just because || giveaway

|| shop || facebook ||

InGod'sHands is an adorable shop on Etsy, and Melissa has so graciously offered a $10 giftcard to the winner!

Aren't these just adorable? And there are a lot more to choice from!

ENTER BELOW:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a quick heart stamp | diy

YOU WILL NEED:

the eraser end of a pencil

some sort of knife or cutting tool

acrylic paint or a ink pad

STEP 1:  trace a heart onto the end of your eraser

STEP 2: begin carefully cutting around the heart. take small sections at a time, 

it's is a lot easier to have to cut more than to start over because you cut too much off!

STEP THREE: after you have your heart completely cut out, 

dip the end of your stamp in acrylic paint or an ink pad. 

the other day, I was doing some crafting, and I came up with an idea. and well, this was the result. :)

nice to meet you || blogging link up

I've been thinking about figuring out something like this for a while, and I am finally getting it going. This week is going to be filled with a bunch of goodies! erm. erm. giveaways and photo challenges and tutorials

and this is the first part of it: 

                    Since we are all friends here and friends know each other...

 I thought I'd figure out some way to get to know the details about you that wouldn't normally come up in a conversation. 

So here is the deal: 

- simply copy the questions below and answer them in a blog post

- then come back here and link them up below

Simple right? okay, let's get this party going!

describe yourself: tea-drinker. snaphappy photographer. period drama watcher. rainy-day lover. blogger. dreamer. lover of schedules. obsessive list maker.

if you were a crayon, what color would you be: robins egg blue. or golden sunshine yellow.

your passion: I want to make a difference in life. I want to be able to make things beautiful.and I want to be able to capture people's lives through my camera. I want to be known as someone who LIVED.

fangirl over:  Scotty McCreery and Anne of Green Gables and C.S. Lewis

favorite drink:  chai tea or herbal tea.

obsessed with: nail polish and tea.

top 5 favorite things: cameras. people. rain. tea. libraries. scarves.

your 5 favorite blogs: Cotton Candy Clouds. Skip to My Lou. Capture Life. Bird + Willow. Chapter 13.

gains inspiration from: rain, books, and pintrest.

favorite songs: I Love You This Big -Scotty McCreery  :: Good to be Alive -Jason Gray :: First Dance - Amanda Falk :: Shooting Star - Owl City

a lesson you've learned: One of the biggest lessons I have had to learn is that God always has a better plan than I do.

favorite book of the Bible: Ephesians. ((gah, it is so good.)) or 1 John. both are amazing!

a quote: "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." -mark twain. 

favorite books:  Anne of Green Gables series :: October Baby :: Kisses from Katie :: the Narnia series

ideal weather: cold and cloudy with rain. or snowing.

a quirk or two: I collect a lot of little things: scraps of paper, quotes, photos, and tea bag papers, paint chips, scraps of cloth, ribbons, etc. I hatehatehate the sound of scraping, fingernails, chalkboard, something on concrete. I start going crazy when I hear it. and I'd rather be freezing cold than hot.

favorite names: (I realize the oddity of this question, but I love finding out about names people love and why the love them!)

    Brielle: it means "God is my might!" plus, Adam Young wrote a song called Brielle

    Gracie: I've always wanted to have a girl named Gracie. and in Irish it means love

a few favorite movies: October Baby :: Fireproof :: For the Love of Grace :: Love Comes Softly series :: North & South

a perfect simple day: oh, it would be raining, and I would drink lots of tea and coffee and I'd spend the day watching period dramas (north & south, emma, p&p, anyone!?!) I might bake a little, take photographs, listen to music, write, and crafting would be added in there somewhere.

well, now it's YOUR turn: answer the questions in your own blog post, and come back here and link up! 

awkward and awesome [no.9]

-agatha christine. via pintrest

well, it's been a little while since I've done one of these... so let's get the party going!

awkward:

            

                                             

