Hello, dear friends!
Another beautiful day…hope all the rain we’ve had stays away for awhile…I love the rain, but…..!
Lots to share with you today! A definite theme, too, thanks to a wonderful gift from a dear blog friend…
A couple of months ago, I won a lovely giveaway from the very talented Meri of Imagimeri.
I was able to choose from a number of adorable springtime images that she would then transform into a sculpture…
This is the one I chose—I just loved it!
And here…
{I used Meri’s photos today—it was so gloomy here, that mine didn’t turn out very well! Thanks, Meri!}
…is what she turned that little vintage image into!
Isn’t she amazing???
Make sure you click here to see her fabulous tutorial on how she creates her sculptures…featuring my sweet honey bee, of course! And don’t forget to visit her Etsy shop—so many beautiful creations to see there! (She also makes the most wonderful shadowboxes!)
Thank-you so much, Meri! I will treasure him always!
One of the reasons I chose the bee for my sculpture is that we’ve had bees on our minds quite a lot this last year….
This is what’s going on in our courtyard wall…BEES! Yep—we have an enormous hive living inside our outer courtyard wall! Wish I could have gotten a picture of them swarming, but they’re rather quiet today, since it’s so gloomy…
They don’t ever bother us, and we’ve rather gotten used to them being around & have learned quite a lot about them…they’re pretty fascinating to watch…but I really do want them out of there, trust me!
Well, back to Meri…her beautiful gift inspired my project for the day…
A card using one of my very favorite stamp sets, from the amazing original artwork of Hope Wallace Kearney…
…you can find her stamps at Paper Relics…
…images stamped multiple times, lightly colored, layered…a bit of sparkle here and there…
The Queen Bee at our house last night was our youngest daughter, Annie…
…who came home from the Sports Banquet with all these medals from her Freshman season on the track team…
…that’s a pretty good reason to BEE happy!
And here’s another one:
I always feel like Susie Homemaker when I’ve got my four loaves of bread rising on the counter in my kitchen…
My Mom gave me a fabulous bread recipe some months ago, and I haven’t bought a loaf of bread since! I make this at least once a week, and we all just LOVE it!
Twenty-five short minutes after the dough has risen nice and high, we have this…
Aaaaahhhhhhh!
I make my daughters’ sandwiches with this bread every day, and it caused quite a ruckus among their friends at first—apparently they don’t see a lot of homemade bread!
I couldn’t wait very long before I had to cut into it…(sorry about the messy kitchen in the background!)
And how’s this for the ultimate little slice of happiness?! A nice, warm, thick piece of bread with a little bit of butter…and a whole LOT of honey! Oh, what bliss!
Well, that’s it for me today…hope you all find some lovely reasons to *bee* happy today!
See you soon with something new…
Julie
Your little bee and hive are super cute, what a talent she is! Love your creations too..including the bread. Share the recipe will you, I want to see how you do it! :D
ReplyDeleteHey Julie,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this post. While my oldest daughter was still in high school we had new neighbors move in from Minnesota. They happened to have a daughter the same age and as a home warming gift my daughter and I took a freshly baked loaf of Hawaiian sweet bread and some just whipped honey-butter next door. The neighbors daughter apparently had never had fresh baked bread and she went crazy and pretty much ate the whole thing. The girls became fast friends (it was my daughters introduction to the Mormon faith). My daughter got baptized in the Mormon church when she was a junior in High School, by the way! Anyway, every time there was a celebration next door, or the young lady's birthday, she would ask me to bake her a loaf of bread as her present. I have fond memories of the smell of baking bread, honey butter and the sound of young girls stuffing their faces with it all.
Your piece of art is lovely, and bee's are certainly a neat thing to craft about.
I hope your bee will bring you many years of happiness.
Love ya'
Meri
Oh that bread looks so yummy!!! Love all the bee stuff, of course! Alyssa of Boston Bee- And congrats to your daughter! Way to go!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness...what a wonderful post my friend....your daughter is stunning and congratulations to her! Your bread does look amazing! Hope your bee problem is fixed soon. Hugs.xoxoxo
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to your lovely daughter, Julie! She looks happy as a bee :-).
