art as life

missing christmas

2012-01-27T15:57:00.000-08:00

just a little. maybe because our last christmas was a blur. we had a new 2 week old little r ( he's almost 2 months now! yikes). i had just gotten a head cold and dealing with lack of sleep + new mommyhood. good times. and yet somehow i knew this would happen. so i celebrated early :)

early december i new i had just days to celebrate before christmas ( my favorite time to celebrate ) i never really got the nesting thing... with closing the shop just FIVE days before giving birth to little r. instead of nesting i BAKED! hahaa! and ate. oh goodness. so bad right?

well, with my priorities in check *wink*wink* i made cupcakes to thank my friends at both mr.handsome's office & at the post office. i know....the post office...weird right? but they are my pals now. most people hate going to the post office. i used to be one of them. long lines. rude people. waiting. blah. then i went often enough and learned names with faces and chatted and laughed my way to new friends. :) they've become almost my co-workers hahaa :)

so happy cupcakes for them. and okay me too :)
except for the photo shoot i dolled them up with little dear friends & mini trees. sprinkled with a dash of peppermint chocolate and voila... sweet treats for everyone yay!

and even though i was fighting a bit of a head cold christmas day... i couldn't help myself. i had to decorate our living room with my jolly box of christmas love. happy. happy colors. happy sprinkles. happy shimmery stars and i was happy indeed.

sigh.... and even though i just barely took my christmas stuff down a week ago, i am still happy for making the effort to enjoy the season and share some caloric lovin' with family & friends.

and you know what's even better than all these pretty pictures?

my little r.

joy. i love joy

( i love that even at 1 month he is this cheery & happy and filled me with so much joy. except you get too close and he licks your face off. well, honestly, i love that too ;)

i'm hoping you remember to have joy in 2012... :)

and when you need a bit of joy, just remember little r and his cute little face & smile.

-d

still alive :)

2012-01-09T18:42:00.000-08:00

oh the joy. being a mama is hard work ;) and this little one has me wrapped around his little fingers. If I could describe this past month as a mom I would definitely say "overwhelmed" would best describe it. Overwhelmed with joy. lack of sleep. love. tears. hope. fear. grateful. adapting. etc. it's all running around me a mile a minute. but we are still alive. still thankful for being mom & dad & little one.

little r is one month now, how does the time both fly by and yet seem to go soooo sloooow?! hahaa :) So here we are, completing the cycle. exactly where we started in 2011 with our baby announcement and now look, a baby :P every now and then i catch myself in a reflection and for some reason i still expect to see my baby bump and then when i see its not there it feels SO weird. crazy how i pushed out a baby just a month ago. even though i had a HUGE fear of labor. even though i never ever wanted to go through labor. and even though it seemed impossible. its true. i'm a mama. i'm little r's mama. and we're a very blessed family. We ended 2011 on such a high note. i'm hoping 2012 gets better. Already making plans to take little r to his first baseball game, road trip, beach outing, picnic, etc. good times ahead.

now if i could only get some actual Inspire Lovely work done...but SOMEONE seems to never want to give mama a break. hint * hint* well with that little face, my heart melts... and then a big party of kisses & squishy hugs ensues. this is how we roll... :)

taking it day by day

living in the moment,

xoxo

-d

happy little one

2011-12-22T16:24:00.000-08:00

hello lovelies :)

With a full heart I would love for you to finally meet my squishy little baby. He's my new handsome little stud muffin. I cannot believe he is so sweet and adorable and all mine :) After 9 months of waiting it still amazes me that he was in my belly this whole time. Kicking away, growing, waiting for the perfect time. And he came and it was all not as bad as I thought it was going to be. During contractions I kept trying to smile through them. I mentally pictured little r in my arms and counting his little fingers and toes... one little piggie, two little piggies, three etc... and boy did that help me keep focused. I started contracting late thursday, all day friday and by saturday morning i had enough of waiting for the contractions to even up we just went to the hospital anyway :) thankfully mr.handsome helped me through the entire process and we made it out alive :)

Thank you SO much for your words of encouragement... i definitely channeled positive thoughts and prayers throughout the 12 hours of labor. I might have proposed marriage to the epidural doctor and maybe to a nurse or two. ;) But in either case, Mr.handsome and i are both bursting at the seams with pride and joy over our little man. He smiles after every feeding. He makes the cutest little noises. and he has the most beautiful happy eyes I have ever seen. little r has been getting so much auntie & uncle love around here. I still feel his newness. That's my baby. that's my little guy :) even at 2 am in the morning hehee. this new chapter has been good so far. i'm looking forward to everything with anticipation and a bit of nervous excitement... but oh so thankful for every moment of every day. thank you for sharing in this personal journey with me and sending words of hope and comfort. baby kisses to each of you

xoxo

little r + happy mama

let's play...

2011-12-05T11:36:00.001-08:00

spot the pregnant lady :)
last week mr.handsome and i took a fun trip to target for some popcorn & last minute maternity shopping. Okay, so we also bought a chocolate chip cookie & soda... but i will say i shared with the mister and it was all his idea :) jk.

So as I was wandering around trying to settle on new maternity items i have no idea about ( ie nursing bras, etc -SO confusing ) and picking out a new outfit for the hospital leave ( because you have to keep some cuteness and i don't want little r to think i'm a huge mess.) ... i walked past a little 4 year old girl holding onto her mothers hand and walking next to her grandmother. not even 3 feet from me the little girl stops and points and says... look mama that lady is REALLY pregnant!
nice.
i'm right in front of you kiddo.
and i feel like you just spotted a whale.
but thanks.
i just smiled and looked down at my huge belly.
yep. can't miss it.

- even though i can still see my feet.
- have only one cankle ( my right foot flares up for no reason and looks like an elephant foot-sexy right? )
- still fit into my boots ( okay, mr.handsome has to help put them on & take them off - it's so pre-school!)
- i wake up 4 times every night. no sleep. tinkle business. extreme back aches. ( i miss sleep )
- my face cheeks look more like i'm a part of the chipmunks gang. extremely hard to hide. thank you for not mentioning it. :)
- i still refuse to purchase any maternity clothes. even the pants. i wear my jeggings and the bellaband like it's my uniform. i am 10 days away... can i make it without purchasing one bit of maternity pants?! fingers are crossed...
- still trying to walk 3 miles a day. so far it's been good, despite the cankle :)
- and what do i do instead of packing my hospital bag last night? bake 2 batches of oatmeal cookies. i mean really. they were so worth it. except i have yet to pack my bag. it's like i don't want to :) hahaa. afraid? yes. nervous? yep. excited? oh yeah. in my defense. the bag + my clothes etc are both out and waiting to be packed. it's gonna get done. i just know it :P

so 38 weeks, a few days shy of 39 weeks. 10 days to go. the mister and i have been enjoying spending time together. we saw the muppets movie and everytime we do something like that i say awww... this might be the last time we do this or that. etc. i hope we look back on just us in a very happy way. ( thank you to my mister for agreeing to take another self portrait photo, above. I know he's not a huge fan of having his photo taken but man he looks great :)

december brings us to our birth month for little r. We celebrate our 3rd anniversary just a few days after that. but most of all, we get to enjoy our first christmas together as 3 + mr.rogers :) can't believe it!

I almost forgot to mention something totally fun :
Inspire Lovely was featured in this issue of Mollie Makes:

What a wonderful magazine and such a lovely place to be featured in. This is our little shop home. It's going to be fun fixing it up while on maternity leave and bringing in new things into the shop. We've already begun to jot down ideas of new items & things to feature for the shop. Some exciting stuff is happening in 2012 :) and to think little r will be hanging around to enjoy it too *smiles*

So closing time... if you have any last minute items to purchase today is your day. After tomorrow Inspire Lovely will be a little quiet and sit waiting until Jan 2012. It's when i hope to come back :) but you know, it might take a little bit longer. Lets hope little r is good to his mama. :)

I am working on little r's birth announcements...hoping to share soon...thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement! I'm printing all the comments and keeping them in my journal to have when i go into labor and need some extreme words of hope. :)

love & big mama belly hugs,

debee + little r

& my cankle. ;P

almost there

2011-11-25T15:42:00.001-08:00

hello lovelies. happy day after thanksgiving :)
i meant to blog sometime sooner yet here i am late as ever but still here. little r is still baking practicing his ninja moves every day. he seems to be getting stronger and faster each day. i'm very excited about giving those little arms and legs of his a kiss soon :)

birthday card for mr.handsome... sometimes happy birthday isn't enough.
i thought i'd let him know how i felt about him :) felt leaves and crazy sewing lines = love xoxo

mr.handsome has put together the baby stroller and each time i go past it i look inside the baby car seat on top and see how teeny tiny of a space is in there and sometime soon little r will be there too. i get all teary eyed each and every time i go past it. it's so crazy. we've also finished up our last lamaze class, toured the hospital and enjoyed eating out on our last and final date nights for a while. and to think only 3 weeks left. i have SO much i still need to get done and yet i feel like i have another 3 months to catch up on it all. but i don't. and this nesting thing hasn't kicked in hahaa! i'm lagging on packing my bag for the hospital. i haven't finished buying everything i need. ahhh.... so random. even still i'm very thankful for everything. mr.handsome snapped this shot a couple weeks back after a friends baby shower. babies everywhere! hehee. it's nice to not be the only one pregnant and have someone to relate to.

so three more weeks and i'm still trying to decide when it will be a good time to close down the shop and enjoy some maternity leave. being self employed has it's perks working from home and all. but maternity leave is not quite something you get while being self employed. you work or don't. seems to be something i'm not sure how long i need. lucky for us mr.handsome will be home for some time to help with little r and the shop if need be. but for now we've decided december 5th will be our official closing date. if not sooner ( just in case little r comes before his due date). I've enjoyed this roller coaster of a year. I've stocked up the store with last minute christmas items for you to enjoy.

Each order placed from now until December 5 will have a little gift to go along with it as a thank you for everything. :) I'm also extending the free shipping on all orders over $30 before shipping until December 5th. Happy shopping!

Opening up Inspire Lovely early December and now closing it for a bit for maternity leave have impacted my life so much. i'm truly thankful and sincerely blessed to have served every lovely who has shopped the store. I've been more than happy to gift wrap each lovely package for each person. and sending out over 2,500 items out all over the world. it's been quite wonderful. thank you. with my whole heart. thank you. i hope not to be gone for too long but one thing is for sure, i'm missing you already. in the mean time, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we go through the process of bringing little r into this world.

i'm not as strong as i think sometimes. and i could use all the prayer and love you send my way. i hope to be brave, stay strong and think happy and positive thoughts for both myself & little r. these past couple of months with little r growing in my belly, i've appreciated the role i've been given. this little guy is mine to bring into this world and only i can do that for little r. i can't wait to hold him finally in my arms and meet my new little buddy for life. xoxo

thanks so much for listening...
big baby bump hugs to you
xoxo

love,
d & little r

First Harvest

2011-10-26T14:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we crossed one more thing off our list of things to do before little r comes. Mr. Handsome took me to a local farm to enjoy the harvest this season. We researched a few and found our way to Bate's Nut Farm. The whole way up the mountain, the scenery, the kick back schedule, it was a welcome change. i wrapped it all up and tucked it away in my heart for keeps. it was one big happy moment.

i have to admit it was pretty silly of us to be in a large place filled with families and little ones. We were the only one's there without kids it seemed. just us and our little baby bump :) We picked a pumpkin a tad bit bigger than little r :)

i had asked mr.handsome for a pumpkin and i got a golden sun shiny kiss :)

The corn maze here wasn't so lush but we made it work. It certainly made for a perfect backdrop to a snapshot of what i like to call my "super pumpkin mama look". *cheesy* yes, i know. thanks to the mister for being patient with me :) I was going for a happy baby bump + mama + pumpkin photo. i think little r is going to love picking our pumpkin next year. I'm so excited! i can't wait to toast up the pumpkin seeds & make some pumpkin bread this weekend. yay :)

and just because i'm so darn silly and i do love to share a good laugh (even at my own expense) a story about my la la moment while at the farm: so with all our research i remember seeing various farms offering a variety of treats; apple cider, hot chocolate, caramel covered apples, apple pies, cotton candy and even pumpkin pie... and for some reason i remembered the pumpkin pie. It got stuck in my head (actually my craving tummy :) And when we got there i kept asking mr.handsome where the pumpkin pies were. he kept giving me this blank look like what are you talking about?! we went to the ticket booth to buy our tickets and i kept looking around hoping to find the lucky pumpkin pie stand and nothing. i turned to the mister and he was talking to the ticket lady and she mentioned pumpkins and i said quickly oh yum! pumpkin pie! and she then gave me a blank stare... i get those alot :) hahaa. and the mister knowing i was going crazy just kept the conversation going about where the pumpkins were etc... i once again asked so the pumpkin pies are over there? and i totally pointed and everything and then both the mister and the lady stared at me with there "crazy lady face" stare. the mister paid our tickets laughing and turned leading me to the pumpkins to pick and told me i was the craziest pregnant lady he knew. i must've been craving a slice of pie and that's all i had on my brain :) nope. no pumpkin pie at the farm. what a let down. but we laughed it off anyway and the next day he came home with a big pumpkin pie just for me... which i'm happy to say i have enjoyed a slice each say since. xoxo.. one for me and one for the baby :)

so crazy pregnant lady i am... the end.

another thing i've been crazy about is making huge crochet flowers to pin on my coats :) I made the one I am wearing in the harvest photos a while back. Back when we went to mr.handsome's grandmothers funeral. i wanted to wear something pretty in her honor. and i knew she loved to crochet etc so i made the large flower to embellish my dress i wore for her funeral. i think she would've liked it :) and since then i've been making them to give to family & friends xoxo.

especially during this gift giving season ahead of us. i think they would look great on some lovely friends xo.

lots of pretty colors to choose from available in the shop. I hope you like them too :) i've been wearing them on my sweaters even though it still is pretty sunny and warm around here. i can't wait to wear them around a scarf & my big winter coat! so excited :)

i hope you find some time to get out and enjoy a little bit of pumpkin pickin' and some pumpkin pie eatin' :) i'll let you know how everything goes with the pumpkin cookin' :) ps: if you have any favorite pumpkin recipes you think i should try i'd love to hear about them, pretty & please and a big thank you :)

happy times to you
xo
-d & her baby pumpkin :)

October brings in the spice :)

2011-10-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

These last couple of weeks the mister and i have been pretty chill. As our time gets closer to meeting little r ( about 8 weeks to go! yikes ! ) I've been making mental notes about places and things i want to visit & try out. mostly visit :) but one thing on my list of things to try out was making cake pops - some of my favorite desserts that seem to be popping up all over the web. I found this recipe through Bakerella. She has her own book and I came across it a few months back which lead me to her amazing tasty blog :)

I made a few changes:
- instead of red velvet cake I tried to spice things up with a little fall lovin' and made mine from carrot cake. mmmm..... yummy xoxo. *smiles*

- I also added a few cups of chopped walnuts to the mix

- I topped the cake balls off with a sprinkle of extra walnuts as the chocolate set. we are a bit nutty about nuts over here tehee.

