When I first started blogging back in October of 2008, I got giddy when I got my first 10 followers. As the numbers grew larger, I become more excited and also humbled. It’s so crazy that I am just a few away from the BIG 5-0-0!
I am beyond thrilled to see new faces and get comments from new friends. I just love this little community! I have dreams for this blog and with each new follower, these dreams are becoming a reality.
Do you know someone who enjoys crafts, wants to connect with other bloggers or is looking for a new blog to follow? Feel free to send them to this blog! :)
It’s been 1 1/2 weeks since my birthday and I have yet to do my birthday recap. When I was getting ready to put this post together, I realized that I hardly took any pictures. *gasp* Thankfully, my bestie took a few, so this post won’t be completely bare.
Started off the morning with an early nail appointment. Got myself a pedicure and my nails repainted. There’s nothing like freshly painted nails, especially when there’s a “party nail” on both hands!
I had the afternoon to myself, so I treated myself to a delish lunch and rested up for the busy night. My bestie and other friend told me they had some fun stuff, so I figured a quick nap would be a good idea. When we met up, they gave me this little booklet….
The things in this book were completely random, but just about all of them were outside my normal “comfort zone”. Ah, these girls just know me too well. Here’s just a sampling of what they wrote down:
Dance on the corner of the sidewalk for 10 seconds
Follow someone down the sidewalk for 5 blocks
Take a picture with a group of tourists
Try on a complete outfit assembled by Gretchen and Kalyn
Pretend to puke inside of a trash can
Apply the brightest possible eye shadow from Sephora
Oh goodness, this list went on and on. While I wasn’t able to complete a lot (since we started late), I did have to do some things that were embarrassing.
Now no outing with my bestie is complete without some sort of food. We went to get apps earlier in the day, we each tried a different dish and shared. I got the soft pretzels with dijon mustard- so delish!
For dinner, we went to a Mexican restaurant. It was a quaint little “hole in the wall” place. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the name of what I ordered, but it was pretty good! After getting embarrassed quite a bit, I worked up an appetite!
There were a few other pictures, but sadly they didn’t turn out very well. I am beyond bummed that the picture I took with Gretchen turned out horribly. However, I’m super thankful that I got a fairly good picture with my bestie, Kalyn. Love this girl to pieces. We’ve been friends for 25 years and the plan is to keep it going for another 25+! :)
Thank you from the very bottom of my heart to those sent over birthday wishes to me. You all are such gems. I am blessed to have such sweet blog followers and crafty friends.
This is going to wrap up this recap. Thanks for stopping by!
A couple months ago, I did my first Random Loves post. I had meant to make it a once a month feature and somehow it got overlooked in June. Oops! Anyways, I’m back today with what I’m currently loving. Ready? Let’s go!
With Summer here, this drink is quickly becoming a favorite. It actually keeps me up more than coffee does AND it is low in calories and delish. Be sure to keep your eye out for specials on this drink- you can get them for a pretty low price!
Kira’s blog has quickly become a favorite of mine. I love the variety her blog brings and her blogging tutorials are AMAZING. If you ever need to spruce up your blog, or need tips on blogging in general, you’ll definitely want to check out the link above. (Easy-to-follow instructions from a blogging pro!)
For my birthday, my sister got me one of the best gifts ever. Since she knows I’m a lover of all things sparkly and am always using my iPhone, she got me the best case ever. When I opened it, I literally squealed with delight. To some it may seem over-the-top, but I love it to pieces.
This picture combines two things that I’m currently loving. I absolutely adore the hot pink dress/ aqua earrings combo. I am on the search for both of these items, so if you see them at good prices…. :) I also am a reality tv junkie. The season of The Bachelorette was awesome. Emily has definitely been my favorite bachelorette and her outfits this season were completely fab.
I’m stopping in really quickly for a Saturday post. With all these great challenges in blog land, it was hard to pass up on playing along in a few. Today’s card was based off the new CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #62 and the DeNami Addict Challenge #3.
Here’s what I came up with….
The first thing that came to mind when I saw we needed to do a black card base- Halloween! Being as we just released this adorable Friendly Mummy, I knew I wanted to use him. Seriously, isn’t he cute?!
Since the CAS-ual Friday’s challenge is all about being simple, I though the new DeNami Addict Challenge #3 would be the perfect layout. I must say, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. {You can play along in this sketch- you don’t need DeNami stamp, but you can use them if you have them!}
Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great weekend!
*NOT LISTED: decorative die cut shape, embossing folder
Today I have a crafty project to share AND it’s not a card! Can you believe it? I sometimes even surprise myself. :)
As many of you know, I have two sisters. One of them is more sporty, while the other can be sporty and girly all wrapped in one. Honestly, she’s a complete mix of her older sisters- that may be why she gets along with us so well. Anyhow….Krista* (the youngest) is a fabulous chef and travels a lot. On one of her trips, I decided to surprise her with a little bag of treats for her plane ride. I couldn’t just give her a boring gift bag, so I decorated it up before putting in the treats.
* I’m planning on doing a post about my sis in the future
I was pleasantly surprised how easily this came together! I guess hoarding things comes in handy when you want to add a lot of fun elements!
I started out with a plain white gift bag. I learned quickly that it doesn’t work well to stamp directly on the bag, so I added a piece of pink cardstock and that became my “base”. I pulled out doilies, rhinetones, die cuts, scallops….pretty much anything girly I had, I added.
Here’s a closer glimpse at some of the details:
On the inside, I added some of her favorite treats and a note. It’s a small gesture, but imagine how fun if someone gave you one of these before a long trip.
I hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving some blog love!
*NOT LISTED: doily, butterfly and oval die cuts, rhienstones, letter stamps, light pink ink/ cardstock
Wow, have I mentioned how much I love my readers? In yesterday’s post, I was open and honest with you all. In return, you were open and honest with me, and I appreciate that so much. Some great words of wisdom were shared and I have been pondering the advice given.
Being as it’s Thursday, I have this weeks Thankful Thursday post. Does anyone else have trouble thinking of what you’re thankful for when tough times occur? I’m in that boat this week. I know there are ALWAYS things to be thankful for- this is what I have for this week.
amazing, caring blog readers who share advice (and leave comments!)
texting. I love getting random texts from my friends!
the friends I’ve made via my blog and Twitter. It sounds funny, but I’ve developed some amazing friendships through these avenues.
make-up. Tough times and make-up go hand in hand for me. It’s funny, I get the most compliments when I’m going through valleys- it might be because I “pile on” the make-up!
gift cards. Being as I just celebrated my birthday, I’ve gotten quite a few of these. LOVE!!
No matter what deep, dark valleys some of us may be going through, we must remember that it shouldn’t stop us from being thankful. With that being said, what are YOU thankful for this week?
It’s bound to happen….someone says something hurtful to you and the words cut like a knife. It may have been in your childhood, or quite possibly even a few days ago. Whether it be a sibling, spouse, parent or friend, just about all of us have encountered this sometime in our life.
This happened recently to me. I won’t go into all the details, but this is far from the first time this has occurred in my life. In the past, when this has happened, I’ve been able to forgive the person who wronged me and moved on. Granted, I may have forgiven the people, but that doesn’t mean their words don’t still replay in my mind.
I’m the type of person that takes things to heart. Yes, I have a sense of humor and can take jokes- I dish them out, so I can take them. However, when things are said about my character, or lack thereof, those are the things that get me thinking. Granted, the person who said them may have apologized (or sometimes they don’t), but I still think about the things that were said. That’s where I am right now….
The most recent hurtful remarks happened seven days ago. The things said have made me reevaluate some of the most important things in my life. If this happens over and over again, am I being a pushover if I continue to allow it to happen?
*sigh* Not going to lie, this is a tough place to be. You know I value your thoughts and opinions- please feel free to leave a comment.
Thanks for letting me spill and ask for advice. You guys are awesome. :)
I have a card to share that I created ages ago. It was sitting as a draft for the longest time- I figured I would share it with you all today. Amazingly enough, even though I created this a few months back, I still think it’s adorable. Why the surprise? Well, my crafting style changes and some of the things I’ve created in the past aren’t items I’m exactly proud of. It’s humbling, and also embarrassing, to look back at some of the things I created before and see how far I’ve come. Ah, one of the great things about blogging….
I have such a soft spot for this cute Elephant. He is fun to color, but he also works great for paper piecing! Since he is on the smaller side (the wood it’s on is 1¾ x 2¼), he is perfect to stamp on your patterned paper scraps!
Did you notice the shiny letters? I stamped them, colored them in and then added Crystal Lacquer on top. It’s super easy to do and has amazing results!
I’m hoping to get some time in the next few days to post some pictures from my birthday last week. My girlfriends got me to go outside my comfort zone and they have pictures to prove it. :)
I hope you all are having a great start to your day. Talk with you soon!
This week has been GORGEOUS here in Washington. I’ve worn shorts every. single. day and might I add, it was/ is fantastic. A while back, I wouldn’t have been seen in shorts- in fact, I didn’t even own any for the longest time. With my weight gain and lackluster self confidence, shorts was something that I definitely didn’t feel comfortable in. Now that I have lost a lot of the weight, I am starting to gain back confidence. Granted, I don’t look how I would like to look (stretch marks and cellulite), but I figure this is as good as it’s going to get with what I did to my body in the past.
It’s Thursday and that means it’s Thankful Thursday here on the blog. Ready? Let’s go!
the beautiful sunshine and the forecast for the next seven days!
my friends. Two of them are taking me out for my birthday tomorrow and I’m SO excited!
the girls in my Life Group at church- they are just so sweet!
my youngest brother. This little guy always makes me laugh and I just love seeing his face light up when I take him places or play card games with him. He’s growing up too fast.
I hope that you all take time in your day to think about what you’re thankful for. Thanks for stopping by my blog today!
It’s time for the DeNami Summer Blog Hop! I’ve been excited about this one all month- there is something so fun about creating a Summer inspired card/ project. I just love the bright colors that are associated with Summer. *This just might be a hint as to next month’s theme*
If you started the blog hop from the beginning, you should be coming from Tina Milbourn’s blog. Oh goodness, isn’t this girl a hoot? I just love her. If you are coming into the hop mid-way, you can always head on over to the DeNami blog for the complete list of participants.
Okay, now onto my card. For this one, I decided to go the route of creating a mini Summer inspired scene. Granted, while I have never surfed before, I imagine it looking something like this on the beach. :)
Bright, bold colors and touches of glitter= perfection! I am utterly in love with our amazing glitters. If you haven’t checked them out before, or if you need to add to your glitter collection, click here.
I’m going to wrap up this post since there are still spots left in the hop. Your next stop: Tenia’s blog!
Just a little reminder: be sure to leave comments on each stop- you just never know where the winners will be chosen! Also, it TOTALLY brightens up our days when we receive sweet comments. :)
