the Crumbs of Life.

Some say cooking is an art,
some say cooking is a science.
I believe it’s a little of both. 
But I don’t believe cooking needs to be
overly complicated.  I do believe that
practice makes perfect…
or at least perfect enough to fool most people.
Cooking frequently helps you gain confidence…
you become more daring, adventurous and creative.
Inheriting some great DNA never hurt anybody either!
I’ve been very blessed to have been born and raised by
a Proverbs 31 mother.  She was truly a Martha Stewart
and Paula Deen all wrapped up into one.
She was a seamstress, an amazing cook,
decorator, craft person and most importantly,
a godly woman.
During my early married years, I had the privilege
of working with her when she and my dad
owned a tea room.  She crafted in her spare time
and also served lunch there. Daily.
This is where I come in. 
I was a chef-ette at the tea room.
Those years are when I learned the most about cooking
from my mom.  It wasn’t growing up in the ‘log house’
(yes, we really did live in a log house –
but not on a farm-small town maybe, but no farm)
I had the HUGE privilege of watching
and learning and doing,
almost everyday.  Learning so many tips and secrets.
My dad made most all of the items she painted to sell
there as well.  She taught many a painting class
thru the years and I was able
to learn many of those tricks also.  Priceless.
As a young wife, I also began
to search out new recipes
and new techniques…striving to learn
as much as I could
without having to spend a bazillion dollars
to go to cooking school.
After all, I was a chef-ette ya know.
It just so happened that at that time,
public television had
boo-coos of such cooking shows on daily.
I was SO influenced by public television.
Thank you PBS.
(and not just for Sesame Street and Barney)
I would faithfully watch Julia Child,
Jacques Pepin,
Jeff Smith (the Frugal Gourmet),
Chef Paul Prudhomme, Natalie Dupree
and the cajun cook Justin Wilson….I garon-tee.
They played a huge part in showing a more
‘professional’ or ‘advanced’ way of cooking…
especially for me, as a young wife and mother.
(wayyy before the days of Food Network or HGTV)
I have enjoyed cooking and baking since
my early married life began.
Eventually, my skills were really put to the test
as I was trained by my awesome ‘cook
of a sister-in-law’ to take her spot as the
supper coordinator at our church.
As terrifying as it may sound,
planning and cooking for 250-300 each week
soon became second nature.  It was great fun.
Somewhere in 2002, I began doing cookie cakes.
It’s kind of a blur though.  I believe those were the
beginnings of our eldest entering middle school.
Did I mention we had 3 daughters?!? 
That are redheads?!?
Sooo, this cookie cake thing eventually
turned into a pie thing, then cinnamon rolls,
cheesecakes and custom sugar cookies. 
This became CRUMBS.
C.R.U.M.B.S. – crumbs.
A few years later, after a wedding cake here and a
birthday cake there….gaining more experience
and creating a website….
I was presented with another venture.
A venture that came from out of the clear blue.
Well, sort of….
In the meantime, I’m still trying to figure God out.
Have you figured Him out yet?!?
Let me know if you do…we’ll need to do lunch.

an Ode to Engelbreit!


Okay, so, before we go any further
here with this journey,
I have to stop the train and just pause for a moment
to reveal my great inspiration for illustrating.
Yes, I could draw long before I knew
who my inspiration was,
but the moment I was exposed
to the work of Mary Engelbreit…
I, I, well, I just melted inside.
She illustrates in such a way
that you want to climb into her scenes
and be a part of them.  They are so happy and warm.
Just lovely and perfect.  Whimsical and believable.
I think it's why, to this day,
I struggle with artwork done digitally.
For me, it's not believable.
Sorry, it's just this thing I have.
Even though I draw people with 3 fingers,
the scene has to be believable to me - the proportions,
shadowing, angles, etc.  I feel like digital art,
just by the nature of it,
has to work harder to be believable.
But that is the beauty of art -
it's beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
So, have you seen Mary's work?
It's massive - and licensing all over the place!
She posted a short video yesterday of herself
illustrating a girl from start to finish! HOORAHH!



SO awesome to see a pro in action...fast action!!!
Love. Love. Love Mary Engelbreit.
You can see more HERE!
Thanks so much for allowing me to tell ya about
a big hero of mine.
Check out the link above if you need to feel
all warm and fuzzy inside,
you've probably seen her gazillions of illustrations
in all kinds of places over the years!