They don't look as beautiful & perfect as Bakerella's but for our first attempt i think they came out quite alright. Either way, it's all about the taste right? and they were mighty delicious! i could honestly only take one cake ball. it was such a sugar rush!!! i wish you could reach over and have a few. we still have some left over :)

also something else i've been making and thought i'd share a peak with you xo
crochet love xoxo
for family& friends... flowers are the best :)
soon to be hitting the shop shelves, Inspire Lovely for holiday gift giving. sweetness xo

and taking a wee break, resting my arm from all the crochet. with my silly puppy

mr.rogers and i snuck outside away from the studio to catch some sun rays yesterday... trying to spend more time with the little guy... preparing him for his new little buddy, little r. getting all emotional and of course blaming it on the pregnancy hormones raging. i hope we make time to catch more sun rays together. and more puppy hugs :)

we are wishing you a very happy weekend lovelies!
xo
-d

Inspire Lovely Studio Tour

2011-10-17T13:20:00.000-07:00

It's been some time since sharing the studio with you. It's gone from a silly craft room to a part-time work from home/craft room to a full time shop studio. And each time it changed, it was hectic trying to reorganize everything in this space but thankfully with Mr.Handsome's help we made it work. I have extra storage up in our attic area for the rest of the items from the shop that are organized by color in a box :) It's so pretty, convenient, & efficient since I had such a hard time trying to organize everything each time I would add something new to the shop. Now i can just think of the color and easy peasy, locate what i need in the correct color box :) My brain... it's so elementary hahaa.

so welcome to my studio!

This is the first view upon entering the studio. ( I of course would be waving hi to you on the right side by the desk :)

Turn to the left and you will see my cute little closet space turned into a simple craft storage area.

I like to keep my yarn in rainbow order :) I've hung some pretty fabrics I purchased from a recent trip to Purl Soho in NY. They are so pretty to look at i love peeking over & seeing them there. xo
PS: I get so many questions about the mini organizing cubby and where I got it. It's from Making Memories and I bought it at Michaels back over 5 years ago. It's one of my favorite things they've made :)

Look to the right and you will see the upcycled storage piece I scored at a local thrift store.

The cubby piece was originally a floor piece with cabinet doors. Mr. handsome took those off and painted all the pieces. (that's deep love xoxo thank you mister xoxo :) And the bottom piece was a simple vintage armoire piece. But together i think they look pretty fabulous. Like they were meant for each other :) xo

i love shopping the clearance/sale section at my local anthro. it's so nice to buy cute knobs to brighten these drawers up for less than $3 bucks. I've kept some of the original brass circle knobs just for fun and also to stay within budget :) i LOVE my puppy knob xoxo (mr.handsome again rained supreme by painting the bottom piece with a fresh coat of white paint to match the top)

all the cubby storage is really a dream come true. it's been so fun moving things around and it really helps to see what you have and use it :)

on top of the space i like to keep my collection of jars filled with spools in all shapes + vintage globe + vintage horses i scored at a local thrift shop.
they are so pretty & cute to look at :)

and inside each cubby i keep Inspire Lovely shop items on the "virtual shelves" + extra bits of things i collect. here are some of my favorites:

And finally my desk space, where i take care of all things "Inspire Lovely" :)

I've had this IKEA desk for years and i love it. it's very clean & has plenty of space for extras. I cleaned it all out though just to start over clean and now i am counting down to just how long i can keep it all uncluttered :) So far, its been 2 weeks hahaa!

well thanks for stopping by and i wish you a happy & lovely day

ps: if you have any questions about the studio i will answer them here in the comments section :)

xo
xo
-d

hello october :)

2011-10-12T10:22:00.000-07:00

oh october. i'm loving you so much. except i don't really fit into any of my cardigans or sweaters. and i have a big love for all things warm & fuzzy. especially my cardigans and sweaters. but being here in san diego you really don't need those yet :) we had such an awesome weekend this past week it was full of warm sun + no schedule + food = happiness :) i had asked mr.handsome to please help me update my photo journal of baby r & my belly bump and so we did. :)

For my birthday i picked out this cute blue + coral outfit from a local boutique "1+2+3". It was pretty much the only thing in the store that fit hahaa. But the little shop is packed with beautiful pieces almost like anthro. but for half the price xo love it xoxo.

i love the blue. i've never been one to wear bright colors. but since i figured i'm having a little boy i might as well embrace the blue :)

so 30 weeks have flown by and i'm getting nervous. i am both very excited about having little r nestled in my arms soon & anxious about the upcoming birth process. for now i'm taking it easy. mr.handsome and i are attending classes for infant CPR etc and touring the hospital facilities soon. Plus lamaze classes. it's quite thrilling :) and yet sometimes i forget i'm pregnant. it must be the pregnancy brain or something. one thing is for sure, i'm making a list of things i want to do in the next 10 weeks before little r gets here. places i want to visit. a new recipe to bake. just explore a bit. maybe one last quick road trip just me and my mister :) who knows? we'll see where the wind will take us xo

i spent last week cleaning and purging the house and finally updated the frame wall. one frame but it sure makes a statement. we bought the frame at IKEA earlier this year. and i of course now have to promise to use everything i buy :) so thank you mr.handsome for the frame and true to my word... ta-dah! a frame on the wall :) ( i am notorious for buying frames and not hanging a single one. i have a hard time committing to a hole in the wall- heheee :)

this time i felt a bit whimsical and added a cute mix of orange in honor of october & the new season. I framed a favorite art page i made last year, added a cute succulent plant in an orange stripe pot from trader joe's + his new pal the giraffe under a thrifted bell jar, a mini pumpkin from our local market & some orange spine books from the thrift store.

My new favorite thing is the vintage globe. it lights up!!! yes, yes it's true. i love that thing to pieces. it reminds me of the one that is used in "While you were sleeping". At the beginning where Lucy & her dad plan their adventures around the world and in her room there is a shot of a pretty vintage light up globe. xoxo favorite movie xoxo :)

and a quick shot of my work table. progress! yes, i am excited about using this paper kit in the shop to journal my transformation into motherhood. I hope to finish the pages soon and share the mini with you. its been SO long since i've created anything and getting back to paper is proving to be therapy. i wonder if that happens to you too? i kind of had to lay low for a while just because it got to be too much. then somehow the timing is right and it comes back like an old friend :) either way. i'm happy to be playing again. i'm keeping my fingers crossed i finish it before baby r comes *

oh & ps: Inspire Lovely is giving away a little mini spool of 10 yards of black & white bakers twine :) starting today, October 12 - 26, on all orders over $10.00. i LOVE free xoxo happy october friends!

sweet & cozy days to you

-d

birthday + baby shower + peace

2011-09-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

september has flown by and here i am back to update you with a very long post. i had high hopes for september, being my birthday month and all :) This month brought a quick inspiration trip to New York where Mr.Handsome and I celebrated my birthday on the 15th of September. ( happy birthday to you if you also celebrated a birthday this month!!! Pictures in the form of a mini album to come :)

And this past weekend my family and i celebrated a dual baby shower. My little sister is also having a sweet baby ( a few weeks before me ) and we decided to celebrate both our babies together :) I of course stayed true to my handmade gift lovin'. The above picture is the pretty little tag i put together for my little cute niece :)

i hung up the blanket so you could see all the pretty colors in this baby blanket.

a few months ago i got started on over 200 granny squares :) i kind of killed my hands. but i was SO worried that i would develop arm trouble later on in my pregnancy so i got a head start and everything went wonderfully :) I made 3 blankets and still have over 75 squares to make a few more. yay for yarn love :)

at the last minute i figured every little cutie needs a crochet bear hat right? i whipped this little one up in a few hours. i love quick projects :)

I figured it would be cute if the flower was actually a pin and could be pinned on baby coats or dresses and not just on the beanie. easy & adorable :) i actually want to wear this cutie !

then i did something very daring. I actually sewed something and made an article of clothing. Okay, i didn't make the onesie :) but i had sewn the little bird a few weeks back and had this ridiculous idea of putting it on a cute onesie for my little niece. So i did it. The cute applique sparrow fit perfectly in the center. I just added fabric glue to the back and glued it on the onesie. ta da :) a cute little look for a cutie patootie. sweet!

The baby shower brought a lot of cute outfits for baby rafael and lots and lots of food for me :) I couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly blessed for everything. Not just the gifts, the amount of work and effort by family and friends to help celebrate the two little ones on the way. xoxo In an effort to be equally thankful and not delay in giving thanks to our guests I wanted to give everybody a thank you package from our little family. I made the little bags out of the glassine bags in the Inspire Lovely shop. Filled them up with Hersheys Hugs & Kisses chocolates + our favorite Almond Roca chocolates :) Sewed the package shut and then added a cute printed "R" thank you card I designed + a cute little picture of Rafael at 20 weeks in his first sonogram. My little cutie patootie was smiling :) xoxo And a fun little puffy heart was sewn on top to keep all three things together. I might've stayed up to late ( past 2:30 AM ) just finishing up these little guys but it was worth it since everyone loved them. Of course, everyone loves chocolate *smiles* wink* wink*

and here we are today. after a quick doctor's visit to hear little r's rapid heart beat. xoxo

These past few weeks have been very hard emotionally since losing a beautiful soul dear to us. Mr.handsome's sweet grandmother passed away recently and now we are left reflecting on her life and all the lovely memories & holding dear to the footprints in our hearts she left. In this moment i was reflecting on little rafael never getting to meet her. It breaks my heart but even more I'm filled with regret as we visited her recently right before her passing and she was having a great day. I could feel little rafael kick and move as i held her hand. i regret not having pressed her hand on my belly for her to feel little R move. I've cried over this so many times since then and even though i thought at the time it was so silly to do i really wish i had just done it. So here is to missing her, to finding peace in knowing she is resting and keeping all the beautiful memories in a special place in my heart for her. I can't wait to share them with little R xoxo

in her memory i decided to make my birthday flower arrangements and share them with her. She loved hydrangeas so mr.handsome bought me a few at the store. I added a touch of pink for a bit of lovely cheer. xo

and guess who wanted some photo love? this little one followed me home from the baby shower :) guess what the baby shower theme was? hehee. I thought i'd add some whimsy to my little floral arrangement for added cheer. i think grandma would've liked it. i hope it gives you a bit of peace and cheer too. xoxo

- d

another month :)

2011-08-31T17:04:00.000-07:00

hi everyone! my goodness has the time flown by. I feel like the summer got away from me. no bike ride :( but at least we had plenty of popsicles :) so this is us at 24 weeks. I'm now at 25 weeks and my legs are starting to cramp. it's so much fun. * insert humor :) * we just recently had our friendly visit at the doctor and yep, this is me 10 pounds since the start of the pregnancy. It feels so weird to get on that scale and see 10+. I can gain that in a decade :) But this is all part of this chapter & my life right now and I'm happy to report everything looks promising for rafael and myself. he's been kicking around and now i can see him both kick and punch at the same time. my little crazy ninja. :) Also a big thanks to my bella band that lets me still wear my skinny jeans. I love this product and even though they are not paying me i'm telling you this is the best maternity investment ever. and less than $20! I have not purchased any maternity clothes yet but this bellaband is a life saver :) i can see using this around that time of the month later :) hehee.

In preparation for our baby shower mr.handsome and i visited the big box store for babies over the weekend and WOW how overwhelming! it was our first time and i promise you i tried with all my might. i wimped out at like aisle 24. i got hungry and thirsty and oh so done with the question "do we really need this?". mr.handsome saved the day. we exited and went for an early lunch ( mexican carne asada fries :) hahaaa! if any of you have any suggestions on the ONE thing you think we REALLY cannot live without please let me know. I just can't go looking through 100 aisles of stuff again. And i certainly trust your advice :)

so here comes another month for the Inspire Lovely shop. and september is a special month :) It's my birthday month! woo hoo! i do celebrate it everyday of september. it's awesome. i think we all should celebrate everyday of your birthday month. it's fun. it's exciting. and gosh dangit you deserve it :) so anyhoo. I've been wanting to start adding free shipping coupon codes to the store ( i puffy heart free shipping) so I thought most certainly in september!!! i've stocked the shop with pretty items:

this was a quick gift i "Wrapped" up for my sister using some of the new vintage inspired postcard tags i designed for the shop. meet miss maude xoxo

i love collecting vintage postcards and so i complied my favorite 12 and made them into tags ready for giving or using in your art pages.

i then decided to also add some vintage inspired library card tag sets. both in this pretty scroll design.

and as tags :) i added some fun titles and kept some pretty true to their vintage design xoxo

i'm using these on a current project and can't wait to show you how it turns out. i've been playing with paper again after months of not playing. so fun :)

found some of these handsome little birds to add to the shop just in time for fall decor :)

and some pretty flowers for easy giving

i love this minty green color xo

so dainty & sweet.

i think postage stickers are the cuteness. i think these make for fun labeling and tags. :)

and hello sunshine! i love this rainbow of twine goodness! you cant help but smile :)

and just in time for the fall season of shimmery giving. gold twine xoxo hello & yes :)

i'm obsessed with these mini cuties! i use them mostly in my art pages. they are so cute!

i had so much fun making these fabric buttons for the recent market. and so i share my button love with you too xoxo

i love that pretty pink vintage fabric button in the middle xoxo be still my heart xoxo

so pretty to look and and SO therapeutic to create. i made these while watching the telly :)

this pretty lovely was made using the most gorgeous thrifted vintage blanket. i love upcycling. i want to make a mobile for rafael using these :) i think he would appreciate the colors too hehee. so there you have it. the shop is fully stocked for your free shipping pleasure.

