Making memories and dream catchers

Carrie and I hosted our 6th annual Valentine party this past weekend for a group of friends that we know from our days of working at a scrapbook store. Seriously? Best job ever. And truly, best friends ever.

♥

We used to have everyone bring their own craft or scrapbooking project to work on during our party, but the past couple of years we've organized a common craft to share. Last year we created Valentine banners/bunting, and this year we created dream catchers. Having a common craft takes a little pressure off of coming up with something on your own, and it's also cool because everyone brings a little bit of their own stash (in this case: yarn, ribbon, feathers, doilies...) and we share with each other.

Even though we created dream catchers, each was as unique as the hands that created it. It's always so fun to see everyone's own personal style shine through.

The dream catcher in the photo above is what I was able to complete during our time together. I still want to add some embellishments to the doily (like a brooch or some flowers), but overall I just love the colors and textures.

The photo below is what my dream catcher looked like in the early stages. The doily is one from my mom's collection that I inherited. ♥

Jacie created these sweet little dream catchers to gift to her daughters for Valentine's Day. ♥ ♥

And my Carrie made this cute little piece with gold string and sequins. Love the little feather tucked in the middle!

Jenn worked on a larger piece...

I love the vintage, southwestern feel to her piece!

Not everyone was into making dream catchers. One friend worked on a Valentine wreath, and one brought a knitting project. And a couple of friends just came to chat and hang out, which is always fine by us!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

This last bit has nothing to do with dream catchers, but I wanted to share this fun photo collage that Carrie created with photos of each of us holding our gifts for the exchange we do every year.

Top row: me, Betsy and Jenn
Middle row: Hollie, Carrie and Vee
Bottom row: Jacie, Barbara and Michelle

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We call it our "I ♥ it" exchange and here's how it works: We ask our guests to bring five of one item they love, costing less than $5/item. We each put our name on five slips of paper and drop them in a cup, then we pass the cup and each person draws five names. We check to make sure we don't have duplicate names and/or our own name, and pass around slips of paper until everyone has five unique names.

One by one we stand up {except for Jenn, haha...} and tell about our item, and then we read the names on the five pieces of paper we drew. Those names are the friends who get one of the items we brought.

This year my thing to share was a Sharpie marker (personalized with "Deb & Daughter's V-day Crop 2016") and a mandala kit. Others brought their favorite lotion, lip balm, dish scrubber, etc. It's so much fun, and every guest leaves the party with five different items that other people love. ♥

Oh, I love these ladies so much!!! I'm so grateful for the special friendship we have with each other, and I can't wait till next Valentine's Day to do this all over again!

As for the dream catchers, you can find more inspiration for DIYs on Pinterest. I have more embroidery hoops and a few more of my mom's doilies waiting to be turned into dream catchers, after my friendship quilt is done.

♥

Pumpkins get the mandala treatment

It started innocently enough. I had picked up a couple of small pumpkins to use as decorations and one night after dinner I caught a glimpse of the top of one and thought, "Hm...mandala shape..." One Sharpie marker and 15 minutes later...I was hooked!

A combination of my pumpkins mixed with Barbara's. ♥

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My sweet friend (and partner-in-mandala-obsession), Barbara saw the Instagram I posted and was all in. So last week when we met for Mandala Monday the canvas of choice was this:

My local friends who also know Barbara will not be surprised when I tell you that she arrived at my house last Monday with her art supplies and her stash included blue paint. Only Barbara would think to add blue to a fall craft...

Seriously? SO pretty! Made me want to put a dab of blue paint on every single pumpkin I mandala'ed after that!

I thought about creating a tutorial but every one of these pumpkins is so different. Here are a few tips:

* Wash and dry your little pumpkins before you begin drawing.

* I start at the top using the pumpkin stem as my center, then start drawing mandala-type designs this way and that.

* The pumpkins take acrylic paint really well, Sharpie markers not so much. We did use a Sharpie paint pen and the ink worked well on these.

* The white on these pumpkins was drawn with a chalk marker. It's nice and bright but rubs off if you try to rub it off. I won't try. ;o) Besides, these won't last forever anyway so the chalk marker did the trick. I did try a white paint pen but it wasn't as bright as the chalk marker.

