Happy Friday everyone!
It’s that time again. Time to meet new bloggers and spread the sweetness of *honey*. As you already know, every Friday, I feature a blogger I love and enjoy reading. Today is Friday, so let’s link-up!
As with all blog hops:
1. I ask that you follow me.
2. Grab the button from the sidebar and include it in your post.
3. Link up your favourite post from the week. (no giveaways please)
4. Visit other bloggers who have linked up. Follow who you like.
5. Spread the honey by leaving them some sweet old ♥ comment love ♥ !
The linky can be found at the bottom of this post!
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Today I’m featuring Karen from Time Crafted. She is a good friend and a very devoted participant of Let’s BEE Friends Friday here at Bees With Honey. Karen links-up with me every Friday and I love the posts she shares. If you haven’t yet crossed paths with Karen via Twitter, you should follow her @TimeCrafted. She’s a sweetheart of a girl and a fabulously cool friend. She’s super fun and super funny!
Now let’s get to know her!
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1. Time Crafted is an interesting name for your blog. Can you tell us how you came up with this name? Also fill us in on how long you’ve been blogging so far.
I caught the blogging bug in February 2009. Initially, my blog focused predominantly on paper crafts, cards, and stamping. Though, I had always wanted it to celebrate all different kinds of creativity. Crafting my writing, photography, and an altered art journal is where I’ve journeyed to this year.
I chose the name Time Crafted because having a blog and keeping the spirit of it’s mission to ‘alter personal time to include creativity, joy & smile worthy moments in our daily lives’ requires me to craft my time to include creative pursuits, to stop and see all those little bits that life offers for a smile, and to keep a blog going. Sometimes I’m successful at it, sometimes I’m not. But, it’s an ongoing process and I’ll keep on crafting my time and hopefully continue to get better at it.
2. Tell us about the dynamics of your family. We would love to meet them!
I’ve been married for eleven years now and we have two beautiful kidlets, a boy in elementary school and a girl who’s about to start kinder next month. I’m home with my kidlets and while at times, we have some additional challenges that come with having a kidlet with autism, we love our family time together.
3. Do you look at the glass as half empty or half full?
Definitely half full! I can find the silver lining on just about anything, even if it’s downright ridiculous. I know of two specific times in my life that I couldn’t keep the optimism going and that just made the challenges I was facing a million times harder. Finding the good in something is somewhat natural, but when it’s not coming on its own, I make a conscious effort to find it. Life’s just a whole heck of a lot more enjoyable when I can.
I admire different people in my life for different things. I admire my brother’s adventurous spirit, traveling each year to far off places like China, Indonesia, Guatemala, Honduras, even trekking up to the Mt. Everest Base Camp. This summer he’s bicycling through Spain and Portugal (though, I just got a postcard he sent from Wales, so he must have headed north too!). I admire my closest friends’ (we’re The Four Musketeers…for over twenty years now) ability to translate friendship into sisterhood. I admire many of my teachers growing up who were so passionate for what they were teaching that it infected their students, myself included. I admire my husband’s silly side, bringing laughter into the house. I admire my son’s strength and his intelligence. And I admire my girl’s pure joy for anything and everything creative.
Who knew that trying to decide what cartoon character I would love to be would lead to so many giggles & debates in our house?! Though, I probably should have seen it coming. lol
One of my childhood nicknames was Tweety Bird, so I have an affinity for that sweet yellow bit. Love how happy that Road Runner is (poor Wile E. Coyote). Give me an invisible jet and I’ll be Wonder Woman. And I do love me some Smurfs! La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, laaaa….
6. How do you decide what to blog about each day? Is there a process you follow or do you just fly by the seat of your pants?
I enjoy sharing wherever the creative spirit takes me: from writing with The Red Dress Club or Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop to photo(s) for a Word-ful/ish/less (who am I kidding?! I can’t do wordless, I’m too chatty!) post on Wednesdays to a creative project or art journal page to sharing some of life’s smile worthy moments, hoping that you’ll smile too!
7. How do you balance your time as a Mom and as a Mom Blogger?
As a few tweeps already know, “balance” can find me up late at night. Though, that can only go for so many days before I crash. So, like many a Mama, I’m still on the hunt for that illusive balance. If you find it beneath a rainbow or Mary Poppins to tick off To-Do’s with a song, give me a holler. I promise I’ll share!
8. Who was your teenage celebrity crush? Who is your celebrity crush now that you’re an adult woman?
Back in the day, I crushed on Patrick Swayze. He’s gone now, but quite a pleasant memory lane to travel down. Now? Not so sure I’ve got a celebrity crush, but do think Hugh Jackman and Gerard Butler are well worth crafting some time to watch!
9. If you were offered the chance to change one thing about your physical appearance and it would be pain free, what would you change?
I’d love a regular ol’ working ankle in place of the one that got pretty trashed in a car accident coming up on fifteen years ago. While that may not be a part of physical appearance, it definitely effects what kind of shoes I can wear…you know, the cute ones!
10. What new and exciting things do you have coming up on your blog?
Just as soon as I get a chunk of time, I suspect I will be joining many of you, self hosting on WordPress. I hear the water’s fine over there!
Hi Karen, Nice to meet you. I blog on WordPress.com but considering the move to self-hosted, too. And can definitely relate to the search for balance.
