The Versatile Blogger Award goes to.... ME!

I just love getting awards... and that includes receiving awards for my blog! Thanks so much to Carrie {from Crafty Moms Share} for sending the Versatile Blogger Award my way! (By the way, be sure to check out Carrie's blog when you have a chance. She is loaded with tons of super cute craft ideas for all occasions).

The Versatile blogger award goes to blogs that are newly discovered and offer some fun or inspiring ideas.

The Rules

* Thank the person that nominated you with a link back to them.

* Tell everyone seven things about yourself.

* Pass this award on to 15 newly discovered blogs and let them know that they've received an award!

Seven things about me -

1.) I love Jesus with all my heart.

2.) I am a wife to the most wonderful man I know.

3.) I am a mother to the two most beautiful little girls.

4.) I am the second child of six (three girls and three boys).

5.) I love to take photographs (my camera is basically an extension of my body).

6.) I have a bachelors degree in chemistry and a master's degree in speech-language pathology but am thankfully blessed with having a full-time job of mommy-hood. (fyi - I work as a per diem speech therapist and a whenever possible photographer). 

7.) I love to travel. (My husband and I, together and separately, have been to various states in the US, including Hawaii, and several other countries, Russia and England to name a few, and we are always looking forward to planning our next adventure)!

Fifteen newly discovered "to me" blogs (in no particular order) -

1.) Vegan Mother Hubbard

2.) Crayon Freckles

3.) A little bit of this, a little bit of that

4.) Letters to Sophia

5.) Little Blue Feather

6.) Cordial Chaos

7.) Imprintalish

8.) Ramblings and Photos

9.) Made to Worship Photography

10.) 4 Lettre Words

11.) I'm not THAT pregnant

12.) Sunny with a Chance of Sprinkles

13.) Reading Confetti

14.) Cottage and Broome

15.) Embellishments by SLR

It wasn't easy picking only 15 blogs to receive this award. I have "met" so many other wonderful and inspirational friends in this amazing blogger community! Please be sure to check out the blogs I have listed above for some incredible ideas, amazing photography, and valuable life long lessons. Thanks so much and blessings to you all! 

Photo Session: Mr. Brayden

I enjoyed photographing precious little nine month old Brayden just days before Thanksgiving holiday. He is a very adorable little fellow, who is just full of love and smiles. I'm sure you'll agree after you view the several photos I plan to share with you below. And I just can't wait until he turns one because I'll get to photograph him again (along with his entire family for a family portrait)! I'm so excited!

If you haven't already, be sure to check out my entire portfolio and current products at my JB gallery website. (JB gallery is also on facebook. Check it out here!)

Christmas Card GIVEAWAY WINNER!

Thanks to everyone who participated in my Christmas Card GIVEAWAY from my little Etsy shop, ThePhotoMommy!

{The winner was randomly chosen using www.random.org/.}

And the lucky winner is......

Comment #10
Emily {from I'm not THAT pregnant}

Congratulations Emily! 

I will be contacting you via email very soon!

Didn't win?! No need to fear! You too can have a Christmas Card (or any special occasion card) from my shop. Check out my entire collection here.

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And just to remind you.....

Be sure to link up your favorite photo at this week's Look Whooooo's Snapping photo linky party, which is actually going on for TWO weeks (so be sure to link up more than once)!!

Look Whooooo's Snapping {4}

Happy Friday Everyone! 

And welcome to this week's Look Whooooo's Snapping photo linky party!

Let us first begin by congratulating TWO "winners" from last week!

("Winners" are chosen by your popular vote).

They are....

This beautiful macro shot comes to us from Rik {Cordial Chaos}. 

This very pretty flower photo was submitted by Misty {Through A Photographer's Eyes}.

Congrats Rik and Misty! And thank you both so very much for participating!

You both deserve to grab the button below :)

<center><a href="http://www.mommyknowslife.blogspot.com"><img border="0" src="http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/l630/ThePhotoMommy/lookwhoooossnappingpopular-1.jpg"/></a></center>
As promised, here are a couple of my favorites from last week's party...
This simply breathtaking shot comes from Dina {4 Lettre Words}.

A very adorable shot, I must say, was provided by Lish {Imprintalish}.

Thanks for your beautiful shots, Lish and Dina! Feel free to grab the button below!

<center><a href="http://www.mommyknowslife.blogspot.com"><img border="0" src="http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/l630/ThePhotoMommy/lookwhoooossnappingfavorite-1.jpg"/></a></center>*********************************************************************************
Now, on to a new week (well, actually TWO weeks - see below) of Look Whooooo's Snapping photo link-ups!

