Sunshine Award

My sweet blogging friend Justine, sent me the Sunshine Award...thanks, Justine - you made my day!! (Check out Justine's FANTASTIC blog HERE...I promise you'll love what you see!!)

Now on the the Sunshine Award details...

• Thank the one who gave you the award - done!
• Answer the 10 questions below
• Pass the award on to 10 blogs

The 10 questions and my answers:

1. Favorite color: I really like yellow, but lately have been leaning toward a light ocean blue.
2. Favorite animal: My sweet little dog, Tony!

3. Favorite number: 7 

4. Favorite Drink: Caramel Latte from Panera - DELICIOUS indulgence!!
5. Facebook or Twitter: Facebook.

6. Good book or good movie: I work in a library, so it's definitely a good book - LOL!  

7. My passion: Being creative...whether it's making projects, gardening, or cooking I love to create!
8. Giving or getting gifts: Most definitely giving gifts...especially if I've made something that  I know the recipient will love!
9. Favorite day: Gotta be a Friday...especially after I get off work at 3 p.m.!
10. Favorite flower: Hydrangeas and Geraniums.

In no particular order, here are the 10 blogs I am passing the award on to. These gals are all SUPER talented and continue to inspire me weekly with the wonderful projects that they post! Please be sure to drop by their blogs...you'll be really glad you did! 

 

 1.) Cheryl at She Stamps

 2.) Kimberly at Scrap-It-Girl

 3.) April at Scrapper Forever

 4.) Maya at Basement Chronicles

 5.) Dawn at Time to Create

 6.) Gloria at Scraptabulous Studio

 7.) Deb at Paper, Ink, Scissors and Stamps

 8.) Ann at November Rose

 9.) Lisa at Lisa's Loft of Joy

10.) Stacie at All Things Crafty

 

 

Happy Scrappin'!

Liebster Blog Award

Good morning, Friends! My blogging pal Romaine, who is a WONDERFULLY TALENTED lady, bestowed me with this blogging award - thanks Romaine!! (Be sure to check out Romaine's craftiness on her blog, Bumbles n' Bees!)

Here's a little history about the Liebster Blogging Award:

ABOUT THE AWARD

Liebster is a German word meaning "Beloved," "Favorite," or "Dearest." This award is a peer to peer award in which fellow bloggers present the award to their favorite bloggers with less than 200 followers. The origins of this award is unclear, but is believed to have originated by a German blogger. This award was designed to be a blog award in the pay it forward fashion to share your dearest and most beloved blogs that have less than 200 followers.

RULES FOR ACCEPTANCE

Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to their blog. Post the award onto your blog.Give the award to five bloggers who you appreciate that have less than 200 followers. Leave a comment on their blog letting them know that you have given them this awesome award!

PAY IT FORWARD

So, without further adieu, here are the 5 blogs (in no particular order, as they all are fantastic!) with less than 200 followers that I would like to pass the Liebster Blog Award on to.....

 

1.) Jill at A Little Red Wagon 

2.) Pam at Living With Projects

3.) Rebecca at Enjoy Life

4.) Laura at Scrapaddict {4} Life

5.) Rina at Mothership Scrapbook Gal

 

Be sure to take a few minutes to check out all of the creative goodness and inspiration on their blogs!

 

Have a SUPER day!

This and That: More Garden Photos and a Blog Award...

With the school year winding down, (only 5 1/2 weeks left 'til summer break!!), I've been SUPER busy! This week we begin EOI (End of Instruction) testing, which will run until May 11th. Yup, you read that right, that's 4 WEEKS of testing! I always feel so bad for the kiddos having to test for that long, but EOI testing is a state requirement. On the upside, May 23rd is the last day of school and summer break officially begins!

As I am sure that many of you have seen on TV, there have been some really bad storms hit Oklahoma in recent days. We are so very thankful that we only received rain here in Broken Arrow, and none of the terrible tornado devastation that Woodward had. The rains have really caused my flowers to burst into bloom, so I thought I'd share a few more recent pics of some of the views in my back yard...

