Little bit...

Little bit Late! (Not unusual :o)

a little giveaway...

and a couple little picture shots of me...

(6 or 7 months old-the earliest photo of me that I have)

(1year old-first birthday)

...not a lot of hair still, so that bow on my head looks ready to fall...

(and I was allergic to mosquito bites...so all those marks on my legs were from mosquito bites)

Thank you to those of you that are here visiting this week...

(I wanted to do this birthday giveaway (yep, I'm another year older...but we won't focus on that. haha) last year, but after this week, I realize the reason why I didnt get to it :o) With work, Christmas functions, art orders needed to be shipped in time for Christmas, Christmas cards, etc...  Hm...I wonder how I didnt remember all that! 

I will be drawing one name for a giveaway for one 8x10 drawing of Your choice of image and Your choice of name. And also for one 8x10 monogram of Your choice. And 2 names for a 20% gift certificate towards any size art order. This giveaway will be open until Dec 31st.  Since I can only manage to post once a week, I will announce the winner on the post the following week.

Also, please do leave a comment when you stop by, even if you are not interested in these giveaways, cuz I do love to hear what you say...and it may take me a bit,  but I do like to return your visits. (if you do not want to be entered for one of the giveaways, please just let me know :o)

Giveaway #1: an 8x10 of Your choice of a single image (This one is just a sample of a celtic cross that was a past order).

Giveaway #2: an 8x10 monogram 

Each of the ones that are chosen will pick their choice of name to be used within the drawing. 

(This does not include cost of shipping. I will let you know what the cost of shipping will be if you live outside the continental United States. Otherwise, the cost for UPS shipping of the 8x10 will be $12)

I am also including 2 giveaways for gift certificates to be used towards YOUR choice of image, with YOUR choice of name, in YOUR choice of size (8x10 or 11x14).

(***This has an expiration date,  so that those drawn can be completed and shipped out in time for Valentine's.  ...but please contact me if you need to extend that time.***)

These are for the drawing only~ matting and framing are not included. Artwork is carefully shipped in a sturdy mailing tube.

**************

Now here's how to enter (Please leave a comment for each entry):

1. Leave me a comment on this blog post. & if you'd like, I'd love to hear about what you would like drawn (you don't need to have a blog to enter, but be sure to leave your email so that I can contact you)....1 entry.

2. Follow my blog...1 entry.

3.  Write about this giveaway in YOUR blog (post...a link back to me, please)...2 entries.

4.  If you grab my button and post it on your sidebar with a link back....1 entry.


5.  If you are a fan or become a fan of my facebook page. (www.facebook.com/PersonalizedSketches)...1 entry.

6. If you left a comment on my last post...1 entry.

7.  If you visit our daughter's blog ~theLuckiestMrs.~
& leave her a comment between now and Dec 31st... 1 entry.
(...I added this special entry, because without her, I would have never known what a blog even was! :o)
 ***and she has not been able to post, since she has been a dentist working 5 days a week...but I know that she would love to find your comments :o)***

Giveaways will be open for entries until Dec 31st at midnight EST.  

***Also, please leave a contact email, if you are not a blogger or to be sure that I can notify you if you are one of those picked.***

**************

Joining in with:

Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday meme 

and the Lovely Letter "L".

Here are just a couple of my most recent orders...will be posting more in future posts.

Thank you Susan for your recent request:

"...Not too long ago you designed the major leaf for me to give as a promotion gift.

I was thinking about the holidays b/c they are right around the corner, and I wondered if you had every done a peacock ?..."

Susan's feedback at my etsy shop when the Peacock drawing was received:

"Maria did a WONDERFUL job designing a peacock for my BIL & SIL for Christmas!! I told her what I wanted and she not only had it made, but shipped to me in a matter of days. The final product is beautiful; I know it will be greatly appreciated."

Thank you Tiffany, for this order request: 

"...I wanted to order another sketch/picture from you! I was wondering if it would be ready before Christmas?..."

Her email sent once it was received:

"...I received the sketch today and it looks great! Thank you so much."

Kissable Keiki...

Happy Birthday to You!

Love those Kissable cheeks on my Keiki!

