Car Show and Blogger Issues!

 We had a car show in town last weekend.  This is the same car show where PJ purchased the "Daddy Wagon" last May.  Since then, he sold his VW bug and his 2 seater truck to pay for the new/old (1968 Impala) wagon.  He painted it blue and white, worked on lots of other details inside and out,  but my favorite new details are the new surfer stickers we picked out together at this year's car show.

For the second year in a row, Lydia got to ride around the car show in her very own hot rod.  Once again, she made all the boys jealous of her ride!  This year she was looking forwad to the show and even asked me to dress her in something to match her car.  SO fun!

 Lydia sat in her car when we were parked in our spot on the fairgrounds and then rode in her car whenever we needed to go anywhere.  I packed some toys in a purse and she easily entertained herself in her car.  She fought her nap as long as she could, but by 4pm, she layed her head on the side of her car and fell asleep in it.

 I loved the idea of little Lydia in her little car wanting to race all the big guys in their big cars!  Too CUTE!

Here are a few retro images of Lydia in her hot rod.  This was last year at the same show. Boy is she getting big!

 Here are a few pictures from Lydia's first Christmas.  I actually forgot that we had the car painted in time for her Christmas photo shoot.

The paint was actually still wet when we showed up at the studio.  Also the studio was full of kids who were tired and bored.  We had to work hard to keep them from climbing on the still wet car! I think the wheels didn't even work at this point, they were just tacked on for the pictures and then it took until last spring to get it all working as a push car.

 I love that it looks like Lydia and PJ are fixing the engine in this one!

 Finally.  Have you seen this image?  I spent a bunch of time getting the new look of the blog all finished and even wrote a post all about the new look and now the post and the final details, including this new title banner have disappeared!  Blogger has been down and the latest information says that they are working to restore some posts.  Here is hoping that my post and my changes that were the subject of my post are back up soon!

New Graphics!

Have you noticed the blog has a new look? 

 It was time for a change, but I am still learning all this technology stuff and it makes me NERVOUS!  I am always SO excited when I can figure something like this out!  Especially when I am able to tweek the technology to customize it a little.

Last year I was so happy to have discovered that one of my favorite sorces for images, Graphics Fairy, had a sister site devoted to backgrounds and banners for your blog!  Background Fairy not only creates amazing digital imagery, but it is FREE and she gives you step by step instructions for adding these images to your blog! 

I got to have some fun photoshopping to adjust the look of the background and to create a title banner.  The original background didn't have enough cherries for my taste, so I added some more (I love the clone stamp tool!)  Also, this might be because I was doing something wrong setting up the design, but that white space in the middle was just too big, so I copied some of the green polka dots into the middle area.  Sounds like a lot of work for somethig subtle, but I like having a reason to practice my photoshop skills. 

For the title banner, I have been wanting to do something with a Bee for a while now.  This blog started out as Liddy B, and was just about documenting my daughter for family and friends.  Now it has evolved to also include my own ramblings and interests, so it became Liddy B and Me a while ago, around the time I added this mamma bird to the title banner.

The new border is based on a vintage cherry label I found online.  I added a big bee and a little bee for "me and Liddy B." I included a crown (thanks again for the image Graphics Fairy!) because I wear a lot of hats (figuratively and literally) as Mrs. B., Mama B, a busy bee, sometimes just a "B (explitive)"!

 Why not just have a crown be the Queen Bee!

I need to learn to add a "button" to my blog to recognize that I am using a Background Fairy background and to show my appreciation, but i have to find the time to find the instructions on how to add a button first.  So until then, a HUGE thank you to Graphics/Background Fairy for teh inspiration, images, and information.

Crafty Catch Up.

I was so busy at Easter, crafting and cooking and sitting vigil at church and filling Easter eggs, that I never got around to showing off what I made. So here goes.

This was a complete last minute addition to the craft line up. I showed off the round yo-yo flower details that I added to Lydia's dress in an earlier post. I wanted something similar, but a little more grown up to complete my look. The problem was, I had NO IDEA what I was going to wear. I had several pieces that I liked, but nothing that just worked. I went shopping (thrifting) to hunt for some inspiration and found a tank top that had this large necklace piece attached to it. The best news was it was half off day at the thrift store, so I think I paid $3 for the tank and the necklace.

 It was easy to separate the necklace from the tank, just had to cut away some top stitching.  Then to make it match Lydia's flowers, I took the pinking sheers to some parts of the white fabric.  The skirt I decided to wear was a favorite from years ago, which meant that it was too small.  Fortunately, it was an "A line" shape and a little long, so I just shortened it by cutting it off at the hip area and making that width the new waist line.  Anyway, by making the waist bigger, I actually ended up with some extra fabric , so I added that to the rosettes so the necklace coordinated with my skirt. I swapped out a few of the jewels for vintage buttons and my look was complete.

 The other craft project for Easter was finishing a few more felted friends for Lydia's bunny finger puppets.  Lydia is kind of obsessed with Jake and the Never Land Pirates, so she is really excited about crocodiles (like the one who hunts Captain Hook).