ReplyDeleteYour bee card is very pretty. The bread looks so yummy. It's a long time ago that I have baken a bread. Looking at your wonderful loafs I'm motivated to make one right away.
Have a great evening!
Hugs,
Julia
Hi Julie!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful post. I LOVE the bee sculpture...how cute! Oh goodness I know what it's like to have bee's living close by without an invitation. We love our bee's being around but we'd really like to have our corn crib back eventually. Good luck getting yours re-located! Oh boy does your bread look delicious...makes me want to get back at making my own bread as it's been a while since I've made any. You definitely made my mouth water. Have a wonderful Thursday!
Maura :)
I forgot! Congratulations to your lovely daughter!
ReplyDeleteBeing a diabetic I do not eat white flour.
ReplyDeletePamela
Ohio
Well what a post!!
ReplyDeletean OOOOOOO at your gorgeous artwork,,an AHHHHHH at the clever bee sculpture ...then an ooooerrrr at the bees (interesting but kind of scary at the same time). HUGE congratulations to your daughter. Thats some medal collection!!!! And finally, that bread....ooo what I'd give for some of that right now. It looks absolutely delicious.
Wow I love Meri's creation! It is wonderful! So talented! And your daughter is beautiful-congratulations to her. And the bread! YUMMMEEE! I would love to have a good bread recipe! I had one about 30 years ago and lost it along the way! :(
ReplyDeleteI love the bee stamp set. I have a soft spot for honey bees. This world has lost quite a percentage of them and they are SO important to our survival-and people don't even realize it!
Thank you for sharing your wonderful post!
Have a wonderful rest of the week.
Hugs,
Sonya
A visit with you Julie, always makes me happy as it does when you visit me back as well!! Love the sculpture. The amount of talent that is out there amazes me! It's just adorable! Love your newest card as well. As always, it's so pretty. The bread looks fantastic and I love your glass bread pans! wow! Your girl is so sweet also and congrats to her on all her sporting achievements this year. I can remember going to sports banquets with my youngest daughter. There were some very proud moments there! I send you lots of love and hugs from the sunny UK today! xxoo
ReplyDeleteLucky you to have one of talented Meri's creations. The bee is just too darn cute. That was nice you left the bees alone to do their thing. I used to keep a hive years ago. I wish we could have them here but in Alaska they don't winter over well. Congratulations to your sweet daughter too, and that bread looks so darn good. Now you know people are going to be asking for the recipe!!
ReplyDeletewow, Julie, you've got a lot going on over there!
ReplyDeletelove the card and those great stamps. the bread looks yummy! I haven't baked bread in awhile, but you're making me want to before the hot weather gets here.
and yay for your daughter!
Congratulations to your daughter. The bees are so cute and I am thinking about honey on a slice of your warm bread...thanks for the day brightener!
ReplyDeleteWow you have a lot going on, honeycomb in your backyard, your beautiful daughter to treasure while she's home and bread making. Meri's bee creation is beautiful too! What a lovely post (as usual!)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy!
Mary
That's some gorgeous, "Bee-autiful" artwork all around. How amazing that those bees have taken up residence in your wall! Hopefully they will share their harvest with you eventually, LOL! Have a wonderful day. :)
ReplyDeleteI just have to ask for the bread recipe please- it just look divine!
ReplyDeleteWOW-ZA!! That bread looks so very delish!! So...um...are you going to share your Mother's recipe??? Hmmmm?
ReplyDeleteCongrats to your cutie and talented daughter! (she is beautiful, by the way!) I love the Bee story...this could turn out to be quite a saga. Your Queen bee is equally cute! Have a great Friday. I'll be in the ER. Fridays are ALWAYs...um...entertaining.
