Happy Pink Saturday!

Today I am sharing some of the John Strevens prints I own...

I love his artwork, it's so feminine and beautiful!

It fits my Victorian, shabby chic style!
Below is a piece I found online that I don't own, but would LOVE too! Isn't it gorgeous?!!!

Happy Pink Saturday, Everyone! Suzie

Calling all Texas Cowgirl Crafters!

A day has been set for the next Cowgirl Art Retreat! Mark your calendars now and plan to come! I had SO much fun last summer and met so many nice bloggers! Definitely worth the trip! Suzie

The Horse Lady...

Today I share a story of a young woman living in a simpler time and place amidst today's modern world..
She's Renee Harnum, and she lives in Whiteway on the Avalon Peninsula. Renee is also an artist..

and loves most of all to paint horses, and she herself loves horses and said in an interview, "I THINK THEY'RE SO
GRACEFUL AND IF YOU'VE EVER GONE
TO A PASTURE IN THE SUMMER AND
YOU CAN HEAR THEM BEFORE THEY
COME AND YOU CAN HEAR THE FOOT
BEATS AND THE NEXT THING YOU SEE
THEM AND THEY ALL COME DOWN OVER
THE HILL, IT'S JUST A BEAUTIFUL
SIGHT, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT.
I VISITED A PASTURE THERE A
COUPLE OF SUMMERS AGO AND THESE
HORSES WERE JUST THERE, AND IT
WAS ONE EVENING WHEN THE SUN WAS
SETTING AND THE WIND WAS BLOWING
IN THEIR MANES AND THEY WERE
JUST CLOSING THEIR EYES AND
RELAXING AND THIS IS WHAT
INSPIRED THIS PAINTING FOR ME."
Renee loves minature horses and wanted to ride them. She purchased a cart made especially to do just that from California. It's a common sight in whiteway to see the horse lady and her little horse pulling her on the cart.
Renee exemplifies what most of us want, a simple life filled with the joys of being creative and productive while still making a living...
That is my Side Dish for you today... I hope you enjoyed my little story.
Watch a clip of this story here and see more of Renee's art here

Betty is "Sew Sweet"...

Here are the sweet items from Betty at Sew Pretty for our Vintage Valentine Swap! She made me one of her adorablepincushions and some sweet tags and an adorable banner and more goodies, so Valentiney and wonderful, Thanks, Betty! Suzie
And here's a collage of what I made Betty, I tried my hands at homemade soaps and bath salts, and I made a button frame with a sweet image and made embroidery lace on my embroidery machine into a bookmark and a medallion for the pillow that I stitched "Love" on the back of, and I threw in some vintage patterns that women would have sewn up for a new Valentine's dress back in the 1950's or so!

Valentine's suprises...

I have some pretty swap items to show you from my Vintage Valentine Swap, but I ran short of time today to take pictures to show you, there's work and baby bed shopping with my daughter, and the day was spent! But tomorrow I'll show you, so please come back!
Here's a little Valentine I made just for YOU, to let you know I care! Suzie

PLARN!!

Well, here is my late, late "Suzie Button's Side Dish" segment. Sorry for the slow week, I'm having trouble getting over this bout of illness here.
ANYWAYS, I captioned an interesting story about PLARN! I had NO idea what Plarn was, but I found it fascinating, so if it's also a new term for you, you might find it interesting also, I figured! Plarn is yarn made out of recycled plastic bags! You can knit and crochet with it. You can help save the earth AND be crafty at the same time! You could make this... pretty dishcloth with the directions at My Recycled Bags website
Or how about this adorable little sling bag...
with the directions HERE
To get you started I have a YouTube video that is simple and straightforward below!
I think I'll try this when I feel better and finish up a couple other crafts I'm behind on, namely, the baby bedding in the works for my upcoming Granddaughter's birth in April!
If you make something with Plarn, please let me know, I'd love to see your creations! Suzie

I'm delayed with my weekly side dish this week...

I'm still feeling awful, I thought this afternoon I was starting to feel a bit better, and then as the day wore on, I'm going downhill again, I can't tell if it's a sinus situation or the flu, but, boy, there's been a lot of body aches and chills going on around here, and not the fun kind either! Now all three girls in the family have had it or currently have it and the three boys have escaped its wrath so far! That's probably because us girls are more hands on and lovey-dovey with each other when we're together and the boys back off like you have the plague! I will try to post on Friday a Suzie Button Side Dish, surely I'll be better by then! Suzie

Suzie Button feels like this bunny...

I'm trying to keep my head above water today, it's not easy though! I'll hopefully be back to being healthy by tomorrow! UGH! Suzie

Happy Pink Saturday, Friends!

