And the winner is....................

Jen R. with Sanctuary Arts!!!!
I used the Random number generator and it picked number 21!
Jen was a feature a few weeks ago. She does wonderful furniture re-do's.........if I remember correctly, she calls it repurposing.

So, Jen.........contact me with your address.
Congrats!


I wish I had 60 magazines to send to everyone who entered! Thank you so much for taking the time to enter. I love seeing new faces, new blogs and I love ALL comments.
Happy New Year!

give away deadline 5pm pacific time.........TONIGHT!

If you love decorating magazines.........scroll down and enter the give away. Deadline to enter is tonight 5pm pacific time.
These are older magazines from Romantic Home and Victoria.

well........

I should have been putting together a post for all of you, but I got distracted with creating a new blog banner for my personal blog. I use the word create loosely, because I bought..........total impulse buy..........I bought a digi-banner kit from Two Peas knowing full well that I don't possess the talent to actually use them.........because I have no idea how to use my Photoshop elements 4.0.......I keep thinking I'm going to wake up one day and just naturally know what to do...................BUT.....to my surprise, I figured something out this afternoon. And it only took me about 3 hours. LOL.......I am giddy. I can't tell if it's the See's chocolate or actually figuring out a bit of PSE4.0

Then I got so sure of myself, I created one for my girlfriend...........Can you just imagine if I knew how to sew?

Don't forget to leave a comment on yesterdays post to be entered for the drawing.

edited to add: She didn't think it was girly enough, so I did a different one. So much more "her".....I also need to change the fonts.

How about a Give Away?!

I am marinating in Sugar and Ham! I'm in a Sugar Stupor..........I've had enough sugar and ham in the last week to last me a life time. How about you? So happy that Christmas is over. It was a good one...........but I am spinning.
I also get in vacation mode and pretend I'm on vacation when really I'm not. I've had to teach classes..........what's up with these people who want to work off all that ham and sugar. I say enjoy it........It's job security for me.
Since I have been SO lame in posting, I thought I could offer you all a give away. That perked you up didn't it? A GIVE AWAY!
My Aunt gave me a gift bag full of old mags a couple of months ago. These are older Romantic homes and Victoria mags........I don't know about you, but I like that even more. I had my fun looking through these, even scanned a few pages..........but now they are ready to be shipped off to some lucky person.
Please leave me a comment by Sunday, Dec 30th 5pm pacific time.......then I'll use a random number generator to pick the winner..........unless someone comes through with more sugar and ham.....I'm easy. :)

Psst........guess what I got for Christmas? giggle giggle giggle..........a CANON REBEL XTi........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Drawing is for the magazines shown above.

Crunch Time

It's crunch time around here and I have a sneaky suspicion it's like that for you too.

I want to thank you all for your comments, coming back daily to check out the featured blogs and always sending me new blogs to check out. This has been such a great creative resource and outlet for me.

I would like to wish you all a wonderful holiday season, I am going to take a few days off.

This is our Christmas photo this year. I ordered from Scrapbook Pictures, ordered 2 x 2 inch photos for the cards I made. I chose one of Karen Russell's narratives as an overlay.

Karen was one of my past features.

Please take the time to go through my links to the left of all past featured bloggers. Always something new. Plenty of crafty stuff to get you through the holidays.

Happy Holidays!

Kim

The Tattered Nest

OK, I'm going to be completely honest..........I think I usually am, so I don't know why I said that........but.......I found Gail's site, The Tattered Nest.......riding on the coat tails of Notes from a Cottage Industry. She wasn't riding, I was. Tracey from Cottage Industry is hosting a Holiday home tour.........she even asked for one of my photos! But Gail's home was hosted, that's how I found her. Looking at her photos on Tracy's site.........I knew I needed to see more. I also knew I didn't have much time and I must share her NOW!...........so here's a quick creative fix.

Gail's house looks like a place I could just curl up on the couch and stay forever. I adore her style. I will be spending more time sifting through her treasures. Can't wait.

When I saw this idea........I had to share it immediately. She took one of her mother's hankies and placed it in this ornament to give to her sister. I mean seriously.......is that not one of the best ideas?
This is just a sample of some of her wonderful holiday decorating. So much more on her site.

Can you stand it? The garland, the tag garland.......and stars..........lovely.

At first I thought that this was a wall decal........wouldn't that be cool? But I think it's a cardboard cut out...........still very cool. The vintage style is so original.

