Just Thought I'd Share...

A few things I have been obsessing over lately...

Wood grain embroidered bags!

Re-decorated plates and platters!!

Antique Ball jars! The aqua ones.

Bunting! (ESPECIALLY the tiny ones!)

Naturally, these can all be found on Etsy! I hope you can enlarge the picture of the peacock platter . The peacock is incredible!

Great Gifting!

So, I love coming up with thoughtful gift ideas for people. I love knowing that I got or made something for someone that is uniquely them. If an ocassion comes up and a gift needs to be given and that gift is not as thoughtful as I would like, it seriously bothers me. Almost to the point of being disturbed. Don't get me wrong though, I really like this part of me. And I encourage all of you to be the same! It makes getting someone a gift go from being a chore to down right awesome!

One gifting idea is etsy. Tell your friends to get on etsy and search. They are bound to find at least a few things they love (and hopefully don't buy for themselves) then you can get on etsy and see what it is that they love, pick your price range and BAM! Instant success! Even if you don't purchase that exact item, it can spark ideas for something that you can find else where or make yourself to make it even more "them". About 1/4 of the items in my favorites are items that I think would be great for someone else!

You might ask, "why is Kersey dedicating an entire post to gifting?" well, Christmas is just around the corner, and I am positive that all of us have a birthday, half-birthday, or anniversary somewhere between now and then.

Enjoy your brand new perspective on gifting! Get started and let me know how it goes!

For those of you who don't already love etsy...you will...

www.etsy.com

New Found Love

So the title of this post might be just a tad extreme, but seriously...how could you not love THIS?!

This is our new butter dish! We have been searching for a while for a butter dish that was functional (has a lid and something to grab the lid by!) and cute! Long story short, I contacted this person on Etsy to see if she wanted to trade, her butter dish (custom made) for anything in my shop, and she said yes! This might be in part to the fact that she too is LDS and went to BYU...hmmm..anywho, I absolutely LOVE it! It fits PERFECTLY into our home! If you find yourself in need of an oh, so cute butter dish, check her out! www.meadowlandpottery.etsy.com

Ya'll Ready For This?

It has been a busy and exciting last few weeks. Florida was great! We were able to spend lots of time with family and friends and of course, made a trip for Elliott's first time to the beach! Everyone loved seeing Elliott. Linda (Preston's mom) spoiled Elliott rotten! But what are Grandmas for?! It was sweet to be able to see Preston's side of the family get to meet and interact with our little man.

This is an outfit that was Preston's when he was a baby. 

I was able to spend some good ole' quality gal time while I was there with Lease (lisa) Delayna, and Larissa. Larissa was taking the picture. Of course, we HAD to go to silverspoon! Lease and I use to go there ALL the time for the mozzarella stars...apparently, now they are triangles. Lame, I know. It was so great to be able to have some Lease time. She has been my best friend for almost 20 years! Sounds kinda crazy that I am that old that I have a friend that I have known that long.

And of course, the BEACH!!

I had bought this WAY cute matching bathing suit and beach hat for Elliott, then I lost the hat and had to buy a new one...of course, I found the matching hat that I had originally bought about 1 hour after we got back from the beach. Figures.

I LOVE those trunks and even more so the boy in them! Check out those pecks!

Jack (Lisa's son) fell in love with Elliott. Rather obsessed actually. It was cute.

We were able to meet up with one of Preston's childhood friends as well. She just so happens to have a baby about 1 month older than Elliott. AND he just so happens to look very similar to Elliott. So...

We thought that they should embrace...turns out...

Neither of them enjoyed it.

Besides enjoying what Preston and I still think of as home, 

I have been working quite a bit on this..

That's right! I finally have developed this talent! These are just two of the books I have done so far. I have sold a few on etsy and also at a craft show that Brooke and I did together. It was four days long and it was NOT the kind of craft show we were hoping for...We were hoping it would be more like an "etsyish" fair..but it turned out to be more of a "wow, look at that! ANOTHER painted, wooden beehive!" kind of fair. As you can imagine, our stuff wasn't as appreciated as it might have been at an "etsyish" type of fair, but people still really liked Brooke's pendants. She made a killing! 

This was our booth. Preston described it very well. He said that our booth was more urban/cityish, and the rest of the fair was 100% country. 

The whole experience over all was great. It was really nice to be able to spend so much time with brooke too. We will be doing it again, but at more "etsyish" shows. I'm excited for that. The next one is in less than a month..I gotta get a move on and make more books so people can buy them!

