Altered Halloween

I just recently discovered "altered art". 


Yes I know, I must be living under a rock. But since seeing so many beautiful alterations I decided to start playing around. Here is the first attempt at adding elements to a vintage photo. I'm learning a lot and well....things can only get better from here...uhh right?


If anyone finds this worthy of using for anything, I made sure not to infringe on any copyrights, feel free.

This is the Before

Hope you are having a Wonderful Weekend!

And we have some winners!!

More winners than you thought!!

First I apologize for not getting a chance yet, to visit each person who entered. It has been a trying week for us. Our vacation went great for the first 3 days....Then my husband spent the next week in and out of hospitals, flying home to get medical care. He had his first of 3 needed surgeries on Monday and is doing much better now. While at the hospital my car was hit  "OUCH", and will go in the shop on Monday for the repairs. Ever wish you had just stayed in bed?


Anyway on to brighter things!


On September 22, 2009 I announced a Craft Etc/Hobby Lobby gift card giveaway. I am still so excited about this find, I have decided to give an additional 5 cards for $10.00 each to other entrants to this contest. I thank you all for your wonderful comments, your love of Hobby Lobby, and the way you inspire me everyday!


So here we go....picked by random number generator.......the winners are................!!!!


For the $25.00 cards the winners are.....
Chari@Happy to Design
Beverly@The Buzz


$10.00 card winners are....
Kimmel@My domestic Bliss
Manuela@Pleasures of Homemaking
Melissa@Melissa's Heart and Home
Embellished Bayou
Laurie@Indulge Your Shelf


For all the winners : Please send me an email at  Myrosegarden@aol.com, so I can reach you on where to have the cards delivered. Thank you to all who entered.

Have a Wonderful Blogland Week!

A giveaway! No Hobby Lobby? No problem!

A  Giveaway and 

My First visit to Hobby Lobby

Those of us on the West Coast or away from a big city, know the frustration of seeing an awesome project done by fellow blogger, excitedly reading the materials list....we get to "found at Hobby Lobby" and our stomach sinks.


No more friends! I am currently on vacation and I found a Hobby Lobby. While there I spoke with the manager. Wait till you hear...I am so excited! No... Hobby Lobby will not be selling products online...No.... there are no current plans to open one in Washington...


But Wait!


The family that owns Hobby Lobby umbrellas 5 companies. One of the companies is called Crafts, Etc!  They carry many of the same products as Hobby Lobby and run many of the same items on sale! At the top of their web page..there it is "free shipping on orders over $25.00. 


Happy Dance! Happy Dance! 


I checked out the Crafts, Etc site and sure enough, the same things I bought at Hobby Lobby are on the Crafts, Etc site for the same sale prices I paid today.


Because I am soooo excited about this new information I am doing a giveaway of two "Crafts, Etc" gift cards for $25.00 each. The best part? Hobby Lobby will honor the same gift card. Awesome!


Here are the rules


You do not have to have a blog to enter! 


1. If you want to enter please leave me a comment on what you would like to buy from Crafts, Etc.com/Hobby Lobby.


2. Become a follower and leave me that comment. If you are already a follower leave that comment.


3. Normally I would never ask this, but I really want to get the word out to all the Hobby Lobby deprived crafters.If you blog about this giveaway you will get an additional entry. Just leave a comment with the link to your post.


All entries must be recieved by September 30,2009 at midnight.


Now for a photo tour of my first ever visit to a Hobby Lobby. This store is massive!

Walking in the front entry you are greeted by furniture. I was immediately drawn to the white distressed versions.

Once inside what are you interested in? 


Home decor? Fluer de lis?

How about these fun metal signs?

Collect Roosters?

Are you looking for pieces for Autumn decorating?

Love the pumpkins on pedestals!

Glass mosiac fruit?

Are you dreaming of Christmas? Hobby Lobby is!

Have you ever considered black and silver decor for Christmas? This display was gorgeous! The pictures don't do these pieces justice.

How about some black and white dishes to go with?

In addition to all this craft supplies, scrapbooking, floral department, fabric department, it goes on and on!


What did I buy? Monograms...

Cabinet handles. They had so many to choose from.

And finally a set of skeleton keys!

Hope you enjoyed the tour and please pass the word. Make sure to enter the giveaway and have a wonderful Day!

Busy Getting Ready

I'm throwing a party at work tomorrow. I am so happy with the way its's turning out!

