~teacher appreciation flowers~

 I wanted to do something for my little man's 

pre-school teachers. They have made such a difference

in his life and personality this past school year.

I didn't have much money for gifts but this is 

what I came up with:

 I found these little watering can planters

at the Dollar Store. I filled them with some

petunias and made a circular tag with the message

"Your love has made me BLOSSOM".

(the meaning of petunias: your presence soothes me)

 I printed it up on some card-stock, put his picture

in the center and had him sign the back. 

I attached the tag with white embroidery thread.  

I had never printed text in a shape before now.

If you want to know how I did it, check out this tutorial

at Imperfectly Perfect. (click here)

 It was just the right size for his little hands and

he was so excited to give them to his teachers.

 Thank God for teachers who make a difference. 

As he starts school, I am hoping and praying 

he will be blessed with teachers as loving 

and dedicated as the teachers he had this year. 

And guess what?

The book I made him was a BIG HIT!

~memory book for kids school work~

 Remember the free 8x8 book offer thru

Shutterfly that I told you about a couple weeks ago?

I got mine and let me just tell you,

I am THRILLED with the way it turned out.

I made a book for my little guy's pre-school graduation.

I scanned some of his best school work and momentos

from pre-school and used them to fill the book.

You can customize the cover as well as all the pages.

Have a look......

 The front cover.

 These next pages are some of my favorites.

The book is twenty pages....these are just a few.

 It was my husband's idea to have his teachers 

sign the book....so glad he thought of it.

I think in the years to come it's what will make the

book so special. 

This is the back of the book.

Now do you see why I love it?

I'm telling you, if you haven't already jumped on

the photo book bandwagon, you need to.

It's a great way to record events and memories

that can be easily looked at and stored.

The books are just as neat as scrapbooks but

they don't take up as much space. I make a 

few books for my family every year. 

If you haven't already done so,

go to Shutterfly and make your free book.

(click here to do it!) 
(I think the offer ends May 21, 2012.)

~a bow-tie for pre-school graduation~

 Today's the BIG DAY!

My little man graduates pre-school.

For his program tonight the teacher has

asked the kids to dress in their best clothes.

Alright...for us that translates into a pair of

jeans without holes and a shirt with a collar. 

We aren't church going folk so he doesn't have

dress clothes. I made a trip to the local thrift store

and got a white button up shirt for $3. I brought it

home and bleached the heck out of it and it

looks good as new. I let him pick the material

he wanted for the bow-tie.....he chose the red with

white polka-dots. Thru pinterest (of course) I

found a great tutorial at "A Lemon Squeezy Home"

(click here to be directed to tutorial)

It was SOOO easy.

Finished in a matter of minutes and using

all materials I had on hand.

 

 Fabric, felt or interfacing, thread and velco 

are the only materials you need.  

He looks so handsome and adorable in it.

I'm pretty sure I'll be bawling thru the whole 

ceremony tonight......... 

 

Wait until you see how adorable the book I made

him turned out! Come back tomorrow to see it.

~mother's day gifts~

I know you're hoping to see a wonderful, handmade,

sentimental gift idea and I'm sorry to tell you....

but you won't find it in this post. 

For my Mom; we went in on a nice big gift with my sibs.

For my Mother-in-law; I give her this.....

Race For The Cure-2012.

She died 19 years ago of breast cancer.

I met my husband a month after she died.

It's weird to say but the circumstances seem to be

that if she wouldn't have died, I wouldn't have met him.

In a way, her death brought me life.

So, in her memory I walk this each year to 

celebrate her life, her legacy, her love and her fight.

How appropriate that it falls on Mother's Day weekend.

 

If you've ever had the opportunity to participate in the

Susan G. Komen-Race For The Cure, you know how

inspirational and emotional it can be. This year I walked

it with my good friend, Lynsie, and my little lady :)

It was a good turnout this year.

Emotional. Empowering. Inspirational.

HEARTBREAKING.

As you are looking at my pictures keep in mind,

women in the pink t-shirts are cancer SURVIVORS.

 What other time do you get to walk thru the busiest 

streets of downtown Salt Lake City? It's amazing....

the sea of people. Gets me every time.

 

 There are so many touching posters, t-shirts and messages.

This is personal for so many people that participate.

Including me:

 These are the ones that just kill me.

Kids walking with their mothers...who are 

SURVIVORS!

 This little guy's back bib says 

"I walk in celebration of MY MOM."

I snapped this picture right as him and his Momma

(who is in a pink survivor's t-shirt) let go of hands.

They had been walking hand in hand.

Like this older girl who proudly walked with her Mom,

hand in hand.

Again, her bib says she is walking in honor of her Mom.

 This was another one that got me.....

A survivor, "In memory of MY MOM."

and

"In celebration of MY LIFE."

I raced "In memory of Momma Jeannie."

And we did it hand in hand......

"Your Mother is always with you.

She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street,

she's the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks,

and she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not well."

 

"Your Mother lives inside your laughter and she's crystallized 

in every teardrop.  

