Thankful Thursday - I Got an Award!

I woke this morning to find that Mishkat had given me a Lemonade Blog Award!!

Here is the text of the award:

The Lemonade Award is given to sites which the giver show either great attitude and or gratitude.
The rules for these awards are:
1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate 10 other blogs.
4. Add links to those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

Thank you so very much!! I'm going to have to give this award to a few people whose blogs make getting up in the wee hours of the morning very enjoyable - they are a joy to read and I always look forward to their updates:
Fireseed
Circling My Head
The Fantail
Gypsy Mare Studios
BeadedTail
FriendsFurEver
An Explorer's View of Life
TheLetteredCottage

Thank you again Mishkat, and I hope to continue to earn this award every day in the future as well :)

Fabulous Friday - Contest Winners and a Blog Feature!

Well, as I said, the first two people to respond to my mini-contest would win a secret surprise:
Jennifer from GypsyMareStudios won a 5x7 of my photo, "Exquisite Beauty" for answering first!
Aaaaaand BeadedTail won a 5x7 of my photo, "Gaillardia Sunrise" for answering second!
Thanks to everyone else who tried to win also - keep checking back, I kind of like this format for giveaways, so I think I'll have to do some more like this in the future :)

Also, I was mentioned on a wonderful blog, DragonHouseofYuen! Annette did a wonderfully nice feature on my Etsy store so I do hope you'll hop on over there and check out her blog. She also makes the most amazing soft sculptures of rabbits and swans, not to mention gorgeous bags too! Check out her Etsy shop and you'll be delighted and amazed :)
That's all for now, check back soon for more interesting finds, new pieces and maybe even a surprise giveaway!

Thankful Thursday - I Won a Prize!! Plus, a Little Contest of My Own...

~The Gorgeous Pendant I Won, Hand Painted by GypsyMareStudios on Etsy~

I love horses. I always have, and I always will. I rode and competed in hunters, jumpers and equitation in my youth on as many schooling horses I could find, eventually graduating to leasing horses and showing before an injury and lack of money put that to a heart-wrenching stop.

I still love horses. LOVE THEM! I draw them when I have the time. I really should list some of my drawings; though after seeing some of the other artists on Etsy, I have to say I am rather humbled by my drawings :)

Enter GypsyMareStudios. Her art is absolutely stunning. She always finds a way to bring her art to life, to bring the soul of her subjects to bear in the most amazing ways. The light she paints is as stunning as her shadows. The first time I saw her art I fell in love. Deeply in love with her obvious passion for her art. She loves what she does and it shows - boy does it ever!

Anyway, one of her Etsy street teams, WHOA Team, was having a blog giveaway and I won one of the prizes! I actually won the stunning pendant you see above, isn't that amazing? I never win anything and this, well, this was the one thing I would win if I had to choose from all the contests I have entered.

You really must visit her Etsy Shop and her Blog. Grab a cup of coffee and get ready to spend some time poking around - It is worth every second you spend on her sites, her art is gorgeous. You will find paintings, jewelry, accessories and much, much more - and not all of her art is horses, for those who aren't particularly horse-loving folk.

Thank You so much Jennifer from GypsyMareStudios!

Now, to share the love, I am going to have a leetle contest of my own:
What is your favorite item from my shop and why? The first two people to visit my Etsy Store, and respond to this post with the link of their favorite item and why it is their favorite will each get a secret surprise!
Happy hunting ;-)