Custom Blog Headers for Sale on etsy by ME

Well, I've made my very 1st blog headers for sale & listed them in my etsy shop which can be viewed on my sidebar...yippppeeee! The 1st is American Pie & the 2nd is Everything French. I'm following the ideas in 'The Secret' & working on creating my own destiny. {well, at the very least I am TRYING, right! lol} Have any of you read The Secret? What did you think of it? I believe it's basic principles to be true, BELIEVING is the thing, but I also believe that just doing a thing has got to be just as important. So, I'm just doing for now & I'm happy with that. What could you be 'just doing' to get you closer to the destiny you want to create? Let's inspire each other! I'm confident that we will only get better at it, but in the meantime, wish me luck! ;)

The Three Muses 'Old & New' & Telluride, CO

{background by Painting With Brushes, eggs by Rian Design}

My sister Kristen in Telluride, CO

vintagesusie out & about & having fun in Telluride

The main street of this little western town

My trip to Colorado was a short 4 days, but my sweet sister managed to stuff as much fun as humanly possible into that short time frame! LOL One of our journeys was to Telluride, an awesome old mining town turned resort town high in the Colorado mountains. One of it's claims to fame is that in June 1889, Butch Cassidy before becoming associated with 'the wild bunch', robbed the San Miguel Valley Bank of $24,000...that was a lot of money for back then right?? Now in the same building is The Appaloosa Trading Company & lucky me, Kristen bought me the coolest boots there ever...I love her, I love them & I love that they're from Telluride! More of my journey to come...don't miss my pics of Ouray's Ice Park, beyond amazing...it's insane! Have fun getting ready for the New Year...I'm rolling around the idea of taking Kai to the Rose Bowl Parade, I have to mull that one over for a while! :)

Lots of Llama Love in Colorado

Whitewater, Colorado

My sister Kristen feeding her llama's in the mountains above Grand Junction.

Her very AWESOME log home...what an amazing view she has!

The vineyard, ready & waiting for the snow to melt to show the first bud of spring.

Lots of Llama Love!!!

In the barn looking out.

Regal & Proud, her llama's are packers.

Face to face...

A smile only a Mother could love....

I had the BESTEST time in Colorado visiting Kristen, John & their furry friends! I fell in love with Grand Junction, mesa's, llama's, jerky & pellet stoves. My holiday has been amazing & I hope all of you are having an amazing holiday too! With the 2010 fast approaching, I'm going to sit back, sip a glass of wine & take the time to reflect on the many blessings this past year has given me. One of them has been the serendipitous great fortune of finding all of you!!! :)

{more pictures to come of course}

It's a Wonderful Life & a Blog Banner for a Friend

{another choice...my 1st 3 column banner}

Have you ever just felt stuck? It's only been snowing for a couple of days now & already I'm experiencing the dreaded 'Cabin Fever'! I feel like I have places to go & people to see, Christmas shopping that needs to be finished, parcels that need to be mailed, wrappings & bows that need to be bought & eggnog that's calling my name at the store, but we're snowed in so here I sit in my robe trying to stay warm & hoping by some miracle {called Robert} that we'll be able to get out today! Trying not to feel sorry for myself, I decided to watch 'It's A Wonderful Life' my favorite Christmas movie & work on a surprise gift for a friend, a personal blog banner. Lucy at ...by the hill has been a sweet blog friend to me. I love her blog & photographs, so this morning I played with them & hope she likes what I came up with. The initial background texture is by 'Playing With Brushes', but all the other layers are from Lucy's blog. Now, with my Holiday Classic over & my banner finished for the moment, I'm reminded that "no man is a failure who has friends" & that the friends & loved ones we have make us the "richest man in town", or woman! Thank you friends for I am so very rich indeed!!!

Lambs & Ivy Boutique, My Other Home

{texture provided by me & graphics by The Graphic Fairy}

If you've been following along with me for a while, you already know I own a small boutique here in Crestline high atop the mountains of Southern California. My shop is many things to me. It's my home away from home, my art studio, my business, my job & my pride. {I am a woman entrepreneur trying to make it in an economic environment that would intimidate even the most seasoned businessman.}
Don't you love these vintage Christmas ornaments I have in the shop displayed in un-polished sterling silver serving bowls?
I decided to put all my sterling silver out un-polished this season, I'm just loving the pure shabbiness of it all!
My dear friend Lucy of 'by the hill' makes some of the most gorgeous domino pendants! Here is a small sampling of the ones I was working on today at the shop. {we had our 1st snow last night, so it was a lovely day for creating} Yes Lucy, I was proud of myself...I even got my fingertips really dirty!
The pieces below I made just for me, an altered composition book to keep all my consignee's information in & my new pocket, 2010 calender. If I'm going to be using it & looking at it everyday, I want it to be lovely & represent a piece of who I am. I want it to bring me joy, because friends...I believe to find joy in the smallest of things is simply put, the road to a happy life!
Now, I haven't completely conquered this philosophy myself, LOL, but I try everyday to appreciate the gifts in life that I do have. Oh yeah...the whole reason I wrote this post in the 1st place, how do you like the little logo I made in Photoshop for my shop 'Lambs & Ivy'? I wanted to create something in black & white just for fun & then I'll make another 1 in color too...it's good practice for my new acquired Photoshop Super Powers!:) Have a Wonderful Sunday Friends!!!