Today I have a vintage music sheet I found at a local antiques store this week to share. I saw the gorgeous patina from age on the front and the wonderful music inside and knew it was just perfect for Valentine's Day decorating!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Please enjoy "Roses of Picardy" below!Suzie Button

NIE NIE IS BACK!

My Heart was lightened tonight reading at Nie Nie Dialogues that Nie Nie is feeling well enough to begin blogging again. My heart thanks God for bestowing such grace towards her and her husband and children and for protecting them under His wing! Welcome back, Nie Nie! Suzie

Cody's a Winner!

My sweet Springer Spaniel, Cody, won this cute, cute cupcake collar from Peace Love and Pugs and he's "man" enough to sport cupcakes, yes, no doubt! Thanks, Joan! It's so C-U-T-E! Suzie

Suzie Button's Dish today is...

I have been exploring ways to improve my blog with online sites and programs and I captioned a story about ways to use your photos in ways that were new to me! I enjoyed the websites that the story mentioned, and I think you will too! Below is the original story I captioned for the program and below that are my connections to those sites and insights from me! Enjoy! Please leave a comment if you enjoyed this post! I love reading your comments, friends! Suzie

A Digital Dad shares tips in this story...

>> SOMETIMES I FEEL MY HARD
DRIVE GETS TO ENJOY MY FAMILY'S
DIGITAL PICTURES MORE THAN I DO.
I DON'T WANT TO BRAG OR
ANYTHING, BUT I TAKE SOME PRETTY
GOOD FAMILY PHOTOS, I JUST NEVER
GET AROUND DOING ANYTHING WITH
THEM AND THEY SIT ON THE DRIVE
GRABBING VIRTUAL DUST.
AND TODAY I'LL GIVE YOU A FEW
WAYS TO MAKE YOUR PHOTOS FUNKY,
DIGITAL PICTURE COMPLACENCY
STOPS NOW.
SO IF YOU'VE GOT A BUNCH OF
FAMILY PHOTOS AND YOU WANT TO
BUNDLE THEM UP IN A CREATIVE
WAY, ONE WAY TO DO THAT IS TO
CREATE A PHOTO MOSAIC, IN THIS
CASE, I'M USING A PROGRAMME
CALLED MAC MOSAIC AND YOU CAN USE
ON THE P.C., ANDREA MOSAIC.
YOU CHOOSE AN ORIGINAL
PHOTO, AND IN THIS CASE I CHOSE
ONE OF MY SON AND ONE OF ME HERE
AND THEN YOU CHOOSE THE FOLDER
THAT HAS A WHOLE BUNCH OF YOUR
FAMILY PHOTOS, IN MY CASE I HAVE
3,000 FAMILY PHOTOS OR MORE AND
SO I SELECT THAT BUNDLE OF
PHOTOS AND IT STARTS CREATING
THUMBNAILS TO RECREATE THIS
ORIGINAL PHOTO.
THESE ARE ALL LITTLE TINY
PICTURES THAT I CHOSE FROM THAT
FOLDER.
IF WE ZOOM IN ON IT YOU CAN
MAYBE SEE A BIT BETTER, THERE'S
HEXAGONS AND WHATNOT OF ALL
THESE INDIVIDUAL PHOTOS AND AS
WE ZOOM OUT THERE WE ARE, WE'RE
BACK TO OUR ORIGINAL PHOTO.
AND IT LOOKS AMAZING AND IT
FEELS ARTSY, WELL, GEEKY ARTSY,
BUT ARTSY NONETHELESS.
AND MY SON HARRISON WANTS A
BEDROOM RE-DO SO WE'LL DO
SOMETHING SPECIAL, A CUSTOM
PHOTO MURAL, AND WITH
MURALYOURWAY.COM YOU CAN
CREATE A MURAL FROM YOUR OWN
IMAGES AND YOUR MURAL IS PRINTED
ON VINYL-COATED PAPER AND SENT
TO YOU IN ROLLS JUST LIKE
WALLPAPER.
CHOOSE A HIGH RESOLUTION PICTURE
AND THEY ASK FOR AT LEAST ONE
MEGABYTE BUT I RECOMMEND GOING
AS HIGH AS YOU CAN AND UPLOAD IT
AND CHOOSE THE SIZE OF YOUR
MURAL AND PAY THEM, IT COSTS
AROUND $9 PER SQUARE FOOT.
AND YOU CAN OPEN UP A
FREE BLURB.COM, AND DOWNLOAD
THEIR SOFTWARE, IT WORKS ON
MACINTOSH AND YOUR BOOK IS EASY
TO UPLOAD TO THE BLURB WEBSITE
AND PUBLISH.
THE SMALL SIZE CAN BE A SEVEN
INCH BY SEVEN INCH BOOK UP TO AN
11-BY-13-INCH ONE AND THEY CAN
BE HARDCOVER OR SOFT AND THE
PRICES WILL RUN FROM AROUND $13
ALL THE WAY UP TO $100 OR MORE.
AND THE NEXT TIME YOU'RE SITTING
IN FRONT OF YOUR LAPTOP LOOKING
FOR SOMETHING FUN TO DO, WHY NOT
MIX IT UP A LITTLE?
NOTHING SAYS THAT I HAVE LOTS OF
TIME ON MY HANDS BETTER THAN A
PHOTO BOOK OR WALL MURAL OR
MOSAIC.
HEY, GUYS, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF
THIS MOSAIC THAT I MADE HERE,
YOU LIKE IT?

