Ich Liebe Dich, Auch!

"Ich liebe dich, auch!" means "I love you, too!" in German.  And today I am "liebe-dich-auch-ing" Miae of Making Scrap Up,  who has basically said she loves me by bestowing upon me the great honor of a blog award! 

"Liebster" is a German word meaning dearest, beloved or favorite, and the Liebster Award is sort of a chain letter among bloggers that's intended to showcase exceptional up-and-coming blogs (typically, those with 200 or fewer followers).  There's no evaluation committee or formal award process for the Liebster, but in a way it's even nicer - it's recognition that a peer has noticed and appreciated your hard work.

Here are the rules:

Choose 5 up and coming blogs of fewer than 200 followers to award the Liebster to.

Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.

Post the award on your blog.  Link back to the blogs you have given the Liebster to so everyone else can pay them a visit.

And now I am sharing and passing on the award to five wonderful blogs that I am sure you will want to stop by for a visit:

Alisa     http://doucette.typepad.com/

Jenny    http://startingoverstudio.blogspot.com/

Debbie     http://scraphappyvalley.blogspot.com/

Kerry     http://www.socksandscrapbooks.blogspot.com/

and last, but not least,

Lis     http://lifeinsegments.blogspot.com/

The common thread that ties these blogs together (besides me liking them!) is that they are very personal.  I hope you will enjoy visiting them, too!  Thank you again, Miae, for your bloggy love and encouragement! 

Thank You, Scrap Fairy!

I'm a bad person.  And it's NOT my mom's fault.  She raised me right; I know what good manners are.  But, I rarely send thank you notes.  Even though writing them was an essential part of my upbringing.

I know:  I'M HORRIBLE!

I am not ungrateful, however.  I remember giving my husband an earful when we were dating for not saying thank you to someone.  His response, "I exude appreciation."  My jaw dropped open--the NERVE!  And yet, here I am twenty-plus years into that relationship, not sending thank you notes.  His lack of articulated acknowledgment is by no means his convention, and I don't believe this is a practice I've adopted, so much as another I've abandoned. (He truly is one of the kindest people I've ever known.)

Well, something happened.  I received a HUGE, HUGE gift: a box of scrappy goodness that you can't even begin to imagine!!  TWENTY-FOUR POUNDS of beautiful papers (Prima, Authentique, Echo Park, Websters, s.e.i), alphas, embellishments, flowers, bling, pearls, and dies.  The DIES!  So many Nestabilities for a girl who had zero!  Whoa!  The gift was from my lovely Mother-in-Law and her very generous friend, the Scrap Fairy.  The thing is, I don't have direct contact with the Scrap Fairy, so there was no phone call to make, or email to send, or visible means of exuding my immense appreciation with a hug or even a knowing glance.  

It would have to be a card.

So, there they are.  A card for each, my Mother-in-Law and the Scrap Fairy.  I truly enjoyed making them and expressing my gratitude in them.  And I know I need to get back into the practice and habit--the civilized and proper etiquette--of sending Thank You notes. 

THANK YOU for visiting!  I am exuding appreciation! ;)

Focus On: Home Work (Not Quite What You Think)

With the dawn of a new year naturally comes thoughts of fresh starts and resolutions.  For the last several years I have made the same resolution, to "use what I buy".  I originally was thinking groceries when I started this intention, especially produce and canned goods that go bad or get pushed to the back of the cabinet and forgotten.  I've since expanded my consciousness to include toiletries, makeup, art supplies, gardening tools, candles, etc.  I think I've been doing a fair job of it, and quiz myself before making purchases in the first place.

As 2011 was drawing to a close there was a lot of talk "on the blogs" about gearing up for year-long creative memory documentations like Project Life and Project 365 (well, 366 it being a leap year), and/or about choosing a "word" for 2012.  I wasn't planning on choosing a word, didn't consciously ponder any word possibilities, but apparently a seed was planted at some point because I literally opened my eyes one day with a strong proclamation:  Home Work.

Not to be confused with its close cousin, "House Work" (which evokes visions of dusting, vacuuming, mopping, toilet scrubbing, etc.) my revelation "Home Work" refers more to maintaining the bones of the house, like painting, repairing, upkeeping, do-it-yourself-ing type projects that are part and parcel of home ownership.  We've lived in this house for 16 years (!) now and have A LOT of things that we have not kept up with or just let go of altogether. 

I dedicated the inside front cover spread of my new art journal to laying down this new intention.

Gold paint-hard to see if the light's not hitting it quite right.

 

 On page 2 and 3 I've started my To Do List.  Wish me luck!

Did you choose a word for 2012 or make any resolutions?

Thanks for visiting!

Too Cute--Embroidered Napkins

My crafty friend, Mrs. Do-er.  *Sigh.*  I was sooooo excited when I had the inspiration to embroider some breakfast themed napkins for her and her family for Christmas.  I knew she would LOVE them.  And she does.  But, she says she WON'T USE THEM because they are TOO CUTE!!  Oh, no!  My intention was to make her a utilitarian gift, something that needn't just sit on a shelf, gather dust, etc.  (I've given her many of those!  Lol!)

I was very proud of my sketchy skills for the embroidery designs, and so in love with that wavy, brown, bacon-y fabric.

And the blueberry muffin motif was made especially for her because of her work with a special little boy.  Mrs. Do-er is one of my Autism Angels. 

So, while it is quite a compliment that she tells me she is trying to figure out how to display the napkins on her wall, there is a downfall to something being too cute to use.  I've offered to make her a wall-hanging; we'll see if she takes me up on it.  And next time I'm over at her house, I may have to rifle through her stuff and wipe my mouth on these.  Lol!

I want to thank Penny at Sew Take a Hike for a great tutorial on mitering the corners on the trimmed edge of these napkins.  I constructed mine a little differently so that the folded edge of the trim would butt against the raw edge of the base fabric, but her instructions and photos were crucial to me being able to figure that out.  Also, I am now on the hunt for some newsprint fabric because those napkins she made are ALMOST too cute to use, too!   :)

Sew Take A Hike

Thanks for stopping by!