Wednesday, June 24, 2009

A Challenge Layout & A Few Awards

Wow! How is it that another week is flying by? Can you believe June is almost over? More than that, can you believe 2009 is half over??? It is so very true...time really does move at a much faster pace the older you get. I feel like I can hardly keep up. No complaints...life is too full of good times and good "stuff" to ever complain. I just want to be sure I'm taking the time to enjoy all the good stuff! KWIM?

In the past few months, I have been wanting to participate in several of the online challenges that you all have suggested. But the time-moving-faster-than-the-speed-of light thing has kept me from making it happen. I decided to find a challenge partner to provide some accountability. I just knew that would do the trick. My new challenge pal is none other than the awesome Kim Strother! This girl is holding my feet to the fire and I LOVE IT! I asked her to participate in the Forward Progress challenge this month and I suggested one other challenge. Thought we might take it easy the first month and only try our hand at two challenges. At the snap of a finger, she had them BOTH done! So I had to get my rear in gear and try to keep up.

This time I got to choose our challenge. Another dear friend, Jocelyn, made her debut this month as a DT member at Butterfly Crafts. I was so excited for her and I had promised to play along in support of her new position on the team. What would be more appropriate than to let that be our first challenge together.

The current challenge is to scrap a childhood fear. I didn't have to think too hard to come up with the subject of my page, but finding a supporting photo would be tough. I didn't have the time to find and then dig through all my childhood photos. So I decided to create my very first photo-less layout.

(As always, you can click on the photos to make them bigger.)




My biggest fear as a child was a fear of strangers. And I took it to an extreme. Anytime I was spoken to by a stranger, I would burst into tears. Even sweet elderly people at church would speak to me and I would begin weeping. Seems very silly now, but I was totally gripped by fear at the thought of having to speak to someone I didn't know. One would think that sounds like severe shyness, but I wasn't really shy. And knowing me now...you all have to be sending up an "Amen Sista'" cause there ain't no way someone as outspoken as I am could have EVER been shy! LOL! Fortunately, I eventually outgrew it.

I thought I would share a little "behind-the-scenes" info about this layout. The inspiration for it came from a shirt I wore to work yesterday. It had embroidered designs along the hem leading me to want to add stitching to my layout. I also wanted to use a color scheme that mimicked the colors in my blouse. Sticking to a textile-theme, I remembered a rediscovered piece of fabric from my scraproom re-do that I thought would be perfect. The salmon colored fabric has a suede type texture. I thought it went well with some papers from a past Studio Calico kit.




I chose to stitch my little birdie in the lower left hand corner and I stitched an arrow design on the right hand side. After adding a little zig-zag design to the corner of fabric, I decided I had accomplished my goal.



One point to note: The green leaf pattern is actually a piece of shelf/contact paper. It has a spongy texture to it and I thought it was way cool...until...I had to stitch through it! That little birdie was a bugger to stitch when I couldn't tell where my pre-punched holes were. LOL! They kept closing up on me!

Now I just have to share Kim's layout with you.



I LOVE the photo and the title she chose. With her journaling, she discusses her family's avoidance of Halloween and how she was frightened as a young girl by someone wearing a mask on Halloween night and how she still fights that fear today. I am touched by the honesty and openness of her words. There are also embossed spiders under the spider web but they aren't really showing in this photo. Kim did a great job of using them to support her Halloween theme.

If anyone wants to play along with this challenge and give Jocelyn a show of support, I believe this one will be up until the first. Then a new challenge will be posted.

Before I go, I want to mention a few awards I received. Jen, Lynette and Shazza passed this lovely award to me.



Thank you girls for the sweet honor of this award. As I've been known to do of late, I want to share it with anyone who leaves a comment today. Post it on your blog and know that you are appreciated beyond words.

That's it for today! I have been battling Blogger through this entire post and quite frankly, I'm worn out! LOL! Off to bed!

Nite-nite!
L.

32 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness that is such a CUTE LO! I love that hand-stitched bird sooooo MUCH!

    I was painfully shy as a child, too. It took me until freshman year of high school to make a conscious effort to break out of my shell.

    Great challenge... will try to play along! :-)

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  2. You said you were battling blogger so I thought I would give you an alternative. There is a Window's program that links to your blog and is much easier to compose things, especially when you have multiple photos. The screen you type on looks generally like it will on your blog. You can place your photos so much easier and links seem to be easier too. The best part is that it doesn't mess your whole post up. I was so glad when somebody told me about it.

    Just do a search on Windows Live Writer and it will take you to the page where you can download it.

    I kind of had that fear -- I was able to talk to people I knew but I was so scared when I didn't know them I would just clam up. I couldn't even talk in school.

    A couple of weeks my Mom and I were talking to my sis in law and Mom said something about me being shy. My sil couldn't believe I had ever been shy!

    Post more of your scrapbook pages. Maybe it'll get me in the mood to scrap and make a few less cards.