See you next time!

In the Beginning...


I’ve decided that I should be documenting this ‘path’
of creativity.  So bear with me….
as we start from ‘the beginning.’
I have always had a passion for doodling
and illustration…
I can remember winning a drawing contest
in the early days of elementary school.
I can even remember exactly what I had drawn
and can remember being very OCD specific
about how it had to look
(it was a house [of course]
with snow on the roof and yard).
I don’t remember specifically being artsy
or crafty for the rest of my school days,
besides doodling on everything
and painting spirit signs -
but I loved doing the lettering!
After high school graduation,
I then attempted a Commercial Art
major in college -
but at that time in the mid 1980′s,
being an artist around here,
meant a big city, very competitive life…
and the thought of that was stressing and was
something my fiance, (whom I met in college)
and I weren’t ready for. At least my time in college
was not in vain…wink, wink!
The artist in me then took on many forms
thru the years -but my first and foremost priority
was being a wife and later,
a mother to 3 beautiful redheaded girls…
my favorite thing….
and motherhood allows you to be crafty
in all sorts of ways.  But the children grow up 
and there are no hairbows to make,
no school projects to design,
no dance recitals to paint shoes for…
and that creativity just simmers and stews.
After it has simmered for just
the right amount of time,
things just start to bubble up and pop out!
Life slows down a bit (wait, whaat?)
and you begin to pull together
all the different aspects of what you’ve learned
along the way (IF you have any brain cells left).
And things just start to click.
That’s when you say, ‘hello artsy path,
I have missed you, welcome back!’
One of my fav writers, Jon Acuff said,
“Finding your true passion is a reunion, not a first date.
An act of recovery, not discovery.”

And so the story continues…….

New Year. . .New Stuff!

Lots of things going on around crumbs and crayons-ville.
First off, if you haven't heard already,
the time has come to separate the two.
Sad and painful as it may be...it is time.
You will now find Free Recipe Friday on it's very own space
Hooray!
The 'crayons' portion can now be found at
Cooking and drawing will always be my thing,
only now, cleaner and more organized...
who doesn't need more of THAT in their life!?!?
Hope you'll continue to follow along
as I trudge thru technology, hoping not to drown!
Happy day to you!

A New Year with Passion

Is everyone still fasting from all of the holiday madness??? 
Wow!  I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and start to the New Year! 
Around our household there has been much partying, traveling, 
eating and a little bit of resting. 
Our back to reality 'routine' officially just began today!
Yes, just now on January the 9th!
Our youngest back in school,
myself starting back to work tomorrow and
our middle and oldest daughters will be back at college in a few days.
The biggest treat to the New Year for me???
My sweet husband is no longer working nights!!! Hip-Hip-Hooray!!!!!
It has been nice to have had so much family time
these past few weeks.

We are finally recovered from our trip to Atlanta, Ga.
that we took last week with about 25 college kids!
A drive that took 13 hours coming and going, whew!
I am so thankful we were able to take our group and attend
the Passion Conference again this year. WOW!
What a powerful week and how our eyes were opened
to so much tragedy that is going on in this world.
So excited that this generation is making a difference!
Approximately 45,000 college kids gave over 3 million dollars
to help end modern day slavery/sex trafficking.
It. Was. Amazing!!!!
To learn more, visit
268 Generation/Passion Conference

I am so thankful for 2011
and for all of you faithful Crumbs & Crayons fans!!!
Looking forward to this year...
consulting classes with the great Holli Conger coming up soon
and promoting our 'Crumbs in YOUR Kitchen' venture is going to be great fun!
I can't wait to see what all God has in store!
We are also looking forward to being back on Friday with a new recipe!
Have a great week!

She's Alive!

yes, yes, yes...I know, I know...but the important thing is, I'm here, I'm back - and now that we are 'post wedding', I have a good chunk of 'free' time back! NOT!

I have recovered my password to this bloggity blog (it'd been so long since I had been on here, I...uhhh, uuhhmm, well, I forgot what it was!!!)...no snickering! I could have won the 'most chaotic life' award for the past 6-8 months! But that is something I do not want to boast about!

