Anniversary roses

Travis is so good about bringing me flowers. He gets the flowers from Trader Joe's (very reasonably priced) that are wrapped in plastic, so that I get to arrange them. I love arranging them as much as I love looking at them. We have a lot of plants in our yard that I can add to the arrangement.

Gift for Felix

My friend, Brianne, made these for Felix. They are felt/fabric applique, hand embroidered. They are so cute! Can't wait until Felix is big enough to wear them! Thanks Brianne!

Sarah's LCB

Sarah made this cutest little box. I should've gotten a picture from the side. It is round. Made of wood then covered in material, with an elastic closure. It is so adorable. I have had to reclaim it several times from my girls who can't seem to resist it. Sarah also made a CD and some lotion. I love how everyone picked such different things to do (except Andrea and I). I just thought I would post this in case Sarah hadn't gotten pictures before she sent them.
I want to know what Shawna and Elisabeth did. Someone better post them soon!

2 LCB ITEMS--ANDREA

Here is my first item. I really wanted and intended to make a burlap bag for Jen, but couldn't find burlap, so bought some linen-ish fabric, which was a huge pain to work with. I discovered that Melissa and I were duplicating, so almost started over with something entirely different (what, I don't know), but as Melissa and Mom say, "you can never have too many bags." I guess that's true. So here is the one I made for Jen. I decided to make it more like a tote (short handles), since it ended up kind of big. Also I reinforced the front, back and bottom with heavy interfacing, with the hopes that it would stand up on its own, but no such luck.

Here is Laura's bag. I wanted to try a different block and bag pattern with hers, but ended up using the same colors, since I feel like browns, greens and blues are pretty universally liked in our family (correct me if I'm wrong here). With hers I put a pocket on the inside, instead of the outside like Jen's.

Both bags have this tan lining (the fabric that I bought to use initially), which ended up being a good lining fabric.

I'm still working on Elisabeth's, slacker that I am. Good thing she's so patient!

LCB: bubble throws

I've been so cold this spring, all could think of was blankets when the LCB came up. So, I made three throws with identical fabrics and top designs. I did try different edging techniques on the three. I didn't use any batting, so hopefully they'll be in use all year. My favorite part: the ultra-comfy bubble fabric on the back.

LCB :: bath bombs

I had intended to make something super fabulous for this craft swap, but somehow only managed these bath bombs (so I included a couple of Todd's cards as a consolation prize). I love baths, but not bubble baths or bath oil. Bath bombs, however, are great. Drop them into warm water and they fizz away to nothing but leave the water and room scented with essential oils. I made chamomile (to which I added dried chamomile flowers), sweet almond, tea tree oil, and spearmint. Yummy. I kept one for myself, but haven't tried it yet, so I hope they work. Melissa, Jill, Laura and Sarah will have to let me know. ox

Seeing Clearly

This is a combination of some of the themes that had been tossed around, all in the theme of clear glass.
First, one of My Favorite Things-- I don't know if you can see it well, but I picked up some little pendants that are crystal prisms. I love wearing my "rainbow necklace" because every time the sun hits it there are little rainbows around me and they always cheer me up. I just thought I'd share a simple joy.
Next, I shared a way to Pamper Yourself --my version of a foot massage in a minute. I use these marbles in the bottom of a foot soak to massage my feet. Then I end with a full pedicure --polish and all-- and I begin feeling more like a woman and less like a tired mommy.
To top off this LCB, I threw in my attempt at craftiness with some hand sandblasted mugs I personalized for the sisters I had (I don't sew or crochet or make cute cards, so what could I do? Also, Sarah's mug is not pictured here because I gave it to her before I took the picture). I've been doing this on people's pyrex dishes to earn a little extra money, so I already had everything set up. I have to admit that Richard helped me though, otherwise I never would have finished in time. Anyway, the mugs are so they can enjoy their favorite drink while they pamper themselves. Hope you enjoy it! I sure had fun doing it, and thinking of you girls!