Easter Bunny Love

I love bunnies. They are so soft and cuddly and cute! No, I don't own one- to be honest, I don't know what you do when you own a bunny, but I'm pretty sure what my beagle would do with it, so that's out of the question. However....every year when we go to the Utah State Fair, I see those cute bunnies with the prices written on their cages and I think to myself, "bunnies are cheap! And cute! I must have one!"

I am SO VERY excited to see that {Origami Owl} FINALLY has a white bunny charm for Easter this year!! I started with Origami Owl 3 years ago and I can't even remember how many people have asked for a bunny charm, so this is exciting news! And look how sweet:

 

So, in honor of this sweet new charm, here is a fun Easter bunny craft that was easy to make! I love doing string art and getting creative with all of the things you can do with it! I started by painting a plain piece of wood. I wanted to paint it a bunch of bright, Spring-y colors, so I used painters tape to take off sections and painted stripes:

 

And of course, you can't craft at Eastertime without partaking of a few Cadbury mini eggs ;)

 

After the paint dried, I sanded it down so that it looked a little 'worn'. Next, I printed out a copy of a bunny template to use. If you're more artistic than me, you can just draw one free-hand on the wood, but I am no artist! Also, since you will be nailing all around the template, make sure that you use a shape that isn't too difficult!

Since I couldn't find a pencil to just outline the template, I just taped it on there and nailed around the template, then took the template off and voila:

 Now, just take your string or yard and start stringing it between the nails. There's no trick to this part (or maybe there is? I better google it just in case!) just keep winding it between all the nails until you get the desired look. Last but not least, I wind the string around the outside of the nails twice to give it a little defined outline. And here is the finished bunny! I hope that you love it as much as I do!

My {LOVE} for Nativities

It's as if my hormones can tell when the Holiday season is approaching. Christmas makes me extremely emotional. I am overwhelmed with gratitude and love for our Savior and every picture of baby Jesus, every time I hear 'Away in a Manger' or the Messiah, every nativity I see, my heart overfills and starts to leak out of my eyes.

I think that's probably how my obsession with nativities came to be. My grandma Thompson sold Avon when I was young. She mostly gave me and my sister lots of lip gloss and nail polish, but one year when I was about 8 years old, she gave me my first nativity. Just the figurines of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. It was an Avon set and you could purchase each additional set (the Wise men, the Shepherds, etc) separately. I eventually got the entire set and loved them. I still have them to this day. I loved them so much that when my grandma VanDenBerghe went to Mexico the next year, I asked her to buy me a nativity there.

My Mexican nativity that I received when I was 9 years old.

And that's where it began. Luckily for me, my grandpa and grandma VanDenBerghe were big world travelers, so my collection grew quickly. They brought me nativities from Central America, Europe, and Asia, and one cherished set from Jerusalem. Later when they served a mission in the Philippines, I received a beautiful wood-carved set from Manila.

Years later, I began my own collecting. My search for the perfect Argentine nativity on my mission drove several of my companions crazy, but I finally found the perfect one. It is made of red clay like the earth that I walked for 18 months and it brings back so many cherished memories!

Although the band serenading Baby Jesus looks Peruvian, these were made in Northern Argentina.

Okay, one last story. I lived in Venezuela for a semester. My host family was so wonderful and did everything that they could to make my visit enjoyable. I told them when I arrived that I wanted to find a nativity, but after weeks of searching, I realized that I wouldn't find one during the Spring and Summer seasons that I would spend there. On my last day with my host family, they presented me with a box. To this day, I have no idea how they managed this, but they had commissioned someone to create a nativity for me from banana leaves. BANANA LEAVES. Like, how cool is that?? I love it so much. 

There is so much amazing detail in this nativity: the wise man with the painted black face, the halos on the holy family, and the basket holding baby Jesus.

Imagine my happiness when Origami Owl introduced a nativity charm!! It is so perfect & beautiful. And best of all, they announced that they will have a new nativity charm every single year. It's like they know me personally. So, my favorite Origami Owl look this season has been just the nativity charm, all by itself, in a miniature locket. It's a perfect Christmas accent and gift.

