Finding the Creative Person Within and Annoucement of a Winner!

Without further ado, we have a winner for the random drawing of the "Two Shall Become One" jewelry from Arise Shine Designs at http://www.ariseshinejewelry.com/ and congratulations to #4 comment belonging to Julie! Thank you all so much for your comments!

I was thinking today that this has been a pretty creatively intense four months---but in a good way. It's amusing [and a little quirky] how I jump from one project to another whether it is sewing, stenciling / painting [I'm not a painter!], doodler, outside-of-the-box thinker, jewelry, and organizing. Sometimes I don't finish my project. Now, I'm realizing that I just need to stick with it even if it doesn't turn out right; and then try again. If Thomas Edison had been like me, we would still be in the dark now.

This is an example of a project turned lackluster----although it is so homey and I love everything red, white and blue. This one is for Betsy Ross---perhaps just as primitive as that first flag. Or maybe Betsy was a true craftswoman whose perfect stars and stripes impressed everyone who saw that flag waving.
What do you think about my flag with its 50 stars? You can see my practice stars to the left of the finished flag. I used a potato and made a star stamp. It works pretty good when you're in a tight spot!

The highlight of my day can be as simple as stopping by Books-A-Million to see if the new creative magazines are out. By that time, I've already worn the previous issues ragged. I've been finding myself really obsessed with the publication "Where Women Create" http://www.wherewomencreate.com/ and if you have visited their site and blog , you will probably agree with me. There are some phenomenal creative people out there. I love reading the stories about how they started, the hurdles they've overcome and what they have learned about themselves in the process. It calls back to me and encourages me forward. What about you? Is there a less-than-perfect project that you have---perhaps abandoned in a box because it just didn't turn out as expected; or maybe something that you wanted to try but just sort of gave up and became content to read the creative magazines where artists abound with creativity and incredible FINISHED projects. The feature about Kelly Rae Roberts is truly motivating and inspiring. I would love to participate in the "Flying Lessons" e-course or even have the e-course books! If you go over to the WWC site, you can enter a giveaway. This would be great if you're an entrepreneurial [which I think I am] and it's great to learn from someone with her experience!

What projects are you working on? What skills would you like to have? What can you do to obtain these skills [take a class, learn from a mentor, learn from YouTube :) , online courses, or my tried and true method, "trial and error"]?

This week while in the creative mode jumping from fabric project, paint project, wood project, collage project to paper project [are you dizzy yet?], I was reminded of Creation and how God made all things [Genesis Chapters 1 & 2] and He saw that it was good. I have decided to enjoy the lessons in creating little things---even with their imperfections ---- and learn to think that it is good. Perhaps not good in someone else's eyes, but just to see something that is born from a creative idea or thought and hold that something in my hand, is an accomplishment & a gift in itself. I have decided to never quit, never give up, never stop trying, never stop tweaking and never stop learning. Oh, and never stop sharing! This is part of the joy of life. Isn't it fun to create? Blessings to you and yours!

It's All Coming Back to Me Now.......and a giveaway, too!

Just a quick note....at the end of this long post :) , I have a giveaway for you! This will be a great gift for a bride-to-be or perhaps just for you to remember your special day by. So, there's a reward for hanging with me on this long post. I am glad that you're here visiting me---I love company!...........on to the post......

It's all coming back to me now. It's definitely a new day with the wedding styles of 2010 and I must say that I rather like it! I love eclectic-vintage-y, natural-looking decor and elements of today's wedding style. I'm trying to get adjusted to the updated version of the wedding that I have thought about many years as a mother of two precious girls. This updated--somewhat "hip", retro and new spin on yesteryear's -traditional- look is really growing on me. And, many brides [like my sweet girl] are going a bit more casual. It's great. Truly, it is. I've bought it. Hook, line and sinker!

Yet, the whole world of bridal gowns, flowers, cake, photographers, rentals, gifts, caterers.....whew....can be a little overwhelming when you throw those fast balls without giving your mind a break. This weekend, I had the "gift" of attending a bridal show in Nashville with one of my daughters and I think that I enjoyed it far more than she did. It was her company that I enjoyed the most. Or, was that just the sugar rush that I had going from all of those cake samples? Nope, it was definitely her company.

