Friday Features-Arbor Day

Happy Arbor Day :)

This weekend I will be at an Arbor Day Festival craft show! This will be the 138th Annual Arbor Day Celebration and I am happy to be a part of it :)

Today's Friday Features are all happy to be celebrating Arbor Day as well :)

Undulating Swirls at Midnight...Original Abstract Contemporary Modern Art Tree Bird Painting by HD Greer

by hilariagalleries

Arbor Day Foundation Moon Bun - Charity Amigurumi Bunny Rabbit

by moonscreations

Apple Tree Scrabble Size Pendant by kimiko611

Autumn Tree Beaded Wall Hanging

by NoSmallPlans

With a Little Love

Last summer I finally repotted this plant my mom had given me. It was long overdue and needed a new home and a little lovin'. In less than a year, look how this plant has transformed!!!

Last May...

Today...

It actually needs repotted again! It's started to grow roots out the bottom of the pot! And I can't really take the credit...Jesse is the one that waters it :) With a little love, this plant has gone from a sad little shoot to a beautiful, healthy plant :)

Thanks Mom and Thanks Jesse :)

Wordless Wednesday-My Baby and Me

Gettin' Ready for Summer

I was so excited to get 7 new Flip Flop Albums done this weekend!!! Just puts me in the mood for summer!!!

These will be in my shop soon :) I have a two-day show this weekend, so they'll go in my Etsy Shop after that.

I also have lots of other 4x6 Photo Albums and Family and Friend Word Albums to add to my shop after the show as well :) I've been working on so much inventory for shows that it will be great to finally add new items to my shop!!!

Look for great new items soon!

Use Those Scraps

Saturday night we had a birthday party for Jesse's twin niece and nephew...what cuties!!! As with every gift I give, I like to add a person touch here and there. On top of each of their packages, I put a handmade gift tag :)

The great thing about these tags is that they are made completely out of paper scraps! The paper used is all left over from other projects! I save ALL my paper scraps...and this is exactly why :) They got a special gift tag...and I got to use my scraps!

How to be a Winner :)

Since I've been showing off all my recent winnings lately, I've had lots of questions about how I find and enter so many great giveaways.

One awesome blog I've found is Etsy Giveaways. My favorite thing about this site is that it gives you a preview photo of what you could win. Some sites just give a description and make you do lots of clicking around to actually get to the giveaway. Etsy Giveaways gives you the description with a photo so you can decide if you want to enter.

I also like that it tells you who is eligible to win. Some giveaways are US only while others are worldwide. Knowing in advance whether you are eligible saves you time.

Two other sites that have daily giveaways are My Giveaway Today and Fabulous Fun Finds. These sites always offer awesome prizes!!! The only downfall is that LOTS of people enter them, so you are less likely to win. But with such cool items, it's hard not to enter anyway!

My biggest tip for entering giveaways...make sure it is something you really love. There are SO many giveaways out there and you could spend hours entering them all. I make sure to limit my entries to only the ones I love. That's how I get such fab items :)

Beautiful Brooch

I just love all the bright fun colors of this beautiful brooch!!! This is my latest blog winning :)

The awesome rainbow ribbon on the packaging is so perfect too!

Jennifer at The Rustic Rainbow sent me this awesome brooch...which can also be worn as a hair clip! This cutie works double duty!!!

The Rustic Rainbow offers lots of fun felted creations including brooches, rings, hair clips, pendants and more!

Stop by and see all her lovely creations...and stop by Auntie Di's blog (where I won this cutie) and check out her latest giveaway!

Friday Features-Eco EtsyBloggers

In honor of Earth Day yesterday, I went browsing through my fellow EtsyBloggers shops for some eco finds. I am always amazed at the talent this team possesses! And when it comes to upcycled, recycled or eco finds...this team doesn't disappoint!!!

ORIN, Tea Kettle Character

by CoffeePotPeople

Upcycled Sweet Pink Pear Pincushion

by NicoDesigns

Edgar Allan Poe - Tis The Wind and Nothing More - a raven - original mixed media drawing

by tapestry316

Martini - Bottle Cap Pendant

by AKeepersJackpot

Happy Friday!!!