*** NEW FREE SHIPPING CODE FOR ALL ORDERS OVER $30.00 FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER :
Enter " XOFREESHIP " at checkout *** ( Order must be $30.00 at time of checkout to receive special FREE shipping )

wishing you all a happy wednesday
and a big ninja hi-5 from rafael :)
xo
-d

Contributing: Scrapbook Workshop

2011-08-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

A few months ago the wonderful May Flaum contacted me about a wonderful opportunity... contribute a project to a scrapbook/art book ( the above picture is the cover of the book ) along with several of my favorite & amazing artists/bloggers.... why yes... thank you :)

what an honor to be among this creative group of lovelies!

I love the "Look inside" feature on Amazon, there are a few fun pages displayed and I was even more excited because the page I contributed is shown. :) When i got my copy last week i quickly pointed out to Mr.Handsome with delight that his hot self made it to the cover of the book. (bottom left) He of course is my muse. So thank you mr.handsome for being hot & cute. And on a scrapbook book cover. :)

alright, back to paper. i love paper. i've got a few projects in the works right now ( using the kits I put up in the shop ) but none to share just yet... * awwww what a tease i know * wink*wink*

For now, thank you for letting me share. It's awesome to finally be able to spill the beans about this pretty book after months of secrecy :) i can only keep a secret for so long hahaaa!

happy book worm,
xoxo
-d

Giveaway Winners :)

2011-08-20T13:33:00.000-07:00

Inspire Lovely Giveaway winners

Giveaway#1: 5 spools of 10 yards of cotton Airmail twine
1-Geralyn S.
2-Melissa Moeller Mann
3-Betsy Sammarco
4-Rita Alek
5-Christine Velazco-Villacarlos

Giveaway#2: 3 yards each of 10 beautiful new colors of Vintage Inspired Seam Binding
1- Tany Sol

Giveaway#3: 4x6 Butterfly & Teacup print
1- Abbey Richards

Giveaway#4: Pack of 90 Party Mix Blank Carnival Tickets
1- Iro Ivy Nassopoulos

Giveaway#5: Sweet Notions Paper Kit - Blue Moon
1-Irma

If your name appears here please e-mail me your post address and giveaway # at: InspireLovelyShop@gmail.com

All winning parcels will ship first thing Monday morning :)

A special thank you to everyone who entered & visited Inspire Lovely this week!

Thank you for letting me share a bit of loveliness with you all xoxo

Happy weekend Lovelies!
xo
-d

Inspire Lovely Giveaway #5

2011-08-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

Todays giveaway is this paper kit that makes a perfect weekend project ( valued at $25). Kit comes complete with 30 pieces: including 8 stylish papers & 22 one of a kind embellishments. I will pick ONE super lucky Inspire Lovely fan!

To enter this pretty giveaway will require a bit more work *wink*wink* simply repost this to your facebook, twitter or blog with a link to Inspire Lovely's facebook fan page and come back here to leave a link to said blog/twitter/facebook post :) I will pick a winner for this paper kit from the comment list in this post only!

Deadline to enter all this giveaway is *updated* 12 noon Saturday August 20th. I will announce the winners on The Inspire Lovely facebook page and here (just in case) Saturday morning :)

wooo hooo! happy friday!!! xo

-d

Inspire Lovely Giveaway #4

2011-08-18T22:59:00.000-07:00

Hello again :) A bit late here (again so sorry!) with today's giveaway . I spent most of the day away from the computer and it felt great :) Although, giving away free stuff makes me feel pretty good too - *smiles* Which brings me to today's giveaway: 1 lucky Inspire Lovely facebook fan will win a pack of 90 Party Mix Blank Carnival Tickets! I LOVE love love these little guys. I use them to journal all my crazy thoughts & even decorate my art pages. It's very addicting :)

see what i mean?

All you have to do to enter this pretty giveaway is become a fan & "like"the Inspire Lovely facebook page and I will pick a winner from there :) Crossing my fingers you win :)

Deadline to enter is Friday August 19th. I will announce the winners on The Inspire Lovely facebook page and here just in case :)

happy winning xo

-d

Inspire Lovely Giveaway #3

2011-08-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday Lovelies :) A bit late here with today's giveaway but I sure hope you enjoy it! I am giving away one 4x6 print (pictured above) to 1 lucky Inspire Lovely facebook fan.

All you have to do to enter this pretty giveaway is become a fan & "like"the Inspire Lovely facebook page and I will pick a winner from there :) Crossing my fingers you win :)

Deadline to enter is Friday August 19th. I will announce the winners on The Inspire Lovely facebook page and here just in case :)

I'm wishing you a sweet day xo

-d

Inspire Lovely Giveaway #2

2011-08-16T16:21:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting for my pretty order of vintage inspired seam binding to come in and grace the shop shelves for a while now. I can thankfully say it's all in and it's mighty cheery :) I had to serve you up a tea cup to share xoxo. So for today's giveaway I am giving away 3 yards each of 10 beautiful new colors of Vintage Inspired Seam Binding to 1 lucky Inspire Lovely facebook fan.

All you have to do to enter this pretty giveaway is become a fan & press "like" on the Inspire Lovely facebook page and I will pick a winner from there :) Easy! Crossing my fingers you win :)

Deadline to enter is Friday August 19th. I will announce the winners on The Inspire Lovely facebook page and here just in case :) Happy winning everyone!

And just a story + photo to share : today ( after 10+ years) i had a hot date at the DMV ( insert sarcasm :) where i had to finally go in person to renew my license. new photo, another fingerprint, update info etc.... ahh fun. Yet when Mr. Handsome reminded me that i would be taking a photo with rafael i immediately looked down at my belly and rubbed it with glee. I told rafael to smile a wee bit. i can't wait to show him our photo together. i then realized they do very close snapshots and decided to take more decent photo without cropping rafael :) i put my hands in a heart just for him. xoxo ahhh... so silly. i think it might be the hormones hahaa. :) either way, my dmv trip wasn't so bad as i had a happy baby in my belly. xo

-d

Inspire Lovely Giveaway #1

2011-08-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

I think its no secret we all have a love affair with twine. pretty luscious twine. every color and size. so pretty :) At the Queen Bee Market I had the pleasure of meeting an online friend Kate who makes and sells the most amazing twine ever. I have know Kate for such a short time but I can tell you that she has a heart that bursts with passion and love for all things twine :) And her love is generous. She graciously gave me a spool for the shop and out of that kindness I would love to pay it forward :) I am giving away 5 spools of 10 yards of cotton twine to 5 lucky Inspire Lovely facebook followers. A BIG Thank you to kate for sharing her passion for pretty things. xoxo

All you have to do to enter this pretty giveaway is press "like" on the left hand side of Inspire Lovely's facebook page and I will pick winners from there :) Easy! Crossing my fingers you win :)

Deadline to enter is Friday August 19th. I will announce the winners on The Inspire Lovely facebook page and here just in case :) Happy winning everyone!

Tomorrow I have another giveaway to announce... good times i promise!

Happy Monday to you and a i wish you a beautiful week,

-d

creating & celebrating

2011-08-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

I've always loved cupcakes & i've always loved sprinkles. yet i've only just begun to love them both in a pretty tea cup xoxo

yesterday we celebrated a beautiful moment of life... we welcomed a wee little new friend into this world. So happy our friend and her new baby girl are happy as can be. yesterday i got cupcake happy for them and made a few for celebrating this wee baby girl. :) i made a few girly cupcake toppers in about 5 min. and ooh lala... pretty indeed. i don't think you can go wrong with a cute butterfly :) then i realized... they are just too pretty to eat. well, not really. hahaaa. but i took a few photos to share with you. maybe brighten your spirits a wee bit? bring a ray of sunshine your way. without the added calories :)

in the background is my new vintage score. A vintage yo-yo pillow case :) i firmly believe you can never have to many pillow cases. Plus a cute vintage cake pedestal in the most beautiful porcelain aqua+ mini vintage doily. all scores from a recent yet very happy thrifting date with the mister. i cannot even begin to tell you how happy i am with my new pedestal. i keep propping every random little thing on it... just so i can use it everyday :)

ahh. creating & celebrating is wonderful.

i know moments & times like these are not going to last. i will have to work at making them happen once rafael arrives. in the mean time i am counting my blessings. i am recording the "mundane" just for me. hopefully moments like these will still be sprinkled throughout the years to come.

just remind me it's cupcake time okay? :)

now onto this past weekend! it was great to be amongst fellow handmade lovers! oh we do flutter around to our own little tunes. i love handmade markets. my lovely sister came and we shopped to our little hearts delight. :) mostly for other lovelies in our lives. i love showing support to fellow makers. :)

I have also added to the Inspire Lovely shelves pretty new items
***************************************************

{ garlands }

{ paper kits }

{ package kits }

and even better news.... i'm doing an Inspire Lovely giveaway very soon... ~~like maybe tomorrow~~ how about starting monday for a little more of a heads up :) *hint*hint*

But for now, i hope you enjoy a bit of creating and celebrating
off to go dance with rafael in my tummy :)
xoxo
-d

our little one

2011-07-29T11:37:00.000-07:00

after hitting the 20 week mark this week we were so excited to finally see our little one via ultrasound...

and to our delight we are so proud to announce that we are having a little boy! We had already picked out a name so it was wonderful to put a name to the image on the ultrasound. so bebe rafael is coming to meet us sometime december and we are beyond excited :)

and this is me laughing at both mr.rogers and mr.handsome. as mr.handsome was photographing i noticed mr.rogers sitting alone trying to eat all the little flies swarming around the kelp off the beach. it was hilarious because it was his first time at the beach and we'd never seen him go fly crazy :) and then again, i laugh at everything. at or with you hahaa. jk. i just realized i am officially outnumbered by men and i like it :)

and just because he makes me happy... this is us right now. about to have our life chapter totally transformed. it's fun to go through all the maternity apps on the iphone and share the info with him every night. it's been wonderful to finally have him feel rafael kick. and he is a little kicker... i've read it's supposed to feel like butterflies but all i've felt are swift kicks and i not so secretly love that. everyday since we found out our little one is baby rafael i feel any movement and i say hello little guy :) i can't wait for the next 20 weeks. what to do. what to expect. how to prepare. live in each moment. enjoy the silence :) good times.

so lately i've been working on expanding the "handmade" section of Inspire Lovely for the upcoming Queen Bee Market Saturday, August 6th Bayfront Hilton Downtown 1 Park Boulevard San Diego, California

last show i brought lots of twine, tags etc but this time i've got some more crochet love + paper kits + garlands+ embellishments to share. Pretty exciting. It will probably be the last show for this year so i hope to make it special :) so if you love handmade, the queen bee is the place to be xoxo.

happy fabulous friday love xo

love

-d

super duper

2011-07-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

i feel so improved.
the past three months have been some kind of crazy in all directions.
even before i found out i was pregnant i started noticing some "flashes" in my left eye. to top it off I was extremely dizzy. i kept telling mr.handsome i was going crazy! hahaa. he in turn said there was nothing wrong with his crazy wife & her mangy eye. ha. really? for weeks i felt SO not like myself. and since finding out we were expecting i STILL don't feel like myself.

but you know i was told that it was all normal and it would go away in 9 months.
9 months? oh the joy. all a part of being pregnant. 4 more months to go...
of crazy me + mangy eye
hahahaaa!
oh thank you sarcasm.
you rock.

lately i do welcome a change back into "normal"... my appetite has come back like the cookie monster.

I present you my tuna sandwich + deviled eggs :)

now i'm not much of a cook. although i do pride myself with some handy + sexy cupcake making skillz. but for months i really didn't have much of an appetite for anything. well yes. actually i did crave sushi like nobody's business. alas that is not allowed. well my tuna cans had been looking at me with there cute tuna eyes. i caved and made fresh tuna sandwich + jalapenos + tomato+ cilantro + onion = awesomeness. and just because i need the protein and i love deviled eggs.... i made some of those to :)

i ate all of this for lunch one day. i know. what a little ms.piggy.

umm... it's for the baby ;)

you know what i also love?

my fur baby mr.rogers.

this is us in the studio

and then here we are hugging it out

and finally here we are with our crazy faces

can you tell which one of us needs a nap?

we always make time to look cute.

and this is one with the whole family :)

i think we took a total of 30 shots and we got 2 of mr.rogers looking at the camera. i had to run back and forth to push the self timer button. which reminds me i need to invest in a remote control for the camera. but either way, my little family. hanging out on the stairs were we got married. sigh. xoxoxo :)

I also wanted to share this pretty peony i was gifted by the handsome man.

it was so very lovely indeed. and when it bloomed it had this cute pom pom of yellow & pink inside as a nice surprise!

the flower was the size of my face. talk about presence. stunning.