Here's a peek at one of the projects I have been working on....

More details to follow.

Have a Great Day!

Me, you ask? Really?

I've been "tagged" by Connie over at Shady Creek Lane (look below to see who I tagged)

(Please excuse the formatting. Blogger and I seem to be having a disagreement about how this post should look)

Have you seen some of Connie’s awesome projects? Like this one.

So Connie wants to know about me from A-Z? Well here we go…

Seven Personality Traits

1. I am addicted to work. Work at the job, work at home. I stay busy! My world spins fast and as the song goes “If you are coming with me you need nerves of steel, because I take corners on two wheels, it’s a never ending circus ride and the faint of heart need not apply.”

2. I am organized on the job, to the point my peers joke I must I’m OCD. At home? Uhhhh…not so much.

3. I am pretty much “by the book”, on the rules of life. I really struggle to “Step out of the box” to be creative.

4. I love the challenge of making something old into something new, therefore you can find me strolling the isles of Goodwill or going to yard sales in search of diamonds in the rough. (copied straight from Connie) Is there anything better?

5. I love meditation. I love to calm my mind and refocus. I meditate a minimum of once each day to regroup and reground.

6. I worry when others are hurting, emotionally or physically. I don’t like to see anyone in pain.

7. I lead with compassion. I always try to see both sides to a situation. I can usually justify both sides of a situation. (old high school debater here)

A-Z

A- Available/Married? MARRIED FOR NEARLY 10 YEARS

B - Best Friend? MY HUSBAND, AND SISTER. WHO KNOWS MORE ABOUT YOU, THAN THE ONE YOU LIVE WITH, AND THE ONE YOU GREW UP WITH?

C - Cake or Pie? PIE OR CAKE AS LONG AS IT’S CHOCOLATE :0)

D - Drink of Choice? COFFEE, COFFEE, AND MORE COFFEE

E - Essential item you use everyday? MY COMPUTER.

F - Favorite Color? PERIWINKLE BLUE

G - Gummy Bears or Worms? NOPE, NADA…NO THANK YOU

H - Hometown? I’M A MILITARY BRAT, NEVER HAD A HOME TOWN.

I - Indulgence? A LONG DAY AT A SPA

J - January or February? FEBUARY WHEN THE CROCUS START TO PUSH FROM THE GROUND.

K - Kids and their names? BRANDON, JUSTIN, ANN, JULIE

L - Life is incomplete without? MY FAMILY

M - Marriage Date? OCTOBER 18

N - Number of Siblings? 2 SISTERS AND 1 BROTHER (I AM THE OLDEST)

O - Oranges or Apples? ORANGES

P - Phobia's/ Fears? NOT BEING ENOUGH, FOR OTHERS... FOR MYSELF. NOT LIVING TO MY POTENTIAL.

Q - Quote for today? NOBODY GETS TO LIVE LIFE BACKWARD. LOOK AHEAD, THAT'S WHERE YOUR FUTURE LIES.

R - Reason to smile? STANDING ON THE SHORE WATCHING THE SAILBOATS.

S - Season? FALL. DEFIANTELY FALL!

T - Tag 3 People? EMILY, BARB, AND CONNIE (see pics and details below)

U - Unknown fact about me? I SPENT MY TEEN YEARS LIVING IN NORTH AFRICA (ETHIOPIA, AND MOROCCO). I ONCE SPOKE 4 LANGUAGES.

V - Vegetable you don't like? BEETS…THAT’S IT.

W - Worst habit? EXPECTING OTHER PEOPLE TO LIVE UP TO MY EXPECTATIONS.

X - X-rays you've had? LOOK UP THE DEFINITION OF “CLUMSY” IN THE DICTIONARY. SEE IT THERE? YEP! MY NAME. I HAVE BEEN XRAYED FROM HEAD TO TOE.

Y - Your favorite food? CREPES, SWEET, SAVORY DOESN’T MATTER

Z - Zodiac Sign? GEMINI

Now I would like to tag three bloggers that I would like to get to know better, they are:

EMELY AT Not So Idle Hands   This girl has projects! Lots of creative projects!

BARB AT Treasures From The Heart   Barb shares absolutely wonderful tutorials on how she makes some of the things she sells in her shoppe.

CONNIE AT Constantly Vintage       Her Photog skills and creativity make it magical to read her blog!