Guesting at Use It Tuesday

I won a guest spot with the girls at Use It Tuesday a few weeks ago.  You can see the layout that won the spot here.  Today is the day I'm up on their blog.  I love what their mission - to encourage scrappers to use up their hoarded, or simply forgotten about supplies.

The challenge they have for you today is to use a stamp that has never been inked.  I'd be willing to bet you have one, or two, or 5 kicking around too, just like me. 

This Jillibean Soup Travel set came in a Scrapbook Nook kit two summers ago.

I loved that globe, but somehow just never got around to using it.  I had only used 3 of these 9 stamps in fact. 

This challenge combined with our recent trip to Las Vegas provided the perfect opportunity to ink it up.  I decided to emboss it so I could set it on top of a few layers.

I used the October kit from Scraptastic to complete the layout, along with a sheet of Studio Calico paper that I've also been hanging on to for months, and months also.

The painted background was done using a Pink Paislee mask

Hidden journaling exposed

more horded product: Sass letter, MME brad, and SC arrows

I am so happy with the way this layout turned out.  I always enjoy adding several bits and pieces to my layout, but often forget that stamps can get the job done too.  Please hop over to the UIT blog to see what the rest of the team pulled out of their hoarded stash for this week's challenge.  Perhaps we've inspired you to pull out some of those stamps and get 'em dirty.  If so please link us up.  You have a week and a half to link up.

A huge thank you to Siobhan and team for having me today!

♥ S. Pin It

Ready, Set, Go

I mentioned that I had the privilege of attending Crop & Crete in Saskatoon a couple of weekends ago.  I realized last night that I hadn't yet shared anything from the event.  Let me edit my photos, and I'll do a post with them next week okay?!

In the meantime let me share a fun layout I created for one of the challenges over the weekend.  The challenge was to "emphasize fonts".  We were free to interpret that in whatever way we felt like.  I decided to go with a mix of fonts in bright, bold colours to go with the Amy Tangerine Ready Set go papers that I chose to use. 

Quote source

The quote is one that I discovered online while searching for something to go with the photo of my second favorite Starbucks mug (my favorite on is a Christmas one, I think I'll create a layout on that one too at some point, ha ha).  The journaling reads "I couldn't agree more.  My ceramic Starbucks mug is my best friend every morning of the week."

I didn't win the challenge, but I did win a different one.  I'll share that layout with you sometime soon. 

Have a great day friends.  I so appreciate you taking the time to pop in!

♥ S.

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Scrapping Everyday Miracles

It was a while back that I mentioned this new Christian based scrapbook site called Scrapping Everyday Miracles.  I've been keeping up with them in spirit only thus far, as it was so busy the last month of school, and then being away at the lake.  Last week however I had a chance to participate in my first scrappy challenge with them.  The challenge was to scrap a layout using lyrics of a Christian song to inspire the layout.  I took this picture while driving home from the lake one Sunday evening last summer.  I've used it several times while leading worship, or a  devotional time with my group, etc.  The photo doesn't boast the best lighting, but even still, one is able to see the rays of light cutting through the sky, and flowing down from the Heavens to earth.  That is my favorite kind of sky, aside from the Harvest moon.  I always imagine that it's the result of God pulling back the curtain of Heaven to have the angels, and those that have gone to join Him before us, to reveal what His children are up to.  The song that rose up in my heart as I was looking at it last week was on oldie called "Be Still And Know".  I thought it had been DC Talk who sang it, but I can only find a Newsboys version.  Perhaps I remember wrong.  At any rate it's the same song I remember.  You can hear it here if you're interested.  This song takes me back, and the words ring as true today as they ever did so many years ago.  A sky like this causes me to be still for a moment and take it all in.  His great, great love for us, demonstrated by the 'pulling back' of the Heavens and drawing us near to Him.

Materials used: Alphas: Basic Grey & Sassafras, Paper: My Mind's Eye, Studio Calico, Chipboard Heart: Maya Road, Sculpture Flower: Prima, Trim: My Mind's Eye, Embroidery floss: DMC 747

Thanks to the lovely Sasha I've gotten a little hooked on hand stitching :)  I love the tone on tone here, still working on getting my stitches closer together, need to find a proper needle. 

Happy Monday friends.  I hope you'll pop by again soon. Pin It

A Good Day

Today was that for me.

