Saturday, January 24, 2009

Happy January 2009 Birthday to...

...handsome Papa (lil' jr with Papa 14 yrs ago)... and
sweet Isabel (bff-Colleen-left + Isabel-right on Halloween @ school)...a young lady now...
at the tender age of 12 years old...

happiness to you both on your very special days!

we LOVE you Papa + Isabel!!!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Hope...


I just added the caption and what I think lil' Sasha might have said to her Daddy... )

Welcome First Family!
This photo is just as charming as this First Family.
Did you see the Inauguarion?
To tell you the truth, I never really watched any of the Presidential Inauguartion...
except for this one.
This one intrigued me.
As I watch this family interact, see pictures of them, read about them-
well, I see me and my family. I'm beginning to believe again.
That the impossible is possible.
For some reason, I think this family may offer more to the table, more inspirations and motivational changes to how we think of what the
United States of America stands for.

This picture reminds me that maybe, just maybe CHANGE is for the GOOD...

Thank you Mr. President.
Thank you First Family...
for instilling overwhelming HOPE for our NATION.
For a brighter + better world for our children-our FUTURE.

'The road is long..."

and yes, Mr. President...we'll be there to build it right there with you...

Bonne Nuit

xoxo jo ;)

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Cocoa + Kisses...




Day 3 in Hibernation Mode:
Stayin' in cus it's A real JUNGLE out there...

(images from www.historylink101.com, www.suburbanchicagonews.com and the net , i just added the lil' snowflake)

Now, wouldn't you !!!

here's what we're gonna do all day+night...and maybe the whole weekend!


(images from http://www.realsimple.com/ i just added the caption and lil' kiss)

bonne nuit
xoxo jo ;)

Friday, January 16, 2009

merci beaucoup le vendredi 4, tangee, cookie swap 2008

here are some pics of my sister, Mary Ann's Cookie Swap 2008 that i participated in. these are pics of cookies and a special handmade jewelry set made by my sweet partner, Tangee...all the way from California...how wonderful was this package. it came at a nice time, when we needed some comfort and joy. thank you again, sweet Tangee! i love the beautiful necklace and matching bracelet...it goes with everything and my lil' gal has been eyeing it but i'm keeping it in a safe place...










thank you (again!) so much, Tangee, for all the yummy treats and esp. your handmade jewelry...your thoughtfulness during the holidays were so much appreciated!
{please forgive my late entry and my tardy thank you response to you...we had a bit of rough patch a few weeks ago...and i wasn't able to properly thank you until now...}
Bonne nuit
xoxo jo ;)

Winter Kisses

this is my second page (front) for my sis, Mary Ann's Winter Wonderland Itty Bitty Book Swap...cold, freezing, dreary...what do you think about during these long cold days of winter?...i think of warm thoughts of someone sweet...your honey, your cutie pie(s), lil' munchkins...lil' kisses...isn't it always nice to just cuddle and snuggle?! that's what i like about winter...now the cold weather, travelling in it, shoveling, ummm...that is another thing... (back page of my 2nd Winter Wonderland itty bitty book swap 2009)

stay warm and enjoy these long days of winter!

bonne nuit

xoxo jo ;)

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Baby it's cold outside...


i just added caption and heart ;))



(my old side yard + couple of years ago (2006) winter scene...too cold to snap pics for 2009!)

welcome 2009 with a COLD SNAP!
it's 35 below...and well...no school for the lil' munchkins.
bitter cold conditions+frost bitten weather= danger zone!
we're staying in and will try to keep warm...sorry for not keeping up over here
but my fingers are chilled to the bones...
keep warm + safe!

bonne nuit!
xoxo jo ;)

Friday, January 9, 2009

merci beaucoup le vendredi #3...Josephine-RedThread











due to this harsh winter we've been having, i haven't been able to post on my weekly friday posts. i apologize for that.
finally, i have a chance to thank my newest kindred spirit + sweet gal, Josephine at Red Thread
for her most thoughtful gift to me this past holiday.

Josephine has a wonderful online journal that is full of inspirational pictures of life, fashion, movies, neat things, places + people. here's a lil' bit about her and her blog (taken from her profile bio page) :
"a personal view of art/design, food/drink, books, fashion, and film connected through a different red thread (theme). this blog is named after the chinese legend that says that everyone is linked to people who have a significant impact on their lives via a red string. "

how inspirational is that! simply yet truthfully stated. i love reading her blog. it's so thought provoking!

