First ever GDT spot!

Scrapping Everyday Miracles is a site that focuses on combining a love of scrapbooking and our love for Jesus in one blog.  They like to keep the focus on the miracles we witness in our lives everyday, documenting them in a fun way for future generations.  I've enjoyed following along with the challenges, and love the reminder to have my eyes wide open to the ways God is constantly moving in my life.

I was asked to Guest Design for them for the month of November.  I am thrilled to have the opportunity to jump in and join the rest of the talented bunch for a fun layout challenge coming up later in the month.  You can check out my intro here.

Happy Halloween to those of you who celebrate it.  Here are the jack-o-lanters my kids made.

Hello Kitty in the middle had some breakage, but it's all good :)

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a wonderful Monday!

oh and don't forget about the giveaway I have going on here

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Saturday Crop

Happy Saturday!

No post today, as I'm off to a crop for the day.  Hopefully I'll be a little more productive than the last one, and put together som eye candy to show off next week.  For now check out the giveaway I wrote about in my previous post.

Hope your weekend if full of memory making moments, okay that sounds cheesy...but you know what I mean have a good one :)

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100th Post

I can't believe I've reached 100 posts already - yay me.  Thanks to those of you who have joined me on this journey.  I love your company, and being able to share snippets of my life, and this fun and creative hobby of mine with you.  I thought a little give away would be appropriate to acknowledge this mile marker.  Since not all of you are scrappy lovers like myself how about I give you a couple of options?  You may choose either a set of custom made thank you cards or a scrappy gift pack.  So if you'd like to be entered for a little treat, simply become a follower of my blog, then leave me a comment telling me you've done so and which gift you'd prefer.  Simple as that!  I'll leave the giveaway open until Sunday November 5th.  And draw a random winner the following Monday morning.

Here's a card I made to celebrate the occasion...

Okay, no I'm kidding.  I didn't make this for myself, gotchya though right?!  I actually made this for a friend's sister.  She had a baby boy last week. I needed a cute little card to accompany the meal I dropped off yesterday, and thought the Fine and Dandy line by My Mind's Eye would be perfect.

That's it for me today.  This week has been a bit of a ride, some ups, and some down.  Here's hoping next week goes a little smoother.

Have a great weekend friends!

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Handmade

Studio Calico's November kit goes on sale tonight.  I love how each kit and add kits have names.  Let me introduce you to Handmade.  I'm digging the colour combo in this one.  And look forward to working with it.  It's out of my box, to be sure, for a girl who loves Create and My Mind's Eye whose lines are all neatly packaged as mix-and match with your eyes closes.  Studio Calico does a great job of keeping colours and themes together, but stretches you to be creative in how you pull it all together.  There are some really amazing designers on the team, who create fabulous projects.  The gallery is also full of fabulous layouts from talented members.  The forum is full of upbeat, positive and encouraging women.  You can be sure there's always fun conversation going on at any given moment of the day.  Here's a peek at what will be making it way to my door next week...

You can grab one for yourself after 8 pm tonight by going here.

If you're wondering about Day 3 of Handmade Holidays, it's coming.  The project is a biggie.  I probably spent longer in Michael's choosing my supplies, than I'll likely spend putting it together.  I've decided not to tell you what it is just yet.  Gonna keep you hangn' for a bit. 

Have a great day friends.  Thanks for stopping by!

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Handmde Holidays Day 2

A sketch today:

Here's my take on it:

Papers are from the Crate Farmhouse line

I actually struggled with this one a bit.  It's a lot of pictures on one page.  Normally I would have spread this many photos onto two pages, and had room for journaling.  I just couldn't seem to make the page work with photos and journaling, so I opted to go for a couple less photos smaller pieces of paper, and nix the story all together, seeing as the photos are pretty self explanatory.

I have a feeling Day 3 is going to be a little tougher.  Looking forward to it though, and I'll be sure to share.

Thanks for visiting,

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Handmade Holidays

I thought you might be interested in this online class that I'm taking with the very sweet Latrice over at Handmade Holidays.  Class One was a nice, easy one to get things started.  We made cards based on this sketch.