I thought I would do a 'brief' run thru of my life since my last post - feel free to skim on past that part - but I have just enough OCD in me to not allow me to sleep unless I go thru each event!
After my last post in JUNE, we went on an INCREDIBLE vacation with my husbands family to Tennessee - LOVED IT! All 21 plus of us stayed in my sister in laws house for one week - and went on a different adventure each day! And since I did not have the strength to illustrate a BOOK, as I did the year before during our trip to Florida, I took a spin on a Six Flags map - an overview, if you will, of the week! (and p.s. - 21 plus awesome people in a house for a week is the bomb! I promise!)



Next stop on the Taylor trail was getting our middle daughter off to college...which didn't seem TOO heart wrenching at first....until we spent a few days in the house without her...eek! We are now into her second semester, 2 hours away, and thankfully able to see her every weekend...and it's STILL hard to see her go each Monday morning!


We also got our youngest daughter into middle school, a different campus, a clarinet for BAND, and all of a sudden, looking 15!


Our next big event was having the privilege to be the cake lady for two of my sweet friends - both were amazing weddings that were not only a blast to work with, but a blast to attend!!! Thank you Tittle and Kent families!!






Our next endeavor was our own daughter's wedding...something I'm not sure you could ever be TOO prepared for. Doing other people's weddings is one entirely different thing! But something about your OWN daughter, well, there's just something numbing about the whole day...at least for me...maybe my emotions were so off the scale, because I had never ever experienced anything like it! Surreal is putting it mildly! We did have a beautiful ceremony on a beautiful fall day, a beautiful bride, with her beautiful sisters as her bridesmaids at the most beautiful location of Elmwood Gardens in Palestine, Tx. I could go on and on, literally!





We have survived our daughters amazing, amazing wedding AND we have the best son in law we could have ever asked for...God is so good- and always gives us more than we could have ever asked or imagined!  But now our house is VERY quiet - 2 daughters gone in 3 months....sigh....

January brought an incredible opportunity to us as leaders of our College Ministry at our church....we were able to chapperone a bus load of college kids to the Passion Conference in Atlanta, Georgia - 22,000 college kids there with a passion to make Jesus famous!  Our time there definitely deserves it's own blog - - - such an incredible experience - our God is BIG, our God is alive and He's still moving mightily!



January also brought a new venture that is on the horizon...
you'll just have to stay tuned for THIS one! :)
But, here's an illustrated hint below!
Stay tuned.....

ohhhh. . .What to Write About. . .

There are SO many things that tug on me these days...good things...yet at almost 45 years old, I STILL have not conquered that slippery word....BALANCE! My brain just isn't big enough to sort out all of the thoughts that pass through it on a daily basis...much less try to gather enough sanity to write a great thought provoking blog. I even stumbled upon another blog I like and took several excerpts out of her blog for this....(yes, sad isn't it?!)......yet inspiring me to make it my own.......so many things beg for my brain space, like: our daughters upcoming wedding, work, kids, my husband, my husbands work, my stumbling walk with my Heavenly Father, my church, my family as a whole....using my gifts and talents to honor Him, illustration thoughts and cake design thoughts....how much I miss my mom......wishing I could squeeze in lunch with a friend, my girls or even my own sister - just to catch up......reminding myself to pray for friends who have asked for it and not getting so wrapped up in my own life that I don't see the needs of others......wanting people to think I'm funny, wanting my husband to think I'm pretty and not wanting him to think anyone else is pretty.....praying for couples who are going through hard times, and knowing how important it is to 'be still and know that I Am God'.........wondering how on earth to keep a clean house with three kids and a job...AND have clean laundry.....but realize there's alot of single moms out there that do more.....dealing with how I need to be kinder and more thoughtful and encouraging to my husband, and how I miss my mom...how badly I need to exercise and how I need to be content with who God made me.....wondering how I can spend quality time with EACH of our kids and how to love them better...loving my friends more....how badly I want that new kitchen aid mixer or that cute pair of shoes, but reminding myself I have more shoes than I need and that I can't take them to heaven with me.......instilling in our children the command to love others before ourselves...teaching our kids that the most important thing in life is to have an ongoing, growing relationship with Jesus Christ.....sending a middle daughter three hours away to a university...and what that will be like.......guiding our youngest thru the 'wonder' years of middle school....gaining a son and losing a daughter....wishing I could talk to my mom about that........and oh, did I mention that these people in my life have to eat a meal every now and then?!