Origami Owl mini locket with nativity charm

Here are my beautiful sister, Alison, and my daughter, Gabriela, wearing this look and looking beautiful:

I hope that you enjoy Christmas as much as I do! (Except maybe without as many tears!) And that you will feel the Spirit of the Season in all of your celebrations! - Tracy

All About {Family}

This post will be a bit of a modge podge of family related things. When the Holidays approach, we start to think more about what is important in life, how to show our family members that we love and appreciate them, (through gifting) and we spend time creating memories and traditions that we will share with our families for generations.

Since this blog is really centered around my little Origami Owl business, I wanted to share some family-inspired ideas with our new bracelets collection. There are two different bracelets being offered now by Origami Owl and they both come in Silver and Gold. The first option is a bracelet that has a locket in the middle, and the little owl dangle that is attached to the end is a sweet little touch! I created this look using a plate stamped with 'family' and a mom heart charm accompanied by birthstones. It is a simple and personalized gift.

The other bracelet option is a simple chain. You can attach one of the lockets or any of our dangles to it. To create this look, I attached a mini Silver locket with a couple of cute charms, our Tree of Life dangle (which says 'Life is a Gift' on the back) and a simple white rose dangle. I am in LOVE with this look!

So, here comes the part where I talk about something totally different that is still family related. (Which is pretty much how I talk in real life, so no biggie!) A few years ago, I found these awesome Martha Stewart cross-stitch family patterns and fell in love with them! I cross stitched my own family (as shown below) but that was before Lizzie's hair turned SUPER curly! (How do you cross-stitch curly hair, anyway??) 

Check out the patterns here:

http://www.marthastewart.com/309518/customizable-cross-stitch-projects

She has all different people, hairstyles, and animals that you can choose from to customize your own family stitch! Makes a perfect gift! Stitch up grandma with her grandchildren (unless your grandma has 60 grandkids like mine...), or make it for a friend who just got engaged, the possibilities are endless. Just like Origami Owl. (Yep, another plug for my business)

Happy Stitching my friends!!

A Lifelong Obsession with {Charms}

So, as I was browsing Pinterest the other day, one of those 'throwback' pictures came up- you know, the ones that remind you that you are getting VERY old. (The 80's? That was just a few years ago, right??) Anyway, it was of those charm necklaces that we all had in the mid-80's, like this one:

I remember that the baby bottle charm was the HOT item! I mean, baby bottles are all the rage! (Honestly, my 3 1/2 year old still cries for a bottle at bedtime every night, so I am totally over bottles.) I also loved the skate one- I was an amazing roller skater. I could even skate backwards at the 49th Street Galleria!!!

So, here's my little story about charm necklaces: One year, about a month before Christmas, I was snooping around the house, looking for gifts my mom had already bought and hid, when I found a stash of charm necklaces and charms. I was about 9 and my sister, Anna, was 5 at the time. I knew that the necklaces were for us, and I thought my mom was at the neighbor's house, so I got them out (I still remember that they were in the top of the coat closet underneath a bunch of mittens and hats) and we started to play with them. Oh, the excitement!!! Then, my mom walked in. I blamed it on Anna, as usual. My mom was SO mad! She said "Tracy- you've ruined your stocking stuffers for Christmas! You can just have them now, but you aren't getting anything in your stocking on Christmas morning!!!" Was that a punishment? I didn't think so. I'm pretty sure my stocking was still full on Christmas morning, too.

Anyway, I was OBSESSED with these charm necklaces and charms. When I saw the pin with this picture, I was reminded why I fell in love with Origami Owl.  I LOVE {charms} that show what kinds of things you love and who you are. So often, when I'm doing a party, people think that nobody will even notice which charms they have since they are so small, but I cannot tell you how many times I get asked about the piano charm in my locket, or the dog paw, or the letter E.

They are little pieces of my life, things that I love, and that make up my story.

Spring 2013

So, we all know that Spring means new and beautiful and fresh. I LOVE this time of year- especially the tulips (my FAVORITE) because I'm Dutch and because, well, they're the prettiest, and the popcorn popping on the apricot trees :) (I'll post a picture of that later!)

