shiny.and.new

When I was sick in the bed last week, barely able to move my bones, Burke was so sweet to come home from work to see about the boys. He admitted to me later that he thought they might burn the house down while I slept. Considering they came in every five minutes to wake me and ask permission for everything, I am quite certain they would have done the same before conspiring to strike the match. During one of my many long naps, Burke took the boys out. I remember them telling me they were leaving. Several hours later, the boys came running into the house. "Mommy, mommy! Daddy bought you a surprise!," they exclaimed. As bad as I felt, I managed to drag myself out of the bed thinking surely a surprise would make me feel better. That works for you, doesn't it? I walked to the back door to find this little number...

Burke was so proud of his purchase for me. You see, now I would be able to cut the new grass in the back yard. I was looking around for the flowers that might accompany such a gift for your sick wife, but could not find them anywhere. Oh well. It is definitely not the shiny new retro bike I have been envisioning for myself, but I will have a manicured lawn and some serious exercise to boot.

Along the same lines of shiny and new, you must see one of the pieces I made for a friend of mine who has two little girls - true princesses. She ordered necklaces and matching earrings, and here is one of the necklaces...

and WAY cheaper than a lawn mower!

Shonda....come on down!

We have a winner!

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:14
Timestamp: 2009-06-26 21:06:29 UTC

Comment number 14 belongs to Shonda who is a new follower to the blog, so that is quite fun! Shonda, send me an email to give me your mailing address. I'll get them in the mail right away. Thanks to everyone who threw their name in the hat. There are more fun giveaways on the horizon...I promise! I am coming off of two very awful days of illness but feel like I'm getting my legs back under me now. Summer colds are absolutely the worst! Maybe I'll even try to get something fun and new in as early as next week - here's hoping! Have a fantastic weekend.

earring giveaway!

I made these earrings forever and a day ago and have meaning to give them away on my blog. So, today may be your lucky day! The design is a hammered sterling ring with a freshwater pearl/sterling bead dangle hanging in the center. They are absolutely perfect for summer!

Now, for your chances to win:

1. enter a comment - easy as pie

2. if you are a follower of my blog, leave that in a separate comment. If you're not a follower, all you have to do is sign up (over there on the right side bar!)

3. for a third chance, share my blog giveaway information with someone else (either through email, your blog, facebook, etc.) and let me know in a separate comment that you've done that.

So, three chances to win. A winner will be chosen Friday at 5:00p.m. Check back to see if it is YOU! Good luck!

it's great being 4!

We had so much to celebrate yesterday. Our little guy turned 4, and it was, of course, Father's Day. We spent the afternoon picnicking and hiking in the mountains - perfect for the guys in my life. Now that I think about it, it was perfect for me, too! I am thankful for two of the sweetest boys on earth and for the most wonderful father to those boys. It is no surprise they have turned out to be the young men they are with the example they've had.

Daddy with his boys

Happy 4th birthday, William! May all of your wishes come true. I love you so much!!

oh rain, where art thou?

Now that our backyard looks like this...

where in the world is the rain?

Does is really ever rain when someone sods their yard in June?

a blog makeover

I know I could use this. I really need a spring in my step when it comes to the look of my blog. And, there is someone who could solve my blogging blues! If you blog, you need to check out this giveaway - http://redbuddesigns.blogspot.com/2009/06/giveaway-time.html

(Disclaimer: As much I love those of you who read my blog, I really hope that I win!)

Now you can have two chances to win because one of my favorite bloggers is offering to give away a sidebar button designed especially for you by Redbud Designs. So, head here http://shane-natalie.blogspot.com/2009/06/redbud-designs-giveaway-and-announcing.html to check out Natalie's blog and get in on the great giveaway!

where have I been?

There is something new in the yard that is literally consuming all of our time! As a matter of fact, this is what we emailed to my husband last Tuesday while he was at work. Mean, you think? No, we just really wanted him home to enjoy the afternoon with us!

I'll post more pictures soon. We have had swimming lessons for the boys every day last week and have one more week to go. On top of that, there is no water coming out of any faucet in our house - I mean NONE...brings back awful memories of the snowstorm this year! Fortunately, help is on the way and should be here soon. But, I leave you with a promise to update my blog soon with new pictures of jewelry because there is an exciting giveaway around the corner!! Have a wonderful week.

new font and new designs!

For those of you who might be extremely perceptive, I decided to sneak in a preview of a new lowercase font. Did any of you notice? Well, that preview was a couple of weeks ago, but now I am stamping like CRAZY with these great new letters. So when you place an order, you will now have a choice of font. Please keep in mind that one font might not work for a particular piece, but we can discuss that on an individual basis.

I received a call before vacation (which was fantastic, by the way!) from someone requesting three necklaces. One piece would be for her and one for each of her two sisters. She allowed me to be creative and come up with three different pieces. And of course I used the new font! Take a look at what I mailed to her...





I was very pleased with the way these turned out. If you are interested in having a custom piece like these made, please email me a lannaejohnson@windstream.net. Thanks so much for letting me design for you, Brooke. It was so much fun!