Mothers Day

Today is Mother's Day and this day always has mixed emotions for me. My mother passed away less than a year after I was married. That seems like an eternity ago and I have missed her every single day since. I know she is with grandma and grandpa and her sisters and they are all looking down on us - guiding us - and that gives me comfort and strength.

Grandma and Mom

But on a brighter note, Mother's Day is also full of happy memories for me as well.  I'm a mother myself and my daughter has brought me so much happiness every year since she was born.

And now she is a mother herself.......

.....and I am a grandmother to a sweet little boy (and another one on the way) who fills my heart with joy everytime I am with him.

So Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers - past, present, and future. May it be a day filled with heartfelt memories.

Happy Mother's Day

xo

jeanne

It was a beautiful sunny day here on Mother's Day and even more so since I got to spend it with my daughter and son-in-law.

They took me out for breakfast at Honey-Jam Cafe. It was VERY crowded, but the food was well worth the wait.

 I had the Veggie Scrambler with hash browns and the most delicious pancakes.

I loved the color palette of the flowers in the containers at the front door - especially the addition of the pussy willows they used to add some height. I had a great day! Thank you N and J. 

Happy Mother's Day

Today is the day we celebrate our mothers, grandmothers, aunties, and other maternal figures who have nurtured and cared for us over the years. This year I miss my mother more than ever. I miss her wisdom to know what to do in difficult situations, her comforting hugs which made my tears disappear when I was sad or hurt, her reassuring words that would make me feel safe at all times, her encouragement which made me feel I could conquer the world and most of all, her unconditional love - no matter what. I've been looking through old photo albums trying to channel these attributes of hers ~ now when I need them the most. But I know she is with me all the time, like an angel watching over me. Happy Mother's Day to you Mama!

Elegant Edibles

~ Photo courtesy of Cerri Campbell ~

Look at this!

Doesn't it look like an expensive box made of alabaster or porcelain?

Well, it's not. It's made of chocolate!

And the best part is, Cerri and her daughter Trin show us how to make a cameo box of our very own right here.

Paper Roses

I've got a tutorial for making these paper roses up on Joli Paquet today. You can use them to embellish lots of things like:

A paper corsage for mother. . .

Or a vintage looking trinket box.

The possibilities are endless!

Joli Paquet Kit Sales Day!

Well here they are. . . .fresh new springtime kits have just been listed in my Etsy Shop. Pictured above is my Spring Collage Kit that is featured on the Joli Paquet blog. But I couldn't stop at just one. . . .I put together this Easter Basket Kit based on my tutorial which I posted on Joli Paquet last week. I switched it up a little and used different papers and colors.
Last, but certainly not least, is this adorable Purse Collage Kit which I put together just in time for Mother's Day. You'll have lots of fun putting this one together. All the kits are now available in my Etsy Shop right here.

Mother's Day Beauty

Every year around Mother's Day, the crabapple trees bloom around here. The beautiful shades of pinks and white are a gorgeous gift that everyone can enjoy.

This sweet little bird hanging was a Mother's Day gift from my daughter and her husband.

The four of us went to brunch and the resturant gave out pink roses to all the Moms.

Last year they gave me a rather wilted rose, but this year's was nothing but perfection!
And my DH surprised me with this beautiful bouquet of red roses as well.

I hope all you moms had a wonderfully special day!

Mother's Day

MY MOTHER KEPT A GARDEN

My Mother kept a garden,

a garden of the heart.

She planted all the good things

that gave my life it's start.

She turned me to the sunshine

and encouraged me to dream,

Fostering and nurturing

the seeds of self-esteem...

And when the winds and rain came,

she protected me enough-

But not too much because she knew

I'd need to stand up strong and tough.

Her constant good example

always taught me right from wrong-

Markers for my pathway

that will last a lifetime long.

I am my Mother's garden.

I am her legacy-

And I hope today she feels the love

reflected back from me

~Author Unknown~

Tuesday Tidbits

Wow, I can't believe it! I am all caught up on my Etsy orders and swaps. I don't know what's gotten into me, being so efficient?! LOL!!! Anyway, it feels good to get everything checked off my to-do list. We're planning a short trip up to the cottage to deliver the shed that my DH built to keep our garden tools and bicycles in, so I kind of HAD to get everything taken care of around here.

I had a wonderful Mother's Day on Sunday and I hope all of you Moms out there did too. We went out for brunch and had a relaxing day. I even took a nap in the afternoon....that never happens! Later my DH and I went to see "Ironman." I wasn't exactly thrilled at the movie choice at first, but there really wasn't anything else worth going to see and we haven't been to a movie in ages. I was pleasantly surprised though as it was a pretty good movie. It was the typical superhero plot peppered with humor here and there. I like Robert Downey, Jr. and Gwenyth Paltrow and I hardly recognized Jeff Bridges in the movie.

For Mother's Day my DH gave me one of these (yipee!) and a beautiful flowering pot for the patio. My darling daughter has discovered Etsy and gave me this and these. One additional item she ordered has yet to arrive, so I still have another surprise to look forward to.

I've been working on the Vintage Workshop Birds and Bonnets Swap that Karla and Beth are hosting. The picture above and those below are a few of the collaged panels I created. You can see all eight of them here.

Well, it's time to make dinner....we're having chili and cornbread muffins ~ YUM! And then it's off to watch American Idol.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day and Happy Show & Tell Sunday! It's pouring down rain here today ~ not a very pretty scenario for a lovely Mother's Day. But it's the people we share the day with that's most important and the inclement weather can't put a damper on the celebration. I got up early to write this post and then later my DH, daughter and I are going to a favorite spot for brunch. We celebrated Mother's Day with my Mother-In-Law yesterday because it was her birthday as well. My mom passed away years ago while still in her prime, so for me this holiday is always filled with a bit of sadness and melancholy as well as joy.
This is my grandmother with my mom, when she was a little girl.

This is grandma setting the table for one of her fabulous dinner parties. She was quite the entertainer, as well as a wonderful cook and baker. I used to love helping her in the kitchen.

"God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers." ~Jewish Proverb
"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts."
~Washington Irving

"I love my mother, as the trees love water and sunshine - she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights. " ~Adabella Radici
"When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child." ~Sophia Loren
This is my mother singing songs with my cousins at my grandparent's piano before I was even born! Mom was quite an accomplished pianist. This piano now sits in our livingroom and is filled with happy memories.
This is my Mom.

"I miss thee, my Mother! Thy image is still the deepest impressed on my heart." ~Eliza Cook

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born." ~Rajneesh


This is my DH's mother. She led a difficult life in her younger days and she worked very hard so her children would have a better life than hers . "There's nothing like a mama-hug." ~Adabella Radici
"The best conversations with mothers always take place in silence, when only the heart speaks." ~Carrie Latet
"A mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled." ~Emily Dickinson
"She never quite leaves her children at home, even when she doesn't take them along."
~Margaret Culkin Banning
But of all the Mother's Days in the past, this one truly was the BEST of all ~ the day my beautiful, darling daughter was born. How could anything ever top that? :)


I wish all the mom's out there a wonderful Mother's Day.
Remember to relax and enjoy yourself and most of all, soak in all the love.