i love pretty pretty flowers. xoxo

so this is us picture wise. i hope you are fairing the climate well. i have begun making it a habit to chase after my candy man for a fresh popsicle :)

i wish you a wonderful life full of crazy normal xoxo

-d

mr.rogers & d

2011-06-28T13:57:00.001-07:00

i like to make new friends. especially furry ones.
i have a new friend in mr.rogers. our sweet new puppy. he's a handsome little fella and an adorable miniature schnauzer. he won me over the day i met him... he rested so close next to me... then put his little paw in my lap and looked into my eyes. i was a goner. oh how i love puppy love. he reminded me so very much of a sweet furry friend i had to say goodbye to over 10 years ago. My friend Teddy, who was the absolute loveliest dog in the world, not the brightest but definitely the most loving, comforting, fiercely compassionate friend i've ever known. the day he died it really hurt my heart. he was just shy of turning 14 years of age and it was his time but it just seemed selfish of me to still want him for me. to hold his cuddly face in my hands and give him a few eskimo kisses. just once more. i swore i would not let another little furry friend into my life until i was ready again. And just last week... after spending the past several months a bit too lonely here in the studio. i knew i wanted a sweet dear friend to cuddle with. to make me smile. to share a few happy eskimo kisses once again. xoxo

i know. we are having a little one come into our lives before the end of this year. i know. we are crazy to let this little furry 7 month old bundle of love come into our lives. but it was perfect timing honestly. having to say good bye to mister handsome every day for 40 + lonely hours - day after day, week after week, year after year.... for over 2+ years can get pretty lonely. i have no co-workers... and although i do count that as a blessing sometimes :) hehee i also miss having someone here. it's much too quiet. this place although lovely in every way with our decorations and such can get pretty quiet and boring. enter mr.rogers. :) he is learning spanish. he sports his designer martha stewart houndstooth collar. has promised to love everything crochet. plus doesn't beg or try to eat all my food... he comes back and forth from the lviing room to the studio room to peek his little face around the corner and check up on me. i love this about him :P

he brings drama into my life.
really
just 2 days with us he managed to get out of our little crate area for him while i was away. he set off our house alarm. police had to come to make sure it wasn't a robbery. and i had to rush back home from a thrift date with my mother to explain this little fur balls adventure. yes officer... i have this new crazy dog and i have yet to train him. so sorry for having to make you come all for this. but thank you anyway. as the female officer was leaving she made a nice remark about how she loved what we did with our valence and curtains. really nice. i said thank you kindly and whew! what a day! oh mr.rogers.... thank you. because you make my everyday memorable.
i forgot how that felt. to make everyday count. to remember little details like this. thank you for making me forget how boring my work life was before all this. and especially for all your cuddly cuteness i get to hug and embrace all day. i do believe mr.handsome is getting a wee bit jealous. ;P

ps: mr.handsome named mr.rogers after the amazing and wonderful mr.rogers tv series. ( all of which i slept through as a kid. big smile here --> :) mr.handsome on the other hand is his #1 fan. in honor of this fact i will be making mr.rogers our furry friend, a cardigan... and shoes to throw around. his name tag is engraved with his name: " Mr.Rogers :) "
perfect.

pps: i just wanted to say a big happy THANK YOU to each and everyone of you for sharing in our happy news. our little one is growing right along. we were able to hear a heart beat for the first time last week. It sounded like the cutest little drum :) A strong 165 beats. i keep thinking this is all very surreal. i have to repeat to myself that i am really pregnant. it just seems like a dream. a dream i'm beyond grateful for. the baby is really picky. i have not had a sip of starbucks since i found out i was pregnant. i cannot stand the smell of coffee! what is that?!mr.handsome is so very happy we actually are saving money because of this :) I also miss sushi dates :( i have put in an order the day i give birth for such a meal. fingers crossed :) thank you again for letting me share this new experience with you. next month we find out if we are having a boy or a girl. i have a preference... but you know... only because i've already crocheted everything in pink & red :) xoxo

with lots of mr.rogers eskimo kisses xoxo

-d

becoming...

2011-06-13T10:58:00.000-07:00

you + me + our little one :)

our first family photo xo

So today i am smiling from ear to ear in typing our happy news.

Early april 1- April fools day i told Mr.handsome how funny it would be to tell our mom's ( who of course have been asking where their grandchildren were) as an april fool's joke that we were pregnant. but we didn't my mom would've not found it so funny & drop kicked me halfway to the moon and back :) but just a few days later we had an answer to a very special prayer come true for us... we were pregnant. and it was no joke :)

we kept quiet. we prayed. we waited. we prayed some more. and we were more than thankful for our little secret. the weeks passed & we got this beautiful little portrait of our little one confirming how cute our little bundle of joy is teeny tiny cute. ( as per my sister norma's idea...) we waited for mother's day to tell our mom's. I packed a little kraft box with a framed portrait of the the mister & i - sadly we have never given our families our pictures -hahaa oops. and behind the picture frame we placed a photo -just like the one i'm holding in the photo above - tucked behind the frame. It said "hello grandma!" in spanish :)

and we waited. we met my family first. we were at a restaurant and i placed the box in front of my mom. & asked her to open it. She pulled out the framed photo and did the usual Awww.... and then i told her to look inside the box again... and she did. she pulled out the baby photo and she had it upside down :) and it took her a moment and she started to cry. she was speechless. and let me just say that hands down won the best mother's day gift of the year award :) people. my mama cried the rest of the time over her chicken fajitas like nobody's business. it was kind of sad if you didn't know she was actually crying for joy hahaa :) so hugs all around. joy. complete joy.

The same thing happened with mr.handsome's mom. she did the aww... with the framed photo & we asked her to look in her box again.. and she took a moment to see & read & then we all hugged with lots of happy smiles. it was wonderful. Mother's day was the best day of this year. Well, its definitely up there with the day we found out we were pregnant :)

from the moment i knew i wanted to date mister handsome... i knew before then he would be an amazing father. And that impressed me very much. You never really think about that when you date. I prayed a little prayer for a husband just like him :)

the mister is very unlike any man. he likes spending time with kids & family. He has become an amazing husband & my best friend. We had the best honest advice ever... wait to have kids. Thankfully we were blessed with 2 years of just us after marrying. And even though i knew i was getting older... never thought about "starting"a family in my thirties... but God has perfect timing. And it is all so good indeed.

we are living a new dream. a happy new start to a new chapter in our lives. thank you for letting me share a little bit of our story today. i hope it brings a little cheer your way. I am now in my second trimester and we are expecting our little one early december 15 and cannot wait to share more news in the next few weeks as to if our little one is a baby girl or boy. :)

sending you love,
-d & mr.handsome
and our little one xoxo

catching up

2011-05-25T16:28:00.000-07:00

seems like a loooong time since I've been here to say hello.
And it's very much because it has been such a long time. but i couldn't let may go by without sending a warm hello your way. hello lovely :)

earlier this month the handsome man and i packed up inspire lovely and hosted a booth at the awesome Queen Bee Market. Lovely handmade is the best. We enjoyed the vendors & shopping :)

mister handsome again proved his amazingness by painting "our" thrifted finds from last month into this wonderful weathered vintage white. Scuffs and all... i LOVE it ... i mean him ;P

i couldn't help myself. the day before the event we had a date at our local farmers market & we bought these beautiful ranunculus. * One of my favorite flowers * I knew immediately i wanted fresh flowers in our booth. they are both lovely & inspiring it seemed fitting :)

i think i concentrated on decorating rather than selling hahaaa. mr. kept looking at me like are you going to put the items to sell out now? *blushes* i do get distracted easily when i have some pretty flowers & sparkly butterflies. it's a girl thing... yes?

even our little business cards had a lovely spot next to a bowl of our favorite chocolate (Dove)... although mr.handsome has never met a chocolate he wouldn't eat. i hide all the chocolate :) hahaa.

pretty new tags & lovely colors. it's meant to be xoxo

fun times. more decorating & cheer amongst our treasures.

and finally back home.

The studio has gone through some spring cleaning updates & changes with a new fresh coat of white paint. so long aqua breeze walls. white on white is in & i love the fresh & clean appeal. My desk now sits in my corner love to make way for this beauty.

i might need to raid the anthro sale section for some new knobs this weekend :) i've got a few to update hahaa. I have a major crush on the cubbies. I have been wanting something like this since forever and found something similar on pottery barn but too expensive for the size. this beauty is outrageous with deep cubby space & all the partitions come out to change the size of each space. not to mention i paid half of what the price was for the one in pottery barn and got both the top & bottom pieces. score! i can actually say i learned a valuable lesson. * insert shock face from mr.handsome ---> patience really paid off thank you thrift store lovin'. *kisses* now to fill the drawers & organize the rest of the studio. ... cleaning never really ends at spring does it?

:)

more pictures to come once i have filled & decorated.
if you need me... this is where you can find me xo

the loveliest day to you
xo
-d

lovely wishes

2011-04-29T23:45:00.000-07:00

today was a super long day. after staying up at 1 am until 4 am to watch & enjoy the fabulous wedding festivities of william & cate i felt like a loooong nap was in order :) and after said nap, i woke up with so much glee & joy i just had to express it via my tummy. i kept wanting to create a little tea party all day but seeing as i was the only one home i thought that would be silly. but then again, when was the last time i really enjoyed a royal wedding?! And to think so many wonderful people worldwide were also watching & sending so many of their lovely wishes out to the royal couple too. So let's celebrate shall we? i decided to bake a little something something for mr.handsome & myself in honor of the royal hip hip hooray today.

i hope you enjoy the eye candy xoxo

i google searched the royal flag & created a little mini flag version in photoshop to make the little flag. I simply free styled the cut and wrapped the flag around my pinkie to create the wave flow effect. added a little double sided square to the back left side of the paper flag & wrapped it around a wooden tooth pick. simple & sweet :)

i thoroughly enjoy a good upside down pine apple cake. my mama makes the best. :P

i love the vintage style plastic flowers so much. while watching the royal wedding i found myself wishing to dress up in a pretty hat. when i was looking through my baking stash i knew this little pretty flower would be a wonderful "royal hat" topping off a very dainty cupcake. xo

and sometimes there are no words to express how much i love my own prince charming.

i love that he makes my wildest dreams come true ( napoleon dynamite joke here)

for putting up with self portrait photo shoots his crazy wife insists are SUPER important and necessary while random people watch 1001 takes.

totally understands my need to bake a whole box of cupcake mix for just the 2 of us and not on a birthday. plus having to eat said cupcakes for breakfast lunch and dinner for the next week.

and coming home hungry yet waiting on me patiently to eat dinner together even though my impromptu photo shoot ( of cupcakes no less :) took longer than expected.

setting up the tv upstairs in our bedroom ( i hate tv's in bedrooms... except on royal wedding days :) and staying up at the butt crack of dawn to watch a wedding we were not invited to together.

never mind he went to work without a long nap. i took that for the both of us. *smiles* i love this man. as much as i love naps xoxo

good times

i've got extra cupcakes... come on over :)

xoxo

-d

peaceful

2011-04-21T23:21:00.000-07:00

hello :)

goodness it's been a while.
i've missed sharing some daily pics ( more than a few weeks :( so sorry ) i have come back to share a few from a perfectly lovely day with my handsome man.

my current loves...
flowers and peace.

just looking back at these photos makes me feel happy. i've been laying low, designing a few things and getting ready for a craft fair in early May. Thinking, pondering and creating kind of lead me to unplug a bit from here but I have indeed missed you. I hope your days have been filled with beautiful spring weather.

These were from a week ago along the coronado ferry landing. i love the skyline in the back. :)

pretty pretty orangey flowers + a sweet rose perfume = lovely xoxo

caught this little bee scurrying away inside a rose. completely content & happy. so cute.

I like bees even though i was stung once.

My name Deborah means "Bee" and i seriously wish it meant something deeper than that hahaa.

oh and don't ever call me deborah. i freak out. my mom is the only one that calls me that and only if she's yelling at me *big cheesy smile*.

and i only go by debee.

never deb.

never ever.

ever.

ever never.

no. no. no. deb. no. no. no.

ever.

pretty & please :)

i always tell everyone that line in "you've got mail" i'm sweet like honey but i sting like a bee!

i love that line.

and i always think of the episode of "full house" when stephanie tanner runs around the house with her honeybee costume. total classic. :)

i love this pretty rose. too bad i never can grow them quite so pretty. i can grow a succulent like nobodies business though. green thumb up*

i think of mister handsome every time i hum the song "nobody loves me like you" by jars of clay.

i love this part:

No one loves me like you

No one loves me the way you do

No one loves me like you

No one loves me the way, the way that you do

in 3 days we will celebrate our 2nd anniversary.

and i'm so thankful for these 2 years all by ourselves.

he's helped find the best part of me. and forgiven the all the rest of the crazy parts :)

i love him from the bottom of my heart all the way to the tippy top.

i wish you a wonderful spring day
some fresh flowers
+ a big happy hug
xo
-d

hello lovely

2011-04-09T23:20:00.000-07:00

{ photo 16 }

i've got the hots for wee little buttons & charms + crochet art

i would have never thought i'd get super happy & excited finding pretty crochet potholders and buttons.

{ photo 17 }

a charming butterfly insecta

or butterflies in frames.

{ photo 18 }

doilies & mini fancy butter plates

all these things have found there way into a happy home. oh how i would have LOVED to have lived "back in the day" when these beautiful pieces were the norm. Over tea & croissants i would kindly offer you a wee bit of butter served on this cute mini dish. so very lovely indeed :)

a girl can only dream

-d

good good day

2011-04-08T23:55:00.000-07:00

{ photo 14 }

postcard+paper garland xoxo = sweet little inspiration

i had a few postcard prints on my desk and decided i wanted to hang them up. except instead of framing them ( i'm afraid to commit to a hole in the wall :)... i simply clipped them with a mini wooden clip to a garland i already had decorating a wall. i love simple. :)

{ photo 15 }

sweets for the sweet xo

remember me talking about my dear friend ro & her wedding? it was a blast!

for her bachelorette party just us girls got together to enjoy an early brunch. I decided to bring little presents for everyone. I purchased some of my favorite cupcakes from babycakes to treat the girls. SO good! i love the cream cheese frosting. it's so delicious :) They were so awesome and boxed each cupcake separately for me. So i ended up taking a little on the go kit ( scissors, red twine, paper flowers, vintage silver leaf, dainty doily, tags & butterflies ) and added theses elements to each box. easy peasy. it was such a good day. giving sweet cupcakes to anyone i think makes them an instant friend hahaa!

( we've tried the red velvet, blood orange, maple & bacon, poppy seed, dark chocolate & chocolate dipped strawberry and all of the above are crazy good ). what can i say... sweets are a girls best friend *smiles*.

because there is always time for a cupcake + simple inspiration

xoxo

-d

thank you xo XO

2011-04-07T23:45:00.000-07:00

{ photo 13 }

so very thankful tax season is over for us :)

finishing the day on a happy note.
today we paid a visit to our fabulous tax lady.
showered her with gifts ( this postcard set in the photo above ) in hopes to show her how wonderful we think she is.

as scatterbrained as i am i am very thankful for her. xo

i'm even more thankful for mr.handsome for putting up with me and my piles of receipts everywhere :)
because even though 2010 had some high highs ( teaching my first class both in person & online + working on a unique card range with an amazing card company + staying married ;P) the year also brought some very low lows ( losing another job- yet again, finding my way, finding new direction... both change & growth really hurt + leaving the past behind) even still it was a good year.

despite the lack of money, the lack of work and the lack of self-confidence... mr.handsome always pushed me to believe good was just around the bend. i love it when that happens :)

good is always up ahead xoxo

-d

every day beauty

2011-04-06T23:46:00.000-07:00

{photo 12 }

seeking.

working.

hoping.

loving.

beauty in the every day.

simple & sweet xoxo

i'm working on a few things. i have a big plan. a plan that includes another online class. and pretty things are happening around the studio to make it happen. are you ready for another class? just like last time I think it would be nice to see a show of lovely hands.

