Daisy Janie

2-day sale on Daisy Janie 2010 calendars

Calendars are regularly $25, but today and tomorrow (12/31 & 1/1), calendars are $5 off in my etsy shop!

shop calendars now

At only $20, that's a whole lotta calendar for a very little price!

F E A T U R E S ..........
Big daily squares on big pages – 11” tall by 17” wide. The top of each monthly page includes more “bigness” – big blocks for note-jotting things to buy, appts to schedule, ideas to remember, etc.

Each month includes a mod & happy patterned background from one of my original designs. Sleek in black & white - or color the patterns to make your own fun design! How cool is that?!

Offset printed in an eco-friendly manner, with FSC & Ecologo Certified, 100% post-consumer, processed chlorine-free recycled coverstock (manufactured using biogas energy) and using soy ink.

F E E D B A C K ..........
"These are the best calendars I've ever seen... thank you!!"

"If you don't have a 2010 calendar yet, this is it! BIG and FUN and PRETTY. Happy customer, happy calendar."

"another hit around here. thank you for your work!"

"I have been searching for the perfect 2010 calendar, and this is absolutely it. THANK YOU!"

seeing | fluffy white beacons of summer

Don't you love when things come together?

a bday in December + a mad, mad love for daisies + a thoughtful husband = a sweet reminder of hot summer days ahead*

*and not soon enough! January hasn't even begun, and temps are in the 'teens!

p.s. Happy Birthday to my sister today!!!

wishing you ...

... moments that are reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell painting ...

... all the silly family traditions you can handle ...

... and the quietude to reflect on the peace, love and joy that surrounds you.

40 years ago today...

Dec 1970

Today is the big 4-0 for me! Is there a membership card for this club - one that officially designates me as older and wiser? I have been up & down about it: brimming with excitement one day and digging my heels in the next. It's only weighty b/c I'm allowing it to be, yet it's difficult *not* to see the glare of 40 years as a milestone-benchmark-line in the sand for what is past, present and future. I have it all jotted down for reflective purposes...I have loads about which to be joyful and pensive in my personal time travels.

However, as the youngest of four, this is one of those birthdays that's much more significant for my parents than for me! My mom asked me to 'please stop already,' and one of my bros said it def made him feel older. My parents both sent the sweetest keeper-cards, and I can only imagine how their hearts must feel as their 'baby' turns 40! I have a hard time wrapping my brain around Peanutman being this age someday...I can't even figure out how he got to be 12! For my 40th year, s a v o r  is the theme. Starting right now.

above: Nov 1970 - Nice pattern on that carpet! Seriously love it! Never met a cracker I didn't like either.

below: Feb 1971 - Can't decide if I like my big brothers, the doggie or the lamp in the background more! (Def the lamp!) If Peanutman sees this picture of me, he willl most assuredly ask why I'm wearing a banana suit. Thank goodness I'm not wearing all brown - he calls that a poop suit. See? He can't turn 40 someday...impossible!

seeing | legs and snow a-flyin'

The novelty of running laps at breakneck speeds in our backyard never wears off for George, despite the fact that he goes running 4-5 times a week off-leash in a forest. He never tires and he never sits (we just realized this the other day after 2-1/2 years)...he's either moving, desperately following my husband around or crashed out. Such is the life of a sweet-tempered, silly-billy, big oaf of dog so-aptly-named George. I wish I had a hundredth of his energy and zest for life! Oh, the things I could do!

What Scoutie Girl lacks in the leg department with her meager 3 instead of 4, George more than makes up for with the dozen or so he sprouts as he bounds with abandon around his makeshift snowy velodrome.

repost: 'dojob' video by peanutman

Initially posted in Nov, 2008.

Classical music + a clever doodle. Enjoy!

[ music - Vivaldi: The Four Seasons - Concerto for Violin in F Minor, "Winter" Part I ]

recipe download | aunt jane's nut roll

If you need a rich & tasty baked good to offer a hostess or to have on-hand for your own snuggly winter moments, this one is a surefire winner! For years and years, my mother-in-law has baked her heart out each and every Christmas, making enough pizzelles, almond crescents, apricot dandies, date & nut bread, Hungarian nut roll, cut-out cookies and biscotti to share with her immediate family and her 3 siblings. It's a generous handmade tradition from handed-down recipes (like Aunt Jane's nut roll) that my husband carries on for our family. He knows nut roll sends me to the moon, and he always makes sure we have a lot of it around!