Here's a photo of the flower bed along a portion of my back fence. The clematis, which is climbing up the trellis, has GORGEOUS purple blooms; and the knockout rose bushes are budding as well:

Here's a close-up view of those beautiful purple clematis flowers:

We have 2 blue bird houses hanging on the fence near this flower bed, and a blue bird couple have decided to call one of the houses "home" and lay eggs there. Here is a photo of "daddy blue bird" guarding his home:

And here is the precious treasure he is guarding...5 sweet little eggs:

Some other interesting wildlife that we have living in our back yard, (besides our 13 year old beagle, Hunter!), is a family of rabbits. These cuties reside under our garden shed, and have adorable little babies that hop around our back yard. (Funny thing...Hunter doesn't even notice them because her hearing and eyesight aren't very good due to her age. In "people years" she would be 91!!) Here's a picture of momma and daddy rabbit hopping around our yard after the rain:

Recently Mike added a weather vane to the top of our garden shed, and I just love how it looks!

As you can see, the Jackmani Clematis vine growing on the trellis located on the side of the garden shed has gotten so big and is about to burst out in deep purple blooms any day now. I'll share a photo with you once it's bloomed!

Last but not least, a BIG thank you to my blogging friend Justine at Kerr-afty Creations for the following award that she sent to me:

"Liebster" means favorite, and I am honored that she selected me as a recipient - thanks, Justine!! You'll want to check out her blog...she is SUPER talented and has lots of fun crafty projects posted there!!

Upon receiving the "Liebster Award", I am to pass it along to 5 of my favorite bloggers that have 200 or less followers....so, in no particular order, here they are:

1.) Lisa at Lisa's Loft
2.) Stacie at All Things Crafty
3.) Gloria at Scraptabulous Studio
4.) Tammy at The Stamper's Cottage
5.) Kimberly at Scrap-It-Girl

I hope that you'll take a minute to visit these terrific blogs...I KNOW you'll find lots and lots of crafty inspiration when you do!!

Wishing you a wonderful and safe week ahead!

Blessings,

Cute as a Button Blog Award...

Happy Monday, All! My sweet and talented blog friend, Lisa, bestowed me with this very cute blog award! Thanks, Lisa - you really made my day!! (Click HERE to go to Lisa's blog and check out all of her fabulous craftiness!)

I now have to pass this award on to a blog that I love. That's a TOUGH one for me, because I truly love reading and following so many wonderful crafty blogs! After much thought and deliberation, I am sharing this award with my new blog friend, Karen, over at My Cup Runneth Over. Please take a moment to hop over to Karen's blog, where I know you will be inspired by her beautiful, crafty creations and Biblical wisdom!

Have a wonderful week!

A Blog Award for Me!!

My blog bud Stacie sent me this fun award - thanks, Stacie!! Here are the questions that I am required to answer to accept the award:

Q1) Name your favorite color? Buttercream yellow


Q2) Name your favorite song? At the moment...Luke Bryan's "Country Girl" (Shake it for me)


Q3) Name your favorite dessert? Lemon meringue pie  - mmmmmmm!!


Q4) What annoys you at the moment? People who refuse to be accountable for their bad choices


Q5) Your favorite pet? My beagle, Hunter, of course!


Q6) Black or White? Okay...I'm going to assume that this means clothing! I actually like to combine black and white for a crisp, clean, classic look in clothes.


Q7) Your biggest fear? Losing a family member


Q8) Best Feature? Eyes and smile


Q9) Everyday attitude? Usually positive and upbeat...especially now that I'm back to working in a school library - ha! ha!


Q10) What is perfection? God


Q11) Guilty Pleasure? Cute shoes!


Q12) When you're upset you? Talk to Mike and/or my best bud Jamie!