Began the day at the hair salon with Isabelle (the oldest) to have her hair relaxed. The frustratingly, time sucking routine that leagues of black women everywhere commit themselves to every 4-8 weeks - boo.

- Found manila shipping tags finally, and at a steal of a deal, yay!
- Visited with friends for an impromptu lunch on their deck
- Finally raked the front yard and got it all cleaned up and watered
- Visited with another friend for a few minutes while our girls jumped on the trampoline before supper
- Hubby returned home after a lifetime week away for work.  Even better he won Rookie of the Year, and will be joining over 30 other OnX employees on a trip to Ireland this coming September.
- Went for a bike ride with the girls.  Tried to fly kites, but the winds were not in our favor, so we played at the park instead.
- Now sitting down in a nice quiet house relaxing.

All is right in my world.  At least it is for now.

Just uploaded these today, I'd forgotten I'd taken them .  The melt my heart.

Eden in her Jazz Duo costume just before the competition.

Théa in her hip hop costume just before the competition.

And thought I'd share these two layouts I completed late last week.  I'm so happy with them.  I plan on using the one of my lovely friend Angela as a submission for the Creative Scrappers design team call.  My chances here are slim to none, as they have almost 2000 followers on Blogger, so I'm sure they'll be a mountain of amazing designers/bloggers submitting their layouts.  But, I'll never know if I don't try right?!

Made with Creative Scrappers sketch #155.  It's hard to see in this photo but I love the stitching around the top and bottom corners.

Made for a Challenge over at My Scrapbook Nook's virtual crop last week.

Thanks for stopping by.  I pray you're in the middle of a wonderful week also.

♥ S. Pin It

Radmon thoughts on Friday

The sun is shining, the house is quiet, and I'm feeling like I should be doing a hundred things.  The time change this past Sunday sure sent my body into a tailspin.  I've been sluggish and yawning all week long.  I don't remember it ever affecting me like this before.  Have you been feeling it too?

I started this morning by cracking open a new devotional I received as a gift last weekend.  It's called 10-Minute Time Outs for Busy Women by Grace Fox.  Really great little devotional.  It helps you start your day with scripture, a thought for the day, and a little quiet time with Jesus.  Beginning my day in that way never disappoints.  No matter what the day holds I feel better grounded knowing that I've given back to Him some of what He's given to me.  I try to not take my days on this earth for granted, and a 10 minute time out, in my opinion is a great way to say thanks back, and allow Jesus time and stillness to speak to me should he  so choose.

In scrappy news, yesterday afternoon I received my huge prize pack from My Mind's Eye by courier.  It was jam packed with every little piece of the recently released Stella & Rose: Hazel and Mebel collection.  I'm really hoping I get some time this weekend to scrap.

Tonight is promising to be a quiet night at home.  The girls want to have friends over, so we'll do that for supper, then hopefully a movie and popcorn.  I've decided I'm going to rent Life As We Know It (with Katherine Heigl, and Josh Duhamel), for D and I.  I've heard it's pretty good.   I think I'll also pick up disc 2 of Modern Family - Season One.  I think that show is hysterical.  If you've never seen an episode, you really should look one up online.

I really need to get my butt in gear with a packing list for our upcoming ski trip to Steamboat Colorado next Friday.  This will be our second year going, the kids, and hubby love it.  Me?  I'd take a sunny vacation over mountains any day.  That said, however, simply being together, and seeing everyone have so much fun makes it easy to say yes to a 22 hour bus ride, more snow, no sleeping in, continued lunch making, and the daily workout of skiing.  On the plus side the view out there is spectacular, the people are super friendly, and time to just chill, play games, sit around in the hot tub, and laugh in the evenings is so valued.  Off to start my list.  I'll leave you with a few cards I made a couple of weeks ago.  I gave them out as Thank Yous to the women who helped me lead worship last weekend and the Woman's Retreat.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a wonderful weekend

♥S.

made with Sassafraslass papers, Jillibean sprout, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, Cosmo Cricket & Bazzill papers, and misc ribbon.

Webster's Pages papers, Jenni Bowlin journal sticker, Martha Stewart punch, misc twin, and bling, Simply Sweet stamp.

Fancy Pants papers, Creative Memories alphas, Maya Road mist, Basic Grey button, misc: flowers, ribbon, and twine.

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