SEM Blog Hop

It's Scrapping Everyday Miracles' 1st Birthday! 

To celebrate we are having a blog hop with lots of fun and prizes to be had along the way.  If you've been hopping along, I want to say "Welcome Here!" You should have arrived here from Nic's blog.  If not, you'll want to go back here to hop in order, get the scoop and find out what all the hoopla is about.  There will be challenges and giveaways happening on our Facebook Group also.  Click here to check those out.

I am so honoured to be a part of this wonderful blog.  The team of women are kind, caring, loving, tenderhearted, funny, encouraging, thoughtful, sincere,  and exactly what I would ever have dreamed they be to work with.  These women are my friends and I love that I get to express my love and passion for my Lord Jesus, and this crafty hobby of mine right alongside each of them.  Over the past 6 months I have had the opportunity to grow in my faith, and share it through scrapbooking, and having met all of them, as well as having met some of YOU.  Thank you for taking the time to visit us, for pouring your heart and soul into your projects as you join us in the monthly and sketch challenges.  But most of all thank you for spreading the word of this wonderful place on the web to freely express our love for Jesus, and our thankfulness for all He is doing in our lives, as well as share with us in our love for pretty paper and all things scrappy.

When I think about the projects I've created for SEM over the past several months, there are 2 in particular that come to mind.  The first is this one:

This is actually the first layout I ever did for SEM.  The monthly challenge was to "find God's miracles in the natural world, and what they mean to you".  You can read more about why I chose this photo here if you're interested.  The second layout is this one:

The monthly challenge here was to scrap about an unexpected blessing we had received.  Mine was definitely having 2 babies so close together.  My first two girls are 28 months apart.  The younger two, however, are 15 months apart.  That was crazy.  It was hard.  It was challenging, and often times more than I could bare.  But I did it.  With the grace of God we not only survived, but thrived as a family of five.  On the hidden journaling tab lies the story behind the layout.  You can read more of the story here if you are interested.  It has been a fun journey thus far being on this team, and I sure look forward to what the next few months have in store for us.

The "Celebration" themed project I have to share with you, is a banner I created.  I thought it would be perfect to re-use for my youngest daughter's upcoming 9th birthday.  

Another smaller project I worked on is a few pinwheels.  I made these months ago just out of sheer curiosity.  For awhile they were the center piece of my kitchen table.  Now they adorn the top shelf of my book case in my scrap room.  

I hope you've been inspired somewhat here.  And that you'll continue along with our hop.  Good luck to you on the winning, and have a fabulous week playing with us, taking advantage of our sponsor deals, and entering all the giveaways along the way.

Our grand prize winner will win both a gift certificate for $15 to Paper Loves Glue and a $20 gift Certificate to Memorable Seasons. 

And one lucky reader of my blog will win a $10 gift certificate to Two Peas from me.  To be eligible you need to link yourself up as a new follower of mine, then leave me a comment telling me you've done so.  Easy!  Good luck to you!

Here is your hopping order

Scrapping Everyday Miracles
Nicole's blog
Sherri's blog  <--- You are here
Einat 's blog 

Cara's blog 
Jeannine's blog 

Elizabeth's blog
Lisa's blog 
Dolores' blog
(GDT)Amanda's blog 

And don't forget, Monday, June 4th will be a new challenge and another chance at a prize! 

Happy Hopping!

Have a great day friends,

♥ S.

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Guesting The Nook

Happy Monday friends.  I hope that the weekend was a great one for you where every you may call home.

I have a Nook layout to share with you today.  I may not have gotten a permanent DT spot at My Scrapbook Nook, but at the very least I have a little guest spot there - yay!  I mentioned on Friday that I won the sketch challenge last month, which resulted in my filling the role of Guest DT for this month's sketch.

Heather was the lucky Nook member chosen to have her layout transformed into a sketch this month. Here is her layout:

 And here is the sketch DT member Patricia created based off of the layout.

