Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Christmas Morning

The best part of Christmas morning...
relaxing in your pjs with the family and playing with all the new toys.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas 2010


Sending out love, joy and best wishes to you all.
We hope everyone enjoys this special day with the ones they love!

Friday, December 24, 2010

What we're eating - Gingerbread House

I picked up this great gingerbread house kit for the girls to build on their day off (I did not have the will to make my own gingerbread (plus this had everything in it candy, icing, etc.) They loved building it, licking their fingers all the way. They did such a good job!

Amelia's face is so cute in the second photo, some days she gets shy about having her photo taken, this was one of those days.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Corners of my home - Rudolph

Our Rudolph toy collection sits on top of the tv cabinet.
It took us several years to collect all of them.
They are so cute and makes us all smile!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

What we're eating - Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brian and the girls made cookies from scratch this weekend, I'm not sure what the scissors were for. Brian never cooks so who knows. I think this is the first time he ever made cookies from scratch. It looks like they had fun and the cookies were good, but there were a few square cookies. I asked him why they were square and he said he had to trimmed off the burn edges on one batch... classic Brian.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Off to the post office again!

Since November 1st I have sold 43 items in my etsy shop! That is a record for me. I usually average about 1-2 items a week, but with the holidays that skyrocketed! Anna and I made weekly trips to the post office with stacks of boxes like these, the post office staff knows us for sure. It's been really nice to make keepsake items that people want to send to their loved ones for the holidays.

In November and December I made:
- 14 Scrabble Pillows
- 5 Bride's Tree Ornament Sets
- 7 Prints 5 x 7
- 10 various plushy toys
- 1 Headband
- 6 cup cozies

Now I need to finish up all the goodies I am making for my own family... 9 more days!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Our Elf... Elfie


Elfie made himself up a cozy bed last night while we were all sleeping, the girls got such a kick out of this. Amelia added a nightstand, a thimble of water and a mini cookie for him. Of course I had to take a small nibble out of the cookie. When they got home from school they checked on him and they just loved that he eaten some of his cookie. They are so into this... it's really fun!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Sneaking Candy


Since Halloween I have caught Anna sneaking candy a few times. The other week she came into my office and gave me a big hug and said "I love you Mama". During that sweet hug I could smelled the sweet aroma of chocolate on her breath. I asked if she was sneaking candy again. She gave me a sheepish smile and hid her face in my leg. I told her if she was hungry to let me know and we would get a good snack for her.

Later that night Brian was getting the girls ready for bed and called me into their room. He showed me the pile of Hersey Kiss wrappers that filled the barbie car. I had a small candy dish of kisses in the living room and she had eaten them ALL! We figured there must have been at least twenty kisses in that bowl that she had eaten all at once! I was shocked she was not sick that night.

Needless to say... there are no more bowls of kisses in this house.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Lists for Santa


Amelia's list (the girl who wants everything she sees)





Anna's list (the girl who never asks for much, just two items)

Monday, December 13, 2010

Memory Monday - Religion Part 1


Amelia is taking PRS (Parish School of Religion). She really enjoys going to the class and is interested in the books. Last week I pulled out the giant bible my Aunt had given to us when Brian and I got married. This book is huge, Amelia marveled at the size and the golden edges of the book. She showed Anna... "look at the edges they are gold"! This bible has some illustrations in it and she was fascinated with the stations of the cross, she just stared at it, studying every illustration. I asked her if she knew what it was about and she shook her head no. I gave her a very brief and delicate description of each picture. I did not want to scare her. The next day she was studying the pictures again and then drew this picture.

I remember being scare of God & Jesus as a kid, I went to Catholic grade school until the 5th grade and I remember the day of my first confession. I sat in church with my family and cried through most of the service so anxious about having to go into that little room and confess to the priest, telling him all the bad things I have done.

The time came for me to confess... with sweaty palms I opened the door and entered the dark wooden box. The priest said he had seen me crying during mass and asked me why. That's all I remember, I think my mind must have went on autopilot because I don't know what I said, I don't know what else he said. I just remember how scared I was.