A mural of a thousand pieces...

Well, not literally, but it may be possible! This site at Andrea Mosaic allows you to make art out of your digital images! I found this fascinating! This flower below was made out of 256 pictures!

If I were to make a mural...

If I were to make a mural out of a photograph at Mural Your Way I would choose the photo below that I took in April 2008 while on a trip with my daughter Megan and girlfriends to Europe! These flowers are REAL, girls! This is Keukenhof Gardens in Holland
Hands down it was the most AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL place on earth I've ever been to!

Create a book at BLURB and a tutorial for a BLOG book below!

A name for my new weekly segment on interesting ideas or stories I learn while captioning came to me out of the blue! It's "Suzie Button's Weekly Side Dish"!
Here's my little logo for it above, I'll post every Wednesday, so come back tomorrow and learn something new or interesting! Blessings, Suzie

Happy Pink Saturday!

I just love these little Lefton Valentine girls I've collected! The larger one at the bottom is a music box and plays "What the world needs now is love sweet love."
These little darlings get me in the mood for Valentine's Day! Happy Pink Saturday! Suzie

My Butterfly Blog award...

Hi Friends! I received this lovely award back actually in December from Mimi's Garden and had computer problems and put it on the backburner for a while. But now I want to Thank Kathy for nominating me and send it forward to bloggers I enjoy!
I nominate... Glue on my Fingers (paint in my hair) Tina is a very creative jewelry artist and I had the pleasure of meeting her here in TX at the Paper Cowboy Art classes.
Next is Vintage Bella Studio for her Vintage Style and amazing creations. Also Storybook Woods because she always has something beautiful and interesting going on at her blog! Then there's Nancy at
My Crafty Little Page I also met nancy at the Paper Cowgirl Retreat, plus Nancy has a great blog and has some great Pink Saturday entries!
I Love, Love Rhea at Miss Rhea's she has the sweetness I love and crave in my own home and is such a sweet lady!
I fell in love with Beverly's aprons (and purchased two too!) at Touch of the Past and think she's just so creative!
Anna at Thimbleanna gets my vote as just most talented, and I love her blog to gather ideas!
I admire the true talent of Missy too at Fairy child Heirlooms
Mo over at Mo's cottage should be seen by all bloggers, just lovely!
And last, but certainly not least, is Betty at She's Sew Pretty who is my Vintage Valentine swap partner and who has such a wonderful crafty blog!

New Weekly Suzie Button segment....

Hi, Friends! I learn a lot of interesting things while captioning, I get new ideas, I hear sad stories, happy stories, and even some extraordinary stories! I want to start a once-a-week segment to share some tidbit of info or something that I think my blogger friends will find interesting from my job as a broadcast captioner. Also you can see more about being a Broadcast Captioner here.
I can't think of a name to make up a banner, does anyone have a "cute" idea?!! Please leave a comment if you do.
Anyways, I thought I'd start today with an interesting tidbit about the History of the Harlem Globetrotters, the actual story I captioned is below and I found it interesting, and I thought you might too! You can read more about the Harlem Globetrotters at their official site here Harlem Globetrotters
Please leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts! Happy Wednesday! Suzie

