Luka with a C!

 How cute is this!  Well, I think so! My cousin, Gina, wanted to name her little boy after the town that my Nani and Teta were from. They spell it Luka, which I spelled incorrectly on a previous post but my cousin wasn't sure how she wanted to spell his name yet at the time of the shower. All of her other children names they decided go to with a "C" instead of using a "K".  After the shower I changed out the "K" and made her a wall banner. This was her diaper cake and card. Off to work in the garden...

mmmmm..it smells yummy!

 I woke up feeling the need to bake..a family recipe that I tweaked just a bit, to make them just how I like them, a BISCOTTI that is not hard as a brick with that yummy anise flavor!  I grew up eating these goodies, when we would go visit her at the "ranch".  My Nani loved to bake and make other things with the goodness that she grew. Which leads to the next photo of her sauce pot with sauce I made from the goodness from my home garden. Yummmm..can you smell it?

 I will have to show you a picture of what I canned this last week  It is the base to the spag. sauce or can use as is with any veggie or protein. so good!

My Pumpkin, (Jonathan, my nephew) as this obsession with buttons, so of course, I made my this for his 7th birthday and I wish you could have seen the look on his face!  I used over 200 buttons.  It is the newest request for a gift from my nieces, but of course in pink, purple, and lots of SPARKLE!!!!  pictures to follow!

Nani and Teta

 Well since my earlier post I have been thinking-should anyone be reading my posts, this is probably my favorite project I have ever done. I came across this photo a few years ago and have it on the fridge, so I can see it all the time. Sometimes really special projects need to be starred at before I can begin.  The picture is late 1960's of 2 of my favorite people. Nani is on the right and her younger sister, my Teta, is on the left. Nani means grandma and Teta means Aunt in slave. They are from Luca a little town in Yugoslavia.  They were extremely close and this picture just captures a brief moment in time between them. I still enjoy weekly visits with my 93 year young Teta.  We make jam, can their starter sauce, make biscotti, crochet and just talk about the good old days.   I enjoy this time with her just like we did when Nani was here. This hangs now in my hallway and ALWAYS makes me smile. I wish everyone had a Nani and Teta like mine.

W

It only took me 18 years....

 Well not to decorate this super cute diaper cake that I created for my girlfriend.  Her theme was very specific, BABY GIRL and lots of pink!  It looks adorable close up, I loved doing this, so much fun and a big hit for party decoration and the top piece went on her dresser for a room decoration as well.

Now, the wrought iron is what I have been looking for..Lisa is a very happy girl!  Kinda of a funny story.  Well, my Nani was a big fan of wrought iron and since her passing I have acquired alot of her pieces which I love, but a 3 tiered shelf is a piece I have been keeping my eyeballs searching, it was hard to find, and find at the right price. I do have an obession with yarn and this shelf will be perfect for houseing it!  I have this idea it will control the amount of yarn I buy. If it doen't fit, I can't buy anymore!
I haven't worked out of the house since caring for my Nani, so  I create goodies, which I label "LisaLisaTreats", (story for another time) and attend boutique's or markets to sell my stuff.  I had found an antique store in downtown Murrieta that has markets and it seems the perfect venue for my stuff.  Madam Bleu, cute store, and when I went in to talk about the market details LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

 and of course, because it is going up in the studio I sanded it and painted it my color. LOVE IT!   and here it is upstairs with my mess of yarn.  I need to ball up all the scans to make them pretty but that will be soon. I am in the process of cleaning, rearranging my studio, so don't peek at the mess!

I've been found...

What a wonderful Sunday!  I have not checked in for some time but once again I hope to change that.  I believe that part of what made today such a wonderful day is that I have booked dates to start teaching at Cool Scrapbook Stuff in Poway, CA.  Teaching creative projects, does it really get better than this?  I am also pleased to say that what has kept me away, besides my garden, my progress for healing, between the severe fibromyalgia to ALL the family and pet members we have lost in the last 3 years is so overwhelming that some days are difficult to survive, but I have arrived to the step in healing to reach out again, and hopefully for good this time.  Gena having welcomed me to her newly relocated, beautiful store is so just what I needed and I am so very excited to be apart of the scrap world again...it truly makes my heart sing.  I look forward to keeping up with posts and showing you what I have been doing since my last post!  I did do the may crop but have not seen the girls since..LIFE you know!

Someone to watch over me

Hello, hello, hello! Well the first crop went very well :) I am not a great photo taker, or is it my camera that I don't know how to use...regardless...here are some photos I got to take before my camera battery DIED! oh goodness. I know you can't see it but my gnome fairy is holding a sign that says "someone to watch over me." I had him be the centerpiece and put their goodies around him. For you see, for me this is not just a gathering of random peeps. I consider them good friends, I hope this time and place will become a regular meeting group. A safe place to come and be. I made some biscotti for a little giftie and also make sequined shamrocks for them also. Kim is wearing hers here...I made mine when I was 7 years old. It was one of my favorite pieces that I created with my Nani. I have worn it every year since..... It was also close to Kristie's birthday so I decorated a pick for her. Amy and Kristie are wearing some of my "party hats." Such great friends and a wonderful time. I am gonna have another for National Scrapbook Day. I am working on the goodies for my girls already and of course you can't see until the event. This last week I have started organizing my studio, so exciting, it has ignited the creative ideas! yay... LUCKY LUCKY me..xoxo til next time!

Well, it has only been a week!

I am learning how these blogs work...why such the long space after the post to the previous post! gosh what a mess! ugh! Well I am going to upload the photos from the "Let's Scrap" crop...all I can do is smile!