Wow! I've been nominated as..........

.....a "Thinking Blogger" by my Shackie/2peasinabucket pal, Beth of "Sunflower and Dragonflies." The original concept of the "Thinking Blogger Award" comes from this link: "The Thinking Blog." I will need to quote Beth on the "rules" of nominating someone for this award:

The participation for nominees' rules are simple:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think. Please, remember to tag blogs with real merits, i.e. relative content, and above all - blogs that really get you thinking
2. Link to this post (click here) so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).

Now, keep in mind that I can think of (easily) at least 20 people who inspire me with their blogs. But, I have to abide by the rules set forth. So, here are my nominees for the "Thinking Blogger" award (in no particular order):

1) Jan of "Far North Designs." I like to think of Jan as my "partner in crime" when it comes to comparing results of "lab experiments." We think of a technique we've not tried before (remember our Northern Lights experiment from a few years ago, Jan?) and we both experiment with the technique and compare results. She just tries and tries again, tweaking a few steps a little, until she achieves the results she is going for. I call Jan my fellow "technique junkie."

2) Audrey Hernandez is one rockin' papercrafter. She is top-notch in every category in my book. Check out her blog "Small Creations" and you will see what I'm talking about. Is there anything Audrey can't do? She rubber stamps, takes awesome pictures of her cutie-patootie son, Montana, and her photograph is next to the word "humble" in the dictionary. Visit Audrey's blog, just once.....JUST ONCE....and I guarantee you will come away with so many inspiring images and ideas that will make your head spin.

3) Here's another "Rock Star" blogger. Barbara Smith's artwork is elegant, uncluttered and has a simplicity about it that makes you appreciate each detail of everything she creates. Check out her blog "Smith411" to get a glimpse of Barbara's mastery of collage, transfer techniques, rubber stamping and cardmaking.

4) Kerry is another papercrafting friend who I go w-a-a-a-y back with. She's another fellow technique-junkie. When we went shopping together at a rubber stamp store, back in May, Kerry shared so much information about different products in the market, and how to use them. Of course, that left me with buying a TON of stuff that I had to have because Kerry said the stuff was "cool!" LOL! Well, she was right. You can find Kerry's creations at "the stampinbug."

5) I can't have this list of five inspiring blogs without mentioning Godelieve. Who else isn't afraid of experimenting with ecoline ink, bleach and every ink or paint under the sun? Godelieve does it all, and she does it with flair! She's also awesome with giving me all sorts of technical/computer/HTML coding tips for my blog. Mine is not nearly as awesome as Godelieve's, but she is always willing to help and encourage me along. You can find Godelieve's blog at: "Stamping Mathilda."