SUPER ERIN!!!

She's been spotted...

Sterling Faith

I found this beautiful sterling silver pendant in one of my all time favorite places- a bead store. I could spend HOURS in there. When I saw this pendant I knew right away that I HAD to make something with it. I tried stringing it with beads and pearls, but in the end the look of the strong chunky pendant with the delicate sterling chain won out. And, of course, the single pearl that dangles on your neck in the back. You can find it here.

my pretty pedi

Got my toes done, I love getting flowers in the summer! She even put little rhinestones on the centers. Aren't they cute?

Vintage Fleur

A one of a kind vintage flower charm bracelet for women. Perfect for those that love to garden or just appreciate the beauty of flowers. Would make a nice Mother's Day gift (was made with my Mother in mind). Find it here.

the little things that make me smile

I told Caleb to put his soccer stuff away tonight, and look where i found them...by the garage door he lined up his cleats and shin guards right next to mine (I had an indoor game last night). *grin* I love it.

something for the BOYS!

Caleb has been begging for me to make him a necklace, so I finally caved! I decided to list it, you can find it here!!!
This is my first attempt at a boys necklace!

another sneaky peeky!

This is the outfit made to match my jewels from mya*bella*designs!!! SO CUTE!

Sneak Peek of Lil Peas Guest Launch!!!

The super sweet and oh-so-talented group of Lil Peas asked me to guest with them on their fun Mix 'n Match launch this Thursday! Here are some sneak peeks of what you'll find!


This launch was so fun- us accessory girls got to make OUR designs first, and the clothing girls had to match US! I had a blast!

I have one more set with them, pics are yet to come...!

a Run-In with a Squirrel

I have decided to start running again. Bathing suit season is coming MUCH too quickly and I have a few too many places that need slimming and firming, and indoor soccer on Monday nights isn't gonna cut it. So I grabbed my iPod and went for a 2 mile jog- and look at who I found- a cute little squirrel! (no, the picture is not the ACTUAL squirrel- I don't run with my camera!) I saw him coming up ahead of me, and as I got closer and closer I kept waiting for him to run off...but he just sat there. And looked at me. So I stopped and looked at him. He studied me for a few seconds, then got bored of me and turned his back to me and continued chomping on his acorn. His tail was right next to my shoe, and it was so cute and fluffy that I couldn't resist. I slowly bent down and PET his tail- and he didn't move an inch! I have never seen such a brave squirrel. I was only bold enough to pet him once, rabies did cross my mind if he decided to bite. Then I jogged on.

GOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!!

My oldest son, Caleb, is playing his 3rd season of soccer and today he scored his 3rd goal of the season- he has scored a goal in every game this season...makes me so PROUD! I grew up playing soccer since 3rd grade- I played competitive on a classic club team in high scool (we went to Nationals my senior year!) and also for my high school, and played on a division 1 team in college. So for me, I get so excited when he plays well, especially scoring goals!!!

Todays goal was a good one, too. He shot from outside the penalty box and had to angle it since he was on the left side of the goal. I couldn't believe it went in, and frankly neither could he!

We've been practicing IN our house! We have an entire long formal living and dining room with NO furniture- okay, well we have a fold up ping pong table and a couch against the wall, but that's it. It's the perfect room to practice in a small contained area! We moved from a house without any formal rooms, so we didn't have furniture for it- now we love that it's our soccer room! I painted it a pretty cranberry red (before realizing what the room would actually be used for), it has gorgeous white plaintain shutters across one whole wall, and the perfect doorway for a soccer goal! Maybe someday we'll turn it into what it's supposed to be, but for now it's our fun room! It's the BEST place in the house for a serious game of Ring Around the Rosey (Tessa's favorite).

FREE Custom Bracelet!!!

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My Little Man

Caleb is getting ready to graduate K-5 and there's going to be a whole ceremony and everything- does every school do this? It's so funny- they are even going to be wearing caps and gowns! Totally cracks me up! So today they had GRADUATION PICTURES (also cracking me up) and the boys were supposed to wear TIES! I went shopping yesterday and bought him his first tie. I just HAD to take preview pics of him in his tie- he looks so handsome and grown up! *sniff*

~Blogger Thinker Award~

Ribbon Rock Star has just awarded me with the Thinker Blogger Award- isn't she sweet??? She says I'm creative and have a great heart- Linda you have made my day! For anyone that hasn't read Linda's blog- you have to make it a daily ritual! She's hilarious and always gives me a chuckle!

So now it's MY turn to hand out 5 Thinker Blogger Awards!!!

1. First, I am awarding Jennifer of Bella Tessa Designs who, for those that don't know, is my sister-in-law. I am married to her brother. We have 4 year old sons that are 3 weeks apart and 2 year old daughters that are 3 months apart! Amazing, right? Anyways, Jennifer is the BEST sil one could ask for- she lets me whine and complain when I need to vent, has the right things to say when I need them, makes me laugh, encourages me...I could go on for days, but basically she's a great friend and having grown up with 4 brothers- she's the sister I always wanted!

