My Writing Process Blog Tour...and some giveaways!

You may have seen this idea making the rounds on some of your favorite blogs - so I admit I was flattered (and a little scared) when my friend Patricia Villas-Boas invited me to join the "My Writing Process" blog tour!  I've tagged two of my fabulously creative friends - Claudine Hellmuth and Sharon Callis - as the next stops on this fun tour, and I hope this will inspire those of you who write blogs, want to write blogs, or just enjoy reading blogs!

1. What am I working on?
Believe it or not - a website! I am the luckiest girl in the world and have a husband who is an amazingly talented craftsman and photographer.  Our "retirement dream" is to build a store where we can combine his love of furniture building and upcycling with our passion for antiques and the joy I get from people and from the creative process.  Since that dream is a long way off we are toying with the idea of creating something fun online.  We'll see where the road takes us!

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Ummm...is it wrong to admit that I'm not sure?  I am SO fortunate in that the Xyron Design Team does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to content for this blog - the projects they create are amazing and my main responsibility is curating the projects and sharing their ideas with the world.  I think what makes my process a little bit different is that while I am an "industry insider" (which still makes me giggle) I approach this blog - and life in general - as a crafter who just loves the hobby and wants to share that excitement with others.  I am STILL tickled every time I get to go to HSN, can't believe my luck when I get to travel to exciting places and meet amazing people, and every day am overwhelmed with gratitude that I get to live this dream.

3. Why do I write what I do?
I am not someone who shares my feelings easily, and I also admit I struggle with whether my ideas/projects are "good enough", so I don't create content quite as often as many other bloggers.  I tend to really (overly) think through everything I post here - for example, when I wrote this very personal post about the pain and pride of being a military wife I actually asked my husband AND one of my blogger friends (and a fellow military wife) to get a second and third opinion before I posted it.  I care deeply about the people who read my blog and never want to steer anyone wrong or make people feel like I am trying to "sell" them on something, so I only talk about products I personally love and even that I don't do very often.  As I'm typing this I'm realizing I may have issues.  ;)

4. How does my writing process work?
idea + deciding whether it is worth the time it will take to photograph and edit + quiet time to write + overly agonizing over every word/photo (see #3) + a glass or two of wine + letting it sit overnight + hitting publish = a blog post.

Now is the time where I tell you that I was actually supposed to do this last week, but AGAIN - I struggled with making this post worth the read so dragged it out and agonized over it until today.  I am so grateful you all put up with my hot mess-ed-ness!  Claudine and Sharon will be sharing their blog secrets in the next week (see links and some of my favorite projects below) - I hope you will stop by and say hello!

Now for the giveaway goodies!  When I asked Claudine if she would be part of this blog hop tour she surprised me with a spot to give away in her Big Picture Classes Composition for Collage that begins June 19th!  Just leave a comment here on my blog and I will announce the winner on my Facebook Page on Monday June 16th.  Want the chance to win even MORE great prizes?  Scroll down for a link to Claudine's blog - she is giving away a $100 Xyron prize pack as part of our tour!  Wahoo!

Claudine Hellmuth is living proof that you can have a successful and profitable business that's driven on pure whimsy. She designs and illustrates printable boxes and kits that bring delight to customers young and old.
She's been featured in The New York Times, appeared on The Martha Stewart Show, HGTV, HSN, QVC UK and The DIY Network. Her client list includes projects with major companies like Smart Car, Capitol Records and national publications such as The Saturday Evening Post. When she's not covered in paper, glue and tape she's walking her dog Maggie, reading a book or enjoying a well deserved afternoon nap with her very fat cat Mabel.

Sharon Callis is a self-proclaimed craftaholic who lives in Ireland and has a serious addiction to glitter and upcycling!  As well as papercrafts she indulges in needlecrafts, baking, dressmaking, and digi design and feels like the luckiest girl in the world because she's working in her dream job and getting paid to play with craft supplies.  She has over twenty five year experience in the craft and design but still gets excited by new products and visiting craft stores.  Sharon is privileged to design for Xyron and is the Design Team Manager for Crafter's Companion UK.