Spring Blog Party!

Cheery-O (And Avalyn), Love Poured Out (and it's Etsy) are hosting our first ever blog party....are you ready? Please, don't say that like the Sponge Bob

First off, lets get to the point with what you can win...shall we?

{Prize Number One}

A pair of Faerie Princess Earrings sponsored by Avalyn.

{Prize Number Two}

A Spring themed Head sponsored by Love Poured Out.

{Prize Number Three}

A Lady Emma Necklace from Avalyn.

{Prize Number Four}

1 full blog Design from Love Poured Out's designing. Grace Anna is truly talented! A few samples of her work include:

And of course, my Current design.

And I know you ALL want to enter now. In fact, how many of y'all are getting impatient? One hand..Oh, two..Three...four, no..five..Very nice.

Ok, Enter below in this rafflecopter:

Handwritting // Inspired by Laura (and annoucement)

Laura over at 'Pens and Camera Lens' (She has a really cute blog, you should check it out!) did a post about handwritting, and gave a few picture samples of her own.  Me, being the blogger who has sorta left her poor bloggy in the cold, and needed something to actually SAY (Despite the huge announcement at the bottom of this post..), thought, "Thats a cool idea! I should take it, and modify it!" Sorry Laura, if you consider that stealing....

 My cursive.  Not overly impressive, huh?  I enjoy writing in cursive, but sadly, just don't do it (I think fast, and write cursive slow.  I end up messing sentences up) unless I am signing something.

 My normal handwriting.  See how i loop my 'Y' tails? I never to capitol Ys, they are just boring.  I always do the lower case with a loopy tail.  And, you can't see it, but more often then not, I heart the dot on an exclamation point. But never a question mark.  Don't ask why, for I myself have no answer for that question...

  Blogger, you know just how annoying you can be? Why? Why must you make this go sideways?  I apologize folks.  Maybe I should threaten blogger...maybe I should move to Wordpress...
ANYWAY, if you tilt your head, you can see what my Hand writing looks like when I am very careful.  Notice, I still loop my Y tail. 

And, this.  Betcha most of you can't read it.  Shall I decode it?
"In Sleep he Sang to Me..."  It is Redwallian.    You wont understand unless you have read 'Taggerung' by Brian Jacques.   I write in my journal in Redwallian, since no one in my family (but myself) can read it.
I like to keep my Diary thoughts personal, thank you.

I enjoy writing letters, but here recently, I haven't had any body to write to.  Actually, it got pretty desperate.  I started writing letters to Seven of Nine, Tom Paris, Dr. Crusher, and Captain Picard.  No, you may NOT read them.  Each letter is now destroyed.

But, in February, Marian contacted me, and asked if I wanted to exchange letters.  I was overjoyed!
And then, after doing her Guest Post on here, Lindsay asked to write each other!  My parents let me decide whether I'd like to write to her, and how could I say no?  So now I have two lovely gals to write to!

Now, for the BIG announcement.  I told you I would tell you readers when I got Avalyn up and running..and it is!!

Avalyn Designs on Etsy.
Avalyn Designs on Facebook

I haven't done much on my FB as of right now, but I plan to once I get more time.

So, Anyone up for a g
iveaway?

Being Sixteen {and a present to my Followers}

I am now Sixteen.

When I was little, I would look up at the age 16, and think, "When I'm 16, I am grown up!".
Now, I look up, and say, "When I'm 20, I'll be all grown up".
16 seemed to be the grown up age.

I dreamed of singing ♫I am 16, going on 17♫.

I figured that when I was 16, I could do whatever I wanted (oh, the innocence of childhood! lol).

I could go wherever I wanted.

Now,  I laugh at myself, and say, "Oh, I was so cute!"

I am sixteen, and I tell you, it's not all that grown up!

Anyway, a big thing on this birthday, was getting my own iphone!  Oh, yes.  My/own/iphone.
This is truly a big event in my life.
I've been having a blast with apps, and everything.  I have a kindle/nook app on it, so I've downloaded 'Alice on Wonderland' by Lewis Carrol, 'North and South' by Elizabeth Gaskell, and 'The Time Traveler' by H.G Wells to be read.  I am really enjoying this.