I wanted to incorporate the circles, but just couldn't make it work with the photo that I had chosen to work with.  Sometimes, I'm about the design first and everything else is made to be incorporated into that.  Other times I allow the photos to drive the design process.  With that I chose to keep the photos and journaling spot rectangular.  I also modified the embellishments from circles to starts.  Here is what I ended up with.

Using My Scrapbook Nook February kit featuring October Afternoon

The photo is of Théa and her Tap Small Group the day they competed at CNDC.  How cute are those costumes?  Jody put together a fun little dance for them.  It challenged their skills, but kept them totally engaged, and leading their audience on a fun little journey with them. 

It was fun to join the DT this month, I sure hope the opportunity presents itself again sometime soon.  In the meantime, how about you come and visit us over there, and try your hand at the sketch.  I'd love to have you :)

That's it for me today.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

♥ S. Pin It

Rockin' The Hill

Happy Saturday friends!

I am up at Let's Capture Our Memories today with my last post for this month.  I once again used the Pink Paislee Prairie Hill Collection to create a single page layout.

This is what I created.  You can read more about it here if you'd like.

I hope today offers you a little time to be creative.  I know there is a lot of inspiration to be had over at the LCOM forum.  You can join in the fun here.  If you are more in a shopping kind of mood today, I highly suggest you head over to the LCOM store and check out all the new product that has recently been added.  Amy Tangerine, Crate Paper, and Studio Calico just to name a few. 

In other news there is a pre-birthday giveaway going on over at Scrapping Everyday Miracles.  You can get in on that over here.  And don't forget we'll be kicking off our First Birthday Blog Hop on Thursday May 31st.  Hope to see you there!


I hope your weekend is turning out to be a great one, thanks so much for popping by today!

♥ S


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Where I've Been

I've mentioned before that my girls and I all dance competitively at KickIt Dance Studio, here in Winnipeg.  We love it.  We love the location, the studio layout, and especially the directors and all the teachers.  We consider it a real blessing to be involved in a sport that we all enjoy, and have teachers that respect both the sport and the dancers to the highest degree.  There is no mud slinging toward other studios, no scantily clad dancers young or old.  There is, however wonderful support and genuine care and nurturing of dancers by both the teachers and the older students toward the younger ones.  This sport is becoming quite involved for us as the kids get older.  We spend several hours a week at the studio, and during this time of year those hours increase in preparation for competition.  But it is so worth it.  My girls absolutely love to dance.  We really see them come alive as they practice and perform.  We will forever be indebted to Adam Boge for introducing us to his brother Rob, and sister-in-law Lori who have made KickIt a place that has become part of the fabric of our family.  So that's why I've been MIA over the past week and a bit.  The girls and I have been competing, competing, and competing some more in two different Dance Competitions.

As promised yesterday, I do have some photos to share with you.  These were all taken at the Canadian National Dance Championships (or CNDC as we call it).  The competition itself lasts for five days.  We were there 3 out of the 5.  The younger two performed all their dances on the first day, (which resulted in a 12.5 hour day at the Convention Center.  Long, but fun.  To be honest I prefer the long day over the back and forth we did the following two weeks for the Manitoba Dance Festival).  Isabelle competed the day after them, and I competed the day after her.

Théa competed in a Tap Small Group, a Jazz Trio, a Hip Hop Large Group, and a Jazz Large Group.  Eden competed in a Jazz Trio, as well as the same Jazz Large Group as Théa.  Isabelle competed for the first time in a Jazz Large Group this year.  I also competed for the first time in a Tap Large Group number.

This is the Tap Small Group number.  They danced to Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.  Williams' parents are so committed, they actually went out and bought a second hand bugle just for these performances!  They received gold for this performance, and also won first place overall for their category.

Théa: far right

Eden's Jazz Trio danced to Pink Cadillac.  They were so cute on that great big stage.

Eden: center

They received High Silver

Théa's Jazz Trio danced to Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair

The received Gold

I competed in a Tap number to Miss Ottis Regrets.  It was such a blast.  We are 16 women and one gentleman in our group.  Our teacher choreographed a super fun, and fast number for us.  I think people just really enjoy seeing all us 'mature' dancers still enjoying the sport.

We even received a standing ovation after our performance.