(OH...if you don't know what a Keiki is...you can go to this past post...Kissable Keikis & Karate Kid...where I re-used part of the title...and see our other Kissable Keikis :o)

Local baby contest

winner of her age division :o)

Ft Rucker, Alabama

Aug 15 (8 months)

Still as sweet as ever!

Kentucky

Nov 2010

**********

***EDITED note added on Dec 11th***

(I've just realized that I had literally forgotten that my birthday is next week~so much going on.  I say this only because I had planned to do some more art giveaways to those of you that stop by and comment next week...as my birthday thank you from me to you!  I had wanted to do this last year, but again...time slipped by me!  


And for those that have left a comment on this post, you will have an extra entry.   If you are interested, please be sure to come take a look.)

***Thank you for bearing with me regarding this little edited interruption! Please continue with my Happy Birthday post to our sweet Girly~Whirly***

Still in the midst of completing Christmas drawing orders...so I haven't tried to do this before, but I am copying and posting a part of...my Happy Birthday post that I had done last year this time!


From my Dec 9, 2009 post...

Once upon a time... 

there were 5 lovely princesses...

...and of these lovely princesses...

was our very own darling daughter...

...Girly Whirly...

~~~~~~~~~

once again...as I looked for past birthday photos, I say to myself: "I really need to organize the bazillion photos that we have "safely" stored in the many Rubbermaid boxes, and albums, and envelopes, and shoeboxes, etc...

..but thankfully, I found these that I was able to put on a little clip.

~~~~~~~~

Without further ado...

I am so thankful that we have the wonderful photos, videos (and even some old cassette recordings)  of our three children and of our family and friends... photos, videos, recordings...all help to bring back memories of those days gone by! Sweet memories...

I call our daughters similar sounding names on this blog, I call our older daughter-Girly~Twirly and our younger daughter (Little Miss, I call Girly~Whirly).

They are 3 and a half years apart, but often are asked if they are twins :o) 

When I call them and they are together, I even have to ask who I am speaking to...cuz they sound alike! haha

...so, it is our younger daughter that just celebrated her birthday...and our older daughter, who is married and has a blog (www.theluckiestmrs.blogspot.com).

*added note Dec 10, 2010*

(As a dentist, Girly~Twirly has been so so busy working long hours, 5 days a week, and driving about one hour each way...so has not done any blogging. Hopefully, when they move for our son-in-law's next medical residency "assignment", she will be in a practice that does not involve so much time).
**********

Joining in with

Jenny's

Alphabe-Thursday meme

for this week's letter "K".

&
Alicia's

Friday Photo Flashback.

**********

It takes me (like everything else with computers) a little longer than it should to scan and prepare the images of the art that I do (to crop to a closeup view with the full image) to show on my blog, my etsy shop and on my facebook business page (www.facebook.com/PersonalizedSketches ...I started the facebook page recently~please take a look and become a "fan" by adding it to pages you "LIKE")

....so I am only posting a couple Christmas orders here.

This whimsical family tree was the idea of LV. 

Thank you for another order...and sending this idea for a drawing for a Christmas gift to your sister. 

Received my sketch and already have it framed.  I m giving it to my sister for Christmas.  I attaching a copy of it FYI.
Thanks again for everything.

Thank you LV, for sending the photo of it matted and framed.

This order is a Christmas gift for a local dentist. Thank you Patti for your order. (She will pick this one up tonight).

Thank you again for stopping by! I am behind in returning your visits from my last post, but will be coming by after I get more art orders done and shipped out! ...now back to the drawing board...one of my favorite places to be...

J is for Joy...

It was so wonderful to spend time up in Wisconsin with my dad.

Thank you all again for your prayers, support, kind words prior, during and after his 5 heart bypasses.

It is such a Joy to know that the surgery is behind him and he continues to recover.

I pray you all had as Joyful a time with your families this past Thanksgiving.

Here are a few photos while we were at my dad's home. I will only post a few here. And later, I'll get more beautiful photos in a slideshow.

My last post shows us only one month ago when we were visiting with my hubby's family who all live in Hawaii...beautiful warm tropical temperatures.