For now, I wanted to introduce you to a few of the new Spring 2013 items that Origami Owl has come out with- they are beautiful and fresh new styles, too!

I am SOOO excited about these black lockets! They are ion-plated black over stainless steel (so 100% hypoallergenic) More like 100% cute! I'm kinda in love...

Origami Owl has also re-released their mini lockets! These are SOOO cute and perfect for any age- lovely with one little stone, or to celebrate a momentous occasion (pop a little birthday cake in there for a friend's birthday) They are so sweet. My sister wears one with a little plate that says 'mama' and her sons two birthstones....awww :)

As always, you can check out these new items and sooo much more at my website: www.tracyflores.origamiowl.com or click on the 'Shop' link at the top of the blog! 

Happy Spring everyone!!! Now go out and pick some popcorn off of those trees ;)

Life Is a Gift

April is a very special month for me. It is Organ Donation Awareness Month! Also, on April 6, 2007, I received a kidney transplant that saved my life. This year I will celebrate my six year anniversary with my new kidney!!

I realize that this is mainly my {Origami Owl} blog, but most people that I talk to are very interested in how a kidney transplant works, and since I am obviously a HUGE organ donation advocate, I wanted to share a little bit of info:

- Humans only need one kidney to life a full, healthy, life! Giving one of your kidneys does not make you more susceptible to illness, kidney failure, or any other health problems.

- In fact, studies have shown that people who donate one of their kidneys (living donors) live a longer, healthier life than those with two healthy, functioning kidneys. However, there is some speculation that this might be tied to the fact that those who are willing to give up a kidney for another human are likely happier and healthier individuals.

- Approximately 16 people die a day in the United States waiting for a kidney transplant!

I started getting sick when I was 21 years old. I underwent a kidney biopsy and was diagnosed with Glomerulonephritis. It is caused by a strep infection. My kidneys continued to function fairly well for several years until I became pregnant with my first child. The further along I got in the pregnancy, the worse my kidneys were performing. My kidneys failed when I was 24 weeks along in my pregnancy. It was the hardest time of my life. I was in the hospital for about 2 weeks waiting to see if my kidneys would regain function. After I was released, I buried my daughter and started dialysis.

I waited for nearly 2 years on the waiting list. I will never forget the morning that fateful "We have a kidney for you" call came. I was given a second chance at life.

I am thankful every single day for my donor, Tracey McTeague, and her family. They had the strength and courage to make a very difficult decision at the hardest moment of their lives. Her mother found her daughter murdered on the kitchen floor and remembered that Tracey had told her just a few weeks before that she wanted to be an organ donor. Thanks to them, I am healthy, happy, I have delivered two healthy baby girls, and I try to honor her memory every day by being a kinder, happier person.

                                                                 {My Life is a Gift} 

In honor of my transplant month, I will be doing a giveaway on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/locketsbytracy Please come over and enter to win one of these beautiful Origami Owl Sterling Silver dangles. The front side is adorned with a beautiful tree of life and the back says "Life is a Gift" It truly is.

March Contest and Pewter Initials Dangles

This month has been CRAZY....! We are finally closing on our new house, renting out our townhouse, and everything that comes along with that. So, I'm a *tinsy* bit late getting the March Giveaway up!

{Origami Owl} came out with the Tagged line in November 2012. The line is all pewter, made in the USA, and super cute! My favorites are the initials! There are so many different things you can do with them! They make an easy little gift for anyone! Here are some ideas:

• Give someone their initial for their Birthday
• Give the initial of the last name as a wedding gift or wedding shower gift
• Give a new mommy the initial of her new baby's name on a cute pink or blue ribbon 
• You can buy the initials and the ampersand sign for a cute couple necklace: T&E
• Give the initial of a loved one who has recently passed to comfort a friend

So, PLEASE come enter my giveaway on my facebook page! www.facebook.com/locketsbytracy

And check out my website to see ALL of the intials! Here are just a few of them: