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! :)
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?
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. :)
Last month, I started a new series here on the blog where I featured a special blogger. I had so much fun with the post, and while I didn’t get a lot of feedback about it, I’m going to continue the series.
This time around, I thought I would feature one of my sweet crafty friends, Laurie. I had the honor of working with this gal for 18 months and boy, is she a sweetheart! Her work is recognizable in both blog land and in publications. She has a knack for creating CAS (clean and simple) cards that are simply perfection.
Ready to get started? Let’s go!
Let’s start off with some crafty questions!
What are the next things on your crafting wish list?
Oh my. I would love to have a Silhouette. That would be one fun machine!
What is your go-to color combination?
Well, my go-to has always been Red, Kraft, Black and White. But I am trying to be more colorful recently and use all colors!
Is there a style and/or technique that you find difficult to duplicate?
I would love to be able to create more “vintagey” projects, but for some reason I can’t layer stuff on! I see those projects and I love them but for some reason, I can’t pull it off!
Okay, now onto some non crafty questions!
Tell us about your blog. When and why did you start it?
I started my blog on June 21, 2007. I started it because I started selling stamps and making cards. A friend had a blog and she sorta gave me the push and the rest is history. I can’t believe I have been blogging for 5 years! Wow!
Besides crafting, what are some other things you enjoy doing?
I have 2 kiddos and they really fill up my time! We have lots of fun things we do together and as they get older, its fun to go places and see things. I have always loved to travel. So road trips here and there are a necessity for me! I wish I had a money tree so we could go every weekend! I also love to camp, read and cook! OH and I love taking pics for people…not a professional by any stretch of the word, but I do love it!
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Oh gosh. Hmmm…besides Colorado? ha! I would love to go to Ireland someday! And Australia! Those are probably my top 2 destinations on my bucket list!
Name 5 things that you are most passionate about:
God. He is first and foremost in my life. I don’t know how I would make it without Him.
My family. I love my kids so much! I pray every day that I can be the best mom and wife I can be. Growing kids these days is a hard job and I want nothing more than to raise, smart, respectful and honest people. I take it pretty seriously and want to do the best job I can. Family is so important to me and I have been blessed with a great one!
Friends. I have the most amazing girlfriends. We have a great church and the group of girls I have here is wonderful. I know I can lean on them for anything! I am one lucky girl!
Papercrafting. When I started scrapbooking back in 97, I remember saying that I would never make cards. Look at me now…sorta hooked! It has been so much fun making and selling cards. Being published several times has been a lot of fun. Its a great hobby and I have made some great friends who live in far off places! I couldn’t have done that otherwise!
Being a nurse. I am an RN. I work very part time right now so I can stay home with my kids, but I know one day I will go back to the hospital. I loved taking care of people going through a rough patch. It is such an amazing job.
I know Laurie has a crazy busy schedule and I’m so honored she spent some time with us. Thank you SO much Laurie for taking the time to answer these questions. Now that you see how fun she is, I’m sure you want to follow her too! Here’s where you can find her:
I hope that you enjoyed this interview with Laurie. The plan is to do another Featured Blogger post next month. I have a couple ideas on who I want to feature- now I just have to get the courage to email one of the people. Must remember that going outside my comfort zone is a good thing! :)
Have a fantastic Monday- I’ll talk with you all soon!
What are the next things on your crafting wish list?
Oh my. I would love to have a Silhouette. That would be one fun machine!