"You're doing the same thing you've always done: bringing smiles - joy - to others. Just in a different way." A good friend told me that about seven years ago.
Your body releases endorphins when you smile, (even a forced one!), which improves your mood and relieves stress.
Well, you won't need three guesses to guess my mood this weekend while visiting Baby Louisa (aka Honey Girl). I was drunk on smiles, hers and mine!
I had quit teaching when my good friend (and mom of one of my first graders) gave me her sage advice. Yes, she was trying to make me feel better when I told her that I felt like I was no longer doing anything important. She did make me feel better, although I did roll my eyes at her!
I found myself thinking about her advice this weekend and although my creations are no comparison to Louisa, they still make me smile. Blogging is a great way to give and receive smiles. Who knew that through sharing, we are improving moods and relieving stress!
Thank you for sharing with me and letting me share with you!
You probably already know that this image with a sweet, happy girl and a cat (black!) is a smile magnet for me.
And just in case your endorphins are spiking, I've got her as a download for you below.
I used my new sponge brayers on the background. Also check out my new Woodware Snowflakes stamp. The snowflakes are really pretty (and I have a very limited number of snowflake stamps available in my etsy store.)
Thank you so much to all of the lovely ladies who share their inspiration with us - talk about endorphins going crazy! I so enjoyed every one of the three Visions of Sugarplums days.
Thank you, too, to all of you who shared the three days with all of us. Hope you enjoyed a smile or two or three! Maybe you still have Visions of Sugarplums dancing in your head!
And of course, a big thank you to all of the sponsors who so generously supported Visons of Sugarplums!
Winners: Contact me by email ASAP to claim your prize. You can click my email in the sidebar (lhairston@cox.net).
Drumroll, please! The Visions of Sugarplums 2016 winners are:
Rebecca Yahrling: Paper Sweeties: $25 gift certificate
cm: Pretty Pink Posh: $25 gift certificate
Fiki: The Funkie Junkie Boutique: $25 worth of new Tim Holtz Christmas Idea-ology Products
Carol from LaCrosse: Birch Press Design: $20 gift certificate
Jennifer Scull: The Twinery: Sample Pack
Congratulations, winners (you're smiling, right?)! Wish I could give everyone a prize!
Download Winter Pals HERE.
Dropbox works differently for different people. Either right click and save when image appears or click the download button in the top right corner. If neither method works, email me and I'll send the files to you.
I want to take just a moment to share this card from Greta. (There go those endorphins again!) Thank you so much, Greta, for making me such an adorable baby card - it makes me smile!
Have a wonderful week and smile all you can (even if you have to occasionally force it)!
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