Bee's Buzzings

Where did the year go?

Of course my kids would disagree, but to me it seems like the new century and "Y2K" were just the blink-of-an-eye ago!  And here we are, beckoning in the second decade already . . . Wow!

There has been so much change in my life, and with my family these past 10 years.  Though there have been challenges (sometimes coming in quick succession) the beginning of 2010 finds us all stronger, happier, healthier and with greater focus and eager anticipation for the future. 

Our four kids continue to be a source of pleasure and inspiration.  And Jim and I spend many an hour planning our next home.  We're not sure exactly when those plans will become a lot, foundation and construction zone, but we do know it will happen in time.  Patience and I have become friendly, at last :)

The new year will bring change, most notably my newfound resolve to establish more consistent routines.  As many of you moms know - kids can and will consume all your free and flex time, if allowed to do so.  I've learned that protecting my creative time will be a priority in the new year.  And one way I'll be doing this is by using a weekly Sketch Journal.  This journal, and these pencils, will record and encourage my progress these next few months (and in the years ahead).  I hope you will enjoy seeing ideas come to life and events as they're recorded.

Hope you and yours have lots to look forward to in 2010, and hope you've had a wonderful Holiday Season!

Who Loves Mittens??

Amazing to think that Thanksgiving is already over . . . and Christmas is rapidly approaching.  While I'm more ahead of things in my Etsy shops than last year, I'm definitely lagging behind on my holiday shopping once again.  Luckily for me, the internet is open 24/7 :)

We had a very eventful Thanksgiving Day.  Starting at 4 a.m., to be exact.  The morning was quiet and the kitchen filled with delicious aromas as I baked both a pumpkin and deep dish apple pie.  Had to get a jump on things as Kristi was running in a 5K around Lake Como in St. Paul at 8:30.  I'd opted out - any time the temps fall below 35 degrees I'm just not interested in jogging outside - but went to cheer her on in my down coat, mittens and a pair of shearling boots, which kept me toasty-warm!

Soon we were off to an early family Thanksgiving dinner complete with many very tasty side dishes.  My favorite was the stuffing with wild rice that my sister-in-law and her husband had prepared.  Absolutely delicious!

As far as the blog - I'm trying to get caught up on contest win information, and hope to do so in the next day or so.  Appreciate those of you who know I'm behind and yet remain patient with me!  Thank you.

For those of you in the States - hope you and yours had a fabulous Thanksgiving feast!  And my early Holiday Greetings to all of you for a fun yet restful season ahead :)

♥ Bee

Mmmm . . . Mmmittens :)

Sweet little pocket mirrors - just wanted to share some more designs :)  In my Etsy shop - these would make great teacher's gifts, too! 

Oh Christmas Tree, a Hand Crafted Art Pendant :)

I love this one SO much!!  Available in my BeeDazzles Pendant shop, in limited numbers :)

Blog readers can save 25% - today only - on this or any other pendant at BeeDazzlesPendants, or on note cards, pocket mirrors or mini notes/gift tags at BeeDazzlesGifts  - just type "Bee's Buzzings" at Etsy checkout and I'll send you a revised PayPal invoice.

Limit one discounted pendant per person (and $10 maximum at BeeDazzlesGifts).

It's a great time to start Holiday Shopping!

And one more new Holiday / Christmas design!!

Whew, finished another one.  Later I'll be transferring these images over to Pocket Mirrors, Art Pendants, Mini Notes and Gift Tags.  For now I have some urgent matters . . .  er . . .  housework to attend to :)  The crumbs on the kitchen floor are forming an army and threatening to attack as I type this.

Thanks for all your wonderful comments!  Keep your eyes open for that one BIG giveway I keep hinting at  . . . sometime this weekend or early next week.

Sweet Little Christmas Birdies :)

My sleep schedule has been off lately, which means I'm having a lot of quiet time in the mornings.  Have been putting that to good use by getting some more Holiday Artwork finished.  Yayy!! 

The only issue so far?  I'm having a hard time choosing which one I like best!

This year most cards are being offered with a choice of phrases on the front, at no additional charge.  Any that say "Happy Holidays", "Merry Christmas" or "Season's Greetings" can be switched to one of the other phrases for free.  And personalization is available on ALL cards, for a small added fee.  See shop listings in Holiday Items section of my Etsy shop for details.