Maybe a smaller class? Longer session? More videos? ( maybe i will dance for you this time? hahaa. no. i think i will just try not to look too nervous *wink*) New technique? Q&A is totally a go so if you have any questions or want to share a :" i think i would like to see..." thoughts.... i'm pretty much considering any and everything :)

so lets do it shall we? lets have some fun!

this will be my second online class so i hope ( crossing fingers ) to offer you an improved version of myself :) last class was awesome & i definitely learned so much. xoxoxo thank you to all the lovelies who took the class! xoxo

it's that time again... time to be brave & embrace the mess

you wanna join in on the fun?

-d

gotta look good when you eat :)

2011-04-05T17:51:00.000-07:00

{ photo 11}

bring on the pretty napkins. i mean really look at that fabric right?! delish xo

today looked like this. everytime i get a bit hungry and in a rush i make this soup. In spanish we call it sopita. it's simple and very pleasing. i remember eating it as a little girl. I love all the shapes. i would play with my soup spelling out words in my spoon. And looky there. i still play with my food :)

even though i was eager to share my breakfast with you i was so hungry. I didn't want to play stylist with my food too long. when i get hungry. watch out. throw whatever food you have at me and fast. srsly. mr handsome likes to call that my "grouchy pants" moments.
which are often.
but whatevs.
we can't all be perfect. ( i always assure him that it happens to most people right? does that happen to you?)

anyhoo, like my little nephew baby g says EAT EAT!
hahaa

off to make some dinner for the handsome man.
i hope you are enjoying some yummy food in your life too xo
-d

new favorite thing: sewing

2011-04-04T23:49:00.000-07:00

{ photo 7 }

I think I might love collecting colorful spools of thread more *heeehee*

lately I've been really enjoying my sewing class. Not just because it gives me a reason to leave the house and drive someone else crazy :) But also because learning something new is a welcome challenge for me. This year i made it a goal to learn to knit & sew. So far I've got the sewing coming along and hope to share some humble looking projects I've worked on :)

{ photo 8 }

xo *hearts come in all shapes & colors* xo

I did take these while the teacher was talking :)

yeah, i will do anything for a cute photo

and why yes... i completely think of jolly ranchers every time i see this picture. ( my favorite is the fruit punch mmmm :)

{ photo 9 }

{ photo 10 }

the essentials all dolled up

So playing is also learning new things.

It's figuring out you like to make your thread stand out from the fabric.

It's therapeutic.

It's eye candy.

It's refocusing.

It's believing in yourself.

It's accepting my own imperfections.

It's finding patience for oneself is harder than i think.

It's accepting that sewing is not so scary since I'm fully armed with a new seam ripper. :)

learning is accepting the process... that just like everything else I've learned ( playing guitar, drumming, photography, crochet etc ) i can only get better. oh i can remember how defeated i felt when i first started learning how to drum. sitting there tears rolling down my face. just broken. with my whole heart i longed to "just get it". so willing yet not willing to give up "perfection". until i let go it was then i truly embraced what learning is about. learning is an everyday process. sucking for a little while is okay :) it's not forever. keep going. tomorrow you are a going to be AWESOME.

so me and my seam ripper are buddies.

we're cool like that. ;)

here's to more frustrating things to learn.

and the complete thrill & hope for "someday" finally achieving it.

-d

love in the mix

2011-04-03T23:08:00.000-07:00

{ photo 4 }

a little piece of heaven xoxo

Today we gathered as a family and presented our lovable sweet new baby nephew Mateo to God. We prayed beautiful blessings over his life and promised our own to his. To always bless, love & support him throughout life. A promise is a promise little one. We've got your back baby boo :)

Completely a lovely and tender memory xo

Afterwards we had to celebrate with a fun family gathering :)

{ photo 5 }

getting creative & playing with food. pretty & delicious :)

So Mr.Handsome and I made what we love to share with family & friends and that is the following Mango Salsa.

{ photo 6 }

Mixed in are mangoes, avocados, cucumbers, red onion, red & yellow bell peppers, jicama, jalapeños, lemons, limes, salt, pepper & lots of chips. It's always refreshing & mouth watering, I hope you try it :)

this weekend has been a wonderful one indeed.
I hope you enjoy a little family & food love
*smiles*

-d

day no.2

2011-04-02T10:28:00.000-07:00

{ photo no.3 }

today i felt this image captures the beauty of the wedding i'm about to be a part of.

LOVE is a beautiful thing xo

one of my dear best friends is getting married today. i've known her since the 7th grade and have been friends ever since. Never did we think that out of all the casual friends we'd come to know that it would be us left standing. we never fight. never talk cr*p. never drama. i only have low key friends like that :) but it is what it is. it's simple. it's honest. it's a true friendship. it's love.

i love her like a sister.
i love her high pitched laugh.
i love her cute 5 ft. nothing stature and her 5 inch heels.
i love her faith in our friendship.
i love that when i look back on the most important events in my life ( playing my first rock concert as a drummer, showing my first one man art show, choir + music recording class, graduation etc.
i remember her.
she made those times good ones.

and i credit her for teaching me tagalog enough to say:

Mahal kita ro ro :)

i'm off to show my love & support as a bridesmaid :)
here's hoping i don't trip & fall walking down the aisle in the heels i haven't worn for 2 years.
or faint ;P

that would totally happen to me.
and ro for sure would bust out laughing. so i guess that's the up side. ha!

xo
-d

april love

2011-04-01T14:34:00.000-07:00

happy april!
and happy friday :)
i'm full of excitement and energy for this month and I'm starting with one goal: PLAY

I'm attempting something i've never really done before and that is a photo a day kind of a deal. Just for this month though :) So here is to posting more "creative-ish" photos. I firmly believe creativity in order to thrive must be played with :) so today while moving things around the studio and preparing to spring clean and move furniture around to collect dust bunnies ( i have no shame- i have dust bunnies and cute ones ;P) i snapped these photos.

{ photo 1 }

moving my desk around to the corner spot...

i might have to find another place for these guys but i thought i should give them one more snap shot just in case xoxo. helloooooo pom poms!

{ photo 2 }

this little guy is so cute on top of embroidery thread wound on mini spools xo

i've been keeping little bits and pieces in cubbies for a while and thought i'd share this cutie pie. I love the honey color and pretty purples. Lovely indeed.

this month is going to be a great month. starting with today :) Finding joy and happiness in the simple things. creativity + camera phone = awesome happy

i hope you take a little time this month to capture some awesomeness around you and in you xoxo

-d

everyone, meet my friend puppy

2011-03-31T14:37:00.000-07:00

a few months ago a little missy cat had a wee litter of kitties and they took over our residential area. Everywhere you go you will find a cat. A cat here a cat there... cats everywhere. I always wondered who owned them or who even took care of them. ( PS: it's my neighbors little cat... she just lets him play around outside :) Every time i see a cat i meow at it. you know, it's nice to say hi sometimes. :) And every now and then i would have a meowing contest with a cat. cute.

then one day i met this little one. i can't say if its a girl or a boy so i call it puppy. mr.handsome thinks i'm giving it a complex by calling it a puppy but cats are already complex critters so it's cool. :)

Puppy and I are pals. This is how he greets me whenever i see him. He rolls over on his back waiting to play. adorable right? what a sweet little thing!

we sit and play with twigs. he's such a little pup and full of energy. i love watching him chase & play with everything.

He reminds me so much of my first cat friend i ever had, Sasha. My best friend in high school and i won him at a .25 cent game during a school fair. I convinced my sister ( who is allergic to cats :) to forge my parents signature of approval in order to take him home. Snuck him in my backpack past my mom ( who dislikes all animals ) and introduced him to my dad ( who LOVES animals ) when he got home from work so that he could fall in love with him and allow me to keep him. :)

He quickly became Sasha Hailey Campos ( we gave him a girl name thinking he was a girl at first and then he wasn't hahaaa! go figure! ) oh that little guy was adorable... at the time i also had 2 cocker spaniels and he loved to ride on one of them and eat his dog food. He even learned all the commands: sit, stay, come.... he was perfect.

i've always wanted a cat & a dog. but mr.handsome likes only dogs. :(

I love my little friend puppy. He is so loyal. He follows us home. He loves hanging out on our porch waiting for me to come out and play with him. And all this without giving him treats or food. We just hang out and kick it together. true buddies :)

look at that sweet face!
what's not to love?

I also love how photogenic he is. ;)

puppy love xoxoxo
++++++++++++++++

now onto some thrifty news ( so that you don't completely think of me as some weird cat lady :)
earlier this week i woke up and felt REALLY super awesome. i had this feeling like something good was going to happen. of course. it had to be thrifty related :)

I usually go to only my fav thrift stores but decided to go to one i never really find anything amazing at. Weird right? Yeah, i walk in and find the following 2 pieces.

I had been searching IKEA for a piece of furniture like this but never found one within our price range & sturdy enough. These are 2 separate pieces and we plan on putting the piece with the cubbies on top of the drawer unit.

i quickly snapped these photos and sent them to mr.handsome and got a definite approval.

on top of that i ask about a discount... and sure enough discount + no sales tax. love!

*happy face*

this is my new project. which means my studio room needs to be revamped.
we've begun sanding both pieces down and I have some color ideas for both pieces but i'm to chicken to actually paint them a bold color. I'm thinking a bright vintage green?! yikes! the very thought kind of scares me. Paint it white or go with a bold color? what to do what to do?

what do you think?

girlfriend needs some help :)
-d

spring is peeking through

2011-03-25T16:50:00.000-07:00

no more debee blue :)

i have had visions of beautiful butterflies fluttering around my mind for months now. probably since christmas. i think since then i have been willing and wishing spring to come :)

So sorry for having been gone for so long from here. I've missed sharing and now have a bit of loveliness to share with you xo

as evidence shows i have thrifted some wonderful tea cups :) when i find a pretty cup sitting amongst the shelves of a thrift store i immediately have to tell myself to not do a jiggy dance out of sheer excitement. it's so thrilling and yet i have to just pretend ..."oh this ol thing... eh, sure. i'll take it :)

what i also love is that i will be paying at the check stand and some beautiful soul will make a comment about the beauty of my wee tea cup and i will always feel a sweet connection. a bond if you will to all things sweet & pretty. vintage love baby, it's pretty awesome.

i then make my cups feel right at home and they inspire me as they sit around my studio filled with cheez-its.. why yes, i eat crackers with style . it almost makes everything taste better :)
then today i said to myself, Myself. enough is enough. it's time to share the pretty cups with the world!
a bit of a photoshoot ensued. each little cup i hold like i'm giving it a hug. i'm always afraid to break them. nothing lasts around here... i am prone to breaking things constantly. thankfully they seem to know never to be in my hands for too long. just sit and smile little cups :)

i made pretty spring butterfly embellishments to welcome spring ( now available in the shop ) . oh the picnics to be had! the sun bathing on the beach. the bike rides and soft petally flowers... sounds so promising :)

i would really like to wish you a happy friday and even more.... a beautiful spring!

and some happy thrifting :)

xoxo
-d

tea & sparkles for you xo

2011-03-09T14:24:00.000-08:00

lately I've been in a bit of a rut.
I usually get a little gloomy around winter time so it's nothing out of the ordinary. But since I started working from home it seems like i need to make it a point to just play and not "work". So today, I went through my thirfty finds and found a tea cup i recently purchased at my goodwill + doily + anthro file folder and added in a bit of confetti stars + sprinkled with a cute glimmery sheen.... to finish this little bit of good mojo i added a vintage swallow i love.

i took one peek and yes. yes. indeed.
perfect.
i will drink to this :)
and i even saved you a cup xoxo
*smiles*

I even have a cute little friend in the shop with me looking like a bit of spring.
spring! hurry pretty please! hehee

today i headed over for a sweet lunch with my sister. One of her students is super sweet and has been very nice to me since I started helping out in her class. This little girl is so adorable, she goes to tell my sister something and then comes to tell me... " you and your sister are so beautiful". awwwwww! srsly melting heart. Kids are so cute at that age. Just say what you feel... i think it's nice to tell people really nice things especially when said person feels like cr*p. :)

I need to pass that bit of goodness along.
So psssst....

i think you're beautiful *

with that being said i wanted to make something for sweet andrea as a gift from both my sister and myself.
i packed a few extra goodies i had around the studio and had to take photo of it since i really wanted to just start adding photos to it :)

I hope she likes this little bag of goodness. It makes me happy with all these bright colors and patterns all mixed together. Totally a pick me up. Just what i needed.

Yesterday I also added a few extra ribbons that i discovered after cleaning a bit around the studio. I have the little basket filled to the brim on my desk. I know i shouldn't hoard stuff but all the eye candy really is tempting. I just need to make time to make something wonderful. I hope your days are filled with pretty spring colors. At least they live here via pictures right? :)

hurry hurry spring!
another round of tea and sprinkles for everyone!
xoxo
-d

baby gifts are better fuzzy :)

2011-03-04T15:20:00.000-08:00

Just as soon as I found out my sister Sara was pregnant with her first baby I knew I wanted to make a special gift. And what better way to show someone you absolutely love them than giving a handmade gift ? :) Although I had seen several patterns on etsy with cute stuffed toys... I wondered if i was ready to attempt making one myself. I sat bewildered thinking amigurumi looked so hard. i had stalked anapaulaoli etsy a few months before. favorited this bear & bird duo pattern. And i hit purchase. I was gonna do this! Albeit wonky looking and very handmade, he is bursting with lots of love :)

everyone meet little Roo Bear and his little bird friend Bloo.

