Biggest Girl Birthday

We had our biggest girls birthday a few weeks ago. We decided on a flamingo theme. Happy party, happy hearts. 

It was a chocolate cake that was amozing, yes, amozing. I have made it since. It was a 4 layer chocolate cake with our own pink icing.  We found the flamingo little sticks somewhere but my daughter helped decorate the cake. I like how a flock of flamingos set themselves up right there on our cake. 

I used green fabric on super sale, thank you Chrysalis, for our table cloths. My daughters and I cut out scrap fabrics of pinks and corals and created the garland overhead. I love making those, not only for my sake but little hands and hearts can help too. 

My aunt was here and her birthday is a couple days from my daughters so we celebrated them together. This was a peach crystal. We named it that. Its a twist on my strawberry crumble.  Its an embarrassment as to how many times I have made this dessert. Ahh, delightful. The candles also melted into the peach crystal because it was so hot. We were eager!

The flowers were just.... there are no words. I am so thankful for this house and this yard the Lord has given us to cultivate. My husband has a knack for the yard and gardening. A hobby that came later in life for him but I am grateful to reap the rewards. These flowers were from some of our harvest.

Happy birthday biggest girl! 

Baby Girl Birthday: stars and hearts

We had the season of baby girl birthdays here in June and July. It was fun for them and for me!

For little girl turning 2, she loves stars and hearts. She wants you to draw them, she wants to color them, and she wants to say them. 

All the flowers came from our yard. I was so impressed! My husband has worked very hard in the yard the last few years and it shows. 

I bought small wooden hearts and stars at the craft store and my girls and I used watercolors to paint them. After they dried, we glued sequins on. I used these on the table and the cakes. Plus, it was a fun activity a 2 and 5 year old could do together. 

I finally broke down and bought lots of clear glass jelly jars. It was time. I used them here for flowers but have already used them for straws, forks and more flowers. Good decision. 

We had hotdogs for lunch and I ( or rather I put my mom and dad to work on it) cut out stars from the watermelon. They were cute and festive. 

Our cake was coconut cake and it was something special. Divine. 

I had a new cake plate to bust out. Love the color. I found stars and hearts glow sticks and put them in a jar near the cake. The party hats were decorated with stars and hearts. 

My older daughter made the fabric weaving a few days before and wanted to use it for sisters cake. Sweet. I also made chocolate cake in tin cans. I had seen it on pinterest and wanted to try it. It was fun to experiment and my cake was good. They were a tad tall and wanted to tip over. Either way, my daughters got a kick out of so many candles to blow out.

Happy 2 year old birthday!

10th birthday party

Last week, we had a 10th birthday party at mi casa. I used the colors out of the napkins for the decor and tried to keep it simple. I had to clean AND decorate. 

This garland took longer than I had hoped so I made him a tad short. I used felt and cut out of the tens and squares and sewed them all together. Our theme was 10. 

I made little signs for each type of food we had. We had a mexican supper so there were lots of toppings. I like that the numbered signs weren't perfect. I like the homemade look for some things. 

And here is our food. The vase of flowers was a glass bottle I painted for a quick pop of color. Easy and I liked. 

For the dining room, I didn't do much but used the same felt from the above garland and made tens to hang from the ceiling. I also used fabric I already had in my stash to cover the table and bought tulips for the center. Tulips are a nice change ( they don't really grow around here in the muggy heat) and they are happy. 

Happy 10th birthday!

Our Creator and Camellias: makes life worth living

Such a pretty day here today. I love living on a pond. The view is spectacular. I never knew I wanted to live on a pond until I lived here, and now, I am so thankful that the Lord knew what I desired even when I did not know myself.

Some of my first art class drawings were of camellias. At the time, I think I was in early elementary school, I wasn't sure what a camellia was. I remember being intrigued by the light, the shadows the petals made on each other and the layering of the petals. I am still intrigued by it. 

And in our yard, we have the most amazing camellias. I am thankful for the husband and wife who lived here before us and grew their family here. He was a gardener and she was an artist. 

 And now the Lord is growing my family here. He weaves together different pieces and precious parts to intertwine and make my story. His light dances off different petals to create a beautiful and moving piece of art. 

Me.

 A piece of art that has depth. It has been nurtured, grown and supported by Him. 

And He is making you beautiful too. Step into His throne room and be watered, pruned and enjoyed by Our Maker to become the one who He made you to be. Makes life worth living. 

Pony Party

We had a happy pony party for my daughters birthday. We surprised her with a real live pony who came to visit Saturday morning and we took a few rides near the pond across the street from our house. It was an event! It was a super special memorable soiree. 

The cake. I used flowers from our yard along with plastic ponies I bought online. The icing was a pale pink and the turquoise cake plate was a birthday present I hadn't used yet. I am thinking of when I can use it next.

Isn't the cake pretty? I also created a lei for my daughter. The flower necklace was made from 2 different colored carnations. I strung the carnations together with a needle and thread. She had been asking for one and it went along with our fresh flower theme. 

The inside of the cake was a surprise. And surprise! It was rainbow. It really was a beautiful cake. 

 My daughter and I worked on the decor together. We painted styrofoam cups and then I strung them together with thread. I hung them from the doorways, mantle and large mirror over the buffet where the cake lived. 

just now saw the plastic bin in the fireplace- we had a leak, might have been nice to move it.

I used 2 extra cups for small flower arrangements for the table. The fabric on the table was glorious and super happy. I got it from Hawthorne Threads. Love those people- quick and great selection. 

I dyed coffee filters and let them dry. I then sewed them together to create the runner seen below and on my kitchen island. Surprisingly, it went pretty quick. 

We were able to squeeze in our rides in between the rain. It certainly kept the heat away and the bugs. This was the view from our front porch although you can't see the horse in this shot. He was there though!

Here was the spread plus a dirty counter in the background. Whatevs.

We had fruit, donuts, egg casserole, bacon, cereal and breads. It was fun to have a breakfast party. We had just our family so the pressure was off to have it all ready when they arrived and have a clean house:)

For drinks, I had different types of juices in little sippers. And of course, pink chevron straws. 

 Happy Pony Party! We all had a really nice time and it was a special party. My precious little girl loved it and my husband commented on a job well done and he is usually happy with a Pepperidge Farm cake. So hooray! 

outdoor art

Oh, how I love the outdoors. The beauty of the Lords creation is intoxicating. I read something recently about what joy it is that we are given the ability to create in the shadow of His creation. What an honor. Everything we can imagine and dream up was first created by Him. 

I recently painted this for my parents for their backyard. I have done several outdoor paintings ( here and here.) It has a different feel than my others and I did this one en plein air. Oui, Oui!

You would think I would get a photo with the whole painting in it...

It was hung in front of a new fountain.