* The pumpkins look better when they have lots of friends! After Barbara left my house that night and took her pumpkins, my little collection seemed sparse. I've created a few more since last Monday night, and so has she! :o)

* Last, and most importantly, there's no right or wrong way to draw a mandala so don't get too hung up on where your lines and shapes land. The beauty of a mandala rests in the process of creation, not in the final piece. Although, I'm pretty sure that once you're done you will love the piece as a whole.

Fun, yes?
♥

I'd love to see your creations if you mandala some pumpkins!
Tag me on Instagram (@paperturtle) and use #MyYogaFriendDeb

This Weekend's Valentine Party

Good Monday morning, blog friends.

And Happy Valentine's week to you.

♥

Well, that might go down as the fastest weekend ever. It feels like I blinked and ~boom~ sweet memories. Ah...really sweet memories...

Carrie and I hosted our fifth annual Valentine party with our dear crafting friends. In the past, each guest brought their own craft project to work on, but we've discovered {as a group} that we love having a common craft to work on at our gatherings. We've created canvases and decorated boxes together, and this time we created Valentine banners/buntings/garlands.

 

Supplies were gathered and shared. We had such a fun time creating, chatting, snacking and just being together.

And of course, there were cupcakes...

Red velvet cupcakes by me, arrow cupcake toppers by Carrie. {She found the tutorial here.} ♥

Helium balloons weighted down with a heart shaped rock. :o) ♥

Candy. Candy. Candy. Candy.

Here's a look at my banner, and here's the part where I admit that I did not photograph anyone else's banner. How selfish of me. Ha! And shoot. I wish you could see what my creative friends made! It's always so fun to see how each of us takes the same general project and turns it in to our own unique creation. Next time...

We did our "I ♥ ____" exchange again this year. Each person brings five of one item they love and we exchange our favorites. So, everyone leaves with five different things that their friends love. I ♥ that Carrie always writes on the table cover what our favorites are. And I ♥ her cute handwriting. And I ♥ that she used a gold pen. And I totally ♥ her!

It's so fun that we have been hosting this Valentine party for five years now! We're already planning the next get together with our friends - maybe something for Easter if we're lucky. 

And with that I'm off to hit the yoga mat before I get ready for work. I have a busy week ahead, and I ♥ that I carry sweet weekend memories with me as I go.

Wishing each of you a week filled with wonderful things.

♥

Secret Recipes and Blueberry Surprise Cake

A sweet local friend who reads my blog {Hi Sue} read my post about my sister's friend who keeps her famous brownie recipe a secret. Sue graciously sent me her brownie recipe to try and it's now my go-to recipe when there's a brownie craving in our family. Yummy!!!

Along with the brownie recipe, Sue also included a family recipe for a blueberry surprise cake. She told of a time when she was a little girl, and how she helped her great aunt, Helen, in the kitchen. Helen was a fantastic baker, and very secretive with her methods. She must have been very fond of Sue, because not only did she share baking tips with her young niece, but she also shared her recipe for blueberry surprise cake, much to Sue's grandmother's surprise.

I had a chance to make the blueberry surprise cake last weekend and OhMyGoodness it is YUMMY! I asked Sue if I could share her story and she graciously said yes, and she encouraged me to share her aunt Helen's secret recipe as well. "Isn't that what cooking is about?" reasoned Sue, "nurturing the ones we love?" Well, yes, I think so!

Doug loved this blueberry surprise cake, and so did my coworkers. Many thanks to Sue for sharing the recipe with me, and to Aunt Helen, who may be looking down from above watching me type her secret recipe for all the internet to see. :o) ♥

Aunt Helen's Blueberry Surprise Cake

3 c. sifted cake flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 c. sugar
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 can blueberry pie filling
Topping:
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
6 t. butter

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and sugar in a bowl. Cut butter into dry ingredients until it resembles a coarse meal. Add beaten eggs, sour cream and vanilla and stir until well mixed.

Spread half of the cake batter into a greased 9x13" cake pan. Top with pie filling, spreading in the middle but not all the way to the edge. Top with remaining cake batter. The batter is thick, so you'll want to dollop it by small spoonfuls on top of the blueberry pie filling and use a wet knife to spread it so that all of the pie filling is covered. {I put a scant "half" on the bottom, and saved a little more batter for the top.}

Combine topping ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle on top of cake. Bake at 375° for about 40 minutes until top of cake is golden brown.

