Mad Hatter Tea Party Giveaway!

Vanessa Valencia of a Fanciful Twist is hosting a Mad Hatter Tea Party on Saturday!
Be sure to stop by her blog and see the others joining in on the fun!
I am posting a wee bit early as we are leaving for vacation Friday morning and will be back after the weekend. We will be up in Glencoe which is in Calaveras County, CA.
Since I won't be here for the party festivities, but am on the guest list, I thought I'd offer up one of *original crowns! If you'd like to win, just post a comment here. Also visit some of my other post...as I'm also giving a way a craft book for the month of June!

Lastly , I'd also like to give away a gift certificate to my ETSY shop!
Please visit my shop, look around, check out the sold stuff and let me know what you like in my shop or what you'd like to see me create!

I will draw a winner for the Crown and Gift Certificate on Wednesday July 1st!
See you then!
~Michelle

Crafty Chica Challenge!

Kathy Cano~Murillo is hosting a FAB Challenge!



Go HERE for the details! And happy crafting!

Just for "me"

My Birthday was last February and I know it's since passed but I kept forgetting to take a photo of these darling little beauties. My friend Priscilla saw these and instantly thought of "Me'! What touched me most about this gift was it was not just a random purchase, like from walmart or target...she actually went back and got them after she realized how perfect they would be in my studio!

Paris to The Moon Costa Mesa CA

~A couple of weekends ago, Brian suggested we go to his favorite Mexican Restaurant called , "Mi Casa" in Costa Mesa. I jumped at the invitation as it's directly across the street from "Paris to the Moon!"

~ But since they closed "Paris Underground" and brought those items into the main shop, it's not the same experience anymore.

I actually felt overwhelmed and little claustrophobic, which never happens to me.

~ All though there were cute stuff as usual, it was all crammed together with no real flow, making it hard to focus.

I'm hoping by Halloween and Christmas that they we get things better organized...maybe open a shop on etsy for over stock!

I don't want to miss out on my favorite shop...

It just felt cluttered and too full.

I was still able to finds some crowns in all that there was...aren't they divine?





~ A little 4th of July flair...


HERE is a past post from a Christmas visit to Paris to the Moon!

Happy Fathers Day Daddy!

(here's what could not fit on the card I sent,)
Dear Daddy,
Thank you for all the things you have given me:
Love of reading, interest in theater arts and culture events, sense of adventure, and support in all the "artistic" things I do.
When we come for visits, I look forward to seeing the results of your latest travels- (Europe, Egypt, Mexico and the U.S.)!
There is always something new to discover in and outside your house, delighting Dyllan, Brian and I!
Story telling, of past and present, margarita's, steaks on the grill and lounging by the pool. It's all good.

A few things I learned from my DAD:

• How to make a peanut butter/jam sandwich
  
• Stamp collecting is fun!
• The secrets to exploring the San Diego Zoo with out having to walk up their huge hills.
• School plays are just as good as big ticket plays.
• Not to plan a visit during football season. ;)
  

Thanks Daddy.
Love, your little Monkey, Michelle

Rescue Mission Food drive Art

Last weekend I took Dyllan with me to a Food drive sponsored by Fiskateers and Scrapbook Royalty. We dressed in our best orange and green (fiskars colors) and filled a bag with food. I decorated the bag with my artwork and inspirational words.

I drew it with a sharpie and colored it in with all the orange and green crayons I could find.

It was nice to take Dyllan with me because he's at that age, where he's understanding more and more about people less fortunate than we are.

This sun is a trade mark of my art, so please don't copy it. If you would like a custom piece for yourself, please contact me through my shop and we will talk details. I can do cards to large wall paintings.
Thank You
~Michelle Cummings

My New Blog Banner!

These cupcakes that I made for this years past Mardi Gras inspired my new banner. Do you like it? I used a combination of microsoft publisher and photo shop. It only took a few hours but at least it's done till Fall. I'm happy that it matches the blog background I'm using from House of 3.
Thanks for coming by to visit me!
~Michelle

New look

How do you like my new look? I'm still working on a new banner and will have that up and running by the end of next week. I got this back ground from House of 3.
They have so many whimsical creations to choose from and so affordable! If you try one for your blog...link back to me so I can stop by and see your new look!

Busy, Busy.

June 11th was Brian's birthday, but we had the main celebration the weekend before for all June B-days combined. ( his sister in law Genny, his Dad Jim, My friend Teresa and her daughter Sydney) We also invited the neighbors over for burgers and my famous home made Jambalaya.
We set up tables in the garage and the kids played tag, rode their bikes and had fun in our sheltered cul-de-sac.

EVERYONE loved the cake above! I wish I could take credit for the idea but can't. I found the idea here.
I wanted to make it from scratch but knew I'd have no time so I used a Betty Crocker cake mix in a box and made a 2 layer chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I added rainbow sprinkles in the middle layer and for the top, I lined the inside with malt balls, (Brian's favorite) and then filled in the middle with M&M's. Dyllan had great fun helping me tasting everything as we decorated!

