52 Blessings: Week 22 and 23

I think I actually missed a week in there, but we're going to call it good...I might be a week behind, but in the end, when there are 52 pages, I don't think I'll mind.

The past few weeks there have been so many blessings come to mind. I might use those in the future. But these two definitely stood out in my mind the most...

Blessing 22: Tender Mercies - Although tender mercies come in so many shapes and forms every day of my life, this page is about a blog post I did on my other blog. The reminder of my calling as mother and it's importance, and my sweet daughter who "loves me anyway", has come at a much-needed time. I'm grateful for the little reminders every day.

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Blessing 23: Five Years - Matt and I celebrated our fifth anniversary yesterday. It's been an amazing five years. I really don't think I could ask for more. And I am so glad I'm "stuck" with this guy forever. Looking forward to the next five...and the next five...and the next five...and, well, you get the idea.

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Challenges.

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Saturday Special - We had to scrap a wedding photo. Almost makes me want to go back and do all my wedding photos. Almost...

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Tuesday Template Challenge - I LOVE these pictures of HD. Seriously that little face just kills me.

I did these pages this week for challenges at ScrapMatters. It was fun to work with reds, browns and blacks. A little different from my norm.

Recent Pages

Saturday Special. Instructions: "your title has to be clever".
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For a Speed Scrap.
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Tuesday Template Challenge. Instructions: Scrap about someone special to you.
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Tuesday Template Challenge.
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Olympic Scrapping.

The week at ScrapMatters, Britt hosted Olympic Challenges. There were four different challenges, each with a different them. It was so much fun and I got a lot done thanks to the challenges! Check it out:

1. Opening Ceremonies:
She gave a list of 6 requirements and we had to pick two. The two I chose were to 1) use colors from my country's flag and 2) to scrap a picture from a holiday. {credits}

2. Go for the Gold:
The challenge here was to scrap an emotion. While almost everyone else did joy or excitement, I chose this sad one because of how much emotion it displays. My daughter...the drama queen. {credits}

3. Triathlon:
For this one you had to use three pictures, three buttons, three papers and 3 words in the title - and then anything you want after that. Oh, and we had to complete it in the three days from when the challenge was issued. Pink and green are not the usual colors I would use when scrapping a race, but I had fun! {credits}

4. Swimming:
The challenge for this one spelled SWIM:

Scallops
White
Inked Edges
Multiple photos

I had SO much fun with this page. More fun than should be allowed. These pictures just cracked me up and it was fun to do a different kind of page {credits}

And finally, this one was a Speed Scrap on Monday morning...
I had a tougher time with this SS than I usually do, but it came together in the end. I LOVE this song by Jason Mraz and listen to it daily. {credits}

Addicted to Speed!

I did another Speed Scrap tonight. Here are the instructions:

1. Find two pictures. One needs to have more than one person in it. The other can be anything or anyone you want. The pictures need to be side by side or one on top of the other but not touching.
2. Next pick three papers. These are to be layered as your background. The top paper should be a very subtle print. They need to be centered on top of each other. Sort of like they are bordering each other with the subtle print on top. Sorry, I should have had this be the first rule not the second.
3. Frame your photos and connect them some how but don’t have the frames touch each other. I want straight, clean lines so don’t tilt the photos or the frames. You can use ribbons, staples, stitching, anything you want to attach the frames.
4. Stitch down your papers anyway you want to. Add some sort of trim below your photos if they are horizontal on your page and along side your photos if the are vertical.
5. Now embellish your trim with anything you want to.
6. Date your LO with a tag or a paper strip or a date stamp. Don’t just put the date in a text. Put it on something.
7. Now add your title close to your photos. You should end up with quite a bit of open space that you can leave empty or fill it up with what ever you want once you complete the required rules.

And my page:

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So fun! I love that speed scrapping forces me to think outside the box!

Travel Companion

Okay, little bit of background on this page.

1. The picture: we took this upon arrival in Italy, after our trip to Paris. It wasn't the best quality picture because it was dark and we were holding the camera. But I love the picture of us in front of the plane - I had never been on the tarmac until this trip - very exciting. Well, in an attempt to improve the quality, I was playing with black and white and some other actions, and it ended up looking like a newspaper photo. And that's when it hit me to do a newspaper page.

2. Journaling: Matt seriously is so fun to travel with. He is so street smart and knows people and how to work with big crowds and new situations. We have traveled a fair amount in our four years together (NYC, Miami, San Francisco, Paris, etc.) and everywhere we go I'm amazed at his ability to get around. He just knows what he's doing. I LOVE traveling with him because when I'm a freak/stress case/dork on the trips, he's just the opposite. He's just cool. Plus there's nothing like traveling with a hottie! So, what I said is really true. I probably had these thoughts about 50 times during our month overseas.

3. Ryan Air: This is a plug for Ryan Air. Use it when you go to Europe...you won't be disappointed. It's kind of the Southwest of the United States - only with planes that work...and cheaper prices.