The next award *Wisher* nominated me for was the Versatile Blogger Award.  I actually found the web site where this seemed to originate and it’s a really cool blog that is kind of like a clearinghouse for all the Versatile Blogger Award winners.  Funnily enough, the blog is called “Versatile Blogger Award”.  There’s such a great variety of blogs reposted here, it’s fun to explore.  Here it is:

http://versatilebloggeraward.wordpress.com

And here are the “rules” for the award:

“If you are nominated, you’ve been awarded the Versatile Blogger award.

•  Thank the person who gave you this award. That’s common courtesy.
•  Include a link to their blog. That’s also common courtesy — if you can figure out how to do it.
•  Next, select 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly. ( I would add, pick blogs or bloggers that are excellent!)
•  Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award — you might include a link to this site.
•  Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.”

So… Thanks again, *Wisher*!!  Here’s the “nomination” post on her awesome blog, so you can check it out yourself:  http://prettylittlethingsinabox.wordpress.com/2013/08/09/award-time-part-3/

Here, then, are my nominations.  15 seems like a lot, but there are so many amazing blogs to choose from.  I’m going to split it up between blogs I discovered recently and those I follow regularly (in no particular order):

1) http://bluebirdslivinginthemeadow.wordpress.com/ – I recently discovered this one.  I love the photo collages she’s been making to illustrate her posts.  She has a nice combination of really organic looking paper crafts and nature photography.

2) http://joyfulploys.wordpress.com/ – This is one I follow regularly.  I love her art journals and it was fun to play along with her in the Index Card a Day Challenge.

3) http://ximenaxarau.wordpress.com – This is a new blog that I’m so glad I happened upon.  Ximena is an amazing artist and there’s a great variety to the work she’s posted so far.

4) http://cardcrazed.wordpress.com – Another one I recently discovered.  She makes really neat cards and has just ventured into the worlds of art journaling and mixed media.  A woman after my own heart (the expanding her horizons part).

5) http://girlunwinding.wordpress.com/ – Dawn is definitely a blogger I follow regularly.  She’s been so incredibly encouraging and inspirational, a lot of things I’ve tried recently have been the direct result of her (mandalas and making my own stamps, for example).

6) http://bitze.wordpress.com/ – Patty is another huge inspiration (and I think the way I found Dawn, above).  Her art journal pages are amazing and I love the stories about her adventures- crafting and otherwise.

7) http://createdbylisa.blogspot.com/ – A scrapbooker I recently discovered through the Sketch -n- Scrap Challenge page.  She’s really gotten me fired up on finally doing my wedding scrapbook (a year later).

8) http://shutupandcreatesomething.wordpress.com/ – She posts her art journaling and poetry.  She has a great, irreverent sense of humor (as her blog title suggests) and is also really talented.

9) http://tracywoodsford.blogspot.com/ – My last art journaler nominee, Tracy also makes some amazing spreads.  She has a nice combination of whimsy and beauty in her work.

10) http://spikescreativeside.wordpress.com/ – Spike is a card-maker that rocks my world.  She is hilarious and has inspired me to start working on my winter holiday cards this summer (so I don’t have to scramble to make them all in December).

11) http://pushingtherightbuttons.blogspot.co.uk/ – Jenny makes really neat cards with all kinds of cool materials (as suggested in the “buttons” part of her blog name).  I also love her moto: “A place where creativity banishes negativity.”  We could all use a reminder like that.

12) http://thesimpleupcycler.com/ – A new blog that has some great ideas for relatively simple upcycling and repurposing.

13) http://lorrinbaker.wordpress.com/ – Lorrin is my amazingly talented brother and I’m pretty sure he’s not going to pass this nomination on to anyone, but I can’t help but include him.  I actually joined WordPress years ago just so I could follow his photo blog, before I had any desire whatsoever to start my own blog.

14) http://sullimaybe.wordpress.com/ – Linda is a friend of mine (in real life) and kind of inspired me to get into blogging.  Her blog is so much fun- she posts about neat, random things that are “news to (her)” (and usually news to me).

15) http://oatmealmusing.blogspot.com/ – And, last but not least, another friend of mine from the “real world”.  Jane is an amazing poet and former English teacher (who’s probably not going to be happy that I started that previous sentence with “And”).

The last step of this award’s nomination process (which has been harder than I thought) is to tell the person who nominated me 7 things about myself.  So here they are, *Wisher* (and anyone else who has read this far):

1) I am independently licensed as a mental health counselor but I don’t do therapy.  I’m currently working with the human services company I work for on designing a centralized clinical intake and assessment team.

2) The hardest jobs I’ve had have all been as a teacher (1 1/2 years in elementary school and 2 years in middle school theater).  Summer vacations nowhere near make up for how hard (good) teachers work the rest of the year.

3) I think my boy is the funniest, cutest, most unique kid in the whole world (not that I’m biased).

4) I think my wife is the most supportive, beautiful, and loving woman in the world (again, despite any potential bias).  She’s an amazing cook who I keep encouraging to create her own blog to share her talents.

5) I was arrested for civil disobedience in college and spent a night in jail.

6) I’m a United Methodist, working hard with my church to help our congregation become “Reconciling” and fully include gays and lesbians in all aspects of church life.  Working on the denomination as a whole will be the next step.

7) I really think blogging has helped me keep my sanity when life gets a little too crazy, prod me toward the creativeness that I’ve always loved and valued in myself, and made me a better mom and wife in general.

So… that’s it.  Thanks again, *Wisher*, for the nomination.  I think I’m going to take a break from handing these out and get back to crafting for a while.  (But, I won’t give up on them… look forward to more nominations in the near future.)

And here’s a picture of a design I made in the sand on the beach, just for fun.

 

(Sand art on a beach in Provincetown.)