250!

Well I'm a little slow on the draw the past few days...but I am sure you will forgive me...

Mr. Sunshine has left Baghdad and is waiting for his flights out of Kuwait, back to the states. I am thrilled to say the very least (did I mention the whole 9 months since we last saw each other?)...but I am the artsy fartsy type and I know some of you will sympathize with this...I tend to be the messy artsy fartsy type...I never did learn that "pick it up when you're done with it" thing....I'm getting better as I get older, but Mr. Sunshine likes a tidy homefront...and I kinda like him, so I do what I can to make him happy....

So I have been organizing closets, going through magazine baskets, scrubbing floors and so on and so forth...

All that happy, happy homemaker stuff....

I have been keeping track of my OWOH entries and we have hit 250! So it's time for me to add to the prize pool (one lucky winner is going to get a very nice package from their post man!)...


This little magnet will appear in this month's issue of Create & Decorate Magazine as an Artist Trading Card (with instructions, in case you are interested in making your own). I liked the results so much that I scanned the original, printed, and made magnets for my Etsy shop....

I have a couple on my own refrigerator- very cute and definitely keeping with the Spring theme we have going....


And I just got my copies of Create and Decorate yesterday...for some reason I have TWO subscriptions (not sure how I did that), so in addition to the magnet, I will include a copy of the magazine....

Not sure if we will hit 300, so this very well may be the last add on...

If you haven't thrown your name in the basket yet, go check it out here...
Enter your name and then go visit some of the other links in the gypsy caravan....and plan to spend a decent amount of time exploring...sooooo many great blogs out there participating....

And on a side note, Teenage Girl Child's Grandma has lifted my grounding...

She has given me permission to post pictures of her beautiful grandkids because she likes to see them....

So there....

TGIF, fellow bloghoppers!

Until Next Time,

Something New, Something Blue...

I knew it was coming...I took my chances...

I am officially grounded.

I am not allowed to so much as whisper the words (or even type ever so softly) "beautiful Teenage Girl Child" again until further notice (oops, did I just mention "she who shall not be named"?)...I told her everyone was looking at Molly anyway, but she wasn't buying it....If you have no idea what I am talking about, click here....

So how about some shop talk?

Something that would make every teenager on the planet stick their fingers in their ears and wail "lalalalalalalalalalala- can't hear you!"

I have been working today....working on something new, something blue...something slightly comfortable, but different none the less...


Over the past several months I have had several request for more hand stamped stationery.
Honestly, the idea scares me just a bit. My tags are wee little bits of stamping, a contained field that is very easy to keep simple (which has been part of my stamping mantra from the get-go: soft or faded colors, vintage inspired images and overall simplicity).

They are those little single bites of goodness that the contestants are always making on one of my favorite shows, Top Chef ...they are the amuse-bouche of the stamping world....(thank you Google and Wikipedia for teaching me how to spell amuse-bouche)...


Moving on to cards (to me anyway) is like taking the training wheels off. It's such a big surface to work with...that much empty paper intimidates me...

So how about some baby steps first?

How about post cards?


Perfect for short little notes of encouragement- not so small as a gift tag but not the big, full entree commitment of a note card or invitation (at least in my mind, and in that moment, that was all that counted)...


So what do you think?

Not that hard really...actually kind of fun...

Next (baby) Step: Save the Date cards....
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And what would a post from me be these days if I didn't tell you this:
If you haven't entered my OWOH giveaway, what the heck are you waiting for??

Click here!
Go there and post a reply! When I get to 250 entries, I will be adding another prize...
...and I want to give away more stuff, so help me out!

Only three more days 'til Mr. Sunshine comes home on R&R Leave (almost 9 months to the day since I last saw him)...woohooo! I tried to get through the post without mentioning that but I am so giddy, I just couldn't help myself...

And that makes this a HAPPY, walking on Sunshine kind of Tuesday!
Hope it's been a good one for you too...

Until Next Time,

Chuck would Be Proud...

Earlier this week, teenage girl child had a gaggle of (giggling) friends over to hang out...
snacks, movies, a little Wii, some boy talk (I would assume because of course I did not eavesdrop), the usual....

