVE to answer when your heart is called?

Cricut Cake!

Hi Friends! Did you see this video from DIY Dish and the giveaway of the Cricut Cake?

Oh, how COOL is this?!! Hurry and go check it out!

A beautiful Pink Saturday!

What a glorious April day we had here in Dallas on Friday, and I'm hoping the same for this beautiful Saturday too as we celebrate another Pink Saturday with our lovely host Beverly!
I thought I'd share an Etsy store I really love for ephemera and frills to craft with...

Here's a direct link to Junque Art's Etsy store

I bought some cute goodies!

Some vintage playing cards...

OOHHH! They're SO pretty!

Plus a freebie card and pin too! Thanks!

Then a girl crafter can NEVER have too much seam binding...

Especially in YUMMY colors and crinkled too!

Next are the cutest carnival style tickets...

These are great for those mixed media crafts!

Plus the cutest kit for $14.00...

And when you finish putting it all together it's gorgeous...

Plus, as usual, I love to hear all the "she's so CUTE" comments

from my blogger friends on Madison!

Here she is on Friday afternoon trying out her first class at

Little Gym...

she LOVES to flip!

OH, OH!!!!

I'm also having a wonderful GIVEAWAY right below this post

and I'd LOVE for you to enter! Please leave a comment for the giveaway

separate from Pink Saturday though so I don't miss it on pick day, April 25th!

Plus, PLEASE consider helping me spread the word on this great book giveaway!

In the meantime, Happy Pink Saturday and please visit my Pink Saturday friend...

Maria at Chica Bella Crafts

Perfect for your little one GIVEAWAY!

Hi there Friends! I have fallen back into the joy of motherhood once again at my house, but not as a mother this time, but even better, as a GRANDMOTHER! I want to stimulate my grandbaby Madison's growth along with her parents to help her become interested in the world around her.
One thing that has always been uppermost in my mind as both a mother to my children and now as a Grandmother is the importance of teaching children the LOVE of reading! I myself was ALWAYS a reader as a child, young adult, and now as much as ever! I wanted my children and now Madison to treasure reading!
I am thrilled today to have a wonderful book for your little one to own, one that you can be proud to share with your child or grandchild!

This book teaches the wonderful lesson of having faith in God to hear our prayers and to depend on Him to guide us in our lives. So important to learn!

You can earn chances to win in a few easy ways:
A. Simply leave a comment and you've got a chance already!
Easy-peasy!
B. Become a follower of Suzie Button Creations and I'll give you two more
entries!
P.S. The last giveaway I had the winner was one of the additional entries!
                                                            AND/OR
C. Post about my giveaway with the book picture on your blog  with a link back or
your blog sidebar and also gain another two entries!
THAT'S FOUR EXTRA ENTRIES JUST BY FOLLOWING AND SHARING!
FIVE IN ALL!
So a breakdown is comment = 1 entry
Follower = 2 more entries (you're up to 3 now!)
You add a picture/link back on your blog = 2 more entries (do all of this you have 5 entries!)
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BOTH FOLLOW AND LINK IF YOU DON'T WANT TO
IT'S AND/OR... no pressure from Suzie Button!
I will draw a winner on Monday, April 26th at 9 a.m. central time zone.

You can also purchase this wonderful book at

Random House

As you can see the graphics and the quality are unsurpassed!

And, no, this little Astronaut is NOT upside down here,

according to the story he is capable because

with God he knows

"There's nothing in the world that I can't do or be."

Please enter and Please share my giveaway for extra chances!

And follow me if you'd like too!

Remember this giveaway is open to Monday, April 26th at 9 a.m. central!

Blessings!

I'm Happy when...

...when I open my storage drawer full of embellishments and ephemera, I'm happy...

It's not neat because it's a treasure trove right beside me all day...

Ready to create a mini banner of happiness...

Digging through to look for just the right pretty to spice up my flags...

Contentment when it all begins to come together..

Numerology seems just right somehow...

As do sweet birds!

And laying the button on the belly and it's just the right curve

brings a smile to my face...

A fun evening in my little drawer of embellishments!

THIS also makes me smile..

Miss Madison and Aunt Katie...

What a perfect pair!

Easter was sweet!

Grandbaby Madison rocked the Dallas Arboretum for her First Birthday pictures today!

She REALLY loved her Birthday cake!

Dig in, Baby!

It's YOUR day!

Grandma is a bit less energetic this evening after...

Decorating the house for her birthday

cooking the ham, chantilly potates,

deviled eggs and broccoli casserole

and running through the Arboretum for a couple hours

and the grocery store twice!

But it was a great Easter Day!

P.S.  If you want a rockin' photographer in the

Dallas area visit our favorite..

