50th Birthday Party

I spent my time at National Scrapbook weekend doing my album for my 50th birthday last year.  I had a great time but still so much to do.  This is the start :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

IPhone Christmas

Last year I did a digital layout showing off the photos I took with my IPhone to document December 2011.  So this year I set out to do it again and took way too many pictures LOL  So here is a snapshot of my month and will be the first pages for my Christmas 2012 album.  Enjoy!!!

 

Something as simple as a Paint Can Swap......

One of the funnest things I do when going to my scrapbook events is organize a paint can swap.  Everyone fills in a questionnaire and I assign partners.   This last September I was blessed beyond words with the paint can that I received.  Don't get me wrong, I have been given some phenominal paint cans but this one was different.  Kim was assigned my name and she took time to get to know me and gave me something that I will treasure forever.  This is the can that she made, can anyone guess the significance of this can.  You are gonna love this story.



This is the questionnaire that I filled out, what you will notice when you see what was in the can that she not only read the questionnaire but she watched my blog and Facebook page to get the real me and she nailed it.

Do you want to swap before IU via the mail or swap at IU? either
Is this your first time going to IU? no third time
What other Scrabooking events do you attend? CKU's, CE and Scrapbook Expos
Are you married? If so, how long? Married for 21years in October to David
Do you have children? (include names and ages): no :(
Do you have pets? (include names and type): Emma - black lab, Daisy - yellow lab and 3 cats Chrissy, Boots and Snickers
Occupation: disabled due to Lupus - was a teacher
Favorite color(s): pink
Favorite snack(s):cashews, macadamian nuts, peanut M&M's
Favorite candy or sweet treat: Butterfingers, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
Other hobbies besides scrapbooking: cooking, painting
Any food allergies? none
How long have you been scrapbooking? 10 years
What size layouts do you do? mostly 12 x 12
Are you a traditional (paper) scrapbooker, digital scrapbooker, or both? mostly traditional but have played with digital
What themes will you be working on over the next few months? Arizona vacation, Disneyland and last years IU
What are your favorite colors to use in scrapbooking? bright colors
Are there any products that you NEVER use? none that I can think of, though I have way too many stickers
Name 5 products you can never have too much of: ribbon, fiber, buttons, flowers and brads
Name 5 of your favorite scrapbook companies: Teresa Collins, Bo Bunny, Making Memories, Sasafras Las, Basic Grey
How would you describe your scrabooking style? I am a hodge podge of designs and ideas. I love to try new ideas and just have fun.
Name 5-10 items from your “wish list” that are under $10 each: flowers, Stickles, journaling pens, catseye ink pads or small ink pads, brads, any Tim Holtz embellishments, any Teresa Collins embellishments, ribbon, fiber, unique items for pages, anything Disney. Just have fun, I love anything. Dog or Cat items too
Please share anything else that you’d like your partner to know about you - I love swapping and love great ideas and inspiration. My life has been very crazy lately so this will be fun to get to know you and share fun stuff.

Any questions feel free to ask

I love Sully from Monsters Inc. Kim made me a Sully can and I WAS THRILLED!!! I love it. The inside goodies needed to spell INSPIRATION and she added some very special items.

 

I is for INK in awesome Sully colors

 

N is for Nesting.  Bling frames to place to chipboard accents - blue and very cool

S is for Sully.  But it was so much more.  She created this metal key ring with so many treats on it.  First off there is Sully.   We learned this resin technique at IU but Kim was already playing with it and having fun.  There is a pink stand of crystals with a Believe charm added on.   She used daisies and butterflies  on other strands.  Daisy symbolized my sweet dog Daisy and the butterflies are the symbol for Lupus.  Butterflies are very special to me.  Kim just nailed the details and this is something I will treasure forever.

P is for Pastel Embossing Powders.  Very pretty colors and lots of fun to be had.  Plus this girl loves pastels :)

I is for Inspiration Quote.  "Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase"  So true and so perfect.

R is for Ranger - Love Distress Ink so this was a perfect Sully color.

A is for Artist Stamps.  Love Tim Holtz stamps - perfect for me
T is for Teresa Collin blingage - love Teresa's stuff and can't wait to use this.

I is for Inpiration clips.  These are purple and so cute.  They have a special place on my bullentin board.

O is for Oval tags - always can use tags plus I am constantly taking tag classes and it was just one of those details she got.

N is Never Forget Emma - this touched my heart in such a powerful way.  I just had to say goodbye to my sweet lab Emma and to have this special book made to remember her and with pictures of Daisy too was touching.  I actually couldn't open the book till I got home cause it brought tears to my eyes each time I picked it up.  It was a powerful moment when I saw it because we all were taken back to time when we lost  a pet and everyone was crying.  When I finally opened th book, my heart swelled with sadness at the loss but happiness that my new friend blessed me in so many ways.

Only 4 of us did the swap this year and I treasure the friendship that I now have with these 3 special ladies.  Everyones can was beautiful and each had their heart touched in a special way.   So many times it is easy to go through the motions and just put something together.  This year 4 ladies signed up and 4 ladies became friends because of something as simple as a paint can swap

This is Leslie, she gave to Kim and Martha gave to her.

This is Martha, she gave to Leslie and I gave to her.