Josephine made a set of gorgeous letterpressed "Merci" cards. i absolutely love the simplicity of the phrase, the Frenchness, the colour and the texture of the card. less is more and i truly believe that!

she also gave me 2 sweet journals, pink + green to write my thoughts, dreams or adventures...i can't wait...

also in my pack was this adorable "cuddle with love cider" by ChewingtheCud (you see how you can learn from a kindred spirit? thank you, sweet Josephine for introducing this shoppe to me...i love etsy and finding new + exciting places to shoppe for unique items...) in a muslim lil' bag...i love 'hearts' and it simply smells divine!

finally, she wrote a note to me on this wonderful letterpressed postcard 'Holiday Telegram' from ChewingtheCud printed exclusively by Flybird Press + here. I adore these types of stationaries. simple pleasures to last a whole lifetime...

thank you so much Sweet Josephine for creating sweet memories, remembering me during such a special time of the year and warming my heart through our new friendship...Je l'adore tout!

when the weather lets up and i have a few moments to myself...i'll post a lil' thank you to a special someone who sent delicious yummy treats and a gorgeous set of jewelry that is quite unique and a knockout to wear with anything! how blessed am i to have sweet + thoughtful hearts sending such love my way...totally feeling grateful...

bonne nuit...
xoxo jo ;)

Monday, January 5, 2009

Nouveaux commencements...

(front side-digital image created with Polyvore by Labour of Love
for Follow Your Bliss Design + my sis, Mary Ann's Itty Bitty Winter Wonderland Swap 2009 )

(back side-digital image created with Polyvore by Labour of Love
for Follow Your Bliss Design + my sis, Mary Ann's Itty Bitty Winter Wonderland Swap 2009 )

Bienvenu 2009!

this is my 1st page (and backcover) that i contributed to my sis, Mary Ann of Follow Your Bliss Design's Itty Bitty Winter Wonderland Swap 2009. we had to create 2 sets of 15 winter themed pages. they're about 2.5x3.5 lil' pages that my sis binds into these lovely books that are filled with gorgeous winter themed creations from contributing artists from all over the world. i humbly started this itty bitty journey last year with my sis' flickr group and now have truly been addicted ever since. i remember when i was so intimidated by a new art technique and to try to think outside of the box. i truly enjoy creating these tiny pages to bring a smile or even to send a bit of sunshine to someone's day.
this collage speaks to me to start a 'FRESH', 'A New Day'...that's how i see january, mondays and this new 2009.
new hope + new adventures = a new day...
to find your passion, loves + dreams!


Le bonheur à vous

{the above image was created over at Polyvore by me. i found loads of winter themed images...but there were no names of the originator of the images... there's been a bit of controversy over at Polyvore. i was surfing through flickr and stumbled onto this awesome artist Art+Ghost. Louise of Art+Ghost wrote a very thought-provoking post about Polyvore here (regarding copyright violations). i truly understand where she's coming from as i know how i would feel if someone 'stole' any of my photos of my work without my consent...so where is this side post going? well, i'd like to send my apologies to the original artist(s) of the images i used in my digital collage (see above image). i have no intentions of selling this collage. i do not claim to be the one that created those images. but i'd like to say that i put those images together to make a pretty collage...an inspirational piece-a motivational piece. if there was a way to contact the original artists to obtain their permission for usage, i would be right there in the front lines. i also apologize if i have offended anyone, this is not my intention. i just want to give full credit to the original artists and that my collages are not created to destroy the original artists' creations.

i agree with Louise of Art+Ghost, companies/individuals should not rifle through someone's blog, website or flickr accounts and take images/photos without proper consent.
but when they are already in sites like Polyvore and not properly identified with originator's name/info, should the Polyvore user be at fault for creating a collage as an expression of their art?


this is where it surely gets tricky...
i am on the fence on this one...i like Polyvore so i could create simple+pretty collages but i don't like the fact that the images were 'stolen' without consent for public usage.
just be careful out there. if you use Polyvore, be aware that the images may have copyright issues.

merci beaucoup, louise, for sharing such powerful information! Much success to Art+Ghost and hoping for an equitable resolution...)

bonne nuit...

xoxo jo ;)