Age 11 and Horse Crazy - A photo essay

It struck me as I was putting the folded pile of clothes in her room that it won't be like this forever.

A cheerful bedroom full of bright colors, sparkles, rainbows, hearts - and horses EVERYWHERE.  There's no doubt what she's passionate about!  Every day she surprises me with her sweetness, intelligence and growing maturity.  She's on the brink of growing up, walking the line between little girl and young woman, but for now still mostly innocent, full of imagination and whimsy.  When I'm in this room, I get a small peek inside her heart and mind.  What a wonderful place to be!

I'm sure there's some order to the chaos... somewhere. 

I love these little snippets of her life and personality. I definitely know what her spirit animal is.  :)

Embroidering Pillowcases For My Daughter

I feel like I've been out of the crafting game for so long (a much needed break!), I thought it would be fun to rekindle my blog and document my progress on a new embroidery project.  I've always really enjoyed embroidery because it reminds me so much of painting or drawing, but with thread and white fabric canvas instead of brush or pen and paper.  Plus, anything with a vintage vibe that can be passed on as a handmade heirloom is always exciting to make.

I'm embroidering two pillowcases that I found at Joann Fabrics with horses and flowers on them for my horse-crazy tween daughter.

A few years back I found a case of every color of embroidery thread you could imagine at the Goodwill for just a few dollars.  To finally be able to use that thread and so many colors makes me happy!

The progress so far is from just over a day of embroidering.  It feels good to use my hands again and to do something relaxing that doesn't involve a tv, computer/phone screen or a camera.