I. Love. Owls

Owls have been a cute trend for a while.  Everywhere you turn, you can find decorated owls.  Owl paintings, owl fabric, owl growth charts.  I have loved owls for years.  I love that owls have been trendy.  They have been the object of my paintings and drawings for quite awhile.  So when my intelligent husband suggested I have an owl stamp created, it just made sense.  He's so smart!  After creating a few drafts for the printer, we came up with this stamp!

Isn't she cute??  Her name is Francesca!  She is making her debut on my website this week.  I am introducing a line of note cards in boxed sets and Francesca will be the image on the cards.  She is the start of a family of owls that will appear in the future on my website.  I am so excited!

Tell me what you think of Francesca!

Getting back to it..

After 10 months of living life and much encouragement from my sister in law, I'm back to the blogging world.  In the 10 months gone, we ended a school year and had begun another year.  I continued making cards, though were few and far in between.   We celebrated birthdays and holidays and finalized the adoption of our two year old son.  I even invested time into rebuilding my website with my dad.  He's such an expert at building websites and was very willing to help me with mine!
It's been a busy 10 months.  It's been a difficult 10 months too as my dear husband has been unemployed for nearly six months now.  We've watched God provide and bless our family.  I am thankful for the time he's been home.  I know my children have enjoyed having their dad home.
As I begin blogging again, I had to decide where I wanted my blog to go.  What do I want it to be about?  Before, I had my hand in many things, creating and DIY were at the top and then homeschooling.  I still homeschool.  I also create cards.  Occasionally, I will alter something.  But I need to focus my blogging on one subject.  So I've decided that I'm going to focus my blog on the things I make...mainly my cards.
So without further ado...  Here's what I've been working on the last few days...

I got this Valentine ready for my mom.  We were at her house on Valentine's Day to celebrate the adoption of our little guy.  She likes elephants.

Milk Glass Planters

I had a wonderful and yet busy weekend this past weekend with my brother and sister in law in Nashville.  We attended the Teach Them Diligently Homeschool Conference.  It was so much fun, sitting in great workshops and running around in the vendor hall. I was able to learn some new things and get refreshed for the upcoming school year.  More about that later.  Today, I want to share my most recent DIY.

I found a set of milk glass vases at the Salvation Army store here that I thought would make great planters for my succulents.  My sweet neighbor gave me a few pieces of her Hens and Chicks and I knew those vases would be perfect for them!  I am good at killing plants.  Ashamedly, I kill plants that DON'T die!  I don't know how I do it, especially since I come from a long line of green thumbs...but I do.  

I did, however, have one piece of the Hens and Chicks that has lasted...so I stay hopeful!

The beauty of succulents is that they can sit in the frozen snow and ice of southern Illinois and they live!  I am grateful for that.  So here are the plants and vases..

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Antique Shops and Yard Sales

Last week was a difficult week.  My husband has had some extra stress at work and my youngest daughter had some serious attitude.  As a result, mommy was having a breakdown.  I love my life, but there are days when enough is enough.  We NEEDED a change of scenery.  We made a last minute decision to go visit my husband's mom for the weekend.  I'm so glad we went.  We were able to surprise her late Thursday night.  We enjoyed our time visiting with mom and got to go to antique shops and yard sales.I was thrilled when I found these things...

I have wanted a new sewing machine for a while but have been a bit reluctant to spend a lot of money on one because the last one I owned I broke.  I have NO IDEA how I broke the machine.  To get it repaired was going to cost me a lot of money so I pitched it.  This "new" machine only cost me $10.  Now I have to learn how to use it, so I'm trusting YouTube to help me out!

As a result of getting away, we came home refreshed and our home and work felt easier to manage.  And I scored some great finds!!

My husband and I feeling relaxed and my silly boys in the back!

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Mother's Day

What a sweet day...Mother's Day.  I became a momma 11 years ago and just can't imagine a life without my children.  I gladly accept the title and all of the work that goes along with being a momma.

The day was filled with activity and love from my children.  My husband and children were up and ready for church before I got out of the shower today, which means I didn't have to help anyone get ready to go.  They had cards and gifts ready for me.  I received flowers, balloons, chocolate goodies and cards.  I also received  a new bicycle for the special day.  My children and husband love going bike riding and have been pushing me to get a bike so that I can join them.  Well while I was napping today, my husband went out and bought me a new bike.  It is cute and "vintagey".  It has a basket on the front and includes a cup holder.  We took two long bike rides today.

After a home cooked meal for lunch, I got to take a nap.  I enjoy Mother's Day because it is the one day all year that I am told not to work.  My children want to take care of me for the day...which includes cleaning up...so I let them.

God has truly blessed me and I can say I had another great Mother's Day this year.

My mom and mother in law wore their mom rosettes to church today.  Here's a picture of my mom wearing her's.  My dad took the picture and sent it to me.

She is such a great mom!  She is a tough and yet gentle mom.  I am proud to call her mine.  

Mother's Day gifts

As we quickly approach Mother's Day, I am reminded at what seems last minute, that I need to get a gift off to my mom and mother in law...and like now!  I knew the day was coming but with so many other things on my mind, I put it off.  They both live in other states and with my husband being a minister in our church, we won't be visiting with them this weekend.  So it is imperative that I get them in the mail!  

Well, today was the day for getting something done and I spent the majority of the day doing it.  I wanted to create something unique for the occasion and came up with these rosettes.

Now, the idea with these rosettes is that our moms are to wear them like corsages.  But I also wanted them to resemble wearing a ribbon that honored them as our mom.

  

Like this...

I hot glued a pin on the back for wearing.  I am so excited for them to get these and am sure they will wear them with pride.  

I used my Cricut Ribbons and Rosettes cartridge to cut out the rosettes.  I then embellished them, using a lot of hot glue to keep it all together.  

Tell me what you think.  Are you creating anything for your mom this year?  If so, what are you making?

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CreationsbyKara

Decluttering and DIY's

I began 'decluttering' my kitchen this week.  It was lined with the typical appliances...toaster, coffee maker, blender, as well as, my large grape canisters.  But this week, I cleared it out!  I got in and scrubbed the back splash and the counters and then put things away.  Those grape canisters are gone...now replaced with smaller clear canisters I found while thrifting at the Salvation Army.  I put the toaster oven and blender away to clear the counters.  It feels good to have a clean kitchen.  

My husband started working on our master bathroom.  We are only doing a few cosmetic changes in there, so it shouldn't take too long to complete.  

My DIY this week comes from another Pinterest idea. I want to have a more farmhouse country feel in my kitchen so I am going to incorporate Mason and Ball jars into our home.

    I took an empty Mason jar and converted it into a soap dispenser.  The pump I used was from an empty lotion bottle.  After cleaning the pump, my husband punched a hole into the lid of the jar and glued the pump into the lid with hot glue. (He was sneaky and worked on my project last night before I got a chance to get to it!   He did a good job on it.)  Though I was looking forward to finishing this project today, I am thankful that my husband got it done for me.  

before 

and after

This was a simple project that really took very little time.  Tell me what you think.

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IT'S OVERFLOWING

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Elizabeth & Co.