The anticipated arrival of our first grandchild is so exciting. The entire house is abuzz with shopping, planning, decorating, preparing for the shower and chatter of the joy to come. Even the boys are coutning down the days until their sweet little niece will be born. William has even picked out what he wants to buy Amelia for her first Christmas.

I have started crocheting a great little sundress for her in size 6 to 12 months. It's from a pattern in a book I have entitled "Crochet with Bits and Pieces". It is turning out so nicely and it's going really quickly. I may make her a couple of them if I like the final outcome. I'll post pictures as soon as it's done.

Miriah and I went shopping for clothes at Walmart, Ross & Old Navy and bought a bunch while everything is on sale for back to school. Her closet is getting overfull. We are going to be painting and hanging wall paper in the nursery over the next two weekends, then we will go baby furniture shopping to stock it! That will be so much fun!

Hi everyone. I wanted to make a post to help promote a great book by someone very dear to my heart; my daughter's grandmother, Barbie Root. This is a story of her family's trial's and triumph's after Hurricane Katrina. (and yes, the "Miriah" that is in the story is my baby girl) Please help me support Barbie's first published book by pre-ordering or recommending it to everyone.





Life After Katrina

Already July?

Wow! Where has the time gone this year? I can't believe that it is only 4 weeks until my kids are back into school. It seems like this year has just flown by without heistation. It seems like just a few weeks ago was New years.

My daughter had her ultrasound and found out she is having a girl so the baby's name will be AMELIA JANE. She chose Amelia because it's an older name and is very elegant and she chose Jane because my oldest niece (Jane) will be the baby's God Mother. I think she has made a very nice choice. Her boyfriend is just super excited that they are having a girl!

Now, I will begin her scrapbook, and begin crocheting some cute little baby dresses!

I will be posting some new items very shortly. I have been working crazy hours lately so I'm running behind.

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!

Happy Father's Day to all Fathers aout there! I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday/holiday! I know I am. Actually, the entire weekend has been great! We got alot of things accomplished and even had time for a BBQ with my parents.
We are currently in the middle of painting the interior of our new house. When we purchased it, every wall was flat white!!! Talk about showing dirty handprints from the boys... I hate it! We started with my hubby's gameroom in the Nascar theme, now we are working on my bedroom/bathroom. It's coming out lovely. We should be done with it in a day or two. Then I just need to buy a few ornamental touches and I'll upload the photos. After that, it's on to the living room, then the kitchen/dining area, then the kids room, then finally my dream "craft heaven"... Yippee! Can't wait to get it all done.

I am in a card swap on the Card Makers Magazine website and I've got 3 more to get done, then they can go in the mail. I'll work on those later tonight after everyone settles down. And I'm also working on handmaking 100 invitations for my daughter's baby shower which is Oct. 4th. Why she needs 100, I'll never know, but thats what she ordered. She does have 4 families so... (mine, my hubby's, her real dad's and the baby's dad's) plus all her friends, so maybe 100 isn't too far-fetched?

As you can see, I'm so super-busy with extra stuff, plus everyday work and mom/wife things. I don't know how I'm not crazy yet. But I love every minute of it. If there was nothing to do, I would be crazy. LOL

Thanks to all who have signed up as followers on my blog. I'll try to get things more "professional" in a few weeks. Right now things are crazy. Hope you are all enjoying my blog. Refer me to others whom you think may enjoy it. My fans ROCK!!!

Thanks for the award!

I would like to say Thanks to Tracy for giving me my first award! The Honest Scrap award. I think it is so cute and am happy to display it here on my blog!

10 Things About Me

1. I am naturally blonde with blue eyes.
2. I was a teen-age mother.
3. I am expecting my first grandchild in November.
4. I am a history buff.
5. My favorite tv channel is History International.
6. My favorite tv show is King of the Hill (they remind me of my silly family)
7. My hubby has everyone, including the kids, calling me blondie.
8. I am a Hurricane Katrina survivor.
9. I started to learn crochet when I was 13. Didn't get it until I was about 23...
10. My favorite food is hotdogs.

Great place for card makers

I found a wonderful place for all card makers. They have swaps, chats, trades, tips and tricks, drives for charities and much more.
Card Makers Magazine when you get there, click on the CARD SWAP link to go to all the forums. Thats where you'll find everything you need to get started.
Everyone is so nice there. I even signed up for a swap and I am starting on the cards for that tonight. Can't wait to see what I get in return!

Looking to trade Artist Trading Cards (ATC's) and Inchies

I am looking to trade ATC's and Inchies with other paper crafters. I have been working on quite a few and would love to get a collection started. If you or any crafter you know are interested in trading, please let me know, I'm game.

Our Nascar themed gameroom

My husband has been a fan of Nascar, especially Dale Earnhardt Sr, since he was a young boy. He has so many collectibles but never really had the space to properly display them. When we bought our new house in February, he said that I could decorate any way I wanted as long as he could have one room to display some of his collection so we decided to use the den. It's the family's gameroom. So, he says " Honey, let's paint it black and white checker board like the Nascar finish flag." and I freaked out. However, once I thought it through, I came up with the design you see in the photos. I custom built and hung the shelves for him and taped and painted for 2 weeks to get it just right. I think it turned out wonderful and he is so happy to have his favorite pieces on display. We now have our pool table, electronic dart board and XBox 360 in there since the photos where taken. I took them before so the photos would show the painted walls well. Hope you enjoy these photos. I had so much fun painting and decorating the room for him. He's so worth it! :)

Fun in the Sun card

Fun in the Sun, originally uploaded by thecolorfulbee.