During the festivities, I noticed something by the front door...
It's snowy here (see! I had to work a reference to my nemesis-ie snow-in somewhere) so everyone peels off the shoes at the front door. The nasty gook that sticks to the bottom of your shoes in this weather can really wreak havoc on the carpeting. Since I do not own my carpet, Uncle Sam does (this Army family lives in issued quarters on post), I am trying to be respectful.

But anyway....back to the subject at hand...

I am walking down the hallway and what do I see but this awesome collection of Converse All Stars (that belong to my daughter and her friends)...
I don't know why, call me eccentric (it's OK- you wouldn't be the first), but I knew I had to take some pictures...

This would be the one teen trend I have to say is my favorite...have always loved the look of the Chuck Taylors, even when they were not in style (that would be my teenage years- sigh).

And I absolutely adore the rainbow of colors they come in these days...girly and tomboy, sassy and sweet...a perfect combo!

I have to admit that my faves were these petite little pink ones...I want a pair!

Good thing Teenage girl child's friend has wee li'l feet, or I might just have run away with them....

Not really, I am a grown up after all....I just need to buy my own (cause I'm not that grown up!)

Happy Super Bowl Sunday, everyone!

Oh yeah and if you haven't enetered my OWOH giveaway, click here to join in on the festivities. It's a party on your computer screen (entereing my own name in some awesome giveaways is how I will be spending my Super Bowl Sunday)!

Until Next Time,

...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,

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

Until Next time,

We have a Weeener....

After a COMPLETELY scientific process, where I:

1) printed out your messages (because there were just too many to write each name by hand)

2)cut them up and put them in this sweet little Chinese Take-out box my friend Kathleen made for me (more on that in just a sec)

3) took them out because there were just too many for the secret winner picker (also known as my nine year old son) to get a "good swirl" going with his magic winner picking hand and

4) transferred them to a much larger (but still kinda Valentine-ish because it is a bright, heart stopping red) canvas bin...

I am thrilled to announce that the magic picker has chosen......

Jenny Holiday as the winner of my OWOH giveaway....

And Oh MY! am I thrilled and just a bit intimidated! I discovered Jenny's blog through this One World/One Heart giveaway and this is one talented lady... Not sure my little hearts can hold a candle to her sweet creations but I hope she likes them....

And how fun has this whole process of OWOH been? I have discovered some fantastic new blogs (and added quite a few of them on my *Blogs I Love* Sidebar) but not near as many as I could have (there just wasn't enough time to see it all), re-connected with friends and past customers and enjoyed seeing the traffic from all over the world that filtered through this page...

A HUGE thank you to everyone who posted...I couldn't reply to all, but I thoroughy enjoyed your messages....

And an EVEN BIGGER Thank you goes to Lisa Oceandreamer, for organizing such a massive event! This has been the most fun I have had in QUITE awhile...so many new friends to visit, so little time.....

Thanks to OWOH, I can now admit I am completely addicted to blogs (before OWOH, I was only *slightly* addicted)!

Last but not least, a little more about the magic winner picking box. My selling group, The Secret Society of Dirty Sisters (don't go there! "Dirty" as in grubby, old and vintage....and the "secret" is very tongue-in-cheek) recently held a Chinese Take-Out Valentines Swap....with the best of intentions, I had planned to photograph every individually wrapped oh-so-sweetly prize as I opened it, but there was chocolate in that box....good chocolate (Ritter Sport...mmmmm-mmmm-good)!

My clan of vultures, other wise known as my Mr. Sunshine and our daughter, Apple (as in "the apple doesn't fall far from his tree") have a chocolate radar that is beyond compare....Needless to say, we were all just a bit distracted....

But seriously, Kathleen sent me a lovely goodie package with rubber stamps, the cutest altered tiny journal (perfect size for my purse), some luscious soap from her home state of North Dakota, and quite a few other little treasures....Oh next time I will open my package alone and NOT get distracted by the chocolate!

Thank you, Sweet Katheen!!!