Purple Party

For my daughters birthday this year, we had a purple party. Purple is her favorite color so we colored everything in purple. It was a fun theme. We asked all the guests to dress in purple. Thankful for sweet people who got into it!

I made decorations from construction paper ( ala Planting a Rainbow by Lois Elhert ) to hang in the cased openings. I painted and cut out and then sewed the flowers together. 

We kept it simple with chocolate cupcakes and icing with purple sprinkles. I had a friend say-

" you can always count on a homemade cake here."

Blessed words.

I want to be humble but for all of the late nights saying choice words at my baked goods, I needed to include this quote. 

I sewed purple fabric into a happy garland that I put around this mirror and on my mantle. 

We made a purple paper chain for the chandelier and put purple fabric on the table. 

And pretty flowers from our yard. 

It was a happy purple party and I highly recommend going with one color for a birthday theme. Purple is the color of royalty and my gal is a daughter of the King. So very thankful for her. 

What I am reading

Because I am busy taking care of littles and rarely am I in reach of doing some arts and craftin' by myself ( try hot gluing while holding a baby), I have been reading more. And even reading can be difficult. I take a book with my everywhere I go. You never know when you might get stuck in traffic or there is a quiet lull while waiting in the grocery store line. 

With that being said, here is a list of books I recommend, for a read to relax, for some healing for your heart and perhaps, a good read aloud for you and your kids( or you read by yourself like I do sometimes.)

I found this author through a friend and I am loving this book. Because I pick up a book and then have to put back down, this one will have to be reread but that's ok because it has been that helpful. I can tell I liked a book when I have a pencil in hand and I am underlining passages. This is one of those books. 

This author I read many years ago, a book called The Bright Side of Happiness, which I like as well. I found it at Target. I love when you find good books on a whim. Forget the title of this book too. I didn't think it was a good description. However, it was a mild book describing a domestic life with some romance but cleaned up. I appreciate that. 

I finally read this one. I don't understand why I didn't read it before. She gives helpful hints on how to decorate on a budget but also reassuring folks to let it go. Just as the tag line says, it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful. I did think it had to be clean but she changed my mind about that, too. Thank you.

This author is a friend of some friends and whether you are catholic or anglican or baptist or not, we could all use some more freedom through Jesus. She tells her story and asks insightful questions. For being a heavy topic ( although freedom is...light!), this book is doable and not overwhelming.

This was an unexpected delight. I was into books about books for awhile. The beginning of the story I wasn't so sure about but I hung with it and I am so glad I did. I wanted to go to this bookstore. 

For an artist and one who loves the Lord and appreciates His creation, I am adoring this book. I have to really pay attention when I read it because the meat in this book is so good. This is definitely carry a pencil around with you kind of book. I think I have read the first chapter four times, partly because I can't focus like I want to because I am watching kids in the yard, but it is that good. 

I started writing this post a couple of weeks ago and already have a few others I have thought of to add to this list. I will have to make another post! Love my library and my amazon prime account. 

Little Girl Dress

In my free time, ha ha, I sewed this darling dress for one of my darling girls. It was for her baptism and she carried the fabric around with her for a week to show everyone. 

This girly girl was baptized at an older age than my first one and I had such guilt about it. For several reasons, it never was the right time for her to be baptized. Looking back, I see the special story of each of my daughters baptisms that the Lord was writing just for them. 

See, I have written your names on the palms of my hands...

Isaiah 49:16

a delightfully happy party : Valentine's Day

Like I said in a few posts ago, I post when I can and post old holidays, so we are just now arriving at Valentine's Day. Actually, that wasn't that long ago. Its all relative when you are taking care of 3 littles. 

We had a delightfully happy party at my daughters school. I was in charge of the decor. Love that job. 

Once again, I had cardboard diaper boxes and cut out hearts for the back of the chairs. My daughters painted them and I tied them to the chairs with colorful ribbon. I am one to hang decor from ceilings and chandeliers but when that is not a possibility, I am discovering the backs of chairs. When a decorating lady wants to decorate something, she will find a way!

I bought pink and red disposable table cloths which I am usually not into however, this provided a lot of color and I didn't want to spend too much money. I had 3 other tables, but only one was for the kids to eat at. The camellias are from my yard and I put them on a pink dollar store tray. The cups are from Wal Mart and I wrote each childs name on them. I appreciated the doilies as well. Something vintage and unexpected for me to use. Me likes. 

These pictures make my happy. Hope they do the same for you. 

a tower of giraffes

Before my last baby was born, I had some nervous energy so I created and sewed lots and lots of giraffes. Oh, I love them. 

All of my daughters like them. Happy to hold them, sleep with them and chew on them. 

     I made them for all of my daughters classmates for Christmas. We had a grand time picking out          each fabric for each child. It was a delight to create them and we prayed Gods' blessing over each                                                           child as we sewed their giraffe. 

Makes me think of our God and Him taking such delight in creating each of us. 

Wonder what He was thinking when He made you and me...

Makes my heart a flutter and brings me sweet peace. 

"He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing..."

Wonder if God whistled while He worked?

The giraffe has a different fabric on each side and the ears are another fabric. The ric rac adds a little punch for their tail.

They are roughly 7.5 inches tall and 3.5 inches hind to chest. 

