...and they call it Puppy Love...

If you have taken advantage of the golden opportunity to read my thoughts (ie whining) on SNOW over the past few months, you'll know how much I love (to complain about) the stuff...

So to keep you on your feet, I thought I'd share a few fun snowy pics
(the white stuff's not all bad)...

My sweet Sheltie Molly is not the biggest fan of snow either...very cold on the tummy when you have to go outside to do your "business", if you know what I mean...poor thing...

Here she stands, by the back door, contemplating going out in the drifts yet again...


But she loves her kids more than she dislikes the snow, so when teenage girl child yelps:

"Help Me!"

Molly goes...

If there is one thing Molly is good at, it's snowy rescues (it's true)...

Because she knows the one thing that makes almost any situation better...


Sweet Poochy Smoochies!

There is no escaping that long Sheltie tongue....

And in other news, we have a OWOH Update...

Yes we have reached the next plateau- 200 entries!
Thank you all for taking the time to post!

In appreciation, I am adding yet another prize to the pot...
I thought about doing a "winner's choice", but I decided to add a sampler of my notecards....the lucky winner will receive one of each style...

This one is brand new, perfect for Spring, one of my favorite subject (wabbits!)...

Home Sweet Cupcake Home...

And some classic advice: Seize the cupcake!!

If you haven't entered yet, click here to post your reply (and get a look at all of the prizes included)...the drawing will be February 12....

Until Next Time,

Etsy Love...

I have been lucky enough to be included in some truly beautiful treasuries this week...

This first was curated by Monarchdancer....

If I were forced to pick a favorite color, I think this shade of blue would be it....so soft and relaxing...
if you'd like to see the live version, just click on the photo...

Thank you Monarchdancer!
Be sure to click on her name- some adorable crocheted goods in her shop....

This one is curated by CottageInTheSun, a fellow San Antonio girl (Thanks AGAIN for the Texas Christmas ornaments, Annette!)...a more subdued color pallette, but I love it as well (and I am a BIG fan of DUDADAZE!).....

Thank you, Cottage!
I need to start curating some treasuries again- I miss it as this is how I usually do my window shopping on Etsy....

In other news, have you entered my OWOH giveaway yet?
If not, what are you waiting for?
Scroll on down (or even easier: click HERE!) and put your name in the hat. If you're not familiar with the caravan, make sure you click on the OWOH link to be taken to the official blog- I think the train is over six hundred blogs long...

Literally, bloggy nirvana!!
(0:

Happy Snowy Wednesday to all!!

Until next time,

Outside My back Door...

Before I ever whine about Lake Effect Snow ever EVER again...

I will remind myself that...

1) I have four walls and a roof, heat and warm slippers and...
2) I don't have to stick my nose in the snow to find dinner.

Again, life is good.

And the OWOH blog-love- mojo (click to see the original post) is good too, for we have reached 150 entries!

So here we go...

I am adding a set of these aqua crown tags to the package. The crowns are stamped on text from antique books bound for the dumpster (they were in awful shape for any collector, but just fine for my purposes)...again, one of my personal favorites...love the mix of modern (the aqua is a very "now" color) and the vintage.....


Already putting on my thinking cap for #200....maybe it will be a winner's choice...

If you haven't done so yet, make sure you visit the original OWOH post to throw your name in the hat!

Until next time,

Ding! Ding! DING!!! Wooop! Woop!!

To see the original OWOH Post, Click Here!

One Hundred entries!

This is addictive....you are all guilty of keeping me from laundry- shame on you!

Ok what I really meant to say is THANK YOU!

Between visiting all of these beautiful blogs, posting my entries and stalking my own comment totals...

I am getting absolutely NOTHING done!

But...I am right on top of the 100th entry, which means...another prize!

How about something a little different this time? Stickers! I absolutely ADORE these stamps (the set is in my top 3 all-time favorites)...perfect for the artist in all of us...

