My husband is becoming overwhelmed by the length of my birthday celebrations. His birthday has come and gone, while I am still living mine up.
Seriously, I thought I was done too, then my Birdsong pal, Tami, included me in her own birthday party. She, Nora, and I are all turning 60 this year and at her recent craft day gathering, she toasted the three of us, plus others' special days too.
Not only that, she created these lovely crowns for our trio of 60 year olds. (Mine is too far back on my head to show in this, but you can see it in the close up, above. Gorgeousness, huh????)
Tami supplied projects for the day too. There was an assortment of lids to turn into note holders, and clip boards to foof up.
As it always is, her craft day was filled with laughter and creativity. Thanks, Tami!!
Back in May, I threw myself a birthday dinner party and invited some of my long time, good friends. We'd met through our love of art, and even though our art endeavors have gone different directions over the last 20 years or so, we still have a love of each other.
They collaborated on a charm bracelet for my 60th, with pieces charmingly filled with memories of our times together and of my favorite things.
There is sea glass (one of my obsessions), a heart signifying family, diacrylic glass from a group project we did, birthstones for my kids, and see the bakery stand? I love to serve cupcakes on a tiered stand, not just on a plate.
A vine for my garden, a bird for Birdsong, a mermaid for my love of the ocean, and even charms for my doggies.
My friends found yorkie, doodle, and golden retriever charms for the bracelet. And a Disney castle!!
It was a thoughtful gift from friends who know me well and who I am lucky to have.
Thank you, guys!!
I'll leave you with a few photos of the table before the group arrived.
When I'd heard that my Fab, Florida Friend, Karen Hillman, was going to be in Kansas, I thought it would be an ideal time to plan a craft day.
Since my birthday was coming up, I thought I'd combine her visit with a little party to celebrate the occaision.
Karen and I call each other, "Special K", along with our third K, Guncle Kevin. And I wanted to make the day extra special for my K, so I set the table with some of my favorites and we all made some goodies for a ladies' luncheon.
I fixed quiche, bread, and cupcakes. Others brought snacks, treats, and plenty of deliciousness.
While in Florida, I arm wrestled Guncle Randy for the leftovers of the cake Karen had baked, packed it in my carryon and froze it that night, to thaw out for Special K Day and serve to the guests.
It was every bit as mouth watering as it was the day she made it. Wow, I need to try to make one of those.
We had some afternoon goodies in the treat cabinet too.
Can you have enough desserts on craft day? I don't know if I like craft days for the food or the projects.
For birthday party gifties, I provided unfinished wood shadowboxes, with a table full of the supplies to fill them up.
I also found some Crabtree and Evelyn scented cream, in pretty, spring like tubes for everyone.
It always makes me happy to see what variations the artists come up with for the projects.
I didn't have kits as I would for an actual class, just a table full of goodies to chose through, so the styles were even more unique than usual. I also set out wooden bird houses to fix up.
(That dark paper with the birds? A gift from Alice-Anne, it is scented drawer liner that came in a box labeled, "Birdsong"!
Pretty ideas, aren't they?
So sweet.
Tami brought this lovely bouquet and table runner for me.
And Nora crafted this hand made basket! My friends were very generous and thoughtful. It made Special K Day even more special to spend it with some of my dear, Birdsong Peeps!
Our Galentine's party was such fun, I threw a second one! Some friends came by to hang out and create with me. At Snowbird's Song, I didn't have time to work on my bird from Lesa's class, and pulled out the kit to get started with a Valentine's point of view.
I like her on the dining table as centerpieces with the gifts Randy sent to me. But I think I will add some feathers to her arms and turn them into wings. That is not Lesa's style to do that, but that is the fun of creating rom a kit, right? You get the knowledge and info from the artist, the supplies to put the piece together, and also the opportunity to make it your own with a spin or two.
For my first workshop in February, I'd bought fresh roses for the table. Then, though I planned to replace them, I'd had some issues (lots of issues, really) with back pain and never made it to the store to buy more. So, I let these dry as is and I think I'll just enjoy them this way for a while.
Valentine's Day has been almost like Christmas for me! The table runner is a cut velvet scarf from my SIL, the candy box and card are from Randy.
Here are more of the dried roses, next to a candle gifted to me by my pal, Nora.
And Beth created this rug, knitted from fabric!
It is a lovely touch for my pink and glitter walled bathroom. I've been thinking about adding some pink roses to the hand painted floor too. Right now the floor is neutral flowers, so the walls can be changed at any whim, but I sure am wanting some pink roses….. For now, those back problems I mentioned are stopping me. Painting a floor isn't easy even when your back is feeling wonderful.
