Friday, December 31, 2010

hello, 2011!

Today is the last day of 2010.
Tomorrow is the first day of 2011.
Wow, time seems to fly!

There are some things that I definitely would like to accomplish in 2011.
And Mique posted this fabulous printable that I'm going to use for sure!

{Thanks, Mique!}

There are some things I'm determined to do, some that I'm
still deciding on, and of course, just for fun!

I'll be posting more on the things I'd like to accomplish in 2011 later.
In the meantime, I hope you & yours have a safe and happy New Year!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

a {white} Christmas!


Yep, I had a very white, snowy Christmas!
It was quite lovely. My family & I went sledding, threw snowballs,
made a {very small} snowman...a great way to spend our holiday!

{a little background: I always thought that I hated snow, but then I realized that the last time I saw snow, I was only 7 years old. I think all I remember was being really cold!}

We made it home last night, and I'm very glad to be home.
My own bed to sleep in, all my various projects in easy reach,
a little warmer weather, and Target & Starbucks only 5 minutes aways! :)

There's still time to leave a comment here to win a special surprise from me to you.
I'll be announcing the winner on Monday.

Have a lovely day!

Friday, December 24, 2010

merry christmas! {& a giveaway}


Because it's Christmastime,
and because I love all of you readers...

I wanted to give something away to one of you!
Of course, if I could, I'd give each and every one of you a gift,
but you know how it is. :)

I'll be putting together a special surprise gift,
which might include some Petunia Blooms lovelies.
I promise it'll be good!

To enter, just leave a comment.
Blog & tweet it for extra entries.

Merry Christmas!

{open to US only, please. the winner will be randomly chosen and announced January 3rd.}

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

{the holidays}


For as long as I can remember, Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year.
The music, the lights, decorating the tree, putting out the nativity, buying/making & wrapping up gifts, etc, etc.

My sisters and I would always tumble out of bed as early as possible.
Retrieve our stockings and wait {rather impatiently} until we could wake up our parents.
But before we open any gifts, we stop.
We read about the true reason for the wonderful Christmas season.
We give thanks for the many blessings we've been given.
And it's always made for a wonderful Christmas morning.


*****

We will be leaving bright and early tomorrow morning to spend Christmas with my grandparents.
There will be a special post going up on Christmas Eve, and then it'll be
pretty quiet around here until I get back.

I hope each and every one of you has a wonderful holiday!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

{diy} a pennant banner

thanks so much for all the sweet birthday wishes yesterday! {{hugs}} to you all!

*****

Several years ago, my mom got a birthday banner that she puts up for every. single. birthday.
She loves it. Me? Not so much...

I should have snapped a picture of it, but just imagine
pink, purple, yellow and tootsie rolls. Not my style at all!

I decided that a new birthday banner was in order. So I made one myself!


I love these pennant-type banners :: I like the neutrality, with the ability to dress it up if you want to. It was really easy to put together, with just a little time and effort.


I used:

- kraft cardstock paper
{bought at Michael's in a pack of 50 for $3.99, used a coupon}
- letter stencils
{you could buy these, or make your own. i printed the letters
out on plain cardstock and cut them out very carefully to make the stencils.
this was the most time-consuming part!}
- a sharpie or other marker
- ribbon
- hole punch
-small silver brads
{i got these at Michael's a couple of years ago}

Once you've gathered your supplies, you'll need to cut out the pennant shapes.
I made my own template, and it's easy to customize the size you want.
I was able to cut 3 pennants out of one 8.5x11 sheet of cardstock.
If you aren't sure of the size, play around with it.

Next, trace out the letters onto the pennants.
I made 2 banners, "hurray" & "happy birthday".
Once I got the outlines traced, I filled them in with a black sharpie.

I used mini brads, so I ended up punching the holes with my paper piercer.
Then I just attached all of the pennants together.
The brads make it easy to fold up the banner to store it.

Last step!
Punch holes at each end of the banner and string some ribbon through for hanging.


See?
I love it!
And it's so easy to personalize for any occasion.

I used the instructions from Erin's blog for the paper "thing" {I'm not sure what it's called!} - I just added a '20' to the middle for fun!


Happy crafting!

Monday, December 20, 2010

{celebrating 20}


This past Friday, the sweetheart, my family and a handful of
dear friends got together to celebrate 20 years.
It was one of the nicest birthdays I've had, I think.

No, 20 is not really that old {I know}, but saying that I'm 20 instead
of 19 makes me feel more "official", sort of.

I had a lovely time. :)

A couple of friends who live farther away came for dinner, and everyone else came over for some very yummy red velvet cupcakes. We went to see The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
It was very laid back, simple, but still fun.

I made a couple of pennant banners and a cake topper that I'll {hopefully} be sharing soon.
My sister made the cupcakes, and we used this delicious frosting.

Since my birthday is on Christmas Day, it was nice to take a separate day to celebrate.
Even with company coming over, I don't think I lifted a finger {many thanks to my sisters for all the work they did!}. Not having to clean up is a gift in and of itself!


How do you celebrate birthdays?
Do you have a favorite birthday memory?

Friday, December 17, 2010

{lovely finds} dishware


do tell - which of these sets do you like the best?

American Simplicity from Target

Thursday, December 16, 2010

{sunshine and carousels} - DIY gift toppers!

I just happened upon this lovely post from Erin {sunshine and carousels}, and I just had to share!


