my blurb book...

 (Should I admit that one reason for getting this photo book of our kids was just so I could goof around with the cover like this?  No?  Ok, forget I said that then).

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Yes ~ I got my first ever book published!  Thanks to winning a Blurb book giveaway from cute Carly's blog. I had a lot of fun formatting and framing a bunch of pictures of our daughter and son in their 'early years' for this book.  I kept it pretty simple.  Just an intro on how they were born, and some sweet shots... you know, the stuff you never remember to print in to pictures in real life but just fill all your computer's memory with!

  
Overall I was pretty delighted with how it all turned out.  Though, I do regret using the Europe Underground font now that it's so hard to read!

I'm just glad we now have a real book to mark the memories of our kids in their early years.  I was getting sick of feeling guilty about not scrapbooking/journaling their every moment on earth.... hah!

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Oh, and one more thing:

muahahahhahah... there's your dose of cuteness turned creepy for the day!

You're welcome.

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Have you ever made a photo book?

I've never been into scrap-booking (though it seems to be a worldwide phenomenon now).. so the chance to design this online was much more appealing to me. 

So, there's my blurb, c'mon over for tea sometime and I'll show the rest to you!

Mel ;o)

P.S:  Yes, the hair is now 'ebony' brown.. though I think it is more like 'soot' brown, bleh.  Still planning to paint that fire engine red over the blonde streak again, too!

Recent fabric fun(gi)... SHOP update too!

If you're mad for mushrooms... or a fanatic for fungi... well, you're in good company here.

I love them.  (But you already knew that... right?).

So did my sweet friend, who returned home from her trip to the States with lovely fabrics for all her sewing buddies ~ I scored a whole medley of woodland themed prints!

This mushroom fabric especially got me swooning.. and stitching:
 

Currently I think I'm still stitching this 'ode to mushrooms' piece. I'm just not sure if I want to use colours to fill in the stitched area, or add text...  (sigh) every crafter/artisan always faces that moment of - "Is this where I stop... or do I keep adding to the piece?"!

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Now, if you too, love mushrooms... get in here and check out some fabric fungi embroidered hoops from my Shop!

[Two stitched mushrooms atop a hill of apple green, turquoise, and gold toned fabrics.]

7" plastic tan hoop.

$20*

[Vintage mushroom cluster perched over apple green, turquoise, peach lace and delicate floral fabrics].

9" plastic wood grain hoop.
$25*

[Vintage mushroom cluster nestled in charcoal brown, linen, sage fleece and turquoise fabrics].

10.5" high cinnamon coloured plastic hoop.

$30*

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Prices listed are Canadian currency... and mailing worldwide (via ground delivery) will be an added $5.  I have PayPal located in the side bar here under the "donate" button.

**Please e-mail me at: needleandnestdesign@live.com to arrange an order.**

I can also do custom work if you're hatching some creative 'Christmas' plans!

Feel free to check out what else is still available in the SHOP..  I try to keep posts updated as things sell, so you can peruse what interests you there.

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Thanks friends,

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

I'm eager to sneak in a hot date with a certain hubby (the rarity of a dinner out makes it that much more special nowadays)!

See you on the flip side,

Mel ;o)

thar she blues...

 Anybody out there remember that I paint?

Yeah, I barely did either.. it's been too long.  

What with having the kidlets, and focusing on more manageable sewing and crafting projects, the brushes have been left sitting dry.

That's why I'm so thankful for good people (great friends) who inspired me to do this commission, and this one too... and now, I've got a new.blue.view order to create!

Just slapping the canvas with wet paints is a rekindled thrill.

But what's even more fun?  My 'resident-artist' was beside me:

 Having recently purged our hoarders.nasty.clutter.junk-pit garage, there was a sheltered space for us to get messy and have fun.

Two tandem painters.

Two easels, and canvasses covered with colour.

The fact that we both love painting (and sticking our tongues out to concentrate better) is such a fun part of our relationship.

Not to mention the hilarious sweetness of her ecstatic dance/singing that comes with her creative groove:

  (If you make it past the first.slow.30 seconds.. it gets pretty sweet, but I am biased).

I love my wee artist's style.

Azriel is wearing:

indigo

cobalt

ultramarine

carbon black

...

(Ok... and a Crayola paint smock over a cute Owl shirt from Old Navy and grey pants from JOE...  which may not 'count' as style for the Small Style link-up crew, but I think it's pretty funny)!

She blue me away,

like she does everyday.

Mel ;o)

Our crew... right now.

