Hello! Our power went out today. It eventually came back on, but I never turned my computer back on, so no photo today. I have a lot of praises though!

* I play piano in church a couple times each month. This past Sunday, I was going through my music before the service started, when my niece and the Pastor's daughter came prancing down the aisle to visit with me. Hugs from a five year old and a four year old are a definite praise!

My niece told me that she likes the LOW notes on the piano. The Pastor's daughter told me she likes the twinkly notes. Then the organist sat down to practice some of the hymns. For one of the hymns, I decided to play along. When I did, my niece turned to her friend and said, "listen to my Aunt Karen! She's the best pianist!" So cute. Those little girls are such a blessing in my life.

* I made it through all four shows of South Pacific and had an absolute blast! I still can't stop humming the music.

* Monday, my little brother came to visit. We ate yummy stinky Asian food. We made dumplings from scratch. It was my first time dumplings completely from scratch (bad Asian!), and we totally winged it. They didn't turn out too bad though.

We played music together too. My brother is better at piano, and I'm better at violin, so he always accompanies me. But at some point when we play, we like to switch instruments. Then we laugh our socks off because we sound so awful. I love that!

* Tuesday I got to hang out with a bunch ladies from church. One of the members of our ladies bible study owns a lake house (although we learned that the "lake" is actually a pond). She graciously invites our group over each year. We had a lovely time enjoying the beauty of the pond, good fellowship, and yummy food.

* In two weeks I get to be a bridesmaid. I took my dress to be altered and it is finished. Woohoooo! I am so excited.

* This weekend we get to celebrate another family birthday. This one means a mini road trip and lots of good food. Hooray!

Hope you are having an amazing weekend.

Why, hello there!

i hope that you have been having a wonderful week.  I spent my week enjoying time with family and friends.  The weather has been so perfect for play and fun.

Today is Taiwanese Father's Day - the perfect opportunity to brag about my Dad for a little bit.

There is no doubt that I am my Mother's child, because I look just like her.  However, my personality and all of my craftiness comes from my Dad.  My Mom is a fierce cook, but crafting is just not her thing.  She has created lovely things in the past, but usually under coercion from a craft-loving friend.

My Dad is goofy, laughs a lot, and always has a camera with him.  That's me!  Friends who meet my Dad for the first time always say, "so that's where you get it from."

My Dad is crafty and talented.  When he was young he led a church youth group.  He has these memory books that he created for each member back when mimeographs were high tech.  Every page was handwritten and included his own illustrations.  It's pretty crazy. 

When I was in 7th grade, I had to make an Egyptian headdress and collar for school.  It was my Dad's idea to use a carpet-y toilet bowl cover as a base for the collar.  Are you old enough to remember when it was cool to decorate the toilet to match the floor mats?  Even though we bought a brand new cover from Hills, I was initially mortified by the idea.  But of course it was a genius idea, and I got an 'A' after adorning the cover with a bunch of gold trim.

One of my Dad's funniest creations was a window knocker.  While eating lunch, my Dad's seat offers a perfect view of a bird feeder he set up outside the large picture windows in an adjacent room.  One year, he was frustrated that squirrels and large black birds were eating up the seeds and scaring off the smaller birds.  My Dad set up other feeding areas for the larger birds and squirrels, but they loved the feeder right by the window.  My Dad created spiked rings from plastic containers to deter the squirrels.  But the squirrels loved the fancy new obstacle course they felt was created just for them.  He tried to create slippery covers for the bird feeder that would make it too difficult for the larger birds and squirrels to reach the food.  It only helped temporarily.  Finally, my Dad created a window knocker.  He had a pull string next to his seat that traveled up and across the ceilings over to a ball that would bang the window.  That worked.  It only stayed up for a month or two, but it sure gave us a laugh while it lasted.

My Dad also sews.  He doesn't sew regularly - only when inspiration strikes.  However, it makes me proud that he sewed me an outfit when I was a roly poly  baby.  It gives me hope that I will master a sewing machine one day! 

I could tell a gazillion other stories about my Dad's talents, craftiness, and goofiness, but with Father's Day twice a year it's best to share a few at a time.

I love you, Dad!  Happy Taiwanese Father's Day!

P.S.  My Dad's nickname is Blue.  That is part of the reason why I'm bluegirl.  :)

Happy Friday!  Do you have any fun plans for the weekend?  Did you have a good week?  I have so much to be thankful for this week.

*  I visited the preschool where I will running a couple music groups in the fall.  It reminded me how much I enjoyed working with little kids in the past.  The kids warmed up to me very quickly which was exciting.  I am so thankful to my friend for offering me this opportunity.  My friend also spoiled me with a delicious lunch afterwards which was a nice surprise.

* Two of my dear Cousins have been in the states for the past few years doing dental fellowships.  One of them left to return to Taiwan yesterday.  :(  Before he left, Hubby, "baby" Brother, and I were able to enjoy dinner and dessert with him.  It was a really great time.  We saw each other far too little while my Cousin was in the states, but I'm thankful for the times we did see each other. 

* My Hubby has been asked to be an usher for two weddings in the next few months.  I told him that it was because he is so tall and handsome.  (Go ahead and roll your eyes, but I know what's true!)  He has been needing a new suit, and this was the perfect excuse to get one.  I was going nuts while we were shopping because he just looked so handsome in everything.  We were good and only chose one suit, but it was a good one!

*  Last night I had my first of four performances of "South Pacific".  I had such a blast playing in the pit with the rest of the orchestra.  It is a small group with only one of each instrument, but it's a really fun and friendly group.  I'm super thankful to Hubby's friend for giving me the chance to sub for him.  Hooray!

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend.  No matter what you may be going through, I hope that you feel loved and blessed.

In my Party in a Box post, I mentioned that my Sister-in-Law of Love Deliveries is super talented.  In addition to the ones that I already mentioned, one of her talents is making beautiful cakes.  Becky is always making these fabulous cakes for her kids' birthdays and for various showers and events.  In the past, she has also sold elaborately decorated cupcakes.

When planning Becky's birthday meal, my Mother-in-Law put me in charge of dessert.  I don't quite have the type of patience and finesse required to decorate a cake (though, I'm working on it!), but I knew I wanted to do the best I could to create an amazing cake for the girl who is always baking for others.  (We just got a cranberry nut banana bread this week that was yummy yum!)

We are a family that LOVES peanut butter and chocolate.  LOVES.  But Becky takes that love to a different level.  So the flavor combo was a no brainer.  I just had to find the perfect recipe.

I recently discovered Sally's Baking Addiction, and immediately knew that was where I would find my inspiration.  Spend any amount of time on that blog, and you will quickly learn that Sally LOVES peanut butter.  LOVES.  I hit the jackpot when I found the recipe for Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting.  Hooray!

Now, I really love baking cupcakes.  In fact, I'm in that group of people that enjoys the idea of turning anything edible into a form of cupcake.  However, for whatever reason, I had my heart set on baking a Birthday CAKE.  So that's what I did.

Sally says that you can "pour the batter into a 8-inch or 9-inch square or round baking pan and bake for about 35 minutes."  I made two batches for a layer cake, and only had to bake each round for 25-27 minutes.  I whipped up 2 cups of heavy cream with a box of instant chocolate pudding to make a simple filling.  Then I frosted the whole cake with Sally's Dark Chocolate Frosting. 

You are all lovely.  You are.  But unfortunately, I don't yet love you enough to pause before dessert to take a photo.  Instead, I waited a day and a half when we just had a little chunk of cake left and took a photo of THAT for you.  Awful, I know.  Forgive me?

This cake is rich.  It absolutely begs for a mug of coffee or a tall glass of milk.  But it is good.  It tastes like a peanut butter cup in cake form.  Covering the top with mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups definitely doesn't hurt.  Hooray for birthdays and an excuse to eat cake!

This month is my Sister-in-Law's birthday month.  I'm pretty sure she has super powers.  She is a full time Mom and wife, a lot-of-the-time labor and delivery nurse, and the owner and creator of all things at Love Deliveries.  She can do pretty much everything...and she can do it well.  I tell her she is crazy quite often.  But she is crazy in the most wonderful way.

You should check out Love Deliveries for some fun gems like this crazy cute tie bib.  I love these!

Or this beautiful quilt.

Or this sweet cupcake shaped oven mitt.  Isn't it darling?

We celebrated Becky's birthday over the weekend. 

A fabulous girl needs a fabulous card!

I created an envelope for the top flap so that I could tuck in a card that had extra space for a personal message.

The squirrel was cut with my Cricut (an amazing gift from Becky!).  The flower and heart shapes on the miniature gifts, and the rounded corners were cut with punches.  All of the other details were cut and shaped by hand.

Thank you for visiting.  Come back tomorrow, and we'll talk about dessert!

Hello there!  Can you believe it's Friday again?  I hope that you had a wonderful week. 

*  This week, I was able to spend some time with my five year old niece and my one year old nephew.  They only live five minutes away, but I hadn't really spent time with them in a few weeks.  They are the cutest, and I always cherish the time that I have with them.  We sang songs, had an ukulele dance party, read a bunch of fun books, and made some art. 
For the picture above, my niece asked me to draw a table with cups and jars, a baker, and an oven.  She had some special candy stickers she wanted to use.  She also asked me to draw the baker with short hair, "like my Mom!"  Sweet girl. 

* I had pizza this week.  I REALLY like pizza.  So any week with pizza is a praise.  Hooray for a husband who brings home pizza!  Hooray for an awesome pizza shop super close to our home!

* One of my dearest friends from college called me this week.  We call each other "Cousin" but we're not really related.  We actually try to connect every Monday.  However, the past few weeks have been a bit crazy with vacations or house guests on either end.  Cousin is great though and she managed to sneak in a quick call last week and a longer call this week on a non-Monday.  That was a sweet surprise.

* Another friend called me up this week and gave me an opportunity to lead a music group at a daycare in the fall.  In a past life, I was a music therapist.  I attended school with this friend, and we worked together for a year.  Life happened, and I eventually stopped doing music therapy.  I really appreciate this friend for letting me dip my toe back into the field.

* Attending the 70th birthday party last weekend gave me extra time to spend with my Mother-in-Law.  She is such a blessing in my life.  Sometimes, I tell Hubby I married him for his Mother.  She is so wonderful, he's never entirely sure if I'm telling the truth or not.  He is so wonderful, it doesn't really matter.  :)

Have a super spectacular weekend!!!!!

Love,
Karen

We get piles and piles of catalogs throughout the year.  It can be fun to flip through them and dream. On occasion, we even order something.  This always ensures that we get another onslaught of catalogs.  So what do you do after you're done dreaming and are left with a stack of outdated catalogs?

When I was young, a really lovely couple taught me a fun way to create something useful from old catalogs and magazines.  Someday, I will tell you more about them.  Today, I'm just going to show you how to make these origami containers.  Grab an old catalog or magazine and follow along!

1. Take a single page, and fold it in half horizontally.
2.  Now make another fold vertically.  This one will just be a crease.
3.  Are you craving ice cream right about now?  I sure am...
4.  Open up the previous fold.

5.  Pretend you're making a paper airplane.  But just fold and unfold.
6.  Lift one side of the paper.  Open it up, then bring the top corner down to meet the crease.  (It's really best to follow the photos, because these directions don't make much sense otherwise.  :)  )
7.  It should look like this. 
8.  Do the same on the other side.

9.  Take the wings, and fold them towards the middle.  Do this on all sides.
10.  Take the top piece and fold it in half, and then make another fold to create the handles on each side.
11 - 12.  Take the bottom point and bring it up to create a crease.  Now you can open up your creation from the top and...

Ta-da!!!!!  You have a lovely origami container.

Here's another trick.

You can gently push in the sides of the container to collapse it.
Then you fold it in half with the handles facing out...

Now you can store a whole bunch of containers inside one open container.

I keep a bunch of these containers in my crafting space.

Sometimes I use one to hold beads for a current project.

A lot of times, I use them to hold little bits of trash that accumulate while I'm crafting.  It's easier to have a little receptacle right at my fingertips than a bigger one on the floor.  Afterwards, I can dump the whole thing.

These little containers are great at mealtimes as well.  Place one at each seat to contain fish bones, chicken bones, egg shells, or any other non-edible parts of a tasty meal.  After your meal, you can just toss them.

Have fun, and let me know if you come up with more uses for these origami containers!

I'm learning how to quilt.

Kind of.

It's something that I have always wanted to do.

When I found out that my Sister-in-Law quilts, and my Mother-in-Law quilts, and that they are both connected to a whole network of quilters, I was really excited.