Just visualize the endless cake booths, all with their own specialties to offer; catering companies who put their best dishes forward for hopeful brides to sample; florists who displayed their finest work for all to see; and so many other things were offered to help make the day as special as any newly engaged girl could possibly imagine or dream. And, don't forget the moms. Maybe you have a special story or memory of planning a wedding and all the fun [and challenges] that go along with the festivities. It would be nice to just have a great big "Mother of the Bride" party and hear all about it. We should do that! Maybe blog style. What do you think? Would it be funny or misty-eyed? I'm trying to keep mine as funny as possible. The misty eyes will come later.So, on to share some of the highlights.....and some of my favorite vendors that I met, talked with and some who were kind enough to either let me take a picture of things that intrigued me or were novel....and even collections of business cards that I would pour through once I landed safely at home. In my quiet little nest that used to be filled with my birdies. This will be a happy time for me. I have decided. That's it. This is the time of my daughter's life----and I am here to share this time with her. What a great gift that God has given to me! Here we go....on to the show!

First of all, I met so many great caterers, cake artisans, florists and so forth, that I have to mention Crumb de la Crumb whose cake was absolutely decadently infused with flavor & it was love at first bite :) [I know that's really cheesy--but bear with me!]

and the 8 Lavender Lane http://www.8lavenderlane.com/ , owner Debbie Sutton and Artistic Designer, Cheryl Guest were too kind to humor me with my pictures of their beautiful lavender flavored tea [beautifully displayed, too!] The picture of their drinks will be posted later and they also provide catering! I hope you'll come back and see the next set of pictures as I've run out of room on this post! The Farmhouse ladies at http://www.farmhouseonthesquare.com/ provided that warm, Southern hospitality that really impressed me [fruit fusion tea!]! Chef Penelope's Catering http://www.chefpenelope.com/ was serving two of her signature dishes and it was all just delicious! Thank you all so much! You really outdid yourselves at this bridal show and I know that you will be booked up soon...

We are zooming to a March wedding as fast as lightn'ing and I am just happy to be here for this exciting ride! No roller coasters here----just a delightful, lazy river of wedding planning. I hope you'll come back to visit for the updates. And the pictures. Don't forget the pictures.

Now, for the giveaway that I've promised! It's really, really simple! No jumping through hoops like little poodles! Just check out my website at http://www.ariseshinejewelry.com/ and let me know which piece is your favorite; then come back here and leave a comment for me about that piece; and you will be entered in the drawing for August 9, 2010 for the piece "The Two Shall Become One". That's super easy! If you sign up to follow my blog, please leave a second entry and you'll have a second chance to win. [To all of you who are already followers, leave a second comment for your second chance to win!] **extra note*** I can make this piece in a sweet bracelet of Swarovski crystals and pearls if you would prefer!

And, if you really want one more chance to win this giveaway, blog about it and I'll enter your name another 2 times! Please leave your link info so that I can check out your blog, too!

Sweet blessings to you all!

GIVEAWAY Winner Announced for The Twinery!

Hi to you all and thank you so much for entering my first true hosted giveaway! And....the winner is.......[if you were on tv, you would automatically go to commercial, right?].....but I won't keep you holding on: It was from Comment #4 [randomly drawn!] and "CallMePretty411" is going to be happy to receive her great prize from The Twinery. And, please come back and share what great things you're doing with this twine.

If you have a chance, remember, you have another giveaway that I mentioned over at http://southernhospitalityblog.com/arise-shine-jewelry-giveaway/ and I sure hope you'll visit and that you'll win that one! I'm looking forward to starting another giveaway very soon and bringing some great content to all of you entrepreneurs out there! Have a blessed weekend and talk with you very soon! :)

Beautiful Day in a Small Southern Town & New Giveaway

This is one gorgeous day in McDonough, Georgia! You're looking at the town square and Courthouse in the background. The clock was just finished ringing in lunchtime with nothing but blue skies! The sights and sounds of life zooming by on the one-way streets around the square kept me occupied and made me aware of the busy-ness that we all experience each day. I realized that I have a deep appreciation for my small-town life and know that Atlanta is only a few short miles away. But, for now, I'll soak in the peace of the day and check out the small boutiques that dot our area. Let's walk......................................

There's a relatively new spot that I haven't checked out before [and haven't even had the time to stop until now!]. I found this plaque and everything it said is true. Comically, laughingly true. If I weren't a Southerner, I'd try to find one real quick just to hear those extra syllables in the words. And, I'd go home with them to visit their grandma to get some of that home-cookin' that can't be beat anywhere.
Read this and tell me if you think it's true:

Tea is sweet and accents are sweeter.
Summer starts in April.
Macaroni & Cheese is a vegetable.
Front porches are wide and words are long.
Pecan pie is a staple.
Y'all is the only proper noun.
Chicken is fried and biscuits come with gravy.
Everything is darlin' and
Someone's heart is always being blessed.

So true, don't you think? And, if that isn't comical enough, I decided today to change my home phone answering service message. It only took me about 7 tries to get it to the point the it didn't sound like I was adding all of those syllables! I had never realized it before, nor do I make it a habit of listening to myself on a recording. It's kind of ridiculous and I never thought I had a really heavy Southern drawl. Do you have an accent? Are you living in a different state or country now? And, do you find that people stop you and ask where you're from. Oh well, that's just a little blurb for today.