This is why my head hurts at night.

These are some of the things I may blog about.....at some point....as they are what's ALWAYS on my mind.......finding comfort in Ecclesiastes 3....

Keep checking back... :)

I Love Mondays!

Yes, it's true...I DO love Mondays. Of course it might have SOMETHING to do with the fact that I'm OFF on Mondays from my full time job (that I also happen to love).
Mondays for me however mean that I get to work on crumbs & crayons stuff- drawing, baking, etc! It also means college bible study time...at our house, so I spend the day tidying up the house and making a few treats for the college kids to snack on. I am so thankful for our pastor and our music minister (my boss) that faithfully lead the study and also for the college kids that faithfully come each week !!! What a great time we have and is another reason to love Mondays!

Where does the time go. . .

...the fall flew by, the wet winter went on and on...I wonder what spring will behold?!! These past few months have been seriously crazy...we have a daughter getting married this fall, another graduating next month and yet another on the verge of entering the dreaded middle school! Yet in all of this craziness, God still gives us precious family time together...it may not include a trip to the beach this year, but roasting marshmallows in the fireplace (which we did many times during the winter months), enjoying Sunday lunch together or a little campin' trip always hits the right spot! Below, you will see just a small tidbit of a visual diary from our past 5 months....and the reason that I have not blogged! These past few months have been spent laying some ground work for Crumbs and Crayons, getting the website going (http://www.crumbsandcrayons.com/), and filling illustration and bakery orders! We are so excited to see where God leads us!
illustration for a great realtor!!!
this illustration was made into invitations for a lingerie shower for twins!


valentine cards


we actually had several rounds of snow this winter...very rare for east texas!




our 2009 christmas card...as we each do our own 'thing'

Shel heads to State!


shel makes 2nd chair at prearea!
woo hoo!
next stop, area at commerce in january!

Let's Plan a Wedding!

meeting with the owner and taking a tour

walking down the 'aisle'


the bride and groom!

where has november gone?
our whole family was able to be off for five days together...
and what a huge blessing it was!
everything slowed down and it was SUCH a relaxing time!!!
we've also been searching for a wedding venue...and were able to tour our second one
over the break, and this one we love! (what's money, right?)
we felt very at home at this site...but still plan to tour a couple more.
shelby is also quite the photographer and took some great photos
on this beautiful saturday after thanksgiving!
I have only uploaded a few!
If the Lord wills, we will be having a wedding here in 2010!

Friday Night Football



Fall may have FINALLY arrived around here~
and what better way to enjoy it than with some Friday night football (cookies)!

A New Chapter

on saturday, october 3rd, a new chapter began in our life.
I wonder if anyone is ever REALLY prepared
to marry off their daughter...
oh the proposal was too sweet, the planning was/is fun,
seeing how God brought two people together is awesome,
but the fact remains...that you are on a path
that leads to a wedding ceremony!
we are currently on the hunt for that perfect venue
to have this little fall shindig next year...and it IS a hunt indeed
--- as we will not be joining the $27,000 club
(the average cost of a U.S. wedding)!!!
melody has been collecting ideas for quite some time...
and as soon as that location is reserved,
the carrying out of those ideas can begin.
I must say it already feels a bit overwhelming at times...
the ideas, all of the details and the accomplishing of those
are two different things!
oh, how I wish my mom were here!
I am really wondering how on earth we will ever pull this off
without her!
And how will we do it for two more daughters?!?!?!?!?!?
oh, calgon, take me away!

Seared Cow Flesh!

james' 45th bday celebration with tom & brenda....
and about to partake of seared cow flesh, mmm!

