Have You Met Daphne? {Daphne's Diary Number 1 - 2013}

I've discovered the best magazine.  Ever.  It's called Daphne's Diary, and I'd like to share the first volume available here in the U.S.

The magazine is written as if it's diary written by a wife and mother of two. Entries include slices of family life, recipes, dreamy interiors, travels/field trips, unique artists and their art, gardens, and shopping.  Here are a few of the features that I love from this first issue:

Festive Dining for the Birds:

How To Make Tasty Fat Cakes for Our Feathered Friends

A Greenhouse in Your Garden

I share this dream with Daphne: I would love to have a greenhouse!

A Cottage by the Sea

The recipes in Daphne's Diary are lovely!

 It's very similar to Prince William's groom's cake from his wedding.

The magazine has pretty recipe cards in it.  I put this one for Malteser Cake in Shanley's recipe SMASH book as well the following one for pansie crêpes.

I used clips for the recipes so Shanley can remove them from the book and use them.

I love the many crafts in Daphne's Diary.  

There were four passport photo holders in the first issue.  I placed one of Shelley's school photos in this one.  The cover has a pretty angel on it.

Look at the pretty wrapping paper.  I wrapped a prize for Shelley's lunch box.

Look at the adorable gift tags!

I made a buttoned-up envelope to hold them.

I made a little book of gnomes.  :D

Other features include:  vintage caravans (or campers), Feenwald Teddy Bears, adorable canning labels, and a cork memo board just to name a few.

I enjoyed Daphne's Diary so much, that I'm only renewing one magazine subscription this year because it's a bit pricy.  {but oh! so worth it!}

Have you read Daphne's Diary yet?  I'll share the second issue with you in a few days.  Stay tuned!

Until next time…

Blessings!

Ricki Jill

Have You Met Daphne? {Daphne's Diary Number 1 - 2013}

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Favorites on the First: Resolutions and Organizing

Alison hosts Favorites on the First @ The Polohouse, and it's one of my favorite link parties.  This month is all about resolutions and organizing, but I really don't call them resolutions because it's bad juju: Instead I call them goals!  You can read my January goals here.  Most goals this year will focus on purging and organizing, so this month's Favorites on the First is *perfect* for me!

I'm already purging, and I started with old and new Christmas magazines (okay…so I admit that I'm starting small).  I decided to start organizing for Christmas 2014 by making plans in a SMASH Journal.  I use SMASH Journals all the time for organizing art projects, our home DIY projects, recipes, etc.  I truly do love them!  I love Pinterest, too, but sometimes you want to keep hard copies of things.  If you're new to smashing, please watch the following video:

I started with the SMASH holiday (Christmas) Pack:

This pack came with a pretty Christmas journal, a stamp, stickers, a quote folio, and other wonderful accessories.  All SMASH journals come with a handy fine point pen and glue stick.

What I did is sort through magazines and recipes.  I made pages for projects, recipes, and other ideas in the journal.  I have a few pages to remind me of Pinterest projects I want to try next year.  There are also pages for gift giving and card sending, too.  My plan is to start in the summer with projects and shopping.  I want everything done (but cooking, of course) before Thanksgiving so I can enjoy the advent season appropriately.  

Let's look at a few of my pages:

Cute craft!  I love glitter.

I want to hang ribbons and ornaments from our dining room chandelier.

I could do this if I started early enough!  LOVE the wrapped books.

Purple might seem like an unusual color choice for Christmas, but Pantone's 2014 Color of the Year is Radiant Orchid.  Radiant colors have lots of white in them, by the way.

This page is too cute to cover up, so I used a few of the SMASH envelopes to hold small things.

These candles are cute!

I like this idea for an advent calendar on the sideboard!

There are pages and plastic sleeves for recipes.  :D

Great gift idea for teachers and neighbors!

This page is for my favorite Christmas websites.

There's even a section for New Year's Eve/Day!

I know, I know….you're sick of Christmas, and have spent most of the day putting your Christmas decor away.  Thanks for humoring me and looking at a few of my SMASH book pages.  You're the best!

Until next time…

Blessings!

Ricki Jill

Favorites on the First: Resolutions and Organizing

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Jolly Vox Box

I was thrilled to receive my very first Vox Box via Influenster.  The Jolly Vox Box had several wonderful products that my girls and I enjoyed testing.

Let's look inside:

The first item is Puffs Plus Lotion.  Our weather has been warm one day, and cold the next.  The variable weather here in the South causes sniffles, and the added lotion in the Puffs tissues is easy on the face.  I love how they feel, and the handy purse size is convenient as I run all over town during the holidays.