I am passing this award on to the following bloggers:

1.) Ann - November Rose
2.) Andrea F. - Scrapality
3.) Beverly - Scrappin Thread
4.) Tammy - The Stamper's Cottage
5.) Gloria - Scraptabulous Studio

Please be sure to check out these talented ladies' blogs, as well as Stacie's blog - All Things Crafty! I know you'll come away with lots and lots of inspiration from them just like I do!

Wishing you a wonderful day!

Blog Award

Upon opening my email a few days ago, I discovered that Lolis had awarded me with this:

What a great surpirse...thanks, Lolis!!! Please check out her blog, My Creative Corner, to see all of the fun projects that she posts! Here are the guidelines for this award:

Thank the person that shared this award with me - Thanks a bunch, Lolis!!!

Next, I am to share 7 things about myself with you and then pass the award on to 15 other deserving bloggers. So, here goes....

7 Things About Me:

1. My husband agreed to take dance lessons with me if I would grow my hair out long again...so for the past year I've been growing my hair out from a very short cut, and it now is just below my shoulders! WOO HOO!! Dance lessons are in our near future!!

2. I have always wanted a pug...and if I ever have one I want to name her Fiona like "Princess Fiona" on Shrek.

3. One of my favorite TV shows is Fringe. (I wish my hair looked like Olivia's on that show!)

4. My dream job would be to work for the "Sea Turtle Patrol" on Sanibel Island, Florida.

5. I don't like rye bread.

6. I love quilts!

7. I used to sell Longaberger baskets (from 1995  - 2000).

Choosing 15 blogs is a pretty tough task for me because I LOVE reading so many blogs...therefore I'm going to be a rule breaker! If you would like to post this award on your blog, please feel free to do so!

Wishing you a blessed day!

Blog Award!!

My blogging pal, Stacie, at All Things Crafty was kind enough to bestow me with this blog award:

Thanks, Stacie!! You're such a sweetie and totally made my day!! In getting to know Stacie over the past few months I've come to realize that we have a lot in common! We both love to cook, craft, work on home improvement projects and we have mechanics/auto repair technicians in our families. We also each have a family member named "Royce"! (What are the odds of that??) Thanks, Stacie, for being a great friend and inspiration...I appreciate YOU!

Now, I am to pass this award on to 5 other bloggers and tell why I like them and their blogs. (It's tough for me to pick just 5 because I really enjoy reading everyone's blog!!) So, in no particular order, here goes:

• Lisa at Lisa's Loft: I love Lisa's kind spirit, her incredibly crafty nature and she always has a kind word to share! Also, she lives in one of the most beautiful places in the world - Colorado - which is one of my family's favorite vacation spots! I am grateful for the friendship that we've formed through our blogging...you're a blessing, Lisa!
• Ann at November Rose: Ann's great sense of humor always makes me smile! She is a terrifically talented crafter, and in getting to know her through our correspondence, I found out that she is an awesome educator as well!! (Seriously, Ann, you really need to move to BA in a few years to teach in our district!!) Her blog has a wonderful WOW! factor, so be sure to check it out for yourself!!
• Justine at Kerrafty Creations: Justine is just so sweet and talented! Not only is she a great paper-crafter but she sews beautiful items as well...some of the items that she sews are for her gorgeous baby girl! I love reading her blog and casing ideas from her...thanks, Justine, for being a wonderful inspiration to me!! 
• Tammy at The Stamper's Cottage: Tammy is amazingly creative and was one of the first people to sign up to follow my blog. Her paper-crafts are just lovely and she does beautiful quilt work too! I am a total lover of quilts...both of my grandmother's quilted and I am very, very fortunate to own some of the quilts that they lovingly made! I have dabbled in creating quilted projects, but Tammy's projects always take my breath away - they are sooooo beautiful!!!
• Margo at Margo's Garden: In getting to know Margo I've become a fan of her quick wit, which is so similar to that of all my gal pals! I'm sure that if we lived near each other we'd hang out and be great friends! Margo is always so positive and upbeat and is fabulously talented in all things paper-craft related!! I love reading her blog and always come away with great ideas and inspiration! 