And, now, guess what? I am sponsoring a give away for a $50 jewelry selection [from my jewelry line at www.AriseShineJewelry.com ] of your choice [if you win :)] and you can enter over at Rhoda's blog www.SouthernHospitalityblog.com . [Head on over there if you have a chance!!!] Look for her giveaway page. I'd love for you to enter and I'd love for you to win!! I love your comments---they make my day---so, please feel free to let me know what's going on with you today! And, tomorrow [Friday, noon], I'll be announcing the winner of my giveaway with The Twinery. If you haven't entered that giveaway, what are you waitin' on?? You might just win!

Have a blessed night/day!! Rebecca

A Super Giveaway featuring The Twinery

Hey, I was so excited [imagine that!] about this absolutely wonderful giveaway chance for you, my friends!! I was going to post it in a few days, but jeepers, I couldn't contain my excitement, so here it is!! And, it is made here in the USA! I'm a huge supporter of handmade & made in the USA products, so here's my chance to promote this great company!!!

This is a great [and generous] giveaway from The Twinery! You'll have a chance to win a 3 pack [full spools] of your choice valued at $42 and the rules for entering are so simple!! Not to mention the fact that if you want to place an order when you're checking out The Twinery's beautiful twine, just put in the promotion code "BIRDIE25" and they will give you 25% off your order. This will be a valid code for 7 full days!

Now, on to the fun "rules":

(1) Visit http://www.thetwinery.com/ and select your favorite color---hey you can even make a note of the 3 that you want to select if you win! Then, come back here to my blog and sign up as a "follower" and leave a comment telling us what color tickles your fancy. Please make sure that you're a follower and I'll make sure that your name is in my random selection box. And, it's just one comment per follower, please. Once you're a follower of my blog, you'll be notified of the next super-duper giveaway :) !!!

(2) If you blog about this giveaway on your blog and link back to my blog, I'll enter your name again for a second chance!

Just think of all the projects you can do with these beautiful spools of delicious twine! I'm a little dizzy thinking about what I will do with the twine that I'm going to be ordering. I'll be announcing the "winner" on Friday, July 30th, at "high noon". I can't wait to jump up and down with you & squeal with delight when YOU win! Scurry on over to http://www.thetwinery.com/ !

See you back here real soon, Rebecca :)

Easy as 1-2-3 Vinyl Decor Do-It-Yourself! And great giveaway link!

I wanted to share a giveaway opportunity that is going on over at Rhoda's Southern Hospitality blog. This reminded me of the vinyl decor project that I've been putting off for 6 months.....And, just imagine if you win this great machine at Southern Hospitality, you can decorate so many things at your own pace.....and with Christmas just around the corner, you can make so many gifts!! This Wall Decor vinyl was a great find at Hobby Lobby [at 50% off] and this is a step-by-step pictorial to show you how we did this. What do you like decorating with vinyl? Go on over to Rhoda's to enter her giveaway for a Silhouette Craft Cutter! http://southernhospitalityblog.com/giveaway-winners/giveaways/a-free-silhouette-craft-cutter-yes-really/#respond

Best handy-dandy guy EVER-----he volunteered to cut the wood for me;
AND, he painted in the background color, too!!
Wood painted and dry [check]; straight ruler [check, check] and the vinyl wall art triple check...]


Now it's time to draw the border.....decide how wide you want your border and place the vinyl piece in the center to determine if the width is to your liking....

I placed my pattern placement holders on the edges so that I could take a step back and look at the layout....[I'll be showing you how I did these handy pattern holders soon....]

Painting the border with a steady hand......whew! That's tough sometimes!
Finishing up the border....
I started removing the vinyl from the sheet at the top and worked down. This is a super fast process and very easy!
Smoothing out any bubbles or bumps.......
There are great little rhinestone stick-ons and they really added dimension.
Voila! Finished! Nothing like a finished project for gratification! Now, if you liked this simple project, check out Rhoda's blog to enter the giveaway! I hope you win!! :)

Welcome to my world, won't you come on in?

Hi and welcome to my creative space! I'm glad that you stopped by & I would like to say a big gargantuan "thank you" to Karen Valentine for hosting this blog party, Where Bloggers Create II, and now I will practice my very best blog party etiquette by inviting you to come on in.....walk with me..... :)



Roxy [my fur baby Pomeranian] and her pink bunny enjoy relaxing in this peaceful space.....I'm thinking that she enjoys it as much as I do....--- very theraputic...and on to the fabric stash with all of the beautiful fabric by great designers [take a trip over to www.fatquartershop.com and you'll see why fabric collecting should be the next Olympic sport....]