Here's my take on it.  I diverted from the sketch just a bit, and added a little 'something,something' to it. 

I hand stitched the center circles.  Used two widths of ribbon, with an SRM stickers sentiment.  The flower is Crate.

It's been kind of quiet around here lately.  What's everyone up to?  It's crazy to think that we are in the last full week of October already.  Summer seems like so long ago.  I  miss the lazy, non-scheduled days when I could scrap all day long.  My product is beginning to pile up, I don't know how those of you who work full time, and are on several design teams, with school age kids do it.  I think I've come up with a solution for my product problem though.  How about a giveaway?  I realized today that I'm very close to 100 blog posts.  I was thinking that maybe for my 100th post I'd also do a giveaway.  What do you think?  Let me know your thoughts.  Would it be worth my while to put something together?

Thanks for popping by today.  I always appreciate the company.

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What I've been up to

It feels like the weekend was as long as a week.  So much happened.  Conference, Dance, a football game (our team actually won), visit with a friend, church, scrappy project, dinner out with my hubby, and a little window shopping, a movie with the kids...  I'm feeling a little wiped.  Here's hoping the week is a little less full.

Glad you liked the sneaks on Friday.  Here are the projects in full.

The butterfly card is a lift of my friend Pam's lovely card.

 

Sorry about the glare.

I created another layout yesterday, but can't show you just yet.  You'll be the first to know when I can :)  With the Handmade Holidays Class starting up this week I'll hopefully have some fun stuff to show you.  The classes look fun, some look intimidating, and I still have some supplies I need to pick up for a couple of the classes (like a grapevine wreath, and old book (for its pages), and silver pipe cleaners).

Thanks for popping in today.  Hope your week is off to a good start.

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Being Sneaky

I've been getting up close and personal with my October kit from My Scrapbook Nook over the past two days.  Here's a sneaky peek-y of what I've been up to with the lovely My Mind's Eye papers and embellishments. I'll post the full projects for you on Monday. 

I'm looking forward to starting this class next week.  Perhaps you'd like to join me.  I've never taken an online crafting class before, but couldn't pass up on this one.  10 project for $10, you can't go wrong with that.  I'm most looking forward to the sewing project  My sewing machine has only been used for hemming, stitching up the odd tear on the seam of a piece of clothing, and scrapbooking.  I'm sure I'll enjoy using it to actually create something with fabric.  If you're up for it you can still register here.  And the best part of this class, is that you don't have to worry about falling behind, as the class will be accessible online for a full year after the last class.

I think we have a pretty good weekend in store here, I hope your is lining up to be an enjoyable one also.

Thanks for stopping by today,

♥ S.

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Just couldn't stay away

I've been involved in a really great project with a dear friend of mine from church.  It's all about what I'm all about: the power of story.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I am always interested in what is going on in the lives of the people around me, especially those I meet for the first time.  I love how the more you learn about a person, the smaller the world feels.  It's been going very well so far.  Of course it's all pretty new still, so this would still be the 'honeymoon phase'.

Yesterday afternoon I just had to do something creative.  Not to neglect the work I was doing.  I just needed to get my hands on some paper, ribbon, and glue, to make something pretty.  This is what came together

Using My Scrapbook Nook's October Kit featuring My Mind's Eeye

I think I'll makes some cards next.  It's been so long that I'm not sure where to even begin.  I've pinned a few great creations that the DT have made with the October kit, I may have to lift one or two of them to get me going. Speaking of pinning, have any of you gotten into Pinterest?  I resisted for a long time, but have succumb to the call of the world of colourful images, creative ideas, and pin board sharing going on over there. 

things I want to try like this

and this...

and things that speak to me like this

What kinds of images have you been pinning lately?

Thanks for stopping by today.

♥ S.

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Family Photos Mini Album

It's high time for this reveal.

It's been about three years since we last had family photos.  It's a shame really, we're together all the time, but never on the same side of the lens at the same time.  We had  a gorgeous autumn here in Winnipeg, Manitoba, so I decided one Sunday afternoon, that it was a good time for us to get out there and snap a few shots.  Since it's only happened once over three years I wanted to remember the afternoon by devoting a mini album to it using the fabulous Random Collection by Crate Paper.  I threw in a little Studio Calico, some My Mind's Eye, a little Basic Grey, and voila, a mini was born.

