MIA since the first of the month!

Wow, Have I really been missing in action since the last of February? Well, here's the story.

My husband and I were driving to celebrate his 60th birthday at a resaurant when I received a call from a doctor where my son is attending college. The doctor recommended that we come and pick him up because he had such a high fever (102-104) for five days and he and other doctors couldn't figure out why. He thought it might be a blood infection, gave me all this other scary talk, too. The university is 2 hours away.

So after Bob's dinner, we were on the road by 7:30pm. I was driving and it was a panicked mom trying to get to her son as quick as possible. A long the way, Ashby called and we coordinated a midway pick-up-transfer point. We drove him home and was at the house by 10:30. I called my school to tell them I would be out taking him to the doctor and ended up staying out 3 days. The bottom line was he had mono. It was a scary time for us. Spring break was the next week, so he was home recouperating.

We went to a gem mine to dig for sapphires as a fun thing do to before he went back to school.
He found 50 sapphires totally 45 carats in weight.


Enough of the my sad story, loyal bloggers, Couponcode Blog15 will earn you 15% off in my etsy store!! Come visit and find loads of spring items!!

Great Deal For My Blog Friends!!

They are finished!! My plantable basil seed cards and zinnia seed cards!! The green hearts are basil, the coral pink are zinnia.

Both types of seeds you chose right here on my blog!

So you get the first deal!!

Buy a pack of four cards for $15 and tell me not only which kind of cards you want but you will get a fifth card FREE!!

That's $3 per card!!!

WOWIE! Can you find a deal like that in a store??

Here's the link to the cards in my store: click here or on either picture.

In the notes to seller tell me you are a blog friend and which type of card!

Featured Artist Sunday--Crystal Celebration

Today's Featured Artist is CrystalCelebration. Let's read and learn about her fabulous craft!

When did you get started in your craft?

I started a little over a year ago when I left my job to stay home with my two children. I love spending my days reading and playing with my boys. After they went to sleep I would remove the play dough from under my nails ( which is a skill in itself) and enjoy some adult craft time.

I started trying different crafts with different materials. I worked with card stock, vinyl, etching creams, and swarovski crystals. I love them all but there is something about the crystals that just puts a smile on my face. There is nothing more adult than hundreds of glistening Swarovski crystals.

What is your favorite part of your chosen craft?

I love knowing the pieces I create will be part of such an important day for my customer. My sand ceremony sets represent unity in couples and newly combined families. My cake toppers will be present in photos of the bride and groom's first bite of cake. I always hope they will look at the items I made for their wedding years from now and remember how happy they were on that special day.

In five years, what would you like to be doing?

I hope in 5 years to have expanded my company and be able to employ other mothers looking for a way to earn an income while staying home with their children. I am currently holding a giveaway on my facebook fanpage www.facebook.com/CrystalCelebration .

Once I hit 200 fans I will randomly choose a winner who will receive a 5 inch tall metal monogram cake topper covered in Crystal Swarovski crystals.

Wow, what an amazing craft!! It really is a special memento for brides and grooms to have at their special day. Show Jocelyn's shop some love.

And the seed winners....

are Basil and Zinnia!! I will be making zinnia seed cards tomorrow out of recycled school paper!!
Last weekend, I made basil paper mainly because I love basil pesto and I was gambling that basil would win!

So by Monday or Tuesday, I will have a special offer for blog followers of the brand new seed cards for 2011!! Come back and be the first to buy these cards that keep on growing!

Don't forget about the survey--2 days!!

I am planning on a special product sale once the votes are in for your favorite seeds to be included in a paper notecard!! Stay tuned for more information!! The early bird gets the seed!

Featured Artist Sunday--Paper, Paper, Paper and a GiveAway!

The randomly selected store from my hearts on etsy happens to be another store which loves paper! Congratulations to paperplanet!!

>>>When did you get started in your craft?
I‘ve always Loved “making things”...even as a child. For as long as I can remember I’ve enjoyed giving one or two of my ‘handmades’ as gifts for family and friends. So every year it’s still an enjoyable challenge to come up with something new and different to give. There’s something very rewarding and meaningful about working on something special and presenting it to a relative or friend as a birthday or holiday gift.
I love Nature, being outdoors and gardening. The art of flower pressing has always intrigued me so it was a natural progression for me to combine my naturals from my gardens with handmade papers to create my Earth Lights and Luminaries, Earth Bookmarks, and Jewelry.

>>>What is your favorite part of your chosen craft?
I’m inspired by Nature nearly every day and I love to experiment with all kinds of flowers, leaves, and naturals. My gardens and container plants are a constant inspiration. It’s a joy to see flowers in full bloom and abundant with color. I enjoy growing flowers from seed and I also purchase additional garden plants, flowers, herbs, and bouquets. Gardening is one of my passions and I love learning about the flowers I grow and use. I depend on the success of my gardens in the Spring and Summer to provide me with enough pressed flowers and greenery for my projects to last until the next growing season. (Wow, that seems like a daunting task!)
One of my favorite things to do is work with lots of pressed flowers from Summer on a freezing cold Winter day. (That does sound fun!)


>>>In five years, what would you like to be doing?
I love what I’m doing right now so in five years I hope I’m still working with flowers and handmade papers, discovering more ways to make use of my materials, continuing to experiment, and always learning more. There are so many other areas of art I’d like to pursue (weaving, jewelry, ceramics, I could go on and on) I know I’ll still be expressing myself creatively!

And I also enjoy writing and have shared many of my projects, techniques and art experiences in over 50 published articles for a variety of national art/craft magazines such as: Better Homes & Gardens Special Interest Holiday issues, Crafting Traditions, Crafts ‘N Things to name a few.

PaperPlanet is an active environmentalist, and views her art as a unique opportunity to bring the wonders of nature to those who enjoy embellishing their lives in peaceful, beautiful, fulfilling, and Earth-honoring ways.

Now PaperPlanet wants to offer a free Earth Light to one lucky person who comments on her shop. Go to PaperPlanet and find your favorite item and post your comment here!! Next Saturday, Febraury 26, I'll announce the winner.

Wordless Wednesday Favorites