Our performance earned us Elite Gold

 The younger two are in the same Jazz number, they performed to Greased Lightning, and earned High Silver

Théa front left, Eden front right

  The Hip Hop group dance was by far my favorite of all her dances this year.  Rob is a phenomenal choreographer, and has been recognized for it at the highest level of the sport.  These kids were such troopers.  This was the last of the 4 dances 3 of these kids had performed that day.  They took the stage at 10:35 pm, and brought the house down. Hoodies on Hats Low is such a fun song for this age group.  They received Gold for this performance.

Théa: front and center

And here is Isabelle's Jazz Group dancing to Fiesta.  It was a fun, Latin, celebratory feel kind of dance.  Just look at those jumps. 

They also received Gold

Isabelle is in the last back row, left side 2nd one in

So there you have it.  Three days of CNDC, and six days of festival; makes for a lot of dancing.  Next up is the end of the year recital, where we will be dancing one show on Friday June 15, and 2 shows on Saturday June 16, and then we close the book on Dance for this school year.  Like I said, we love it, so it is all worth it in the end.  The time, the money, the practice, and commitment have been so fulfilling as we've created some wonderful friendships that otherwise would not exist, and as we've seen our girls really grow and blossom into strong dancers.  It keeps them engaged, active, and busy which will eventually be a really good thing when, and if their friends end up gallivanting the streets and malls, looking for trouble, we'll know where girls will be.

Next week, it will be back to your regularly scheduled programing around here.  That includes an upcoming Blog Hop to begin on Thursday over at Scrapping Everyday Miracles.  There will be games, challenges, and lots of prizes up for grabs.  So be sure to check back for all the details.

I'll leave you with a layout I completed using the photos my kids took of me the night of our Tap Performance.  This layout also won me a Guest DT spot over at My Scrapbook Nook for the Member Inspiration Challenge.

Have a wonderful weekend friends, and thanks for taking a peek into my corner of the web today!

♥ S. Pin It

Sweet Baby

Hello friends,

Sorry I've been MIA for a bit.  We have spent the past 4 weeks or so participating in 2 big Dance competitions.  All our hard work, and hours of practice have all paid off.  If you come back tomorrow I have several photos to share with you that will give you some insight into the wold of Dance Competition as I know it. 

Today, I have a layout to share.

I found this photo in some random folder on my laptop a few weeks ago, and knew that I just had to scrap it.  It is baby photo of me, at a few months old.  My father actually use to be a photographer (or at least he knew how to take decent photos of us).  When I look at this picture there is so much I wish I could say to that sweet baby.  So much pain, and heartache I wish I could save her from.  There is so much she had yet to discover about the world around her.  The words of John 16:33 are what came to mind when I set out creating this layout.  They say "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart for I have overcome the world".  It is one of my favorite verses, and perhaps the most powerful, must hopeful, most full of promise phrase that this sweet little girl could have heard so many years ago. 

Click to enlarge photo

As much as I wasn't thrilled with the Dear Lizzy Neapolitan collection.  I've managed to create a few things from the line.  This sheet of paper with all the random number squares on it sat in my stash for some time, until last week when I had the idea to cut it apart and use it to frame this photo. The soft colours work so well with the photo I think.  Once again I created a pinwheel to accent my page.  I really like embellishments, and always manage to find a way to make it work when a line doesn't include many, or when, as was the case here, I just don't have any more left.  If you're interested, or just missed it the first time around you can learn how to make your own pinwheel embellishment right here.  And the flower is a new Martha Stewart punch I ordered from Studio Calico here.  The verse is hard to see on the bottom of the layout because it's written in pink ink, but if you enlarge the photo you'll have no trouble reading it.

Thanks for stopping by.  I have a lot of projects photographed and ready to go, and even more on the way.  Most are for upcoming opportunities, but some are just for fun, and those I can share with you right away.  Oh and that secret I was going to let you in on...will have to wait until June 1st, sorry.  I thought it would be sooner, but no luck.  Hope you'll bear with me until then.

See you tomorrow!

