Sweet William

A couple of years ago, my friend Jennifer sent me a package of Sweet William in honor of her son, William. Those who know Jennifer, know the story of her sweet baby who now resides with Jesus.
I planted the seeds in a cute little pot right away but for some reason, the seedlings didn't thrive.....maybe because it gets so hot here.

I over planted the pot last year with some clover seeds. They promptly came up and lived right through the winter....see?



I decided to take a photo of the little gnome in the pot, surrounded by the soft clover.

Imagine my surprise to find a Sweet William poking its little head out of that pot!



Today, there is just one bloom........for Jennifer's own Sweet William...but I am happy to see that there are several others getting ready to bloom within the next week or so.

What a wonderful surprise!

Ironcraft challenge #17

In honor of the Royal Wedding, this week's challenge was to create a handmade wedding gift.

When I go to weddings, I always buy something off the registry so I almost didn't do the challenge. But, I decided I could keep whatever I made, so off to the web I went.
After ditching several ideas, I decided on an envelope book and used THIS tutorial . The only thing I did differently was to substitute a place mat for the cover because I didn't have any scrapbook paper large enough to make it...the envelopes I had were 6x8.

finished envelope recipe book:






since I was keeping it, I hand wrote the labels instead printing them out.



After making it, I thought of how you could make a gift card holder the same way and made this:


IC challenge #17....Check!

Mosaic Monday

Here is a birdbath I made back in 2002...

I gave it to my in-laws who had wanted one for their front yard. I really love how this one turned out.




I took these photos when we visited at Christmas and I didn't have time to clean the basin out. There is a sun in the middle...just hard to see it clearly.


I had forgotten how lovely this one turned out.....

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.

John 11:25-26

Friday Flashback!

Oh my goodness how I used to LOVE Saturday mornings.

gotta love the oldies but goodies....

Remember this one?

ready for a break...

The kids are both ready for a break from school.....and by the looks of it Matt needs knee pads!

Happy Birthday to a wonderful Christian, husband, father, friend, hugger, handyman, provider, high stuff reacher, wine bottle opener, electrical gadget fixer, appliance installer and repairman, Christmas light put up and take down person, grill, short order cook, joke teller, mentor, good advice giver, trying to make a better life for his family... man.

I know I didn't cover it all....but this gives you a good idea of how lucky I am.

Thank you Lord for putting Dean in my path and giving me the sense to open my heart to him.

Happy Birthday Dean....I love you.