The hot days of Summer.....

I used to love the heat of summer...Really, I did. Now I stay inside until dusk and then I take the dogs for a walk. I am already too hot without adding more heat to my poor hot flashed self. One nice thing is the condo where I live has a great pool. Olivia and I have really enjoyed it, especially in the evening.
We have been working on her panda swap. I get such a kick out of her...She loves everything so much that she wants one for herself and her friend Erin too..I gave her the mermaid painting and she declared it "about the cutest thing she has ever seen!" (complete with little girl squeal.) I made a journal out of a composition book and she decided she wanted to make one too and she used one of my mermaid paintings. She loves to write and draw and always carries pencils and paper with her. Here is the journal...














She had a lot of fun digging thru a bag of little doo dads that I save for things to decorate it. Journals are super fun and easy to decorate.

I also am working on a mermaid swap, a birthday quilt and I have been working on this doggie portrait quilt for Jane. It is almost done, just have to put it all together and then it will fly off to Canada. It is for Jane's Daughters birthday. Her room is aqua so I thought this fabric would look good. These were hard little doggies to do... White animals are just the hardest. The little one with his tongue hanging out has passed away and I went off a photo that was before digital camera's. he was a challenge for that reason.











So stay cool and enjoy the outdoors for me...Maybe someday all this menopause nonsense will be over...One can hope.

Mermaid paintings....

I have been painting mermaids....The Enchanted Ornament theme for this month is you guessed it, mermaids. I have had trouble sewing because everything is so scattered yet...I still cant find the box with my sewing scissors or machine needles. They are in the garage somewhere. I wanted to do something relaxing so I got a piece of printer paper and some of Olivia's paints and I started on a mermaid...Is it the best mermaid I have ever seen? No, but that is ok because it felt really good to paint her even if at times she looked like a drag queen. I softened up her chin a lot...At one point she looked like an adam's apple would be appropriate.













I made a huge mess out of my sad little sewing and craft table...No more art and sewing room....I sure miss it!










I had so much fun painting, that the next day I went to Michael's and got some real paper and acrylic paints...That led to painting number two...

















Then today I finished number three....I have seen this style of painting in a Cloth Paper Scissors magazine and the lady that does them has an Etsy shop....I love the whimsy and color so I adapted it to my own mermaid painting...It is for my own enjoyment so I didnt feel to bad about it but I want to give the credit to the person who made up these faces....Her shop name is Art and Dreams and she uses a lot of scrapbook paper and mixed media stuff...I am a fan.










Olivia has been asking for things that she likes that I have made to take home with her...She says she likes having it around her when she misses me...I am going to mat and frame this for her bedroom at home. I think she will like it.


Olivia and I joined a Panda swap Hosted by Jill and her daughter...We are going to work on it on Friday. Liv is really excited about doing it. She has big plans as she hasnt really done one before...I am happy to be able to do it with her...











I had the day off today and managed to put away more stuff...Now I am pooped and I work tomorrow so I am going to say Good night and Sweet Dreams.....night

lady bugs and baby clothes.....

For the month of June, our Year of Enchantment ornament swaps theme was ladybugs. I waited to post because I wanted to make sure Kerry, my partner had time to get her package...Here is what Kerry sent me...












I love this little guy....The antennae are so cute! She also sent me some fun other ladybug goodies.
















I made her a painted ladybug glass ball ornament.

















I also made her a little lady bug house out of fabric that I quilted onto peltex...I had no idea what I was doing... I saw the little pattern in Cloth Paper Scissors and I thought it would be cute in fabric. This was a tough one to figure out...once done though, I just think it turned out really cute. There were several times when I was ready to throw it away.




































This months theme is mermaids so I have been giving that some thought. Who knows what I will come up with.

Olivia and I had a good time this weekend.
We went to the movies and saw Mr Poppers Penguins...She is such an animal lover that she was enthralled and now wants a penguin...or two but I expected that. It was a really cute movie.

We also got our new absolute favorite dessert! Papa Murphy's has a smore pizza....We call it chocolate pizza and it is so good...We are hooked lined and sinkered and the best news? A pizza is 4 dollars...I think it is a great buy...you have to try it.....yum!