Happy 40th Earth Day!!!

Earth Day has been a public celebration for 40 years now! I think it's awesome that people have been environmentally friendly for so long and continue to be more and more so as the years go by! I realize that everyday should be Earth Day, but it's nice to have the reminder once in a while to make the extra effort and take the extra step to be more eco-friendly.

I try to be environmentally conscience in all aspects of my life. At home we recycle plastic, metal cans and glass. And we burn our trash rather than take it to the landfill. We also recycle our cans and bottles at the redemption center.

Along with recycling, I'm big into reusing as well. I write notes on the backs of junk mail envelopes. I reuse tubs from butter or cottage cheese to take food to work in. And I reuse plastic pop bottles for crystal lite drinks.

In my scrapbooking I find ways to use every scrap of paper I can :) Little bits of paper are great for greeting cards or other smaller projects. And I can always punch shapes out of other small scraps. I also use old magazines as protection when using a glue stick to keep my workspace clean.

I do my part at work too. We have recycling centers set up for paper, cardboard and plastic and I use these everyday in my work. I unbox parts and it is my job to decide what gets recycled and what goes to the trash. I make sure to recycle every bit that I can :)

I hope you will take time today to think of all the small ways you too can help out our environment :) Every little bit helps to make big difference!

Wordless Wednesday-Cuteness In My Mailbox

April Featured EtsyBlogger-Magdalene Jewels

Congrats to Pam of Magdalene Jewels and Magdalene Knits for being our Featured EtsyBlogger for the month of April!!!

You can also check out Pam's blog here to see her latest creations and her super cute grandkids :)

I absolutely love all the color in Pam's jewelry shop! I've really been into rings lately, so this is one of my favorites from her shop!

Vintage Swarovski Crystal Filigree Ring

And everyone knows how much I love pink...and with earrings like these, how could I not!

Swarovski Crystal Rose Marquise Drop Earrings

Pam's knit shop has so many cuddly adorable items I just want to snuggle up with each of them!

What baby boy wouldn't look adorable in this Crocheted Baby Boys Blue Sweater and Hat Set!

And this Black Scarf Knitted and Crocheted would go with any outfit! Great for those chilly Spring nights :)

Stop by Pam's shops and blog to see all her other wonderful creations :)

Congrats again Pam!!!

Maiden Voyage 2010

Jesse has been dying to get the airboat out for the last few weeks. On Saturday he finally got his wish :) The sun was out and the wind wasn't blowing 100 mph! It was still a little chilly, but nothing a couple of sweatshirts couldn't fix :)

When we got on the river, Jesse wanted to make sure and call his brother and a few friends to let them know we were the first ones to get on the river this year :) They weren't about to let us be the only ones on, so they hooked on to their boats and joined us :)

The river is always so peaceful! The water may not be pretty and blue, but the trees and sun make up for it :)

Hope you had a great weekend too :)

Silver Elegance

And the winnings keep rolling in!!! Yup...I won another blog giveaway!!!

This time the giveaway was hosted at JOT Giveaways with Beads Story providing the awesome prize! I was able to choose my favorite item from her shop and I chose this lovely Elegance Necklace in Silver!

I love that it can be worn with so many things! The color and design make it great for the day or a night on the town!

Choosing just one item was super hard! Stop by Beads Story and you'll know what I mean! Her designs are absolutely beautiful!

Thanks Anca for the lovely necklace :)

Happy 27th!!!

I want to wish a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my best friend Melanie :) It's so much fun when your best friend's birthday is only 10 days after yours!!!

Last year we had a big party in our shed and this year we got together for Mexican (and ice cream)!

Melanie and I have been friends since our Freshman year of high school. We sure did know how to have a good time :) And when you get the two of us together...the blonde really comes out...LOL! Her family has become my second family. They were even generous enough to let me stay with them while I went through a little rebellious streak (okay, BIG rebellious streak!) in high school. We are so much alike it can be scary! But we love it that way :)

I can't wait to stand up with her at her wedding as her maid of honor! It really is an honor!!! I think she's a little scared about what I might say in my toast...LOL! So many good stories...how do I just choose one?!?