My daughter tested the makeup: 

Rimmel London Show Off Lip Lacquer in Luna is a pale peach that is a great daytime look for my daughter.  I don't think this color would look good on everyone, but Shanley has pale skin.  It is very matte for a gloss, and my daughter felt like it needed a gloss over it.

NYC New York Color HD Color Trio Eye Shadow in Long Beach Sands is a great palette for daytime.  It has just enough pigment to be easy to work with, and the eyeshadow has a very nice texture.  The applicator was not the best, so Shanley used eye shadow brushes.  

Next I played with the Ducklings Mini Roll Duct Tape.  I really loved this!  

I decided to use it with my Smashbook.  I like the idea of using a stronger tape for some of the heavier items, like the baggie full of recipes.  I didn't really need to use it on the other page, but the pattern is so much fun, I used it anyway!

Finally, we all tried the Skinny Cow Candy.  The Divine Filled Chocolates are filled with a peanut butter crème, and at only 130 calories per pouch (three pieces per pouch), it's guilt-free, too.  I really liked how the peanut butter crème tasted.  The chocolate wasn't too sweet, and I liked that the peanut butter slightly overpowered the chocolate taste.

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.  


Until next time…

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

Jolly Vox Box

Thursday, December 19, 2013

My Happy List

<center><a href="http://ricki-treleaven.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww257/agofish/For%20Blog/For%20Others/myhappylist_zps150deab2.png" border="0" alt=" photo ArtatHomeButton_zps18898da7.jpg"/></a></center>

Rules:

1.   Grab my delightful button coding for your post above.

2.   Link-up a happy post.

3.   Visit other bloggers and enjoy!

Sorry that this post is so late!  I've only been home today for about an hour.  

My Happy List

1.   I am so blessed to have wonderful friends.  I had a great time today with my friend and sorority sister Fran.  We went antiquing!  :D  I found something very special that I'll share with you later this week.  We've had the outing planned for several weeks, and I'm happy I went in spite of recent events. I needed to do something happy and positive!

2.   I'm happy that the girls have started back to school.  Shelley started Monday and Shanley resumes classes tomorrow.  Both girls are very happy about where they are, and I couldn't be happier for them!

Shanley Belle and two of her senior sisters lead the new Delta Zeta pledge class out of Bryant-Denny Stadium to Sorority Row.  Shanley Belle is on the far left.


Shelley's first day at her new high school.  Shelley is attending a Montessori School this year, and we are so happy about the school!

3.   Blog friends are the best!  I received some goodies lately in the mail.  I'm always blown away by the kindness and generosity of bloggers!

I love the pretty little tassel made by Patti @ Pandora's Box.  I will enjoy it this autumn in the art studio on the antique armoire.  Isn't it so, so cute!


Ginger @ Small Town, USA sent me these Smash Journal goodies.  YAY!!!!  I like the eco style of the journal, and I can't wait to commence smashing it!  ;P


Karen @ Kaerie Faerie made this adorable doll that I won on her giveaway for the Mad Tea Party.  I don't know what her name is, but she's keeping me company in the art studio!

4.   Shanley is coming home this weekend, and we are having some mother/daughter time.  We want to see City of Bones: it will be released this week.  Happy!

I hope you'll share your happy with me this week!  Please link-up your happy posts!

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

An InLinkz Link-up

My Happy List

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Are Electrical Insulators the New Mason Jars?

I look for inspiration for my art everywhere, especially on blogs.  I've been painting some lovely Mason Jars lately, and here are some images that have been inspiring me:

from Such Pretty Things

from The Country Barrel via Etsy

via The French Larkspur

via Eclectically Vintage

via Apartment Therapy

via Chubby Disco Fingers

source unknown

But do you know what else is inspiring me lately?  Electrical insulators. I've been seeing them on blogs and in magazines. Check out my Smash Journal mini book:

A pink toile bucket full of electrical insulators

I love the stand holding the insulator full of flowers.

Glass of all kinds is also inspiring me now:

I want to paint the vintage jam jar!

If these photos are giving you a headache, they are in 3-D.  Look at the glasses that came with the Smash Book:

This is what I'm working on now:

I love the glass, reflections, and quirky composition!

So what do you think?  Are insulators the new Mason jars?  What should I paint next?

Until next time...

Blessings!

Ricki Jill

Are Electrical Insulators the New Mason Jars?

Wednesday, August 7, 2013