One World, One Heart, One Day Late....

Have to stay true to form don't you know (I'm late, I'm late for a very important date! The story of my blogging life.)....

My most sincere apologies for being a day late with my winner announcement, but just one more time I hope you will forgive...

Been a little distracted this week, for this handsome guy has been keeping us busy...


Yep, Mr. Sunshine made it home late Sunday evening, and the kids and I have just been enjoying hanging out with him...leave is only eighteen days, which seems like allot until you sit down and realize we are already on day5...sigh...my blogging will probably be sparse until late February, early March when he has to return "over there"....

But we do have a winner!

I used Random.org to generate a magic number...305...

That would be Kristal of Bella Grace....

Congratulations Kristal!

And a big "thank you!" to everyone who took the time to visit and enter a comment- I truly appreciate it! And to Lisa Oceandreamer...wow, thanks so much for hosting such a fun and exciting ride...we will definitely be back in 2010....

Until Next time,

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,

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!!
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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,