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  • Hello, friend! Thank you for being here.

    OH my goodness, are we excited you stopped by!
    <------That's my oldest little bit over there. She's excitable, like her mama. The apple doesn't fall far. Except she's blonde and has that rockin' dimple on her chin, she got from the Mister. My dimples are in other places and on good days I have only one chin, but yeah. We're a lot a like. We love to have fun, be together with the fam, take pictures, CREATE (we're crafty like that), be dorks, have dance parties, Matilda Jane Clothing, laugh, laugh at ourselves, cook, eat, LOVE, pray, SHARE, and make new friends. And a lot of the time we're doing all of those at the same time! I am a Jane of all trades, master of none. I am always looking for sunshine and easily amused. I am usually unpredictable, mostly energetic to a fault, quirky and sometimes a bit eclectic, and darn right fun to be around... so I've been told.

    Old friends, new friends, friends we have yet to meet-we like them! So come hang out here for some gettin' real, gettin' personal, maybe a little gettin' real personal. We'll play games, talk some shop, kick up our feet, and have a generally good time. You'll definitely get to know more about me in my REM-deprived ramblings. {I can't be held responsible for how those ramblings look on any given day} And I hope I get to know a LOT more about you by YOU chatting and maybe getting to know your heart and soul by making pictures together. Wouldn't that be a blast? Then you can see what happens when we take what makes you OH-so-unique, add me bustin' a move with my camera, "Beast", and have fun capturing what makes YOU SHINE! This is NOT yo' mama's photography. We could leave a mark on this world- yours, mine, ours... together. Happy day.
    This is me. I can't be anything different than who I am.
    Making pictures... making friends.
    LET IT SHINE! ;)

Chicks and Clicks For Cancer

Being a woman isn’t always sunshine and roses. Sometime we complain. Sometimes we cry. Sometimes we fall into insecurities, but there is always a female friend to help lift us back on our feet. We forget who we are, but there is always an inspiring woman in the wings waiting to remind us. We growl at the littles, only to be met back with a sheepish grin that makes us giggle instead. No matter what, we always come back to how wonderful it is to be alive as a woman, with all of the accompanying divine gifts held closely in our hearts.

The divine gifts we will speak of, cannot be duplicated by any man. Gordon B. Hinckley said, “Woman is God’s supreme creation. Only after the earth had been formed, after the day had been separated from the night, after the waters had been divided from the land, after vegetation and animal life had been created, and after man had been placed on the earth, was woman created; and ONLY then was the work pronounced COMPLETE and GOOD.” And with an AHA jumping up and down, I exclaim, “Yes! He saved the best for last! But seriously, it is no coincidence. It was part of His plan.

The cherished journey of a woman is unmatched on this earth and something worth celebrating! The month of May will be about a “Woman’s Heart” in continuance of our Women of Strength Series. What makes us tick, what makes us smile, what makes us do the things we do, and what makes us innately unique and necessary for eternal balance in this world.

Chicks
Please join me in this celbration and invite your friends to join in on this party! Because we can! I encourage you to join the May Photo Challenge and look for ways all month to click, celebrate beautiful YOU and highlight the inspiring women in your life.  The daily themes were meant to provoke deeper thought and creative thinking for your posts in May, as you ponder a woman’s heart.  Starting with “Uplift and inspire”!  Use 3womenofstrength and #chicksandclicksforcancer.

Let it shine,

Dana

Together we can do BIG things.

I am a woman.

A woman who loves to find ways to make others smile.

A woman who loves to get to know you by heart and not just by name.

A woman who dreams really big.

Some dreams take monetary needs that I just don’t have.

And that’s okay.

Some dreams are lofty and some are manageable,

but there’s one thing I do know…

I dream bigger when I know we can work together.

I may not always carry out the swirlings of my mind, but I definitely know

I can do hard things if it’s right.

I will find a way.

This one felt just right.

securedownload-1

Being a woman isn’t always sunshine and roses. Sometime we complain. Sometimes we cry. Sometimes we fall into insecurities, but there is always a female friend to help lift us back on our feet. We forget who we are, but there is always an inspiring woman in the wings waiting to remind us. We growl at the littles, only to be met back with a sheepish grin that makes us giggle instead. No matter what, we always come back to how wonderful it is to be alive as a woman, with all of the accompanying divine gifts held closely in our hearts.