2. Next I pick Christine of Boutique GenMarie because she always picks the BEST fabrics! Her designs are so fun to look at- plus she's totally sweet! I just won an outfit from her and I can't wait to get it!!!!!

3. This one goes to Chelsea of Vintage*Chic Boutique because of her amazing bathroom transformation! She has me thinking about trying to FINALLY get mine done! She's also super talented and creates amazing outfits!

4. I'm picking Morgan because she always has something funny on her blog- a joke, cute story or something her kids said. Plus she leaves super sweet comments!

5. Finally I pick Gyl of Rhembein whom I don't know at all, but I LOVE the scenery pics on her blog- her home is amazing! You should check it out! She even has sheep that she has named!

Okay now here are the rules:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.

2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the memo.

3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote. (Mine isn't showing up for some reason, I will try to repost later or you can go to Ribbon Rock Star's blog and steal hers!)

Have fun!

Miracle Beads!!!

I just listed this Miracle Bead bracelet- they are so colorful and fun! They GLOW in the sunshine!!! You can find it here!

Cherries...Cherries...Cherries!

D2MA is having a CHERRIES launch starting today!!! Search D2MA for all of our fun Cherries accessories!!!

cute little joke

I heard this on Joel Olsteen tonight and had to share:

A little girl was sitting on her grandfather's lap as he read her a bedtime story. From time to time, she would take her eyes off the book and reach up to touch his wrinkled cheek. She was alternately stroking her own cheek, then his again. Finally she spoke up, "Grandpa, did God make you?" "Yes, sweetheart," he answered, "God made me a long time ago." "Oh," she paused, "Grandpa, did God make me too?" Yes, indeed, honey," he said, "God made you just a little while ago." Feeling their respective faces again, she observed, "God's getting better at it, isn't he?"

Tessa & Great Grandma having some girl time!

Venetian Rose Earrings

These ready to ship earrings were made to match the Venetian Rose toggle bracelet listed yesterday. You can find the earrings here!!!

just because

I'm posting these pics of Jonah & Tessa just because I love these pics!

what SHOE are YOU?

You are Barefoot!

You're a total free spirit, go with the flow girl You can't be restricted by shoes for very long And unsuprisingly, the same goes for men Your match is out there - and he's as carefree as you are

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

I took this quiz and it was RIGHT ON! I love going barefoot- even at my wedding my bridesmaids and I were all barefoot! We had a toenail painting party the night before and we all went red (my colors were red and cream). But if I have to wear shoes, you will most likely find me in Old Navy FLIP FLOPS! Take the quiz, it's fun!

Putting the egg back!

Believe it or not, my 4 year old took this picture of Tessa while we were waiting in the car at Caleb's school and once again I have been out done by him- he always gets the best pictures! She bumped her lip at MDO today, thankfully AFTER Spring school pictures were taken.

Tessa has been sneaking into the fridge lately...ALOT. And makes messes (lesson learned- the chocolate milk has been moved to the BACK of the fridge). Tonight she snuck in there, got out an egg, dropped the egg, realized she'd done something wrong so she picked up the cracked open shell and put in back in the fridge on the shelf, leaving the runny egg on our wood floor. Like we wouldn't notice. Ryan discovered it- I was upstairs and over the intercom he asks "who got into the eggs?" Tessa immediately looks guilty...then went downstairs to help clean up her mess.

Yesterday after a fridge raid, she left her jump rope IN the fridge- she managed to shove it way in the back. I never imagined I would ever have to ask the question "why is there a jump rope in my refrigerator?"

Sneak Peek on something for Mom

I finished up this bracelet and plan on listing it on eBay here tomorrow. This will be the SECOND listing as the_vintage_pearl- I wonder how long I'm going to count them? he he.

I've been TAGGED!

Morgan has tagged me for a game of "show me your desk". I did work alot on it today, but thankfully had straightened a bit since hubbie and I share this office. So here's my desk:



Nothing exciting to see...I can't wait to get some new paint in here! Amelia has inspired me to redo this office and make it "pretty", but I have been told I first have to finish taking down wallpaper in our master bath that I started over a month ago, and then paint. I was so reved up last month to redo the bathroom, but the excitement has faded and now the bathroom is a DISASTER. *sigh*

Okay, now I get to tag someone. I would normally tag Jennifer but she just showed her desk for T.I.T. (that's for you Amelia! he he). So I'm tagging Christine and Amelia- I don't think they've been tagged yet! Have fun!

Praying for boo boo's

I had to capture this moment this morning. We were sitting down to peanut butter toast for breakfast when Jonah showed Caleb the scratch on his arm, our precious kitty cat Lucy had left her mark again (she's very mild mannered so I am sure she was yet again provoked- she has put up with being squished with hugs, chased and even put in the dryer once! no, it was NOT on!). It makes me so proud that Caleb's immediate reaction was to pray for Jonah's injury. I'm so thankful my camera was sitting on the kitchen counter so I could grab and snap this picture. Of course, once the flash went off the moment was ruined and they went back to eating their toast, but I will have this memory forever!

the first Vintage Pearl set of Jewels

Here's a sneak peek of the first set that will be listed as the Vintage Pearl. I plan on listing them tonight. They are made of freshwater pearls and ab crystals with sterling findings. Perfect for any special occasion!

