Saturday night blogging

So 10 yrs ago, I'd never thought I'd ever spend a Saturday night at home blogging about my hobby! How things change after marriage and kids :) but I am beyond BLESSED and wouldn't have it any other way.

Unfortunately, I had hoped to get some new projects started but that hasn't happened and probably won't for at least another several weeks. We have quite the busy weekends coming up in April so any new projects unfortunately will need to take a back seat for now. However, I thought I'd go ahead and share a card I'd recently made, and actually submitted to a card challenge. Sadly, it didn't win but I had a fantastic time making it anyway and I love how it turned out.

The majority of supplies used are from my #1 favorite SB manufacturer www.mymindseye.com. The hat pins are from Making Memories and the transparency from Hambly Screen Prints. I stamped on the circle die cut using the XO clear stamp set from Stampin' Up. But I think one of my most favorite elements on this card are the two little birds. They make me so happy!

Thanks for visiting today, friends!

Hugs,
Karen

Awards left and right!

Thank you to all my wonderful blogging friends who've been kind enough to award me with several different blog awards :-) The first one is the Versatile Blogger award which is this one:

This lovely award was given by Kim at http://snippetsoflife-kim.blogspot.com and Kristina Nicole at http://kristinanicoleblog.blogspot.com/ so thank you lovely ladies!!! As it goes, the rules for the award are as follows:

1. Thank the person who sent it to you
2. Tell us 7 things about yourself
3. Send/reward 15 other bloggers

7 Things about me are:

1. I hate my food to touch each other
2. I'm deathly afraid of the ocean - I love looking at it, just not so much being in or on it.
3. I'm addicted to all things "Twilight" and "Vampire Diaries"
4. I'm a shoe addict (I think this may have already been stated)
5. Green is my favorite color
6. I love laughing to the point of being in tears
7. I'm a GIGANTIC Ray LaMontagne fan. It's not a secret that if I could, I'd marry his music. 

The 15 Bloggers who I feel are deserving of this award are:

1. Charlotte @ http://alittlebitofdetail.blogspot.com/
2.  Adorable Annagrams @ http://adorableannagrams.blogspot.com/
3. Stichin' Sarah @ http://beansbagsandbottoms.blogspot.com/
4. Dorcas @ http://www.craftycardangel.com/
5. Stephie C @ http://yaddayaddamama.blogspot.com/
6. Jennifer @ http://countrycricut.blogspot.com/
7. Lori @ http://somayprojectssuchlittletime.blogspot.com/
8. Kate @ http://ippitysimplicity.blogspot.com/
9. Silly P @ http://sillyp4jc.blogspot.com/
10. Sherrie K @ http://sherriescraps.blogspot.com/
11. Amanda @ http://scrappinwithrayray.blogspot.com/
12. Michele @ http://fishmememoriesandmore.blogspot.com/
13. Terri @ http://scrappinwiththebug.blogspot.com/
14. Kate @ http://sassyandscrappykate.blogspot.com/
15. Jackie @ http://purplepizzazz2.blogspot.com/

The other lovely award I received was the Liebster Blog Award from Fran @ http://justacuttnup.blogspot.com/ (thank you Fran!!)  which is this one:

The Liebster Award is designed to bring new blogs to light. It is a great way to share blogs that might not otherwise be seen or ones you may want to share with others.

As a recipient you must share the love and pay it forward by:

-Creating a post where you blog about the Liebster award & reveal your 3-5 blog picks
-Let them know you chose them
-Copy & paste the blog award on your blog
-Have faith that your followers will rally & show their crafty love back out to those you awarded

And the 5 who inspire me are:

1. Kim @ http://www.snippetsoflife-kim.blogspot.com/
2. Deanne @ http://deannescreativejuice.blogspot.com/
3. Ken @ http://cutesyglamdesigns.blogspot.com/
4. Julie @ http://juliescraftyspot.blogspot.com/
5. Karen T @ http://www.midlifemysteries.com/

And last but certainly not least, my final award is the Stylish Blog Award that I received from Ruby @ http://handcraftedsimplybyus.blogspot.com/ (thank you Ruby!!):

So for this award, I must:
Thank the person who gave this award to me and link back to their blog
-Share 8 things about myself
-Pass this award to 8 other individuals that I have recently discovered
-Leave a comment so that they can pass along the recognition.

And the 8 things about me are (in addition to the 7 already noted above!)

1. I adore designer jeans b/c they're made so well and are so COMFY. My favorite ones are by Paige Premium Denim
2. I can't stand peas
3. I have a terrible weakness for chocolate cake
4. Being a mother has been the hardest job (and most rewarding at the same time!) I've ever had
5. I still love Hello Kitty, and with a daughter I now have an excuse to buy anything Hello Kitty related!
6. I have an M1 (motorcycle) endorsement on my driver's license
7. I love massages & pedicures
8. PDA grosses me out

so thank you everyone who awarded me these fabulous honors!

Hugs to all,
Karen

Shadow Box Yumminess

I love working on projects that go beyond the pages of a scrapbook. Since I'm the type of scrapbooker who adores embellishments and layers galore, the chance to work on this particular shadow box had me more excited than a kid locked inside Disneyland!

The picture is of my sister Kathy and her husband Marc at their destination wedding in Hawaii -- the photos just came out beautifully and the yellow in her gorgeous bouquet was the focal point of color in the project. Shadow boxes are so versatile and make wonderful gifts to give. We did end up giving this one to Marc's parents and I think they ended up really enjoying it. I personally think that home-made presents make the best ones!

On a side note: I apologize for the shoddy quality of my pictures! As you know, I'm still working w/ my point and shoot and I'm looking forward to the day I'm able to purchase my digital SLR once and for all (should be within the next month). I promised to have better photos to share at that point!

Some of the supplies I used are pattern paper from Colorbok, adhesive pearls from Martha Stewart Crafts, Martha Stewart Die Cut lace tags (I'm addicted to these!), ribbon, and Bazzill Cardstock. It's really hard to tell in the photo, but I did use a background stamp on the MS lace tag. I'm also really loving how the rosettes turned out. They are so simple to make and they have such a huge impact on the page! Adding the pearls to the middle give them the finishing touch.

Thank you for visiting today! I do have several other projects to share over the next few days and look forward to posting those up as well :)

Till then my friends -- here's a big hug from me to you ((HUGS))

Karen

Is it too late to make a New Years Resolution?....

...No? Yes??

I've been AWFUL about updating this blog. I know. I'm resolving to be more diligent about keeping my blog updated. In fact, that's what I propose to do for my new years resolution. Grant it, only *almost* 4 months into the new year. But I gotta start somewhere, right?!

I've got several projects that I do want to share and I'm going to dedicate this weekend to some long overdue crafting and blog updating so I look forward to sharing those completed projects that I've worked on over the last several months but perhaps also any projects that I may be able to complete this weekend.

My baby sister actually re-inspired me to update my blog. You can visit her here at http://www.snippetsoflife-kim.blogspot.com/ she's super talented and I love her whimsical crafting style. (Thanks for the renewed inspiration Kim! I love you tons! xoxo)

Looking forward to sharing some of these projects over the next several days!

Hugs,
Karen