THEY HAVE THRILLED FANS AROUND THE WORLD FOR DECADES WITH THEIR COLOURFUL UNIFORMS, THAT TRADEMARK MUSIC “SWEET GEORGIA BROWN” AND OF COURSE, THEIR REMARKABLE BASKETBALL SKILLS. MANY PEOPLE GOT THEIR FIRST TASTE OF THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS HERE DURING THE EARLY 1970s ON “WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS.”
THE GLOBETROTTERS WERE THE CREATION OF ABE SAPERSTEIN OF CHICAGO WHO TOOK OVER COACHING DUTIES FOR A TEAM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN PLAYERS ORIGINALLY KNOWN AS THE BIG FIVE AFTER THE FAMOUS CHICAGO BALLROOM WHERE THEY PLAYED THEIR EARLY GAMES. AT A TIME WHEN ONLY WHITES WERE ALLOWED TO PLAY ON PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL TEAMS HE DECIDED TO PROMOTE HIS TEAM’S RACIAL MAKEUP BY NAMING THEM AFTER HARLEM, THE FAMOUS NEIGHBOURHOOD IN NEW YORK.
THE GLOBETROTTERS WERE VICTORIOUS IN 101 OUT OF THE 117 GAMES THEY PLAYED IN THEIR FIRST SEASON AND THEY DIDN’T PLAY A GAME IN HARLEM UNTIL THE 1960s.
THE FIRST NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCE CAME IN 1939 WHEN THE GLOBETROTTERS LOST TO THE NEW YORK RENAISSANCE. THAT SAME YEAR THE TEAM BEGAN TO ADD THE SILLY ANTICS THEY LATER BECAME KNOWN FOR, INCLUDING BALL HANDLING TRICKS AND ON COURT COMEDIC ROUTINES.
THE CROWDS LOVED IT AND THE TEAM’S OWNER TOLD HIS PLAYERS TO KEEP UP THE CLOWNING AROUND BUT ONLY WHEN THEY’D ACHIEVED A SOLID LEAD.
IN 1948 THE GLOBETROTTERS EARNED A NEW MEASURE OF RESPECT BY BEATING THE NEW YORK LAKERS FROM THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION, TWO YEARS LATER THE NBA LIFTED ITS WHITES ONLY BAN.
OVER THE YEARS THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS PLAYED IN 115 COUNTRIES IN FRONT OF
120 MILLION FANS. THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS WERE HONOURED IN 2002 WHEN THEY WERE INDUCTED INTO THE BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME.
BUT IT WAS ON THIS DATE, JANUARY 7, 1927, THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS BASKETBALL TEAM TRAVELLED 48 MILES WEST FROM CHICAGO TO PLAY THEIR FIRST GAME IN HINCKLEY, ILLINOIS.
THEIR FIRST GAME WAS PLAYED ON "TODAY IN HISTORY."

PUCKER UP!!

I was in a lemony mood today and went LEMON NUTS! I made this DELISH Lemon cake from Ina Garten's Lemon Cake Very lemony and fantastic! Love Ina!
Then with all those lemons what else would you do but of course make LEMONDADE! I also LOVE, LOVE Paula Deen, and this was her traditional, simple recipe Paula Deen's Lemonade
And a few tart lemon drops too! PUCKER UP! Suzie

Really Cool Swap!

I found a new blog (to me, at least) this past weekend at Sweet Jessie and she creates these fantastic journals and she's having a swap where you send her 50-75 various papers, and for a small fee for costs, she's going to use them to create journals that she'll mail back to you! I signed up, I think you'd want to join too once you see this! Happy Monday! Suzie

Shout to the Rooftops: There's LOTS of Giveaways!

Generosity is still abundant even after the Holidays, as all these wonderful bloggers are evident of! Please visitJoy To the Blog for her LARGE giveaway! How about also hopping over to Elegance & Whimsy for her sweet prizes. Oh, no, we're not finished! Skip over to Because Katie Said So to put in your chance to win, and there's also Moxie Photo & Design and then there's Camp Whimsy
I also just ran across a Pink Saturday giveaway at The Stone Rabbit

My Pink Saturday....

Happy New Year, friends! Today I have a beautiful PINK Ballerina painted by an artist that lives in a gorgeous renovated 1915 bungalow home in the Winnetka District in Dallas. I thought she was just gorgeous when I went on a Home Tour in the district, so I'm sharing her with you today! Please watch my Home Tour remix below to see more details of the gorgeous homes I viewed in Winnetka Heights.
Thanks to our lovely host, Beverly, at How Sweet The Sound to visit all the participants for Pink Saturday! Suzie

A Home Tour....

Hi, Bloggie Friends! Happy New Year! I wanted to share a little remix with you of a Home Tour I took in December in Winnetka heights district here in Dallas, Dallas' second largerst historical neighborhood. The homes were built mainly around 1915. It was a fun day! You can read more about it here Winnetka Heights
We ended the tour in their downtown, you can see a few shops and a picture at the end of my daughter Megan with her mother-in-law Edie, and then there's Suzie Button with a good friend, Cynthia! Blessings! Suzie Button