I fully expect to be waving my hands in the air frantically for a rescue….er, um, assistance. Maybe we’ll be able to help each other out when we both get there! :>
Karen, I love your answer to #3. Those hard times have been so much harder when I’ve lost my hope. The silver lining doesn’t magically make everything silver, but it helps my heart more readily grasp that the gray will give way to more sparkly stuff if I can only wait it out.
Re: #7, “balance” comes in the early morning for me. It’s kinda neat to see this actually articulated by someone else!
p.s. WordPress FTW!
Thanks for the WP encouragement (think I need it ;>)!
The other added benefit to going in search of the silver lining is that it can simply keep a mind busy, instead of dwelling on what threatening to sink ya. Love the ‘sparkly stuff’ – what a great way to put it. I’ll definitely remember that one! :>
Thanks so much for featuring me, Bruna! Thank goodness for #wineparty, where I met you. Now, I get to visit you in 140 characters and here, where the honey is sweeet! :>
Aw, Karen – I think you’re sweeter than you say I am. You have always been on my list as a feature. You’ve been a devoted supporter of this meme and fun to chat with on Twitter. Yay for #wineparty!
Hi Karen, nice to see you here and know more about you!
I like your optimism – these days, too many people go down the road of pessimism, masking it as realism. It’s all too dreary already! We need more rays of sunshine like you
Do head to WP.org, I cannot love it more!
Aw, thanks Alison!
That’s right! You recently made the move to WP.org, right? Good to know you’re loving it so much! :>
So much fun to see you here Karen!
Thanks Galit! Your tweet made me smile! :>
I love tweeting with Karen!! she’s always #ALLCAPSAWESOME
Karen – so excited that you’re moving to WP.org too!! it’s been the BEST DECISION EVER for me!! (even though I’m still organizing my blog and learning some of the features) you’re going to LOVE it!!
awesome job with your feature, as always Bruna!!
Thanks, sweet lady! You rock the #ALLCAPSAWESOME yourself! :>
Thanks for the WP.org encouragement. Hope I can holler a tweet when/if I need help! :>
Nice to meet you Karen. Perspective is everything. Even something as little as looking back on the day and only focussing on the things that went poorly can so change your mood or mindset. I am also a glass half full person or I try to be all the time.
Hi Lisa! It’s nice to meet another glass half full person. And you’re right, perspective is everything! :>
Hi Karen, nice to meet you. I just have to say that I LOVE your curls!
Ahhh, balance, so elusive! I suspect we are all on that quest and always will be. Definitely something to strive for…
Whoops…answered you below!
“Hi Amanda!
This curly top thanks you!
I think it’s okay to be looking for that balance and it’s always easier when we know we’re all looking for it together. It’s quite a journey! :>”
Aw, great to see you here Karen! I love getting to know you a bit better!
If you decide to move to WP.org? You’ll love it! But don’t be afraid to ask for help!
Thanks Kimberly! Always feel like my brain is frying when I go into Blogger and change html and know that’s part of the hesitation in transferring over to WP.org. Good to know there’s peeps who are there to offer a helping hand! :>
Hi Amanda!
This curly top thanks you!
I think it’s okay to be looking for that balance and it’s always easier when we know we’re all looking for it together. It’s quite a journey! :>
I loved your answer to the question who do u admire
Beautiful
So good to see you here
Thanks! So many people have great qualities, I can’t just pick one. :> My brother’s been abroad all summer and due home within a week and I can’t wait to see him!
Hi Karen! Nice to meet you! Ever since Dirty Dancing I had a crush on Patrick Swayze too! =)
It’s impossible to resist Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing. Yes, impossible! :>
I love Red Dress too, but haven’t done a prompt in awhile. Nice to meet you, Happy Friday!
Sometimes if I wait for a prompt to ‘speak to me’, I’m able to write a much better piece than if I force myself to write on all the prompts.
Love Fridays, hope you are having a great one! :>
I also find myself staying up late, tweeting, ermm, looking for that elusive “balance. “Nice to meet you here, Karen!
Looks like we speak the same language!! :>
Yeay Karen! I’m a big fan of her blog. Great interview Bruna and TY as always for the best Friday linky around
Aw, thanks Jen!
Nice to meet you! I’m thinking of moving over to WP too in the near future. You’ll have to let me know how it goes!
Nice to meet you, Rach! Nice to know I’ll be in good company, swimming in that Newbie WP.org pool! :>
Karen, it’s nice to meet you! I definitely agree with you that life is just so much more enjoyable when I can find the good in things – sometimes it’s harder than others to find, but I do believe that even in the darkest times there is always something to be thankful for. Love the name of your blog too! I wish I could craft more time for crafting!
Bruna, great questions once again!
Nice to meet you too! Yes, seeing that there is something to be grateful for, no matter how small or big makes each step easier.
Yes! I wish I had more time for crafting too. This last year, I’ve had less time for one of my crafty loves, papercrafting, but I’ve enjoyed seeking out ways to continue to be creative! :>
Karen! Super cool that you got featured here, so that many other people can discover how fabulous you are!
Awww, Lanae, you are always so fantastically sweet! People ought to run right on over and visit you too! :>
I LOVE that Karen was your feature this week Bruna! She’s awesome! I love her optimism and her sunny outlook on life.
You’re totally right Karen, staying positive changes how we handle the hard stuff. Silver linings are my saving grace when life gets tough.
You two are the sweetest peeps on Twitter!
Hey there, Sarah! You are always so kind and one of those sweetest tweeps on Twitter too! :>