Me and my Dad went out for a Father/Daughter's date, and our first stop was to watch a movie, which was 'The Phantom Menace' in 3D. Oh my goodness, I'll never watch it 2D again. The depth, and clarity just couldn't be beat.
1) I think Senator Palpatine is pretty amazing.  Outside of being a Sith, and the Jedi not detecting you, he seemed a pretty nice guy.  I would've fallen into the group of those followers of his, and voted him on to higher ranks.
2) I would be a Sith.  The reasons are, One, I'd get a red Saber.  WHY CAN'T JEDI HAVE RED?!?! and Two, I wouldn't like not being able to fear, hate, love.  Those are emotions, and I'd display them often.

Anyway, after the movie, we made a few other small stops, and then Daddy brought me to this REALLY nice Restaurant called 'Captain Anderson's'.  It was nicer then anything I've ever been to.  They had, like, 2 full pages on the menu of just wines.

The outside of the restaurant, pic not mine.

The servers all dressed like Sailors.

 

And the lobby felt like I had just stepped into Captain Nemo's Nautilus.  The lighting was a blueish color, and there were all sorts of old ship relics. 

The old diving suits were my favorite.  They looked so...real.

While we were there, Daddy gave me another present.

A Purity Ring.

It had a Amethyst (being my birth stone on it) on it, and had silver and gold mixed into the metal part.

I had a very blessed birthday, as once we got home, Mama had organized a surprise party for me!

She did really good hiding it from me, as I normally would win a nosy award.

I've found out about presents, and pretended not to know about them before.

Anyway, the surprise party.

She had invited all my friends (and their families, of course!) and dressed the dining room up in pink and white.  

As long as my memory shall last, I will remember that day.

Now, I want to give some of the blessing poured into me, to you all.

4 beautiful sponsors have agreed to donate some of their lovely wares for a birthday giveaway.

Shall we begin?

Carolyn from Sweet Tea Linen has donated this loverly:

 

If all you do is look at my blog, you realize I am a fan of all things British, and this little pillow warms my heart.  Oh, I'd love to enter this giveaway myself, but that wouldn't be fair, now would it?

Lori from Lori's Jewelry box has donated this:

 I'm trying not to turn green with envy...Just kidding! Really, I am most pleased to offer these squeal-able Phantom of the Opera earrings.

Mikayla? Sarah?  you know you want them.

Judi Ann from Sleepy Mouse Designs is giving this:

 

Shall we scream our love for Paris? This darling journal is adorned with France's jewel, the Eiffel Tower.  I could honestly run around laughing right now.

Kasia from Black Cat and Raven is giving 2 items:

 This Fae bracelet, with it's simply beauty.  Which, I always think, it the best kind.  Not lavish, and gaudy, but simply charming.

And these pink Sapphire earrings.  Personally, I have grown to love this blue a whole lot more ever since reading Eragon.  Anybody with me?

To Clarify, there will be 4 winners.

1 for the pillow.

1 for the POTO earrings.

1 for the journal.

and 1 for the Fae bracelet and Pink Sapphire earrings.

Of course, y'all would like to hear how to win, no?

{MANDATORY}

Follow this blog.

AND

Tell me, If you won, what item would you be most interested in? 

One comment with these please.

(note, if you do not do the mandatory entry, all other ones wont count. In short, you can't win unless you do these 2)

{EXTRA}

Heart each shop on Etsy (1 comment per shop)

Add each Sponsor to your Etsy circle (1 comment per sponsor added)

Comment and tell me your most precious birthday memory (2 comments)

Tell me what your favorite item from each shop is (1 comment per shop)

Blog about this giveaway (5 comments)

Do you have a purity Ring? How was it presented to you? (1 comment)

There, is my birthday gift to you.

Loves, and and best wishes.

Yours till I'm not:

EDIT:
Since Julia hasn't emailed me yet, I had to pick a new winner...
THE WHITE QUEEN!
Can you believe it, Jo?
I swear, it wasn't intentional.
Anyway, I'm not sure I have your address, so could you text it to me?

All For Now.

Bedazzle

Last year, I was really in a money pot hole.  Actually, it went further then that, for close to 3 years, I've been in the tight purse group.  I spent money on birthdays, and I went as tight as I could on that too.
This year, I wanted to be different. 
So, I had two different prospects, jump in the Photographer's world with a splash, which I still plan on doing! But getting your name out locally when there are already two bigger photographers filling the need can take a while.
But, the second idea, was to branch out my love to create jewelry.
So, with a little bit of pushing from my Mom, I'm about to open Avalyn (Beautiful bird) designs!!!

