Easter - More Than Eggs and Bunnies

For the past couple of years, we have gone to my sister's house to do an easter egg hunt. The kids always look so cute in their bunny ears holding their baskets in search of the well hidden eggs.

They always have so much fun! I love watching them run around frantically and then seeing the look of joy on their faces when they find an egg.

And yes, I want my kids to have fun on 'the hunt' and I want for them to enjoy this time with their cousins.

But, I also want them to know why we celebrate Easter. And that it's not because of the easter bunny or the sweet treats that they find in the eggs.

I want them to know that Easter is so much more than eggs and bunnies. That the reason we celebrate Easter is because of Jesus and what He did on the cross.

This Amazing Love wall print that I designed for my shop summarizes what I want them to know.




Here are some Christian inspired items that I absolutely love.



Names of Jesus Christian Bowl Fillers by Ryens Marketplace




Hand Stamped Metal Necklace by Wonderkath




Felt Finger Puppets by So Simple So Sweet




Jesus Lives Paperweight by Fresh Retro Gallery




Not Perfect Just Forgiven Necklace by Alexandra And Company




I Love Jesus Leather Bracelet by Crystal's Sweet Imagination Boutique




He is Risen Resurrection Sculpture by Hooked on Clay




Hand-Stamped Sterling Cross by Joy Belle Jewelry


I hope that you all enjoy this Easter weekend!

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to this little boy who is growing up too fast!

Seven years ago you came into my world, and my life has never been the same. I love you my sweet boy. So much!




And this is what Mateo got for his birthday. A Ninjago Lego set. He can't wait to build it! :)

Christmas Memories - 2011

It's so hard to believe that another Christmas has come and gone. Christmas is undoubtedly my favorite holiday. I've always had wonderful memories from days past. Lots of love, happiness, and fun with the people I love.

I remember when I was a child, we would hang out literally ALL day from morning until late night playing games, watching movies, eating too much food, and of course opening presents. :) Now that we all have our own families, we don't do an all day thing any longer, but we do spend a good chunk of the day together.

It's such a blessing that I have such a close family. We love to just hang out no matter what the occasion, even if it's just to get together. So much so, that we saw each other the next day at my oldest sister's house for lunch/dinner. She invited us over for Boxing Day. She is a phenomenal cook, so it's hard to say no to an invite that involves food that she is cooking! :))

Ok, enough about that, thanks for reading my chatter! :) This is our Christmas card this year. I just can't get away from the chevron pattern and this pale turquoise color. Major crushes, for sure! I even had the boys wear shades of blue just so I could use the color on the card. Ha, crazy obsessive or what? ;)

Unforgettable - A Favorite Photo!

I love taking pictures and when I downloaded this one off my memory card, I had such a smile on my face.

Mateo smiling big for the camera and Tobias hamming it up in the background. What faces! I love this photo. A wonderful memory, for sure! ♥

Brotherly Love

Yesterday we were at the park and a little boy about Tobias' age pushed past him down a ramp, almost knocking him down.

Mateo, the protective older brother of Tobias, immediately goes to the other little boy, "Don't push my brother!"

Even though Mateo and Tobias have their brotherly spats, they love each other so much.

My prayer is that they will not only be great brothers who look out for one another, but that they would be THE BEST of friends. ♥

Mystery Solved!

What is the mystery that needed to be solved, you say? Well, here is the evidence that I gathered to solve the mystery. Can you tell what happened based on the evidence? :)

Exhibit A - I gathered a whole bunch of hair that was scattered on the floor and placed it in a clear plastic envelope, ready to get a DNA sample.




Exhibit B - This is the tool I found right in the middle of all that hair. Kid reptile scissors. The fingerprints, I bet, are still fresh on it.




Exhibit C - This is the little boy I found with a front section of his hair much shorter than the rest.




A brand new hair cut and I didn't even need to pay a dime for it. But, I guess a trip to the hairdresser in the near future is in order! :)

Sale Number 200

This past weekend, I made sale number 200! I am SO thankful and SO excited about this. I opened up my Etsy shop last year on August 30, but didn't actually list anything until the beginning of September. After I hit 100 sales, my goal was to try to make 200 sales by my one year anniversary on Etsy. I feel so blessed to have met that goal early!

Here is a little bit about why I started my shop.

Since I was a little girl, I loved creating. I used to sew animals and design and sew clothes for myself (like my grade 12 grad dress). I also loved drawing, painting, you name it, I tried it!

Now, being a stay-at-home-mom, I started my Etsy shop as a way to express my need to create and do something constructive with the gifts that God has given me.

Before I had kids, I used to sell scrapbook layouts and embellishments on eBay. It was so fun to create different layouts and pieces to sell. I met some amazing and wonderful people through eBay.

Here are a few examples of what I used to sell.

The next three pictures are 12x12 pre-made scrapbook layouts that I used to create. Just add your pictures and journaling and you're done.








I also created embellishments like these tags that you could add to your scrapbook layout. Paper piecing used to be a big thing on eBay.
Not sure if it still is.








After my first child was born (and then my second), I stopped selling on eBay because I wanted to devote my time to being a Mom and enjoy every moment with my sweet children.

Now that my youngest is older, I found that I really missed creating. I didn't want to go back to selling scrapbook pages on eBay, so pondered what else I enjoyed doing. I love sewing. I love graphic design and art. I love photography. What could I do?

Well, I also love stuffed toys, so I started sketching out some animals to sew. I then created the pattern pieces for the animals. Next, I put the pattern to work and cut out some fabric and sewed the pieces together. With this came the birth of Cocoa Bear, and then Sammy Raccoon, Ribberty Ribbitz Frog, Tokala Fox, Swoops Beaker Owl, and Perth Crocodile.

I started designing wall prints for my kid's rooms and absolutely fell in love with doing this. I then decided to offer them for sale in my Etsy shop. I love color. I love typography. I love design. Wall prints were the perfect answer to my obsession with these three things.

So there I am today, at this present moment. I have so many ideas in my head, that I keep a journal with the ideas written down, so I don't forget them. Because if I don't write them down, I will surely forget!

I'm not sure where my shop will bring me in the future, but I have had so much fun and have met so many fabulous people through Etsy.

Thank you so much for making my dream a reality! ♥