Thank Heaven for Aunt Helen and Sue.

♥

Fall Crafting with Friends

Last weekend Carrie and I had the pleasure of spending time with a group of our crafting friends. It's always such a treat to spend time with these ladies, and our hostess, Barbara, went out of her way to make it a special time for us.

I told Barbara she wouldn't be in clear focus and I was right. Now I wish I'd changed my aperture so you could see her better!

Barbara loves Halloween, and her home was decorated so beautifully. It was so fun to walk around and look at all of the lovely details around her home.

I told you I was going to put your photo bomb on my blog, Carrie!

Barbara's daughter Summer did the witch painting when she was little. I love that Barbara has it in a frame!

Barbara had made kits for each of us and we spent some time covering matchboxes with a fun selection of papers. It was so much fun to be making something with a Halloween theme in the company of our creative friends.

Hot air balloon paper is Graphic 45's "Steampunk Spells" collection

Ghost paper is Little Yellow Bicycle's "Graveyard Ghosts"

Hooray for fall!

Hooray for Halloween fun!

Hooray for creative friends to love.

♥

Don't mess with the office vibe.

Today I have a story about a time when I was a horrible, negative coworker. Things weren’t going the way I thought they would when I accepted the job, and I complained constantly. If you've ever had a coworker like that you know how annoying that can get in a very short time.

And it’s a story about a coworker that I really loved and respected. He was younger than me and worked in the capacity of the office’s massage therapist. He was also a certified yoga teacher {cool} and I loved his laid back, easy going personality. His sense of humor and kind demeanor made him the type of coworker everyone would wish for.

One day I was having a particularly tough time dealing with my perceived let-downs when my coworker did the unthinkable: he called me out on my attitude. He told me straight up that if I didn’t like working there I should just find another place to work because I was really messing with “the vibe of the office.”

Ouch.

And it was a big ouch because I knew as soon as the words left his mouth and hit my ears that he was absolutely, positively, 100% right. I had become that coworker and I felt so embarrassed and ashamed of myself in that moment. I remember going to the back of the office where I had a serious cry. His words were humiliating, but I knew he spoke the truth. And I knew I had to own it.

I did my best to turn my attitude around, and not long after that my awesome coworker left his employment at the office where we worked. I ended up staying for another couple of years before moving on to grass that I thought was greener. And even though things didn't work out as originally planned in that job, I learned more about myself during my tenure than any other place I've ever worked. The lessons, both personally and professionally, are some of the most important and meaningful of my entire working career.

A couple of months ago I shared this quote on my blog: “Treasure the friend who tells you a harsh truth, wanting ten times more to tell you a loving lie." ~ Robert Brault

Even though it was tough to hear, the words my coworker spoke that day were probably some of the most powerful words ever spoken to me. At the time I hated it, but in hindsight I realize what a gift it was. His blunt honesty helped me to become a different coworker and employee – even today.

For real, if you don’t like it do something else.
And dude, don’t mess with the office vibe.
♥

This weekend's canvas art party

Hey there, blog friends.

Happy Monday morning to you!

♥

Now you might be thinking, "Wow, that's a very cheery greeting for a Monday morning, Deb!" and I would agree. But this past Saturday was the best kind of Saturday ever. I'm still basking in that happy feeling you get when you spend some time doing what you love with people that you love. I'm so excited to show you...

When I created and posted the circus themed canvas art that I'd made for Carrie back in 2011, my friend Jenn started in on me. At first she wanted to pay me to make her that canvas, but Jenn is a crafter like me. "You can totally make a canvas like that," I encouraged her.

 

This past Saturday Jenn hosted a crafting party in her home, and I led some of our friends in the process of creating canvas art. I love the process of this art anyway - seeing the piece come together and kind of morph into something amazing is just so cool. It was so much fun for me to see my friends creating their own canvases, and to see their own unique personalities in each piece of art. This one is the beginning of Barbara's:

 

And this next piece is the beginning of Corri's. Corri has an amazing eye for color combinations, and I just love the colors she chose. She wasn't able to finish her canvas on Saturday because she had other obligations, but I just love the beginning of her canvas. She's making this to hang in her baby girl's room:

Oooh, and then there's Carrie's canvas. There are so many things I love about Carrie's piece. She used a gold stamp pad on her canvas, and she cut that guitar freehand. And! She loved the process so much that she wants to make another canvas soon. Happy Momfriend! :o)

My canvas in the beginning...big surprise...sunflower...