 Sadly, this little lion did not get finished in time to join the others in Lydia's Easter basket.  He remains unfinished to this day.  All he needs is a mane, but I have lost my deadline, so it may take a while to get him complete!

Finally, here is my favorite Easter chick holding her felted chick....or duck....whatever.... you get the picture.

Mother's Day Card 2011

This year for my Mother's Day cards, I wanted to use Lydia's hand print again, so I thought I could make it look like a plant, with each finger being an individual blossom, instead of last year's hand "flower".
Thankfully, I had Lydia go ahead and make some green hand prints several weeks ago, on a random day when we were hanging out in the studio.  I had not realized how busy we would get with Easter one weekend, PJ's high school reunion the next, and then Mother's day the following weekend.  I used vellum for the hand print, figuring I could type and print a message on a second piece of paper, then sandwich them together.  I used grommets to hold the four corners together, since glue always looks messy through vellum.

The finished cards were to have looked like this.  They say "Happy Mother's Day!  Thanks for always lending a hand!"  Unfortunately I ran out of crafting time (or got distracted by the shiny new trapeze bar PJ gave me for Mother's Day) and the cards were just a green hand print.  Oh, well!  It could be a plant of some sort, I suppose!  It was Mother's Day, so you will have to cut me some slack!

Give someone a hand for Mother's Day!

On Mother's Day, I like to take the opportunity to celebrate, not just my mom, but several family members who help mother my child. For the past two Mother's Days I have created something out of Lydia's hand print and give it to Lydia's Grammy, Nana, Auntie, and Grandma. Sometimes I remember to make an extra one for Lydia's scrapbook. Sometimes I forget or that extra one becomes the one mistake. Ooops!

I will be finishing up this year's hand print project over the weekend, and I don't want to show pictures of it until the recipients see it first, so here is a recap of the last two projects Lydia and I made. In 2009, I traced Lydia's hand (a difficult task at the time) and used the pattern to cut out several white shapes that were turned into paper flowers. I connected a few paper leaves and wrapped the whole thing with green floral tape to make a corsage to wear on Mother's Day.

Last year, Lydia got to help make painted hand prints. Once she was cleaned up, I put some glue on the back of a butterfly shape and let her stick it to the card. I finished it off with some Easter grass and hand lettered a message of thanks.

This year we are doing another painted hand, but with a different look. I'll show you real soon!

Another Mad Hatter Tea Party!

Our church hosts a Ladie's Tea and Fashion Show each year and different people volunteer to decorate tables. It is always really fun because each table is unique and beautiful. Part of the fun is coming up with a take home gift for each guest at your table.




This year I decided to host an Alice in Wonderland themed tea table, using many of the supplies I still have from Lydia's "Tea for 2" Wonderland birthday party. (more birthday pictures here, here, and here.) I needed something new for the party gifts, and was relieved to see a blog post where someone found floral shaped notepads and added silly eyes to the flowers. I had my idea and thankfully, the dollar store near my work sold a floral notebook. I went a step further with teh wonderland living flowers and added a floral pen too. I got the gift bags, tissue paper, pens, notebooks, and wiggly eyes for less than $1 per person. I was really happy that I "plurged on the polka dot tissue once I saw it next to the black and white wiggly eyes!

The pens are SO simple and I have made them for decades now. Just cut a silk flower to be shorter than the pen. Hold the stem next to the pen and wrap with floral tape to attach the flower, hide the pen, and create a new green "stem" for the flower. Floral tape is sticky when stretched, so when you get to the end, just overlap a little and it holds itself together!

The notebooks I found were 4 for $1 with 4 different designs. I got an assorted pack of self adhesive wiggly eyes and put them whereever they seemed appropriate on the notebooks and the flower pens.
And here is the finished table with the finished party favors.

Lydia has been obsessed with the Robert Sabuda Alice book that I used on the tea table and at her birthday party. She likes to "read" the story to us at night and is very careful with the fragile pages. She cracks me up when she says that Alice went to a "sit down party." She acknowledges that they drank tea at the party, but apparently the fact that they had to "sit down" makes it a "sit sown party" and NOT a tea party. So cute!

A Brief History of Art History

These maps and timelines and various artworks by Loren Munk are kind of how I feel today. My very first class of AP Art History students take their Advanced Placement test today....right now actually (noon-3pm) If they do well, they can get college credit. If they do poorly, it reflects negetively on me. Ugh!!! I know that I did all that I could for them, but I also know of LOTS of things we will do differently the next time I teach this class.


Mostly, art history has CONSUMED my life since August. Every week brought a new chapter of Gardner's Art Through the Ages (a text book I used in college, but did NOT read all of... even in college). Each new chapter required a chapter outline/ reading guide/ worksheet, a powerpoint presentation, a quiz, an essay, sometimes a video. Oh and I also had to grade those chapter reviews/worksheets/notes/quizes. Oh and I also had 4 other classes to teach/create projects/grade work for.

So, I am eagerly looking forward to a break from the rigorous grind that this year has been. I am also looking forward to teaching it again soon...... especially now that most of the materials I will use have at least been created and will only need adjustments. Fingers crossed that right about now, all of the hard work is paying off and the kids are acing the test!