Heather C. King

It's Pink Saturday AND Miss Rhea's Easter Basket Swap Link too!

Hi friends in blogland! I am sharing a bit of what I've shared earlier plus a few swaps I've received in Miss Rhea's Easter Basket Swap today!
And a couple other goodies thrown in from a swap with faux cakes too, just 'cause on that one!
First, I took part in Miss Rhea's Sweet N Shabby easter basket swap where we made baskets out of yogurt cups!
I received this wonderful basket from Marcia at Vintage French Hen...

And here's some of the goodies she sent, but not all, I just am highlighting for you!

And next I received this beauty from Karen at Recycled Rita...

And she made me this gorgeous swag, even though there were lots more, but this went right up on the fireplace!

I'm SURE you saw the PINK in there too for PINK SATURDAY
We are to show the baskets I made, and this is a repeat, so sorry Pink Saturday friends, but I want to show my swap girls too what I made!
I made these baskets and goodies to send along...

I used some velvety millinery flowers

and covered it all around

and added some goodies inside too like a yummy

cherry blossom candle..

and I also made a notebook for all

those lists and such...

And for another swap partner in this same swap i made this basket...

This one had spackle icing with a doilie bottom with

chicks and eggs and flowers!

It too had little goodies like rubberstamps, a bird eraser and images

to tuck inside

and also a notebook!

I just LOVE making these notebooks!
Also as part of a faux cake swap I received this gorgeous cake from Lori Hairston...

And I couldn't stop making these faux cakes, it was the highlight of my Easter crafting this year TRULY!
I made a large one for myself and I just wanted to share!

Last but not least, I have to show you, look what knocked on my door this week to visit,
JUST IN TIME FOR EASTER!

Happy Easter from Suzie Button's home

to Yours!

And from baby Madison too!

Bringing Easter to Baby

I had the grand idea that my grandbaby Madison, though just two days short of her first birthday, really needed to be part of the tradition of Easter egg coloring.
So I covered the table and prepared the dyes...

Cooked the eggs...

and popped Madison in the highchair and gave her some dye packages to choose from...

Ah, and yes Madi has her first boo-boo on the forehead due to

learning to walk! UGH!

We tried the sticker on the egg to have M for

Madison...

and then Madison reached over and knocked over the orange dye and I realized

Hey, she's just a baby, no coloring for her this year...

too messy

too staining on baby's skin

too stressful overall

so we ended it

and Grandma did it alone later!

Matthew Mead Giveaway!

Head over to Holiday with Matthew Mead to find out how you can win the opportunity to have your blog or online shop mentioned in the magazine. Holiday with Matthew Mead is a "book-azine" celebrating and offering inspiration for the Christmas holiday season. To be released in October 2010, Holiday is offered via online orders only - in limited quantities - and will not be sold on newsstands. But, by simply following the BUY HOLIDAY MAGAZINE link below their banner, you can reserve your own copy of this beautiful magazine, with guaranteed delivery of the magazine straight to your mailbox! Holiday with Matthew Mead is144 pages of holiday inspiration with well-known and admired designers, bloggers and top-notch features, printed on beautiful paper and not drowning in ads!


Now, head on over for your chance to win!

Preparing for Easter with Cook's Country

Easter dinner is always a highlight this time of year, the meal symbolizes the birth and renewal of Spring and all the delights therein!
I am always on the hunt for tips to make my meal better, more lively, maybe enhanced!
I turn more and more often to a FABULOUS magazine...

I know I can count on them to give me the BEST way to cook any meal!

They're so detailed and I love the comparison way in which they write their articles.

I noticed in this May 2010 issue some great tips right near the front of the magazine...

ther/e is more...

I love this tip above so much!

I hate those gumpy stickers!

Can't beat living like a monkey would!

All great tips!

Now to the perfect Easter Ham!

You can count on Cook's Country for good eatin'!

What I learned from this magazine?

That you should get the shank end of the ham, not the butt end!

Why?

Because the ham is easier to carve, plus it has less gristle and fat than the

BUTT!

EEK, watch the language, Suzie Button!

Plus we need the perfect glaze...

And according to them the enclosed packet in most hams can create a kind of

plasticy coating.

I totally agree!

We'll use their recipe above instead!

Who doesn't have potatoes with every holiday meal?

We're no different in this house...

The Gruyere cheese should add that suprise and elegance to the dish!

Can't wait!

And though we're having birthday cake on Easter 'cause

baby granddaughter Madison will turn ONE on Easter Day,

I just loved the vintage recipe and feel of this

Daffodil Cake

Yummy!

What are you planning for Easter Sunday's meal?

I'd love to hear!