New Name, Same Jewels!

I finally switched my eBay id! It's something I have wanted to do for awhile- I just didn't feel like bellatessa*jewels was a permanent fit for me. After much thinking and pondering over a new name and no success I had given up. Then just a few days ago as I was making the Vintage Butterfly necklace the name just fell out of the sky and hit me- the Vintage Pearl! I loved it immediately and called my sister-in-law Jennifer right away, as we discuss ALL important (and unimportant) decisions at least 5 times a day, and I knew she'd be honest. She loved it, too, and today I made the official switch on eBay.

I LOVE pearls, and as the Vintage Pearl (the_vintage_pearl is how it shows on eBay) I will include at least one pearl on every piece I make- even if it's just on the end of the growth chain. This will be my signature mark on my jewels- fun, right? Obviously, if a customer doesn't want the pearl then I will gladly leave it off for them, but I can't imagine very many people not liking pearls.

One thing I hadn't thought about is as bellatessa*jewels I would be at the TOP of the favorite sellers list for anyone that had saved me, and now I'm at the BOTTOM. *sigh*

I'm so excited about my new name... now I need to post about it, send a newsletter to my subscribers, make new logos, change my me page, get a new e-mail address...

New Jewels~

These are my newest jewels made for WisteriaLane's April launch. The first set is called Rememberance, and is made to match Laurie from *blowin*bubbles*boutique*. There are also hair clippies from wendysworldart and sandals from sweettoesboutique! Come and grab the whole set!!!



This necklace is Vintage Butterfly and made with all glass seed and bugle beads and, of course, a few pearls. The butterfly is an ivory glass shell and looks so pretty in the sunlight!

Come check them out!

Ollie from boutiquegenmarie---

I just LOVE this outfit from fellow WisteriaLane girl and friend Christine of boutiquegenmarie. I love the little birdie! I had to share!!!

Happy Easter!

From our family to yours, we hope you have a fantastic Easter!

I'm so pretty!

Today, in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of cleaning the house and getting ready for our Easter company tomorrow, we lost track of our 2 year old Tessa. Ryan thought she was downstairs in the kitchen helping me clean, and I thought she was upstairs in the bedrooms helping Ryan clean. Ryan found her in our bathroom, putting on Mommy's makeup, and as scary as it is knowing she could have gotten hurt roaming around unsupervised, we both had to chuckle. So here she is, looking pretty with eyeliner and lipstick all over her face!

Cherries, Cherries and more Cherries!

This was my first attempt to create something other than jewelry and sell it on eBay. This was for WisteriaLane's "Lemon Drop Cherry Pop" launch. I was hoping for at least one bid, and overall it was a success- up to 15 watchers and several bids. I made matching cherry jewels also! You can tell in the picture that Tessa was NOT in the mood to model that day, no matter how many marshmallows I offered her!

I painted cherries on an Old Navy tank and Old Navy jeans after I bleached and frayed the jeans.



Matching cherry fringe bracelet.

Baby Birds

Here are some baby birds that hatched in our bushes last summer. We took a picture of them everyday and it's so amazing how big they got in just ONE WEEK! The first picture was taken May 8th and the last one was taken May 15th- I had no idea birds grew up so fast!

I've been framed!

I just listed these picture frames on Ebay- they are one of my most favorite things I have ever made!

Give it a whirl...

Just about everyday it seems that I scroll through a new blog peeking into the lives of some interesting (and maybe some not so interesting!) people, and I have caught the fever- the blog fever. I have decided to give it a whirl and start my own blog about my family and I. I can't promise to be one of the most interesting people you will read about, but this should be fun for me. And since I have so much free time on my hands, why not start a new project, right? (ha ha.)

I have an amazing family that means the world to me, and it only seems fit to start with pictures of them. Ryan and I met my freshman year at ORU, married my senior year, and 7 years later together we have a beautiful, Godly home and family. We have 3 incredible kids- Caleb is 6, Jonah is 4 and baby girl Tessa is almost 2 1/2...wow. I blinked and she went from helpless baby to opinionated toddler!


Each of our kids is unique: Caleb is the studius one that loves to learn and abides by all the rules, very responsible. Then there's Jonah...we've been told he's alot like Ryan was as a child and boy does that explain alot! Jonah is so funny and goofy, he's carefree and his goal in life is to make us giggle and laugh. I am sure he's following in Grandma Edwards' and Daddy's footsteps as the practical jokester. Tessa is the perfectly balanced little girl for me- she loves to wear pretty dresses and have pretty hair as long as she can be pretty while playing with cars in the mud.

Ryan and I are very blessed parents.