Friday, February 24, 2012

Wish me luck

Genuine 4 leaf clover I found last summer.

We all have seasons of our lives.  Good times and bad, happy and sad.  I've had more than my share.  Right now, is a trying season. 

At the start of the month, I was given notice that my company is downsizing and I'll be getting laid off at the end of February.  It wasn't a total surprise: the company has been struggling to secure new contracts and has undergone two massive layoffs in four months.  

What was a surprise was that being my boss' right hand person, he swore to me my job was secure - that I was the best hire he's ever made and he'd never let me go.  Being told that I was among those cut this round did blindside me...and maybe shook my confidence and trust more than I'd care to admit.  I was aggressively recruited to this company just one year ago!

Losing ones' job is never pleasant, whether it's through one's own fault or not, but I can't help but feel somewhat disenchanted and jaded since I believed (and was told) that I was doing such a flawless job.  I think you can tell from my little blog that I'm a very passionate person.  I live deeply, love deeply, and take people at their word - well, at least until they give me reason not to. 

I know I'll end up on my feet {eventually...I hope}, but right now, I sort of feel vulnerable and a little teeny bit sorry for myself...and scared.  It's not the best economy to be unemployed and looking for a job :(  My husband and I have had to scramble to make provisions for our health coverage {not fun} and to go over our budget carefully to see what we can cut if I should find myself unemployed for any significant length of time. SO not cute or pleasant :(

I'll be back to blogging, but it may take me a wee bit of time to get my personal life back in better shape. 

The upside in all this mess is all of the extra time I get to spend with my sweet little dude :)  Really lovin' being able to wake up together, to pick him up from school, have lunch at the park, and catch up on cartoons.  I love him <3

I've been doing the interview circuit {blech!} so hopefully something wonderful will come down the pike for me soon.  Keep me in your thoughts and prayers, please :) 

And wish me lots and lots of luck.
I certainly could use it.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day



Remember my Valentine tag post?
This is what I did with them.
We finished our Valentine's for preschool.



Wishing all of you a loved filled day this
Valentine's Day

For more Valentine ideas visit these past posts:


Thursday, February 9, 2012

Palette Cookie Feature



You all know I triple-dog love when some little thing that I've done gets some media attention.

How utterly thrilling to see that my
artist palette cookies
are being featured today on


I had such a fun time coming up with this idea when I made them for my son's 4th Birthday party. The theme was Little Picasso Art Party, and I wanted everything to be cute and packed with color!

These cookies were such a huge hit! 
I made the little artist brush cookies separately
(yes, the brushes are cookies, not pretzels as some have asked) :)


They're one of my all-time most pinned, most commented on, and most featured projects!
I'm so thrilled that people like them!


Sunday, February 5, 2012

Valentine Favor Tags ♥

I'm putting the finishing touches
on my son's Valentine favors

Above are the cute, custom tags I made for them.
I was going to buy some, but ...
 why buy what you can make yourself?  :)


These cute tags are extra cute personalized with my son's name.

Add some Valentine-colored candies...
red, pink, and white M&Ms are just perfect.

Can you guess what I'm making?! ;)


And the kids will have a sweet Valentine goodie bag.
Now to put everything together!

I hope you're having a good weekend!

This post is linked to:
Tutorial Tuesdays on Hopestudios.blogspot.com