It's been a while since I've done a mini.  The September kit, and add-ons from My Scrapbook Nook, mixed with gorgeous family Fall photos were the perfect combination.  

Thanks for having a look.  I also want to thank each of you who have followed along with me over the past several months.  It means a lot that you believe I have something worth while to say, or at least create.  You've been a wonderful source of encouragement to me.  Your comments/emails/and feedback at times have made me laugh, filled my heart to overflowing, and at times even brought me to tears.  Thank you, sincerely.

I'm sorry to say that I don't think I'll have much to post this week.  I think it's best if I take a break for a bit.  There are a couple of non-scrappy related things brewing on the back burner that need my attention this week, and a parenting seminar that I'll be attending on Saturday morning.  All that makes for a pretty full week, leaving little time for creating.  I just wanted to let you know in advance.  I hope to be back at it soon though, not to worry.

Happy Monday friends.  May your week be blessed.

♥ S.

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Mini Album Sneaks

Today is a full day here, so this will be a quick one.

I finished my mini album last night.  I haven't had a chance to take photos of the whole thing, but do have a few sneaks I'm able to show you today.  I'll leave you with these and upload the rest when I get some time, later tonight.  I fell bad it's not all ready for you, but the week is not over :)

What do you think so far?

Have a wonderful Friday friends.  Thanks for stopping by.

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The Little Things

Every once in awhile I slow down enough to take in the joy of the little things.  Tuesday was full of house work, laundry, and a contractor coming in to do some minor touch ups in our master bath.  Yesterday was full of car maintenance, grocery shopping, baking and meal prep.  I sound like a real homemaker don't I?  All that means no scrappy time for me, unfortunately.  I did however, make a quick run to Winner's and Staples to pick up a couple of scrappy goodies.  These little guys make me happy.

The mat is by We R Memory Keepers.  It's self healing, magnetic, and comes with 4 tiny magnets, and an 18 inch magnetic ruler. 

The mouse is from Staples. It's a Logitech.  I've been looking for one forever, but really didn't want to spend the $40.  There were some on clearance for $20, blue ones, grey ones, and this one lovely pik-y, Sherri-like one way in the back.

I'm a simple girl.  Love the little things.  And it doesn't hurt when said little things come in pink.

Hope you Thursday is a great one friends.  It means a lot that you stopped by.

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Fruits of the Crop

The long weekend was lovely here.

It started off with the Steinbach crop on Friday night, and all day Saturday.  We had crazy weather here on Friday night.  The winds were stronger than anything I've ever seen before, truly.  Up to 90kms/hr.  I made the 45 min drove South in those winds, mixed with scattered rain showers.  Thankfully my friends and I  arrived safe and sound.  There were several fires spreading around the area because lightning had struck some hay bales.  The smoke in the air was almost overwhelming to see and smell.  Thankfully, we were out of harms way.  The rain fell before the night was through, and the winds came to a halt before any more damage could be done.  I didn't get a lot of scrapping done, as I said would likely be the case, but I did have a really, really nice weekend away, catching up with friends, and meeting new ones.  Tara, and I made some time to check out Sharon's new location.  It is so beautiful.  Big, and spacious with a ton of product, lots of room to move around and a great space for classes.  I am over the moon happy for that girl.  She's one of the sweetest people I know.  In a time when other scrap shops around the nation seems to be struggling and closing down altogether, she is doing really well.  So well in fact, that she announced this weekend her plans to open a second Scrapbook Cottage location in Winnipeg.  Those of us who live here and make the 45 minute drive South to obtain the latest in scrappy goodness, were overjoyed to hear the announcement.  I couldn't be happier for me dear friend.  I wish her all the very best of success in this new venture.