See all those gorgeous gifts?
{Wrapping presents is one of my favorite parts of the Christmas season, actually!}

For my gifts, I went for the simple look, "brown paper packages tied up with string".
Erin posted all sorts of lovely topper ideas, and I plan on making at least a few of them.


Be sure to read Erin's post for fabulous ideas & directions - I know you'll love it, too!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

{wednesday wishlist}

I guest-posted this wishlist at Allora Handmade last week - if you missed it, enjoy!

*****

Hello! It's Jacky from The Sweetest Petunia, and I'm so excited to be here today. :)

{hey, it's me!}

It seems like lovely things are always catching my eye.
I had a terrible time paring down my favorites to my absolute favorites!
But here they are, the top 5 pretties on my wishlist right now...


This necklace has been at the top of my list for quite awhile now - I'd choose the skinny tag with "happy" stamped on it.

Love this! I just can't decide if I'd personalize it with my address or my shop info...

Yes, I adore Austen & Mr. Darcy. This mug would be perfect for my morning coffee!

Doesn't this look yummy?!

I think I almost died when I saw this. And then I told my sweetheart all about it & sent him the link...
because I'd really love to make it mine!

What loveliness have you added to your wishlist lately?

Happy Wednesday!

Monday, December 13, 2010

{this week...}


I am SO cold! It's 50* here {nothing compared to Miss Gussy's -5*, but still}, and I am not used to these temperatures. I'm bundling up in boots & scarves!

{via}

Most of my gifts are made/bought, but I need to finish wrapping!
I love the "brown paper packages tied up with string" look;
This year I went with kraft paper, burgundy & bronze ribbon, and reindeer gift tags.


We're celebrating my birthday on Friday!
The sweetheart, some friends and I are going to see this movie, and eating some of these cupcakes.
I'm very, very excited. :)

What are you up to this week?

Friday, December 10, 2010

{lovely finds} for your hair

I love to dress up my curls with headbands and hairpins. Here are a few pretties to inspire you...

{for your hair}

{I actually love that whole section in her shop!}

{I have my own Paislee Lane headband, and it's my favorite! So sweet & cute.}



*****

Do you have a favorite hair accessory?

I love the easy simplicity of headbands, and I also have some cute flower
hairpins that I love. My only problem is that I wish I had more colors! :)

Thursday, December 9, 2010

{a lovely mug}


Isn't it lovely?!
Many thanks to Shannon for sending this beautiful mug to me.
The colors are perfect {some of my favorites!}, and I'm going to love sipping my coffee from it!

(I participated in the Craftaholics Anonymous Handmade Gift Exchange.)

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

{cold hands, warm hearts}

 
I was SO excited to be able to participate in the Cold Hands, Warm Hearts swap, hosted by the lovely Sandy a la Mode and Much Love, Illy {love them both!}.
 
My sweet swap partner is Kate from Be merry, Kate.
It was so fun to get her package in the mail, pink bubble wrap and all!
 

She went me some cute raspberry gloves with grey trim...


a lovely new mug, a handy purse hanger, a recipe to try, 
nail polish {the pink is on my fingernails now!},
and a sweet handwritten note. Yay!

Kate, thank you so, SO much for the gift.
I love all of it, and I'm glad we were able to "meet"!

*****

You can also see the package I sent to Kate, right here.
Many thanks to Sandy & Ilene for hosting and organizing!

{current} favorite christmas song

I just love Christmas music.
I had to force myself to wait until after Thanksgiving to turn it on.

I got Bebo Norman's Christmas album this year,
and I absolutely adore this song, Come and Worship.
It's beautiful.

Enjoy!

Monday, December 6, 2010

creating a {mostly} handmade holiday


I love handmade. I really, really do.
So this year for Christmas, I decided that I wanted to make as many gifts as I could.
I'm almost done!

My gift list included an array of crocheted projects, sewing, and a little hot glue. :)
I found three ideas that would be so fun to give as gifts, just in case you need some ideas.




I made a few of these flowers {in a smaller size} into pins.
They're so lovely, and really, really easy.
I just hot-glued mine instead of sewing them.




If you know how to crochet, this is the perfect easy gift idea.
I've made three of these already!
{and many thanks to Lisa for sharing it with us!}




I haven't made this pouch {although I have made some other ruffled goodies for gifts},
but it looks so cute, and the step-by-step instructions look fairly simple.

Edie also hosted a {12 Days of Handmade Christmas} if you need more ideas!

What have you been making lately?

Friday, December 3, 2010

{lovely finds} knit

I'll be taking a break from {color love} for a little while, and instead, simply share some lovely finds every Friday. I hope you enjoy it!

*****

{knit}





*****

have a lovely weekend!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

{brrrr...}


{no, it's not quite that cold...*wink*}

I've lived in Florida my entire life.
I do love it, but I also love cold Christmases.
To me, it's not quite right to be able to wear shorts on Christmas Day...

I woke up this morning to 45*!
{and it feels like 37*}
Needless to say, this Florida girl is shivering.
But I'm excited to bundle up in scarves & sweaters, and I hope this weather lasts!

What's the weather like where you live?

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

{25 days}


I adore Christmastime.
It's my most favorite time of the year!

And Christmas is only 25 days away...

Oh, and my birthday also happens to be on Christmas day, so that's even more excitement!

I love listening to the classic Christmas tunes, decorating the tree, finding gifts for family & friends, wrapping up the gifts, baking holiday treats, and all of the other fun of the season.

What's your favorite part of Christmastime?