The BIrthday Blurrr

birthdays, baking, blogging, bovines and boars!
not sure which swine visited here...but it hit our youngest daughter the day after my sweet husband's 45th birthday...we just happened to be out on a double date (photo coming soon)...to 'eat seared cow flesh'...I believe were james' exact words...we happened to make a grocery store stop on the way home and loaded up on some meds...so glad we did because the little piglet left rudy with fever, nausea, sore throat, headache, cough and exhaustion. guess you could shake those symptoms up in a bag 10 times and come up with a different 'flu' each time. she was such a good little patient though and stayed very hydrated! the poor child began eating saltines (a total of 3 stacks to be exact), then she graduated to toast (more than half a loaf of bread I'm sure), and now is wanting sour and non sour gummy worms (I believe at last count this evening the total was 4 bags)!!! I believe she's on the mend...but the tiredness just lingers on.....

throw into the past weekend, a failed attempt to chaperone my daughter and others competing from her school to the all-region tryouts an hour away...I was able to make it there at a later time....just in time to catch up on the days happenings and to hear the results!!!...(announced one at a time, by voice part, in a cafeteria full of anxious kids that had been at this school for at least 9 or 10 hours----on a saturday!) but all of shelby's hard work paid off...she made 2nd chair for the all-region choir (concert will be in november)...her hard work is not over though...making the choir qualifies her to go to the next level----pre/area...if she makes that, she will qualify for area...if she makes area, she's made one of the all-state choirs! I hope she stays confident and relaxed and just continues to work hard (p.s.- she made the all-state choir last year!)...and our oldest daughter melody made it to area last year as well...which leads me to another birthday! melody's 19th birthday has officially begun! let the parades and parties begin!!!!! I'm thinking we'll probably be enjoying her favorite bday meal for dinner.......roast with potatoes and carrots cooked 'with it'....and who knows what dessert will be....we'll let that be a surprise!
squeezed into all of this was a monthly bday celebration at my mother-in-laws...for paw paw's 70th, james' 45th, and melody's 19th...(was michael included in that too? hmm)....us 'all-region' travelers barely made it...but after all, we were bringing the cake-if not, everyone would have left! :) there was a house FULL of mimi's offspring...and mimi had cooked so much incredible food it was insane!

around here, there's 'spring' cleaning going on and a painted floor treatment about to commence as well (no more carpet! yay! boo to berber! boo!) oh, and then there's our payin' jobs too...just not enough hours in the day! (now I REALLY sound old!)...goodnite!

Our Family Vacation to Florida


the title, because everyone kept saying
'when am I gonna get to be in THE BOOK'

the exact spot in new orleans that I received the infamous phone call from my boss saying
'all you need is a big chief tablet and a box of crayons!'






REALLY needing some coffee when we hit mobile!


wow, craziness going into destin...the usual saturday thing for the rental folks!

daughter shel's drawing of breakfast (mimi's 'homemade' oatmeal)


shel's 'pet'

mimi tossin' in some 'sssrimp' into her homemade gumbo...
with rudy, caitlyn and aidan lookin' on!




and yes, he marched to the beach...across scenic hwy 30-a...in a kilt, to play the bagpipe on the beach at sunset..........it was pretty cool!

our good friend ronnie, a fireman, AND bagpipe genius!

hope my 'snoodyville' sign doesn't offend anyone...seaside beach was AMAZING...but it just didn't seem too friendly...with the exception of the bookstore....hopefully it was the crowds of 'other vacationers' :) that gave it the unfriendly vibe and NOT the locals of seaside
...because it was TOO COOL!


this pic is a bit out of order...but it's of rudy, trying to pack it all back up!


the sugar shak @ rosemary beach....think I could live there for sure!



well, you have to be blood kin to hear 'the story'...that, or either
go on a family trip with us! ha! and, brandon is the only one that can tell it....
AND pawpaw has to be present...because he likes it more and more
each time he hears it!

brandon got a splinter....andrew got it out...wooo! (it was tiny, tho)

a day trip to the AMAZING naval museum in pensecola!!!


let's just say one day isn't enough to see this incredible place, seriously!


my best friend and love of my life for 24 years!

james, literally asked shel to open the door while we went into the tunnel
in mobile bay to 'see what it sounded like'...and when she did, she heard someone
way ahead of us hollering, 'wooo, hooo!'

note to self, you CAN drive the length of bourbon street, hmmm, interesting.


ended up driving the LENGTH of bourbon street....
all because we wanted some coffee and a beignet! thankfully,
it was only 4 in the afternoon...but we still had to make rudy close her eyes
numerous times!
a traffic jam because of a GATOR in the road as we went thru
baton rouge!!!!!

flipped pic of rudy sayin' goodbye to florida :(

ike, the cat...INCREDIBLY happy to see us (shelby)