For the past three years, I have been attending an annual quilt day at my church and a quilt retreat that is held close to the middle of nowhere.  In that three years, I have finished hand-piecing the front of a wall hanging, and machine sewing the top of a table runner.  My Mother always picks on me for hanging out with quilters all the time but having no finished projects.

The thing is, quilters are REALLY nice people.  They love having show and tell sessions, and are always so supportive and encouraging.  My first quilt day, all I had to share was a little nine-patch square, and the quilters cheered for me as though I had finished a king size quilt.  Every six months, the quilters gather again, see my additional couple squares and cheer as though I finished another king size quilt.  It's really quite lovely.  You can only imagine what it's like when someone really does share a king size quilt! 

Tom and Madge are two of our quilt mentors that attend the quilt day and the quilt retreat.  They are the cutest couple.  They are kind, hilarious, encouraging, generous, and God-centered.  Madge always has fun activities planned that include prizes.  Lots of prizes.  Madge also likes to plant encouraging little notes by everyone's seat when they aren't paying attention.  During our gatherings, Tom will service anyone's sewing machine.  For free.  He is skilled with all types of machine problems and user defects.  If you're interested in quilting, and you don't have a machine, Tom and Madge will make sure you get one.  It will either be free or an insanely amazing price depending on the machine and the circumstance.  They are always full of energy and filled with ideas. 

This week, Tom turned 70. 

Madge threw him a big open house style party.

Tom has many other interests, so it was a "Trains, Planes, & Automobiles" themed party.

The cake was tasty!

There were several cute stations around the yard with fun things to see or do.
I thought this mini car show was so adorable.

Here is Tom's train set.  They had wooden house forms available for kids of all ages to decorate and add to the scene.  Tom made the bridge out of a bed frame!

Here is a photo of one of Madge's quilts.  Isn't it darling?  I just kept staring at it and getting excited about all the fun little details.

It was a privilege to be able to celebrate such a special day with such a fun couple!

p.s. the bunny from the card was cut with my Cricut, using the "Give a Hoot" cartridge.

As promised, here is the experimental card I made on Friday!
Hubby's friend recently bought a new house.  To celebrate, he had the guys over for a poker night. 

I have always wanted to try my hand at an exploding box greeting card.  A quick search and you will find tons of fun examples.  (Jinky's Crafts is probably the queen of exploding box cards.  Her cards are unreal!) 

I knew that Hubby's friend would be the perfect guinea pig for my first experiment.  Making a box seemed easy enough for me.  The tricky part was that this was a card to celebrate a new HOUSE.  I wanted a roof on my box.  I needed to do math... The horror.

Somehow, a roof was created and adorned with poker chips.

And then?

A FULL HOUSE!

It is so much fun to be a dork.  :)

The card was far from perfect.  And apparently, the playing cards were accidentally detached shortly after the card was received.  However, I had a blast making it, and I now have tons of notes so all future attempts will only get better! 

Come back tomorrow to see another exploding box card!  It's not bigger, but it just might be better.



Before you leave... since we're on the topic of FULL HOUSE.  Have you seen this gem?

Happy Friday!!!

I had a lovely week, and I hope that you did too.
Here are a few of my praises for the week.

* One of Hubby's friends is a violinist.  He's playing in the pit orchestra for a community theater that is performing South Pacific.  They have a total of twelve shows, but he is unable to play the last four shows.  He asked me to be a substitute.  This took a LOT of trust on his part, because he had never heard me play...and I had never heard his play either!  This week I was able to rehearse with the group on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, Hubby and I were able to attend the dress rehearsal.  It was so much fun!  (My secret dream job is to play in the pit of a Broadway show.)  I have been singing songs from the show all week with no signs of stopping.  Good thing Hubby is patient and kind.

* I have the opposite of a green thumb, but we have beautiful flowers that appear around our house each year.  It's so fun to see them.

* In a few weeks, I get to be bridesmaid.  I am SO excited.  My dress arrived this week.  It came in a plastic envelope which seemed strange.  However, it had been placed in a garment bag and included a handwritten note.  Hooray!

I hope that you have a spectacular weekend.  I made a new card today with NO animals.  It was a bit of an experiment, but it was great fun.  You'll have to come back on Monday to see it!