This lil cupid was captured in this glass heart by Tami.
She also treated me to a vintage honey pot that I am storing our jar of home grown honey in upside down.
I'm still relishing rosy thoughts from my party last week.
It was a seriously, lovely day for me.
We had two projects to do and the rest of the day was spent on freestyle crafting with a table full of supplies. Back in November, at my Snowbird's Song event, I provided free time and it seemed really popular, so I thought I'd give it another shot.
When you have creative people together, they simply want to create. Kits are important, and so is learning a few tricks, but it is also good to nurture and explore individual tastes.
Just being in a room with other artsy types and having lots of new (vintage) supplies to play with can spark some great ideas.
Here are a couple of pretties that Alice-Anne made up.
With the kits, I included some variations so my guests could personalize their projects, with a choice of words and photos to use on the pieces, and some options for the ruffles.
I'm always happy to see the different ways my kits become art in the hands of the attendees.
But the best part? The atmosphere in the room, with all the happy gluing, cutting, chatting, and creating.
It did my heart good to see ladies who had just met here in November, back together and hanging out as friends.
There were 8 of us, an ideal size group for getting to know each other while making pretty things.
Thanks to everyone who attended and to those who bought kits to make at home!
I hope your Valentine's Day is filled with love and friendship.
Our Galentine's Day workshop was the best! What a fun day, with fun ladies.
And how nice to have a reason to decorate for Valentine's Day. It is easy for me to overlook this holiday, so a little nudge doesn't hurt.
Plus- CANDY!
The yummiest of decor.
Speaking of candy, I found some sugar cookie flavored Peeps to give out to each guest. Since my main workshop is called "Birdsong", I have nicknamed all of my guests, my Peeps.
I also made hearts from cherry tomatoes and baked individual chicken pot pies with heart shaped puff pastry on top. Which I forgot to photograph, but I'm sure you get the idea.
My pal and SIL surprised me with this cut velvet scarf, which I used as a runner. It was just what the table needed.
While it is still wintery here, and we have snow to prove it, I was ready for my spring time slip covers that are blooming with roses. I figured that Valentine's Day was a good time to get all rosy and cozy on the sofa.
And I added handmade hearts gifted to me from some of my favorite artists, Beth Leintz, Lori Oles, and Andrea Singarella to my chandelier.
Beth asked me if my bathroom was pinker than usual, but the only difference was a hand towel. Maybe it was just the rosy mood we were all in that made the powder room seem pinker?
I did add some pink liquid soap too.
Because if you can't indulge in extra pinkiness at Galentine's, when can you????
I've been working away on cleaning up the studio, and getting kits ready for myparty on Saturday to make some Valentine projects.
Pulling together the supplies for a kit is a joy for me. I love compiling the pretties needed to create with. A couple of years ago, I found this box at a garage sale, and it has been ideal for sorting my goodies and packing up kits. And it sure makes getting one of everything into the bags.
Plus, doesn't it all look yummy pulled together like that?
After setting aside a package for each guest, I've got a few extras if you'd like to make one.
vintage, silk brocade wallpaper in cream and tan to cover the lid
a selection of tiny millinery blooms
a snippet of rhinestones
5 images from vintage photos printed onto high quality matte photo paper for you to chose from
various tidings of sweet phrases and words printed in different fonts and sizes
hand dyed crepe paper sewn into a ruffle for you to trim the box (the box I created does not have the ruffle on it, but the instructions show how to add one)
two strands of lace
one wide, one narrow velvet ribbon
vintage French text
hand illustrated instructions
The box is approximately 4×4" and the kit includes all you need to finish it as pictured, including the option of using different pictures or phrases in place of the one that I used on mine.
Since i have used many vintage pieces, some kits will vary, although all are of equal style and value.
The company my husband works for owns a club in KC, which hosts an annual Halloween party for kids, that I love even more than the kiddos do.
Corny and cute, and full of Halloween fun, it's just adorable.
We decorated pumpkins, watched a magic show, ate ghoulish food, got some balloon animals, and went through a haunted house in the locker room. Well, through most of the haunted house, we backed out about half way through when we encountered a WEREWOLF!
Although, I did try to explain to the little ones that the employees of the club dressed up as the characters, and the werewolf was probably someone who drove the beverage cart and was actually a BEERWOLF.
But that was still a little too spooky, so we backed out and headed to the buffet to dine on fa-boo-lous foods.