This linky party is for sharing your favorite photo(s) {of the week}. Just make sure to grab the button below to share on your blog post, showing others that you are linking-up!
(If this is your first time linking up, be sure to click here for rules and details).

<center><a href="http://www.mommyknowslife.blogspot.com"><img border="0" src="http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/l630/ThePhotoMommy/lookwhoooossnapping-4.jpg"/></a></center>*********************************************************************************
Here are my favorite photos of the week...
This past weekend our little family was blessed with an opportunity to take a nice long walk on our local rail trail. It was a tad windy that day, but the warm, shining sun made for a very enjoyable walk. You soon see that the girls had a glorious time as well. They just love getting outdoors... but, then again, who doesn't?! I'm just so thankful for fun family time. Aren't you?! Well, enough of my rambling... let's just let the photos tell the rest of the story, shall we?! 

Just so you know, this week's linky party is actually going to be live for TWO weeks!
Our little family will be out of town the entire week of Thanksgiving visiting friends and family, so chances are, I won't be finding much time to get on my computer. Oh, and I'm making an exception and breaking the "1 entry" rule just this once ;) So, please feel free to link up MORE than once!!

Now it's your turn to share your favorite photo(s) of the week! 

And THANK YOU in advance for participating :)

And remember to vote for at least one other photo besides your own!

L is for Lion

"ROAR!" is what Ava loves to say! She is a little lion some days, and she loves to take her lion toy practically everywhere with her. This is was inspired the second letter craft for our "Learning My Lovely Letter" alphabet scrapbook. (Click here to see the first letter we made for our collection). Another reason for wanting to make the letter "L" next is because it's one of the sounds we're currently working on during "therapy". As Ava's mommy (and her very own speech therapist) we like to incorporate sounds Ava is learning to say correctly during a fun activity, like crafting. And just so you know, she's currently saying "L" in the initial position almost 100% of the time! Yay! (We're still working on the medial position - like in the word "yellow", but she'll get it soon enough).

While the idea and template for this craft comes from here, you'll notice that we made several little changes of our own, including the addition of a lion cub for our lower case letter. 

Needed to make this craft:

crayons

card stock

scissors

paper

What to do: 

1.) Print out and color two copies of the template.

2.) Cut out.

*Optional but highly recommended... 3.) Play with little sister while mommy cuts out the remaining pieces.

4.) Glue all the pieces together (as shown).

So adorable, don't ya think?!

We're already thinking of ideas for our next letter, so stay tuned!

Linked: Crafty Moms Share, Crayon Freckles, Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy, The Idea Room Community
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Reminder:

Be sure to check out the awesome giveaway I have going on right now! It's perfect for the upcoming holiday season!




And, don't forget to link up your favorite photo of the week at tomorrow's Look Whooooo's Snapping photo linky party!

Christmas Card GIVEAWAY

Folks, It's time for me to sponsor another giveaway for all of you, my lovely followers!

My giveaway item comes from my little Etsy shop, ThePhotoMommy.

In celebration of the upcoming Holiday Season, I'm very much in the Christmas Card kind of giving spirit! So, my gift to one of my very lucky followers is a choice of any 

ONE {digital} Holiday Photo Card from my entire collection. 

Here are a couple samples from my shop to get you in the giveaway participating mood...

Oh, and no need to fear if you didn't see something you like, because I hope to add a new card or two between now and when the winner is chosen!

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Here's how to enter for a chance to win: 

Mandatory entry:

1) Follow my blog (see sidebar) & Leave me a comment below  {1 Entry}

(NOTE: If you're already a follower, just leave me a comment). 

Optional entry (Use a separate comment for each entry): 

1) Like my shop on facebook {1 Entry}

2) View my shop and tell me which card you'd pick {1 Entry}

3) Favorite an item at my shop {1 Entry}

4) Tweet, facebook, or blog about this giveaway {1 Entry}

(Feel free to grab my blog or etsy button when sharing about this giveaway!)

NOTE: Be sure to provide me with your email info so I'll be able to contact you.

The winner will be randomly chosen and announced on Monday, Nov. 21, 2011. 

Last Day to enter giveaway will be 
Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011. 

Good Luck!

Crochet Holiday Hat & Booties GIVEAWAY WINNER!

