A Banana Peace Offering....

Well the Monkey is hanging his head in shame!

My friend Janna over at Country Creek Creations was brave enough to join me (the first that I know of) last week for Monkey-in-the Middle Monday. I promised her I would share her post with you all to see what she has been up to.....

BAD MONKEY!

I forgot! I am so sorry Janna! It takes allot to put yourself out there (I get it!) and I was remiss in not getting the word out that one brave soul had finally joined me....

Everyone, please go check out Janna's blog....

Warm Fuzzy Blogginess....

Ewwww.....I love this! I am still new enough to blogging that I am tickled pink when I get an award....

And this is a doozie! Look how pretty this "You made my Day Award" is! Did someone know that I am obsessed with the birdies this Spring (Spring, what Spring? It's around here somewhere, I'm sure....New York just missed that memo, I guess)?? Maybe that's assuming a bit much, but I DO love this award- it's so purty!

And even better, it comes from two of my favorite blogs to visit....

Flora over at Bonehead Studios has a truly unique perspective....her sculpted dolls and cuties are to die for! And I love visiting her to see her pieces take shape....it's all in the process....

Thanks Flora!!

And what can I say about Sara at Graphic Pretties? If you haven't seen her work, check it out! She has a wonderful "eye", and has made countless auction templates and web site graphics for me. Her patience should earn her a medal, because I tend to be a bit fickle when it comes to web site appearance. Last year she did a whole custom eBay package for me and a week after she finished it I decided to change my business name. She handled it like a pro (and I wouldn't blame her if she was cursing me behind her monitor as she read my email) and for that alone Sara, I should be giving YOU this award!

And here's the other great part: I get to pass it on! If you could see the folder holding all of my blog bookmarks, you'd realize this was a difficult process for me. There are so many I try to visit on a regualr basis!

But here goes....

For giving me daily blog warm fuzzies, I pass these birdies on to:

Cassie at Mockingbird Hill

Kaffi at Out on a Whim Studio

Tracy at The Vintage Sister Studio

There are a ton others, but I'm sure they will get theirs in due time, if they haven't already...

Thanks for making my Day, Blog compadres!

Happy Friday!

My Playdough Michaelangelo and something Fishy....

Just some random ramblings (and a bit of show -n- tell) on a quiet Tuesday afternoon...

Hmmmm...this was one of the "fortunes" we got in our cookies at the mediocre Chinese Buffet we decided to try over the weekend....this would be the something fishy from the title (believe it or not)...it certainly left a bad taste in my mouth...I want to know how my luck will soon change or that good things come to those who wait, yadayadayada- not blatant advertising for the blankety-blank buffet..... Boo-Hiss on this un-named Chinese eatery....
And this is the playdough masterpiece that my nine year old son whipped up last night.....there was a turtle too, but I wasn't quick enough to get a pic of that one....
A face only a Mother could love....kind of reminds me of the old Mr. Bill SNL skits...anybody remember those?

Ohhhh nooooo.....

M-M-M-onday!

Here we go again....I tell you, even if there is no one out there enjoying this segment, it is keeping me in line. That makes it worth its' weight in bananas!

This weeks's project...a few more Easter treats....why didn't anyone tell me Easter was so EARLY this year? Or even better, why didn't I bother to look??? Oh...well....

These are treat pails (shhh...don't tell anyone- they are peat pots....I love cheap surfaces, don't you? Kinda makes messing up irrelevant....), semi-done up (so far) in sherbert colors with a base of chocolate (of course!) brown...

If you look closely, there are a couple of vintage inspired bunnies sketched in the buttercream circles...

mmm...sherbert, chocolate, buttercream....who'd guess I skipped lunch??

My "less done" project from last week is a new set of spoon ornies. My supply of the tiny tin spoons has dried up (temporarily, I certainly hope....anybody know where I can get some more? I pay pretty good), so I decided to do this set of vintage wooden taster spoons. I was lucky enough to find these intact in their wax paper sleeves -they are so cute (and coincidentally available on my website and in my Etsy shop)...

Think we'll do some more bunnies and maybe a few chicks this time....super simple- it will be a quick and easy pattern!!

And finally some eye candy....this photo was shot in a house we *seriously* considered buying when we moved up here. Isn't it gorgeous? All of the home's original (100+ year old) woodwork was intact also...a great find of a house, but at 3000+ square feet a little intimidating as far as maintenance was concerned.

Mr. Sunshine will be deploying *over there* this Spring and this was just a bit too much house for me to manage alone for 15 months, but....sigh....I sure think about what *might have been*....

And on that happy note, I leave you with your Monday....

Happy crafting!!

Pushing My Buttons...

Or ringing my bell....however you want to put it, this Easter bell is giving me fits! I'm almost done...just have to girlify it with trims and ribbons and buttons....then I'll be ready to type up a pattern and send it out the door (or onto the internet).....
For someone who does not sew AT ALL, I have quite a thing for buttons....I try to use them every chance I get....and I love to use them on the tags for my Seasonal Rusty jingle bells.
But I tend to get just a wee bit obsessive about which button would be absolutely perfect for the current project....For this tag, I had my heart set on green, spring green. There are two matching spring green buttons in these photos. See 'em (a really pretty coral-y pink and a robin's egg blue sit between them)? But they are too big, way too big, for where I want a button...So at one point this afternoon I had ALL five jars of buttons spread across my work room floor, trying to find one button, just one, that was this exact shade of green but small enough for my needs....and then of course I got sidetracked by all the pretty colors, cool shapes and sparkly details. My crafting ADD kicked in big time, but I did finally find a button that was acceptable....not the perfect shade of spring green, but acceptable....

How's that for a fun way to waste a supposedly productive Friday afternoon?

And the Goodie Bag goes to.....

Thanks to Mrs. Glosser and her math goodies, we have emerged with a winner ( I just down loaded Adobe Photoshop so I was playing with the filters. Forgive me Mrs Glosser, for messing with your primary plus fuschia color scheme)!

First a quick note to those who posted messages here for a second entry. What I did was add your name a second time, assigning you a number beyond the last subscriber (so your second # was somewhere between 84 and 88).

And without further delay......

Congratulations Janet!!

I won't go any further than that (for privacy reasons), but if you signed up for the newletter and your first name is Janet, please watch your "In" box (or maybe spam- you never know these days)....

Finally, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who signed up! Considering I had no mailing list before this, I would consider it a huge success...

Keep a clear eye on your inbox....the first newsletter should go out within the week....

Happy Friday, everyone!

Confucious Say....

Today is the last day to sign up for my newsletter and be entered in my "Goodie Bag Giveaway"....

You have until bedtime tonight (11-ish EST) or maybe really early Friday morning (I'm up at 5 am), depending on Mr.Sunshine's computer time tonight (yes we are all sharing one computer with internet access again-ACK!)....

So Rush on over to my web site , scroll to the bottom of the first page and enter your email address. No Spam- ever! Just a monthly update on what's new with Sunshine -n-Ravioli. Then come back here and post a reply on this message- I'll enter your name twice as a thank you!

One lucky contestant will receive their choice of two of my patterns (and I have just released a few GREAT spring-time patterns!) plus lots of goodies picked with your patterns in mind....

I will post the winner tomorrow morning, bright and early...

Good luck!