He barely measures over 3 inches in height but i love him so. mr.handsome and i loved watching him come to life. One little head, two cutie pie ears, one little body, two little sweet hands, the button eyes and silly little embroidered smile. he was made to be loved :)

I also had made this popcorn stitch blanket earlier. I think the stitch lends itself with the teddy bear theme I was going for. As soon as we knew that we were going to welcome a sweet baby nephew I knew I wanted to go with a teddy theme :)

In my search for all cute a cuddly teddy bears i also saw many teddy beanie hats for babies. I purchased the pattern from InnerHooker etsy and decided to modify the ears a bit to include a dual color ear. Its the first time I've ever modified a pattern and I feel like such a rebel. But after looking at the ears, they look cuter with the 2 different colors. So much teddy bearish i think.... mr.handsome kept putting the beanie on his head and it looked more like he had a mini donut on hahaaa! thats what we do for fun. i make him wear everything i make.... flower motifs get put on mr.handsome's shoulder, he holds my ball of yarn for me... gently unwinding the ball of yarn as I go. aww.... no wonder he calls me his hot grandma wife. :)

Here they are all wrapped up and ready to go to the baby shower! I think this was such a learning adventure for me. I practiced a little patience. A little bit of brain power changing the pattern a bit. And i even liked the end result. I am a very proud mama bear, at least to this little guy *smiles*. Now I'm a little more than excited to make some extra cuties for my little one someday.
my list of projects keeps growing and growning

*sigh
but honestly, if i get something cuddly and cute out of it every time i think its exciting!

Ps: I also wanted to let you know blues & greens are now stocked in the shop for some fun

xo-
d

how lovely indeed

2011-02-25T14:05:00.000-08:00

it seems we are all pretty much sisters :)

a little me time, a little family time, a bit of chocolate, a nice cup of coffee, enjoying words from our loved ones, a patch of sunshine, happy mail, reconnecting with friends, all so very lovely and dear.

I love you a bit more for sharing with me :)

Our first winner:

Our International winner:

Ladies, please e-mail me at belladrummer@gmail.com with your address. You have one week from today to e-mail me and claim your prize. If I don't hear from you I will pick another lucky winner at random :)

i have to explain our international winner... because after i posted the giveaway to my blog i immediately called mr.handsome at work and asked him what lifts him up? I was totally serious and really expecting something deep and meaningful like an answer with me in it :) but he responded... An elevator.
oh geez. i rolled my eyes. okay mister. he laughs at his jokes that silly man. So anyway i said, if anyone answers "an elevator" they for sure win as his choice. Because sometimes a good sense of humor is the perfect thing to lift your spirits. :) So congrats Dee!

my favorite right now is cuddling with mister handsome. i know you are all probably sick of me crushing on him but my goodness he just really has the right personality, character and humor to balance me out. even if his jokes aren't super funny, i love laughing with/at him. :P

come what may, we are better together.

even if he makes funny faces after i ask him not to.
even if he repeats cheesy Twilight movie lines that sound super unromantic...it's so bad!
even if he doesn't really laugh at my jokes ( which are SUPER funny because i like to make jokes about the mister ha! )
i still love him to pieces.
we ate at corvette diner recently and had some free tokens to play a few games. Ski ball and some basketball hoops were played. And with the remaining balance we took these photos in a makeshift photobooth. he actually offered to pose. and then he made faces while i was trying to be all lovey dovey. oh well, the kids will at least know i'm the good looking one hahaaaa! just kidding.

he's my only one.
i've never kissed another man
my heart has never loved anyone but him.
he's right up there with cute puppies and ferrero rocher chocolate.
it's more like a 3 way tie and it's a close race. :)
i'm thankful for the blessing that he is and has been.
I love our time together and that my sweet friends is what lifts me up
xo

thank you all for your kind words about the cards. I believe the cards are only available in UK stores. I know boutiques will carry them but i'm not sure if they will be available online for purchase. I might just have to make new ones to sell in my shop :) I'm sending you all a very big hug xo

happy friday!
xo
-d

bella by akadaisy giveaway

2011-02-21T16:45:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time... a long long time ago. ( last july ) i received a lovely e-mail from a sweet and kind soul, Kathryn from Hotchpotch publishing in the UK about a possible collaboration. At first I thought... goodness... design cards. hmm... when was the last time i even sent a card out? :P oops. you know, i buy them and i never really get around to sending them. :)

But I initially figured it would be fun to design a few and I said yes. Then a few days later i found out i was being laid off from my job where i had worked 7 years. Even though the transition to becoming a full-time self employed worker seemed totally overwhelming... i really felt like i needed a change from the negative people and environment i had been dealing with for several years. I left that job but the negativity from the past was something that left me with little faith and confidence to create anything from a safe place in my heart. This collection almost didn't happen. Through and through mister handsome and the lovely miss kathryn always showed me they had faith in me. I'm very grateful for the kindness miss kathryn showed me. Not even knowing me, never having met me. She sent kind words my way. I was lifted to a better place. A place i couldn't get to alone. I can now tell you with pure conviction looking back now, i really credit them both with the success of this pretty range. In a very difficult time for me personally, something lovely, sweet, generous and fulfilling came out of it. That makes it all worth it i think :) And i haven't looked back, this little collection is dear to me. It reminds me to never lose hope. Move forward and the good will rise up to meet you.

My dear sweets, i give you the Bella range of 12 unique cards lovingly made to share with sweet friends. I hope this little collection moves you and sends you a little cheer your way too. Each card is full of beautiful details. I'd love to share a few of my favorites xo

The collection started with this pretty card. The picture is special as it is that of mr handsome and i on our wedding day. this card was easy. it came from a very positive place. i love him. and this my thank you mister for your happy love. xo

I love the cute mini gem placed on the ring. ( that's mr.handsome and my hand :) I kept thinking about mr handsome... he makes my heart pitter patter. swoon xo

this card was pretty fun. I love the little banner so much. I think you can never have too much paper love. :)

so this card was fun too, from the paper design, to shooting the photo ( mr.handsome and my hand again :) what a lucky guy right? he gets to be my hand model hahaa- ) to using up my paper punches. it was pretty sweet even with the added silver foil details too. I love that. I think they did an incredible job printing these.

i remember thinking how difficult it was trying to design something that best describes sympathy. this card took a bit of work but thankfully, i think it really shows sympathy doesn't have to be all sad but it can be genuine and pretty :) They added sequins to the top of the card so it has added dimension! i LOVE those sweet details so much. i appreciate the little things :)

here i was channeling my sisters. i have 3 lovely sisters. i don't know how i would be who i am without them. i love that they are each so different. I have a different relationship with each of them and it's all cool :) in fact, today i gave my sister norma her set of cards and i had to hold my little tears of gratitude back as i gave the cards to her. I thanked her for sharing her love of paper with me. She, my dear friends is the reason i got into "scrapbooking". She very well gets some credit for this little collection too :) She's a great source of inspiration and love. And she even shares her extra art goodies with me too :)

So on that note... i want to share too !

I think the world needs more kind words and what better way to share them than written inside these pretty cards. There are 12 designs and they each measure 6" x 6" in size and come with envelopes.

I would love to give away 2 sets of cards to 2 lucky readers ( one domestic and one international ).
I will pick the lucky winners this friday. I wish you a lovely day and thank you for letting me share this little collection :)
xo
-d

Here is how to enter for the giveaway please answer this question:
"What lifts you up?

february loves shades of purple

2011-02-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

i heart all things purpley...
it was once my fav color.
i once owned a pair of nice blush purple pants from express. (they had this lace detail)
i thought they looked hot :)
i love wearing purple...
even though i rarely ever do.
i severely dislike anything grape flavored ( other than real grapes)
i absolutely love welches grape juice and popcicles. mmmm mmm good.

i also love little tangerine birds and think them to be quite handsome little fellas.
pst...... i heard this one loves to tango *smiles*

shop update this monday with all shades of pretty purples, pinks and citrus orange :)

ps: tonight after a few days of laying low from being sick I am ready to play :)
my sweet sister is coming over, new friends, pizza, cupcakes frosted and sprinkled with love, and lots of crafting. we are ready to celebrate friendship month :) yay! I will show you more come monday!

xo
-d

live it up

2011-02-04T15:50:00.000-08:00

so over the last few days mr.handsome and i have lived... the end. hahaa! i kid. it's much more interesting than that :)

so sprinkles cupcakes has finally hit san diego and mr.handsome and i packed ourselves into the car to treat ourselves. except that i didn't google the place. i just kind of rolled with it.

to my dismay ( and because i was the one driving) ... i was able to locate an anthropologie! ha! ahahahahahaaaaa ! bwahahaaaaa! mr.handsome gave me the stink face.asked for the iphone and sat himself on the bench. cool. i think he's completed all the levels of angry birds. way to go mister :P

we finally found the little itty bitty store that is sprinkles with a mother of a line wrapped around all the way to the back of the plaza. it was about an hour until closing and honestly... it looked like a line for a ride at disneyland. i was done. no thanks. i mean the cupcakes are good but not enough to wait in a line with 100 people in it. oh well. at least we made it to anthro i happily said to mr.handsome. stink face again. (gosh he's so good at that :)

next up... mr.handsome gets tickets to see conan!!!! coco! awesome. we welcome a 2 day trip to LA with some pretty fun times to be had. I know it's weird but i love hanging around mr.handsome. we've been married for over 2 years dated for 4.5 years and he's still fun. go figure. :) We ate at our favorite place Mozza ( LOVE!!!), appeared on tv as part of conan's audience, waited for kogi's (world's bestest taco's ever) taco truck in the shadiest street corner at night. the best. shady and all. sat around in traffic forever. i sang to mr.handsome the entire way home. i made up notes i didn't even know existed. rock on :)

we came home and i forgot my studio is a mess. and i'm afraid to even look at it.
but i don't clean a thing. i'm afraid of the mess. i can't even look back. to scared and to busy procrastinating.

so I end up going to my sweet sister's 1st grade class and we work on valentine tags! yay valentines day :) at that age they get all excited. I really miss those days. what the heck right? in fact i've always loved valentine's day even when I was single. I would buy myself a bunch of candies... my favorite combo meal AND some pretty smelling lotions from Victoria's secret. hello be good to yourselves. you're totally worth it. now, i still buy myself stuff and tell mr.handsome he bought it for me hahaa :)

so truth: my desk is a HUGE mess. So is my hair. So is Nena. It's all kinds of crazy happening up in here. so just in case if anyone still thinks i'm normal.

eh. i'm not :)

so this super bowl weekend I'm gonna be cheering for the nachos and oreo dirt cups :)
I hope you have a wonderful and yummy weekend!

xo
-d

oh me oh my :)

2011-01-31T15:07:00.000-08:00

i see some lucky ladies

Winner of the Inspired Postcard Set is:

Winner of the A Soft Cream Felt Handmade Flower Embellishment is:

Winner of the Red Puffy Heart Ribbon is:

Winner of the A Lovely Floral Mix of Handmade Felt Embellishments is:

Winner of the Exclusive Valentine Gift Tags is:

if you are one of the lovely winners please e-mail me at belladrummer@gmail.com with your post address to mail your valentine goodness to you :) I thank you all for sharing some Inspire Lovely news and i'm pretty sure this won't be the last giveaway *hint*hint* so i will definitely be doing this again. I LOVE giveaways :)

ps: so sorry for the delay in posting the winners. I had the chance to take my first sewing class today and I'm officially full of glee and cheer to be in a room full of kindred spirits :) I have a feeling Nena is gonna be my bestest homie. And I cannot wait to share my projects with you as the class goes along. i can't stop smiling. awesome.

pure awesomeness :)

i wish you some awesome too

xoxo

-d

A sweet Giveaway :)

2011-01-28T10:14:00.000-08:00

I'm picking 5 winners :)
You could win one of these items inspired by Valentine's Day xoxo:

Inspired Postcard Set

A Soft Cream Felt Handmade Flower Embellishment

Red Puffy Heart Ribbon

A Lovely Floral Mix of Handmade Felt Embellishments

Exclusive Valentine Gift Tags

If you would like to be entered to win there are 3 things you can do:
- Tweet
- Facebook
- Blog
a favorite item ( with the link) from the Inspire Lovely etsy shop.
You can use the pictures on ETSY

Then leave a comment here with a link :)

I will pick 5 winners Monday morning with a little help from mister handsome ;)

Yay for pretty things!
have a beautiful weekend,
xo
-d

ps: the shop is live!

this girl loves a pretty mess

2011-01-26T20:14:00.000-08:00

- i've been playing with shimmery sequins and i love them. i found a few packs while thrifting the other day and honestly, how dainty and sweet right? I had to share a photo of my messy desk with you. it's pretty much a happy moment while stressing over some deadlines. but so worth it.
- i have a few resolutions this year. one resolution is to learn to like running. my first reaction to running is... i need a pack of rabid animals chasing me at full speed to make me run... and even still. i would totally think about it. run or be bit? hmmm...
well ladies, i have run over 63 miles ( i run almost everyday ) this month alone. can i get a go girl?! heck to the yes. i feel like i'm friends with my pack of rabid animals. i'm not trying to lose weight. my motto is: "i don't want my jiggle to wiggle". yeah, you heard that here first :) i don't want to be wiggly anymore. time to make the arm flab go away. for now, when i feel like not running, i chant jiggle don't wiggle.jiggle don't wiggle hahaa! it's so wrong but it works. :P

- i've pretty much stopped believing in the rest of my new year's resolutions. it's not even february. i might need some inspiration here. but there you go. i guess i'm a one resolution kind of girl. :)

one thing i was sharing with mr.handsome is sharing some inspire lovely items with you all! He of course agreed it would be wonderful. everyone loves pretty stuff :)

so this friday i have another Inspire Lovely shop update PLUS a few giveaways :) I'm thinking 5 yay!
The shop will be updated 12 noon ( pacific time :) and the giveaways will be posted in a fresh lovely new post then. I promise it's gonna be fun :) for now, I started a facebook page for Inspire Lovely and would love to see you there. It's also a hint for this friday's giveaway ;)

oh goody :)

i hope you are lovely
xo
-d

hello lovelies

2011-01-14T15:11:00.000-08:00

it's been some time since i've been here to share. i have been busy behind the computer. maxing out my free music limit from pandora. making a huge mess in the studio. locking myself out of the house yesterday... only to be rescued by my hero mr.handsome. good times :)

today i finally announce my very good news...

my new little shop Inspire Lovely is going to be opening tomorrow ( saturday ) at 9 am ( pacific time ) .
Yay!

and i hope you can come take a peek.