I am really torn about being catholic at this time in my life, I have some conflicting views from the church's views. I want my girls to have some sort of religious background but I don't want to scare them into being good people. I just want them to be good people.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Plushy for Odin

My neighbor is a fan of my plushies and asked me if I would make her something for her baby boy Odin. Odin had a onsie that was her favorite but a snap on it broke, plus he was about to out grow it. She gave me free rein to make anything I wanted out of it.

I wanted to make something totally new, so that first cut was a bit hard to make. I just did not want to mess it up, it's not like I had a lot of fabric to work with. Luckily it all worked out and I was very happy with how this little monster turned out. I might have to make a few more for my etsy shop.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Product Review - Tube Fee TP

I have not purchased this yet... but I will.
I love this idea!!!!
I read an article that says 85% of people do not recycle the TP tubes (this is shocking to me, how hard is it to recycle these???) Removing all the tubes from TP would save over 160 million pounds of waste from being added to landfills nationwide!

I will write a review once I have tested it out. If you can't wait please give it a try yourself and let me know how it goes.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Feedback


It makes me so happy to receive emails like this from my etsy clients:

Hi Tracy.

The Bridal Tree Ornaments arrived. I love them! They are for my only nephew's wedding and they are just the sentiment I wanted to give him and his bride. Something to keep for years...

Thank you for creating such a beautiful gift for me to give. The box, the ornaments, the personalized label...all perfect.

May the season be filled with joy for you and yours.

Mary

Monday, December 6, 2010

Amelia-isms - Santa's Elf

Scene: My office/studio

Amelia: Mama are you an elf?
Me: What... why do you ask?
Amelia: Because you are always making toys.
Me: Maybe I am.

Friday, December 3, 2010

December Wallpaper

Here is a little calendar cuteness I created. I plan to make one each month, so check back for January's image. You can use this for your computer wallpaper, print one out for the office, your craft room or fridge. Double click the image for the high res file.

All images are Copyrighted by Tracy Dorsey, 2010. Free download for personal use only. Not for resale.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Family Thanksgiving

The night started like this... sweet little kids quietly coloring turkeys at a table.


The end of the night was this... crazy cousin Bobby chasing 9 screaming kids (age 7 and under) around the house. They all had so much fun playing keep away and pile on Bobby! The older adults needed some Tylenol for their headaches, but the kids had fun!

I remember my Uncle Johnny chasing us little kids around and Grandma yelling at him to stop getting us all riled up!

So, it's not my fault the kids were crazy and loud... I blame it on BOB!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!


The tree is up, the stocking are hung,
and the girls are ready for Christmas!
24 more days!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Verde Kids

In the beginning of November I took these guys to their temporary home at a new local shop called Verde Kids. Verde meaning green, is an eco-minded children's store filled with clothes, books, gifts and toys! I was excited to sell these guys to them and I hope they find new homes fast!




Monday, November 29, 2010

Memory Monday - Alpha Xi Delta, Gamma Nu

I had a few of my sorority sisters over this weekend for girls night at my house. It had been so long since I had seen some of them! We had a great time reminiscing about our glory days as actives in the house.

I was the first person in my family to become greek so it was new territory to my family. They were not sure what to expect and neither did I. I had not even thought about rushing a sorority until I had gotten down to school and saw how strong the greek community was. It seemed like the right fit for me and I am so glad I had made that decision.

Looking back on those days we did do the stereotypical sorority things: parties, drinking and the odd greek events. But I also: kept good grades with the mandatory study halls, kept fit with intramural sports and donated my time and helped raise money for local charities. But mostly I gained a wonderful bond and life long friendship with a great group of women. Women who support each other to achieve their dreams with courage, graciousness and peace.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving



I am thankful for so many things, too many to list.
I just know I am happy to be were I am at this moment in my life with the people who love and support me everyday.
I am blessed and I am so very thankful for that!


