Can I Get a Hoot Hoot!

Just a quick little hello to you!

..and......Oh my! Are you ready for some eye treats??

Feast your pretties on my brand spankin new bag.....yep, made with my coveted owl fabric.........and lots of polka dots and turquoise, of course!...and the best part is that I can cram all of Lily's crap (did I say crap?) into it neatly.....because there are oodles of pockets inside...YES, this is what I needed!!!No, don't be silly, I didn't sew this bag! A sweet pea on etsy made it for me.....I sent her my fabrics and she whipped it up, lickety-split!

In need of one of your own?? I would suggest you head on over to HERE and snag one for yourself. Terri is GREAT to work with and she put up with all my questions and I had the bag within......days, seriously.....DAYS.

Don't you just love etsy??

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More eye treats.......once i saw these books on Jill Phillips's blog, I KNEW I had to have them!And, the best part is that they are made from 98% recycled materials....very eco friendly! I love the "natural" look of them...and the pages are nice, thick and sturdy....perfect for toddlers.

Oh, and they have the best pictures, ever!!!

...Aren't they so sweet? Jill is the illustrator and I love her work.....she is also the designer of that fabulous owl stuff from Borders, too! Thanks, April for finding her blog for me!

Now, I just need to find the last book in the series and hope for more to come out, because Lily loves them!

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We're off to the pool to cool off! Hey, it's almost 90 degrees here...and MUGGY!! Is this supposed ot happen so early in the year??

Animal Overload

Hello from me and Lily!

Today was a Busch Gardens day.....and a fun sensory overload for the nugget. We stayed, we played, we spent, we.....TIRED.

Nothing better than hot, sunny skies and fresh air to wipe out the entire family! Ever been to Busch Garden's in Tampa?? Well, if you have a kid, I highly recommend you go....they will LOVE you for it!

Sweet gorillas.....pondering...........and showing us her best side.....
....baby elephants........talking in a secret language with (nasty) lizard things...........is Your Mama a Llama? One of Lil's favorite books, so she was enthralled with this lil fella.........trying to get the meerkats attention..........turtles with mossy backs.........awwww.....cuddly families.....Beeeeee-utiful birdies that you can feed...........interesting tall puppet shows..........pretty furry flowers........and others to admire and touch........and lots of other "rides" that I am WAY too old for......and Lily is way too young for....

Funny, how when I was 18, I would not have missed a chance to wait in line to go on this......you wouldn't catch me NEAR the top of this thing now! NO thanks!

We're pooped, ready for bed......it was a looooong 6 hours at the park. But, I would do it all over again, just to watch the awe in Lily's eyes.

Happy Day!

Why Do These Suck Me In?

What started out as a normal little trip to Borders, turned into a spending frenzy.

Lily love, loves LOVES books....so we have made ourselves familiar with bookstores around here and they are getting to know us at our little library, too.

If she had her way, it would be book reading all day long!

When we got to Borders, Lily spotted this shelf even before me........there was a lil hoot on the bottom (yes, she loves owls, too...just like mama. Did she ever really have a chance?)

There were cute lil candies and fruit, too.......
.....couldn't you just eat them up??
....and sweet cupcakes.....yum!

BUT, here is where the fun began...................the OWL shelf.......filled with all kinds of hooty-licious things....h.e.a.v.e.n......

Miss Minnie Me snatched up the owl totes in a flash.......and, NO...walking around with just one of them was not good enough.

So, Lily came home with a little stash of books....And, mama came home with a HUGE stash of owl goodness. Hello, most-adorable-owl-overnight-bag I have ever seen!! And the best part?? It's oilcloth!

Uh-huh, and of course I had to have the huge travel pouch, water bottle, clear makeup bag, metal lunch box, journal........ Look at these epoxy stickers!! CA-ute!

MmMmmmm, and some owl paper sheets that had my name in big fat letters written all over it....

Right......but, I needed another owl key pretty....

Look.....even some of the price tags are cute enough to recycle......oh yeah, you know I will be!
Why do these little guys suck me everytime??

Does this kind of suction happen to you, too??

I may go back tomorrow to get the pencil case, luggage tags, passport cover, ipod case..........

I'm Such a Dork

I can count on one hand how many books I have read in the past 5 years.

Terrible I know. The most entertaining thing I read these days is "Parents" magazine! And, I have dabbled in this beauty of a book.....great stratigies in there....but that could be a whole post on its own!

Soooo...imagine my skepticism when a dear friend of mine basically forced me to read her books....you know, the TWILIGHT books. Yes, those.

I refused over and over again....I fought it, I battled, I turned my nose up to the idea. She was relentless and I finally gave in. Fine, I said....gimme the dang books.

