Wild Wednesday Hop!!!!

WOO HOO

YIPPEE

AND YEA!!!!

I AM THE FEATURED BLOG

AT THE WILD WEDNESDAY HOP!!!!

OVER ON

ABOUT A MOM

SO COME ON OVER AND

HOP ALONG WITH US TODAY!!!!

What I'm Lovin' Wednesday....

Thanks to my bloggy friend Debby at Cozy Blanket

for the idea to look for some FUN pillows. . .

I will be getting a lil' gift out to Debby for her suggestion. . .

I LOVE this one from Pottery Barn.

How cute would this be with YOUR initial?

Source

I LOVE this handmade number.... Just think of all the fun words you could use. . . 

From Addicted to Decorating

From PB Teen

And more from PB Teen

And I LOVE this coral flower from
Crate and Barrel

Crate and Barrel

I couldn't resist this one.
Aren't the little poodles ADORABLE?

Source

Which one is YOUR favorite?
Or send me links to even more cool pillows.
SOOOOOO

There you have it!

That is what I am lovin' on this week.
And Debby is a fellow Ohio-an
so I will just have to personally hand her a little
sumpin, sumpin!!!!

So PLEASE
give me more ideas for
NEW
Obsessions.....

Until next time....

The Great Giveaway continued.......

Some of this post is excerpted from my original post here. 

 I LOVE LOVE LOVE comments.

Did I tell you I love comments?

Every blogger does.

And I KNOW there are lots of my stalkers followers stopping by here everyday. . .

I KNOW that from the Blogger stats,

but very few of you leave comments.

Insert BIG sad face.

I would love to hear what you think of the day's post,

or maybe your answer to a question I post. . .

or even what is going on in your life.

I would just LOVE to hear from you.

So here is the Great Giveaway Deal. . .

I had a LOT of people leave me comments and emails saying they LOVE this giveaway idea!!!

Guess what? SO DO I !!!

SOOOOOOO I thought I would go ahead and offer up a $25 gift certificate (to your choice of craft or home improvement store) for all the comments from August 17th (when I posted about the giveaway) through August 31st.

WOO HOO.....

So keep on commenting everyone and get in on the action.....

Spread the word too....

....because if someone comments and tells me you referred them, I will add in ANOTHER entry for each referral.

THEN here's the REST of the story.

Starting on September 1st, each and every comment left during the month

will be entered into a drawing for a $50 gift certificate.

To where you ask?

Well, all you have to do is pick any home improvement or craft store that you want to spend $50 at.

The only rule is that it has to be somewhere that I can purchase a gift certificate online.

NOW here is the exciting part.
Let's try the $50 deal for a couple of months.

THEN
If this takes off, I will up the anty to a

$100 gift certificate every month. .

I can't wait to start giving these gift cards away.......

Until next time...

 

What I'm Obsessed with Wednesday

I am sooooo excited to share this with you.

I had the priveledge of attending a business team building exercise in Boyers, Pennsylvania last week.

Why a priveledge?

Well, it was SO interesting and exciting to see what is 220 feet underground in this beautiful part of PA. Very few people actually get to tour this old mine, so it was a rare glimpse into this underground world.

This facility started it's life as a limestone mine back in 1902 but has evolved over the last 100+ years to become the secure storage facility it is today.

Calling this place a storage facility really doesn't do it justice.

And no matter how much I would write here about my visit, again it would NOT do this place justice.

Please take a few minutes to watch the video's below to learn more about the

Iron Mountain facility in Boyers, PA.

Top Secret Government Facility

BBC News-Inside an Underground Data Bunker


I hope you enjoyed this visit into this underground mine.

AND REMEMBER

I still need ideas for my What I'm Lovin' (obsessed with) Wednesdays! !

PLEASE give me ideas to research.
It can be crafty stuff, home design stuff, food stuff, whatever your little heart desires.

And if I use your idea, I will send you a little something from me.
:o)

So, until next time. . . 