More of the sewing space.....I heart my BabyLock mow-chine!

A cutting station is probably the number one thing that I've needed in previous years---no more cutting on the dining room table and running off the mat with the rotary cutter...ouch!

Hmmmm.......what shall I sew next?

If men need a "man cave", we need a "girl cave", right? I think that this space makes a big difference versus sharing space with my office. That didn't work out so well. The papers won out every time......

And, just in case I run out of project ideas, I have some "idea" binders---magazines and great books to help get over the 'creative block'......stored in antique drawers....don't you love repurposing things??

And now, to introduce you to my trusty Bear sewing caddy.....always there when I need him..... and no scrambling for the pin cushion because he's a little hard to misplace...

Buttons and other findings stay in these little jars...I think that I purchased these jars at IKEA in the ATL.

And after much pondering, I finally settled on using foamboard panels for keeping the ever-growing fabric pieces in some kind of order. Now, if I could just cut it! Does anyone else have a problem cutting into their favorite fabric??

one more glance.....

About that vision board.....some call it a bulletin board, but this year, I've been a little hung up on the "vision" board....I even made my girls their own mini vision board [need a picture, hint, hint....] so that they could purposefully see their hopes, dreams and vision for their lives. We always need some direction and I love the verse from Proverbs 29:18..."Where there is no vision, the people perish.....". HEY! I'm not going to perish!! So, dream on!

Rock, paper, Sizzix.....did I say that?? I love paper, letters, stamps, brads, and all those die cuts, don't you? Not too long ago, two of my nieces came over and we made Valentine cards....now, that was fun! Too bad crafting wasn't this tech-savvy back in the day! I probably would have majored in paper cutting.

Stamps....some of my favorites!! Words!!!!

I wish that I could say that I'm an avid scrapbooker, but I just enjoy collecting all the cute things that are available.....my sister & I go to Archiver's & enjoy the "make it-take it" classes, but mostly we just enjoy laughing our heads off at our silly antics. It's hereditary.....genetically incurable....and this little area is designated to try and keep my paper and stuff manageable.....I'm looking forward to seeing how our blog friends like to organize their things, too!

And, one of the last areas is home to my jewelry things, supplies, shipping boxes, etc...for my scripture jewelry designs. If you're inclined to check them out, please visit me at www.AriseShineJewelry.com . I enjoy collecting beads, too. Just an addiction to color, I suppose....and this "station" is my repurposed dresser that I had as a child. I guess they just don't make furniture like that any more....it's holding up pretty good to be ...ummmm...about 40 years old. No joking! [Just remember that I was a very, very small child.....]

Scripture jewelry design and some of the fun earrings that I love making with twirly-whirly sterling silver flowers...

Some of the beads in my work space....I think they multiply behind my back...

And, now, I suppose the party tour is complete and it's time to fade to the music....and we will all craft happily ever-after.......Please come back and visit. I love my friends! I'm looking forward to doing some fun "giveaways"!! .....Have a great, great day! Numbers 6:24-26 "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace." Always, Rebecca :)

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Welcome to my world, won't you come on in?

Hi and welcome to my creative space----where time pretty much stands still and it's a different world than the news reports....plus, you'll get to meet Roxy [with her pink bunny], my sweet Pomeranian who is nearly human. So, come on in and check it out. I wish you were here to cut up some fabric with me......Happy viewing.....do you heart crafts like I do?
:)

Rock, Paper, Sizzix......did I just say that?

Well, I had a great little blip for the designated area for my paper, die cuts, stamps, Sizzix, etc., and "poof"! , it just vanished into thin blogosphere....now, you'll just have to settle for the Charlie Brown teacher impersonation "wah-wah-wah, wahwahwah, wah-wah" & it's 5 a.m., so I'll just get to the illustrious, albeit humble, area for the paper & stuff.....Do you love cubbies like I do???

Happy day to you,

Tools of the trade

First things first....a functional work table, idea / project books, rotary cutter and we're good to go! It reminds me of the huge cutting table that my mom had when I was growing up. It was a sheet of plywood or perhaps particle wood on a large base. She used to let me cut out patterns---she was brave to give me a pair of scissors with that thin paper! I diligently stayed right on the black line---such a feeling of accomplishment. When I think of this cutting table, I'm reminded of the "if you build it, they will come" ---- because now that I have a place that functions properly, it's much easier to be productive. Have you experienced that, too? Idea books, magazines, tutorials by all the great and talented bloggers [you know who you are!!] keep me busy & trying to figure out which project to start first. Usually the instant gratification project wins out!

Still cutting out after all these years.....Rebecca