hope is....

This is a frame that I created last week that was to go to a magazine to be considered for publication but, alas, it didn't make it. I had felt too hurried and wasn't quite pleased with the outcome. With Easter, the funeral of a family friend and other life lessons, it didn't get mailed. Which is alright with me. It has found a good home sitting on our side table, next to the rocking chair. I have other works in mind so maybe I will try again. Maybe I won't... I did have fun trying. And as I tell my daughter, that is a important lesson to learn...to have fun trying.
Have a wonderful day and God bless.
Alissa

for the birds

Here is my birdhouse that I altered for Karla's Cottage 'Bling your Birdhouse Party". I ended up going towards the natural side with a little bling. This was the first time I have ever altered something like this...it did take some different thinking on my part, but I am pleased with the results. The red strips say "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.' -Gandhi. I would be willing to trade or sale is anyone is interested. I look forward to seeing every one's creations!


Have a wonderful day and God bless.
Alissa

fun with bellatoria

Edit to add: I forget that Barbara had given me this award last week! With such a hectic weekend I completely forgot about it. Thank you so much Barbara...I was totally surprised! I want to give this award to all of you, who have made blogging this last month such a joy. Thank you friends.


As I posted earlier I was part of Bellatoria Queen's Tea Swap. Look what I got from Hope at Paper Relics!! I love all the little fun items that I get to play with!! Thank you so much Hope!!



This project is one of Bellatoria. It was a plain wooden tray that I altered. It was to be a silver tray but I didn't have one. So here is my version. I really enjoyed this so I am planning to make more.



This is what I sent to Hope for the swap...



I hope that you all had a wonderful time with your family for Easter. We did but we were all tired from running around from Good Friday til today...That is why I wasn't able to post. Life got in the way...So I hope to keep up with all my blogging friends!
Have a good evening and God bless.
Alissa

ready for easter

a few Easter images to share..










I love the Easter season! Everything is fresh and new, and of course for the promise we have in Jesus Christ, our savior. I feel so blessed in many ways. Thank you for your support and comments. I truly appreciate them all!

Have a blessed Easter weekend and God Bless.
Alissa

a hodgepodge of posts

I was tagged by Barbara. So here are seven random facts about me.
1. I believe that chocolate is a health food. Dark is the best.
2. I love to travel. My favorite vacation was our honeymoon to The Grand Canyon
and Sedona. My favorite place to go back to however is the Black Hills in
South Dakota.
3. I lost my engagement ring a month before our wedding in a grain cart full of
soybeans. Ron lost his in the 15 inches of snow we had on our wedding day.
However, both were found!
4. I minored in art in collage. My favorite classes were watercolor and
photography. My least favorite was glass blowing.
5. I hate to be late for anything. However, I am the world worst procrastinator
6. I have a weakness of buying home decor magazines and books.
7. I am 33 years old and have been married to Ron for 7.5 years. He is my best
friend and my soul mate.

Ok, if you want to play, I tag:
Sarah - Vintage Lily
Vicki - This Art Makes Me Happy
Karin - Creative Chaos
Hope - Paper Relics
Karla - Karla's Cottage
Laurie - Charming Designs


This is what we woke up to this morning. 5 inches of snow...so they canceled school. I love to see snow. It makes the world around us look so fresh and clean.
We were suppose to get 4 more inches today and freezing rain, but luckily we didn't. The temperatures stayed above freezing so about half the snow turned to slush.



I was able to make another paper cone. This is part of an order that I had from a local retailer. Remind me not to do that much cutting again! Those flowers took too much time....



I can't believe that I forgot to add this to yesterdays post. My favorite find so far. There are over 90 items in this scrapbook. Most of them are calling cards, with a few images. I love all the detail they put in such little items. Plus it is fun looking at all the names. Sounding so rich and regal.





Lastly a sneak peek for my swap. Don't look Hope!! I am so nervous...my first swap. Hopefully it is all right.



Thank you all for visiting, I sure have loved getting to know each one of you. Good night and God Bless.
Alissa

my fleas

My favorite advertisement at Old Market, Omaha.


Whenever I mention to my hubby, that I am going to a flea market, he always comes back with why would I want fleas...this is why. Some of the ribbon is new from Archiver's, but everything else was found at antique markets.







