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