Ann~Margaret

Artist ~ Writer ~ Photographer

 

A Big Day of Celebrations ~ And, The Beginning of a Creative Challenge

Wow!! ~ What an exciting day it is here in the studio!! It is the 2nd blogiversary of Ann-Margaret’s Visions!  It seems like yesterday when I decided to finally start my blog and was thrilled to start it on such a special day!  You may remember my very first post ~ yes, it was about my sweet Granny J!  We shared the same birthday so I thought beginning my blog on this special day with a sweet story of our time together would be perfect!

I’m working on another blog post for today, but I wanted to make an announcement about a fun CREATIVE CHALLENGE that I am beginning.  For a few years now, I have really wanted to join in the fun of the 365 Day Challenge but have jut not ever gotten around to starting it.  I would end up deciding that since I didn’t start on the first day of the new year, then, I would just wait and do it the next year.  Well, I didn’t.  But, I have often thought about how much I would really enjoy doing this.  Even though I find it a little difficult to get to all the things I am working on with my business and all the things I want to add in…well, sometimes I think a chick just needs one more creative outlet added to her canvas!  So, I’m doing just that!  When 2011 rolled around, I thought I just really did not need to add this in, and when I looked at the calendar and saw that it was already the 10th…and, then, the 16th…well, again, I tried to talk myself out of it, saying I had missed getting started on the very first day of the year.  But, a 365 day challenge doesn’t have to start on the first day of the New Year!! Nope, it’s a challenge I am giving myself so I can decide when it will start, and I realized that it would be such fun to let it begin TODAY ~ on my birthday…on the 2nd anniversary of my blog…because you see, TODAY, is the first day of a new year for ME!!!

Haven’t heard of the 365 Day Challenge? Well, if you do a search for it you will find lots of interesting and fun info about it. Basically, it is a challenge to take a photo a day for an entire year.  Some people participate in a challenge that is all about taking a self portrait photo a day while others just focus on taking a new photo each day.  There are groups on Flickr where people enjoy sharing them, and many people share them on their blog or Facebook page.  Then, what fun it is to look back to see all that you experienced for that year…kinda like a little recap of your year…a year in review!  Although I may be sharing a photo I take on the day I share it, I am also going to let my challenge include photos from other times.  I want this challenge to be fun in many ways…I may pull a photo from my time in Kuwait, a day from our trip to the Cayman Islands, or one of my favorite pictures I snapped from a walk in Alexandria, Virginia!  My goal is to use this opportunity to enjoy some of my photography allover again….I sometimes forget about some of my favorite ones so I will enjoy choosing different pictures to share with you.  It will also be a great challenge for me to play around with different editing options for my photography.  This is one thing I love doing, but sometimes I don’t have much time since I am in the studio creating jewels and such.  So, this challenge will allow me a chance to show you some “before and after” shots with fun, unique techniques.

**The photo above is my 365/1 photo ~ thought it was a perfect one to choose for this day of CELEBRATION!!**

“Cupcakes are a sweet start to any day!” 🙂

I hope you will look forward to seeing what I will be sharing each day!  I am making this commitment not only to myself, but to you, as well!  And, I hope you will keep me accountable! 🙂  I will still be doing my regular blog posts {{have some fun things I will be doing for those, too!}} so I hope you will help me get this PARTEA started!! Let me know what you think of the photos I share ~ leave me a comment; I love to hear from you and will respond to your message!

Oh, one more bit of excitement for you!! ~ For over a year now, I have been making a list of changes I wanted to do for a redesign of Ann-Margaret’s SpecialTea Shoppe and am so very excited to tell you that my redesign is starting today!  As many of you know, my shoppe began as an online version of my tea room gift shoppe, but over time, I began to develop my signature line of my creations so I really wanted to update the overall look of my site.  Yes, it’s taken me awhile to finally feel truly ready to let go of some of the things on my site…I put alot of work into it when it started so I think I have been emotionally attached to some aspects of it.  I’ll share more on this when it’s all finished…change is good, and now, I am ready and excited to move forward with my ideas!  I’m thrilled with the changes I am making and hope you will have fun checking out the new look soon! I moved many of the items that I no longer carry to an “unlisted” category over a year ago and just kept adding more and more to it, as I chose not to carry those items.  I am having all of those removed from my database, and my web guy just emailed to let me know he is about to start on that part.  Ok, let me be honest…girlfriend here is feeling a few “butterflies” in the tummy!! He is removing 638 items!! Yes, for some of you that did not know about my shoppe when I had all of those items listed…well, this may give you a better perspective of what I mean when I say “Yes, I carried a lot of items!”!! 🙂  And, yes, I took the photos for all of those item listings and wrote each and every one of those descriptions!!  I’ll probably do a fun blog post about how my online business started and share some of those fun moments with you later on.  Might need to do that…a girl needs a little closure sometimes!! haha

A huge HUG to all of you for helping to make this blog a special place for me to share my vision with you…a little peek into my world and my studio/business! I’m so excited about all the things I will be sharing with you as we begin another year and hope you will bookmark my blog, add it to your Google Reader, have it delivered to your inbox, or just pop in for a visit as often as you can ~ it is going to be a ParTea, and I want you to be a part of it!!

Many thanks for all the sweet birthday wishes ~ you all are truly making this the best birthday evah!! And, a big welcome to all my new fans at Ann-Margaret’s SpecialTea Shoppe on Facebook ~ so happy to have you! 🙂

Hope you’re having a HAPPY day!!

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Ann~Margaret

Artist ~ Writer ~ Photographer