Key to My Heart and Pearl Earrings Giveaway

I'm so excited to be able to tell you that I am being featured in http://www.idobudgetweddings.blogspot.com/

it is a lovely blog about of course Budget Weddings and is created by Hazel who is planning her own wedding and helping others to realize that you can have a very elegant wedding and fulfill the dreams that you want for your own special date yet be able to do so with a budget in mind.  What a lovely idea and help this must be for couples who want to enjoy their own beautiful day yet not begin a new marriage weighed down by debt.  I have agreed to send off my Key to My Heart Necklace and a pair of Pearl Earrings to the winner of the giveaway that is sponsored by I do Budget Weddings.  The Rules of this giveaway are listed below for you to see how to enter and hopefully be the winner! I hope you enjoy reading about this and know that I am so honored and excited to be a part of this contest and to be featured in Hazel's lovely blog. Best of luck to all who enter! And while you are here if you are interested please take a moment  to become a follower of my blog. Remember that to enter this giveaway you must leave your comments at www.idobudgetweddings.blogspot.com

RULES:
To enter, leave a comment with your email address for a chance to win. Each entry without any contact information will be disqualified. For each entry you complete, you must leave a separate comment. To leave a comment, each contestant must:

1) Go to My Shining Lights on etsy and comment on your favorite item for one entry! This is mandatory! Contestants who do not do this will be disqualified. Remember to leave your email address or some way to contact you with each entry!

You can add another comment to increase your chance to win if you,

2) Become a new follower of this blog (1 entry)
3) Become a new follower of Jo's blog (1 entry)
4) Are currently a follower of my blog (2 entries)
5) Become a facebook fan of “I Do” Budget Weddings (2 entries)
6) Blog about the contest and include a link to the giveaway. Each entrant must also include a link to My Shining Lights etsy shop in their post (3 entries)
7) Buy anything from My Shining Lights shop (5 entries)
8) Follow “I Do” Budget Weddings on Twitter (1 entry)
9) Follow My Shining Lights on Twitter (1 entry)
10) Tweet on this giveaway and include a link to this giveaway in your tweet (1 entry)

The deadline to enter this contest is 11:59 p.m., Thursday, February 11, 2010 (PST). A winner will be randomly chosen and announced the following Friday morning. Good luck!

Joyous New Year Wishes

We have survived and enjoyed the Christmas and New Year holidays! It really is my favorite time of year though I can tend to get stressed before Christmas with all of the decorating and preparations. My wise son Dirk told me that I was bringing this on myself and that I just needed to relax and enjoy! Great advice maybe not so easy for me to incorporate but I tried. This is the first year that we haven't sent Christmas cards. That was a little difficult for me to process and that won't be the case every year but it sure made this Christmas so much easier! We really enjoyed having our daughter home for Christmas plus her boyfriend came from England to visit and that was delightful. We missed not seeing other family but made the best of enjoying our time together.

I decided today that it was time to blow the dust off of this blog and greet 2010! My wish for this year is to find joy in the small events of each day. A great cup of coffee! My sweet husband washing the dishes! Sunshine streaming through the window, well not right now as it is snowing and even in that there is joy to be found! Life can get too busy and too tense at times and I know those things will happen but I'm hoping to focus on the blessings that God so richly places in front of me each day.

As far as My Shining Lights jewelry business I am busy each day and new opportunities are coming up for a new store opening that will have some items in it. A blog feature in the near future. I was so honored last week to discover that one of my pairs of earrings were featured in the Christian Artists Street Team Blog! I have also been adding a Vintage line to my shop. Ideas are constantly in my head looking forward to Spring and Summer Weddings I am really hoping to develop more Bridal items. And I can thank my sweet Sister- in-" Love" Peggy as she is placing an advertisement for My Shining Lights in an upcoming Beauty Pageant that my niece Elizabeth is entered in. I do love being able to be creative especially with sparkly things!