Monday Motivation

Today's Motivation is exerpted from Today's Word With Joel and Victoria. If you want to receive this daily devotion sent to you, visit http://www.joelosteen.com.

Lineup Your Heart

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

When the Lord looks at your heart, what does He see? Everyone has an outer life and an inner life. The outer life is our public life that everyone can see. The inner life is made up of your thoughts, your attitudes and your motives. Only you and God know what’s going on inside. Too many people go around today pretending, acting one way, yet on the inside they’re thinking something totally different. Their heart and their actions don’t line up. But we have to understand that God looks at the inside. We can fool a lot of people, but we can’t fool God. God would rather us be open and honest than to go through life pretending or trying to be something that we aren't.

Today, take inventory of what’s going on inside of you. Are you at peace? Are you overlooking offenses? Do you believe the best in people? Do your heart and actions line up? If not, submit your ways to the Lord and ask Him to give you an undivided heart so that you can be pleasing to Him all the days of your life!

I would like to believe that I live my life inside and out the same way . . .

but I know that I sometimes get caught up in gossip, or in actions that I know inside are NOT what

God would want for me.

I would hope to always live the same in and out....to have my heart and my actions line up.

What about you? Is that your hope?

Until next time. . .

The Great Giveaway......

The idea for this giveaway comes from Kristi at

Addicted 2 Decorating.

Kristi had the GREAT idea to give away a gift certificate

each and every month to a home improvement store like Home Depot or Lowe's.
 
I even WON Kristi's June giveaway.
WOO HOO and YIPPEE

So, how do you enter her giveaway?
WELL, each and every comment during the month counts as an entry.

How EASY PEASY is that?

So I am copying flattering Kristi

by doing the very same thing here on

A Creative Spirit.

Don't worry, I got her permission. :o)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE comments.

Did I tell you I love comments?

Every blogger does.

And I KNOW there are lots of my stalkers followers stopping by here everyday. . .

I KNOW that from the Blogger stats,

but very few of you leave comments.

Insert BIG sad face.
 

I would love to hear what you think of the day's post,

or maybe your answer to a question I post. . .

or even what is going on in your life.

I would just LOVE to hear from you.

So here is the Great Giveaway Deal. . .

Starting on September 1st, each and every comment left during the month

will be entered into a drawing for a $50 gift certificate.

To where you ask?

Well, all you have to do is pick any home improvement or craft store that you want to spend $50 at.

The only rule is that it has to be somewhere that I can purchase a gift certificate online. 

NOW here is the exciting part.
Let's try the $50 deal for a couple of months.

THEN
If this takes off, I will up the anty to a

$100 gift certificate every month. .

So let's get commenting...

If you start now it will be a habit by the time the giveaway starts.

Motivation Monday

I have talked about Sparkspace here on A Creative Spirit before. 

They post weekly emails and I look forward to getting that email in my inbox every week.

Sometimes the information really hits home for me and sometimes I just read them and delete them.

They are located in Columbus, OH and they host some of the best team building or inspirational seminars.

Even if you are NOT in the Columbus area, you can sign up for the newsletter at http://www.sparkspace.com/subscribe.html to get the benefit of their experience and information.

  

This week, the newsletter hit home and I wanted to share it with you. . .  

As they always note in the newsletter, this will take you approximately spend 4 minutes reading this . . .

and if you ask ME, it is well worth the   

4 minutes.

Do You Really Want That Opportunity?

by Mark Henson, chief imagination officer, sparkspace

We have a lot of flies in our house in the summer. With four kids (two canine and two human) there is always a door open to the outside somewhere. Ergo, the endless parade of flies.

Flies are funny. They zoom into the house the first chance they get, then spend the rest of their lives trying to get back out. Oh, sure, there's the occasional romp around the inside of a lampshade, but then they return to the nearest pane of glass to make sure the invisible force field is still there. They test this force field over and over by ramming their body into it, climbing on it, and buzzing all over it.

