Friday Favs

So today you have to indulge me a bit. It's my son's 10th birthday. Wow. He's grown so fast. So today's Friday favs are going to be my favorite things about.....well, him. 1. He gives amazing bear hugs. 2. He has an amazing smile. One of his front teeth is behind the rest, and I really like that about him. 3. He has an angel's kiss birthmark on his back. 4. He is MORE than patient with his little sister. 4. He has the uncanny ability to play any sport. 5. He has a competitive spirit and doesn't allow anyone to run him over. 6. He's an amazing artist. 7. He has big dreams already for himself. 8. He's a good friend. 9. He's a great son. 10. He loves me unconditionally (I can tell it in his heart he does).

Well, after my rug and floor got all patched up I was given a lovely stomach bug. Hope to be back to normal soon. It's amazing how much weight you can loose in two days when you don't eat though. I got on the scale today and 5 pounds went somewhere (you really don't want to know where, it's a little graphic) between Wednesday and today. Ick is right. So Lily and I are going back to bed now. See ya hopefully on Monday.

itty-bitty Goodness

My kids ride the bus home on Monday and Friday. And as usual today they came bounding in the house ready to tell of their day's events. Usually it starts with someone getting into trouble, which on occasion involves them, but mostly involves stories of children I don't know (we are in a new school this year). Today Mailey was all excited to show off her Book Fair purchases. Each received a $20 bill to use at their own accord for the bi-annual book fair. And as usual Mailey chose as much as she could with her crisp $20. A Club Penguin comic book (urghhhh), Fancy Nancy chapter book (yipee!) and an itty-bitty Baking Kit (this is supposed to be a book fair. Why I asked, why?). And here it is, the $9.99 item she had to have. Today just happens to be my husband Billy's 42nd Birthday. I can tell you his age with a giggle because he is a bit older than me.....hehehehe....Now years from now I'll not be laughing, or maybe I will as I wheelchair race him down the hall. So the kids immediately were like "Mom we've got to make these for Daddy. You make the big cake, we'll make these." I, being the sucker Mom that I am, said okey-dokey. So in the box came a recipe for cake and icing for this teeny pan, totally from SCRATCH I tell you. Just to give you an idea of how tiny these are, the recipe said that a regular cake mix would make 300 itty-bitty cakes. Yikes. That's a long time cooking with one little pan that makes 6. It'd be 500 minutes of cooking (can I do multiplication or what?). So we followed the instructions and made these extremely YUMMMMMMMY cupcakes bites. Seriously. So yummy. And I am an icing freak. I stowed some away just for tomorrow when I am thinking about it.....and have to have more!

Oh, so super cute. Billy was so happy. We made a few bigger because of time in the mini-muffin pan.

This is all that's left, well, maybe they are all gone by now. I may have needed another....two.

Oh, look who likes cake? Etsy boo-boo. She devoured it. Lily also had one. Wasn't sure the turtle would, and really did not want to waste the goodness on an un-appreciative animal. So we celebrated the night with a yummy dinner, red wine, itty-bitty cupcakes and silliness around our table. At work they had a cake for him and this card:

Okay, so if any of you happen to know Billy, this is quite hilarious. I laugh out loud to think of his little sweater vest wearing self partying like a rock star. Maybe when we are old and racing down the hallway in our wheelchairs. For now though, I kind of like his laid back conservative self, who would rather not party like a rock star. Happy Birthday Billy!

Corelle Design Contest

I don't know where I've been lately, man it's been awhile since my last post! My children are back in school giving me a little more time to paint. There will be several more posts soon to show just what. This is is my latest little creation. It's called "A Happy Evening with Birthday Cake." In last months issue of Domino they advertised a Corelle plate design contest. If you look here you can see all the rules and view some samples of their current dishware. You've all seen it, by the piece at Wal-mart. You know the stuff...not glass...not plastic... not really sure what it is! Well, one of the criteria was to make the design to embody the Corelle "style". Have you looked lately at their dishes? Okay, some are fabulous, others I question. One thing I did notice is that there is always a ton of white plate showing. I guess so you see what you are eating? Here is my design for this contest: It's a birthday plate. Maybe not what you'd want to eat on everyday, but fun enough for those happy birthday's! Besides, I don't think they have a birthday plate on the racks. Maybe, just maybe, they'll think it's cute and cool and pick it as the winner! I so want to be flown to LA for the Domino party!

New Mini Paintings

"Henry Turns 6"

3.5 " x 8"- mixed media on wood

"Steady Friends"

3.5" x 3.5"- mixed media on wood

I was doing my usual blog reading and found out that Sally Jean now has a blog. It reminded me of a workshop I had with her in Portland awhile back. One of her techniques to get you going on collages is to pick words from a jar and go from there. I did my own spin on this by reading a book and snipping little passages that were funny together or could inspire a new painting. She always uses vintage papers, charcoal pencil, and white paint to embellish. I of course had to use my little birds and flowers with a bit more color! These two little guys I made up last night. It was great fun, and a great mess! I think I'll add a layer of resin to give them the ultimate shine.