Bella Recap - Part One

I'm home from Silver Bella and am finally getting back into the swing of things.  My dear, sweet hubby did an excellent job of holding down the fort and getting the kids off to school on time and to all of their activities.  I even came home to a clean house and a sweet little love note. Now the laundry, that’s a different story.  

Let’s see, where should I start.  It’s so hard to relay into words what an amazing event this is.   The whole five days was a whirlwind of creativity, laughter and fun.  I met so many lovely women, got to meet up with some friends from last year (Melissa, Lisa and Karlene) and made a few new friendships along the way. 

Kelli, Jen and I roomed together this year which added to the whole experience.  However, we had too many late nights which is very evident in most of my photos. 

  

Hope is such a sweetheart and introduced us to many familiar faces, one being the adorable and talented Kari Ramstrom, aka Artsy Mama, and the oh so sweet and talented, Michelle Geller.

Our guest speaker was the lovely Jo Packham of Where Women Create.  She is a phenomenal speaker and one of those women who captures your attention immediately.  I think everyone agreed that we wish she had had more time to speak.

Vendor night was even more exciting and beautiful than I had remembered.  I was so happy that the three of us got a picture taken in our aprons that we worked so hard on together. 

The whole event was even more magical this year than last.  I have such wonderful memories.  Memories that will have to last until next year.

It's Finally Here

Tomorrow I hop on a plane and head for Omaha.  I spent the whole day collecting and packing my supplies for Silver Bella.  I made this tote bag in anticipation of filling it up with lots of treasures at the Vendor Faire.  There are so many wonderful vendors this year, and I have a few that I plan on making a beeline for as soon as I step foot into that magical wonderland.

You're probably saying, "Again with the drop cloth."

This is what my dining room table looked like just a couple of hours ago.  It is so hard to know what to bring as far as supplies.

Miss Alice was my shadow today, running from room to room gathering supplies.  I think the look on her face pretty much sums up the way my family is feeling about Silver Bella right now....Enough Already!! 

Have a wonderful couple of days my friends, and I look forward to sharing my crafting tales with you when I return.

Apron Stitching

I have been a busy girl this last week getting ready for Silver Bella.  I can't believe I will be leaving in just five days!  Every year during the Vendor Faire there is a theme.  This year the theme, which I absolutely adore,  is 100 Aprons.  I have had such a great time making my apron.  I used painter's drop cloth as my base and used a very old German lace curtain panel as an overlay.

I am a lover of all things lace so I embellished the pocket with lots and lots of scraps of lace.  I also pulled out my embroidery needle and thread and did a little stitching around the waist.

I made sure to include the beautiful rhinestone button that I picked up while antiquing this summer with Kelli, Hope and Gabrielle.

 

And of course no apron of mine is complete without a millinery flower.

Kelli and Hope came over last week and I pulled out old Bessie, my hubby's grandmother's avocado green sewing machine, (which I feel so lucky to now own) and worked on our aprons.  It was so interesting to see how beautiful and different each of our aprons turned out.  The making of this apron was by far my most favorite sewing project that I have worked on in a while. It's even better when you can get together with your good friends and make a whole day of it!

It's almost the weekend.......wishing you a lovely one.

Breathtaking

Why do I torture myself this way?  The other day I was perusing the Anthropologie website and came upon these beauties.  I literally gasped.  Goodness gracious I really, really want these babies.

Sweetie, I know I said that I wanted these for Christmas,
but finding the Winding Ruffle boots from Anthro under the tree would work instead and make me a very happy girl. 

Homecoming

As I stood there Saturday afternoon ironing Harrison’s shirt that he would be wearing that evening to homecoming my eyes filled with tears.  It seems that it was just yesterday that I was ironing his little shirts for preschool.   Now he is 16 years old, will be getting his drivers license soon, and was going to his first homecoming dance with a girl. They just went as friends....but still.  It's all just happening too fast for me.

All of his buddies and their dates meet at his friend's house before the dance and then they went to another friend's house afterwards.  He had a great time.

I'm so disappointed with my photos.  It was pouring down rain on Saturday so we had to take pictures inside at his friend's house. But I still think he looks quite dashing! 

Posies On Parade

Today is the grand opening of Posies on Parade.  Go take a peek.  I promise you are going to love what you see!

Silver Bella Swapping

Silver Bella is fast approaching and I have been busy cutting, pasting and stitching.  I decided to join in on all the fun during the first night of the event by participating in a few swaps.  The first swap I signed up for was the Bella Holiday Fatbook swap.  Michelle is graciously hosting this swap again this year.  Last year I was in awe of the pages the girls had created and feel so lucky to be part of this year's Fatbook.  I just hope my pages are worthy.

Front Page

Our instructions were to simply create eleven pages from fabric and embellish them with our holiday color palette using our favorite bits and bobs.  I am still having a love affair with drop cloth so that is what I used for the base of my pages.

Back Page

On the back of our pages we were to include our contact information.  I decided to make a little pocket to hold a card that would include my information.  On the front of the card is a picture of me from when I was about two and on the back of the card I hand wrote my information.

I also signed up for an Advent Matchbox swap and a Felt Ornament swap.  I just need to put a few finishing touches on the 25 matchboxes, and I have ten of my ornaments finished.....just eight more to go!