I've stocked the shop with 100 of my most favorite items to share with you.

Some art,
some paper love,

some crochet love,
some packaging love...

= happiness.

The shop looks so cute with all the packaging with the new store logo i designed.

there have been many moments where i have to ask myself it it's really coming true.

it's here. it's so real.

my studio is busting at the seams with boxes of items for the shop.

it's awesome.

this has been a very happy journey and i'm beyond thrilled to finally be able to share this will you all xoxo

i hope you find something wonderful here :)

I had so much fun putting everything together, even mr.handsome lent a helping hand hehee.

Hope you enjoy and thank you kindly for peeking :P

and before i go, last friday i made a quick trip to my local farmers market. it's literally next to a pier by the beach. as i was shopping for flowers and humus i couldn't help but take a deep breathe of the salty ocean air.

i wished so much for you to feel it. the sun shining on your face. the sound of the waves so peaceful and tame. i took this photo for you. i thought you could use a moment of peace too :)

sending you some flowers and peace
xo
-d

hello 2011

2011-01-04T15:16:00.000-08:00

as i was "working" in the studio i accidentally spilled a jar of sequins all over the floor. my first reaction was how lame i was. i totally forgot to close the lid. in looking at the mess i instantly saw this shimmery happy mess as the prettiest mess i've made yet. it's so easy to stop looking at things with a different perspective. or maybe i'm just going crazy :) but i've been reflecting. pondering. willing and working at finding new ways to explore 2011 with a shimmery new perspective. my father always says to not wish for things that people can steal from you, but to pray for things that can never be stolen. like happiness. wisdom. hope. grace. love. i want 2011 to overflow with a lovely shimmery light of all these things in my mind, my heart and my soul. i'm ready :)

as i was looking through my files, (having another "back your things up" party in the studio today :) i found a few pictures of the only other mini i completed in 2010. it was for a class i taught early on in the year. i'm happy with it because i used the album filled with papers & embellishments i designed. And i had so much fun teaching spray paint & crazy sewing skills to the loveliest group of women. i hadn't shared photos of it so here you are... i hope you enjoy xo.

i wish you a shimmery & lovely day for the rest of 2011
xo
-d

'tis finished

2010-12-30T14:45:00.000-08:00

my little book is busting at the seams. a good 4 inches thick and completely full of paper goodness & love. it's much nicer to be done though :)

and in celebratory fashion... i have some fun fake glasses. i know i've said this before but i super duper wish i used glasses. i take mr.handsome's sometimes and wear them for fun. i had waaay more fun picking his frames than he liked hahaa! oh well, i can only be a nerd with fake glasses. we had a date night out at the movies and saw Tron in 3D. it's aight. i'm sure it's obvious i loved the glasses :)

i wore them while sewing these last few pages. you know, to make everything look better ;P

{ day 17 details }

i scored big time. i love when that happens. it might not look like much but i found a few awesome cobalt blue pieces of china to add to my collection. i can't quite put my finger on why i have to collect pieces in this color. i just do. and it makes me happier. i love it even more when i see mr.handsome use the little pretty plates for his banana bread & coffee. i'm gonna pay for telling you that, but you know, it makes me swoon every time i see him with a cute plate :)

{ day 18 details }

2 years ago on december 18 mr.handsome and i said forever & always. in a mini pink courthouse chapel...full of dusty artificial flowers, so romantic. ha! i cried. i cried not from regret. but when it was my turn to say our vows... you know in sickness and in health. for rich or for poor. i cried right there. for rich or for..... poor. ha! you know the tears just came and i realized that we really were marrying for love. we are poor but definitely happy in love :) awwww..... cheeeeeesy. i know. and yet i still cried. and just for the record i manned up at our real wedding and didn't cry at all. i don't even cry for sad movies man. i'm a tough cookie like that. moving on.

{ day 19 details }
my belladrummer shop is now closed and is now being transformed into a new little shop full of more inspiring and lovely things. I hope to open back up early January featuring a few extra things i really love. some of the same... i am repackaging and enjoying this entire process. just last week i was putting some twine of the cutest spools you've seen. good times :) i can't wait to share more and hope you will enjoy them too xo.

{ day 20 details }
i like to go to meetings that involve food. one thing i don't miss from my old job were the useless meetings we sat hours in monday after monday. i came to hate mondays for this very reason. now, i tag along with mr. handsome's "meetings" and i'm their honorary co-worker. we laugh, mostly at each other :) i love that. i love these really cool friends. and the nachos are pretty good too. xoxo

day 21 details }

i can waste time like nobody's business. and here's proof :P

day 22 details }
i think i referenced my love for fake glasses already. sorry to keep referencing but i really do
love glasses. i do i do i really do. lol! what a nerd i know.

day 23 details }
my sister cindy. she's a proud mama of 2 little boys. here she is with her newest love... baby gavin. he's got her dimple. her smile and her crazy thick hair. i'm sure he smells like baby. i'm sure he makes her happy. and i'm pretty sure they are best buddies :)

day 24 details }

every time mr.handsome drives, i try to take a picture of him. in turn he gives me the "i'm serious" stare. yes. the one you see in that picture. it makes me laugh ! hahahaa! he's trying to be serious and i'm being very annoying. typical ride with the ruiz's. never a dull moment.

day 25 details }
a picture of a little chocolatey gift we gave our friends on christmas day. in return they gifted us with my most favoritist pie in the whole wide world. Nations banana cream pie. if anyone lives near one, i am SO jealous of you! really. i love this pie more than any cake or cheesecake i've ever known. it's amazing. and our sweet friends brought one down all the way from northern cali for us. it's the little things. like hanging out with them, sharing a good time. mr.handsome and i don't give each other gifts. we reserve christmas as a time to remember the hope that was brought into this world just for us. a little baby. a lot of love. and we spend time with family & loved ones sharing that. don't get me wrong i love gifts... but its these moments i remember most. my cup runs over xoxo

thank you for bearing with me and letting me share a bit of paper love. i'm not sure if i will do another december daily again. i've never really finished a mini quite like this. but after seeing it all come together and finally finished is such a good feeling. hopefully there is more lovely paper art to come in 2011

happy almost new year! (& feliz ano nuevo :)
xo
-d

the merriest

2010-12-25T23:39:00.000-08:00

wishes and love to you from us :)

Inside you would find peanut butter & mint oreo cookies covered in chocolate .extreme love. a sign we must really really love you. *wink*

mister handsome would never share his chocolate love with anyone unless he really loved them. and even then i wonder. i've come home to find all but one chocolate covered oreo left. now he thinks he's quite the gentleman for leaving *one* cookie. i think he's just doing that so he won't look so bad for eating ALL the cookies. no chocolate is safe man. so eat quick :)

in the spirit of sharing ... here are the next set of pages from my december daily. :)

{ day 9 details }
Red ribbon ( Merry & Sweet Mini Kit ), Glittery Snowflake (Michaels), Blue Button ( found), White & red stripe ribbon ( Heidi Swapp), Woodgrain Transparency ( Hambly), Red Journaling Tag ( Belladrummer Etsy ) Glittery Number Stickers ( Making Memories), Green merry tag ( Making Memories), Large white journaling Tag ( Belladrummer etsy shop), Gold sewing thread ( Jo-anns ).

The day i started my december daily. hehee.. ahh. late. as always but definitely got my mojo going. i loved putting all the little things i was going to use in a vintage tin cupcake pan. It was so lovely sorting through everything and seeing it all look so pretty. almost as good as playing with cupcakes :)

{ day 10 details }

Yellow Envelope w/red Snowflake stamp ( Merry & Sweet Mini Kit ), Glittery Number Stickers ( Making Memories), Fabric & Paper Leaves ( found), Red mini sequin snowflake ( found at holiday party :), Mini floral gem ( Heidi Swapp), Mini Red stripe Journaling Tag ( Belladrummer Etsy ), Vintage music butterfly ( Marvy Punch ), Gold sewing thread ( Jo-anns ).

Making paper garlands with a little crochet love is really fun. nena loves it too. xo

{ day 11 details }

Green foil & Damask Paper ( Merry & Sweet Mini Kit ), Glittery Number Stickers ( Making Memories), Green & White Polka Dot frame ( Making Memories), Red velvet flower ( Maya Road ), Flower Paper punch ( Michaels ), Vintage music sheet circle punches ( thrift find ), Green Journaling Tag ( Belladrummer Etsy ), Gold sewing thread ( Jo-anns ).

our first double date with my sister and her boyfriend. they gave us tickets to see the messiah concert. interesting. hahaa. we had a good time...golden spoon frozen yogurt afterward+ friends = a fun christmas date night.

{ day 12 details}

Red felt Damask Paper ( Merry & Sweet Mini Kit ), Peace & Love Brad( Making Memories), Red Chipboard Polka Dot tag ( Making Memories), green paper leaf ( Making Memories ), Ribbon punch ( Martha Stewart punch ), Mini red Tag ( Belladrummer Etsy ), White mini Journaling Tag ( Belladrummer Etsy ), Red Polka dot fabric piece ( thrift find), Gold sewing thread ( Jo-anns ).

we started going to a different church this year. the best change ever. i feel safe again. i love that it's so big. i know mega churches aren't for everyone, but i love the anonymity. growing up as a pastor/missionary kid you can't get away from the spotlight. i love being here. i love that nobody really knows me or expects me to be anything else but me. and i love that mister handsome and i are growing in our faith together. :)

{ day 13 details }

Pink & Green glittery stripe paper ( Merry & Sweet Mini Kit ), friends chipboard tag ( Making Memories), silver foil star sticker ( Jo-lee's), Mini white star ( Michael's ), Note paper washi tape ( Pink Paislee ), Pink Journaling Tag ( Belladrummer Etsy ), Tiny Alphabet stickers ( Making Memories ), Love definition paper ( found), CLear Star ( Michael's), Starburst ledger paper punch ( Martha Stewart), Gold sewing thread ( Jo-anns ), Floral sequin gems ( found), Paper doily punch ( Spellbinders punch).

clearly we're not just "friends" :P but you know, the more i think about it i just can't help but want to keep thinking we're bFF's. i think that keeps us more aware of making everyday work. staying in love. giving. loving. putting each other first. and most of all, dating. i want to grow old with mister. i love celebrating that. everyday xo

{ day 14 details }

Green cardstock ( Merry & Sweet Mini Kit ), Gold sparkle die cut paper ( Merry & Sweet Mini Kit), Leaf Paper punch ( Marvy), Green stripe sticker ( Making Memories), Vintage ticket ( found ), Green leaf ( found ), White ribbon lace ( thrift find ), Gold sewing thread ( Jo-anns ).

crunchy leaves. i heart them. living in san diego all of my life makes me crazy for crunchy leaves. i once visited chicago in the fall and i instantly fell for the pretty trees and crunchy leaves everywhere. i go out of my way just to crunch a leaf. it's so satisfying. :)

{ day 15 details }

Red ledger paper ( Merry & Sweet Mini Kit ), Red felt die cut ( Merry & Sweet Mini Kit), Vintage inspired White carnival ticket ( Belladrummer Etsy), vintage map paper( found ), white button ( found ), White Journaling Tag ( Belladrummer Etsy ), Tiny Alphabet stickers ( Making Memories ), Mini tree pin ( Making Memories ), Gold sewing thread ( Jo-anns ).

the best day in december! our family welcomed our second little nephew... little baby gavin. here he is with his older brother,baby G. I LOVE that they both look like my sister. it's like she's growing up again before our eyes... scary and cool all at once. lol! even though we could not be there ( in hawaii) to give him some love i made him this little page to share with them. I am a happy aunt :)

{ day 16 details }

White textured paper ( Merry & Sweet Mini Kit ), Chinese place mat paper ( found), Silver gem ( MAMBI), Red starburst gem ( found ), Mini grey tag ( Belladrummer Etsy ), Butterfly paper punch ( Martha Stewart), Tiny butterfly punch ( Marvy ), Fortune ( found ), Silver crochet star ( handmade by me :), Gold sewing thread ( Jo-anns ).

so who writes those silly fortunes anyway? i always get a kick out of them. we had some chinese food at our favorite place and i took a apart the paper place mat ( thrifty yes?) and now it's happy sewn onto this page. I also added an extra crochet star I made. i love silvery shimmery crochet stars. xoxo

i know we're a little late in saying this but,
we wish you the happiest christmas blessings & a heart full of joy & peace

xo
-mr.handsome & d

i'm not even gonna lie

2010-12-22T16:55:00.000-08:00

this is what i do when i'm supposed to be doing something really important.
you can find me in the studio.

"working". it's very important to note i'm working here. really hard. or hardly working. whatevs :)

* high on a tall soy white mocha w/whip ( why do they even ask if you want whip? heck to the yes man. put it on there. i love the sweetness :)

* just checking if the photo booth app still works on my mac. good. it still works. *whew. i love technology.

* completely gaga over a little bit of paper scrap i almost threw away. but thankfully, i didn't. i repurposed it as my photo prop. genius. tell me if that paper scrap doesn't look happy. look. it's smiling :)
how the heck do i ever get anything done i hear you ask...

truth is. i don't. not everything. because it's these little things that matter man. it's what keeps me sane. working from home. locked up in my studio. begging for someone to distract me.