*recorded applause*

I'm not yet ready for a grande (P'tack, you word check.  I say this IS the proper way to spell grand) opening, I thought I'd show you my favorites...

 Kes.  I made these, and while holding them at arms length, thought, 'These remind me of Kes!"  Kes' personality is bright, cheerful, and very fun.   Do these earrings not reflect that style?
(I can imitate the way Kes talks...don't tell anyone! Shhh!)

Renaissance.  Inspired by Tudor style  The crackled red, and the ruby charms....Can you say, "Lady Jane Grey" with me?

Lady Emma.  At first, I planned to call these just plain Emma.  Don't ask how I came up with the name. It just popped up lie random inspiration always does. But after thinking, just 'Emma' wasn't elegant enough.  Add 'Lady' to something, and you add instant elegance!

So, these are just my favorites.  I have close to 15 Earrings, and two more necklaces.

I should open my Etsy shop before March, but it might (just might) open in the beginning of March.  I pinkie promise (and I take them seriously!) to let y'all know the minuet it opens!  AND< once the shop is open...I'd be interested in giveaways...just saying..

 

P.S Happy 200th birthday of Charles Dickens!! Has anybody looked at Google's homepage yet?

"Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before--more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle".  - Great Expectations

P.S.S For Nova: CLICK HERE.

P.S.S.S

I apologize for the lack of a post yesterday.  Truly, I didn't know what to post about.  Outside of getting our livingroom painted lovely coffee brown, having a massive headache that refusesed to respond to Ibuprofen,  and starting to potty train Titus, nothing really exciting happened.  

You have my formal apology.

P.S.S.S.S

My birthday is in 4 days!!! AND< the giveaway ends in 4 days. AND< I have ANOTHER giveaway planned in 4 days.

Giveaway! {You're gonna love it}

I'm happy to announce, I'm doing ANOTHER giveaway! If your a fan of Dr. Who, or enjoy Lip goodies (lip balm) you'll will be happy I announced it as well!

Shall I proceed? Yes? GOOD!

First up, We have our wonderful sponsor, Lady of The Rekindled Page!  I saw her lovely prints, and KNEW I had to ask her to participate! Some of my faves include THIS Daydream giraffe, This Alice in Wonderland. (Can't go wrong with Alice!). This Pink Camera (photographer ♥), This Clock art (I adore Clocks and Keys!), and Darth Vader!

But, I have thought of my many followers in mind, and decided to get this lovely:

 Don't tell me I don't love you guys! ;-)

Isn't her artwork pretty? Her about me says:
I am an Eco-Conscious Artist/Photographer of over 20 years. I have a love for using UpCycled items in my art. At The ReKindled Page I salvage and repurpose Vintage, Antique Dictionary book pages and then combine them with my original unique one of a kind ink designs.

I am now serving up over 100 different Vintage Inspired, Modern Designed Dictionary Art Prints that are Eco-Conscious and absolutely over flowing with humorous creative design and wit. Here at The Rekindled Page I am sure you will find the perfect print that represents YOU and your loves and lifestyle.

I have lots of inspiration for my designs. My home base is Elvis City, good old  Memphis Tennessee but I actually travel with my husband who's job has us on the road about 300 days a year. We love it! Life is a never ending adventure!

So, that was item #1, who's ready for #2?


Lisa from, For Goodness Grape, is generously offering, 1 lip Candy and 1 perfume stick! Of course, it is YOUR choice which ones you'd prefer!
May I offer some suggestions?

I think Every girl needs this!

And, yes, I realize that was almost half Lisa's shop.

So, And if thats not enough! Sandra, from Jane and Company, is giving my a half off code!  I must show you my favorites from here as well, to keep in tradition!  The Code is Cheery50.

$5.00 without half off code

$5.00 without 1/2 off code

$5.00 without 1/2 off code

$5.00 without 1/2 code. This is my favorite Sherlock Holmes quote!

I hope you're just as excited about this as I am!! So, lets get on with the rules!

:Mandatory:

Follow my blog via GFC, however, if you don't have a Google account, subscribe via (isn't 'via' such a lovely word?) email.