Be sure to take a few minutes to check out the fantastic projects that these gals share with us on their blogs...they are super ladies and I promise that you'll totally enjoy getting to know them too!!

Have a blessed day!

A Little This and a Little That; a Scrapbook Page and a Blog Award!

Happy New Year, Everyone! I hope that you had a fun and safe New Year's Eve. Sweetie and I just stayed home, ordered a pizza, and watched T.V.  That's what we consider a PERFECT evening...until I woke up around 1:30 a.m. running to the bathroom with the stomach virus that he'd had earlier in the week. UGH!! Not exactly how I envisioned ringing in 2011! Needless to say I've been a total slug and out of commish for a couple of days, but am feeling a little better today...the fever is gone, I'm just weak and have a headache. On the upside, (if there can be an upside to a stomach virus!), I lost 4 lbs. by not being able to keep anything down...so there is a little jumpstart to my new year's weight loss plan - LOL! (How pathetic is that?!?!?)

Before getting sick, I was really enjoying my week off of work! Mike and I joined a gym, (part of our New Year's resolution - get into better shape!), so I went to the gym a couple of times. Our goal is to go 3 times a week! I'd also like to lose 15 pounds by the end of May, so keep your fingers crossed that I'll be successful with that!

On Thursday morning the Fed Ex man delivered my CTMH order, so I spent Thursday and Friday as happy as a kid in a candy store playing with the new stamps and paper that I ordered! (My dining room table and spare bedroom, which also houses my craft supplies, is a complete disaster now - ha! I've got to get everything cleaned up and put away this afternoon.) Anyhoo - I love the new products! I spent some time on Thursday and Friday designing the prototype for my January workshop, (photos and a tutorial to come soon!), but I took a few minutes to whip up a fast scrapbook page layout using some of the new stamps. I still need to add a journaling block/tag, but for now here's what I came up with:

First, here's the random stamped background on its own:

And here's the layout that I created from it:

I decided to use a family picture on the layout, but since I haven't yet ordered our photos from Christmas Eve and Christmas day I just ended up just using the one taken of us on Thanksgiving. I random stamped a piece of Colonial White cardstock with the images from the new CTMH "Wings" and "Find Your Style" stamp sets. I used the following CTMH ink colors:

• Juniper
• Vineyard Berry
• Sweet Leaf
• Black

Other CTMH cardstock colors that I used are:

• Buttercup
• Juniper
• Black

I "ruffled" a piece of scrap paper from the new CTMH "Wings" paper collection and added it to a couple of punched pieces of cardstock and a layered stamped image to create the decorative element located a the bottom left hand corner of the matted photo.

I had some Juniper grosgrain ribbon left over from last year's "Jingle" creative basics paper pack, so I incorporated that with some black brads to the right edge of the black photo mat to give it a little extra "pop".

Switching gears....my blogging friend Ann over at November Rose   nominated me for the "Stylish Blogger Award! (Thanks, Ann...you totally made my day!!) Be sure to check out Ann's FABULOUS  blog...you'll enjoy her fun posts and incredible creativity!!

I feel so humbled and proud that I've now been nominated for this award twice! Thanks to all of you for reading my blog; as well as encouraging and inspiring me...I appreciate you all!!

To accept this award I must do the following:

• Thank the person that nominated me - THANKS, ANN!!! You're a doll!
• Tell you 8 things about me that you probably don't already know...so here goes:
• I drive a 2007 Mustang...which I LOVE!! Such a fun, fun car!!
• My favorite color is buttercup yellow...it's a happy color!
• I collect quotes and keep them in a little file box organized by category.
• I used to teach pre-school...a very fun and rewarding job!
• I grew up in the country and I'm still a country girl at heart!
• I was "Miss Afton" 1985.
• I like watching John Wayne movies.
• I was a Longaberger Basket Consultant for 5 years...I even went to Dresden, OH and wove my own basket at the "Basket Bee" in 1997.
• Pay it forward...so I am picking a couple of great blogs that, (to my knowledge!), haven't yet been selected for this award:
• Lisa Fowler at Lisa's Loft of Joy
• Heather Martin at Heather's Creative Haven

Be sure to take a minute to check out these gal's blogs...they've got lots of great crafty ideas!
Have a GREAT week!!