Hi Julie, I would have to say you are the Queen Bee of happy homemaking. Homemade bread ranks right up there with one of the best simple pleasures ever. Yummo! I have a friend who makes all her own bread. I've got to start doing this-- I've never used yeast for anything (except making wine) :) Honey bees are quite calm from what I hear, unless you bother them -- they are happily honeycombing away in there. How would you get the honey out -- do you have to break into the wall? Congrats to your daughter on excelling in track. My oldest was going to try out this year but when he realized how much training it involved, he said to heck with it. :/ I was so the track team in 4th grade. The Cargill Cougars ! Ha! That was oh so long ago and my running days are now over. Best wishes to you and yours for a wonderful weekend. Tammy
ReplyDeleteOK..now seeing that bread just made me forget everything else! LOL..I started a diet and haven't been eating bread (which I love) and my mouth literally started watering LOL! WOW!!! Congrats to your daughter on all he metals, too :)
ReplyDeleteJulie, What an absolutely fun post! Meri's sculpture is vintage perfection, lucky you! Fascinating about the bees, I think the little holes in the wall must have looked inviting to them! Congrats to the medal winner, I loved those days with my daughter in high school! Such fun to watch children succeed. Have a lovely weekend, please send sunshine this way! E
ReplyDeleteOh wow, I LOVE your card and Meri's work! And congratulations to Annie! How exciting--and she's beautiful!! And that bread looks so good that now I'm hungry! lol
ReplyDeleteXO
Cindy
Hi dear , your card is wonderful,Julie- and the little bee too- but what about all those bees? wow I know I would be a little scared- but I know leaving them allone, will hold them quiet, too.I hope you can get them all to live in another more apropiate place- :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations with your beautiful daughter-and I would have loved a slice...
Hugs,Dorthe
Loved this wonderful post, Julie! I've missed visiting with you recently, and I appreciate your sweet comment on my blog. Things are calming down here a bit now, so I hope to visit much more often.
ReplyDeleteThat sculpture is fantastic - what a treasure! She got the expression down just perfectly. Congratulations to your daughter, such a great accomplishment!
Now you know you have to share that bread recipe with us - you tease! :)
Yummmmm! Not Fair Teasing us Like that! You Queen Bee is so Sweet! You work is always so Marvelous!
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday Friend!
Hugs
Jill
Julie,
ReplyDeleteI love that and yes, it looks like Hope's art. I couldn't quite place it! I am scared to death of bees but I love your sculpture from Imagimeri. It is unreal. She is incredibly talented.
Thank you so much for the lovely note on my blog today. It has been a sad day. I meant it sincerely when I said that the caring of friends has kept me afloat. You are always so generous and kind and I will never forget that you offered t come and see my in Palo Alto. You have a huge heart.
Congratulations to your adorable daughter. That's a whole LOT of medals!!!
Love and hugs,
Suz
I love your bee sculpture - lucky you! Lucky you on having bees make a home at your place too, they're having a hard time worldwide and this last winter was particularly hard on a lot of colonies. Have a wonderful weekend!
ReplyDeleteOH MY GOODNESS....that first image of altered art and the BREAD JUST HAVE ME SPINNING in DELIGHT!!!!! Oh Julie, thank you for your kind words; I had a HUGE MESS UP this morning as I was composing my post! I had wanted to add my list of participants and something went wrong and my entire post was LOST ALONG WITH THE LIST OF PEOPLE AND THEIR LINKS! I did not have a back-up (but now I do) and I had to sit here and grab everyone's names and links from their previous comments...but now, I am happy and looking forward to your entry next week! Have a lovely weekend! Anita
ReplyDeleteMy mouth is watering. Nuff said. Plus I love the card and the pictures of Annie! What a cutie. I love you! :-) P.S. I think that emoticon is completely appropriate and well placed because I was smiling the whole time I read your post and wrote this comment. There you go.
ReplyDeleteHey there Julie! What a great posting. The bees give me the 'willys' but Annie's collection of awards really made me smile!
ReplyDeleteHope you are doing well! Keep up the wonderful job of sharing life's awesome memories & treasures with all of us! It's always FUN and INTERESTING to visit your blog!
Have a FABULOUS week! Hugs!
Your bread looks oh so yummy! Congratulations to your daughter, she is a beautiful girl. Have a great week. Hugs, Diane
ReplyDeleteWow! That is the cutest bee I ever did see!!Image merri is so talented!
ReplyDelete