Sunday was turkey day for us with Mom, and Dad, and my sister-in-law, and her family.  The food was delicious as usual, and the kicked back relaxed tone of the afternoon/evening was just what the doctor ordered (well at least for me, I know not everyone loved the fact that the tv was on for 2 hours in the middle of the celebration).  Spending a couple of hours watching Manitoba history in the making, after dinner was so. much. fun.  It has been 15 years long years since The Winnipeg Jets took home ice to open the beginning of the NHL season.  I'm not a huge hockey fan, but I would have loved to have been there with the other 15, 000 people in the stands.  There was such a sense of unity and excitement, you could just feel the electricity in the air, even through the screen.  The cheering, chanting, clapping, singing...  It was truly something special for the city.  All in all it was a 3 day party, Winnipeg style.

Speaking of sports, our beloved Chicago Bears are about to take the field against the Detroit Lions.  Gotta get my jersey out and join the rest of my family to take it all in. I'll leave you with a couple layouts I completed over the weekend. The mini album of our family pictures is almost done.  I'll hopefully have get it completed in the next couple of days.

Happy Tuesday friends!


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Friday Tidbits

Hooray for Friday!

I'm excited to be going to a scrapbook crop this weekend with the lovely Sharon from The Scrapbook Cottage.  For those who don't know, a crop is where a bunch of other paper loving peeps get together, with all their goodies and scrap to their heart's content for 2 days straight, only breaking for lunch, supper, and a snack or two.  There are a couple of layouts I have in mind, and, I want to put together a mini album of our little family photo shoot.  Really hoping I can get that done, I have a tendency to do a little more visiting and snacking, over scrapping at crops.  For those who know me well, I'm sure that comes as no shock to you insert sheepish grin here.

This arrived yesterday.

It was like Christmas.  I went a little crazy this month, but had $35 in credit so it was actually a great deal in the end.  I forgot to take photos of everything that was inside, before I packed it all away all neatly in my snappy new homemade crop bags.  Here's a peek at what's inside all those fabulous brown bags.

The Main kit: Field Guide, some chalks, ink, Mr Huey's in dark brown, Basic Grey flowers to go with the main kit, some extra sheets of vanilla cardstock, and a white pen.

 And the icing on the cake...

Add on #4 Almanac: Amy Tan's fabulous mini album kit.

I also got my first ever grab bag.  It was stuffed to the bring with papers, and all sorts of fun elements for only $5.

And a little randomness to tie you over for a couple of days:

sand or snow?  the white sands of the Caribbean to be specific.
Urban or Country?  Urban during the school year, county during the summer months.
Shabby or chic?  chic.
Steak or chicken?  red in the summer, white in the winter.
Pepsi or Coke?  Coke.  Always.  No compromise.
Potatoes or rice?  Depends on the protein dish.
Convertible or caravan? Convertible for looks, but caravan for convenience.
Football or hockey?  Football all the way baby.
Hollywood or Broadway?  Broadway.  Hairspray, and Wicket top the list.
Coffee or tea? Coffee 99% of the time.  Tea if I'm not feeling well.
Sweet or salty?   Sweet.  A little everyday :)

Have a great weekend.  Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends.  Be sure to live with that kind of spirit alive and well this weekend.

Thanks for popping in today,

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Another Door Closed

I found out yesterday that that I did not make the Scrapbook Circle design team.  That makes it zero for three thus far.  It definitely makes me wonder if the door is staying closed for a reason.  Initially when I began this blog it was as a way to share with others my faith, and spiritual walk, along with my love for scrapping.  There are plenty of scrapbooking blogs out there, and some wonderful spiritual blogs out there.  I've yet to see many that marry the two.  It does take some work, and often leaves me feeling a little vulnerable.  There is certainly room for improvement in both areas.  I started applying for design teams for a couple of reasons.  One, would be just to see if someone 'in the business' thought I had talent for documenting my story in a fun and creative way.  The other would be to help alleviate the cost of scrapbooking supplies, by getting product for free, or at a discounted cost.  Who wouldn't want to be able to do what they love for free right?!  After all the nos of various magazine submissions, the nos of contest entries, and the nos of design team managers, I'm beginning to questions whether or not I have what they call 'the right stuff'.  I'm wondering if perhaps I should simply keep my hobby to myself.   It's something I'm going to let marinate for awhile, and see where my heart takes me. Scripture says that "they that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength, the will soar on wings like eagles, they will not grow faint". (Isaiah 40:31).  So, that is what I'll do.  I'm not going to get too caught up in where I can go with this hobby career wise.  I'll just keep enjoying the process, catching up on the blogs of my friends, and manufacturers I enjoy, reading my Bible, raising my kids. and living out this life I been so blessed with (even though I want to stomp and scream at times).  I may still submit to calls every now and then, maybe even still apply for design teams, but it will all be with a certain degree of protection to my heart, as I try to not get caught up in the draw of validation, and notoriety.  It's my opinion that when things happen organically, they're just a little more enjoyable.  Besides, if God isn't in it, there's no point anyway.  So I'll just continue to be me, and if a scrappy next step comes my way while I'm doing that, great.  If not, that will be just fine too.