And they just seem to make sense in sticker form...add them to your hand made gifts, swaps, orders, you name it. They make anything made by your hand even a bit more special...although we already know hand made is always the BEST gift, right??

Happy Friday to all!

Lollishops!

Hey!

That's ME on the front page of Lollishops as the Featured Seller!
Only for a little while longer, so I had to "thumbalize" it and share it here with you...

Thank you Sadie!

Your email letting me know about the feature was the cherry on top of the icing on the cake...

The "icing" was the e-mail from Mr. Sunshine confirming that his R&R leave would definitely start on February 5th! YES! Nine months and two days after he left for Iraq, I will get to see him again....

Life is good....

Until next time which I expect to be later today when we hit 100 OWOH entries and I add another prize,

STEPH

That was Quick!

Response to my OWOH giveaway has been enthusiastic...we reached 50 entries last night! So true to my word, I am adding another set of tags to the prize...

A set of heart shaped, lovey dovey tags, perfect for Valentine's or any special gift...You still have to scroll down to yesterday's official OWOH post to enter. We're up to five sets of gift tags and very close to the next level (when I will add some more goodies from my shop), so what are you waiting for? Get down there and post your entry!

On another note, my friend Kathy at Catnip Studio...has bestowed a gift upon me when in fact it should be the opposite that happens. This is one multi-talented lady! Just when I think there's nothing else that she can take on, she reveals a new layer of talent! From gorgeous mosaics to beautiful decoupaged ornaments to breathtaking jewelry to a subject dear to my heart: lovely, perfectly assembled gift tags....everything Kathy lays a hand on turns out impeccable! Go visit her and say hello, please! I don't think you'll regret it (did I mention she's also got a great sense of humor?)....

I copy/pasted this explanation from her blog:

This blog invests in the riches of proximity! (my rough translation). Proximidade, translated from Portuguese to English, means vicinity or neighborhood.

Here's the story behind the award, including some "msn live research" in parentheses:
"This blog invests and believes in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships. (blogging makes us close by proxy; friendly neighborhoods linked around the world)

Blogs that receive this award are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. (effort is made to maintain a quality blog in terms of blog etiquette, response, and audience - just because) *Note to reader: It does not escape my attention that the mere posting of the award is, in itself, a small measure of self-aggrandizement. I never said I was perfect ;-).

Our hope is that when the ribbons of these awards are cut, even more friendships are propagated. (post the award, and grow more friendship by passing it on)

Please give more attention to these writers! (be an active friend of their neighborhoods)

Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

Following are my eight blog choices (though there are many more that are also deserving), in no particular order, that consistently embody the spirit of kindness, friendship, neighborhood, and warmth for which this award is given:

1. Out on a Whim Studio
2. A Main Collection
3. Bacon Square Farm
4. Mice with Wings and Other Things
5. Whimsical Creations
6. Heather Knitz Designs
7. Jemjoop
8. My Faerie Window

Please go visit these wonderful bloggers and say "Howdy"! You'll enjoy your visits, I'm sure...

Until Next Time,

It's HERE! My One World One Heart Giveaway...

OK...it was here a couple of days ago...
But it wouldn't be ME if I weren't a day or two late, now would it??

The One World One Heart 2009 Giveaway has begun! If you are unfamiliar with this wonderful event, visit here to get an idea of what it's all about. Hosted by Lisa, One World One Heart is an awesome blog party, for lack of a better word, filled with the BEST giveaways around! But it's not just the loot...an even better reason to check this out is to discover some truly awesome blogs filled to the rafters with all sorts of eye candy. You can literally spend days (yes, DAYS!) visiting this diverse selection of artists...

Last year was my first year to participate, and it was so much fun I just HAD to come back again this year.

And now, on to my giveaway...
a grab bag of my gift tags...I will definitely include one set of each of my newest (shown below, a total of four sets of tags)...

