Watercolor~Sketches Days 9~14

I have been having so much fun challenging myself to keep up with this October sketch challenge I joined up with. Each day I have to draw/sketch a picture from a word prompt. 

So far I am keeping up and lovin' it!!!

My Day 9 sketch  

"HAY"

I drew up this sweet piggy in some hay...

What would hay be without a cute pig eh???

Day 10

"BOOTS"

This is so far one of my favorite sketches. 

If I could find me some boots like this...

I would so wear them with a dress!

Day 11

"APPLES"

I went outside the box on this one, while everyone doing the challenge is sketching yummy apples and baskets etc... I drew an oldie but goody...

A Vintage 70's Fisher Price toy from my childhood days.

Day 12

"WARM & COZY"

What screams more warm and cozy than a scene out in the woods cuddled up with the love of your life bundled up in coats, scarves, hats and afghans next to a crackling fire. Now that is cozy y'all!!!

Day 13

"FOOTBALL"

I gave this one to Mr. Darling...He loved it!!!

DAY 14

"OWL"

I did this sweet little vintage owl figurine for this word prompt. The funny thing is, my daughter was just asking if I would sketch and paint an owl for her...Just so happens that owl was my next word to sketch. So of course I did this piece especially for my girl.

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More to come!!!!

Teatime Tuesday~Autumnal Equinox & Tea Talk

Autumn will be upon us in just a little over a week. However, here in California it is hard to think "Autumn" when it has been hot and muggy. The nice thing is. it has cooled down a bit here and there but doesn't feel like Autumn to me. Here in California we don't see a lot of leaves changing unless you head into the mountains or live North. There is a little bit of change in color and some leaves fall ...But that is pretty much it for us. We sure can use some more rain tough. We have been in a drought for several years now. Supposedly we might get hit with some rain this year. In case you didn't know the first day of Autumn is September 23rd. As the weather cools hot tea will be a lot more enjoyable. I still have it even if it's hot out...But really appreciate it more when it's cool out and I can bundle up in a sweater or a quilt. Most of the Summer I have been enjoying tea in many different forms. My favorites are Southern Sweet Tea, Iced Chai Tea Latte's, Green Tea Frappes,

 and Iced Thai Teas. All refreshing!

Today I am enjoying a nice hot cup of 

One of my favorite teas....

Numi Chocolate Spice Indulgent Tea

Made by a local organic tea company served in this darling Owl mug 

I found for my daughter at TJ Maxx. You can find this tea in more 

flavors/types at Whole Foods, 

World Market, Amazon or online through their website. 

Click above link to see the other flavors! So good!!!

If you were here sipping tea with me we would chat about life and our goings on...I would share with you that the County Fair begins tomorrow and tell you about the six jams and a handmade doll I entered that will be there for the public to see. I would even invite you to come along with me to look at all the goodies they have and perhaps pet an animal or two or three.....

I would show you my dining table makeover ( yep finally painted it creamy milk white and sanded it down in spots giving it an aged look) And how happy I am with it...I don't know why I put it off for so long...It looks like a completely different table. And.... I would show you the new light fixture I put together and had Mr. Darling hang it up for me...See last post....It's pretty cool. 

I would also share with some of my current favorite things right now:

*HGTV's Fixer Upper Season's 1 & 2 ( Season 3 coming soon)

* Homemade Facial Sugar Scrubs 

*Humphrey's Witch Hazel found on Amazon

*The Bee & Tea Urban Storefront here in town that serves 

Taiwanese Boba Milk Tea beverages in different flavors. YUMMY!

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead. 

I am going to finish up my cup and tea and get some chores done around this place...

We have company coming next week!!!

Thanks for Having tea with me today....

Sunflower Fields

We celebrated our sweet Freckles 14th birthday the other day. Every year we try to make birthdays special. We usually celebrate all week. Her day is a day that she gets to choose what she wants to do. This year was very low key. No parties or anything extravagant...It was simple but sweet. This year she chose instead of getting her gifts, to take her out on a shopping spree for some outfits. Okay...I am game! I took her out and we bought her four new dresses. She took some of her babysitting money and got a bunch of accessories from Claire's website.

