I've been sewing.....

I bought this bench at the used hotel furniture store. I think they said it was from the "Princess" in Las Vegas. (I also bought 2 upholstered chairs and a footstool from the same "collection").

So, here it is! I think it turned out nicely.
and, my friend Stacy, gave me this FABULOUS apron Saturday as a thank you gift for some invitations I made for her baby shower. I LOVE it! It is exactly my style!!!! Now, do I send her a thank you for the thank you?! This is when it starts getting confusing to me...

But anyway, THANK YOU STACY!

My Jewelry Making Attempts...

I thought I'd show you one of the necklaces that I made for each of my girls for Christmas. I just found the photos, so this is a late post, but better than none. I used scrapbooking embellishments and some random miniatures found here and there and attached eye hooks to make most of the charms.

Long ago, I had a small Stained Glass Company. It only lasted a few years. ( I did a lot of artsy stuff to help make ends meet when my children were young. I was also trying to find my niche and what I wanted to do with all that creative energy that seems to want to seep through my cracks if I don't express it some way or other) Anyway, I used those soldering skills to make the photo charms for the necklaces. Each girl got one of the six of us women, a photo of them as a child, a wedding photo of their Dad and I and a wedding photo of their own marriages.

I also made these little round charms out of two half spheres and put their own children's photos and names in those. It was fun, and the girls liked the necklaces. They can add on to them to make them even more personalized.

Thanks for letting me brag........

My 50th Birthday Surprise Date with my Girls

Last night the girls had me meet them at Hilari's house to take me out for my 50th birthday. Our friends Amber and Nicole were there too to help celebrate. I had NO IDEA what we were going to do, but knew whatever it was, it would be fun. And you have NO IDEA how much fun it actually was!!! They put a blindfold on me and when we got to our destination, they took off the blindfolds and lo and behold, I look around and see a room full of poles!!!!!! We all took a private pole dancing class together!!!! Devan made me the cutest outfit to wear and had shoes for me to borrow. It was so much fun and what exercise!!!! We were all exhausted by the end. I really wished I was in better shape so that I could even do most of the moves, but I actually got a good spin around the pole a few times. The teacher was very nice, and it was really similar to taking an aerobics or jazzercise class except you get to keep your balance and hold onto the pole! We then changed back into our regular clothes and went out to eat at a Ti restaurant which was amazing. The girls gave me presents there. And another dream come true, they got their portrait done together for me!!!!!!!!!
Below is the outfit the Devan made me to wear...

And the girls also gave me this FABULOUS Betsy Johnson bag and earrings, and a book by David Sadaris.
Thank You my Beautiful Daughters for making my 50th Birthday one that I will never forget! I love you all so much !!!!!!!!!!

My new Native American Doll and Goat

My Mom (who is recovering from pneumonia and was probably in delirium when she called me yesterday to come over and...) Gave Me this FABULOUS Native American Doll and Goat that she had just recently finished making !!!

I mean, My Mom's attention to detail is Marvelous! She had been collecting the jewelry for some time now. Look at the tiny buttons! Look at the size of the squash blossom necklace...perfect! Look at the wonderful belt! AND She made the bracelets out of real turquoise and coral beads!

She also made the Goat. And when I mention that She made these, I mean she cleaned the green ware, painted the porcelain and sewed the bodies and clothes. (She owns her own kiln, and often pours her own molds) She even put together the platform herself. Even drilled the holes for the little rods that the Goat's feet slip onto!

I can't believe how Lucky I am to have such a talented and generous Mom!!!!

THANK YOU MOM ! AND I LOVE YOU ! (even if you never gave me stuff of course.....)

My Fabulous Birthday Purchase

My Dad gave me some $ for my birthday. When I saw these sequined letters I knew that I had to have my alter ego spelled out by them. So, now what do I sew/or glue them on?!! At first I thought "Jean Jacket", but then in Arizona, you hardly ever need even a sweater!

Any Suggestions??????

And a huge shout out Thank You to my Dad, I know He'd think they are cool too!

My 50th Birthday Givaway Winners!

And the Winners are: jody and Kate !!! Please email me with your address and your first choice of the two print and I'll get the print into the mail to you. (Who ever emails first with their choice of print gets first dubs...) Congratulations and Thanks for participating in my 50th Birthday Give-away!

Isn't is Nice When the Stars Align?!

I bought a wonderful vanity two weekends ago at the Rose Bowl Flea Market, and a week before that, bought fabric to make a table cloth for a side table in my bedroom close to were I am planning on positioning the vanity. What do you know! the fabric just completely "Go's" with the vanities cover! I ended up sewing a ruffle out of the silk fabric to attach to the vanity's cover because it shrunk a little when I washed it, but it's turning out sooo nice! I'll brag on it when I'm finished.......

and just thought I'd share these darling little velvet birds that I bought myself for my birthday last Saturday at Melrose Vintage (4238 N 7th Ave Phoenix, AZ 85013 602-636-0030) ((I couldn't find their website)). Anyone who loves shabby chic wonderfulness and/or scrapbooking just HAS TO go there. That shop is Heaven and is just plain FABULOUS!!!!

Show and Tell Sundays. BLING!

I only had time to get out a few pieces of my Grandma Bochman's jewelry that I inherited. I wear the broaches all the time and sometimes the earrings. But, boy do the earings hurt after an hour! The really cool thing is that I have some photos of my Grandma wearing the jewelry!!! I borrowed all these great photos from my Aunt and scanned them for my own records. It was fun getting to know my grandparents before I was born, and recognizing the jewelry that I now owned was like winning the lottery for me. I treasure these wonderful bling pieces even more now. Here is a photo of my Grandfather and Grandmother Bochman. I have been making pages for my family history books with the scanned photos of the jewelry along with the photos. This is just a portion of that page.

And then to my surprise, my husband gave me this FABULOUS belt this weekend for my birthday. The buckle is made from vintage jewelry. I love it!!!!!!

My 50th Birthday Givaway

Today I am 50..............I'm desperately trying to grasp onto my motto "Oh well" but am finding it hard to do. I know you're as young as you feel, it's just that all this GRAVITY is taking over and I feel much younger than I look.

As I walked out to get the paper this morning I found this surprise in my yard, my darling daughters decorated it for my birthday and that makes me feel REALLY GOOD! My favorite saying on one of the hearts is "You are Officially Fiddy Cent"! So, "OH WELL to being 50!"
To celebrate my birthday I would like to give away these two prints of my original paintings that I thought most of you would enjoy. They are both matted in an 11" x 14" mat, so they are easy to frame if you wish.

To participate, just comment on this blog entry before midnight, this next Monday, April 21st. I'll draw two winners out of a hat at random.

Now, I am off to do some "Retail Therapy". Yeah!!!!!

Homies Forever!

Saturday night while we were in California, we met up with two of the Ess sisters for dinner. After dinner, we walked down the Santa Monica Pier to see the big Ferris wheel and the night life. The girls wanted to have their picture taken in one of those booths that print your photo onto a cheap canvas wall hanging, but the maximum was 3 people. So Brooke said "You can do that Mom" So I took the challenge and used a paint brush to write the words and scanned a piece of scrapbook paper for the bricks. Hope you like it girls!!!!

(MIA - Miss Dubb... whom we thought about all night long, and of course I would have been thrilled to have their mother there too!)

Rose Bowl Flea Market Adventure!

After a long day in the very HOT sun (we were there the one day a heat wave came through), anyway we started making a pile by the exit where the babies could have some shade. I'm so excited about this vanity!

Here are my girls starting to load up two sets of old lockers, an old two piece oak filing cabinet, a very cool birdcage, the bottom half of a mannequin, a crib for Kelli's new baby due in July, a rocker for baby Carma, and a ton of "good crap" that we couldn't resist.
another shot of our stuff....
Kelli watched the babies in the shade.
and we are all ready to go home. That old army trailer we have is the best! It pulls great and the back gate can be hung like a table for cooking when we go camping. I'm thinking of painting it red and painting "Red Rider" on it like the Howe family did. I'm getting tired of the "giraffe" spots that were supposed to be leopard spots that I painted 15 years ago. This weekend was a FABULOUS girls trip for my daughters and I. FUN, FUN, FUN!!!!!

"Fairies in a Jar" Girls Night

We made "Fairies in a Jar" tonight at my house. Here are about half of the gals with their fairies in various degrees of progression.

Here's the next photo after I gave them hints that I used to teach in a "Taking Better Photos" class ages ago when scrapbooking started becoming popular. You know, I scrapbooked before it was even Cool! (notice the beautiful girl forth from the right, of course she's my daughter and doesn't think she needs the "posing lesson" for the hundredth time!!!!

Here's Lindsey with her "Fairie in a Jar" ALL of the gals did such a great job. I was so happy that everyone's turned out fabulously! I just wish I had taken pictures of all the gals that made Jar Fairies. This was only half of the ladies, it all just got a little hectic. Don't you just LOVE a craft night out with the girls!

Half Dolls and.........

I found this Half Doll in an antique mall in El Cajon, Ca. two years ago during our annual camping trip at the beach. I just love her! Also, I've had a few people ask me what exactly are Half Dolls, so I googled it and found this:



"Half dolls are just that--generally, the upper half of a human figure, without legs. Half dolls were produced without legs so that they could be attached to something useful--very commonly, pin cushions, but also wisk brooms, tea cozies, and numerous things that could grace a ladies dressing table, such as powder boxes.
The vast majority of Half Dolls were produced between 1900 and the 1920s, although some were produced earlier than that and some later. Some half dolls are still reproduced today.
Most half dolls are between 2 and 6 inches tall, although there are smaller and also a few larger examples.
Half dolls are generally made of porcelain (glazed bisque, sometimes called china) although there are also models made in unglazed bisque." from: Denise Van Patten - collectdolls.about.com

Here are some Half Dolls that I painted myself when I went to a few doll classes with my Mom.

And here are a few more. I have a stash of beautiful antique lace and ribbons, pieces of raw silk and tiny, tiny buttons...All waiting for me to transform these Glam Gals into Fashionistas. Oh, if I only had a few more hours in the day!
then, while taking photos of the Half Dolls today.... WHAT DID I DO?!!!!!! I accidentally knocked over my FABULOUS little jewelry box that I found in a thrift store. (My heart sunk for a moment) The box had a few pieces of jewelry already on it when I bought it, so I added some that I had inherited from my Grandmother Bochman. (only the broken pieces of course) Oh well, I've got to get my glue box down and get to "fixin"!

(Those who know me, know that one of my great Motto's in my Life is... "Oh well...." In order to stay "sane" I have to "Oh Well" A LOT and then go on. Fix what you can, and then remember the only really important things aren't things but people.)

Ready for a WEIRD story?!!!

So my Mom was going over all these old photos from my Grandma Beger's and telling me the "who, what and where's" last Sunday and we came across this photo of some of my Grandma's work associates. Anyway, the gal seated who is smiling into the camera (and the one next to her) were her friends also). So this gal had a "knob", a "little bump" on her forehead forever. Well, one day it started bothering her so she picked at it. And a small hair kind of came to the surface. Well, as She pulled at the hair to pluck it out, and it just started pulling out longer and longer. The hair was just a little over 12 inches long till it reached its end and was able to be plucked out!!!!!

That "knob" had been an ingrown hair follicle all that time! CRAZY!

(Did your stomach turn a bit and your right eyelid unconsciously flutter as you thought about that hair coming out like mine did?!!!)

((I'm going to go right now and look in the mirror to see if I have any "knobs"...))


(((I can't get that hair out of my mind! I need to go watch some "mindless" TV for a while, that usually does it. I don't think singing a hymn to myself would work this time....)))

Beautiful "Half Doll" Birthday Gift

My Mom and Sister came over for dinner last night and my Mom surprised me with an early birthday present. She made this FABULOUS half doll for me. She did everything from cleaning the bisque, painting the porcelain, to sewing the body and amazing dress!

She is always quite concerned about choosing just the right fabric, notions and detail for each doll she makes, and it shows. I am just THRILLED to add this doll to my half doll collection. Every time I look at her I will remember my 50th birthday. (maybe that's not so good....) Oh well, what can you do... THANKS MOM! I LOVE YOU!

Family Resemblances

A couple of weeks ago my Mom let me borrow a box of photos and documents that belonged to my Grandmother Beger. I have been scanning and cropping till my eyes hurt. But the aching "tennis, but really Bowling elbows" and soar eyes is all worth the trouble. I came across this photo (above left) of my grandma and saw my grandson Nash! He is the only grandchild so far to have dark eyes and now we know where he got them from!

It has been so much fun finding "My People", and finding that "Fruit really doesn't Fall Far from the Tree"

More Glam-Baby "Jar Fairies"

Lest I forget my Fabulous Simplehappy BFF's grandchildren (who I like to call my own), Jar Fairies. I actually made theirs first as I wanted to give them to them before they left AZ. Unfortunately I only photographed them in the jars, and the images just didn't turn out as well. I made Miss Dubb's fairy in black and white, it is a lot cuter in person, as is she...

And the sweet "Lil Gee". He is the one of the most attractive babies I've ever seen. (You should see his Mom and Dad!) I don't get to see him very much, but I know all about how wonderfully talented, smart and darling He is thru is "real" Grandma.

Grandchildren are like potato chips, There is ALWAYS room for MORE!!!!!

My Jar Fairies

I decided to finally make some "Jar Fairies". They have been a rage the last few years and as a little girl I would always like to imagine that I was very small and think about walking among the huge grass leaves and flower umbrellas. I still do. (above) Sloan Xander did not like the term "fairy", it was too girly. (I was relieved to hear his reason, as I didn't want him to use the word another way) So the boys are all Gnomes.
Here's Nash. He always poses in the most natural GQ way...
Remi is so conscious about posing that she's all over the place. She's a princess thru and thru.
I used this photo of Ava from her "3rd Birthday Tea Party"
It was so funny when I was finding the right photo of Blue. He cocks his head to the right whenever He is standing in front of a camera! It was crazy to see all the photos I have of him in just this same position!
Slade is my sweet guy who still wants to kiss me hello and goodbye, and still likes hugs and sitting close. (Nash is also) It makes me a little sad as the boys get older and are self conscious about the affection, but it also makes me joyful to see them becoming "themselves". Thankfully, they still like to do things with me, and know that I'm a sucker at the movies. (they LOVE those "Kid Packs")

Cruz is just toooo cute. Those curls are just like his mothers.
Baby Carma is just holding her head up, so the photo opportunities have just begun. It looked odd to have her as big as the other grandkids, so I just put her in a flower.

All the Grandkids love looking at their Gnomes and Fairies. I just call these fun things 3-D Scrapbooking (which is a lame word for Family History) ((I almost hate to use the word scrapbooking anymore, it doesn't do justice for the art of preserving our memories, boosting self-esteem of family members, and anchoring ones roots and helping them to know who they are and why we are here)) (((Soap-boxy, but how I feel)))