The divine gifts we will speak of this month, cannot be duplicated by any man. Gordon B. Hinckley said, “Woman is God’s supreme creation. Only after the earth had been formed, after the day had been separated from the night, after the waters had been divided from the land, after vegetation and animal life had been created, and after man had been placed on the earth, was woman created; and ONLY then was the work pronounced COMPLETE and GOOD.” And with an A-HA jumping up and down, I exclaim, “Yes! He saved the best for last! But seriously, it is no coincidence. It was part of His plan.

The cherished journey of a woman is unmatched on this earth and something worth celebrating! The month of May will be about “A  Woman’s Heart” in continuance of my “Women of Strength” Series. What makes us tick, what makes us smile, what makes us do the things we do, and what makes us innately unique and necessary for eternal balance in this world.

Please join me in this celbration and invite your friends to join in on this party!  Because women need women! I encourage you to look for ways all month to celebrate and highlight the inspiring women in your life.

Let it shine,

Dana

Quite Enough Love

This week is all about the heart! I’m happy to say that in honor of The month of women and mothers, I have more #womenofstrength series ahead! So excited! Hope you’ll join me!

Blog Love

 I LOVE people. I always have. I was the the one in job interviews that put down “people person” as a strength, but not because that’s what you should write down, but because it was deeply true for me. It has always brought me joy to see others joyful. To help out. I have always considered smiling & hugging a hobby that has gotten me through even the darkest moments. It’s a good thing!

 Sometimes I picture my HEART as a big, BIG people collector… Like an Inn or a rain cloud or a GIANT balloon that expands & always has room for more. It is so important to curate an army of good people around you in life, so I tuck you inside the walls of my heart for safe keeping. Especially good and encouraging women. But. I ALSO have room in my heart for those who let me down or disappoint or hurt me. I have room for those in despair, the lost and angry souls. I try to have room for the ninety and nine AND the one, because I seek to understand their circumstances & have a desire to see them as the Lord sees them.

 It doesn’t always come so easily, but I am AWARE and trying to do better with the tools I have to work with. I AM WEAK, but I was born strong to trample the negative thoughts that can swirl in our heads. All I have to do is harness that strength and let it out!

It doesn’t mean that I’m a Mother Theresa by any means, or that I’m a halfway house for the needy. On the contrary. I’m FAR far far from having it down and am okay with that, because life is a never ending process that takes practice. But it does mean that all of those “trials”, which I like to think of more as “gifts” in my life, have been for good and oh so worth it to have formed a more empathetic heart that wants joy, peace, love and understanding for all. That those things are shaping my heart to make more room in the Inn.

I love your guts. I have quite enough room and quite enough love to go around if you ever need some.  And most importantly… He has quite enough room.  It’s #becauseofhim that my heart has room too.

What do you have room for in your heart? Do you have more room in the Inn of your heart for all of God’s children? What are you doing today to seek first to understand the hearts of God’s children, your brothers and sisters in this journey?

Smiles,
Dana

Let it shine,

Dana

She’s the SWEDEst {Maybemej Photography Giveaway}

Annemaj Sporrong of Maybemej Photography is surely the sweetest Swede I’ve ever met!

Okay, so maybe she’s the only Swede I’ve ever met, but I’m positive if you lined her up next to all of the rest,

she’d take the cake… the icing if you please!

I met Annemaj one day after an image of hers popped up during a search on Pinterest.

I RAN to her blog and was instantly smitten by all of the beauty!

Her design aesthetic and beautiful photos are so very lovely!!!

It is a breath of fresh air, unique, playful, authentic, and good enough to eat… you know, all that SWEET Swede it’s infused with.

Not only that, I was taken back to find that ALL of her beautiful work she posts on her blog, she gives away!

Yep!  Freebies for all… I think I ate up (downloaded) all I could that very day.

{This is one of my favorites!  I love the curly frames and birds never go out of style! You can see her designs also on flickr here.}

So because of her generosity and talent,  I decided to tell her so and sent her an email.

We have chatted back and forth for a few months, before it became clear some of her elements

would be perfect for the S.O.S. article I helped with for The Sandbucket Volume 2.

{she speaks great English to boot!}

She, again, graciously allowed us to use her designs.

{This is an excerpt from the magazine.  I used elements from her fun “Summer Breeze Card Kit”}

So, here she is being so generous again and giving away her gorgeous “In the Garden” printable  to one of my lucky readers!

All you have to do is go “like” maybemej on Facebook and come tell me you did.

Bonus entry for sharing on your blog or Facebook!

It certainly wouldn’t hurt to go say hello to Annemaj, as she is giving away a digi copy of The Sandbcuket magazine Volume 2!!!

Yep!  Lots of goodies to be had!

