Off to Mexico....

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

Jeremy and I are flying out tomorrow to meet up with 6 friends in Santa Cruz, Mexico. We are staying at El Encanto, a cute little resort that is very eco-friendly and far away from all the tourists. We will be staying right on the beach in little apartments with showers open to the stars and open air kitchens so we can all cook together.
I will post lots more when we return!!!! Hope everyone has a great Christmas! xoxoxoxo

Attack of the Zombie Gingerbread men!!!!

Run, hide, lock your doors!!! The Zombie gingerbread men are coming!!!

Ok- maybe I have seen too many Zombie movies, but last night as I sat decorating my gingerbread cookies for Christmas, I laughed out loud as I started arranging my cookies to attack!!! I thought their big red eyes, and arms straight out, like they were walking right toward me....... like Zombies !!!

Here they are attacking a village of innocent gingerbread people- yikes!!!!

Well- maybe they are not super-scary but they are very delicious!!

Merry Christmas!

Ice storm 2007

Check out our icy landscape! We spent over 24 hours without power again during this crazy storm.
The ice was so beautiful and treacherous. The whole little town of Mount Vernon was covered in a beautiful layer of a sparkling glaze. The storm was silent except for the eerie sound of the branches cracking and falling. The trees around us were so waited down with ice that hundred pound branches came crashing down all around us, snapping power lines and landing on cars.

Check out Bead trends Magazine......
Kirsten and I have a nice two page spread in it on how to make our paper bead jewelry. It is so exciting to see our work in this great new mag. Check it out!!!

Holiday Craft Open House

Kirsten and I are having an open house with all of our hand made crafts Thursday November 29th from3:30 to 6:00pm at my friend Alicia's house. We are displaying our jewelry along with a few other handmade items like felt ornaments and knit hats. We have been so busy creating new kinds of jewelry... bracelets, pins, wine charms, and festive pieces for the upcoming holidays.

Check out these beads I made just in time for Christmas.

Raking leaves with Anna

Jeremy's sister came to visit us last weekend. We had a fantastic time playing in all our leaves. We also beaded bracelets and made pancakes. Anna had so much fun playing with our dog Dottie, who just can't get enough of her.

New ATC's

Funky Tree Swap

Polka Dot Swap
Colorful Collage Swap
Insect Swap
I have been very bad about posting work.... so I am playing catch-up tonight!

sock animal swap

I am so excited to introduce my new sock friend to my sock animal family (the far right) from Spike! What a fun creature with great characteristics and such a cute tongue sticking out!


I had so much fun creating my sock animal to trade, I decided to make three. I couldn't decide which one to send though because I love them all so much! So Chantale, you will have to wait and see which one you are getting! Here are all my cuties together.
Meet Cozie, my Cute as a Button Cow, Betty my beloved Bunny, and last Mitzy, my Polka-Dotted Mouse.



Goodbye to one of my sock animal friends! Have fun in Canada! xoxoxo Wendy

Halloween Biscuit Hunt

Today we took our dogs to the local dog park for a Halloween Biscuit Hunt. Dogs were encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes! Dottie and Violet wore their Boodanas (glow in the dark ghost bandanas). They ate a ton of biscuits and we collected a bag full of them for later! Here are a few cute dogs in their costumes!

Saturday afternoon in the park....

A Saturday afternoon in the park with Sophie and Marissa (my nieces) seemed like a
perfect way to spend such a beautiful day!

hummingbirds.....

My parents have a hummingbird feeder that was buzzin' with birds this weekend and I just couldn't resist sharing these pictures. These pictures are especially for Steph because she loves birds so much! Just think Steph , How close I must have been to these little birdies!

New art for the wall

My mom and I went to an arts festival in the Quad Cities this weekend and I came home with some new art for my house. Jan Byron, the artist my mom and I bought our pieces from, is from Oklahoma but unfortunately she has no website. Jan Byron creates stuffed figures with with wire and beads and shrinky-dink type faces.

Dog Park!

Violet my adorable Beagle enjoyed all the attention this weekend!

The weather has been fantastic so we have taken advantage of it and gone to the dog park! Nothing beats an afternoon surrounded by 15 to 20 different dogs chasing one another through a big beautiful park. I am so in love with the Pug puppy we met and the adorable Boston Terrier named Oliver. We also met a dog named Crash the is part Beagle and part Pug--- Puggle??Here is Dottie with her new friend Crash.
Jeremy made a friend at the Dog park too- yikes!

new camera!

I was so amazed by my new sister-in-law's camera that I bought a new one! (thanks Joy!) Check out her great photography at WildFlowers Photography
So... I have been messin' around with my new camera and here are a few snap shots of this great mushroom that popped up in our yard after a few days straight of pouring rain.

It's been a busy month....

I have already taught two days of school this month, where did the summer go?
August has been a busy month, so busy, I have not even had a chance to post. We went to California to visit Jeremy's brother and his wife and darling new baby. We went shopping, to the beach, and out to lots of great restaurants.
We spent some time in San Diego which we found to be lots of fun and very beautiful. We took little Gracie to this park to splash in the fountain.

When I returned home, I had only a few short days until the big surprise party we have been planning for my mom. She will be 60 this month so we wanted her birthday to be extra special. I will say, she WAS surprised! We asked everyone to create a scrapbook page with memories of them with my mom. We had so many we needed two books! She loved it, she cried and cried and couldn't go to bed that night because she just kept looking over the books and going over the night!











Of Course on Monday I turned around and started back at school. What a whirlwind it has been but what a fun month! Crazy thing is.... the month isn't even over yet.
Last Night JP and I bought a new computer and new digital camera. We are excited! Today will be devoted to figuring them out!

inch by inch, row by row

I'm gonna make my garden grow.....
This has been the best summer for gardening! I have had good luck with everything I planted this year. I can't stop picking green beans, zucchini, and egg plant. My broccoli, tomatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, and peppers (and whatever else I put out there) should be ready soon. Unfortunately it seems we always go on vacation right when the garden is at it's best. This year is no different. We will heading to the lake with our entire family (22 of us) and then off to California to see Jeremy's family and meet our new niece Gracie Ann.

These are globe thistles that I planted last year. they are supposed to get really big purple globe like flowers on them. I am waiting patiently. Last year there was not even a flower, so this year looks much more promising!