Catching Up - Awards and Thanks!

From time to time I get an email or a comment with a notice that I have been given an award. I posted about a few of these last year but I sometimes have difficulty figuring out just what I am supposed to do - or even who gave me the award...so I let it slide (I also feel a bit embarrassed by the recognition, though I do appreciate it!) Well, I have been doing some "blog housekeeping" and I want to try to catch up on these awards and thank those who sent them. I have had a few email conversations with people lately who have encouraged me to go ahead and post these on my blog - so here goes....



A long time ago Jen sent this JavaBlu award and since it didn't say "JenC" I did not know where it came from - a bit dense of me I guess! Jen is an amazingly creative and helpful person and I am honored that she selected me and thank her most belatedly for this award. Be sure to visit JEN's BLOG if you don't already know about it - you will be amazed!



Susan sent me this stylish award - don't you just love the hat! She is a member of the Bitten By the Bug Design Team and does lovely work. You can see all of her great projects and ideas HERE.



Jill (aka Diva in Pink) sent me this pretty Kreativ Blogger award - and so did Sonia!

Jill is one of the most helpful people I know in the Design Studio Forum - she always is there to help new users learn the ins and outs of the software. She also has wonderful projects on her blog - you can see them by clicking here JILL's BLOG

Sonia is very creative and very productive - her blog is full of inspiration for cards and layouts. Be sure to check out her great craftroom - scroll to the bottom of the page here SONIA's BLOG to see a slideshow of her amazing space (so incredibly neat too!)

Last, but not least, Okie sent me this pretty purple Kreativ Award.



Well what is there to say about Okie that hasn't been said already! We got our Cricuts around the same time, we joined the Cricut Message Board around the same time and we both became obsessed with the Design Studio software - it just "clicked" with our somewhat unusual ways of thinking about things! Okie is a "bit" more chatty than me - witness her 15,000 plus posts on the Message Board to my paltry 2400 or so. In the chat room we often say the same thing at the same time, so we decided that we must be "twins" - separated at birth (and by a decade or so!). Here is the link to OKIE's BLOG - full of fabulous Design Studio files. She is doing challenges lately and they look like fun (maybe I'll get around to doing one soon!).

Thanks again to all of you for thinking of me and sending the awards.

Now I think I am supposed to list some obsessions or favorite things, little known facts, or miscellaneous trivia about myself and nominate some fellow bloggers for awards. So here is a random list of seven...

1. There are still some Christmas trees up in my house (!) - one is becoming a Valentine's tree but I think it is time for the Santas to go to the attic!
2. I addition to "collecting" all things connected to scrapbooking and paper crafting, I collect art glass paperweights (and actually have some designs in mind inspired by them - watch this space!).
3. I am a bit of a chocoholic - and prefer dark chocolate always.
4. I regret that I didn't buy the Create on the Black Friday sales - just to get Don Juan - I really want that cart and I probably could have worked out a deal to sell it with a different cartridge!
5. As a college student I pulled an all-nighter to finish a paper because I had to watch "The Wizard of Oz" (yes, I went to college before the days of VCRs) and I could recite most of the lines of the movie with my friend Libby (who also stayed up to watch it) - and yes, I love the musical "Wicked" too!
6. I grew up on a dairy farm and still drink a lot of milk.
7. I think it would be fun to have a job operating an old fashioned switchboard, plugging in all the cords and multitasking!


Now I will nominate some fellow bloggers for awards -you can take your pick, so, if you have one of these awards already, go ahead and pick one that you don't have - please link back to me when you post the award and make a list sharing some info about yourself and then nominate some more folks and give the reasons you are nominating them.

Awards and kudos to:

Carla at ScrappedLives - She is a very talented designer who has been doing lots of adjustable designs (and I am sure that she is also hoping for the "group" function to be released soon!). These projects can take hours to do and require a great deal of patience to complete, so stop by and see her work and be sure to say thanks!

Amanda at Cricut Creations by Amkscrap - She has always been creative and helpful and shares not only her great designs but her file hosting site with many other designers. Her blog has a mixture of designs and other helpful Cricut information and tips - check it out!

Kopperhead at 100 Things (Maybe More) - She is waay past 100 things (!) and they are all fabulous. If you are into digital scrapping, Kay has some fantastic free kits (don't forget to say thanks!) - one of my long term goals is to learn to design digi elements anywhere close to as wonderful as hers! Check out her ATC and inchie swaps too.

Susan at SusanBlueRobot - probably the most productive person I know - her blog is jammed full of helpful lessons, designs and information. She was one of the Design Studio "pioneers" and figured out a lot of things to teach the rest of us - she now is doing more with SCAL so if you have that program you won't want to miss checking out her blog!

Narelle (the GirlfromOz) at Cricut Lovers Guide to Design Studio - another one of the people who figured out a lot of things about the program and shared them with others in the early days after the release of the design studio software - and she continues to help out with all sorts of technical questions and does great tutorials on her blog. If you need an answer - you will probably find it here - or if you post on the Design Studio forum on the Cricut Message Board she will come in and save the day! Thanks Narelle!

Robin at The Pink Stamper - what a sweetheart she is! Mother of five and always willing to share her knowledge and make her video lessons that have helped so many new (and some experienced) crafters learn new skills! I don't know how she finds the time - but she clearly loves what she does!

Finally, Nilda at Paper Creations and The Cuttlebug Spot. She is very involved and helpful to others on the Cricut Message Board and has done a lot to help new crafters learn techniques - she also does her fair share of enabling by showing how she uses various punches and embossing folders which makes everyone realize that they must have them too!

There are so many others I could add to this list, but for now I will stop at seven. I continue to be fascinated by the way the internet has made so much help and inspiration available for all sorts of crafters around the world. Enjoy checking out these blogs - I am sure you will be inspired to try something you see (or find a solution to a problem you might be having).