I just love these silver (or pewter?) napkin rings that I was lucky enough to find. They are surprisingly heavy for such little things....but I thought they would make dinner time more fun. Don't you agree? Emma loves it when we set 'fancy glasses and plates' for dinner so I am positive that she will love them as much as I do. Now to find pretty napkins to put in the rings. LOL! More vintage shopping for me!
I was really hoping to find more vintage flocked wallpaper, bark cloth and such but no luck. Of course there are many more stores that I didn't get a chance to visit...but I will be back.
Do you love going to antique stores like me? If so, what items catch your eye...what is it that you collect? I would love to know.
Hope you have a great evening and God bless
Alissa

baby books

Well, I am back to posting...sort of. My computer is going to be out for the next month getting a new hard drive put in. I found a disk of projects that I had saved and thought that I would share a few.

In the last 4 months a couple of my friends had babies. I had made them brag books for their never ending photos! LOL! Or at least I think they take pictures of their bundles of joy!





Stamps used are from Stampin Up, paper is from Cosmo Cricket, letter dies are form Quickutz.

I am part of a swap for Tersea McFayden Bellatoria. The theme is The Queen's Tea. All items have to be tea or for a queen related. I have been hard at work making a few items for my partner Hope from Paper Relics. I hope that she enjoys what I made for her. Maybe in a few days I will post a sneak peek.

I found out that I will be able to get my photos off of my digi camera at my mom's. I hope to get there tomorrow and get them saved to a disk. That way I can share some new things with you...until then have a good night and God bless.

howdy y'all

Well I am back but I have to say that I cannot share pictures right now. My laptop went down.... hard drive needs fixed or replace! I have no way of getting my pics loaded on my old computer. So any way.....

I did get some fun stuff while I was gone that I can't wait to show you. I tried to spend all day Friday (until my dr. appt) done in Old Market. I tried, really I tried, but a nasty cold front come through late Thursday night and it was terrible cold. I just was not having any fun walking around downtown. I don't think it got above 18 degrees, with a below 0 wind chill, or so it felt like! So can you blame me?!? I did manage to find and old bingo game and and old lotto game in one store that I am excited to use but that was all I could handle. So my hubby and I decided to warm up by eating at Spaghetti Works. YUM!!

The sad thing....I had more luck at Goodwill and at my local thrift stores then I did in the city...but that is NOT to say that I wouldn't go back! My mom and some friends are already makin' plans to do a two day spree in Lincoln and Omaha later on this spring...when it isn't so cold!

On a fun note, I joined Teresa McFadyen Belltoria E-Zine yesterday and can't wait to see what she has in store for us. I did her Winter Bella in January and got loads of inspiration. You should go check her blog out. Great stuff!

Hopefully I will get my computer back tomorrow and be able to show you some stuff. Until then have a wonderful night and God Bless.

more cones and a get-a-way

Today I had the whole house to myself. It was nice to have it quiet, so I thought today would make a great crafting day. I was able to get two more paper cones done. I sure like to glitter paper mache eggs. You can see them on top of my cones. I recently found a site that sold glass glitter and it has become my favorite thing to embellish with. There are such gorgeous colors and I particularly like the sterling silver glitter that tarnishes after time. *sigh* I love tarnished silver, don't you!






I will be gone for a few days. I have a doctors appointment in Omaha Friday, so my husband and I are going to make it a small get-a-way for the two of us. I am trying to talk him into taking me to Old Market, which is full of antique shops. I am hoping that i can find loads of vintage goodies to use for my paper crafts and maybe a few just for our home. I will try to remember my camera and try to take a few pics of my favorite stores. Everyone have a great weekend and God bless.
Alissa

more journals and a thank you

I finally had time to create in the last few days. YEA!! I did get a lot done, so I thought I would share with you a few of the journals I got done for a client. She wanted them in spring colors...... and now I have spring fever really bad. It was on the 70's yesterday but now back to the 30's. Yuck!



I wanted to say thank you to everyone who came to visit me in the last two weeks.
I have meet some wonderful people and thank everyone for their wonderful comments. It has made me feel welcome. So just maybe I will continue this blog. It has been kinda fun. See ya around!
Have a wonderful Sunday and God bless!
Alissa