And how about this:
if I get up to fifty entries, I will add another set.
If a miracle happens and we reach one hundred entries, another set.
And if by chance it gets beyond that, I will keep adding in fifty entry increments!
So email your friends- tell 'em to hightail it on over...more entries means more goodies for the lucky winner (And heck, I may even add a second prize)!

UPDATES :
I'll post here as I add items to the giveaway...just click on the date to see what's been added...
*1-22-09* 50 Entry addition!
*1-23-09* 100 Entries!
*1-26-09* 150!
*1-30-09* I am thoroughly amazed to reach 200!
*2-5-09* 250!!

After last week's deep freeze (which seems to be lingering despite the forecasts), I am dreaming of Spring...

This yummy lavender card stock has been calling my name for some time now, but I have been waiting until I could do it full justice (SPRING!). These are also my first tags made with my newest toy (another one of those for me/from me gifts), a Cricut Expression (I will blog about that SOON)...

I love these vintage-inspired butterfly images...

And as much as I try, the polka dots always seem to creep in somewhere...I just can't avoid them!

And how about some useful (but always pretty) tags?

Visit my Etsy shop and you will know I love birds and any image with a vintage feel...
so I just could not resist this stamp.

Sometimes a very simple thank you is best...

...in sage green...

And let me offer a "thank you" in advance if you choose to enter my OWOH giveaway(or even if you don't)...I appreciate the time it took to get through this post...

Last but not least, the details!
To win these gift tags, merely leave a comment on this post.
I do need a way to contact you when you win (come you, know you're going to win, right?*wink*), so if you're not a Blogger, please leave an email address with your comment.

Now this is important:
if I have no way to contact you, I can't let you know it's your lucky day!

My giveaway is open to all. I will ship to the winner, anywhere the post office will send.

I will announce the winner in a separate post at some point on February 12th. No specific cutoff time (because I am not sure what time I will do the drawing)- whenever I decide to draw a winner, I will go with all entries posted. I will email the winner (that's you, right?) but just to be safe you might want to check back on the 12th because you know you're going to win! We've already established that...
(0;

Good Luck Everyone! Now I am off to enter some giveaways myself!

Until Next time,

History Repeating...

I'm no blogging angel....sigh...

I seem to be following a pattern, don't I?

Yet again, long time, no chat...

What can I say?

Can I blame it on the weather?
Today is the first clear day in a long time....

We didn't get hammered quite as bad as some of our friends in the mid-west, but to hear Texas kin describe their "cold" 50 degree days last week while we were "enjoying" temps in the negative single digits (double at night!) was...well, I just can't come up with a better word.... it was depressing....I couldn't even fit the entire length of one of these icicles in the frame of the picture. It extends a good three or four inchines beyond the frame (and today has been quite balmy- there's been some melting)...

I have come to the conclusion that I am definitely my parents' child...they moved from Missouri to Texas when I was ten, mainly to escape the winters (at least if you asked my Mother)...

I thought this was interesting...a wall of snow extending down from my roof. It's close to three feet long...

A few new things in blog land coming up too...
The One World/One Heart giveaway has started! This is so much fun!
I need to decide exactly what I am giving away...probably a really nice assortment of gift tags, of course....

I will figure it all out tonight and get things posted for you by tomorrow...
Time to be a little more disciplined in my blogging....

Until Next Time...

Grown Up Conversation Hearts...

A very Happy New Year to all!!
For good luck, don't forget to eat your black-eyed peas today (any other Southerners out there?)....

Today, I am thinking forward...
For your Valentine, grown up conversation hearts...

Inspired by the classic conversation heart candies
(these phrases all appear on the real sugary hearts), but pretty...

...and here's the kicker....
NO calories!!

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie...

That's Amore!

Won't you be mine??

I had a ton of fun making these.....think I may be adding a few more to the collection...
"hi, love", "kiss me", "sweet talk", "you & me", "I hope", "I wish"...so many phrases, so few hearts (and minutes in the day)...

Have a great January 1!

Until Next Time,