♥ S. Pin It

Personal Trainers

Happy Monday friends,

I'm finally able to share with you the layout I created for Scrap Street magazine last month.  It was such an honour to have been asked by Stacey to create something especially for her article on Spring/rejuvenation.  I was asked to create a project that focused on personal rejuvenation.  The first thing that came to mind was working out, either physically, or spiritually.  I decided to go with the spiritually focused one.  I am lucky enough to have a few women women in my life who fill that role in my life.  Sandra, Angela, and Linda are all the kind of friends to whom I can share my most personal feelings.  Thoughts on parenting, friendship, faith, struggles I may be having in any one of those area, and the like are all topics discussed with no holds barred.    These are the woman who can call me on my 'stuff', encourage me when I feel like I'm failing, and just overall love me unconditionally.  I entitled the layout based on the fact that time with these ladies does feel like a bit of a training session, the best kind.  One where you have your own dedicated person looking out for your best interest.  That's them.  I am so very lucky to know each of them.

I journaled all about why I see them as personal trainers on both sides of a tag and hid it behind the photos.  I tend to do that whenever the nature of the story is very personal.  I used a lot of Studio Calico on this one, with a little Amy Tangerine, and some other embellishments from my stash.  This is one of my favorite layouts.  I think because the design, and happy colours are such a great reflection of the intimate, warm fuzzy feelings behind the layout.

Thanks for stopping by today. 

♥ S. Pin It

A little Double Dutch

Stitching on your photo and a little paper weaving are what I have to share with you over at Let's Capture Our Memories blog today using the brand new Lily Bee Design Double Dutch Collection.  It's even prettier in real life, and distressed and summery coloured.  I'd love for you to pop by and say hi to me over there.

On another note my heart melted yesterday when I saw these little guys crossing the street.  As much as adult geese can be annoying: on the road at all the wrong times, hissing at you whenever you dare cross their path, and leaving their goose poop all over the parks and golf courses, the wee ones are just so darling.

Have a great Wednesday friends!

♥ S.


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Card Kit Swap Part 2

Friday, I posted about the Nook Card Kit swap.

Today I have Andrea's kit, and the cards I was able to create with it.  Her kit was jam packed with Pink Paislee goodness.

I love the colour combination, and I've never even seen those Maya Road flowers before, gorgeous.

I've created two cards thus far with these goodies, and I have many more to come I'm sure.  As you can see I was spoiled rotten, I was thinking of using the remaining papers on a layout.  And that wood veneer bird, I have something special planned for that little guy.  This is the kit that just keeps on giving.  Thanks so much Andrea!  Here are my creations.

I used that wide brown trim to create my own bow.  It's held together with floral wire.

Isn't that sparkly trim so cute?!

I hope Andrea likes what I've done with her kit.  I can't wait to dig in some more.  I'm most excited about my plans for that wood veneer bird!

On another note, I have some great scrappy news to share with you, but can't just yet.  I'm hoping by Wednesday I'll be able to, so stay tuned.  Thanks for popping by today, I sure do appreciate it!

♥ S. Pin It

Mother's Day

It was a lovely day at our house.  That one day a year where everyone here goes out of their way to ensure that all my needs are met. 
- my favorite breakfast: French toast with fruit, and whip cream
- dishes all cleaned up without my having to do so
- church
- a little scrapbooking & Being Erika (a Netflix series I've become hooked on)
- supper all taken care of: barbequed steak and potatoes, with roasted veggies, and garlic bread
- dishes all cleaned up without my having to do so, again.
- dessert at Cold Stone Creamery (lactose free vanilla w/peanut butter cups for me)
- hanging outside and getting a few photos with our cones.
- then lunches, showers, and bed for the kiddos.

Sigh...if only it could happen more than once a year.  But hey, I'll take the one day, no complaining. 

The younger two made some really cute crafts at school for me.  I just forgot to take photos.  Théa made me a sweet picture frame with a photo of her in it, and Eden made some wonderfully creative pottery w/melted glass pieces.  Now that Isabelle is in Grade 7 there's no more crafts for Mother's Day, she did however make me a funny last minute card. 