Aren't these books supposed to be for teeny-boppers? Well at 33, I am no teeny anything, but I layed in bed one night and read and read.

I must say...the story was somewhat slow to me, even boring at times.....

But, the picture I had painted in my head of this "Edward" character was......well, I'm not tellin! So, it wasn't all bad. And the book was a breeze to whip through, very easy and quick to read, which I do like.

I finished the first book and moved onto "New Moon"while we were in Hawaii....still a little wordy and slow in my opinion (hey, just being honest), but worth reading....I always want to know what happens at the end, of course!

In between "New Moon" and the next book, I go to see the movie, "Twilight" with my friend.

H.E.L.L.O. Edward.....youch!

Here is Edward....say hello to Edward! Or should I say Robert Pattinson. Oh, things were looking up.......yum yum yum!

Needless to say, I read the last of the books, went to see the movie again and, well.......today I BOUGHT the DVD.

So, you know what I will be munching on while staring at Rob and listing new goodies for the SHOP tonight!!

I'm telling you.....he is DELISH to look at.

I'll take a side of him and Dave.....ANYDAY!

Heheheheh, SEE?? I'm a dork.

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And, WOW ladies......what great name ideas (previous post), thank you so very much for wanting to help!!

I loved all your names and I plan to use a mixture of them....so, great job, I really appreciate it!

The lucky gal's name that was picked is: Denise.....yay, congrats to you! Email me or convo me thru etsy and let's get that ring to you!

I'm off to meet up with Edward again.......catch you later!!

Help....and be Helped

Hello sweet bloggy readers!

I have something for you to do today....I have a mission for you.

Are you up for the challenge?

..........I have some fresh new goodies coming to the shop this week that I heart! You have seen these poppy flowers everywhere, so so pretty and perfect for Spring.......and I couldn't resist putting on my own twist and using up some remnants!

......they'll be on some sweet new headbands......made from scratch, freshly stitched and embellished, waiting to adorn pretty heads......

And, along with those new hair pretties, I have been having fun with some vintage and flower cabochons.....oh, how I want to eat these up......yum!

I wanted a way to add pieces of jewelry to my shop, while still remaining true to Lemon Tree Studio......and it staying a "source for paper and fabric goods".

Paper and fabric are my first loves, but I do enjoy making jewelry.....especially rings and earrings!

SO, I have come up with these little gift sets.....and here is where I need your help!

Will you help me name them?

I love making stuff.....but naming them? Not so much.

And, I want these to each have a fresh, quirky, cute and fabulous name!

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Alright, here are the details..........................each gift set includes:

--one hand stitched paper and fabric gift tag

--a pair of earrings that have handpainted filigrees and vintage baubles

I need fun names for all these sets.....

Here is SET 1

Here is set 2

Here is set 3

Here is set 4Tell me your ideas, I'd LOVE to hear them!

And, as a special thank you.....if you comment to this post with your 4 name ideas.......you will be entered in a drawing to win this rhinestone shabby rose ring, made by moi!so let me hear your ideas.....and SOON! I plan to list these in the shop tomorrow night or Monday!

I will draw a winner then, too.....

Thanks for helping, can't wait to see what you come up with!

Hello Spring!

H E L L O ! !

To celebrate the first day of Spring.....AND, just for my bloggy friends, AND for today only....YOU GET FIRST DIBS!!!

25% OFF sale at Lemon Tree.....the entire shop!

Plus, as a bonus for my readers, buy 8 or more items and your order ships for free! YAY!

*Mention in the "notes to seller" when you check out that you are "a bloggy friend" to qualify. Sale ends at 10pm, Eastern time Friday night (March 20th)!*

Have a SWEET Spring day!

The Big Move

Hello hello!

Is it the middle of the week already?? WOW, these days are flyin by so quickly, I can barely take it all in....the sun, the sand, the salty air......ahhhh.....

So, I see some of you are wondering about this Florida "move"...heheheheee!

Well, we live in Wisconsin.....and if you have ever lived there or in the upper midwest, you know that the winters can be quite cold. OK, freezing, horrible, frigid, frost-biting cold.

Remember this icy picture from a previous post??

Well, we packed up and moved to Florida.....BUT, only for the winter. Yep, we have become old snowbirds. Hubby has been begging me for years (yes, years) to do a winter move and I have tantrumed my way out of it.....but not this year, I finally gave in.

It's hard to believe I waited this long.....but with Lily at the perfect "gypsy living" age, I thought why not? We've been here since January....

And, now the Gulf is our backyard...

We didn't have any problems adjusting to the powdered sugar sands of Clearwater Beach (I know, I'm rubbing it in, aint I? Sorry).....We go to the beach almost every day......and watch dolphins playing.....I have never ever seen a wild dolphin, so I'm sure I was more excited than Lily to witness it!And, her favorite past time? Hunting for shells....and chasing the seagulls.I just decided to come clean....since I knew it was going to get harder and harder to post without sunny skies in the background!