 Oh hi ~ here we all are posing amidst the shrubbery.

So, I wanted to get some new pictures of our crew in our favourite season.

 And as you may have noticed... update the corner family shot here on the blog ----->

I guess not much has changed from the summer shot.. other than my fire-engine red hair (now a washed out flop of bleached/dark roots mess...about-to-be-dyed-ebony!). Oh, and the fact that Hudson is wearing clothes (he had just blasted out his diaper/shirt before the summer picture was taken!). Fun times, I tell you.

 Once again, daughter Azriel decides to prank the photo-shoot and barge in on Ben and I's snuggle time.

Pretty much sums up our life.

We just keep laughing through it all.

I love this shot.

It perfectly depicts what I feel for my guy.

Not to steam up your screens with all my mushing on about him... but that scruffy, bearded, rarely-catch-him-smiling-on-camera man is all kinds of wonderful to us.

And right now, well, he's only been up baking since 3am... and he's currently prepping a meal for tomorrow (to help me around the house).. and it's 9pm!

Yeah.

I'm a lucky lady.

Wait.. why am I writing this? The kids are both asleep... and we're actually awake together!

Gotta go.

Mel ;o)

 

Colours of gratitude.

 Well wasn't that a beauty weekend?

That bright, blue-eyed Autumn was showing off all her colours.

While this wee brown-eyed ball of cuteness was melting my heart.

Our cousin's new pup had a coat like caramel cashmere, such a sweet snuggler

 Feasting, hiking, family visiting.. check.

 Daughter being all piles of craziness and cute... check.

 Son being a chunk of smiles with all the relatives.. check.  

(I'm loving this shot of my Dad with my son).

Camera fogging up from rushing it indoors... while capturing this daddy-daughter snuggle...

yep.

Hope you and yours had a wonderful weekend too.

Mel ;o)

colour me: thank.full.

Ok, so I'm a bit excited here.  It's the long weekend.  Thanksgiving weekend to be exact.

Family feasts.

Country drives.

Glowing leaves.

Snuggling kiddos.

Husband holding.

Tea sipping.

Wine bibbing.

Ham spitting.

Wood hiking.

God praising.

~

Just a whole darn lot to be super duper thankful for.

And to start off the fun today?  I get to teach 'art appreciation' to a room full of home.schooled kids.  Yee-haw.

Happy Thanksgiving my fellow Canadians.

The rest of you turkeys, ok, you can be thankful too.

See you on the flip side friends,

Mel ;o)

mini-sized me...

 

 My husband and I have a running joke in our home... whenever one of the kids is being particularly spastic... we'll remark: "you know that's your side coming out in them"!

It's quite a funny/frightening thing really, watching these lil' individuals start mimicking and mirroring your own behaviour.

I find that whole debate of nature vs. nurture fascinating.

I always wonder how much of what kids are 'born with' gets displayed vs. what they learn.

Truth be told, it's pretty clear that my girl is just a mini-sized me right now: 

 I see her silly faces and realise I'm making them too.

While her personality, vocabulary and expressions are getting more hilarious each day.

Though she still knows how to work a massive-meltdown in 0-60 seconds (that's all her... Ben and I don't have meltdowns...much).

Her and I are delighted by a lot of the same things:

snuggling. sugar. exploring trails. painting. music/dancing. family. chocolate.

Other traits we share:

If it's hot out.. the first place we sweat is on our nose (yep, like a healthy puppy).

We both have smelly feet.

A shared impish nature.

 A desire to 'know the plan' for the day (Azi always says: "Who are we going to visit today, mama?").

We also act shy/overwhelmed in new social settings.. but soon get comfortable and start bossing everyone around.

....

 Seriously, this has got to be one of the craziest experiences in life.

Birthing a new humanoid into the world.. and day by day... watching them unfold as completely unique/wild/wonderful persons!

Gosh, I hope we don't screw her up too badly.

I mean, kids really inspire us to get our act together.

You want to model all the best traits you can muster for them to aspire to/beyond.  

Love. Faith. Hospitality. Creativity. Sincerity. Character.

It's such a sacred stewardship to be entrusted with the care of these young souls.

There I go, getting overwhelmed again... with love for these kiddos in our nest.

I'm such a sucker for them.

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Anyway, it's Small Style day ~ where I link up with other mamas and their cuties.

As usual Azriel's crazy-colourful outfit is all thrifted/second hand (Old Navy mainly).. plus that wee scarf I cut to size (Hurley).

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Rainbow bright's mama,

Mel ;o)