Our back door has a full-length glass window in it. There is almost always a fly bashing his head against the glass when I go to let the dogs out. I have noticed a strange phenomenon when I open the door. More often than not, the fly (who has, like a thousand eyes right?) refuses to notice the gigantic new opening, and instead keeps trying to break through the window. Even when I try to "shoo"the fly the right direction, it will almost always stay right where it is, creating a window-induced concussion, OR it will fly back into the house.

I'm always fascinated by this because the fly seems to want out of the house, and quite desperately at that. In reality, I believe they like the idea of getting out of the house more than actually getting out. When presented with the opportunity to escape, to change, to pursue new possibilities, they panic and either stay frozen where they are or retreat back into the safety of the house.

Oh-my-gosh! I AM EXACTLY LIKE THAT, AREN'T YOU?

We're always looking out the window, wishing we had a better job, or wishing the boss would give us more responsibility, wishing we had the freedom to pursue our passion, or simply wishing we were on the other side of that window.

Oh, we bash our head against that window,too. We keep trying the same old things we've tried before, and we even try harder, but nothing seems to even crack the glass. We buzz and complain about how unfair life is, about how we're not recognized & rewarded like so-and-so is, about how we'd live life differently if somebody would just give us a chance.

Then, suddenly, the door is opened. We feel the fresh air of new possibility rush in...and we freeze. We thought we wanted to change, but now we're not so sure. We thought we knew exactly what we'd do when that door opened, but now the larger world on the otherside scares the bejeezus out of us. It is suddenly a lot more unknown than we predicted. And we humans don't deal very well with the unknown. Apparently we share this trait with flies.

So, we keep our blinders on and pretend to not notice the opportunity, even when people try to guide us toward the open door. We say things like "That's ok, I'm good right here."We really don't mean it, but we're too afraid to let go of the window and explore the strange and wonderful new world on the other side. Too many unknowns.

We like the idea of opportunity. We're just not mentally prepared or courageous enough to act on it when it presents itself.

It's like watching kids jump off the high dive at the pool. That looks like so much fun...until you step to the end of the board yourself. Then it's terrifying.

Here's what I tell myself when I've been bashing my head against a window and then somebody finally opens the door. I also recite this mantra when I step to the edge of the high dive.

Remember, this is what you asked for.

Crap. I did, didn't I?

At this point, my fear of feeling like a schmuck usually takes over and forces me to peel myself off the window and fly out the door into the great unknown. You can't ask for something then say "No thanks, Universe" when it is finally given to you. If you do, you're asking for a cosmic smack down.

I also remind myself that the door won't be open forever, so if I truly want it, NOW is the time to act.

I will only spend a few seconds trying to help a fly take advantage of the open doorway. After that, I've got better things to do and he's pretty much out of luck. Now, he runs the risk of being swatted by a rolled up newspaper or being chomped by one of the dogs (they're surprisingly good at catching flies). Our opportunities act very much the same way. Use 'em or lose 'em.

Sometimes we don't see the opportunity because we're too busy bashing our head against the window. Stop bashing and just pay attention. If you allowed yourself to stop complaining and stop feeling frustrated for a few moments, you might be surprised to see that there is an open door waiting for you.

Now, whether you choose to fly through it or not is entirely up to you.

Wasn't that a cool analogy?

So now what are YOU going to do?

Are you going to be the fly and just stay stuck at that window?

Or are you going to choose to be a bird taking flight?

I choose to open the window, peek my head out and then fly.....and hopefully SOAR. . .

Until next time. .

Project #3

This one was for my daughter. . .

This picture was in her bedroom while she was growing up

and was a special gift from my mother. The picture reminded my mom of my little girl

and her dog Shelby.

BUT, being a young adult who isn't so keen on

antiqued gold frames,

(sorry I forgot to take a before pic so here you see it with primer)

I decided to update it for her.
The first step was to use the Valspar Spray Primer
from Lowe's.

My daughter's bedroom is a very, very pale blue

(or it will be once we paint it)

so I chose
Valspar Spray Paint in Baby Blue. It was just a little darker blue
than the walls will be.