This is her sewing/ creation room. Look at that table! Look at the perfect linen colored walls. Look how there's NO CLUTTER! The brown star with the blue eggs! I'm dying........the chippy mantle..........I have died.Cute home. It just looks like nice people live there, doesn't it?Moving onto spring and summer.........Could it get any cuter?I would love a screen porch. The antique window, all the white, the sheer curtains.........oh the dinners that you could have. What a lovely home.

Gail, I'm coming back to snoop more. Love your style.

Skip To My Lou

This girl........Cindy is a creative genius..... I was drawn to her site because of the name.
Skip to my Lou.........reminds of another great blog..... Scrap To My Lu...........he he he.......Then I saw Santa Breakfast, then she hooked me with a few tutorials. Crafty crafty crafty!

While cruising around her site, I realized that not only is she a "I can do anything crafty girl" But she is SO good at celebrating........celebrating holidays, teacher days...........give her a reason to set a crafty pretty table and she's all over it. Look how she did the candy canes! Simple ideas like this make me squeal! They make you say "Now WHY didn't I think of that?"

I want her for my neighbor...........I actually want all my featured bloggers for my neighbors......we could have our own city by now. She even shows step by step instructions for her table settings. Easter below.............cute, simple, high gasp effect.

And these Cheetos carrots! Could you just die? My husband could help me with these......simple.........but sure to make everyone gasp! Love those.I couldn't leave out dessert. Does NOT look simple. She has so many great yummy recipes on her site. These multi-crafty girls are really starting to get on my nerves. Such show offs. :)

Moving onto St. Patricks Day.......she has special buns with messages.......I also saw something about a Blarney stone that she hides a treasure inside and the kids break it open with a hammer. My son would be all over that. Here I was proud of the fact that we put green food coloring in the toilet to make our son think that the leprechaun didn't flush........and we mess the house up so he thinks the pesky guy did it. She's putting me to shame. The Mom guilt is setting in really fast. Just when I start to fantasize that maybe she's a horrible mom because she must be crafting or cooking all the time...........I stumble across TOYS SHE MAKES! Out of PVC pipes. You know..........I've changed my mind. I don't want her as my neighbor. She would make me look bad. :)

On to some other crafty stuff. A few decorations for a bridal shower. Made out of PAPER BAGS! Teacher gift ideas............she's got a few. Great resource. Would you look at these May Day baskets? This beats my bag of walnuts I gave Mark Henderson........And look at these cute little gifts she made..........how thoughtful. I guess you can figure she's not the kind of mom that darts to Target on her way to the party. What? Oh you know you do that........stop judging me.I love this cute little crayon holder. It's so dang cute. She shows a tutorial...........of course she does.Ok people, go pay her a visit. Enjoy!

Tonya & Co.

During this busy time of year, I hope you all take a moment to really soak up the little moments that capture those unexpected holiday memories.

Lately I've been focused.........no pun intended.........focused on photography. I am crossing everything I can think of hoping my dear husband will surprise me with a Canon Rebel XTi....even though I know it's not going to happen........but a girl can wish. I would love to learn more about using an SLR camera.........love to.

So of course I was drawn to Tonya's photos at Tonya & Co. She's got the most adorable models to experiment with. Her photos tell a story.........I feel like I was there, or that I know her. The moments are real. I love that.

Can't you just feel those hot baby cheeks? Picking a baby up after a nap, their cheeks are so supple! I love me a hot baby cheek. (can you image the Google searches on that one? I used Supple, and Hot Cheeks in the same sentence)

I love the excitement she captured as the leaves were falling.........and I just love how they are frozen in the air. The vintage look always gets me too.

Not a care in the world.........You can tell she is very confident in her choice of clothing.

The plastic high heels are a staple in the Tonya household. The angle on this is perfect. Just a reminder to get down low. Love how you can see real life.........the unmatched high heels, and how the others diaper is sticking out......but who cares when you're wearing those silver heels. It's all about the shoes and they have learned it at a very early age. Such a sweet moment........one I'm sure Tonya will pull out to show future boyfriends.

The lighting, the moment........love all of that.The vintage aged look stole my heart here. And of course the sweet little hands with the "I really love you" on them. This is beautiful.

She has a lot more ideas on her blog. I love the chair............you'll see.........just go and look. I had to stop myself from posting it here. Great idea.