This is a cute little card that I made today. I was inspired by the cool and beautiful sunny day we had today. The weather was absolutly perfect. I sat outside on my porch all day working on my cards. I made 8 or 9 today, but this was by far, my favorite! I think the quilled sun came out pretty good for a beginner. Hope you enjoy.

I have uploaded this and my other cards to my Etsy shop for purchase.

Great monochromatic paper find...

I was in my local Walmart this evening to pick up some pre-made blank cards and was just browsing the paper section and found a great pack of monochromatic papers. 30 Lovely black, white and gray papers; 2 vellums, 415 stickers and 212 punch-outs; all in one 12X12 tablet y Best Occassions. All this for only $8.00! I fell in love with this deal. I am going back tomorrow to see what other paper packs they have that I may have over-looked. I have no craft store for about 50 miles in either direction, so it's either shop Walmart or order off the internet; which I do alot, however, when I need something right away, it's Walmart.

Owl

Owl, originally uploaded by yorkshirelass49.

While looking through my Flickr friends photos, I came across this amazing Owl that yourkshirlass49 has made. It is a wonderful representation of a real owl and very highly detailed. I am new to paper quilling so my art is very simple and not so refined. I hope to someday be half as good as the many artists on Flickr.

Thanks card

100_1947, originally uploaded by thecolorfulbee.

This adorable little card just kind of fell together. I had the bluejean frame and pocket and the little thanks sentiment and wasn't sure what to do with either of them. It just kind of happened from there. The "missing" button in the photo has been since replaced. LOL (didn't realize it had fallen off until I saw the photo when I uploaded it.)

Growing Up birthday card inside view

100_1946, originally uploaded by thecolorfulbee.

This is the inside view of the card. Notice the spring-action butterfly. She just pops right out when you open it up. I love it.

Growing Up birthday card

100_1944, originally uploaded by thecolorfulbee.

This is a cute little card I made today. It came out so cute, I tought I would share it!

One Hot Trend... ATC's

ATCs, better known as Artist Trading Cards, are a super-hot trend. These little 2 1/2 X 3 1/2 sized cards are made using any medium of choice, as a mini piece of artwork for the sole purpose of trading. These are not to be sold for profit. Started by a Swiss performing artist to showcase his art, this now abundant trend is sweeping the world! Swap groups and internet crafting clubs host swaps for these cute little cards on a regular basis. So just go to your search engine bar and take a look. I'm sure you'll find a group to help you get started in trading.

A few helpful hints to get you on your way are:

1. the cards must be 2 1/2 X 3 1/2 in size

2. the cards are to be traded NOT sold

3. use any medium of choice, even use multiples

4. on the back: sign, date and title your card; add any other information you wish the collector to have

5. Most important: Have Fun!!!

My "crafty mom" layout

My "crafty mom" layout, originally uploaded by thecolorfulbee.

My family and friends are always commenting on how crafty I am. So when William suggested I make a layout about my crafts, I agreed. He picked out the paper and traced my hands on the back of the sheet to start then it just fell together from there. His small idea turned into this beautiful layout featuring me. Next, I will get him to help with a crochet layout as well. Hope you all enjoy it!

Thanks for loving me

Thanks for loving me, originally uploaded by thecolorfulbee.

I love this page! I made this for our family album as a gift to my hubby for his birthday last year. It's definitly one of my favorites!!! Now I'm in the process of making him another since his birthday is June 27th. Gotta get rolling... I'm just not sure what I want to theme it on this time.

giraffe cocoon

giraffe cocoon, originally uploaded by thecolorfulbee.

This is a cute and cozy gift I have made for my daughter, whom is expecting our first grandbaby in November. It is a "cocoon" and hat set, which looks like a giraffe, to keep the baby bundled in on cold days. She loves it, especially since Giraffes are her favorite animals since she was a baby!
This pattern was designed by CapCodConsignments and was oh so easy to make! Only took about 6 hours total, give or take a little. Very easy to follow and can be decorated in many different ways. You can find it at http://www.capcodconsignments.etsy.com for just a few bucks!

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF

My children have been doing the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF program since they were old enough to walk. This year we are starting early through their online campaign, as well as, still the traditional way of bringing the sealed UNICEF boxes with them door to door on Halloween.
UNICEF is a great organization which provides safe drinking water, vaccinations and school supplies for children of third world countries.
I am proud of my children for carrying on this family tradition, the same which I did when I was a little girl. Please help us with any donation amount (even just .25 cents) or by spreading the word and our website link.
Thanks so much!

http://inside.unicefusa.org/goto/luxichfamily

My "Up & Coming" Artist!!! William

My son William is very talented in art. He draws very well and probably knows more about art than you and I. He can point out a Monet or DaVinci and tell you exactly what the name of the item is without hesitation. His other favorites are: Van Gogh and Dali.

Recently, his school joined with Artsonia.com to post the students art from school into the Artsonia Online Art Museum for children. William now has 5 items on there. We will be adding more over the summer vacation.

Please feel free to take a look at his private museum at Artsonia
http://www.artsonia.com/will1549 You can leave him comments, join his fanclub or oder items featuring his artwork. If you do stop by, be sure to leave him a comment, he loves reading those!

Thanks everyone.

So long since I've posted...

Hi everyone. I am so very happy to finally be able to be back doing what I love.

A very severe illness that wouldn't go away for months, kept me from crocheting, being able to be online and from working, but I am back in full force!

Please check out my shop for the latest editions to my products for sale. Please pass along my shop and blog sites to your friends and help me get my business back up and running. I would greatly appreciate it.

In the next few days, I will be starting back will all the blog's features, the book of the month, featured crochet artist of the month, tips and tricks and some favorite sites! It will just take me some time to get it all organized again, so please be patient.

Thanks for your support and I hope to see you back again soon.
Kimmi