Drawing by Anna


Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Tell me how you feel... really

Front
Inside


Recently Amelia has been leaving me a few notes, I found this one folded up on my keyboard.

It says: "I wish you had not said that to me. That made me very very mad. Amelia"

I asked her what I said and I had told her no to something (I can't even remember what it was, but it was not a big deal). But I did like that she felt like she could express herself and her feelings to me. I told her that she can talk or write to me anytime and that I would always be here for her.

Well, I got another note today. This one says "That is so bad. I was so mad". It has two stick figures, one curly hair (that's me) and the other one is her with a word bubble saying "GRRRRR" That cracks me up! This time I had told her she could not have any more tic tacs. I am one mean Mama!

My favorite thing is in the photo of the note above she added a star, a smiley face and a peace sign. Then the drawing of her has a word bubble with three hearts. I guess she is not that mad at me!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Cup Cozy

Eco-friendly, reusable cup cozy that will make your coffee taste like butter! O.k. maybe not butter... but it will keep your hands cozy while holding your hot or cold drinks.

New items for my etsy shop... upcycled leather cup cozies. Reusable and upcycled making them super eco-friendly!








Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The Giant Ice Cream Cone


Sometimes you just have to splurge and buy that GIANT ice cream cone at the art fair, relax on the curb and enjoy! It was very hard to eat but so yummy!


Monday, November 15, 2010

More Photoshop Magic



More anthropomorphic images I created. I will be listing the deer in a straightjacket in my etsy shop soon.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Photoshop Magic

Add this sea lion to this red couch and you get this...

A sea lion ready for his therapy session.

A new client has hired me to create some fun images for her research about animals.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Amelia-isms - Snickerdoodle

Last week after dinner Amelia was eating a snickerdoodle cookie and said...

"This doesn't taste like a snicker or a doodle"

Brian and I laughed and I asked what a doodle taste like.
She just shrugged her shoulders. Kids say the cutest things!

Photo: Brian waling the girls up to school for the outdoor movie night.
They showed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Amelia wanted to wear my Wonka costume.


Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Explain better...


Last week Amelia (age 6) got in trouble for hitting Anna. We usually would do a time out, but I did not think she was really thinking about what she did. Since she can write now I thought I would have her write out what she should not do. I told her to go write, "I will never hit Anna" five times.

Well, I had to laugh when she handed me the above paper. She did just what I asked! I guess next time I will have to explain this better.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Making the swap

Time to do the swap... our house was built in 1941 which means very small closets! So twice a year we do the swap. Brian drags out the large, blue bins out of the basement and I swap out the summer clothes to winter clothes and vice versa. I've gotten this ritual down pat and it helps me clean out all the drawers and get rid of any out grown clothes.

Monday, November 8, 2010

What we're eating - Spider Cake

I made this cute spider cake for Anna's 5th birthday/Halloween party. It turned out pretty cute.

I cooked half of the cake batter in a bowl for the body. I broke pretzel rods in half and dipped each end in melted chocolate and then formed a wide V to make the legs, let them set up in the fridge on some wax paper. I used the Wilton tip #234 to make the furry body and knees. I used candy for the eyes and cut up mini marshmallows for the fangs. Then I used some black gel icing to decorate the plate like a web.

It was a big hit for our spider themed party!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Happy 5th Birthday Anna



Yesterday my little monkey, Anna turned 5! Oh where did the last 5 years go?

Questions for Anna and her answers at age 5...
how old are you: 5
favorite color: red
favorite toy: leapster
favorite plushy: sing - a - ma - jig
what do you want to be when you grow up: teacher
favorite food: pizza (she says pizza but I think it is hamburgers!)
who is your friend: Ella, from pre-school
favorite TV show: Cat in the Hat
favorite snack: butter crackers

Monday, November 1, 2010

Happy Halloween 2010

My bunny was a bit grumpy here, we started off very shy and within 10 minutes she was good to go. Plus she made out with a heavy bucket of candy!

Scary witch!

Lots of candy! We picked out some to send to the Dentist who collects the candy for the military.

It was a perfect Halloween night!