My hubby and I arrived at my dad's and it wasn't too cold...there was only a teeny-tiny bit of evidence of snow that had fallen previously... But on the second morning that we were up at my dad's (just a month later)...we look out the window to see the beautiful new fallen snow! Amazing :o)

~taken from the lake looking up to my dad's home~

~this the picture window from the living room~

(looking out onto the lake)

 ~this was taken from inside the house~

(looking out my dad's bedroom window onto the front deck)

**********

Thanksgiving Day

An early dinner at Whitetail Lodge.

 Dinner in this gorgeous location with great neighbor friends.

 The log's used to construct this building are real! They were huge!

And it was so good to stop on our way up north and spend the night at the home (after the 15 hour drive to their home, it was a good stop, before another 12 or so drive from there to my dad's) of our daughter (Girly~Twirly, aka the LuckiestMrs., aka Dr. B) and her hubby (Awesome J, aka the LuckiestMrs' Mr, aka Dr. B :o).

...and then also spend time, eat an amazing Thanksgiving part II meal, and spend the night on our return drive back to Georgia with them, our other daughter (Girly~Whirly), our son (Heartbreaker) and our son-in-law's parents at their home. 

**********

Here are a few orders that I was able to get done before we left.  Thank you for your interest and orders. 

Will post more again.

Nancy ordered this frog for her second grandson.  Her first grandson has one that was a giraffe drawn with his name.

"This sketch turned put as beautiful as the last one and I was so surprised at how quickly it arrived. Thank you so much--I love it."

***** 

This one I was able to ship out from the post office in my dad's hometown. (I hoped that since he lives closer to Canada, it would not take as long as the last orders I shipped to Canada from our home in southern Georgia. ...and wow! It surely was a lot faster! Shipped it on Nov 24th, received it on Dec 2nd.)
Stephanie ordered this for a gift to her husband to display in her husband's Pharmacy.

"I received it today!!  It is SO AMAZING!  I love it so much and I KNOW that my husband will love it.  You have been so great to deal with and I knew right from the start that I could trust you.

Thank you for sharing your talents and for being the great person that you are!  I'll be ordering more art from you in the future and I will definitely let others know about you!!"

*****

These two sent to Tracy in Canada took so much longer. Shipped out Oct 23rd from Georgia...into Foreign Customs on Oct 29th, and arrived on Nov 11th.

Tracy ordered this one in memory of their precious unborn granddaughter.

(color may not be the same as the original, since I took this and the previously shown frog with my camera...our scanner does not scan the color)

and this Eagle was her second order.

"...What a strong tube that is,it protected every thing!

I love love love the drawings!!!

What wonderful gifts they will make this Christmas,the Eagles beak is perfect!

The rose is more than I expected, the colours are perfectly done,just the right colour red.and thank you for adding all the names...thank you so much."

I ship all the orders in a heavy weight shipping tube; however, I do ship orders sent outside of the continental United States in an additional PVC tube within the sturdy heavy weight tube, for extra protection from crushing or water damage.

**********

Linking on with:

Jenny's

Alphabe-Thursday meme

for this week's letter "J".

**********

J is for Joy and also for Jesus! 

Our family enjoys celebrating the birth of Jesus.

(My hubby was also born on Dec 25th :o)

Hope all of you are enJoying this special time of the year with your loved ones.
Thank you for your time in leaving your comments. I will be sure to come and return your visit.

(My dad does not have a computer up at his place, so I did not do any computer-related things, such as blogging...so I do appreciate all of you checking in and I look forward to catching up :o)

**********

Now, it is catch-up time around the house, back to work cleaning pearly whites, drawing orders, and getting Christmas gifts wrapped and sent.

**********

Oh! One more thing...it gives me Joy when I am able to get computer-related things to work...so with the awesome help from Addy, another dear blogger, fellow-etsyer (she creates yummy cakes), fellow Georgia resident, I was able to change my ridiculously lo-o-ong facebook url for my new facebook business page to something short and sweet...well...at least, shorter.

Please take a look. And if you have a facebook account, please become one of my page's "fans" by hitting the "LIKE" button for my page:  www.facebook.com/PersonalizedSketches  ...this will be where I eventually will post more past orders into separate categorized albums.