Our Winter Beach Day...

A couple of days ago, the weather was nice, so I surprised the kids with a quick afternoon trip to the beach.

Our view of the channel.

I introduced the kids to tidepools. Brandon had fun looking for sea anemones so he could touch them and watch them close up.

We saw banacles, mussels, and seaweed.

Also, sea snails, hermit crabs, and even a jelly fish.

The kids threw rocks into the ocean.

{while I got some awesome shots of them!}

{I can't get enough of these boots...or the toddler that fills them.}

All of the kids exploring...looking for creatures, shells, and sea glass.

The sunset signaled that it was time to head home.

A New Leaf...

My new paint arrived today!

Plus, I've been gathering fun papers, wallpapers,

vintage German flowers, and vintage buttons...

And, I've been organizing my studio in preparation...

Starting on the 31st, I shall {paint}.

I can't wait!!!

Here Comes the Sun....

Winter is a bugger in Washington. So many grey and rainy days. So many so, that the last 2 weeks we have had flooding throughout the valley and the river was threatening to spill over too. Wednesday though, the SUN came out! It also happened to be my day off:) I was so happy to be home to witness this....

The kids took their sidewalk chalk outside...

and started a hopscotch grid on the street in front of our home.

The smaller kids took turns jumping...

While the older ones continued on with the grid until it stopped right in front of their best friends' house. All 132 squares....how adorable is this?!

Spring is coming, I can FEEL it!

My Newest Typewriter...

I'm still working on the other post that I promised you yesterday but I just HAD to share with you my newest typewriter!

New Year's Eve, me and Michael hit up my new favorite junk store called {Vintage & Thrift}. This is the same store that I found those cool vintage glass ornament balls at two weeks ago...

It's not super old but it's a lovely shade of blue and will fit in here nicely.

The kids are enamored each time I bring home a new one and Jake had fun typing out some new spelling words that he's been learning in school.

I plan on using it for some new artwork that I'll be starting on soon. I've got so many ideas and so much inspiration has been swirling my way lately that I can't wait to start creating again!

Happy Birthday{s} and Hello, 2011...

The beginning of every year starts right out with 2 birthdays. Mine on January 1st and my youngest son on January 8th. My Mother is visiting us from Arizona so we celebrated them both today so that she could be a part of the celebrations. We ate dinner at my favorite restraurant {Olive Garden} and then we came home to our cakes and gifts...

Since we were doing a {kid} cake as well as my cake we opted to get two small cakes for Matthew instead of a 1/4 sheet. The idea was that he could pick one for himself and the other kids would split the other one and there would be no left-overs. We've eaten enough this holiday season! {g}

He chose the Buzz Lightyear one...and was totally excited to have it all to himself! In a 5-kid family, it's always a treat to have something completely to yourself!

He had a great time opening his gifts. He is such a sweet, happy boy and is always smiling these great big smiles...the hat is our family's traditional {birthday hat}.
The cheesecake sampler that I chose this year as my {cake}. I was the official picture-taker so there are no pics of me...such a shame;)

Hello, 2011!

I sure have high hopes for you!

{Next post, my word for the year as well as my goals/hopes/dreams...}

12 Photos of Christmas...

Well, it's been a month since I last posted and a little thing called {The Christmas Season} has come and gone. I decided to share {12 Photos} from our Christmas here on Spring Lane....

#1} My bottlebrush trees that I made last year grouped with family photos and some vintage glass ornaments that I picked up this year.

That red one is my favorite...don't tell the others or they might be jealous...

Religious candles that I covered with vintage sheet music and tied with jute...I had 6 more outside on the front steps...they turned out lovely.

The whole grouping on my vintage dresser that I refinished and distressed then collaged...{sorry the photo is horrible, it was night time when I took it.}

More vintage ornament goodness...displayed on my glass candleholders...

My little tinsel tree decorated with glittery Martha Stewart ornaments....

My new {old} camera that I picked from a local antique store....so excited about this one!!!