I was able to carve out a little time for myself yesterday afternoon to scrap.  Here's what I created.

Using My Mind's Eye papers, and embellies, The Twinery Twin, and Doodlebug alphas.  Back to my love for hand stitching on this one.

The design for this came together quickly.  I'm not sure I love how the final layout looks now that I've added the journaling.  I find journal placement tricky.  I like to include a lot of it from time to time to capture the story behind the photo, but it's happened more than once to me, that it throws off the overall design once it's added.

This was just a random photo of Isabelle and a few of her friends just before we played football on the Bomber field a few weeks ago.  I love that as much as she dislikes having her photo taken, she's resigned herself to the fact that I'm right: she'll appreciate having photos of herself with her friends years from now.

Using Glee: the Studio Calico September kit featuring Amy Tangerine exclusives.

I'm off to have coffee with a dear friend this morning.  She's a woman, I admire as a wife, mother, friend, and fellow sister in Christ.  We want to dream together, and consider the possibilities for capturing, and sharing the stories of others in our community.  She's been doing it for a year now, but would like to see how I may fit into her vision.  I'm looking forward to dreaming up something new together.

Have a great Thursday friends.  Thanks as always for stopping by.

♥ S. Pin It

A Wall Transformation

As much as I love making 12x12 pieces of paper look pretty with photos, patterned paper, trim, lace, buttons, stickers, and other embellishments, I can't manage to make a wall look pretty.  Or just about anything else in my house for that matter.  I love tidy, and neat, and classic clean looking.  No nicknacks. no clutter.  All that neat and tidy however leaves me no imagination of how pretty and colourful a space can look.  I'm terrible at it.  I always get a little self conscience when certain friends of mine come over.  You know the ones, who homes look all cute and well decorated, with little bursts of colour here and there.  Anyway I had an idea for a photo collage to put in our family room.  You know those photos we took last weekend.  I wasn't sure how to get all the frames evenly spaced, and level on the wall, but with a little help from a friend I figured out a plan of action to cover the really big space of uncovered wall behind our couch.

What I did was measure out the wall space, then taped a couple of big pieces of packing paper together to measure the same size, and laid them out on the floor.  I then laid out all my frames on the paper, and played around with the layout a few times until I found one I liked.  I left it on floor for the day, checking back on it a few times just to make sure I was happy with it.  The next day I filled the frames with the photos, then traced the frames on the paper, and cut out each shape.

I then hung the large piece of paper with the cut outs on the wall above the couch, then adhered the frames to the wall being sure to center them in their proper cut out spots.

No nails for me, here either.  Since I've discovered 3M velcro adhesives that's all we use around here now.  They're great.  Easy to use, and easy to remove, while keeping your paint intact.

And here's what it looks like now (I apologize in advance for the glare, it was either glare from the flash, or glare from the sun, I choose the sun).

Much better right?!  Now I've decided that the white mat in the center frame needs a makeover too.  I'm thinking one of the greyish papers from the new My Mind's Eye Lost and Found II may do the trick.  I'll see if I can pick it up at my crop this weekend.  Sorry I've nothing scrappy to share with you today.  I made a card for a friend, but gave it away before taking a photo, I do that a lot unfortunately.  Hopefully I'll be able to get back to scrapping soon.  Like I mentioned there's a crop coming up this weekend with the lovely Sharon of The Scrapbook Cottage in Steinbach.  Can't wait to hang with my scrappy friends, gaining inspiration, and catching up on each other's lives.  Oh, and maybe even get some scrapping done sometime over the 48 hours.  I have a mini album in mind.

