absence

Whoa there. So I don't know where my time has gone lately or my life for that matter. I have been helping plan some awesome parties which has kind of become my new passion. And I got frustrated with trying to reclaim my artistic side with like 20 minutes a week and declared that I was quitting. And on top of that a busy fall at work combined to mean that I haven't done a thing in the beckley realm for some time. And I discovered Pinterest which is a consuming dreamland for people like me. I feel like I've become their new spokesperson but honestly if you haven't joined in yet and you are at all artsy-craftsy you MUST go now! You will see and agree.


Here is a random assortment of what I've been up to. All the good photos haven't been edited yet so, sorry.

minimal etsy shop activity

I made a piñata. It was amazing.

I'm crazy so I stamped napkins by hand for our 2 year anniversary party

Helped put together a birthday party for my brother & sister-in-law

Ta-da! That's what you missed.

phew!

Wow my life has been so hectic lately! But my house is finally somewhat clean and things may settle out for a while. So I just wanted to add a note that everything in the beckley etsy shop is 20% off now through October 1st. Happy shopping!

yosemite

is so gorgeous! For my husband's birthday I planned a surprise camping trip to Yosemite. Turns out planning a surprise camping trip with an unknown quantity of people can be a bit stressful. It all worked out perfectly though and we had an amazing trip! If you have never been to Yosemite I HIGHLY recommend you go-words can't describe it's beauty. Here are some of the highlights of this trip:

This is Dog Lake-not a very impressive name, but a phenomenal lake! From the Lembert Dome parking lot up in Tuolumne Meadows it's about an hour hike (uphill the whole way) but totally worth it. It's at just over 9,000 elevation with only a few peaks in sight that are any taller. We took a dip in the lake (beware of the mushy bottom) before heading back down. 

  This little fella wasn't afraid of me. Came cruising across my path while I was hiking along the river in the Tuolumne Meadows campground. There are also black bear in the area, but you rarely see them. Mostly you hear them at night when you are trying to sleep and hiding in your tent with your sleeping bag up over your head.

 This is Ellery Lake in Tioga Pass just outside of Yosemite National Park if you come in from the east. It's a beautiful precursor to the all the gorgeousness in the park. 

Too bad I found this on the last day! We ran out of time to jump into that lovely waterfall-boo! It's definitely on my list for next trip!

the rest of august

I don't know where it went! We had a pretty busy end of the month with a few birthday parties, overnight guests and some extra work. Here is a bit of catch up.

Cookie of the Month Club: Oatmeal Raisin

Fresh Fish Chalkboard sign #2 completed

Trying to refinish/repaint an old picture frame-more photos to come!

Last evening we got back from a fabulous trip for my husband's birthday (I will post photos soon) and it's back to work this morning. I'm hoping to squeeze some creative projects in soon-I'm starting to go through withdrawals!!


Happy September everyone!

chalkboards

I've been working on my second set of chalkboard signs for a local restaurant. This one is pretty straightforward & simple-just some clean lettering. It's a pretty easy project-could be fun to do one for the house. A few quiet hours just working on a project alone can be just what I need sometimes.

pencil, paper, tape, square...tools of the trade

before

 The pattern is on & ready to trace

 I love paint pens!!

Here is the finished product. One down, one to go.

new stuff

finally up in the etsy shop!

2 years

My husband and I come up on our 2 year anniversary in October and I have been dreaming about doing an anniversary party with all the fun details and creativity that our wedding allowed me to play with. I will post more when I come up with some cool ideas. Here are some from our wedding preparations back in 2009 :)