Memorial Day & Memories

Hi everyone!


What a beautiful day Memorial Day is; a day to honor those that serve to protect our precious freedom. Between the injury to my arm and last week’s intense stomach virus, I feel like I have been battling my own personal war. It would have been easy to not post today, after all the items I wanted to take photos of had not been dusted. My injury happened to my right arm and I am right handed, which has made some everyday tasks quite cumbersome. However, the honor that I feel after having been a part of the military community for most of my adult life makes my desire to write outweigh any physical discomfort I may be experiencing today.

My little collection represents the proud mommas everywhere; as well as the soldiers from different conflicts. To some these may just be bears, but to me bears just touch my heart.

So on this special day, take time to thank all that serve and have served our great nation. Also do not forget to remember the sacrifices that their families also make each and every day. May God Bless them all!!

Nature and life progress in such a lovely way!

Hi everyone!


This INCREDIBLE weather we are enjoying is perfect for getting outside and taking pictures!!  The hydrangea is one of my FAVORITE flowers and I planted quite a few last summer.  These pictures just seemed to be destined to become a collage!!  That is what is so amazing about the blog world, photos are so important regardless of the topic that one chooses to write about.  Finding free software to use that enables me to add everything from frames to special effects to my pictures turns the process of getting things ready for my blog post in to an entirely new art project!


As I am preparing my new course on blogging, I have taken the opportunity to show some of my students the magazine Artful Blogging. 

The reaction each time is "wow, I did not know you could do that with blogs." That is what is so exciting about this project geared toward academia!! It gives me the opportunity to show students how they can combine their creative sides with their academic sides using computer skills. Yes, blogs can be a lot of work, but it is fun and free!! :D This course will also give me the opportunity to show my students that they can take something that they love and turn it into something incredible!!! For some this may be a little business, but since I teach at a Christian liberal arts college, if it very common for students and faculty to be very involved in mission work!! Blogs will give these students the opportunity to share with the world what their mission work is all about and can also be used to help them acquire financial assistance for their work.  Since I love, love, love learning new things, this is one of my FAVORITE projects for the summer!!

With summer break right around the corner for children everywhere, at some point most of us will hear at least one of our children say "I'm bored!!"  What is so funny about this is that the older I get the more things that I find I enjoying doing.  I do not have time to be bored!!  :D  Curiosity Cottage has given me the opportunity to totally embrace this side of my personality and in the process I am passing my love of learning and creating new things along to my children.  My sons love helping me create things and come up with new ideas, which has really turned this into a family business and not just my business.  For me orders are not work, but each order is a new art project and we all love seeing the final product when I am done. 


As Curiosity Cottage grows, the progression is like that of the hydrangea with each stage being a wonderful extension of the previous stage.  I cannot wait until it is in full bloom, though I am not quite sure how I will even know when I have reached that stage.  For now, I am just enjoying each stage of the process to the fullest and look so forward to the day I can share all that I am learning with my students!!


Enjoy this GORGEOUS weather and your week!!

I LOVE Learning!!!

Hi everyone!

Forever the student, I have spent my afternoon playing with PhotoBucket and learning to write the code to add a "Button" you can now take from my blog and add to yours!!  :D  I think one of the most exciting things about the blog world is that it allows me to take my love of computer science & programming, combined with my curious nature, thus leading me to study really neat sites and then incorporating wonderful elements from other sites into my own.  It is a constant learning process.  What will thrill me even more is being able to take the knowledge and expertise that I am gaining and pass this along to students!!

Now it is time to embroider!!  You caught a glimpse of my technical side today and tomorrow it will be my crafty/sewing side!!

Exciting Times Ahead

Hi everyone!


I am so thrilled to report that many new and exciting changes are in the works for Curiosity Cottage this summer!! While educators usually look forward to summer as a time for a much needed break, I am looking forward to it as 3 months devoted to my business. Not only am I in the process of creating new items to share in terms of embroidery and sewing, but I am also in the process of studying the whole realm of possibilities that blogging brings, to individuals, businesses, and other organizations. The results of my research and work on my own set of blogs will then be used to develop a new course that I will have the privilege of teaching.

Those who know me personally know that I love to teach and create things. I am so privileged in that I have been able to take my creative side and blended it perfectly with my technical expertise resulting in Curiosity Cottage becoming more than I would have ever dreamed possible this time last year. What is even more exciting though is that now I can use my love of research and use the knowledge I gain to not only enhance my business but to share what I learn with others. Helping young adults find their way in this sometimes crazy world is so rewarding!! I always tell my students that gone are the days where you get a degree and sit in a cubicle. Now the sky is literally the limit in terms of taking what you love, combining it with the skills you acquire in college and seeing where the path leads. The best part of that lecture, I am not just presenting this to my students so they can be tested on the material later, I am living this through my own personal life!!

So this summer will be filled with exciting new things I cannot wait to show you as well as new ideas and organization to Curiosity Cottage’s online presence. After all, summer is for having fun and I am having the time of my life!!

I'm back :D

Hi everyone!

I know it has been quite a while since my last post.  Unfortunately a horrific fall has set me back quite a bit; not only in terms of writing, but also with respect to my embroidery and other projects as well. I am right handed and fractured my right arm; so at least 2 more weeks in a sling and then physical therapy.  Add to that the fact that the fracture is located on the bone in my arm right where the tendons and muscles attach to the bone and you get one very painful healing process!!   However, as you other creative souls can well relate to, creating is like breathing to me, so I still a working on some projects, just trying to take breaks when I can tell I am overdoing it a bit. :D 

These two photos are my latest pieces of work.  I taught this precious couple so I considered it an honor when they asked me to create their guestbook and picture frame.  I cannot wait to show you the ring bearer pillow that I am also making for them.

So though it will still take me time to heal, I have learned so much during this time and have so many new projects in the works all exciting things I just cannot wait to share with you all!!