Today is filled with brightness and color.

I have started working on some new projects and they are so bright and colorful. The first one is a little girl's skirt purse.......... so cute. No, I didn't make the purse but I did have lots of fun embellishing it. See what you think......... I know my little granddaughter Makenzie is going to want one of these. She's only 17 months old but she is a little princess.

The next thing I finished was more barrettes. I enjoy so much creating these little girl items. I have three grown sons and two nephews........ Kenzie was the first girl and I am enjoying her so much!! Well, let's see if I can post these barrettes now or if they'll show up on the top of this post. I've got a lot to learn, lol!!

I guess I have to figure out how to get the pictures in order. Oh well, at lease you can see what I've been up to.

Dedication to my Molly

I started this blog thinking it would help me to move on and concentrate on my little business. After much thought and tears I have to take the time to post a dedication to my precious little puppy Molly. We lost Molly on May 23, 2008 and it has broken our hearts. She came to live with us 7 1/2 years ago. Since then she has captured our hearts. I know some people think of animals as just that but they can be so much more. Molly was a member of our family and my constant companion. She suddenly had to be put to sleep after being examined for what we thought was just a cold. It turned out her lungs were filled with fluid and spots and there was nothing the vet could do for her. They feel she was suffering from cancer. That ugly C word that has taken so many loved ones away. Anyway, I wanted to dedicate my post to Molly, a little shish tsu, that gave us so much of her unconditional love. I miss her so!

My Etsy Mini

I am having so much fun learning all the new things about this blog and my etsy store. My Etsy Mini shows some of the recent items I have put in my shop. Today I received some more supplies in the mail. Cute little puffy flowers, princess crowns, and little crocheted flowers. I have so many ideas for little girl's hair clips and barrettes. My day will be spent with ribbons, flowers, crowns, rhinestones, beads, lace, barrettes and hair clips. Oh, and some new crown stamps I received yesterday also. Hope everyone has a creative day!!

Today's Project

I have finally taken some time to play with my new machine, the Sizzix Big Shot. It's so wonderful to be able to die cut so many items. The picture above is some of the tags I cut today. The other day a box of new dies arrived with the postman. What fun I had cutting things out. I even cut out some wool felt to make flower pins. Anyone else you this machine. I'd love to hear what you like about it!!

Where to start??

That's a question I have been asking myself for awhile now. No answer seems to be coming to mind so I think I'll just jump in with both feet and hope for the best.

I thought I would start by telling you about My Inspiration Cottage. No it's not a little cottage like I would love to have but instead a room full of inspiring things. My craft room is filled with all kinds of things I love and things that make me happy. I have it filled with my favorite colors in all types of crafting media. Fabrics, lace, beads, millinery flowers, buttons, paper, fibers, ribbons, embellishments of all kinds, and of course many patterns. My favorite colors are pinks, greens, lavenders, yellows and the rest are not far behind. My favorites do seem to change with the seasons. Right now with all the flowers blooming my favorites colors seem to be endless.

Recently I opened a shop on Esty. My shop is called Inspiration Cottage and can be found at

www.inspirationcottage.etsy.com You will find many of my favorite supplies and some of my handcrafted items for sale there. I hope to add items daily to help inspire others to open their hearts and create!! Using your own two hands to make something beautiful gives one a satisfaction that nothing else can, IMHO.

In the days ahead I hope to share with you some of my thoughts, collections, ideas, and projects. I'm new to blogging so I need to find my way around so please be patient with me.