Stylish Blog Award

Tammy, of OBX Cricut Crafting:

http://tammyjennings.blogspot.com/

and also a friend on the Creative Inspirations and Friendships group, has very kindly nominated me for the Stylish Blog Award!!! I am so thrilled that she has chosen my blog! Thank you so much Tammy. I am now following your blog, and look forward to exploring it further, and reading your future posts too.

According to the instructions on Tammy’s bog, what I have to do to qualify to receive the award is:

1). Thank and link back to the person who awarded me

2). Share 8 things about myself

3). Pay it forward to 8 bloggers that I have recently discovered

4). Contact those bloggers and tell them about their awards

(I copied and pasted the above rules from Tammy’s blog.)

1). Already done – see my first paragraph!

2). 8 things about myself:

1. I have been a Christian since 1984.

2. I have been married since 1986.

3. I have always been a creative person, and since discovering “serious” papercrafting this year, have learnt so much from my online friends and am enjoying it more than I can say.

4. I love ethnic things, and we have quite a collection of articles from other cultures and countries.

5. I enjoy digital photography and photo editing, and lots of other things on my computer, but especially contact with my online friends.

6. I am a cat lover.

7. I was trained as a secretary and have worked as a medical secretary, in legal offices, and have been self-employed. I am grateful for the keyboard skills I learnt during my training.

8. I have a disability as a result of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) and although this has a profound effect on my life, it is not what defines me as a person! (Hence my putting it last on the list!)

3). The 8 bloggers I would like to share this award with are:

1. Carolyn Saxby – an amazing mixed-media artist living in Cornwall, whose work expresses the subtle colours and moods of St. Ives, the Cornish coast, and her love of the natural forms that surround her. She uses many materials in the most imaginative ways and she never fails to inspire me!

2. Wheelchair Pride – I recently discovered this brilliant blog which celebrates wheelchairs! Wheelchair users are encouraged to “pimp their wheels” and celebrate their alternative method of getting around, and I was recently privileged to have my own piece published on this blog, with pictures of my own Rolls Royce complete with flowers! They also promote new technology to help people with disabilities, and especially the various exoskeleton systems now being developed, which will enable paraplegics to walk again. They also post about wheelchair users in the news, and all things quirky and unusual in the Wheelchair World! A great site for people with disabilities, and to educate the able-bodied about disability as well.

3. Gill of Gillyflower’s Expressions – I first came across Gill when I bought my Scor-Pal papercrafting scoring tool from her on Ebay – it’s been soooo useful!!! – and I subsequently started following her blog. She makes the most beautiful cards! Like me, she suffers from a chronic condition and knows how therapeutic it is to be creative.

4. Alicia of Mishaps Happen – Alicia is a friend on the Creative Inspirations and Friendships group, and is another one who makes absolutely beautiful cards! I love her honesty – she always tells us about her “mishaps” as well as her successes, but she always seems to turn the “mishaps” into “successes”!

5. Abbey of The Silver Lining in the Cloud of M.E. – Abbey is a truly remarkable young lady in her teens, who suffers from severe M.E. and who is only now just starting to go back to school part-time after years of being too ill to attend. She has a very strong Christian faith and turns all her suffering and problems into opportunities to praise God and increase her faith. She is an encouragement to us all!

6. Kerry’s Paper Crafts – Kerry is a prolific crafter who makes the most beautiful articles – not just cards, but little gifts which she sells at craft fairs. I love the stylishness and simplicity of her work, and she continually gives me inspiration!

7. Hels of Ink on My Fingers – Hels does beautiful work – very stylish and imaginative, and she is another one who continually inspires me with her creativity! I also love her sense of humour, and I always feel upbeat when I read her posts.

8. Linda of Friends in Art – Linda is my latest “friend in art” and I love her work – she is on Tim Holtz’s design team (just disbanded) and she does the most incredible work, using Tim’s materials – her work is stylish, imaginative and humorous and I look forward to being inspired by her a great deal as time goes on!

I do hope these eight bloggers will accept their Stylish Blogger Award – it’s my way of saying thank you for all the inspiration and fun you have all given me since I’ve encountered you. There are many more that I could have nominated – you are not forgotten, and I am grateful to you all. I have learnt so much since I started blogging, and I love the friendliness and generosity of all I have met in this wonderful community. Many thanks to you all!

I hope that anyone reading this post will take the trouble to pay a visit to these eight blogs if they have not already done so – go, and be inspired!

4). I’m now off to contact these eight bloggers to let them know of their award.

Thank you again, Tammy, for nominating me. I feel very honoured and privileged!