March Madness

What a month March proved to be. It started off sweetly but somehow ended up with devastation + saddness.

This year, I think the beginning of March came in like a lamb and roared out like a lion in the end.

Don't get me wrong. There have been days filled with much happiness but there also have been some very dark days...

Here is a chronicle of March 2011+ how life can change in a blink of an eye:

03.01.11 March Calendars

03.03.11 Paper Fortune Cookie Tutorial

03.08.11 Fat Tuesday + Lucky Days 03.11.11 Devastating Tsunami + 9.0 Earthquake hits Northern Japan (go here for more information on this terrible tragedy)

{photo found on internet} {photo courtesy of indiansnaps.com }


please go here to see more compelling photos of this terrible diaster.

My family watched in horror as parts of Japan was being destroyed by mother nature. My heart aches for the people, their country and the daunting responsibilities of rebuilding their world.

We are praying for all of those touched by this horrific disaster.

03.13.11

celebrating my Sweet Mom's birthday with dear family + friends.

03.17.11 Celebrated our 1st Annual St. Patrick's Day Dinner with my sweet sister and her dear family.

03.18.11 Bloggers around the world respectfully held a day of silence for Japan.

I missed joining in on this event. Please go to this site For Japan with LOVE to find out more about so many beautiful hearts making a difference!

this is my little contribution that i'll be sending with any packages, presents or homemade goodies that i'll be making this year. 4 different tags that i created called "with love."

these lil' hearts on boats represent all the love+thoughts my family and i will be sending across the ocean to Japan...

03.21-25.11 SPRING BREAK

my sis, Gail, is an avid baker. she wants to have her own lil' bake shoppe one day. she found this cupcakery on wheels. they also have a facebook page. it was fun trying to track them down. they also are on twitter @flirtycupcakes. really cute+tasty cuppies.

but i think my sis' cuppies are one of the best...hurry up and set up shoppe.
we love your cupcakes!

dear maddy: you're a true friend. i'm so lucky that we've found each other.
especially since the bad stuff going on.
thank you for being brave+protecting me. i love being in gymnastics with you. flip-flops are my fav. you are my fav. i'm one lucky girl!

love, xoxo, shioban

{photo courtesy of uk.ibtimes.com }

Elizabeth Taylor=one more classic star added to the sky

March 30, 2011

Mail Love.

Thank you Angela of Three Buttons for Peppermint + Arthouse for the 2011 Sketchbook Poster=love them! xoxox

whew...now that was one busy March!

xoxo

March...Lucky all month long...

Wow!

Did i really only blog 2 posts in February?

That's really sad.

Well, it was a very short month + as usual it's hectic around these parts of the woods.

February was a busy month. I've been making sweet lil' things for my munchkins' Valentine's Day treats. To be exact about 40 or so little items. I didn't get a chance to take pics before handing them out to the kidlets but I had a bunch leftover and will be using them again for

St. Patrick's Day-YAY!

{i'm in the process of preparing a picture tutorial so you can make them too!}

Everyone wants to make neat things that's easy, quick + with stuff you already have, right?

Well these beauties really did the trick!

They really are easy to make. you'll see when i get my picture tutorial up, how really easy it is.

I found that you just have to do some good prep work inorder

for the assembly line to go smoothly.

Basically, you can use any type of paper you'd like. Cut them in rounds. Do a quick fold (this can be a lil' bit tricky), glue the middle and stick sweet treasures inside!

For my lil' fortune i wrote 'Lucky' and collaged 4 lil' hearts together to make a cute shamrock.

I had leftover Valentine heart chocolates and covered them in orange crepe paper then glued them onto strips of index cards-it was that easy!

(for Valentine's Day: i stamped cute heart, robot, 'bee mine' designs on strips of index cards, then glued a red chocolate heart to it. then stuffed it into the cookie-viola!)
In a couple of days, I'll have that tutorial up. in the meantime, I'm continuing on with my 'Monthly Calendar Project'.

Please enjoy March's Calendar. Couldn't decide on one photograph so, I've included a variety for you to enjoy. Here's wishing you a whole month of 'Luck!':

bonne nuit

xoxo

jo