I don't usually ask for store bought gifts on Mother's Day, but this year there was a little something I was really hoping Darwin would help the girls get for me.  It's a necklace made by a lapidary friend of ours.  Three little squares with each girls' first letter stamped into it on a thin little silver chain.  Our friend Christopher did a great job.  He let the girls choose the size of the squares their initials were stamped into, they even got to stamp their own letter into it.  I really love it.  Every time it jingles it reminds me of each of them, and their great daddy who helped me bring them into the world.

This is not the best of collages, I apologize, but here is a little snapshot of our afternoon/evening in photos.

I am so very blessed.

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Card Kit Swap part one

My Scrapbook Nook hosted another one of it's famous Card Kit Swaps this month.  The idea is, you are first paired up with a partner from the list of participants.  You then put together a collection of papers, and embellishments with which they will be able to create 1 or more cards.  They, in turn will do the same for you.  This time around I swapped with two participants, one local (my sweet friend Tara), and one in the US (Andrea was late to the party, but I was willing to trade with her to allow her to play too - no man or should I say srapper left behind, right?!) 

Here is the kit Tara sent to me.

How cute are those buttons, and that teeny tiny wood veneer person?

I was able to create three cards out of this little gem, and I still have enough product left over to create at least one more.

There you have it.  I'll be back next week with part 2 of the swap, and my lovely kit from Andrea.  Until then, have a wonderful weekend friends.  Looks like summer is officially here for all of North America, so get out there and have some fun.  If by chance you prefer to stay in and scrap perhaps you want to join us at Scrapping Everyday Miracles for our Mother's Day inspired challenge.  Just a thought :)

Happy Weekend everyone!

♥ S.




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Week In The Life Album

**Photo Heavy Post**


I undertook Ali Edward's Week In The Life Challenge 2 weeks ago.  I was a little apprehensive about the whole thing, given my epic fail with Project Life (although I still really want to try and catch up on that).  I was also leery about it,as it was the same week as the Dance Competition that the girls and I all participated in 3 days out of 5.  Enter the iPhone.  I really do love that fabulous little piece of technology.  It made it possible to have my camera on me at all times.  I probably took about 60% of my photos on the phone, and the rest were taken on my Canon Rebel.  Before I even began taking the photos I got together my papers, and a few little embellishments.  I chose the Simple Stories Fabulous line to work with.  Have you seen these new 6x8 albums?  They are great.  They make the undertaking of a project like this so much less intimidating.  Once I got all my photos printed, I chose my papers.  I had been saving up my Fabulous collection for my Project Life album, but decided to splurge, and use it on this project instead.  Now, I have an excuse to purchase the new collection for use in my PL (always thinking ahead).  Simple Stories is the perfect partner to a project like this, with so many perfectly sized journal spots.  Without further ado here's my completed album. 

(clicking on the photos will enlarge them)

The everyday little things

Dropping off and picking the girl up from school. 

Monday night Dance Class.  Last Hip Hop class before competition.

I journaled all about the my decision to join in WITL

The way the kitchen looks after the kids rush off, and I bring home groceries

First day of Competition, some costume photos

Journaled about our experience at KickIt Dance Studio and the Competition.

The pocket holds a sweet, and encouraging email from a friend

Isabelle's turn to compete

All about our Tap Group's Elite Gold winning performance

Documented about how this hobby of scrapping has enriched the photo/memories keeping tradition.

An all about me page

Sorry for all the glare on this one

Sunday: Belle waiting for her ride to volunteer at church, friends with their brand new baby boy

Photos of our Small Group having lunch on Sunday and the girls enjoying the nice weather

And that wraps it up.  The only thing I'll add to the back page is the email I received in response from Miss Ali Edwards herself.  I won a prize from Chic Tags during that week of documenting, and had to send her my contact info.  I just added a thank you for walking us through the process of documenting our week...and she actually replied.  How cool is that?!

Thanks for having a peek at my week, I hope you feel a little inspired to take on your own Week In The Life.  There are no rules it can be any week you choose.

Have a great day friends,

♥ S.

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