:Extras:

Now, notice, You don't HAVE to do these, but it is in your best interests to do so, as it will make your chance of winning more likely per extra.  AND, none  of these will count if you don't do the mandatory first!

Blog/Twitter/Facebook about this giveaway {1 comment per option}

♥ Jane and Company {1 comment}

♥ For Goodness Grape {1 comment}

♥ The Rekindled Page {1 comment}

Go to FGG, and tell me (in a comment) what flavor you'd like to try {2 comment}.

Go to J&C, and Tell me (in a comment) what item is your favorite {2 comments}

Add TRP to your circle {1 comment}
Add J&C to your circle {1 commet}

Add FGG to your circle. {1comment}

Buy something from ANY of the shops, I MUST have proof. {10 comments}

So, what's holding you gals back? Get going! I'll be looking forward to seeing your comments flowing in!

Giveaway ends February 11th 2012, which is also my birthday!

P.S, I did A guest post over at Grace Anna's, go HERE to read it! And, while you're at it, go follow her AWESOME (it deserves Capital letters) blog!

Its a 100 (and add a 3) follower giveaway!!

I've reached the Grande (its so much more fun spelling 'grand' that way, with an 'e' please!) total of 100, oh, 103!    I'm so happy, I can now be counted as one of those 'big' bloggers with triple digits!! {happy sigh}.  And, since all of you loverly followers have made this possible, I'm giving back.  Well, I don't have 103 prizes, that would near impossible! But, I have 3, and possible more to add, I am still waiting on a few sponsors.  So, lets get to the good, fun stuff, shall we, my dears?

Lovely thing #1.
A brick red pendant lovingly made and given by Lisa from 'That Old Blue House'.  Isn't it beautiful?  You all know, this is the dazzling crown jewel to your necklace collection!

Next up, prizes 2 and 3!
A pre-made blogger template made by Lena @ Simply Fabulous Blogger Template.  The prices of these pretties can go between $8-$20...so you're getting a real deal!  Some of my favorites:

Aren't they just sweet?

There will be 2 lucky winners for the templates, and you will both get your choice of ANY template on Lena's site.  Yes, go ahead, go crazy with wild joy.

So, you getting all excited?  GOOD! Lets get on with the how-tos, and what-to-dos.

~Mandatory~

 Follow this blog,  You can be old, or new, but just let me know in -1- comment, that you are a follower!

(if you do not have a google account, you may subscribe via email, again, let me know in -1- comment)

~Extra point scorers~

Heart Lena's shop. -1 comment-

Heart Lisa's shop -1 comment-

Leave me a comment with your fave item from each, or just one, shop -1 comment-

Follow me on Pinterest -1 comment-

'like' TOBH on Facebook -2 comments-

'like' SFBT on facebook -2 comments-

Tell how long you've been a follower -1 comment-

Blog about this -3 comments-

Email 5 friends about this giveaway -5 comments-

So, there it is, folkses!!

Oh, and an update on Ethan W:

He seems to be out of the woods!!  There appears to be no brain damage, no internal problems, and the last we heard, they should be home soon.  Thank you, my wonderful prayer warriors!!  ♥♥♥

The Alice in Wonderland giveaway

Another giveaway!!!  Hear ye, all Alice In Wonderland fans! 

Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.
~Alice~

 So do I.  ☻

Ok, so, today, I am giving away a lovely White Rabbit Necklace!

How's this for muchness?

~Alice~

It is all thanks to Alice In SugarLand, a wonderful Etsy shop!

I really do love that hat.

~Cheshire Cat~

A few of her items include 

Aren't they dear?

Ok, so, here is the rules!!

!MANDATORY!

You must follow my blog.

Say so in one comment.

!EXTRA!

1- Heart Alice In Sugarland if you have an Etsy, (1 comment)

2- Heart your favorite item, and tell us what it is. (1 comment)

3- Have you ever watched the 2010 Alice in Wonderland? What are your thoughts? Tell us in (1 comment)

4- What is your favorite Movie Quote? (1 comment)

5- Blog about this, including the item's picture. (2 comments)

6- Do you consider yourself an Alice of Sorts? Answer in (1 comment.)

So there it is, my newest giveaway!

{Happy clap}.

 

 

I really DO love that hat.

~Cheshire Cat~

 

FairFarren for now!

Ashley.