More vintage glass ornaments in {Retro Kitchen}...

The scale that I got at the same time as the new camera...I made it festive with a red pillar candle...I am {loving} the chippy white/green paint!

The sugar cookies that hubster and the kids made...in a vintage Pyrex dish...

Mugs ready for tea and coffee to go with the sugar cookies after Christmas Eve dinner...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from {Retro Kitchen} and all of us here at Spring Lane Designs!

Happy Thanksgiving...

From all of us here at Spring Lane Designs.

The Elves...

The elves have been busy preparing for Christmas...

Styled after my {Dance in the Rain} necklace, I'm so excited about my first ever Christmas ornament here at Spring Lane Designs! Hand stamped with the words {Let it Snow} with beautiful czech glass "snowflakes" and an adorable candycane bow. I like to think of it more like jewelry for your tree...

And I have some new jewelry designs that I'm so excited about! This necklace features a real antique key that I picked from a local antique store!

I'll have a few more new designs up in the shop very soon and I'm just so excited about each and every one of them!

What have you been doing to get ready for Christmas?

I'm prepared...

Fall and Winter are {rainy*rainy*rainy} here in Washington...

But I'm prepared, I have my boots and my vitamin D3.

A First...

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.

{Ralph Waldo Emerson}


I am still trying to find my groove in this new phase of our life. I have not been able to do much creating in the last couple of months and I can feel it taking it's toll on me. For me, art refreshes my soul. It allows me to process all that's going on inside my head and my heart. I'm trying to be patient with life though and will get back into full-time creating once things settle down.

I did spend a bit of time this week working on some new designs in my shop. I'm pretty excited about them and they should be available at the end of next week!

Also, today I am being featured over on the glorious Hazelnut Cottage today! This is my very first blog feature and I'm just so excited!

Pumpkin Time...

On Saturday we headed off the pumpking patch to pick out our pumpkins that we are going to be painting tonight at Grandpa's house.

We went to a local farm which had tons of beautiful ones...

It was hard picking out just the RIGHT one...

{This is the one that I would have picked out if I would have gotten one for myself...}

They had rows of beautiful sunflowers....

So sunny and cheerful...

We went inside the barn to pay for our pumpkins and they had lots more goodies inside...we brought home some fresh corn on the cob.

Including these GORGEOUS french soaps...

{It was all I could do not to take them all home with me....}

A Snapshot...

Today I took the photos that I needed for an interview that I'm doing next week over on Jan's blog, Hazelnut Cottage. Here is a snapshot of my studio space in the new house. I. am. in. LOVE!

Sunshine

A little sunshine from my home to yours...

{And, I reopened the shop today. New goodies are coming soon!}

Settling In...

I am so sorry for the silence this last month. We have been super-SUPER busy with homeschooling and moving. We got all moved in last weekend and we are beyond excited. It feels so good to be {home}.

I have had fun decorating, especially in my kitchen. I have slowly been collecting all sorts of vintage kitchen items from thrift stores. Things like vintage aprons, vintage cookbooks, and vintage Pyrex. I was also lucky enough to receive some of my grandmother's vintage salt/pepper shakers. I am affectionately calling my kitchen's style {granny chic}.

Here are a few peeks into my new kitchen. I will share more as I continue putting things together...

One of the many sets of salt/pepper shakers from my granny's collection...

A vintage Pyrex salt/pepper set that I won in a giveaway over on Shalet's gorgeous blog, Peculiar Momma...I have all of these salt/pepper sets lined up in my windowsill. They are so cheerful and make me smile just looking at them:)

This is a cutting from my friend's mint plant that I am trying to root...I thought it would look charming in this vintage china cup that I got picked from the thrift store's {free} bin.


This is a fun set that I found a couple of weeks ago...it makes a beautiful little morning coffee/tea nook in the kitchen.

I hope you all are having a warm and cozy start to Fall. I am looking forward to the holiday season and hope to have my shop back open real soon:)