It was a little tricky to cut, as the malt balls rolled every where, but I made sure everyone received a Kit Kat and candy with their cake slice. It was fun! And a definite crowd pleaser!
For Brian's birthday, Dyllan and I scoured 4 stores looking for those hand held vibrating back massagers. Starting with what I thought to be the most obvious store to carry them down to the least likely store. But we got them! Brian also recieved the movie "Short Circut" which Dyllan has never seen. I think he will love it as he loved Wall-e.
Here you can see something else we gave Brian to use at work. I decopauged Dyllans art work onto a clip board. Sorry for the bubbles...it's hard to get a thin piece of paper to lay down right, but over all, I think it turned out really cute!



For Brian's actual birthday I made a giant chocolate chip cookie cake! I included a ruler in the photo so you can see how big it was! We are still enjoying it to this day!

We went to Disneyland after Brian got off work. If you go on your Birthday you can either get in free, or if you have a pass like we do, you a get a gift card valued at a one day admission to use in the parks stores.

It was packed!!! Everyone was crowding in to enjoy a few hours before the park closed early for Grad night. We went on one ride..."Star Tours" and then headed back to parking stucture. Our car was parked on the top and we enjoyed a great view of the parks fire works!

~Sorry for the burry shot...at every boom of the fire works , the parking structure vibrated.
So that's it for now. I won't have another post untill later this week as Dyllan's pre-school ends Wed. and I 'm dropping off my Fair entries on Friday.
Have a great week!

Oh Really...?

" I can handle another snack...my tummies not full yet."
says, Dyllan who will be 5 in one month going on 16th in the appetite department.
This is why I don't watch the food related shows when Dyllan is around.

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Today I'm sorting, creating, and getting things ready to be mailed. No photo's today...but I thought some of you might enjoy some tutorials from my favorite blogs...
Happy Creating!
~Michelle

Bottle Cap Lady Bugs

Cake Stand

Duvet Covers

Hula Hoops

Resin Knitting Needles

Top 10 uses for your Coffee grounds

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"Mini" Me

In my studio I have a folding table that belonged to me, when I was a little girl.
It's old and sometimes needs reinforcement to keep the legs from collapsing, but it's as loved and has memories being added everyday...so it's a keeper.

Sometimes we color together, but on this one, Dyllan did it all on his own.

Loving the colors he used and how he's staying in the lines better.

If you are wondering about the crayon bowl. I found that one and another a little bit larger at goodwill for a couple dollars each. Completely silver. It still looks decorative on the kitchen table when he colors there too.

June craft book Giveaway!

Here is my giveaway for this month! To have a chance to win, just comment on any post (starting today) till the end of June. I will pick a winner on July 1st.
I've had this book forever and have practically memorized each and every creative idea in it. So now I'd like to pass it on to you.
Good luck and be sure to visit often!

Paper goodness

These are new in my shop!

Welcome to my Garden!

I have a very small Garden patio.
Most of my plants are in containers as our ground is either rock hard or filled with clay and gravel. By some miracle, the things that do grow out of the ground or through the pots thrive quite nicely.
5 years ago, I spent over 2 weeks prepping some ground to grow my own artichokes, the effort paid off. But next time I'm getting a professional.
My mom has a "green" thumb and can grow just about anything, even where she lives in the desert. Below are some tomatoes and a white egg plant fresh from her garden. I coated the eggplant with olive oil and Italian seasonings before laying it in slices on my indoor grill. Yummy!


Here are some Alpine strawberries I've been growing. They are smaller than your store bought berry and so full of sweetness!



Above you can see the strawberries, which I usually save for Dyllan unless there is more than one, and then we all get a treat.
Below is the best you'll see of my sweet pea bush. Sigh. So sad. We enjoyed the peas very much, but then suddenly the leaves were being munched on, ( I hand picked those buggers off) Aphids were colonizing on it and now with this sudden dreary weather we've been having, it's got mildew. I don't use pesticides, so unless we get some good California sun soon, it looks like this one is a goner.

I have two full sized rose bushes.
One is a "double delight, love the colors but the fragrance is short lived. The other is a "Mr.Lincoln" (it's my Mom's Dad's favorite) The rose bush definitely stands up to it's name. TALL! But has massive thorns that can shred you in seconds. For the thorns alone, I was once ready to chop it to bits, but then came up with the idea to de-thorn the bush. I swear some of the thorns were as big as shark teeth! So now "Mr.Lincoln" is blooming nicely and the blooms (as you can see below) are the most beautiful deep red with a ever lasting fragrance that makes you want to bathe in it's scent.

My cherry tomato bush is doing nicely! I love snacking on the ripe ones when I'm watering!

In this one large pot I have basil, cilantro and oregano...smells so good when I brush by it.
Same with the peppermint & spearmint that grows wild out of the ground. When I step on it, the whole patio smells minty fresh!

I was so looking forward to getting rid of this honey suckle that had long ago busted out of it's pot and has been thriving like a weed. I wanted to put morning glory in it's place and make that corner space be a little "secret garden", but we now have old Tortoise that Brian had when he was younger and we are the new keepers. (I'll post about him another day. ) He loves to eat the honey suckle and my hibiscus. Guess my morning glory will have to wait.
Look at my plumeria, just waiting to bloom...

Speaking of hibiscus, check out this one from my friends garden! It's as big as Dyllan's head!
I kept this for me because it was so pretty!



My hydrangia's are comming in niceley. The bummer about them is they cross breed. One was pink, and the other was blue when I first planted them. Now they are both pink!

That's all for now, thanks for coming by to see my garden!