AND THE WINNER IS!!

I can't believe the past 3 days.

First I received a 'Stylish Blog Award' from the very talented Jenny at Love and Peas. To say I was amazed is an under statement, I have only been blogging for 6 months and I still consider myself a beginner and on a steep learning curve. And so I felt REALLY touched that Jenny should consider me for this award. This means a huge amount and it has really given my confidence a boost. A HUGE THANK YOU to Jenny!

The Award requests that I share 7 pieces of information about myself then 'Pay It Forward' by nominating 7 'recently discovered' sylish blogs. Knowing how much this meant to me will give me great pleasure in passing it forward. So, the start the ball rolling here are 7 things about me you might not know:

1. I home educated both my children and they never went to school. I am very proud of how they turned out, and these years were some of my happiest and most fulfilling.

2. I love watching films on tv & dvd. There's something special about curling up at home, especially in front of the log burner on a dark winters night.

3. 'My name is Sandie.... and I am a hoarder'. Every time I throw something away, I need it. So I keep the crafting scraps, and paperback books that I've read, a collection of empty drink cans (great for making embellishments with on my Big Shot), fabric and egg boxes. I learned recently these are good to put in the liquidizer for making homemade paper. My 'space' grows like topsy turvy. Luckily my husband is forgiving, most of the time!
Oh.. and though I hoard I also regularly takes things to the charity shop, recycling centre etc. I just don't take enough!!

4. I've always dressed for comfort rather than style and I never used to understand people who loved shoes. I do now. In the past few years I have found some shoes that are fun, colourful, AND comfortable.
ps. I am getting rather a large collection of shoes.....

5. I love going out for days or away for short breaks. Just give me a map, car, and a few days free and I am away! England has some wonderful coast and places to visit. We already have a few trips planned for this year.

6. I like staying in unusual places. I can name a few: a one-time methodist chapel, a gypsy caravan, lighthouse ship, narrow boat, old miners cottage, converted stables... among others. As you can see, I like the simple things in life.
Just once in a while I like something a bit special too. Top of my list has to be the Hotel Bellagio in Los Vegas. With a room overlooking the fountain. That was magic!

7. I was at the birth of my first two grand daughters. How precious is that!! I have a new grand daughter born in November. Making 3. I love spending time with them.

So that's me. Now over to you....... the 7 blogs I am paying the "STYLISH BLOG AWARD" to (in no particular order!) are :

fromhighinthesky
counterfeitkitchallenge
loveandpeascreations
Little Imperfections
and handmade too....
double dog dare you
dandelion dreamer

On day 2 I went to my monthly crop. I will share what I made next time as I am still working on 3 of the projects. Karen & Karen put a lot of work in to make the day a success (thank you !) and here I won a £20 voucher to spend at A Trip Down Memory Lane. Again I was amazed, as I am usually the one whose raffle ticket number never gets called.

But it gets even better!

Today I received news that I was picked out of 108 people as winner of a blog hop!! I have never taken part in a blog hop before, but it was great fun and to hear that I had won one of the prizes was truely amazing!! Thank you so much to Shelly !! I think it was a case of beginners luck for both of us, as Shelly is a new member of the Scrapbook Challenge design team and this was also her first blog hop. What wonderful generous people I am meeting through my blog and creating.

I will be thoughtful about how else I pay pay these kindnesses forward. But for now, a big thank you to everyone who has added to my ever increasing surprise and gratitude.

I wonder if I should buy a lottery ticket this week???