Hi everyone,

I'm so happy to share with you something that I hope will become a regular occurrence - my first youtube DIY video!

I love gift giving, especially when it’s a little darling project that I can whip up with materials I’ve already got on hand. For Mother’s Day, I think fresh flowers are a must-have. Instead of the usual bouquet in a vase, I thought it would be special to make a one of a kind floral Mother’s Day card using glass salt shakers. Single salt and pepper shakers are one of the items I’m always keeping an eye out for at the flea market; they make the best tiny vases! And a quickly decoupaged glass plate makes the perfect stand for your mini bouquet.

Gather:

• One glass salt or pepper shaker
• A small glass plate
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Patterned paper
• Spray Adhesive
• Fresh Flowers
• A shish-kebab skewer
• A thick tag, large enough to write your message
• Hot glue or tape

Create:

1. I like to work quickly, so instead of using mod podge to decoupage my plate, I’ll use spray adhesive. Take your patterned paper and lay it face up. Place your plate face down on a nice area of the pattern and lightly trace around it. Cut out this circle of paper about ½” away from the edge so you have extra paper to work with.

2. Because of the slope of your plate, in order to not get messy wrinkles and creases in your paper when adhering it on, cut 1” slits around the perimeter of the plate, about every 1” around. This will help the paper lay neatly against the glass.

3. Go outside and spray the patterned face of your paper with adhesive. Then lay it on the bottom of the glass plate and smooth out the edges. The cut areas around the perimeter will overlap and lay flat. Cut the excess paper around the edge of your glass plate.

4. Unscrew the top off your glass shaker, you won’t be needing it for this project. Fill the shaker with water and create a lovely bouquet of freshly picked small flowers.

5. Write your Mother’s Day message on your tag. Hot glue or tape it to the skewer. Cut or break your skewer so that it’s just tall enough to sit over the flowers in the mini vase. Place the vase on top of your new plate and set it somewhere for your mom to see.

Today the wonderful Monica Lee posted a really fun skype video interview that we did together for her online show, Smart Creative Women. Head over to her website here to watch the 50 minute interview - it's nice to listen to while you're working or having a cup of tea. I'm actually too shy to watch it myself, so hopefully you all like it! :)

We recently received a very large and happi shipment from Two's Company!

Two’s Company sent us boxes of samples for their current happi product line, and we are super excited to open them up and see all the wonderful things that are inside... we just have to find time between upcoming travel for meetings and trade shows! They're producing picture frames, diaper covers, growth charts, pillows, bath mits - too many things to list! These happi products will be available in independent gift shops and specialty stores all over the country.

My newest collection of fabric, Pretty Little Things, is going to be available in stores very soon! We just got our sample bolts here at the studio and that usually means that they are sending them out to retailers, too.

It’s always a fun day for me when I see my designs on fabric!

This collection is all about being fun and whimsical, I combined hand painted florals with fresh geometric prints in aqua, pink, yellow, and orange. I was inspired by sweet, little handmade projects, so I designed patterns that would be perfect for making pretty little things!