 

This is Kim, she gave to me and Leslie gave to her.   Kim thank you so much for blessing my life with such an awesome can.   Those of you in the Northern California area can get to know Kim too as she just fulfilled a dream and opened her own art / scrapbook store in Auburn.  Check her out on Facebook and tell her that I sent you.   

https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Lazy-Cowgirl-Crafting/116055808474291?fref=ts

So Leslie, Martha and Kim - thanks for a bright spot in my year and can't wait to see ya again at IU.



Travel Treasures Envelope Album

Store your travel treasures in this fun envelope album using My Little Yellow Bicycle  The Escape paper line.  Lots of room to add all those fun things you collect while on vacation.

 

Easter Egg Hunt Mini Album

Using chipboard covers and envelopes cute to 6 x 6, this book is full of fun places to hide your Easter pictures.   Doodlebug paper was full of bright colors and cuteness.

Created by Faye Warriner February, 2013

Great contest to enter

http://create.northridgepublishing.com/thirty-days-of-holiday-giveaways-day-17-fiskars-mona-luna/

Hijacked by Snickers

Howdy to all my mommy's friends, 
I am trying to convince Silhouette to give my mommy a special treat this Christmas.  They are giving away a Cameo and you all know how she likes to create fun things and off course make my pictures look like works of art.  So cross your paws and lets wish this for her.   Signing off before she catches me on the computer.   She really needs new passwords cause I figured them all out.  Hee hee hee
Meowy Christmas
Snickers

October 5th

In my lifetime there have been 50 October 5th's. They always say that one bad thing can destroy many good. In this life of mine 46 October 5th's have been fine - I think but there are 4 that have caused me deep pain and anguish. I am guessing to some extent they will come to define my life as I know it.

I am going to warn you know, this is going to get heavy. Very heavy but somehow God will use this post to enrich someone's life - I hope.

October 5, 2004 was the day that my sister in law Cheryl died. Cheryl and I had been best friends. I started out as her boss, became her friend and then her sister in law. With so much distance between us we had lost our closeness and weren't as good of friends that we had been in the past. Fortunately, that was healed before she left this earth but her dying unexpectantly reminded me that we aren't  guaranteed a tomorrow so don't miss the opportunity to make things right with those who matter to you. I have never grieved as deeply as I did the day she died and to this day miss her terribly. I will see her again in Heaven and that I do look forward to. It is so important to cherish the time we have with each other.  So many things I wished I could have done different but in my heart I know that we were good when she left.   So please love those around you and make sure they know that they matter to you.

October 5, 2009 I overheard Dave telling his brother Rick that he had done something so wrong that he may lose his job. Once I heard what he had done, I knew that he was indeed going to be fired and our life as we knew it was going to change in a big way. With me being on disability, our livelihood, our medical insurance, our everything was wrapped up in my husband having a full time job. Panic set in because all I could see was total chaos and it scared me. How were we going to survive this? A week later, Dave was fired and being unemployed in this economy was a disaster. Because we knew that income was going to be an issue, we decided to short sale our home and move in with my mom. I am beyond grateful to my mom because without her, I would be homeless. The process of packing up a house, giving things away and condensing what we had was very upsetting.   I had put my total faith and trust in someone and because he wasn't God, he failed me.   The next year was wrought with survival and just trying to deal with the the ricochet effects of our world falling apart. My family was awesome and without them I would have never been able to survive all of the turmoil.   It was a year that I don't ever care to relive.   Someday I will hopefully look back and see how God worked during this time.  I know there will be a testimony to share and until then it is raw and real and I think He can use that too.


October 5, 2010 - The house finally sold and the process to get it over with drug on and on and on. On this day we signed the escrow papers and I lost my home. Mom and I worked all the way up the the 11th hour getting things out of the house. Since we were downsizing, I gave away so much of life. I do know that stuff that meant so much to me was in my friends homes giving them joy. I really am still reeling from this one because I felt like I lost so much of myself and at times I still do. Trust me when I say that I do not put my value in what I owned and I am so very fortunate, I do know this.  It is just difficult to lose your home.   I didn't lose a house, I lost my home and it was sad.   But I am home again with my mom and sister so that is where God wants me and I am good with that.

Life is full of transition and unfortunately the weight of the past 3 years brought an end to my marriage.  October 5, 2012 the judge stamped the paperwork and my marriage of 20 years and 50 weeks was over. It just became a cruel joke that October 5th was becoming a key day. So many sad things happened on this day and I almost dread yet another one. I know that God has seen me through these days but my heart still hurts and wish that things could have been different. But there is no going backward. It may take awhile for me to understand the reason all these things happened and this side of Heaven, I may never know. I do know that eventually my October 5th's will be Heaven and I will be rejoicing. Until then, I am going to continue to trust in God, not dwell on the bad and seek God's purpose for these events and what He would want me to learn from them. My heart is broken over all the loss but I am looking forward to better days ahead.

So if you are reading this and your life is wrought with the similar challenges, just know that God will see you through just as He has me.   Sometimes we have to hurt to get through things but with God's love and support we each can get through anything.   Things for me are still new and I do get sad but I am excited to see what my new life holds.   God loves me and I need to learn to love me too, through this process I know only good things are ahead.