- i also call mister handsome randomly at work to see what he's doing. i ask what he's up to. he says working. i say working? really? wow. that's cool. bye. :)
- i watch a bit of divorce court. just to remind me what i shouldn't be doing in my marriage. totally entertaining. where do they get those people?
- i make stuff to send stuff out then make more stuff to send more stuff out. it's a mess. i love it.
- i also go thrifting to score some random vintage love. i found a few new places over the weekend and i scored big time. whenever i tell someone i thrift they give me a dirty face. like eww. i'm totally offended. how dare you not appreciate my thriftiness?

then it's about 5 o'clock and i wonder where all my time went. i guess i'll never know :)

I did manage to finish the following pages in my december daily xoxo. ( i will come back and add all the item details here later. i've got a hot movie and dinner date with mr.handsome so i gotta make this quick)

I'm pretty happy with the little mini so far ... not too busy and not too plain.
i even had my sister come over and we had some fun with nena in the studio. okay. back to work :)
happy almost christmas!
xo
-d

December gathering

2010-12-14T10:02:00.000-08:00

I love a red december. I think i was channeling red and christmas mid july when I gathered these items for a mini inspiration lesson for my Inspire Lovely class. I have been known to sing a few christmas tunes during the hot summer seasons. You know, "Grandma got run over by a reindeer" at the top of my lungs AND with a twang in my voice for added measure, rockin' around the Christmas tree ( a true favorite ) or even mimic the scene sweet Kevin in Home Alone sang "White Christmas ( air comb and everything ). oh yeah. mr.handsome is NEVER bored with me around. i'm like a mini juke box or something. his own DJ if you will. he digs it :)

So back to christmas... it's just around the corner. it's kind of coming up and then it's totally going to be 2011 and i'm kind of ready for it. I've got my calendar hung and everything. This sale also brings the end to my XO 2011 Art calendars sales. I've had so much fun making these and imagining all the new homes they will be hanging in. Every studio deserves a rockin' calendar. Or even in your work space. I think it would take the boring out of the beige walls and add a little umph. So if you'd like one, there are still a few in the shop. ( I relist upon request so please either send me a convo or email if you'd like one ) I can't wait to make a 2012 one. but i'm in no hurry :)

here's to a sweet 2011
xo

ps: thank you so much for all the shared excitement and for your support! I'm clearing things out and they are all shipping later today. I am going to be adding some of the same items back into the new shop... but you know... with a little extra somethin' somethin'. * wink* wink*

;)
-d

the merry rush XoXo

2010-12-13T12:03:00.000-08:00

my friend RoRo once called me an entrepreneur and i laughed.

i guess the joke was on me. because ladies, i am my own official boss. I'm delighted to let you know the meeting with my tax lady was promising. Papers were filed. New company name decided upon. New shop ID + domain name + tax collecting and I'm a brand new shop owner. :) i'm totally excited!

My new ETSY name is Inspire Lovely.
yay! I was so happy creating this account today. I am also announcing a sale in order to help clear out all the items in my old shop Belladrummer. My dear loves, i think you might be able to help a sister out if I give you 20% off all items in the shop. I can probably help you cross a few lovelies off your list. Hence my sale name: Merry rush :) The sale goes on until Monday December 20th and then i officially close the shop down forever. the end. And as I was looking at the number of sales and its pretty close to 500. My 500th customer is gonna get something pretty cool. I'm still pondering it as i have a few days until the sale ends. Maybe a certificate to my Inspire Lovely shop? Maybe some handmade love? oohhh exciting right? :P

I just added these pretty garlands to the shop. They've been my loving friends here in the studio and now wish to bring a little cheer your way too :)

I crocheted those cute stars and doily motif. I LOVE :)

The sale starts at 1PM today and goes on until December 20th at 12 noon. All items are automatically on sale so you don't need a special coupon code. I've got a few goodies to add as extras for each order and I'm a pretty happy elf today.

thanks for letting me share a little bit of my excitement!

and thank you so very kindly to all of you for your support :)

-d

paper love december style xoxo

2010-12-09T13:57:00.000-08:00

{ cover details }

Vintage music sheet, Foam Snowflake ( a little treasure i picked up at my recent concert night featuring christmas music & decor. i snuck a few in my purse - scrap happens :), Gold sewing thread ( Jo-anns ), mini white snowflake & red jewel brad ( Making Memories ), Red & White Bakers twine, Red journaling spot, White glittery numbers ( American Crafts ), Mini Wooden star, Vintage Silver leaf, White Blank Carnival Journaling tickets, White Matte Spray Paint ( Home Depot ).

{ day 1 details }
Green Pattern Paper  ( Making Memories ), Silver foil medallion ( Jolee's ), Red mini gem ( Mambi ), Red scallop trim ( found ), White Pom Pom trim ( found), Gold sewing thread ( Jo-anns ), Silver #1sticker ( Making Memories), Red paper Die-cut ( found ), Red Ledger journaling spot , Red & Silver stripe star ( Jolee's )

{ day 1 details }
White & Tan stripe Glitter Paper ( Making Memories), White paper doily, Gold sewing thread ( Jo-anns ), Vintage music butterfly ( Marvy Punch ), Mini silver gem ( Jenny Bowlin ), Silver bulb branch ( Jo-anns ), Vintage Silver leaf, Day 2 Journaling sticker ( Making Memories ), White notebook paper ( found )

finally, proof :)

i have been enjoying the sunny days here in my little clean studio, finally making stuff happen. Finally evidence of paper love. It's been a while since i've really made anything since i'm no longer on a design team... but this, this was worth the wait. Even though I only have a few pages done I wanted to share what I had in hopes of bringing a bit of cheer :)

I also wanted to share 2 favorite items I recently added to the shop:

{ Large Journaling Carnival Tickets }

{ F luttering Gold Art Tags }

Sending you happy paper love

-d

hello december!

2010-12-08T09:53:00.000-08:00

december started off very frustrating. i had a mess all over my studio. and when that's a mess i'm a mess. now both my studio and i are on good terms and in love :)

let's update via photos shall we?
xoxo

December 4:: ROCK OUT. saturday was definitely a HUGE highlight for us. We both love future of forestry and saturday mr.handsome surprised me with tickets to see them rock christmas music. JOY. Complete Joy.

Even in blue he looks hot xoxo. Except when he keeps shoving the coffee cup in his face to block my shot. that. that's just not cool. but whatevs. i got the shot :) i forgot how amazing live music is. it made me want to bang on some drums again. (mental note: crash guitar center sometime soon for a free drum fest :)

December 5:: Organize & package etsy items. I'm sure i don't have to refer back to the previous post for this ;) but i needed my studio to function again in a better way for my little shop. And thankfully the organizing continued. the show must go on right? lol! Packaging a few orders got my cheer back :)

December 6:: Visual Transformation of my shop complete. Before the studio closet was just for pretty much everything. Now, it's all for my etsy items. Starting 2011 i have some pretty fun plans for my little shop and a very fun meeting with my accountant this friday to plan for it. Taking a little idea to the next level requires planning and this little studio needs to reflect that.. and now it does. This, this is what a little corner of my shop would look like if i had my own storefront. It had to be visually pleasing. Because, ya know... what if you come over or something right? gotta look good ;)

All the drawers are filled with items in the shop. Everything is now in one place. I will have to do a complete photo op of all my drawers to show you i really did clean and organize and not just shoved everything in hahaa... but for now, ya just have to trust me. xoxo

December 7:: Add final touches to my little Crochet Garland love. I put the finishing touches on my little festive garland. I crocheted the star and the colorful balls of yarn. The bird I cut from a vintage quilt i scored for $5 on saturday. Perfect for cutting as it had some damage. but look at the cute vintage fabrics! love!

I had so much fun using up bits and pieces of left over yarn for this project. Although it was a bit time consuming crocheting all the yarn balls, halfway through i just wanted to buy the felt balls i see everywhere... but i don't need another hobby :) I made do and it saved money so it was all good. good times xo

Thank you love for reading through this :)
I have a few questions to answer from the previous post ...

Emily said...

Wow- just in those pics, you are WAY more organized than me. Seriously. You take such great photographs! Did you take any classes or anything? I really want to graduate from my little point and shoot, but am waiting for a small windfall of moolah:) And... I love me some starbucks, too, for a little motivation.

Thanks Emily! I did take 2 classes while in art school. One on the history of it and the other how to print both B&W and color in the dark room. I later taught Photography + b&w dark room developing at a private high school for about 1 year and a half. That was almost 8 years ago! yikes! I worked my way up from the old slr's to a canon rebel to what i have now canon 40D. I was just talking about this to mr.handsome ( as so many friends are looking to upgrade cameras) that if i hadn't taken those classes on photography i would've never upgraded to an SLR camera. I think the more you know the better your photo's will be no matter what kind of camera you have. Most of the time if you know technique (and photoshop :), you can score better photos all of the time. Trust me, you can do it :) I wish you all the happiness and success love. ps: definitely get some starbucks for a little motivation :)

Maureen said...

I live by the motto that everything is better with a frappuccino. Pedicures, shopping, just walking around, it just improves the moment. I wish I had a little crafty area like yours. I know though from experience...you spend more time organizing and putting the stuff away than using it. And most importantly, where did you get that sweater? I love it.

Maureen you are SO right! hahaaa! Which reminds me I need to have a sister date soon so I can do all those things :) Thank you so much for some studio love. The only reason this works for us is because we have no children. I have no clue what we will do when that time comes. no wait. we're getting rid of mr.handsome's man cave to make room for the kids :) hahaa! i'm so not kidding. Also, I bought my sweater at the fabulous Target. It's one of my all time favorites ( i bought it last year in the clearance section!) Maybe it's the buttons? Or maybe the v neck going on makes me look longer. hahaa. whatevs. i love it too. :)

Emakesart said...

Your studio looks amazing! And I need to ask 2 things...

1. Where did you find the white 6 drawer cabinet? (right side in1st photo) I NEED one like that desperately! and..

2. Where did you get that fantastic orange sweater? I LOVE it!

I also want to say that the last photo of you and your hubby is absolutely incredible!! That is one that will end up a keepsake to pass down to your kids and grandkids, etc. Truly breathtaking and magical!!

xoEsther

Hi Esther :)
I bought the 6 drawer cabinet from IKEA. It's called the ALEX drawer unit on coasters and i have 2 of them. They really do hold a lot and are SO nice to have for supplies and crafts :) ps: thank you kindly for the sweet comment about our photo. It definitely turned out the way i wanted and i plan on treasuring it in my little heart. magical indeed :)

As always thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing yours with me xoxo

I'm off to...

- pick up some starbucks love for my sister. okay. me too :)

- volunteer in her 1st grade class. JOY. lol. kids are funny when they are small. xo

- print these photos and start my december daily.... i'm so behind. i just gotta get it done. plus while cleaning i found tons more stuff to use up. cleaning might not be so overrated as i thought :)

xoxo

- d

this is me

2010-12-03T14:23:00.000-08:00

day three of cleaning. and it's. not. finished.

i'm a bit of a drama queen at this point. i mean look at me! i'm famished. i'm just done. cleaning is overrated. i'm totally ready to pack my bags and take a vacation from the crap in my studio. ( progress shows in the closet :)

in my despair yesterday i took a mini break and flailed my hands up in the air and said to myself. "MYSELF! Just put a big A** sign up in the door that says HOLY CRAP! and be done with it."

the end. it was not pretty.

i kid you not. i totally talk to myself. i mean really, who else do i have to yell at right?

well mona spoke up and was like dude, chill yo.

you need starbucks :)

and then we posed for a few pictures just to procrastinate even further.

i totally love that unlike mr.handsome, she is always down for a mini photo shoot. look how cute she is?! that mona, she's a cutie pie.

so anyway, back to the story... there is a happy ending :)

i'm totally like yes let's go mona! sweet mona, you always know the right things to say :)

i now have a new favorite starbucks drink, creme brulee frap. hello!!! awesome :)

life is so much better with a sugar rush. frosted with a dash of whipped cream and sugar sprinkles on top.

(never mind the crap in the background of the photo.) i've got my priorities straight :P

happiness. it's in liquid form. and now i am yet again ready to tackle the rest of the mess.

and here is mr handsome. i had to bribe him with dinner at the burger lounge yesterday. he was the best part of my day. :)

I now have a new favorite day.

xoxo

i need to take photos of my paper love and share them.

i'm such a procrastinator

i get it from mr.handsome.

xoxo

happy friday!

-d

ps: I added a few package kits to the shop

r=rrrrrrred

2010-12-01T16:05:00.000-08:00

ever since i found my cute vintage metal r i knew we would be friends forever. i don't think little r knew that though :) either way, i had biiiig plans for this little guy. after adding a fresh coat of red paint i had wanted to create this easy project for christmas ( i made a trip to a thrift store last week and spent $2.50 on three boxes of mismatched decorations ) ... even though it was smack dab in the middle of summer... i dared to dream. a dream of red and white and silver and gold all the cute christmas decor stuffed inside my little r. when i told little r my big dream he totally made a face, (just like the M&M in the commercial who doesn't want the pretzel inside the M&M). but i didn't care :) too bad buddy. i snatched up little r early this morning from the wall of frames. and as he slept i spiffed him up a little bit.. christmas style.

he totally rocks the look i think.

here he is still sleeping :) oh.the.joy.

thrifted christmas decor... sweet! I simply used some scotch tape and temporary glue dots to adhere the decor together and to little r. he was such a little trooper. *smiles*

red. is . rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrad.
since we don't do christmas trees i am finding new ways to add some happy christmas decor to our home anyway. kind of fun :)

oh dear little r... trust me next time k?
you look fabulous! (i think he thought i was gonna come after him with my bedazzler. hmm.. good idea actually ;)

I've got some paper love to share tomorrow and hopefully i get to finish cleaning up the studio tonight. ( spring cleaning yet again, total madness but it totally will be worth it - i have to keep telling myself that :)

so happy december!
yay! no stress. just keep swimming. :P

xoxo
-d

art as life

missing christmas

still alive :)

happy little one

let's play...

almost there

First Harvest

October brings in the spice :)

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hello october :)

birthday + baby shower + peace

another month :)

Contributing: Scrapbook Workshop

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A special thank you to everyone who entered & visited Inspire Lovely this week! Thank you for letting me share a bit of loveliness with you all xoxoHappy weekend Lovelies!xo-d

A special thank you to everyone who entered & visited Inspire Lovely this week!

Thank you for letting me share a bit of loveliness with you all xoxo

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new favorite thing: sewing

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this is me

r=rrrrrrred

If your name appears here please e-mail me your post address and giveaway # at: InspireLovelyShop@gmail.com

All winning parcels will ship first thing Monday morning :)

A special thank you to everyone who entered & visited Inspire Lovely this week!

Thank you for letting me share a bit of loveliness with you all xoxo

Happy weekend Lovelies!
xo
-d