She's the place you came from, your first home;

and she's the map you follow with every step you take.

She's your first love and your first heartbreak,

and nothing on Earth can separate you.

Not time...

not space....

not even death."

 

~author unknown~

 

Tomorrow my husband will carefully choose the

most beautiful flowers in our garden.

He will arrange them and fill them with greens

from the trees and bushes. 

It will be a beautiful flower arrangement.

We will take it to her grave.

His Mother's Day gift to her. 

Next door, Across town, in a different state or

in your heart.......

may you all have a wonderful time celebrating,

remembering and loving "Mom." 

Wherever she may be.....

Happy Mother's Day.

~book review-The Language of Flowers~

The Language of Flowers

by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Not since I read "A Vintage Affair", have I enjoyed

a book so much. Simply put, this is a beautiful story

of self-forgiveness and maternal love told thru

the meaning of flowers. If you love flowers and

good stories, this book is for you.

Mom-you will love it. 

The main character is Victoria Jones who has

grown up in the foster system and is unable to get

close to anybody. Her only emotional connection

and expression to the world is thru flowers and

their meanings. The story begins the morning of

her 18th birthday, the day she is going to be

emancipated from the system. With no job, no

family and nowhere to go, she starts sleeping

in a public park where she plants a garden.

A local florist gives her a job and Victoria soon 

learns that she has a special gift of helping others

thru flowers.  As she is forced to confront

issues and people of her past she soon learns

that the person she needs to heal most is

HERSELF. 

Back in the Victorian Era, people would

communicate and send messages to one another

thru flowers. (That's much better than texting

if you ask me.) I never knew flowers 

had such a history of meaning so much. 

At the back of the book the author has included

an index of flowers and their meanings. 

I had so much fun reading about the flowers 

we are growing here in our yard and 

what they represent. 

This is what the flowers in our yard are saying:

alyssum-worth beyond beauty

allium-prosperity

cosmos-joy in love and life

crocus-youthful gladness

daffodil-new beginnings

daylily-coquetry

purple hyacinth-please forgive me

iris-message

lettuce-coldheartedness

lily-majesty

parsley-festivity

peppermint-warmth of feeling

peony-anger

petunia-your presence soothes me

orange rose-fascination

pale peach rose-modesty

pink rose-grace

red rose-love

sunflower-false riches

tulip-declaration of love

 and my favorite:

moss-maternal love

(because it grows with no roots)

Isn't it interesting?

I didn't realize we have so many different flowers

and plants growing in our yard until I started

analyzing what they all mean. We have even more

but I can't identify what they are at this point. 

If you want to know what your flowers and plants

are saying....check out this book. 

~faux milk glass vase~

 What to do with a bottle of fine Canadian whiskey

(besides drink it)........

Spray it with this.....

 and you get this...

Pretty isn't it?

Getting the bottle was a bit of a laugh.

Last weekend at a party, our friend, Derek, was 

offering drinks with this fine whiskey.

I turned down the whiskey (not a whiskey fan) but

asked him what he was going to do with the bottle.

His response..."I'm going to drink it!"

OK. Duh Paula.

Maybe I should have made myself more clear.

"What are you going to do with the bottle after it's gone."

After I clarified my question he told me I could have the bottle

when it was gone. I thought I'd get it in a couple weeks.

NOT BY THE END OF THE NIGHT!

In his defense, he wasn't the only one drinking it. 

Apparently it went down real fast and smooth...

Although I didn't like the whiskey, I LOVED 

the design on the bottle. I knew immediately

what I wanted to do with it. 

 I had to spray about 5 or 6 coats of paint to

cover the painted label on the bottle. 

I love the delicate, intricacy of the bottle.

Because only a flower or two can fit in it,

it allows the focus to be the bottle, even when 

filled with flowers. 

The flowers I have in here now are little tiny

flowers from my chives.....it's what happens

when you let them grow too long. 

I think I'm going to spray a couple more bottles I 

have laying around the house here.

I'm envisioning a few of them clustered

in the center of my dining table.......

~free 8x8 photo book offer~

If you're in need of a great Mother's Day or graduation

gift idea, here's you chance to make a gift 

they'll cherish forever. 

Photo books.

They are so easy to make and they print up so nice. 

Family Circle magazine and Shutterfly are joining together

to offer up a free 8x8 photo book

when you open a new account. It automatically puts

a credit for the free book in your account when you sign

up. You'd better hurry....the offer ends May 21. 

Click here to begin. 

The only thing you have to pay is

 shipping which is $7.99.

My free book is a gift for my little guy's pre-school

graduation coming up. 

I filled the book with scanned copies of his 

best artwork and writings, photos, facts and other

momentos of his pre-school years. 

I've decided it will be a tradition I will do for him

at the end of each school year. 

He loves looking at pictures of himself and to see

them printed up in an actual book........

he cherishes them and looks at them often.

Go take advantage of this amazing offer 

and 

MAKE YOUR BOOK!