Birthday Shout Out!

Happy Birthday to one of the most creative gals I know! I am loving your designs! You are really inspiring me to get off my butt and get back to stitching. Thank you for your friendship and support...it means the world!

I wish you a very lovely birthday, full of sunshine, good people
and hopefully some cake!!

Love,
Niki


P.S. If you haven't already, you should really check out her darling vinyl creations as well as her kick ass iPod and camera cases. As soon as Lent is over, I'm getting this one!

Pay It Forward

This is how it works..... The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a hand made gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise. BUT, in order for you to leave a comment on my blog, you have to post this on your blog first (if you don't have a blog, your myspace or facebook works too). That means that sometime during this year you will send a gift to 3 people as well. Get it? Let's spread some happy!

I was lucky enough to be one of the first three commenters on my friend Angie's blog. Along with her kindness, thoughtfulness and brilliant sense of humor, Angie is also super creative. She makes some fabulous bead creations. Just look what I received from her as my Pay It Forward handmade gift:


Wow! I absolutely love it! The color combination is so bright and uplifting. The silver beads say "harmony" and "balance", two things I am currently focusing on improving in my life. And now I have a beautiful reminder to wear every day, not only of my intentions, but also of my friend!

Thank you again, Angie!

Givin' Props To A Creative Gal

I'm linking to this post on my friend Bekah's blog not only because I want to win one of her fabulous creations (oh please pick me!), but because I want to spread the word about what a clever, creative and stylish gal she is!

She does some darling things with vinyl, which you can see at her Spell It Out Designs blog.

And you must must must check out her hand-made iPod/phone/camera cases at her Needle Pin Productions etsy store, which were recently featured on TV:

(Bekah's bit starts at the 5:00 minute mark)

I gotta get me one of those! Anyway, check her out!

Let The Stitching Begin

My Sublime Stitching book finally arrived!!

It's dreamy!

I have loads of ideas and projects I want to get started on. Lucky for me I'm getting my wisdom teeth out next week so I'll have plenty of down time to sit and stitch! It will be interesting to see what my stitching will look like under the influence of pain medication. Who knows, perhaps I'll start a trend in abstract stitching.

I Love Unicorns! And Embroidery!

I completed my first embroidery project!

I was hooked from the very first stitch and had such a blast with this pattern. It was unbelievably easy and my mind is already buzzing with loads of project ideas. I'm just itching to get started on the next one.

As you can see, I love unicorns which is why I chose this as my first project. Still, I am passing this first project on as a gift. Everyone should have some unicorn love.

Where Have I Been?

It's been a mother-fudging hot couple of weeks (yes, I said mother-fudging!) and as a result, I haven't been feeling my best. As I've said before, heat wreaks havoc on my internal workings and between the vertigo spells, the extreme fatigue and the spasticity, I haven't been up for much. It's about all I can do to make it through the work day, but thankfully I have a wonderful husband to come home to. Nick's just great about making dinner and helping me get comfortable after a rough day. He sure makes a difference!

Today, however, we enjoyed much cooler temperatures and I was glad to be able to stay home and take it easy. I caught up on a few light household chores and did some photo editing I had been meaning to do. I also went here and ordered my embroidery starter kit! I've really enjoyed cross stitching, but embroidery seems to have a lot more potential. You can embroider on just about anything. And check out these designs! I've got so many ideas, I can't wait to get started!

I've also been working on printing and framing some of my photography. I've been learning and improving all the time and I wanted to enjoy some of the pieces I am more proud of by displaying them in our home.


This is the first set of photos on display here at the Brooks Gallery. The top image was taken at Wheeler Historic Farm earlier this year and then altered in two additional hues. Larger versions of these images can be seen here, here and here.

More photos coming soon! For now, back to rest.

Homemade Cards

I made these cards to send as thank yous to our family in Vermont. This is only my second attempt at card making, and I'm having fun experimenting with different patterns, ribbons and embellishments. I am quite pleased at how these turned out!