-getting emotionally frustrated because my favorite pen ran out of ink (my friend said I should have a funeral for it. you are all invited. "dearly beloved....")
-lying in bed at 11:00 at  night and simply not being able to go to sleep. I am positive my brain is backwards, it comes alive at night!
-so, I found out Napoleon was addicted to chocolate. We have something in common! Although, having something in common with Napoleon might not be something to brag about. 
-arguing with someone and then realizing you were wrong. (don't worry, it was a playful argument!) 
 - looking through my junk mail in my email and figuring out that I have inherited a million dollars from a millionaire in England. I am being offered a "huge" business proposition from some dude in China. Somebody found my dream guy. And I get 80% off of my next online purchase. and I can get endless tacos for only $8.99. How can I turn that down!?! ((yes, I find humor in odd things))
-when people post statuses on facebook/g+ that are lacking almost everything in the English language, and it takes everything in you not to be a really obnoxious grammar nazi. 
-trying to say a word and getting tongue twisted. then I lost all ability to say the word. 
-drinking more hot herbal tea than water in a day. #notashamed.

awesome:

- getting to see my dearest friend on Sunday. It was so much fun, we talked non-stop and laughed the entire time. 
- february 14, aka. Valentines Day and the day before my birthday which also happened to land on a Thursday which means my coop. and it was one of the best days of my life. 
- meeting someone for the first time and getting a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup from him. SCORE.
- hugs. nuff' said.
-my Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's mug, that Amy got me. I have already drank way to much tea from it.  and she gave me a necklace from Clairs, and it is London themed. ((I told you, she was the best!))
-spending the evening alone designing some flyers for my Papa and jamming to music, and drinking coffee and tea. 
-finding out that I share a birthday with Caleb Grimm from Anthem Lights from a comment on my last post. #life=made
- grits and eggs for breakfast. it brings out the Southern girl in me. 
-constantly quoting the line from October Baby "I can feel you judging me." with my friends. 
-‎"Would you just stop taking pictures!? You hand is like a reflex to that shutter." #BESTCOMPLIMENTEVER
-Esteban saying that he couldn't sing in church because "I had the bless you's!!" [aka. sneezes]
-sending a package off to my blogging buddy.
 -finding out that Teddy Roosevelt rode a moose. yes, LITERALLY. here is photo proof.

- Blimey Cow.  and go look at this. your day will improve drastically, I promise! 

What was AWESOME or AWKWARD about your week?

have a lovely day, but remember you will never be as cool as Teddy Roosevelt riding a moose. 
sorry, not sorry. 

xxx

marcia

p.s. thank you all SO much for the birthday comments on my last post. you guys are really the best!

fifteen.

// snow //
// drinking cups of tea //
// starbucks giftcard and camera necklace, birthday presents from my aunties. I could totally go all "my-aunts-are-cooler-than-yours", but I'll be nice. ;) //
// wedding photography books from the library. these are so inspiring. //
// this song by Anthem Lights //
// afternoon shadows //

I turned fifteen three days ago. fifteen, the number seems strange to write. Ever since I was a little girl, fifteen was like the age. It was always my special number, fifteen; I couldn't wait to be fifteen. And now that I am there, part of me is freaking out and the other part of me is excited. I know Jesus has so much in plan for me, but change terrifies me. Sometimes, I feel like my life is spinning so fast, and I can hardly catch my breath. Other times, I feel like it's flying by and I am sitting here waiting. just waiting. 

I know what my passion is; I want to make a difference in this life. I want to be able to capture people and their passions. I want to be able to create something beautiful out of a mess. 

A couple of nights ago, we watched a movie about a man who would chose names from a phone book and write a letter every day to the person he chose. He would tell them what he felt God was telling him. He told them that they are beautiful and encouraged them to do something every day to make a difference. That is what I want to do with my life. I want to be a positive light in the darkness.  I want to make a difference.

And I know I've got a lot farther to go.. I don't have it all figured out. I don't have a perfect life. But I have a hope in something greater, something bigger, and something HIGHER. 

xxx

marcia