I was a green haired witch, (the only adult not working there who was in costume, but hey, does that really matter?) and when I took a bite of the "witch's fingers" (french fries), I was accused of cannibalism by my tablemates.
There was a ton of candy to trick or treat from too. And little goodie bags filled with puzzles and coloring books.
I had the grandfairies for the weekend, so we made a day of the event by designing and making our own costumes from things found in the dress up closet. This vintage prom dress had some holes in it, which got flowers hot glued onto as patches, and we added straps with colorful ribbons and safety pins. A few more flowers were added to the wreath for her crown, it used to be a fairy garland that she'd worn to the Renfest..
I didn't think about the Day of the Dead theme being "cultural appropriation." That is a real problem in the world, but from all the people I've spoken to and the reading I've done, it can be a gray area in many cases.
My Hispanic buddy, Romeo, told me that he finds other ethnicities using Sugar Skulls offensive if it is done in a belittling or cartoonish manner. But if created in an appreciation of the beauty and heritage, he approves. And I can promise this wasn't chosen as a joke. As an artist, I was excited about producing my own version. And as a daughter who lost her mother, I was comforted by the culture of honoring the dead. A friend spoke to me about that after my mom died and I don't know if she ever realized how much her conversation meant to me.
Hopefully, I haven't offended anyone out there? If so, please know that wasn't my intention.
I hope you had a lovely Halloween, I know we did, although it was too cold to attend the annual Zombie Walk for me (and that was heartbreaking, but not so much that I'd brave the bad weather for it).
This is one of my favorite days of the year! It is also the anniversary of the day my husband adopted our boys, so we have made this an anniversary celebration with gifts and parties, instead of the traditional romantic day you'd expect.
This year, between the work schedules of our group, Sunday night was the time everyone was free for the bash. (hmmm, maybe I'll get a chance for a traditional, wooing type Valentine night since our family gathering was earlier?)
At first we were worried that we'd have to cancel, because Dewdrop had been sick. She felt better that day, but was still spotty from a rash.
We kept her busy making Valentine cards and decorations all day while watching movies and resting. She was up for the party and ready to celebrate when dinner time came.
She did have to sit out on the food prep, tho.
Sugarwings made the sliced tomato and mandarin oranges hearts for our salads. She was also in charge of table setting and decor.
After my mistake of over doing at Christmas time, I was smart enough to cook the day before for this party. I'd made a bunch of lasagnas, vegetarian, vegan, and less veggie for the little kids.
That way, I could just pop them into the oven, no worries, no work. I was able to enjoy the day with the kids, being crafty and hanging out. And I wasn't frazzled when it was time to sit down and enjoy the meal together.
We even had time to plan a surprise for the family. I climbed up on the arm of the sofa, and Sugarwings passed handfuls of confetti to me to put onto the ceiling fan blades. The girls were also kind enough to share some of their lace paper doily hearts from the craft supply box.
After dinner, before cake and gifts, everyone gathered in a circle to hold hands and sing "Family Together", a song my husband and the kids made up. I made an excuse to go hit the switch and the confetti floated down on the singers.
If I had it to do over again, I'd use much, much more confetti. But this is one of those things that would be hard to repeat. Everyone would see it coming and there couldn't be a big surprise again.
Unless I could fake out someone on a birthday, by having the blades loaded and casually saying something like, "would you please get that cup from the living room for me?" and hitting the switch as they walk under? Hmm, hope none of them read that….
It was all a big hoot, and if you watch the little video, you can see just how crazy and ramped up it made the kids much the kids loved the prank! It is posted on my FB page.
Best wishes for a fun Valentine to you too! From the little joys to the grand gestures, the sly smiles to the big grins, it's all about the love and about sharing that love with the ones you care about.
A few of our Birdsong Peeps gathered at Tami's house as she hosted one of her generous craft days.
At last year's holiday party, I was admiring her collection of salt and pepper shaker snow people. So, when I heard that was the project for this season, I was thrilled! Here are some that she made and that were sitting out as examples.
She provided a bountiful supply of goodies to deck the snow gals out and we rolled air dry clay and glued pretties onto little snow ladies all afternoon, only stopping for a delicious luncheon.
Here are a few that friends made.
And here is what I made that day.
Tami always goes all out to make our days in her studio special, so I wanted to bring her a special gift. Since she is a button collector, I thought a necklace made of vintage mother of pearl buttons would be a good idea for a gift.
Lovely ladies, fun projects, tasty food, non stop laughter, all made a perfect day-