Struggles

I thought that I would give this a try. After all, this is the internet and you never know who's reading this...I have been trying and trying to figure out how to make a coptic book. I have everything down except the stitch (imagine that, the hardest part!) If anyone out there knows where I can learn this information, I would GREATLY appreciate it. I have been trying to learn how to do this for a few months now. I'm kind of obsessed. So please, if you know, or if you know someone who knows, PLEASE let ME know! 

Just so you know, a coptic book looks like this:

This book was made by Huish Books on Etsy.com. 

She is amazingly talented. 

I have two of her books already and I love them! 

Doubt

I don't normally do this, but I feel like if I didn't I would be doing all of you a REAL disservice. Preston and I recently went to see the movie "Doubt". We were awed by it and highly recommend it to every last one of you. It is truly amazing. I wont give anything away but if you do decide to go see it, PLEASE let me know what you thought. It isn't doing very well at the box office, I think due to lack of publicity. But it has been nominated for 5 awards which are well deserved. So, save up your pennies if you have to, get a sitter, stop watching TV and GO SEE IT! You wont regret it!

Beauteous

Rings made from antique silver spoons. I love them.

A Succulent Update

I was really excited to use some of the new techniques that Rikki taught me about photography on my succulents. They aren't the best pictures, but hey, I'm a beginner. My succulents seem to be doing rather well. I am excited about their progress. My favorite one looks like it has a few "buds" that might become blossoms soon (see first picture). Won't that be exciting? 

Lockets

I really, really like these and just wanted to share the beauty.

Which one is more..."kersey"?

Glassed Photography

So, as some of you may re-call, a while back I expressed some desire to further "round" myself (not in a plump way, but in a "yeah, she's really well rounded" way) by developing some talents.If you don't re-call, feel free to look back at previous posts..you know, so you're not out of the loop. Anyway, one of those I expressed the desire to develop the talent of photography. SO, being the wonderful person that she is, Rikki Browne came over yesterday and taught me a few things about shooting, how to use my camera, and editing. I still have a ways to go before I would ever claim photography a "talent", but yesterday was I feel, a great break through! Thanks Rik!

So here are some pictures that I took yesterday with Rikki of some of my glass art. I love my glass art, so naturally, I love these pictures! Some more than others of course, but you know.

P.S. See how many of these pictures you can see me in.

Tea Kettles vs. Tea Pots

I very much enjoy sipping a nice cup of tea when it is cold outside. Since I have been back from my mission, I have been kettle-less, simply using the microwave to heat up the water. Boring I know. So I decided I wanted another kettle. But then I thought to myself, "why get a kettle? Tea POTS are SO much cuter!" So I have been investigating different tea pots and have found quite a few that I really like. However, I have also found out that tea pots are meant to only HOLD the hot water, tea, etc..NOT to be used to heat up the water itself. Therefore, you are forced to add a middle-man to heat the water, then take the heated water and pour it into the tea pot. Whereas with a tea kettle, you can just heat it up right on the stove and BAM! Tea. So, I decided to cut out the middle-man and just settle for a kettle. (you like how that rhymes huh?) But I am determined to get one that kind of LOOKS like a tea pot, because they are, after all, so dang cute. I found some that were ok. Not exactly what I would want. And then..I found one! And wouldn't ya know it, its made by Martha Stewart!

Isn't it beautiful? I am determined to have it, but can't bring myself to spend the money, even though it really isn't that expensive. Some day...some day...

My Succulents

For a pretty long time now, I have been pretty much obsessing, looking high and low for succulents to purchase and scatter throughout my home. They are wonderful. I 'll tell you why. 1. They are VERY easy to take care of (hardly ever need to be watered) and 2. they look awesome. Brooke directed me to some she discovered at a local store. I was and am so excited. With the plants, I bought a few terracotta pots to paint to give my new plants a home. I painted them with common acrylic craft paint, and then sprayed them with gloss to make them...well, glossy. I am debating on naming them. Strange? Maybe.

This one has a history. I began my search looking for this exact one a very long time ago. My brother-in-law's mother has one in her house and every time I have been to her house, I use the restroom that this plant is in just to look at it. Her plant is artificial, but it still looks great. I have never found it anywhere. Until now...

This one is Preston's favorite. I think because of the colors that I painted the pot. He's a big fan of blue and brown. But the plant is awesome as well. This one has a little stick that is protruding from the middle. This is where the "blooms" will be coming in in the spring. If I don't kill it first.