Today is Halloween. And as you may already know, Halloween is pretty special around my house. Just six short years ago my first baby was born, Rebecca. So today not only do we get the fun of celebrating Halloween, but we also get to celebrate Rebecca's birthday. So Happy Halloween to All! And Happy Birthday to my Becca !

Yesterday was a crazy day. Yet it was filled with lots of happy energy. At times I was reminded of the snowball effect where things build on each other, but the more I thought about it, it really wasn't one big snowball building up in size but rather a lot of little ones. So forgive me as I shower you with some of my happy snowflakes. It started with the realization that Rebecca's pumpkin patch birthday party this coming weekend was going to be rained out. So I spent the morning calling around to find a Plan B. I know we could have switched to a party at home, but each time I throw one at home I am exhausted afterwards. So I did find a Plan B that made everyone happy: Build-A-Bear in the mall. Rebecca adores Build-A-Bear right now, so I am excited! There's one happy snowflake. I also learned that a blog friend of mine, Leslie at Words of Me Project , chose to honor my blog with her Blog of the Week. I  just love reading Leslie's blog. A lot of times when I read her

Earth laughs in flowe rs.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson   Flowers make me happy. I imagine they make a majority of us happy. I especially enjoy flowers that last forever, like paper and fabric flowers. This past week, including today, I tried several different techniques for making flowers. I finally tried making accordion flowers and spiral flowers from paper. And I tried two Donna Downey fabric flowers, one of which is this darling daisy . Everything was so simple, yet turned out so adorable. And the possibilities are endless: gift wrapping and scrapbooking embellishments, hair clips and head bands, holiday wreaths and flower arrangements, etc.. I see loads of flowers in my future. I promise to share as I make more, k?

Christmas organizer made from a plain manila folder Inside the organizer Outside the organizer More in the works Lately I've been trying to get a little more organized. I imagine I'm not alone in my pursuit of a simple and organized life. I've been adding list after list to my phone: daily goals, weekly goals, menu plans, shopping lists, projects to make, etc.. So when we got together for our monthly craft night, hosted by my friend Tina , I was excited that we'd be trying our hand at an adorable organizer made from a manila folder. It's really so simple, yet the possibilities are endless. We basically took a manila file folder and opened it up. We then scored it about 4" from the bottom and folded that up for our pockets. Now the accordion style folds were a little more controversial in the group. Everyone had different thoughts on which edges should line up, but that was part of the fun. I scored my folder 4" from the center fold on both side

I'm excited to say I have a few new and old word art creations for sale at Polka Dots in Granite Bay. Polka Dots is the cutest little store next to my daughters' dance studio. They sell leotards, tutus, and all things cute and pink. So a few weeks ago I asked if they'd consider my word art for their shop and they said "yes." I already had Dance and Princess completed, but I also added Tumble and Reach for the gymnasts and Love to Dance for the dancers. I'm excited to see them displayed in the shop! I will be sure to share photos. Fun!!

I am busy finishing some projects that I hope to share in the next couple days. Until then I must share with you a recent discovery. Last week, I tried the Caramel Apple Spice drink at the Seattle's Best inside Border's Books and it was amazing. So the next time I went I asked if they sold it to make at home. I learned that they do not sell it, but the woman helping me was kind enough to share their secret. It is TreeTop's Spiced Apple Cider with some caramel sauce mixed in. So I made some caramel sauce yesterday and sat down to enjoy a warm cup of caramel apple cider. Yum! You should try it =)

Several months ago a friend asked me if I could help her design the "guestbook" for her 350 guest wedding. I type "guestbook" in quotes because she wanted me to create a tree that her guests could add thumb print leaves to. I was really honored and excited to help! And here is the almost finished tree. The wedding is this Saturday so I can't wait to see the tree filled with "leaves." I may just have to try a smaller scale family tree for a Christmas present or two.

I can hardly believe how long it's been since I've visited my own blog. Life always keeps me busy, right? Busy doing the necessary stuff, but not always so fun stuff. But this past week has been good because I've been really working on getting myself in gear personally--i.e. good health and organizational goals. I started walking more (reaching for 10,000 steps a day ). I've been purging household clutter, but it's going to take a lot of purging at my house before outsiders see a difference. I started listening to The Happiness Project which has inspired a lot of my get-up-and-go. Donna Downey's fabric class has started and I've been inspired to try my hand making a canvas pouch for my iPhone so that I can wear it as my pedometer. I wish I could show you the plan in my head right now--it's very cool! I got a fun date night with my hubby. We went to the grand reopening of the Crocker Art Museum and it was really nice not having little ones to chase aft