Here it is, my 50th post.

I have come full circle.

My first post on April 6, 2008 was all about my experience at the 

Country Living Women Entrepreneurs Event

where I "pitched my product" to the editors of Country Living Magazine.

The experience inspired and motivated me to launch my blog.

I met three lovely ladies

  and blogged about each of them in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th posts.

Today, for my 5oth post, 

I am thrilled to report that one of the lovely ladies is a finalist!

The second gal is still waiting to hear, no news is good news, right?

CONGRATULATIONS

to Tricia Lowenfield 

of Tricia Lowenfield Design

for her achievement as Country Living 

Women Entrepreneur Winner

A bouquet of flowers

from me to you

via the web

well done 

Tricia is an artist

with a European folk art style

bucket of flowers photo by Frances Janisch, Country Living, July 2008

she works her talent on all sorts of objects

I just loved her wonderful picnic hamper backpacks.

Each hamper is outfitted with unique cloth and leather backpack straps, 

 lined with a colorful fabric, 

and outfitted with all the fixins for a picnic

except the food, of course. 

A cheerful painting adorns the top, painted in Tricia's trademark style:

European style folk art.

Look at these happy girls - ready for a picnic at the beach.

Tricia's daughter and friends.

I think the brown-haired beauty peeking into the hamper is Tricia's daughter

and here is the artist and Women Entrepreneur herself, 

Tricia, in the middle, with her husband at her side.

I loved your work the minute I saw it.

Enjoy the exciting year as a winner! 

Cheers to a Women's Entrepreneur Finalist!

check out Tricia's website and blog here

the wedding was beautiful and so much fun

as we head into the 4th of July weekend

I am rushing to finish orders

and catch my breath

Thanks to Patricia at pve design for allowing me to post her

beautiful watercolor illustrations.

I thought they would be perfect to set the tone,

 as I head out for a weekend excursion

to

 my cousin's

Island Wedding

in Maine

the little ferry only fits 5 cars at a time

the ferry isn't much bigger than this lobstah boat

There are no hotels on the island 

My Aunt's friends are all graciously opening up their homes to all the visitors

This is a charming cottage - 

I think the cottages on the island are a little bigger.

This is what I imagine BG & Sam will look like when they emerge from the 

little church

we will be so sad to leave the island paradise

if it were August, we could bring home those delicious, tiny, maine blueberries

i am so excited

my etsy shop has been kirtsy-ied

by kirtsy editor, kareym,

who is also the author of the clever, entertaining, thought provoking blog,

mackin ink

thanks karey!

Editors' Picks  

madras, turquoise, hot pink and kiwi...stop. you had me at madras...

www.etsy.com ― these make me happy. i can picture them in a fresh white cottage or anyplace cheerful. tiny shop with a huge future, don't you think? more...

 kareym ― posted 5 hours ago

Discuss ShareThis Un-vote

this boost comes at a very good time because i 

received the dreaded thin envelope the other day

but i am ok with it now

one door closes and another opens

here is my open door

funny how life works out

let's see what happens next

my etsy shop and my business, mrr design, are like the

 little engine that could...

i am going to keep chugging up the hill

hugs, hugs, hugs to karey m in jordan

fuel from the middle east!

 

something to make you smile and be amazed

look carefully

so creative 

famille summerbelle

images as seen on the very clever blog famille summerbelle 

on may 23, 2008 

probably the most ingenious at home zoo play

I have ever seen

Show and tell is almost finished 

just want to inspire any of you readers out there

journals do not need to be elaborate

all you need is a little organization

a place to put some pictures

and a few words

these hiking pictures are terrific

when Isabel hiked in the White Mountains as a camper 

she stayed in the AMC huts.

(Appalachian Mountain Club) 

The huts have guest books and 

Isabel found my name from 1970 when I stayed in the Madison Hut 

as a hiker with Camp Asquam

kinda cool - 

it makes it so easy to tell stories later

you know how kids love to hear stories about their parents

prompts like pictures and words help spur the memories

they did become a bit of chore for Isabel as she grew up

it became a "mom thing" 

oh well -

glad we have the early ones

still reading...

these are some of the early summer journals

2 1/2 feet ago 

my little girl is now 5' 7"

my sweetie pie liked school - can you tell?

but she liked other stuff too

she was and still is a HUGE Harry Potter fan

She is writing about her excitement about the next book

kickball and bicycling and swimming jumped to center stage

and this sweet poem.

If you still have little ones,

these journals are such wonderful keepsakes.

Travel Journals

a how-to project

Here is a project for any of you going on fun adventures to new places.

It is so easy to make one of these very special journals.

You don't need any fancy supplies,

just construction paper, lined paper and a manilla envelope. 

 Paris 1999

Anybody can make these fun travel journals

do the writing on the trip and add the bits and pieces later.

Collect all your ticket stubs, maps, pamphlets, napkins etc 

and save in a large manilla envelope

use a glue stick and construction paper

then cover each sheet with laminating paper

hole punch and tie together with ribbon or twine. 

The rough garden twine looked good 10 years ago, 

but over time, but it  started to disintegrate

so ribbon is probably a better choice

So easy and a wonderful record of a great trip

memories stay alive 

my daughter can't wait to go back to Paris

she is quite a francophile now

and her french is very good

so much better than my school 

girl french was on our trip

we went again the next year - but

 we cannot find the journal - i hope it turns up...

isabel had her first sleep-over in France - 

the bedroom window looked out on the Eiffel Tower

man oh man - what a lucky girl

London 1997 

Isabel is holding up Sly - a beloved beanie baby (remember them)

We lost him on a rainy day on our way to the Museum of Natural History.

A kind soul, probably another mother, plucked him from a puddle

and placed him on a bannister

We retraced our steps and we were almost ready to give up when I turned around

voila, Sly, waiting for us at that very spot.

Magical!

the ever present umbrella

Isabel and I had a pact: something for mom, something for Is

usually, a playground, then a fabric store,

the zoo, then a fabric store...

love the spelling

fort in the hotel

and the best part of all, the double-decker bus

always the top and the seat in the front

we were regulars on the #22

tried to get 

a fun Christmas card photo at Nelson's Column

London 1996

The journals were much less elaborate in the beginning

a few words 

mostly pictures

but still lots of fun to look at as a teenager

BON VOYAGE

still reading...

kids can't get enough when it comes to reading about themselves

or looking at old photographs

Summer Camp

When my daughter started to go away to summer camp

I created a camp journal each summer.

It is so much fun to reread these journals.

You see how your camper grows 

summer to summer.

I loved summer camp 

and so did my daughter.

I gave camp journals to friend's daughters when they were about

to embark on their first camp experience.

I think the campers liked them; I know the mothers did.

So I decided to create more and sell them.

You can find them at Sea Beans in Wilton

along with the Summer Journals for the younger children,

or through my etsy shop.

create your very own record

of summer fun near the mountains, lakes or oceans 

food in the dining hall you liked and disliked

activities you liked and disliked

camp traditions

and l0ts of room for doodles, pictures, badges, awards