Meet Lily!

While spending some time at Silke's lovely blog Metamorphosis, I came across a link she had posted about Lily the Black Bear who is being followed in her den by the North American Bear Center. They have set up a "Lily Den Cam" to chronicle her time in the den with her newborn cub and they post updates to give info on Lily.

Photo courtesy of North American Bear Center


Watch the Lily Den Cam here! You'll have to be patient -- she does a lot of sleeping. But when the cub wakes and is demanding food, you'll see quite a bit of activity. The cub cries, mom shifts around and gets pretty animated, the cub nurses and makes these really sweet coos. I saw Lily's head once! She turned and looked right at the camera!

I showed the site to Noli and she was so excited when Lily started moving around and scratching. This began a whole bear discussion:

She's hard to see 'cause it's all black.
If she were white, she would be a polar bear.
Maybe she could be PINK or PURPLE and I could see her better. (much giggling)
Why is the baby crying? Is she hungry? (everything is a girl or "queel" in Noliease)
Is she cold in all that snow?

Fortunately, I had read up on my black bear facts on the site and we had a pretty good conversation. Bear (ha!) in mind that Noli is a month shy of 4 so our best talk was about the colors a bear should be. Pink and purple won out over any other color! After all, Lily IS a "queel" bear.

♥♥♥♥♥ Hearts for Haiti ♥♥♥♥♥

Do you know about the Etsy collective shop HeartsforHaiti ? It's made up of Etsy sellers who are donating their handmade, vintage and supply items to raise funds for the relief effort in Haiti. One hundred percent of the sales (minus fees) is being donated to Doctors Without Borders. So far, as of Tuesday the 26th, they had raised over $19,000! WOW!!

No telling how much it is now... the amount gets updated regularly so be sure to check in the shop announcement or on the blog.

Want to know a bit about the volunteers? Here's a link to the HeartsforHaiti blog.

I made a little crocheted card holder as my first donation. It would be perfect to enclose a Valentine gift card for your honey! Go see it here in the shop.


And here's something really fantastic: within just a few hours of listing it, it sold! So I've relisted and am now working on something else to donate.

It would be so wonderful if you could donate an item, or buy an item, to help support this great cause.

Etsy Treasuries!! CreateCrochet Team!!

I must do a little patting on the back :) I'm in two treasuries right now!! I am most honored to be included along with such great talent.

"Etsy Love" has some wonderful Valentine selections - mine is the Valentine Kid's Hat. Don't you just love all the red and pink?!! The treasury was created by CowlickCutie who has the sweetest bows and headbands for your little one. Really adorable -- please go check out her shop.

This is the link to go to the treasury -- spread a little love by commenting!

This lovely treasury was made by Bumblestore and it features yarny goodness from the CreateCrochet Team. You can see my Soup 'n Salad on the 3rd row. Again, I'm really pleased to be included.

Here's the link for this treasury -- please visit, comment and check out the Team's talent!

And be sure to go to Bumblestore's shop -- she has some wonderful swirly scarves and the most precious baby dragon hat!!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

By the way, the CreateCrochet Team has a blog -- some good reads there. Have a nice visit, and if you crochet or have crochet supplies/yarn, then you might want to consider joining the team! It's a great bunch of people -- I've only been a member for about a week and already I feel a part of the family.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Valentine's Cutie

Say "I Heart You" on Valentine's Day!
I just listed this cute little hat in my Etsy shop and just had to show it off!

You gotta admit, this is the cutest model ever! She's put in her order for a purple one with pink hearts...

Beautiful Flowers Quilt

Handmade quilts are beautiful and carry so many stories within each block and stitch. I have several that have been handed down or were gifts from family members. I would love to share these creations with you and so will post about them from time to time.

This particular quilt actually belongs to my daughter but I love it and it reminds me of some that a favorite aunt of mine quilted. She created beautiful quilts out of double knit polyester fabrics that came from family and friends.

But that's another story...
This quilt was made by my son-in-law's grandmother. It is made of double-knit polyester so it's washable and dryable. All the quilting is done by hand and it's big enough to cover the top of a king-sized bed. I love all the colors -- so bright and cheery!I don't know how the flowers were done, but they kind of pouf up which makes them look three dimentional.

I can't imagine how much time was spent in making this quilt, but I'm sure it was pieced with love. I'm so glad my daughter has it.

So, I'm pleased to share it with you and I'll be back with more another day!

Brand New Etsy Shop!

Have a peek at this brand new Etsy shop! It's MaisonMagpie and the lovely Ginie is the owner. She resides in a small village on the edge of the Pennines, in the UK. Her shop has the sweetest things, they just make me smile...

This brooch is called "Warm Heart" and you've gotta love it's fuzzy sweetness! It's just the cutest! I love the way she includes a heart shaped box, so sweetly decorated.


And this one is perfect for Valentines Day with its cute red heart on top. And again the decorated box.

I absolutely adore this pincushion. It's so beautiful with its rosebud on top that I'm not sure I could stick a pin in it! I'd just have to sit there and admire it.

Can you tell I really love this shop? And you will, too. Trust me, go see for yourself.

Making Playdough

Today Noli made playdough (along with her mom of course...) and then we played. The acorns in the foreground are her "acorn garden." I love that.

A mini acorn garden and a snowman. He has a French beret on.

As you can see, on this the 6th day of January, I still have not put away the Christmas decorations or tree. Maybe Noli and I will do that today or tomorrow. I am the worst procrastinator!

There are lots of playdough recipes online; here's the one we used:

Nature's Playdough

1 cup flour

1/2 cup salt

1 cup water

2 tablespoons oil (vegetable, canola, sunflower, etc)

2 tablespoons cream of tartar

Mix flour, salt and oil, and slowly add the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring until dough becomes stiff. Turn out onto wax paper and let cool. Knead the playdough with your hands until of proper consistency.

Use as is, or divide into balls and add a few drops of vegetable juices to make green, pink and orange. (spinach, beet and carrot juice)

Store in container in refrigerator.

More recipes here.

Meanwhile, the cats (Oliver and Sam) are in their yin yang position in their cozy bed.

A Princess on a Bike

Noli got a bike for Christmas! Of course it has training wheels...she's doing very well on it. It's a kick to see her ride! Note the Hello Kitty knee pads :) and the ballet skirt over her jeans. She's such a joy.

She also got a rescued Pug puppy! Cute as can be -- she named him Snowflake. I'll post pictures when I can get some made. He's a real cutie and very, very puppyish! So excited to be petted.