I am happy to take orders! 

Email me:  thegovernorsdaughter@gmail.com or find me on facebook

https://www.facebook.com/thegovernorsdaughter

They are $19 each, All of these giraffes are in their new homes but I am working on a new tower of giraffes. FYI, a tower of giraffes is a bunch of giraffes together. You learned something new!

So this happened: sweet patina

I am so grateful to Sweet Patina and the wonderful ad they placed in Tallahassee Magazine for The Governor's Daughter. This was a few months ago but Sweet Patina always has a nice selection of my necklaces as well as other gifties. 

Its a gift in itself to walk through the store. 

So much color, inspiration and delight!

freedom in the messy

Christmas was a few months ago, but when you are busy with 3 little people, just feeding and cleaning people is enough. I am just now looking at these pictures. 

I love this picture. 

Sums up my life. 

Books, clothes, artwork, beads, pillow forts, bird feathers, papers. They are usually all over my house, not organized, not put away. I am learning to be still, to enjoy my little people and to let the mess go. 

Freedom in the messy. 

Once in awhile, you sneak in a sit at the sewing machine or a quick read. Or you do a project together with your kiddies. It makes it more fun and special anyways. Like this:

Thanks to the all the diaper boxes, we have free canvases and cardboard ready. I cut out the shape of the holly leaves and berries, and put out the paint. We used a mixture of reds for the berries and greens for the leaves. After it dried, I glued all the pieces together.

It was simple, sweet, and handmade. 

And as I look back on the title of this post, I am reminded of the real reason of Christmas, Jesus' birth. He was born in a stable/cave. It was outside and there were smelly animals. It was most certainly messy. But God sent His Son Jesus on that day for our freedom.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 

2 Corinthians 3:17

He brings freedom in our messy. 

Diabetic Shock

While I was pregnant this last time, I was borderline gestational(ly?) diabetic.

What. A. Blow. 

So instead of eating the sweet, I painted them for this new baby girls room. 

I always display my art on the washer, don't you?

Even the crumbs were delicious!

My First Love

I have been back in my studio aka my kitchen island or dining room table working on some necklaces. My necklaces are what got me started with The Governor's Daughter. I am still creating necklaces but also sewing baby blankets, sewing giraffes (more on that later), painting and knitting.

These are all available for purchase from Sweet Patina.

Upon writing this, I can't get Lionel Richie out of my head. My First Love... I do love that song. It was even more amazing when Kenny Rogers and Lionel Richie did shows together. 

Baby Boy Blanket

I made this for a friend earlier this fall. He was actually born the night of my mother in laws funeral. It was nice to see life on that day. 

I really liked the multi stripey chevron fabric. I was even more pleased with the look of the wicker weave fabric with the multi stripey chevron. 

It was a nice masculine baby look. Yes, thats a term. 

Real butterflies and halloween butterflies

For Halloween and yes that was awhile ago, my 2 baby girls dressed up as butterflies. 

We found a butterfly costume that seemed "simple" on pinterest. We created our own brand of butterfly but it turned out so pretty. It required much more glue then I think they meant for it too:)

We have been into the butterfly since last summer. Well, it all started with a caterpillar. And there were several different types of caterpillars. We would find one and then go look it up. ( Don't touch! Look up first! ) My daughters and I were learning things together for the first time. It was really special for all of us. And actually, my husband and parents got into it too.

This was our caterpillar, Yellow. 

Then she went and started her chrysalis. So fascinating. 

It gets darker over time and right before the monarch emerges, the chrysalis becomes more clear and you can actually see through to their wings. See it?

And then she came back! Then her name was Orange. My daughters learned new things and I did too. I can't wait to catch one again next year.

This was my daughters picture of a zebra longwing. I was captivated by the butterflies and caterpillars in my own yard.

 I feel as though we must travel far and wide to experience His earth and we don't always have the time and money. However! I am learning that the Lord gifts us with beauty and pleasure in our slice of earth. And I am grateful.

Happy day to each of you. 

happy stacker

For my third baby girl, yes, while I was away I had a baby, and a darling baby I might add, I created this happy stacker. I know that last sentence was a doozy of grammar. 

While I love how this turned out, it required my full attention. I am glad I sewed it before she was born and when I felt good in the 2nd trimester. 

Now, I did enjoy it once I figured it out. I was so proud of me! Basically, I created fabric pillow donuts. And 5 of them. They were cute. 

I have no idea when baby girl #3 while even notice this, but baby girl #2 enjoys it. But it makes for pretty decor in her nursery and I had a fantastic time picking out the fabrics. 

I am not sure I will willingly make one again. Ok, I would but when I know have time to devote to it and have the patience. Say 15 years?

hello...

It has been a busy season in my house. 

I have had lots of blog ideas in my head and clever topics and deep insight that the Lord has showed me. I had the intention to write them here. It is nice to have people read this blog but really, I enjoy reading it for me. I like to look back and see what I have created, what kind of inspiration our God has given me and remind myself that sometimes I can be creative and pull something off. 

I realize now that those previous insights I was going to turn into posts were for me, just me. Planning a written post enabled me to compose my thoughts and provide some sort of organization for those thoughts. I need organization.

So, with that being said...I would like to say I am back. We'll see how long it lasts.