 Her daddy got her a bouquet of sunflowers (her favorite flower) and I made her a stuffed owl pillow for her bedroom. The morning of her big day I went out early to a cute donut shop and picked out a dozen of donuts and iced mochas. Instead of cake this year, we made a donut tower cake and sang happy birthday to her. It was really all she wanted. So sweet that girl is!

The UPS truck came by and dropped off a special delivery all the way from Washington too ...Her brother and his gal sent Freckles some birthday gifts. She got three handmade flower crowns, a cute owl journal which her big brother picked out all by himself...

She also got a pair of black lacey TOMS and an XBOX.

After all that excitement we took her out to a new burger joint in our area called Mooya...Which was good btw. Then we took her to a huge field of sunflowers. Yes, it was something she wanted to do. And it is one of her favorite kinds of flowers...

It was the perfect backdrop for some pictures...and yes the bees were kinda frightening...they were all over the flowers. Good news! We left without a sting. After that she wanted to go to the bookstore where she bought a book of course. We also hit a couple Thrift Shops. Then we headed home for a little rest before taking her to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner.

She was content. 

It was a very good day indeed.

Top Ten Homemade Christmas Gifts For Tween Girls

This year will yet again be a very frugal Christmas for our family. I surfed Pinterest, Etsy and the web for gifts I could make my tween age daughter..Keeping in mind the things I already have on hand...Which means some of these items will just be pennies or free... and my time to create them. I searched for things I knew she would like, colorful, fun, needfuls and just because things.

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 #1.The top picture are some adorable owl pillows...

Looks very simple to make. I have just the fabrics

for them already on hand. Yay!!!

 

#2. The past several years I have made all of us PJ pants...

I already have the pattern and some fabrics to work with.

 This one is a piece of cake. There are many free tutorials

 to make your own PJ pants if you want to try your hand at making some too.

They are really easy to stitch a pair together...

It has become our Christmas Eve Tradition...

We all wear them Christmas Eve night, then wake up and open

 presents while wearing them. So fun.

 

#3. My daughter has an i-pod which she could really use a protective case for when out and about...These cuties are made of felt and floss...I just so happen to have all that stuff too...Another very easy looking project I can conquer in a couple hours...or less. She will love this one...

An owl full of color...What's not to love?

 

#4. As my girl has been changing and growing the past couple of years. She makes an effort on her own to take better care of herself. She has some makeup which I have allowed on certain occasions, she love perfumes, hair pins, accessories and all that...This cleverly cute cosmetic bag would be great to hold her cosmetics, skin care items and whatever her heart desires to put in it. You can do so much with this project, using any fabric choices imaginable...

Find a tutorial for this here.

 

#5. These are the coolest things. Simple crochet round face scrubbies...You can use them over and over, use a cleanser to clean your face with...After using, toss them in the wash...I love re-usable needful things. I think she will enjoy these colorful scrubbies along with the next homemade item.

#6. A lovely DIY Natural Facial Cleanser...Easy to make and so much cheaper than natural products sold in stores. This will go well with the scrubbies. I think she's gonna love it. Look up www.diyNatural.com
And find the tutorial for making this cleanser.
 
#7. Yummy bath fizzies. Another easy tutorial found on Pinterest. Just search for bath fizzies and you will find the directions for them. My daughter loves to soak in a nice hot bath sometimes...These would be an added goody for that time spent in the tub relaxing...I will be sure to make all sorts of vibrant colors and use some fun molds that I have.
 
#8. For my daughters 12th birthday, she received a Kindle from her Grandparents. She also looked on the Internet for cases, yet none of them appeal to her. So I searched for a kindle case tutorial...And, found this...Oh my...totally up her alley. Again, lot's of colorful fun.
 Find the tutorial here.

