hello there bloggers! long time no blog huh? thank you to everyone for their thoughts, well wishes, and funny threats on the blog. i appreciate those of you who took the time to comment, it meant a great deal. i have to say the happenings of last weekends ordeal left me in such a tough spot in my life. as i mentioned, i was heading from the carson stamp show on to florida to wrap up the details of my new book. in addition to that i also had my cha new release artwork, book text, and several other things that i had been working on and i was forced to simply do without. well i'm home now and back in the studio and with my new mac up and running, my spirits are in a much better place. it's such a weird violated feeling i was dealing with this week – yuck! i'm busy getting things back on track with a bit of an added rush to them! the book is still on schedule and i will be finishing it this week. i am blessed by my friends and many people that care about me and have gone above and beyond to lift my spirits i honestly thank all of you…
so i've been asked for the past few months about the "12 Tags of Christmas" and if i was planning on doing them this year. of course with my schedule it was impossible for me to commit to anything so early but it was my intention to do them. in fact i was planning several techniques while i was in carson, making reminders, and working on technique step outs while i was at the hotel each night while the tags were fresh in my head. this was the year i would be ahead of the game, the year i could create kits for the tags, the year i could notify all of the stores what techniques i was sharing so they could order up on supplies….but all that work and information gone in the blink of an eye! gone since i backed up before i left on the trip – gone, gone, gone. so that was it, i was done, out of time and quite honestly out of inspiration to do anything for a while – i am sorry…
what happened to my spirit?
where did my creativity go?
why was this bothering me so much – it was just stuff after all?
how can i be so bothered inside?
when will i ever get over this?
can't i just move on?
i saw this quote online today. i don't no where or how, but i was googling something and it just came up: "life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming something more…". how true is that? after all, it's what this blog is all about. a way to stay connected with all of you, a way to give back to you for all you give to me….
so with that i am announcing:
that's right, i am moving on and giving back and doing the "12 Tags of Christmas" for 2009 – crazy i know, but i love sharing with all of you to let you know how much i appreciate you. the "12 Tags of Christmas" will start on December 1st and go through December 12th. if you're new to the "12 Tags of Christmas", well it's a festivity of creative goodness, a time to deck the halls, and let your artistic whimsy get you in the holiday spirit. each day i will post a holiday tag with complete step by step instructions for you to follow along. the tags stay up all month and then are archived on the bottom left column of the blog – the past 2 years of the "12 Tags" for 2007 & 2008 are already there so check them out! now let's not forget about all of the prizes, one of my favorite things about the "12 Tags" is the "12 Days of Giveaways" that go along with them! each day i will pick random winners from the daily comments you post on the blog! this year i am kicking it up a notch though so be ready: if you're a daily winner and your name is posted on the blog, you must claim your prize by the end of the day you're name is selected because if you don't, the prizes will roll over to the next days winners! (this means that when the daily tag and winners are posted each morning at 12:01amPST, you have until 11:59pmPST that night to claim your prize – so you have 24 hours to claim your prize) also, in true "12 Tags" style, the more comments on the blog each day, the more prizes i'll be giving away. so be sure to take EACH DAY and post a comment on the blog and join the festive fun! hey you just might win more than once – it's happened before…
now i know that many of you create a tag each day along with me and let me tell you – i love that! in fact at the end of this year's 12 days i'll be holding a contest for those that have completed all "12 Tags of Christmas" for 2009, and i have some AMAZING prizes to give away for that! so of course as you can imagine i have TONS of things to do to still finish up the book and get everything ready if i'm going to pull this thing off. i'll be launching the first tag at 12:01am on December 1st so i am leaving this post up until then – fair enough? so you'll have time to gather your favorite holiday stamps, inks, and anything else you want to play with. tell your friends, post it on your blogs, facebook, and twitter because the more people who get involved in the holiday cheer and post comments during the "12 Tags of Christmas" the more gifts and goodies i'll be sharing with all of you! okay, so i hope you're as excited as i am about the 2009 "12 Tags of Christmas" then please post a comment – i would love for you to share your excitement with me, not to mention, it will give you practice for the coming weeks. see all of you on December 1st, 2009 let the holidays begin – i can't wait…t!m
