Stylish Blogger Award

Well, I thought I would quickly check my blog for any new comments before shutting down my PC.  I was so surprised to see that Julie Marshall had given me the Stylish Blog Award!  Julie's blog is called Stamping Impressions.  She is SUCH a talented paper crafter, and her photography is beautiful!  And, by the way, her blog is very stylish :)

Thank you so much Julie!

When you receive this Award, you are to Pay it Forward and follow these rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you this award and link it back to their blog
2. Share 8 things about yourself
3. Pass this award on to 8 other individuals that you have discovered
4. Leave them a comment so they can pass along the recognition
Hmmm...it's not so easy coming up with 8 things to share with you.  But, I'll try.
1.  I was extremely shy as a child, and even into my early twenties.  My husband says that all changed many years ago!
2.  I love to go to estate auctions (especially with my sister!)
3.  I collect depression glass.  I don't just collect it; I enjoy getting it out of the hutch and using it!
4.  I was an Avon sales representative for 32 years...oh my, that makes me sound old, huh?
5.  I love to sing along with music in the car.  With the volume turned up.  Alone.  So that I don't subject anyone else to my off key singing  :)  This is especially fun in the summer, with the windows down.
6.  I enjoy spending time on my in-laws farm.  I love the quiet...the crops...the birds...everything.
7.  I will NOT do public speaking.  Ack!  Can't do it.  But I LOVE blogging  :o)
8.  I believe in the power of prayer.  Even though my prayers are sometimes not answered; or not in the way I thought they should/would be.

 Now, I have to chose 8 other bloggers (and artists) that Inspire me!  There are so many, but I've chosen these to share with you!
Danielle Daws at Danielle Daws
Lucy Abrams at Lucy's Cards
Sue Plote at This Pink Rooster
Michelle at My Passion for Crafting
Maria at Maria's Merry Makings
Kristina Biederman at Itty Bitty Pieces of Me
Sue McRae at Sue's Inky Fingers
Michelle S. Mathey at Pigment of My Imagination

What warms your soul?

I found that question on one of the blogs I read regularly.  The blog is primarily about paper crafting, but Vicki also posts about what's going on in her life.  In addition to telling her readers what warms her soul, she included a link to THIS blog.  It's titled "kind over matter".  After I read Vicki's post, I followed the link...and found a fascinating blog.  After reading what warms my soul, I hope you'll follow the link and check it out.

These are some of the things that warm MY soul ~

the smell of rain in the summer  bird songs  stamping with my friends  the scent of laundry dried outdoors  a baby's giggle  long hugs from loved ones  seeing our nieces and nephews grow into wonderful young men and women  a good book and some quiet time  time alone  time spent with family  sister time  friends that pray for me  friends that ask for my prayers  home  visits with cousins that I don't see often enough  that feeling I get after I've done a thorough house cleaning  sunlight pouring into the house  sending a hand crafted card to someone I care about  receiving an unexpected card or letter  the "greening" of spring  seeing the bulbs I planted last fall grow and bloom this year  the scent of fresh cut grass  memories of my childhood  old photos  making new friends  talking about old times with old friends  laughter  compliments from my husband

And so much more...

What warms your soul?  I'd like to know.

Another sister

Actually, another sister gift!  My sister-in-law suggested that I might want to do a set of 2 gifts.  Then each of the girls has one...and I loved the idea.  Smart sis-in-law, huh?
Anyway, I jumped at the chance.  It was even more fun doing the second one, since I used the same general layout.  I used different DSP, ribbon, etc.  And my SIL sent me more photos, so I was able to use different photos for this project, too.

Here are the pics.  By the way, the ribbon along the right side appears to be black in these photos, but it's actually dark green.

I'm not taking the time to list my supplies today.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at the address above.
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop in!

A Sister...

I'm sharing something a little different in this post.  I love creating cards, which is what I usually share on my blog.  But, every once in a while I enjoy putting together a photo/stamped collage.  Well, actually, I LOVE creating these!  It feels like a very personal gift to give, and I put a lot of thought (and time) into creating it.  I probably get as much joy out of creating the gift, as the recipient gets receiving it.
This is a gift for some friends of my husbands family.  They recently had their second child, so they now have 2 daughters.  I wanted to focus on the relationship of sisters, not just on the new baby.  So...this is what I created:

Just click on any photo to see a larger version.


The finished project measures 12" x 12".


This project is going into the following challenges:
The Play Date Cafe - challenge #67

Crazy 4 Challenges - C4C72 - create a card or project that incorporates vintage or shabby chic

What do you think?  I would love to read your comments. :o)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Ingredients:

Designer Series Paper: sweet pea, bella birds (SU), english garden (Making Memories)

Card Stock: bravo burgundy, night of navy (SU)

Ink: night of navy (SU)

Stamps: occasional quotes (SU)

Other: brown lace (Hobby Lobby), navy ribbon (Offray), clear swirls crystals (Prima), petal pink liquid pearl (Ranger), zots (Therm O Web), scor-tape (Sookwang), lattice bigz die (Sizzix for SU), the font used for the "Sister" quote is CK Alis Hand (this is from Creating Keepsakes website)

After the "Blizzard of 2011"

I don't even know how much snow we got yesterday and overnight.  But, I can show you a few pictures of what we saw, once the sun came up here in northern Illinois.  Take a look ~

 Above: a "curtain" of snow, hanging over the edge of our porch roof.

 Above: my husband making the first pass through the drifts in front of our garage door.  I had to knock down snow from the top of the drifts, it was much higher that the snow thrower.

 The drift in front of our porch was about 5 feet tall.

 Making some progress in the driveway!

 Looking from the garage door towards the front porch.  Yikes!

Looking from the driveway to the porch.

That's it for today...I have stamping to do!!!