Thanks for popping in friends, have a good day.

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Kits

October is going to be a very creative month with two gorgeous kits on their way to me.  The fist is My Scrapbook Nook's My Mind'e Eye inspired kit.  Featuring a yellow, black, grey, and white colour combo.

Here is just a sampling of some of the embellies included:  Flowers, pins, journaling inspired stamps, ruffle trim, American Crafts alphas, and so much more.  Go here to get yours before they're gone.

Then there's this fabulous Studio Calico Kit.  Each month their kits get better and better.

Look at those butterflies, the alphas, the journal spots, and brads.  Can't wait.  SC also has coordinating Add on kits you can order each month as well.  They're packed with goodies, and ship for no extra charge with your main kit.  You really should check them out.  You can still grab a Main Kit for yourself here.  And these guys have the shipping thing down, even to Canada.  My kit only takes 4 days to arrive, and comes directly to my door via UPS.

Like I said, a happy scrappy month in store for sure.

♥ S.

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Scraplift Chain Challenge

A few weeks ago I was given the privilege of putting together a Scraplift Chain Challenge over at My Scrapbook Nook.  I am very grateful for the opportunity, especially since, as you know I am not a part of the Design Team.  Games like this would normally be organized by them for all of us to enjoy.  The idea of the game is that, working in teams of ten players each, player one uses a sketch to complete a layout.  Once complete, they then, pass their layout along to the next player on the team.  Player two then completes a lift of the player one's layout, without actually seeing the original sketch.  Player three is given only player two's layout to lift, and does not see the original sketch.  Player three then passes along their lift to player four, and so on and so on until each player has had a chance to complete a layout.  Each player will interpret the layout differently and therefore be putting their own touch on the original sketch without having seen beforehand what the original looked like.  Here is how our team progressed.

Here is the original sketch, created by Nicole Nowosad (one of the Nook's Design Team members for Creative Scrappers (a great place to get inspiration if ever you find yourself in a scrappy rut)).

 

I was inspired by the clean with a touch of 'messy' of the sketch.  I didn't have any butterflies so I improvised with various other small embellishments.  And, I just had to use that cute Studio Calico tag, so I opted to leave out the circle on the bottom right, to keep my layout balanced.

Marianne stayed pretty true to my layout also, and even included the tag.

Kate added a butterfly also, kept the bulk up top, but centred it, and also kept the layers under the photo.

Monique changed the orientation of her photos, but still stayed true to the design Kate's layout.

I love how LG flipped the orientation of the layout, while still keeping the layers, and embellishments in the same areas.

You can see how Carol kept the same orientation, but shifted the center of balance back to the middle of the page.

Elizabeth flipped the whole thing back again, but flipped the bulky layers to the top of the photo

Lori, without even knowing it managed to create her layout to look almost identical to the original sketch with the tiny tweaks she made to Elizabeth's layout.

Did you notice the one consistent in every single layout?  Each one of us used misting on our layout.  I'd say there's somewhat of a love affair going on with mist in the scrappy world.  It just adds that extra little bit of fun to a layout.  This was so much fun.  I'm thankful that so many people actually wanted to play, and made the time to follow through.  Initially this game was to consist of 10 players, and last nine weeks, as each player was given one week to complete their layout.  We ended up having three teams of 10 players each.  Two of the three teams have already completed well before the 9 week finish date.  I think it all turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself.   Anyone up for another round?  I'd be happy to start another round outside of the Nook if anyone else is up for it.  Just let me know in the comments section, and I'll get on it.

By the way, would you consider doing me the honor of becoming a follower?  Seems pitiful to have to ask, but hey, if I want to get anywhere in this scrappy world, it would certainly help to have a few more followers.  So if you enjoy stopping by, and having a little peek into my world of family, friends, and scrappiness, I would certainly appreciate the compliment of your following my blog.  You can do so by clicking the button on the right of this entry.  Thanks a bunch!

Be back soon with a wall transformation I did last week.

♥ S.

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