And, no worries about our home.....we have a house-sitter on duty, as well as a top notch alarm system (for the crazies).

I'd never be able to live here year round (no offense, Floridians).....it's way too dang humid around here come June....NO thanks!

But for now, I will relish in the non-cracked, dried up skin and hair and warm breeze....we love it here!

So, that's the scoop on us!

How about a winner??

Thank you all for your sweet words about Llil's SHOP!

After Lily made her flower explosion mess in my craft room, she snatched up her bowl of names..........gotta give it a good mixing first.................carefully drawing one name.........and do you see that, Shalane? You are the lucky winner of the giveaway! Contact me thru etsy or email me at lemon_tree_studio@yahoo.com and I'll hook you up with Llil.....congrats!

That's all for now, sweets!

Have a happy day!

Let the Madness Begin

If you have a hubby like mine, you might as well say your goodbyes.

March Madness has begun around here and I wont be seeing too much of my hubby, face to face. He'll be face to face with the big screen....and his UNC boys.

The first round will start this Thursday.....Lily and I will be far, far away....shopping.

If you don't have a clue what I am talking about, just ignore me......and if you have a clue, feel for me...PLEASE!

All this Madness means a PERFECT day for a GIVEAWAY!! Yay!

Isn't etsy full of the sweetest, kindest most wonderful people you have ever *met*??

Meet Ilil, from Art in Colors! Her etsy shop is so so bright, cheerful, full of eye candy!

She loves working with polymer clay.....I mean, look at these goodies in her SHOP!!

Clay covered pens....so unique! Little trinkets...
Pretty pendants....

and embellishemnts.....
I love these sweet baubles! They look good enough to eat!
And, she's a gal after my heart...LOOK at this divine polymer clay decorative wall hanging!!!

Yummy hooty pendants....

And, Ilil loves to do paper crafts, too....how darling are these birdie tags?

And this sweet boy card...

And, she even does custom polymer clay creations!

And, not only is Ilil talented....she is also so so generous!!

Right now she is offering free shipping (to my bloggy readers only!) AND she is giving one lucky winner of this giveaway....are you ready for this?

The winner gets to pick out ANYTHING from her shop! Yes, you read right.....you get to choose to your hearts desire if you win!

What do you need to do to qualify? Just visit Ilil's SHOP and comment to THIS post, telling me your most favorite item....OR tell me what you would LOVE to have Ilil custom create!

I will choose a winner on Wednesday (March 18) night!

(OoOOoh, and MORE to come on the big Florida move......hehehhe!)

Until then.....enjoy your Sunday!

Remember Me?

Hello there.....I am soo happy you came back to *see* me!

Looks like I took off more than a week, eh? Sorry about that....we have been busy like beavers around here and I promised to make time tonight to write a post, so here I am!

So...what's been going on in my neck of the woods?

Well, Miss Joann says that March is National Craft Month.........

Hahahahahaaa! Isn't every month "craft month"?? Or how about every week? Every day?

I've been playing with some new stamps....

.....lusting after some vintage goodies...yum, yum!

.....picking out fabrics for another Lily dress....aren't I so brave??

.....making headbands....

(and obviously playing around on Picnik....Oh, how I heart Picnik!)

...making patchwork pillows...

.....like this sweet caged birdie one...fun to make, fun to look at (well, at least in my opinion)!

So, you better take Joann's advice and make sure to celebrate National Craft Month...I know I am going to...FULL FORCE!

OoOooh...........

and did I mention that we moved........to Florida (where the BEST lemons in the world are)?

Inspire, Imagine.......CREATE!

Just a little pop in to say "thank you!" for all of your encouraging words on Lily's patchwork dress! I really had so much fun creating it.....so it was definitely worth it!

And, it has inspired me to make a patchwork dress for myself! Wish me luck!

Today is a day that I am encouraging you to put your brilliant thinking caps on......and imagine a new "project" to create, whatever your "craft" may be.....or just take 5 minutes today to jot down a list of fresh new ideas I know you have running around in your head (this always helps me)!

All that patchwork, "mish-mosh" sewing, made my imagination soar....

I love doing collage work, but it takes time....and I love quick satisfaction, so I tend to stay away from projects that require more than a day's work (call me lazy!). But little scraps of this and that can be beautiful.

And, creating this was.....fun, relaxing......rewarding.....

I am going to take a week or so off from blogging....to just concentrate on things around here...Spring cleaning, mind cleaning.....and I will be making my own lists.

I will miss ya, and be back soon...so no worries! Have a happy day..........

Get inspired, get creating.....and have fun doing it!