Her mom and aunty have been my models for years...

... and now I had the honor of working with my newest model! Isn't she just the cutest!?

Caterpillar Close-Up

Had a chance to play with one of my macro lenses today. Needless to say, my model couldn't stay very still for long. :)

Little Wooden Boy Who Lies

I have searched the Internet high and low to see if anyone has come to the conclusion of what the name of our beloved Pinocchio truly means. To my disbelief, I could not seem to find any who have the same answer that I came up with today.

Here are a couple pages I found with some interesting answers: Yahoo! Answers and this page, which says why Gepetto named him Pinocchio, but not what his name actually means. All my searching turned up the same answers: Pine Nut, Pine, Pine Eyes and other body parts, etc.

So here is my explanation, conceptualized this 13th day of August, 2014:

The word “nocchio” means a knot in the wood; which I found by accident when looking up Gnocchi in the on-line Oxford Dictionary.

The Latin word for “pi” means law abiding.

It would make sense to conclude that "Pinocchio" translates to "Law Abiding Knot of Wood." Which is the lesson that the little wooden boy gave to us: Do what is right, abide by laws and morals.

And that, my friends, is no lie! 

:)

Tea Cup Bird Feeders

After making my bird bath (see post below) and then having to re-make my bird bath several times for reasons beyond my control; I decided the birds also needed a feeder.

I found two ceramic "Giant" tea cups from Michael's that was on sale, originally $10.99 and I got them for around $2.00 each. The saucer came glued to the bottom of the tea cups, which for me was an issue since I wanted the tea cups to be on their sides.

The glue melted right off, after running the cup under hot water for about 40 seconds.

Using the 100% waterproof Gorilla Glue, I adhered the cup to the saucer, laying it down with the handle up at the top. This way, I would be able to hang the cups by their handles.

Once dried, I was able to hang them and fill them with bird seed.

I hope the birdies like their birdy-sanctuary! 

For the Birds!... Literally!

Since around Mid-March, Mike and I have been on "Mission: Yard Beautification." That huge project will have its own post once it has been completed (or semi-completed). We are hoping to have it done by the end of July.

One of the smaller projects I really wanted to do for our yard was to make a topsy-turvy flower pot/bird bath. I got my inspiration from this project I saw on Pinterest. I had a few ups & downs while working on this DIY project, but I am pleased with the outcome. Here is the final project:

The final piece

Painted the rim black on the
terra cotta pots from Lowe's
(our "Party" store)

First trial of stacking the pots,
and it failed shortly after
this picture was taken.
Ended up with a cracked bottom pot.

My adorable blue bird from Michael's
(my "Toy" store) 

DIY Baby Shower Gifts: Diaper & Bath Cakes

This month, I had the pleasure of attending a Girl's baby shower and a Boy's baby shower, within two weeks of each other. I decided to do my diaper & bath cakes that I enjoy doing. (See Baby Cakes & Cup Cakes for my original post).

Both "cakes" were made with newborn diapers on the bottom, wrapped with a bath towel. The second layer was more diapers and toiletries (baby lotion, baby bath soap, baby powder, and diaper cream). The top layer was bath cloths wrapped around a soft bath toy.

For the girl cake, I also included the most beautiful hand-made headbands I have ever seen. The headbands were hand-made by Penny at Autumn Owls & Fireflies. The headbands really added to the look of the girl cake. Thank you, Penny!

Bright Future - DIY Graduation Gift

What do you give as a graduation gift when money isn't appropriate? This creative little DIY light bulb right here! I originally got the idea from Good House Keeping (although the link seems to be currently broken). 

Of course I had to dress up the tag with my own design style; you can download it here for your own use. Once it is cut out, paste it onto card stock of your choice, and cut it out following the same curves. Make sure to leave a little space to be able to see the card stock color.

Instead of filling the light bulb with money, I chose to use skittles. The cute and colorful bulbs were from Michael's and were very affordable. (And did you know, you can now order straight from the Michael's website?!?! YAY!!!)

Solstice Volume 2

Back in January, Kue came out with a new Solstice Mix. Here is the artwork I created for him which features one of my photographs. Be sure to check out his mix here!

Wow - It's been 9 months!!!

Wow - It's been 9 months since I have last updated my blog. That is horrible. Not much happened the last 5 months of 2013 - so you didn't miss much there. However, 2014 is looking to be a whole different story! Which will hopefully mean many more posts this year. YAY!

Since February I have started a new business (where most of my time is currently being spent). I guess it really could have fallen under a "Coco's Creations" sub-business, but I really wanted it to have an identity of its own. Introducing Beads and Butter! All kinds of earrings and necklaces made out of polymer clay, all shaped by hand, by me. It's so much fun and I'm loving it - though, I wish I had more time to devote to it. 

Some examples of my Beads and Butter products

2014 is also my "Step-it-Up" year for my photography. I have always had an interest in photography. (Thank you, Great Grandma Moe!) I started taking my photography to an artistic level back in 2001, but haven't done much with it since circa 2009 (with only one session in 2010!) (You can see some of those photos here and here... oh and here) But that is all about to change. I'm stepping up my studio game with some new toys and have a few more pieces on their way to me. I will definitely be doing more shoots before 2014 is over.

New softbox and backlight stand

Lots of new toys!

Some other projects I have planned for 2014 are 1) working on our backyard and creating some hand-made decor for it, and 2) working on my studio. Posts on these projects, and more, are forthcoming, so stay tuned. Here's to a creative year! *cheers*