#9. My daughter also received another gift for her birthday from her other Grandparents: A darling little vintage typewriter. She loves it and uses it almost everyday...She loves to write creative stories. I came across this shop called Lemon Tree Studio...I love this pillow and know my girl would love it too...But....It is not available and I don't have the $ to spend...So, I decided to take some inspiration from this sweet thing and make her one myself..Seems easy enough.


#10. Lastly. My kids have been watching all the newer Seasons of  Doctor Who...From BBC. My daughters fave Doctors are the Tenth and Eleventh...The Eleventh Doctor though, is her most favorite with his sidekick friends Amy Pond and Rory...So, I found these little finger puppets on Pinterest..No tutorial that I could find, but i am pretty sure I can create them from the picture. I have felt and thread waiting to be used. I also have a little rectangle pine box with a clasp which would make a great Tardis ( The Doctors Time machine) I am thinking of painting it and putting the puppets inside. Perfect. I think it will be a hit.
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I hope you like some of these ideas...Now, what to do for my 18 year old son???
Man, it's hard to think what I could make, any ideas anyone?
Come back here on Wednesday I have a great Home Sweet Home Tour
from a very talented friend of mine. Your gonna love this home.
~Tootles

Stroll With Me Through Halloween's Past....

I made this just for you dear readers.
Go ahead and save it to your files. Hope you like it.
Below I also made this print...Colorful Autumn Subway Art...
You can purchase a print in
My Shop.

Seeing my old house really brought back some memories from my previous post. So, I spent some time this weekend going through some other memories...Like my kids dressing up for Halloween. It was quite the treat to look back at how much they have grown, what we dressed them up in etc.... We went back and forth with the Halloween thing over the years. There were a few in between where we did not dress up, but would celebrate at a Church Harvest function or we would celebrate Reformation Day instead. No matter though, the years we dressed up were fun times in our home...Something they looked forward to and one memory I am sure they will cherish in their childhood memories when they are older.

Here's my boy...
A little Jack O Lantern...S
o cute right down to that little nose.

Here he is was Robin Hood.
 I made the costume for him.
Too funny.
He was two at the time....So little.
 
The year after that I made another costume...He was Noah....See the two lions? They are my Nephews. Tee hee...Noah and the two lions and a Pegasus?

Then he was a Scarecrow.
 
fast forward a couple years...I made these costumes. My son was a frog...The red thing hanging from his hat was supposed to be a tongue with bugs on it. This was our first Halloween with our baby girl so her and I became Lady Bugs....We were the only bugs my son ( The frog ) Didn't eat that night.
  
This was one of my favorite Halloween's. My son was a Skelly Man and I made my daughter's costume...She is supposed to be a flower. Can't you tell? Trick or treating in our old town neighborhood is like going back in time...The sights, the sounds of a ton of kids dressed up,
 knocking on the doors of historic houses as your feet crunch down
on streets of leaves in the coldest of nights, was a delightful memory. A bunch of old fashioned fun.
  
Of course every year we carve pumpkins...
A tradition we will always keep.
 
The next year I made their costumes again. This time we had a Knight and a chicken. I remember using the Martha Stewart directions for the chicken costume...That was a fun one. I also made my son's shield from a piece of plywood. On it,  I painted
 my husband's Italian Garbarino Family crest. We still have that.
  
Ahhh. The year of the Princess and
Neo from The Matrix...
  
Next up I made my daughter a butterfly costume and below
she was a little cheetah girl ballerina.
 
And.... one of the last years my son actually dressed up, I made him a Link costume,
 a character from a video game called Zelda.
   
Finally we have my daughters costume from last year. I made an owl costume for her. One of my favorite costumes yet. This year she will be dressing up as The Hunger Games movie character, Katniss. Who knows, this just might be the last year she will dress up for trick or treating. Thanks for coming along with me down memory lane. It was so fun to look back at these pictures with you. Have a wonderful weekend. See ya Monday. And be ready for the next installment in another home tour coming up this Wednesday.
XOXO