I also noticed she had me listed in her blog list! SMOOCH!

Tonya & Co.

Sanctuary Arts

Jennifer has so many sites for her Sanctuary Arts, I was twirling in circles not knowing where to look first. It's all so exciting with so many exciting before and afters. Shall I dare to say it again? I LOVE before and after photos. It inspires me to look at that junky table or chair and know that there's beauty just beyond a paint brush.

Sanctuary Arts for the Home

Sanctuary Arts at Home

2 blogs, both have great eye candy, but it looks like the At Home site is more recent.

Jen captured my heart when she talks about re-using, recycling and re-purposing. That's what she calls it when she paints a new piece. Re-purposing. I love that. Giving it new life. And I don't even think she lives in Oregon or Washington.........the land of recycling.

Now this, I would have past up. But Jen has a better eye than me, because look below to see how she brought new life into this otherwise outdated forgotten piece of furniture.Shazam! She is the master at it. Her blog is entertaining to read, being a mother of 3 young children she doesn't gloss over the hard work of raising children. And she is no stranger to hard work. She was a Firefighter/paramedic before becoming a mother. And just in case you might for a second think she's just an ordinary mom..........think again. She's got PINK hair. Now that's character.

I say rock on Jen. Reading about her pink hair, reminded me of when my mom had baby pink hair styled into her perfect 60s bouffant for the Strawberry festival.

This dresser below is one of my favorites. Is that not the most precious thing ever?

She doesn't just paint furniture.......she paints murals too. I've always wanted to do that, but my husband won't even let me near a paint brush if it's for the house. He's so obsessive when it comes to painting the walls. As long as I get to choose the color and he does all the work......I'll hang up my mural pipe dreams...........for now.A cute little phone chair and table.........You don't see these anymore. Oh look it has a hand written note.........hmm...what does it say? Isn't that clever? She painted it on. Being a mom of 3, she had plenty of baby jars around, so why not re-purpose them? Looks pretty cool.

Cute little chair..........I love pears! This would go really well in my house. You know what I just realized? I have that stamp! And all I ever made with it is cards. Sometimes this Creative Blog thing is NOT good for my crafty ego. I've had a jealous streak lately haven't I?

But I can't help but love a woman who hangs things from her light fixture. I currently have my patio votives and snow flakes from mine.

From ordinary to...................

Va va voom.......And the Grand Finale.........we've all seen a side board like this right?And here it is after her first re-purpose. I love it.............but she didn't, so she painted it again......To this...........WOW! She was right. This looks amazing. It doesn't even look like the same piece of furniture. I am stunned.Have fun and don't forget to leave her a comment. We all love comments, don't we? hint hint

brown eyed fox

I found this blog today............brown eyed fox............I was instantly attracted to the banner. Then the rest of the design..........hmmmm, I wonder why.......We'll get back to that.

Then I saw these stockings! The colors bursting in my brain, wishing I had Christmas Stockings in those colors. So hip, so fresh, so cute!

At first I thought "oh she sews cute things on t-shirts, like that one.....she claims to have whipped it up from a few of her scraps....(i secretly hate women like that)........then I quickly realized that Carissa, brown eyed fox is a very very artsy girl. So effortless. You all know by now that I don't sew. I wish I could sew. And if I could, I would be doing cute wonderful things like that t-shirt. But mine would have sweat marks on it...........no not on the underarms.......that's gross......but drips from my forehead while I tried to create such a masterpiece..........still gross? Sorry.....

Then I saw this. THIS! Isn't this the most perfect piece of art? I squealed with delight when I saw this. Not because it's something I could do with minimal sweat, but it's so perfect for my photo wall. Perfect for documenting a families moment in time. I love it! I must copy.
Carissa is also a mixed media artist. She sells some really original, creative and interesting pieces in her Etsy shop, things you can hang, wear or stick. Carissa has a whimsical spirit.........She's a girl with a song in her heart.

Speaking of her heart........Love the frame, the aged look, the colors.

She also paints these cool signs. So authentic. Like it's been aged to perfection hanging outside the families cabin for the past 50 yrs. This would be perfect for a friend of mine........her last name is White.
And why do I love her site design so much............I realized that Shawn designed it. Shawn designed mine too! Small blog world.

So off you must go, to get your creative soul tickled by the frown eyed fox.