How Fun!! A Blog Award!!

My blogging friend, Justine at Kerr-afty Creations, made my day by sending me this blog award...thanks a bunch, Justine!! (Be sure to click on Justine's link above to check out her super-cute and crafty blog...you'll love it!!)  Upon accepting this award I must following these guidelines:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this

2. Share 8 things about yourself

3. Pay it forward to 8 bloggers that you have recently discovered

4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their awards

Now for some little known, (and not so little known - ha!), facts about me:

1. The one food that I absolutely loathe is black-eyed peas...just the smell of them gags me!
2. I am a very task-oriented person, so I make lists...lots and lots of lists - ha! ha!
3. I collect quotes
4. I am of German-Irish heritage
5. I love to cook but I don't like going to the grocery store
6. My family is my joy!
7. The one thing I am terrified of is snakes! They totally creep me out!
8. I am currently reading/studying 1 Kings in the Bible...and wondering how on earth King Solomon kept up with having 700 wives and 300 concubines?!?!?! Holy cats!!!

Here are 8 terrific blogs, (in no particular order!), that you won't want to miss checking out:

1. All Things Crafty
2. Margo's Garden
3. The Stamper's Cottage
4. Jessica's Paper Petals
5. Glitterbabe
6. Crafty Girl
7. Happy Scrapin'-n-Stampin'
8. Creating with Kari

Have a blessed day!

Blogger Award

My blogging friend, Stacie, (aka the Craft-Princess), has nominated me for the following Blog Award, which comes with a fun $5.00 gift certificate to Digi's With Attitude! Thanks, Stacie...you've made my day!!

The rules for accepting this award and gift certificate are:

• I must post the award and the link to the Digi's With Attitude site in my sidebar - done!
• I must tell you 3 things about me that makes me different from everyone else:
• I sort/organize the clothes in my closet by color.
• I prepare all of our meals for the upcoming week on Sunday afternoons (peeling, chopping, pre-cooking meat, making casseroles, etc.)
• I have a standing lunch date with my dear hubby every Wednesday! My co-workers tease us and have nicknamed our date day "Wife Wednesday".
• I must nominate 5 other blogs for this award, which is a toughie since I enjoy reading several blogs! I decided to nominate blogs that I haven't previously nominated for an award...so here are my 5 picks, in no specific order:
• Margo
• Tresa
• Vicki
• Ann Marie
• Aaron

I hope you'll take a minute to check out these AWESOME blogs as well...I'm sure you'll come away with some FANTASTIC ideas just like I do when I visit their blogs!

Have a blessed day!

My Very First Blog Award!

Wow! I just received my very first blog award! My blogging friend, Stacie, was kind enough to send me this award. (Click HERE to check out Stacie's blog...she's VERY talented and creative!)

Here are the simple rules for accepting this award:

1. Thank the person who gave it to you.

Thanks, Stacie!! I'm honored that you selected my blog!

     2.  Post the award on your blog. 

 Happy to do so!

     3.  Tell everyone three things that you love.

That's easy!

• God
• My Family
• Lime Slushes from Sonic

      4.   A picture you love.

That's actually a tough one for me....I love so many pictures! I ended up choosing one of my Granddad and Grandma Franklin on their 50th wedding anniversary in 1992. You can see the deep love between them even after so many years together:

     5.  Pass the award on to five blogs you love.

Click on the 5 I've chosen below to check them out!

• Carol Labuski
• Teresa Kline
• Sonia Abrew
• Krista Ritskes
• Bobie Glassett

Enjoy the weekend!!