Which one is your favorite??

 

Sweet Little Christmas Trees . . . all covered in Mittens

I'm really loving this new design . . . finally got the listing into the shop after a very exciting day of lunching and craft show shopping with my good friend, Marguerite.

Also, here's another fun giveaway on this sleepy Friday evening.  Just go through the listings in my shop (click) and find the listing with this Bee showing as the last photo.  Be the first to find it, place your order through Etsy (mark 'other during checkout'), and then come back here and leave a comment saying you found it.  Voila!  The item will be marked PAID and will be shipped to you, as a thanks for reading this blog.  UPDATE:  FOUND!

And don't despair if someone beat you to the prize.  I'll be tallying comments once again for a separate giveaway very soon - the more comments you leave (on this or any other blog post), the more entries you have to win :)

Have a great weekend, I'll be working on more new art and will be checking back in again soon!

Bee

p.s. another great week with my Fitness Goals . . . am amazed at how everything just fell into place this time.  I'm eating and exercising well, and the scale is supplying awesome results :)

New Holiday Designs . . . and a quick contest :)

Just a sneak peek of some new Christmas Tree Holiday Cards, in my Etsy Shop.  Working on more fun holiday artwork which will be posted soon. 

Also a quick contest.  First one to find this sweet little snowman pocket mirror (in my shop), wins it for free.  Just be the first one to order it, and mark "other" for a payment type when checking out and I'll mark it paid and pop it in the mail to you!  UPDATE:  FOUND!!  :)

These make great little stocking stuffers or teacher gifts.  Please leave a comment here if you were the winner, and for those of you who didn't win - your comment will count in yet another contest, to be held soon :)

and even more progress :)

Shop progress - am getting to the holiday artwork this week - yayyy!  Have also added more mini note combinations to my Etsy shop (and more to come soon!) but SO love these little mini bird notes - aren't they too cute??

House progress - we've been busy moving items back into the house - had to get everything out of the storage unit we rented while our house was on the market.  Will be listing some things on Craig's List, and have even more items heading to Goodwill.  The great news is that with all the re-arranging we'd done for prepping the house for showings, it looks fresher and even more inviting than before.  Life is good and I am now very excited about decorating for the holidays.

Personal progress - have been getting on the treadmill and continuing to eat well and lose more weight.  Am up to 2 miles jogging and have achieved a 6 pound loss after three weeks.  This is pretty eventful for me as I usually lose momentum after the first week or two  :)

Family progress - both Krist and Danielle have new 'driver' updates.  Kristi passed her driving test yesterday and was happily tooling around the neighborhood solo (we're taking it slow!) And Danielle, who passed her permit test recently, had her first opportunity to drive after Kristi and I got home.  It was a nice bonding moment for the girls - and probably a day neither is likely to forget.  They both did great, but my stomach was still in knots. 

You'd think after going through this with the first two, I'd just take it in stride . .  . but oh well, that's just not happening LOL :)

CONTEST progress - and lastly, here is the first of 3 opportunities to win a FREE BeeDazzles item:

The first person to comment (below) can go select ANY art pendant for FREE.  Just click here to view my Pendant Shop, and then transact the pendant of your choice and I will mark it PAID and ship it to you (you'll need to have an Etsy account to do this).  And if you're not first - well, just be on the lookout in the next few days - there will be two more winners!

Thanks again for stopping by, and hope you have a great day!

Bee

Making progress

Aren't these little guys just SO cute??  A glass mirror on one side, and sweet Holiday motifs on the other!  They make great stocking stuffers or hostess gifts. Or keep a supply on hand for those unexpected gift-swapping situations :)

In addition to finally getting some holiday images set up for pocket mirrors, I'm also thrilled to say that I'm making progress in another area of my life as well - and am down another 1.5 pounds this week (for a total of 4.5 so far).  One thing is certain - it's a LOT easier to jog with 4.5 fewer pounds!  Which gives me additional motivation to keep going. 

Will let you know how it continues, but I do know the timing is finally right for me to focus on this now.

In addition to the extra fitness and studio time, we've also been busy with the girls' fall sporting events, yard chores and Vikings football. I love autumn and all the activities we're involved with this time of year!

Hope you have a great night!

Bee