Don't you love my rigged up way to keep paint from getting on the glass?

HMMM, didn't really totally work, but hey, that is

what Goo Gone is for right?



Add caption



The finished product was much too bright for the

subdued colors in the print.

SOOOOO, what to do?

What to do?

I ran back to Lowe's (for about the hundredth time this summer) and
bought a little half pint of walnut stain.
I just took a rag and rubbed the stain on to antique it a little.
I then QUICKLY wiped it off so as not to go overboard.

See how the newly stained frame really pulls out the subdued blue in the print?

I really like how it turned out and the BEST news is

that my daughter loves it too.

YEA

So here is the finished product.

It gives me hope that I can update a lot of my

other pieces of art that are stacked in a corner of the garage.

Stay tuned as they just may become a future post here on

A Creative Spirit.

Until next time . . .

Steam 'em or Iron 'em........

I am using my trusty new toy tool. . .

. . .my Rowenta steamer. . .

to work on my crumpled drapery panels.

Not a big HONKIN' steamer I know,

but I thought it was big enough for the

pain in the rear work

task ahead.

I set off to turn this. . .

Into this. . .

And as I am working on just ONE panel,

I remember the good ole' days.

Back to my previous life as an Interior Designer,

where we would order draperies from a

workroom or a fabricator.

Those suckers would come in all neatly pleated, folded,

tissue papered, whatever it took to make them

installation ready.

Once in a while we had to do a little touch up but

THAT was easy.

THIS is not.

Of course these are out of a bag drapery panels as my current budget

does not allow for custom draperies.

(Insert expletive)

I have 10 panels that need steamed or ironed.

They have been hanging for a couple weeks

(don't freak out. . they are not ALL pink)

and I was hoping gravity would give me a little help.

THAT didn't work ! ! !

('Nother expletive)

THANKS FOR NOTHING DEAR GRAVITY.

So here I am left with steamer in one hand,

drapery panel in the other in order to keep them tight to steam them. . .

AND I am wondering what am I doing here!???

This is a LONG, drawn out and HOT process.

Should I just throw the steamer across the room 

give up, call uncle, and quit

this steaming and just pull the iron out of the closet?

Part of me says

"NO I committed to this process and I WILL see it through."

Another part of me says

"Who cares if my drapes look like slept on bedsheets?"

HMMMM

For now, I am going to keep plugging along with the steaming process,

but I am wondering

what YOU would have done. .

STEAM 'em or IRON 'em?

What do you prefer?

Until next time . . .

Motivation Monday

Today's read will be a little long, which goes against my main self-imposed rule of not trying to take up TOOOOO much of your time,

as I know how valuable every minute of every day is.

I just had to share this one tho.

This post was borrowed from a Weekly Devotion I get from Max Lucado.

WOW did it resonate with me.

Thump-Thud, Thump-Thud

When a potter bakes a pot, he checks its solidity by pulling it out of the oven and thumping it. If it“sings,” it’s ready. If it “thuds,” it’s placed back in the oven.

The character of a person is also checked by thumping.

Been thumped lately?

Late-night phone calls. Grouchy teacher. Grumpy moms. Burnt meals. Flat tires.

You’ve-got-to-be-kidding deadlines.

Those are thumps.

Thumps are those irritating inconveniences that trigger the worst in us.

They catch us off guard. Flat-footed.

They aren’t big enough to be crises, but if you get enough of them, watch out!

Traffic jams. Long lines. Empty mailboxes. Dirty clothes on the floor.

Even as I write this, I’m being thumped.

Because of interruptions, it has taken me almost two hours to write these two paragraphs.          Thump. Thump. Thump.

How do I respond? Do I sing? Or do I thud?

Jesus said that out of the natureof the heart a man speaks (Luke 6:45). 

There’s nothing like a good thump to reveal the nature of a heart.

The true character of a person is seen not in momentary heroics

but in the thump-packed humdrum of day-to-day living.

If you have a tendency to thud more than you sing, take heart.

