Congratulations Joan/Lakeslady

[Far North]

For being selected as the
Featured Color Artist of the Month:196:

:jiggy:So glad you got back from your vaction in time to enjoy this fun announcement! It was so fun to read your story in the creative corner and to hear about your previous fun stamping times. So glad you are here and share your beautiful work with us!
...Jan

[Jailbirdstamper]

yeah for you!

[Robinkay]

Congrats Joan you did a great job!

[loobylou]

Congratulations on being a feature artist. I love all your creations and you different view point. I'm wondering how you took lots of lessons in USA. Did you used to live there?

[threefriends91]

Congratulations Joan, l loved your story,and your creations are awesome.. So glad your back from your hoilday,, we missed you

[hutchink]

Congratulations Joan! Your work is great! Thanks for sharing your story with us!

[lakeslady]

Thank you my friends for your congratulations:embarrassed:

Sarah, I have never actually lived in the States unless you count a long five weeks holiday and many , many two week visits.
It is quite a long story actually:daydreaming:

In 1990 my DH and I took our very first holiday there visiting the usual tourist type places like Disney World and The Keys in Florida.
However in 1993 whilst on a river cruise through Holland , Germany and France we befriended a young couple of ballet dancers who had eloped and got married suddenly, when they found they could go two for the price of one, on this trip down the River Rhine,........... if they were actually on their honeymoon.

When they told us the story one night whist sharing a dinner table, I heard that the marriage had taken place without any family or friends being there and consequently had recieved no wedding gifts.
Me, being me, felt so concerned, that when we stopped in Strasborg I bought them some china ducks ( we had seen so many on the river) just to remember their cruise and maybe the crazy English couple they met on honeymoon. We had a fabulous time sharing many happy days together.
The couple were from NC and danced for their state ballet company, although they had toured all over the world. In our conversations with them they told us that Annettes mother loved England and had visited many, many times collecting teacups along the way. When they finally left the boat, we gave them our home address and an open invitation to visit if ever they felt like travelling to the UK.

A few weeks later, we recieved a postcard from them and a package containing a tiny cream jug,Annette had remembered that I collected china too.Many letters were exchanged after that. She had told her parents about us and our open invitation for them to visit us. Her mother was amazed because after many years of travelling to England she had never been invited into an English home.
The result was, that she financed a trip for them to come and stay with us.
The year after we visited them, and I attended a SU party. You could say the rest is history.
I took classes nearly every day at every place we visited.

I could go, on and on with this story, but to return the thread back to where it began on my award as Featured Colour Artist of the month, thank you everyone, not just for this wonderful award, but for making me so very welcome at The Stamp Shack.............I just love spending time with you all.

[cindi]

I enjoyed it a lot.
congrats on the award
:)

[JBgreendawn]

Congratulations Joan! :)

[loobylou]

Joan, I loved to read your story. Thanks so much for sharing it with us. How lovely to meet people on holiday and make friends for life.

[Far North]

Wow Joan, I am glad I stopped by and got to enjoy another chapter!
Thanks for sharing!...Jan