I hope you have an awesome birthday Mel!!!

Friday Features-Tax Break

My friend Sharla at BeadedTail is an awesome jewelry designer as well as a CPA. Her cats, Isabella and Angel, seem to think this means Cats Personal Assistant :)

During the last few months, Sharla has been working her tail off (no pun intended...LOL) and we at the EtsyBloggers have been missing her around the forums. So in honor of the passing of April 15th...I give you Friday Features from BeadedTail :)

Touch of the Desert - Turquoise Beaded Sterling Silver Earrings

Fusion - Purple Pearlescent and Dichroic Glass Beaded Sterling Silver Earrings

Summertime - Pink Polymer Clay Flowers and Swarovski Crystal Sterling Silver Earrings

In the Pink - Rose Quartz and Swarovski Crystal Sterling Silver Necklace THINK PINK

So glad to have you back Sharla :)

All is New Again

Isn't it wonderful how spring can make everything seem new again :) I've been taking quite a few outdoor pictures lately and I started to notice that I take the same pictures every year. I take photos of my flowers, my trees, walking Harley, etc. But each year they are such a welcomed sight after such a long, cold winter that I want to document them each and every year :)

I've been watching these trees all week! Each day I notice more and more white buds starting to pop up! I couldn't help but get my camera out to share them with you :) In the next few days there will probably be more white than green!

What do you find yourself photographing over and over again?

Drop me a comment...share a photo :)

Wordless Wednesday-Tip Toe Through the Tulips

A Coral Wedding

My best friend is getting married in May!!! I am so excited to be her maid of honor :) And she asked me to make her wedding invitations too!!!

She chose a beautiful coral for her wedding and a simple and elegant design for her invitations.

The first photo is of the reception invitation. She is having a small, family-only wedding, so the second photo shows the entire set: reception invitation, wedding invitation and lodging/registry info.

I love how they turned out and it was fun making them for her :) I hope she loves them too!!!

Jewelry Oranization

A while back you might remember me showing you this photo in a Wordless Wednesday post:

Many of you thought it was strings of beads for jewelry making or something similar to that. Unfortunately this was my jewelry collection!!! I've amassed such a large collection in such a small time that my current jewelry storage just couldn't keep up! I only had a small space to work with and wasn't sure how best to organize everything...so it became a huge mess...FAST!!!

I recently saw the idea to use a small coat/key rack to hang necklaces on and thought that was a nice idea. Of course my local WalMart didn't have one, so I improvised :) I found these really simple stick on hangers in the bathroom section for under $1.50!

And this bead organizer holds my earrings, rings and pendants nicely too! It was only $3 or $4!

So in a short time I went from disaster to organized...and on the cheap!

How do you organize your jewelry?

Sunday Silence

Enjoying a nice relaxing Sunday here :) Hope you are too!!!

I ♥ My Teammates!!!

I know you've heard me say it 1,000 times (and probably will another 1,000 times) but I ♥ The EtsyBloggers :)

I recently had a teammate looking for some earring cards to display her earrings on. Another teammate kindly mentioned that she should contact me and I could probably make something for her.

A couple of convos later and we had a design and the sale was made :) Here are Random Creative's new earring cards:

I'm always up for making new things and trying new designs. This is why I love custom work! And who knows...this may just be something you see in my shop soon :)

A special thanks to Sharla for giving me a shout out!!!

EtsyBloggers ROCK!!!

Friday Features-Aries the Ram

First off, I have to wish my grandma a Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Grandma Johnson :)

Now on to the Friday Features :)

Being born in April, that makes me the zodiac sign of the ram. I'm not sure I totally believe in horoscopes, but I definitely live up to the traits of the ram: strong-willed, independent, stubborn, impatient, out-going, etc.

So today's features all include Aries the Ram :)

Aries T-Shirt

by nakittaa

Aries 5 x 7 Original Painting

by JammJar

Aries Necklace (April) - Rock Crystal and Silver

by latelierdesbijoux

AWESOME ARIES Pin-back Button Set (3) ((made with vintage images))

by PureVintageGold

Happy Birthday to all the rams out there :)

Feel free to buy any of these items for me as a belated birthday gift!