 

Here's Carrie's finished piece - complete with a quote from Jason Mraz. Another big surprise if you know my girl C.

Let me tell you about my friend, Jennifer. She is an elementary school teacher, and she has three little boys and a beautiful home and a heart of gold. And this girl is one creative spirit! I loved being in her home and seeing all of her sweet touches. Her artistic spirit and love for her family is so well represented there. This girl was determined to make this circus canvas, and she wore her 3-month old baby boy for a good part of the time.

 

We all agreed that Jett was the cutest wardrobe accessory we'd ever seen. This was Jenn's view of her canvas for a good part of the day: {PS: I held Jett a lot too, and we became very good friends. :o)}

Jenn's canvas in progress:

And then there's my artist friend Barbara. Barbara is one of the most creative and artistic people I have the pleasure of knowing. I knew her piece would be amazing! {Some of my Instagram friends know her as @mimrpic.}

And here are a few people-photos...

Jenn, Carrie, me, Jett, Corri and Morah. Still bummed we didn't get a group shot so Barbara could be in this photo!

 

:o) I loved creating this recap of our Saturday together, creating canvas art and holding sweet little babies. See why I'm in such a good mood this Monday morning? Love.

 

Wishing you a wonderful week, dear friends.

♥

Around here this weekend

Good morning, dear friends.

How was your weekend?

♥

I had a wonderful weekend filled with celebrating Carrie's birthday, spending time with a fun friend, and creating like a crazy woman! I was in inspiration overload and spent a whole lot of time in my crafting space, but I only have a small handful of photos to show for it...for now anyway. Come on in...

Friday was Carrie's birthday and we celebrated that night by going to our favorite restaurant, Began's Classic Italian Pizza. They closed a year and a half ago and have recently opened in their new location. The three of us have been anxiously awaiting their re-opening! It was so fun to be able to go there and celebrate our girl, and it's a toss up to choose if I was more excited about the pizza or the tiramisu. {Locals: It's at Guadalupe and McClintock in the Changing Hands/Trader Joe's shopping center. You've gotta' go!} Yum!!!

 

Carrie texted me first thing Saturday morning saying, "It's a whole year until my birthday. :("  Ha - I love that she loves her birthday so much!

 

And super exciting news this weekend - at least for me - is that the first sunflower of the year is just about to open in my garden! If you were a regular visitor of my blog last year, you'll probably remember my love of sunflowers, and you can expect to see them showing up in my garden posts over the next few months. :o)!!! 

Saturday morning Doug headed out for an overnight scouting trip and I hit my craft room. I tidied up a bit, clearing my space for the next round of messes, and by noon I had four different projects going - things I wanted to work on throughout the weekend. I stuck with a sewing project for the duration of the afternoon and love what came off of my sewing machine! But! I can't show you that yet because the recipient reads my blog. :o) More on that at a later date...

Saturday night Carrie and I went to the Improv with our friend, Vee, to see a comedy show. Ah! It was SO much fun!!! The headliner was Justin Willman - he's the host of Cupcake Wars - and I had no idea he was also a magician/comedian. It was fun to spend an evening laughing with our friend, and we left the Improv shaking our heads in amazement, wondering how he did that last magic trick!

And yesterday, I played with paper. I used to make mini-books all the time and I checked to see when my last one was made - it was a whole year ago! Sheesh - no wonder I was itching to play with paper so bad. I used the photos I took on our overnight road trip last weekend and got close to finishing it by the end of the day. I probably won't have a chance to work on it this week, but you can bet it will be calling my name to be wrapped up next weekend. I love it so far!

You know how everyone is always saying how quickly time is going by? What the heck is up with 2014? Is it me, or is this year on a fast-track to Christmas? I can hardly believe we're already smack dab into June - and it's a whole year till Carrie's birthday.

 

The way time is flying it will be Friday before we know it, so I'm off to see what kinds of fun I can find this week. Here's wishing you all a great week ahead!

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

♥