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in my Crochet Holiday Hat & Booties GIVEAWAY, 

brought to us by Kiera {from An-Enchanted-Life}!
{The winner was randomly chosen using www.random.org/.}

Now it's time to reveal the lucky winner...

It goes to....

Comment #3

Chelsea {from Sunny with a Chance of Sprinkles}

Congratulations Chelsea! 

Kiera will be contacting you via email very soon!

Didn't win?! No need to fear! You too can have a beautiful crochet creation crafted by the lovely Kiera. Check out her entire collection here. (I know I will!)

Handprint {Standing} Turkey Craft

This morning while little Miss Audrey was napping, Ava and I got out the craft materials and supplies and were ready to create another Thanksgiving Turkey Craft. (To see the first handprint turkey craft we've crafted this year, click here).

While the general idea and a few of the basic details for this turkey craft came from here, you'll notice that we added a few unique design ideas of our own.

Materials and crafting tools we needed for this craft:

- two paper plates

- one toilet paper tube

- paper and card stock

- pencil

- glue

- scissors

- stapler

- small dixie cup (or in my case, a plastic medicine cup)

 And here's how it's done:

1.) Trace your child's little hands on white paper (at least eight times). 

2.) Color the hands.

3.) Color the back of the paper plates.

4.) After you've cut out the hands, staple them to the paper plate.

5.) Trace and cut out another hand from brown card stock (that will later be used for the feet).

6.) Cut a rectangle out of brown card stock and staple to toilet paper tube.

7.) Color the medicine cup black with marker.

8.) Cut a circle out of black card stock (that will later be used for the base of the hat).

9.) To make the beak, take a small square of yellow card stock, and fold it into quarters. Cut off a triangle with one edge along the fold.

10.) Open up the card stock, and then cut the resulting diamond in half (that will later be used as the beak).

11.) Staple the paper plates together.

12.) Once you've cut out the eyes and waddle (as shown), glue all the pieces of the face and hat pieces onto the head.

13.) Glue the head to the body, and there you have it... your beautiful standing turkey. Perfect for centerpiece display!

Linked: Crayon Freckles, One Artsy Mama, Crafty Moms Share, Happily Mother After, Craft Junkie Too, It's Fun To Craft

Inspirational Fine Art Photograph GIVEAWAY WINNER!

A BIG Thanks to everyone who participated in my Inspirational Fine Art Photograph GIVEAWAY, 

brought to us by Andie {from Crayon Freckles}!

{The winner was randomly chosen using www.random.org/.}

Drum Roll Please.....
and the lucky winner is......

Comment #8
Christy {from Christy's Cuties}

Congratulations Christy! 

Andie will be contacting you via email very soon!

Didn't win?! No need to fear! You too can have a beautiful fine art photograph created by the lovely Andie. Check out her entire collection here.

And the winner of my {digital} photo card giveaway on Andie's blog is:
Kim {from Tiaras and Bowties}!

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And just to remind you.....

It's not too late to link up your favorite photo of the week at this week's
  Look Whooooo's Snapping photo linky party!

Turkey Handprint Craft & the Letter Tt

Ava and I had such a fun time working on this turkey handprint craft. The template can be found here, but I came up with the idea to make two turkeys to incorporate with the letter Tt. I've decided to start an alphabet scrapbook for Ava (well, I haven't actually made it yet, but I plan to very soon!) that we plan to title "Learning My Lovely Letters". (We're obviously creating the letters in no particular order). She is very familiar visually recognizing more than half of her letters already; however, the ones she does know are all upper case. Now that I'm starting an alphabet scrapbook for her, we'll be able to include lower case letters too. We can also talk about what sound the letter makes and associate the letter with a word... in this case, Turkey starts with the letter T. We made two turkeys, one with mommy's handprints that corresponds with the upper case "T", and the other one with Ava's handprints that corresponds with the lower case "t".

Here are the materials we needed to make this craft complete:

- paper
- pencil
- crayons
- glue
- scissors

Instructions:

- Print out the turkey template
- Color the template and cut out
- Trace your child's hands and your own
- Color the handprints and cut out
- Glue the turkey together (as shown in our picture below)
- Print out the T and t template (here), color, and cut out

Ava did a beautiful job coloring her turkey and hand prints... mommy just helped a little ;) (Mommy, however, did all of the cutting herself, but Ava did a great job watching!).

Aren't they so cute?! We can't wait to create more crafty letters for the scrapbook!

Linked: Happily Mother After, One Artsy Mama, Crafty Moms Share, Fun to Craft, Crayon Freckles