Naomi & Rebekah

New cards for Peony Paperie.

These have the feel of a handpainted initial, and a handwritten name, on gorgeous, textured paper.

I've been working on some new designs that work WITH my new printer, and not against it, and I think these fit the bill perfectly.

bunnies

It's springtime...or at least it SHOULD be.

Weather in Denver is NEVER what you'd expect.

But, since it's at least springTIME (if not springWEATHER) we've been seeing our fair share of bunnies.

First, we visited Tagawa Gardens, when a bunny adoption agency brought out bunnies to hug and love.

I think their adoption requirements are almost as difficult as adopting a child (home visits, classes, background checks, etc.).

Then, after 16+ inches of snow... we found this in our basement window well:

It would take me pages and pages to describe the adventures with this TINY bunny in our basement.

...chasing it around the basement

...trying to keep in in a box

...chasing it around the basement, again

...letting it go

...watching it jump BACK in the window well

...leaving it's box, food and water in the window well (since it clearly WANTED to be there!)

...chasing it around the basement, time 3

...not telling the children it D.I.E.D after 2 nights eating celery and sleeping under a towel.

..."releasing" the bunny in the bushes...you know, to go back to it's mommy.

...feeling horrible that we're just THAT BAD at caring for animals

So, here are some cute bunny ideas for spring. No chasing this bunny out from behind boxes in the basement! Just cute, all the time!

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, my sister-in-law Rebekah, suggested that we have a family photo taken. It would be a gift for my mother, but I think I lucked out as well!

Over Easter weekend, I asked local photographer Allison, from Photos by Allison, to shoot a group photo outdoors. But she went above and beyond, shooting every possible combination of photos. She spend about an hour with us, and charged no sitting fee! And her photo prices were very reasonable. So if you're in the South Denver Metro area (Castle Rock), give Allison a call.

Here are a few of my favorites.
It helps that my kids are just plain adorable! Or maybe Allison's just THAT good with a camera and photoshop. Yeah...probably photoshop.

Etsy front page

WooHoo!
My treasury made it to etsy's front page this afternoon.


It's gone now (most only are up for a few minutes) but I was able to capture some shots of my computer screen with it up.


Only bummer...they didn't include my Annie notecards. Even though the rules of creating a "showcase" of items is that you CAN include one of your own, the etsy people don't want it to be about self promotion. So I guess they removed my item from the list, but gave me the credit for creating it.

So here they are. Maybe you can just imagine what the collection would have looked like!Annie notecards - set of 12 - $12

knife fork spoon

Recipe cards available now from Peony Paperie!

Maybe if I print some for myself it will inspire me to cook, instead of suggesting we go out for dinner.

But come August, both Caroline and Grayson will be at this cute, Christian preschool 2 days a week, so I can grocery shop in peace. No more double-backing for another taste of cheese, fresh peanut butter, or pineapple. And I can fill these reicipe cards with great ideas from the internet or family, and shop & cook to my heart's content! So start sending me your go-to dinner ideas, and I can send you some funky fun cards to use in YOUR kitchen.

Happy Cooking!

treasury - teacher teacher

I have a treasury on etsy, featuring beautiful ideas for teacher gifts.
It will be up through Friday, so look for it before it expires.

Treasury: teacher teacher

Heather Hippo

Tonight John and I are going on a date to meet Heather Armstrong, and hear her read a portion of her new book, It Sucked and Then I Cried.

We're excited to get out for the night. We actually hired a babysitter. I know...so unlikely! She'll even be here long enough for us to have dinner beforehand, and get some coffee at the bookstore to sip during the reading. Although, Heather (if anything in person like her writing) could turn out to be very funny...and I'd hate to spit hot coffee all over John, or her 7 month pregnant belly.


But I must admit, I haven't read the new book. My usual standby, the local library, hasn't quite come through for me this time. They have ordered 4 of her books, and I'm third on the list, but I guess they don't have them yet. So I'll be going tonight, but I'll be the girl who was too cheap to actually PURCHASE the book, and thus should probably keep my mouth shut.


I thought maybe some hippo notecards from Peony Paperie would make up for the fact that I didn't read the book (I mean...come on...it just was released last week). On her website, Heather speaks often of her love for hippos. Maybe these will help if she *gasp* actually asks me if I read the book. I'll just hand over the notecards and say..oohh...shiny...hippos.


Here are some more etsy hippos for inspiration.

Pocket Wallet by DearSukie
Hippo Studs by LindaLindaLinda
Stripes and Hippo Clutch Purse by freshlybakedjen
Fabric Covered Button Hair Tie & Pin by pinkypig
Hippo by tinywarbler
Little Hippo by oopsthatsart

UPDATE: John bought me the book and we had a nice evening out! Book is funny, and great for those who are past the baby and pregnancy stage...you wouldn't get it otherwise!

new for Peony Paperie

I've been working on adding some new designs, and updating a lot of my pictures at Peony Paperie. I'm going with a lighter background, and printing all the designs at home on my new(ish) printer.

The Eve and Annie designs are new.
The Hannah (and Isaiah) cards are freshly photographed.

Don't you think these apple cards would be perfect for end-of-the-year teacher gifts? I know Miss Dawn and Miss Birgitte (C's teachers) will be getting some.

cheap and easy

I'm cheap, and so I can't bring myself to pay $600 or more for Adobe programs like Illustrator or Photoshop. I KNOW I'd end up loving them, but I just can't do it. Right now, Word and I get along just fine...mostly.

But that also means I don't have a great way of editing my photos for etsy. In comes Picnik. Free, online photo editing program, that requires NO registration. Just upload your photos from your computer or Fliker, and get started.

In less than 5 min, with only 2 adjustments, I uploaded this photo and came out with this:

I'm sure I could even do better, with a little more time and patience...but I have neither of these.

Emily cards here.

igloo

We finally had a nice amount of snow this week (enough that J missed 1 1/2 days of work). We did the normal "play in the snow with your kids" things. We rode the sled, built a snowman, stomped around the backyard, repositioned gloves on cold little hands, and picked up fallen babies who's legs were just too short to walk in the deep powder.

Then J began building an igloo. The conditions of our snow storm were such that there were several inches of soft snow, topped with about 2 inches of crunchy, icy snow. If you carefully lifted the top layer, you could come away with some nice "block" to build igloo walls.

I was amazed...windows, roof, door opening, supported with broom handles, and all constructed after "the sky got dark" (as Caroline was saying!). But alas, even such fine engineering is no match for the warm sun, and our igloo is now a heap of crunchy snow on our back lawn.

So to keep that cool feeling just a little longer, here are a few etsy inspirations. Spring will come soon enough, but I'm not ready quite yet.My Little Snow Boots by hipknots

Ice Ice Baby earrings by sleepingcatbeads
Berry Ring by thepebblecollection

Snow Poppies by cultivar
Little Chickadee by naturemandalas
Chocolate Snow Cookies by onesweetday

(found searching etsy.com for "ice" and "snow". Searching igloo didn't give me quite what I was looking for!)