I was pleasantly surprised to receive a note from Nancy Maxwell James of VINTAGE PAPERS several days ago--she gave me this award last week while I was on my trip! I thought that was so nice. Please check out her blog if you haven't already; her artwork is simply amazing! I love visiting her webpage because it is always a treat to see what she's created. It's so hard to choose only 5 people to pass this along to, as all the blogs I'm fond of visiting are fun and wonderful and the artists are all so talented, but here are some great gals I'd love to give this to (and these are the rules, by the way)--

1. Only 5 people are allowed to receive this award.
2. Four dedicated followers of your blog.
3. One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
4. You must link back to whoever gave you the award.

So, I thank you, wonderful ladies, for your inspiration and courage:

Nita of RED TIN HEART
Cathy of TADPOLES & TEACUPS
Dawn of THE FEATHERED NEST
Nene of LOVE CONQUERS ALL
Sandy of STEMPELCHAOTIN