We also sewed pajama pants. Liv made her own. I made her model them for Julie today and I snapped a picture...She has her eyes closed but you get the idea!


















I think she shut her eyes on purpose.....She also made pj bottoms for Jace and he loves to model...You can tell I am at Julie's because of all the kids stuff in the background.


























While Liv was sewing I pieced together and outfit for little Ava out of quilt scraps. I didnt use a pattern I just put this and that on it and it turned out so cute. Julie was just thrilled and says it is the cutest thing she has ever seen. After making itty bitty doll clothes, it was easy.

















The pants are reversible....they can be black and white dots with red ruffles too and the back of the top is in the same dots...














Happy Summer!

Around the house....

I know I have mentioned several times what a struggle this last move was for me....I officially unloaded the U-haul on Easter...I still am not moved in or unpacked. I have never been a procrastinator, more of a mover and shaker actually! I have moved a lot. Too much really. I am a professional at this stuff. I look around and this doesnt even look like my home yet. Olivia really gave me a wake up call. She walked in for the first time and walked around really quiet peeking in the garage and looking in the rooms. She came up and looked at me really serious and then said "What has happened to you Maga?" Words from a ten year old. Since then, I have hung up a few more things, put a few more boxes away and made more of an effort but still I struggle. I am a homebody....my home is typically a reflection of who I am. I love color and art and things that get turned into something else. A home of mine will never be in House Beautiful magazine and I am ok with that...I am too eclectic but if you came in a house of mine previous to this one, you would have known it was mine and it would have welcomed you. Olivia has gotten me thinking about what I can do to claim this space that I live in....I picked colors for the walls downstairs....















I bought some upholstery fabric and am in the process of redoing my dining table and chairs.....

















Here is one chair alongside the "before" chair. It isnt done yet but you get the idea....














I also have been taking an old antique mirror with me from move to move...It hung on my family's living room wall when I was a kid...It is so old it was falling apart...literally crumbling away and the mirrored glass had lost all its silver on the back. I tried to fix it and it wasnt working at all...I finally took the glass out....I sanded carefully and painted it and now I have the memories and the frame. It was kind of hard to get myself to do it but it is better than having it sit in an attic for another ten years.













Olivia and I have been hanging out when I am not working. We went scrapbooking at a local store. She just loves to do it and I let her pick the pictures and paper and stuff. I can tell she misses her brothers cause' the pages she did were of them.
We went to a water park with Julie for her birthday. She had some friends with her and she had a great time. I can still see her running by me with a big smile on her face in my head.
We also have done some sewing and crafting.... We made flower fairies and she put hers on her backpack and shows it to everyone. I love that she loves to sew and make things. I know what a good outlet it can be and she isnt afraid to try anything.
The other night she went to Julie's and I painted a little tiny ladybug scene on an atc size piece of paper...
















Then I changed it to a black and white print and printed it out 5x7 size....













Then I turned the prints into cards....I had fun doing these. Paper and glue seem to relax me these days.







Happy Summer!

happy Fourth of July!

When I was a kid, the 4rth was always my favorite holiday! I think growing up right on the beach made it more special and magical. I can smell the Fourth of July as I sit here typing away on my laptop. To me it is the smell of bonfires, the tangy smell of the ocean, smoke bombs, sparkler smoke and good things cooking on the bbq. I remember the feeling of trudging home with sandy feet after a long day of fireworks and fun. We had a lot of family traditions for the day...The parade ( a lot of times we were in it) a big bbq with family members and lots of cousins, fun day at the beach and then the big show with the ocean as the backdrop. Most of all though....the food! So even though I am here in Utah now, we can still keep the food thing going. Tonight Olivia and I are going to my sister Julie's and I am taking a Flag cake.....







Have you ever made one of these? You bake a white cake, poke holes in it with a wooden spoon handle...mix up some cherry or other red jello according to the box and then pour it over the cake. You let it get cold in the refrigerator, and then frost it with whipped cream....( I use the real stuff but cool whip is good too! ) The you make a flag with fresh strawberries and blueberries. Yum, yum good and so easy. Happy fourth everyone!!!!