*Giveaway open until Friday, May 18th 11:59 pm PST.  Winner will be announced Monday, May 20th.*

Besides, you will instantly get sucked in by all of the gorgeous images and designs.

In addition to the eye candy, she has a smorgasbord of frames, templates, printables, Photoshop actions, and free resources for personal use!

She really has some serious talent and style!

I would like to thank Annemaj for being such a lovely and giving person.

Not only is she a gifted designer and photographer, but her heart is a gift.

She is as sweet as can be and loves making new friends.

It’s just one of those things you can feel even from miles and miles away.

Be SWEET to one another!!!

Smiles,

Dana

Let it shine,

Dana

June 6, 2012 - 12:19 am

Ling - I’ve discovered her site and fell in love with her the same way as you did…

I use her templates for power point presentations and my students are always enamored by her too! :)

May 15, 2012 - 8:16 pm

Kari S - Already like her on FB. Love her blog too!

The artist also known as…

Stephanie Corfee.

or as I am now glad to call her… friend.

She had me at hello with her inviting voice…

and then at her love for cookies…

and then at her love for Anne of Green Gables…

and then at her big, giving heart…

and then at her mad skillz in gangsta talk.

The stimulating, witty, creative and intelligent conversation that oozes from this girls mouth is

enough to wish she was your best friend.

Not to mention she has more talent oozing from her pinky toe than most I know.

Even at my ripe old age of 37, my concern for finding kindred spirits in my life, like Anne Shirley, doesn’t stop.

For me that means someone you have an immediate connection with and who you can instantly feel is a good one.

I like good ones.

Mama raised her well.

I, like Diana Barry, have romantic notions for love and friendship.

So, once you’ve touched my heart, that’s just when you go straight inside of it.

One who I would let cut some of my “black tresses” for.

I could talk about Stephanie’s character all the live long day, but let’s get down to why we’re here discussing her in the first place…

the girl is an AR-TEEST!

So much so, I think paint runs through her veins.

Her aesthetic is vibrant, whimsical, bohemian, detailed and downright colorful… kind of like her!

Add in the amount of heart and soul and detail she pours into each piece, and you have success!!!

It is authentic goodness that makes it impossible not to feel joy!!!

Such a good one, in fact, that I contacted her a couple of months back to ask if she would be a part of my next article in The Sandbucket Magazine.

It just seemed like the perfect fit for the vision of my article.

And boy, did she deliver.

Her “doodles” (way too good to just be called doodles, but I have a love for that word myself) were overlayed

on some of my images and like magic, it all came to life.

Her doodles even inspired me to change some of my text, they were that perfect.

She was easy to work with and went above and beyond what was expected of her.

What a peach.

What a pal.

What a bosom friend.

I want to thank her from the bottom of my ever bloomin’ heart for her hard work!!!

But wait!  Her artistic prowess doesn’t end with doodles… oh no.

Her painting and designs can be seen on clothing of one of her bosom friends, Ashley of Li’l Blue Boo.

They can also be seen on household items like pillows, canvas, or wall art and she even has two published books.

So.  Do you want to see what she did to make my article bloom?

Head on over  to Stephanie’s blog to see how to enter to win a digital copy of  The Sandbucket Magazine Volume 2, all of the doodles you see on

first image above that she used in my article, “Raising Good Ones”, and some surprise doodles from Stephanie!!!

Told ya she was nice.  Make sure to tell her I sent you!

I’m giving a bonus digital copy away (NO Doodles here) for for liking  Stephanie Corfee-ARtist and The Sandbucket on Facebook!!!

Bonus entry for sharing on Facebook or your blog and commenting here or on my Facebook page that you did so.

Too much lovely inspiration not to share.

Two chances to win!!!

Good luck!  BUT…

If you don’t win, then go buy a copy of Volume II of The Sandbucket here  (there’s a sneak peek too) and see all of the goods in person…

including an inspirational interview from my tween daughter, another collaboration with my bestie, Kelly Stocksen, and much, much MORE!

Shine on,

Dana

Let it shine,

Dana

May 14, 2012 - 7:43 pm

admin - Nope! You’re good!!! But I know what you mean. Goes through Wednesday. Thanks so much for the comment, my friend!!! Good luck! 😉 xo

May 14, 2012 - 6:06 pm

Monika - I love Stephanie!! So of course I was already a liker of her FB page! And I’m already liking The Sandbucket FB page as well. See I’m all up do date, lol! Not sure if I’m too late though… that’s the story of my life recently!

May 13, 2012 - 4:21 pm

Lauren - I “like” it all! :) I never win anything, maybe today is my lucky day :)

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