I had hoped to post this recipe download on Friday, before those along the east coast had gone out to buy their "bread & milk" and were hunkered down for the weekend awaiting the snowstorm of the decade...thinking there might be some baking going on! But hey, maybe you have 7 C of walnuts waiting around your house for the perfect recipe, then you can just whip this out at your leisure!

* download pdf recipe cards here, print onto cardstock and trim *
Includes: 1 recipe card with Aunt Jane's Nut Roll and 1 blank recipe card for you to add your own recipe.

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What's wonderful about this recipe is that it makes A LOT - you'll get 4 nut rolls out of this recipe without duplicating your efforts like you might if you have to double or triple a batch of cookies. It freezes really, really well, too - just wrap it well!

seeing | festive reflections.

Life with a dash of distortion, a little bit of sparkle and the edges rounded-off. I can handle that.

how to make small, cute felt Christmas trees.

I'm taking you back to Christmas 2000 to share these cute, tabletop felt Christmas trees!

There are two different size trees shown here: one stands about 9" tall; the other is about 10-1/2" tall. 

What you'll need:

• 1/4" diameter dowel rods; 5" long for smaller tree and 7" long for taller tree.
• 1 x 3 pine board - cut in varying lengths (mine are 3" to 4")
• green felt (9" x 12" for small trees; 12" x 14" for big trees)
• fluff batting
• buttons or beads to decorate
• white acrylic paint
• wood glue
• drill / drill bit for dow rod
• small handsaw
• fine-grit sand paper
• sewing machine
• please don't forget to 'do the math' if you're making more than 1 tree at a time!

1. Make wood stands. Cut dowel rods and pine boards to size; sand edges smooth. Drill appropriate size hole in center of wood. Glue dowel rod into place with wood glue. Let dry. Paint stand with white paint. Optional: Sand edges down after painting for a 'worn' look.

2. Make trees. Fold felt in half. Draw a simple tree shape & tree trunk on one side. Cut out pieces and sew together with scant edge - leaving the bottom of the trunk open!

3. Stuff trees. Take one of your dowel rods and use it to stuff your trees with fluff. Push it inside and mush it around with your fingers to get a little bit into the stems. Don't overstuff or you won't be able to fit your tree on top of your dowel rod.

Imperfection in the shape, stitching & stuffing adds to the charm. The final size of the tree is really up to you...no hard & fast rules here.

4. Decorate trees. Peanutman was 3 years old at the time - he picked out buttons with tractors and dinosaurs, of course! I let him glue the buttons down where he wanted with fabric glue, and then I went back and stitched them into place right where he left them (see image below). For the other trees, I used beads from Matt's grandma's costume jewelry & hemp string bows.

Word of warning: check the positioning of your dowel rod before you stitch buttons & embellishments into place. If you have sewn buttons down the center, you may end-up with a lopsided tree b/c you won't be able keep the dowel rod centered. See the dinosaur tree? Trust me on this one!! :)

Once you're done, just thread the trees onto the dowel rods. Done!

Lots of room for your own creativity here!! Changing sizes, shapes, embellishments...it's all up to you! Have fun!

printable download | snowflake pillow boxes & gift tags

The printable download for these festive pillow boxes and gift tags was created for Creature Comforts' 18 Days series. Thanks for sharing them with your readers, Ez! She has so many neat, useful and fun ideas posted - be sure to check it out!

* click here for free printable download at Creature Comforts *

Inspired by a paper snowflake cutout, I created a design I dubbed Suzy Snowflake last year. I've gotten some mileage out of it as it is also the design I used as the background for the month of January for my 2010 calendar.

One of my good friends & her daughter have begun coloring their calendar, starting with January, and it looks incredible. She told me it's a very calming, bonding activity for the 2 of them.
Calendar with cool designs you can color: $25.
Connecting & conversing with your children: priceless.