Happy Sunday!

Just popping in to let you know that Sweet P Quilting and Creations featured a set of quilt blocks my mom completed last week. I know she is sew happy to have the blocks finished.....Congrats Mom!

To see photos of her beautiful work and read Paulette's post about the blocks go here.

Can't wait to see all of them in person when she gets back!

Fabulous Friday

What a beautiful day!

Hard to believe there is snow in the forecast.

geraniums

The geraniums on our porch are already beginning to bloom! In fact, the bacopa in the pot has had blossoms all winter. It seems a little early, especially for geraniums, but don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I'm ready for the flowers to start blooming and create some much needed and always anticipated spring color on the porch and around the yard. 

luggage tag challenge

I finally finished making this mixed media 

"Luggage Tag" 

which I entered in another 

reader challenge! 

I named my entry

SEWN (South East West North) luggage tag.

Go here to see all of the creative luggage tags entered in this reader challenge. 

Another fun project. 

Happy BLOGiversary!

Today I am celebrating my

"1"  Year 

blog 

ANNIVERSARY!!

Yes, I made a Party Hat for this special occasion. I couldn't decide between a festive hat or a beautiful crown so I went with both!  


It's hard to believe that it has already been a year since I started
 ~ the Grand Surprise ~ 
and began blogging. I had only really discovered the blogging world about a year earlier when I was taking art classes from a friend who had just started a blog to keep her students updated on upcoming schedules and events and also from links my mother had started sending me around the same time. I was fascinated by the photos, the stories and endless creativity and began toying with the idea of starting a blog of my own. After a lot of thought and hesitation I finally did it and now it has already been a year. I am still learning a lot, which is half the fun, and of course it wouldn't be any fun at all if nobody was stopping by to visit so a BIG thank you to my family, friends and everyone that checks out my posts. I love the comments, emails and encouragement from all of you.


So here are some FUN FACTS (aka: stats) from
the Grand Surprise 
over the past year:


Top 5 Posts
1. Slurpee Day!
2. s w e e t simplici"tea"!
3. waterfall skirt
4. DIY Waterfall
5. tea party food


Audience~Top 10 Countries 
1. United States
2. Malaysia
3. Canada
4. Russia
5. Australia
6. Germany
7. United Kingdom
8. Philippines
9. Italy
10. New Zealand


my 1st ever POST:
sNOw Kidding...

Total number of Posts:
172

It's been a busy, creative, inspiring year full of many
  Grand Surprises!
Thank~you for stopping by and sharing in my
 "1" year BLOGiversary CELEBRATION!
I hope you'll check back often!


Have a great weekend!

pretty pink pillowcase

A little Valentine gift I made for our teenage daughter.

I made the pillowcase out of the leftover fabric I saved after sewing this pretty pink Valentine dress and pinafore for our daughter when she was little.

Next, I created a graphic with words taken from one of our kids favorite childhood books, Love you Forever by Rober Munsch,

and then transferred it to the pillowcase. 

Love in a bowl

(and a cup)

We had a varsity basketball game last night and arrived home late so this was our 

extremely SIMPLE

tomato soup

topped with a dollop of LOVE 

Valentine dinner!!

Not quite what I had in mind but when it's late, you're in a hurry and nobody is very hungry 

this works. 

Happy Valentines Day!

Nothing says
I L♥VE YOU
quite like homemade HEART shaped waffles and jam with hand whipped cream, sprinkles and a pat of HEART shaped butter
for breakfast on
Valentines Day!
At least for our family,
 since breakfast tends to be the favorite meal of the day.

Also,
in case you  missed it,
check out the new Banner I added at the top of my blog!

~Have a very Happy Valentines Day~


The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the 
HEART♥
Helen Keller

sweetHEART cupcakes

These may look like ordinary Valentine cupcakes

but 

there is more to these sweetHEARTS than meets the eye! 

Can you guess what surprise is hiding inside???

A HEART!!!

How sweet is that?

I saw these Hidden~Heart Cupcakes and had to try making some. I could hardly wait to cut one in half to see if it had turned out and sure enough, there it was, the hidden heart.

A perfect treat for someone special!

Valentine Tea Party

Since Valentine's Day is almost here I thought this would be a good time to share my
mother/daugher

~Valentine Tea Party~

To make this party simple I asked each family to bring a tray of finger sandwiches and a plate of treats to share, which was really fun since the guests were all such good cooks. Needless to say, we enjoyed a wide variety of amazing tea party food.

As each pair of guests arrived they drew a number from a basket that corresponded to a seat at the table, making the seating arrangement a surprise.

Our program included poems, the history of tea, playing games and making fancy ponytail holders.

Things I ♡ :
♥ mother/daughter parties
♥ Valentine parties
♥ tea parties
♥  parties

perfect ♥'s continued

I needed a quick dessert last night so I made some chocolate pudding which I put into pretty individual parfait dishes and then topped each serving with a little spritz cookie and sprinkles.
It was a hit!
I also filled small bags with cookies to tuck in lunches and give away.

Simple ways to turn ordinary into special!

 free printable topper here

perfect ♥'s

I made a double batch of Valentine spritz cookies today. They are so quick, cute and yummy and a favorite at our house. 

I Love Sprinkles! 

They're great when I'm in a hurry but still want to add a little sparkle. 

auction display boards

Here are few of the boards I made last week.

I have been designing auction display boards for non-profit organizations every year since 2004

for a total of 

9 years

14 auctions 

and 

500+ boards. 

I enjoy the challenges of creating multiple layouts (approx. 30+ per auction) on a tight deadline (approx. 5-7 days). I purchase most of the supplies a week or so before I begin due to the fact that there is not usually time during the week before the auction, when I'm in full production, to run out for more.  The live auction items are different each year and for every auction making each board unique, which means, coming up with new ideas quickly and then hoping I have all the coordinating supplies. 

A fun project.  

ADB's are FINISHED!

I think this photo of my work area pretty much sums up my week!

32 boards ~ 5 days  

A Fast & Furious 5 days, to say the least, but not unexpected, just the nature of the project.   

I finished Friday night around 9:00pm and delivered the live auction display boards to the venue yesterday morning.

 Here is a sneak peek of a graphic I made for one of the boards. 

I will post a few of my favorite layouts tomorrow
but for now..

...it's time to get ready for the
SUPER BOWL.

And just for fun,
here is my favorite Super Bowl commercial from last year...

SO CUTE!

happy February!

I usually fill this cute heart shaped plant holder with fresh red and/or pink flowers but no time this week to run out so I used colored tissue paper for a "make-do" Valentine arrangement.