Sunday, November 25, 2012

It' s Been a While ...

And it's probably going to be quite sporadic from now until sometime in January!  I never knew that this time of year could get this busy!  Golly gosh!  At the last minute I decided to have Natasha's birthday party this coming Wednesday straight after school as school closes here on Thursday (her birthday is only the 9th of December).  Then my Mom and Dad in-law are arriving on the 1st of December for a 2 week stay (yippee), they leave on the 15th and then my Brother and his family arrive ont he 19th from France and they stay with me until the 3rd of January!  (So guess who is going to sneak into her craft room late at night if she can....)

Anyway, so I am trying to make party packs and for some weird reason I decided to crochet brooches for the girls!  All 17 of them!  Then I am making 8 sets of six cards as teacher gifts (all this by Thursday!), and, it's Natasha's teachers' birthday tomorrow! 

So today I went and bought her a very pretty silk scarf in her earthy colours, it has these beautiful, soft feather prints on it.  And I made a little bag and a tag card to go along with it:

Teacher Black only likes earth tones, very much of the brown category - but I couldn't resist introducing a little bit of pink.  The stamped image is from PTI's "Pretty Peonies" which I repeatedly stamped.  I then stamped one flower and trimmed and popped it up as an accent.  I used Victorian Velvet distress ink and got those white highlights by using my white distress marker, love that magic marker! The designer paper is by K & Company.  Here is a picture of the bag I made using a PTI "Front & Center No.2" die:


I hope she likes her little gift!

Oh yes, I  forgot to mention, amongst all this hyperactivity at my house, my computer was hit by a power surge and basically died on me!  I had to get the geek squad to dig in there and retrieve everything for me, which I believe they did (but I guess I will only find that out later when I am looking for something I can no longer find!).

The weather continues to be weird here, yesterday it was 89 - 90F and today it's back down to 55F!  Not sure what to tell the visitors to pack anymore!  But thank goodness my in-laws are seasoned travellers and they have the whole packing thing down pat!

So, basically, I have been trying to say that I am really sorry for not visiting your beautiful blogs, I miss you all very much (Lisa, I was listening to Mumford & Sons whilst making the above gift today and I was missing you more than you can imagine!).

Hope to pop in here and there during the next month, but if I don't, now you know why!  Sending you all lots of hugs!

17 comments:

Martha said...

OH, Brenda! You KNOW I absolutely love these BEAUTIES you've created! Natasha's teacher is going to love...love...love...the beautiful tag-card & gift bag! Love the colors & all the FABULOUS details!

What a treat that you will have family visiting you for a while! You & Natasha must be bursting with JOY! ENJOY the visit!

Sending Natasha a BIG birthday HUG! She will be SO delighted with her early birthday celebration! Sounds like your creativity is on fire...crocheting brooches for the girls...how FUN!

Enjoy your visit with family!
BIG HUGS to you!

Cindy C. said...

You have been busy Brenda!! I really like your set of tag and card; it's really lovely!!

Moz said...

Absolutely gorgeous set and I know Natasha's teacher will be so thrilled with the gift and tag and bag set.
You are going to be mega busy the next month with all the family descending upon you. Take time to enjoy them all and savor the moments of joy you will share.
Family is so precious.....
Hugz

Barb said...

Hi Bren! I just thought about you the other day and was wondering how you've been doing - good to hear from you! I'm so glad you've got family coming to visit!

Love your beautiful gift bag and tag-card! Gorgeous colors - I'm sure Natasha's teacher will adore it! Take care, and sending lots of hugs right back to you! :)

Dawn T said...

what a busy life Brenda. And what amazing gift bag and tag card. Perfect for your daughter's teacher. Enjoy the next few months with your family.

Pajalu said...

Brenda what a busy time you have ahead of you! This time of year is non stop I think. It's like lets have a mad rush to New Years & then start all over again lol. Love the bag & tag that you made. Those colours look amazing together & I'm sure your dd's teacher will love them. Hope your dd has a wonderful b'day.

joy said...

Beautiful tag and gift bag, Brenda! I love those soft, vintage-y colors. And, did you say 17 brooches??? WOW!

Sounds like you will have a wonderful few weeks with family visiting. Enjoy every moment; it goes by too quickly!!

Thank you for your sweet comments on my blog, Brenda!

Robin K. said...

I'm so happy your life will be full of family over the next month!!! Enjoy every minute with them! Crafting and blogging will always be there for you to return to:). Your project is lovely and I know it will be treasured by the recipient! Take good care! Hugs, Robin:)

Maureen Morton said...

You are darn amazing, Brenda! Willing to knock yourself out to share your lovely crafting! Don't try to do too much........enjoy your family visits and kick back a bit. Thanks for sharing and glad you are back online! Hugs to you!

Stella said...

You have the perfect reason for not being around; there is family coming over. Enjoy this special time of the year and have fun with your family. I love this gift set. A lovely gift and the gift card and wrapping is jaw dropping gorgeous!

Elizabeth Allan said...

Brenda your gift set is going to send Martha Stewart to your door for crafting ideas!! Beautiful design! I have been searching through my supplies looking for an extra day or two to send you. Your schedule sounds very busy, but certainly full of happy fun!

Lisa Elton said...

Wow someone is going to be a busy lady! But when it involves her little girl's birthday and family visits it's a good kind of busy busy!

I think Natasha's teacher will love this pretty bag and tag set along with the thoughtful gift. The touches of pink are soft and subtle, perfect with the earth tones!

Jacqueline said...

Hi Brenda, hope the birthday party goes well, I think you are just one hour ahead of us here in France, on the other side of the world!
It will be lovely for you to have family visit. I also love what you designed, gorgeous!

alexandra s.m. said...

Love that set Brenda!
I wouldn't hink about opening it if i were her it's so perfect!!
It sounds like you are going to be awfully busy...good luck with everything!


Hugs~

walchowDesign said...

Love the sweet bag with the matching tag, Brenda! it's so feminine!

CanadianScraps43 said...

Love your gift set Brenda.I know what you mean with having time to create when things are so busy. December seems to be a busy time of the year as well because we have birthdays this month as well, along with Christmas and then more in January. So yes, I understand you. I so love what you have greated here and I more than sure that this gift will be treasured. Your so talente4d. Take good care of yourself sweetie and hope to be back here again soon.

Virginia L. said...

the gift pack and tag are amazing, Brenda! You are such a great Mama! I am glad that you got your computer back in action!