The true character of a person is seen not in momentary heroics

but in the thump-packed humdrum of day-today living.

There is hope for us “thudders”:

1.  Begin by thanking God for thumps. I don’t mean a half-hearted thank-you. I mean a rejoicing, jumping-for-joy thank-you from the bottom of your heart (James 1:2). Chances are that God is doing the thumping.And he’s doing it for your own good. So every thump is a reminder that God is molding you (Heb. 12:5–8).

2.  Learn from each thump. Face up to the fact that you are not “thump-proof.” You are going to be tested from now on. You might as well learn from the thumps—you can’t avoid them. Look upon each inconvenience as an opportunity to develop patience and persistence. Each thump will help you or hurt you, depending on how you use it.

3.  Be aware of “thump-slump” times. Know your pressure periods. For me Mondays are infamous for causing thump-slumps. Fridays can be just as bad. For all of us, there are times during the week when we can anticipate an unusual amount of thumping.The best way to handle thump-slump times? Head on. Bolster yourself withextra prayer, and don’t give up.

Remember, no thump is disastrous.All thumps work for good if we are loving and obeying God.

From Shapedby God (originaltitle: On the Anvil)

Copyright (Tyndale House, 1985, 2002) Max Lucado

I sure have experienced a lot of THUMPS

and a lot of THUDS....

but through it all, I had trust.

Trust that God would help me throught those thumps and thuds,

and bring me out the other side singing.

Are you thudding today???

Or are you singing???

Until next time. . .

Project #2

And once again. . . .

#2

This one I am really proud of and it is definitely a work in progress.

My Secret Garden

in process. . .

It started out as this. . .

AND NOW my lovely little condo patio looks like this. . .

OK, well not really like that because it is growing more each and every day. I am still experimenting with the annuals and perennials that will work out here, so I am sure it will

look even more lush NEXT year. . .

Hey, did you recognize the little aqua chair as my Project # 1?

Well, it was and yes, it is still sitting in the same spot.

I used indoor-outdoor spray paint and it is weathering well.

Hmmm, but it may make it to the front porch next year as I like it sooooo much.

Hope you enjoyed Project # 2.

Stay tuned as there will be many more.

Until next time. . .

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

HELLO????

IS ANYONE OUT THERE???

OH THERE YOU ARE !!!

Just checking!!!

On Sunday

I threw it out there that I would

LOVE LOVE LOVE

some ideas on what

YOU-

my faithful followers-

would like me to search out for

What I'm Lovin' Wednesday.

Just think, there is a gift in it for you if I use your idea.....

So check out Sunday's post

to see what I'm looking for.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

 leave a comment letting me know what you

would like to see on a future Wednesday.

I can't WAIT to see your ideas.....

What I'm Obsessed with Wednesday.....

CUPCAKES, CUPCAKES and MORE CUPCAKES

OH MY Hello Kitty Cupcakes

Beachy Cupcakes by Martha Stewart 



What a cute lil' turtle



Hot Dogs and Burgers on Buns... YUM!

MMMMMM I LOVE Popcorn

<>

 

Lady bug cupcakes at Martha Stewart

What do yout think???? Aren't they GREAT???

Send me any fun cupcakes you have come across

cuz I would love to see them.

Hey, while you are surfing. . . .
Check out this new blog hop. . .


Wild Wednesday

Until next time . . .

Music Monday.....

How Do You Like Me Now?

Toby Keith

This is a little follow up to last weeks song. . .

I love Toby Keith and have been a fan since WAY BACK.

But this song holds a special place in my heart as it is the last song I remember my mother loving and singing (she had a beautiful voice) before her stroke in 2000.

This song made her think back on her high school years, and tho she never gave me details,

she felt this song said it all for her and what she went thru in high school.

She ended up moving to a little bit bigger small town, spent a year at a college 3 hours from home before, due to money constraints, moving home to attend Nursing School. Years later she would finish her bachelor's in Nursing and also her Master's.

So, this one is for you mom.

I love you and miss you every day.

Until next time. . .