    Blessings,
    Christine

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  3. Wow - that was a long message. hehe

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  4. Wowwwwwwwwwwwww your LO is GORGEOUS!!! LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE that stitched birdie!!! WOW WOW WOW!!! GORGEOUS!!! :):):):):):):):):):):):)

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  5. You rocked this LO, sweet friend and thank you for supporting me at Butterfly Crafts!!! Did you upload these to the site for a chance to win a great prize!!! I have added you and Kim to my list for a drawing on July 1st!!!! Thanks for the conversation yesterday.....it always calms me to talk with you!!!! I want to come live with you!!! :) Have a great day :)

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  6. ''It is so very true...time really does move at a much faster pace the older you get.'' I feel the same way Lisa about time flying by. Your layout is realy nice & original. Have a wonderful day!

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  7. I forgot! My fear as a child were SPIDER, creepy crawler. I still don't like them, but I no longer climb on a table when I see one, lol!

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  8. I love your layout!!! Good luck with your challenges!

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  9. What an awesome layout my friend!!! You are amazing!! I have a terrible fear of heights that I have never overcome, in fact, it has gotten worse with age. I can't believe June is almost over. I have some serious scrapping to do!! I hope you have a great day my friend and thanks for all of your inspiration!!!!

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  10. A wonderful LO! I have yet to produce one without a photo. It has such a 'tactile' appearance if that makes sense - I can imagine how the different textures would feel! The stitching is gorgeous & well worth the challenge!

    My childhood fear was aeroplanes! When they flew overhead I would run into the house! I'm a nervous flyer even now!!

    Off now to pop over to check out Butterfly Crafts & get onto the mailing list!

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  11. Where is June? Seriously? What is going on? I have so much on my to do list that I ignore it...lol...I want to play with Jocelyn's DT...I am just going to have to find time to do it. Your LO is fabulous...totally worth the poked fingers to push the needle through the contact paper :)

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  12. What a fab LO, girl - that stitching is amazing!! Love all the details on it! Glad you got over your fear b/c technically, all of us blogging buddies started off as strangers, huh ;-) Love kim's layout too!

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  13. ooh i love your layout for butterfly crafts, it's really fab. I just came across your blog today, and I LOVE IT!!! definitely going to become a follower. have a great day xxx

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  14. Love that stitching, Lisa and inspiration is where you find it. ;) That would be a difficult fear to have as a child - glad you seem to have recovered.

    I was thinking about what you said about the song for STM this week and totally agree. Music inspires so many emotions and means so many different things to everyone. I don't know if you could read my journaling but it is about hearing my mom sing for the first time since losing my sister 10 years before that photo. Thanks for sharing your story with me. :)

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  15. Love your layout, esp that little stitched bird.

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  16. Wow you said a mouthful!! lol great to see your photoless layout and your friend Kim's too, I love the concept of challenges and am working on Kristii's challenge, hoping to wrap it up tomorrow to post. Love the little birdie and hand stiching.. Yes your "Craftaholic" side is showing..lol Hope you have a wonderful day and weekend coming up friend!
    xoxo

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  17. LOVE that stitched bird! fabulous job!!! ...and for having no pictures, i think you did a marvelous job.

    hope you are doing well!

    hugs,
    sarah.

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  18. wow love your no pic lo it is a brilliant piece of work.....there is a little something for you on my blog...oxo

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  19. Okay seriously that is ONE awesome photo-less layout. That is something I have not ventured towards and don't see it any time soon! lol!

    You rocked it, have a great weekend girl! :)

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  20. I LOVE your Layout. Oh my gosh, all that gorgeous detail! you certainly rocked it! Happy Friday and happy weekend!

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  21. Lisa, your layout is so cool! Love the idea of scrapping a memory without photos! Putting that on my TO DO list! Thanks for all the encouraging words you are always leaving for me...you are super sweet! Have a great weekend!

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  22. I love your layout...its so unique and creative. How awesome is it that you stitched the birdie and the arrow...your birdie is so cute! Great job. Im sorry to hear that you had a fear like this about strangers...it must have been terrible to deal with as a kid. Im glad you grew out of it. Have a great weekend. PS...Ive written a photography post on my AllWomenStalk.com blog...inspired by your comment!! :) Thanks!

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  23. I love your layout and your cool idea to participate in these challenges with Kim! Fun, fun!

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  24. I love your layout and the handstitching! I grew up in a house with a swimming pool and my older brother told me for years that the drain in the deep end would suck me down if I swam by it and to this day I am still not a big fan of drains in deep ends of pools! Give me the ocean or a kiddie pool!

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  25. Gorgeous work!! I love the colour you use, its bright and light and refreshing!!

    (the other one is a big scary lol)

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  26. I love your LO Lisa! I love the bright and fun colours and your stitching looks fab! I wish I could have participated in that challenge, Jocelyn did ask and I feel so guilty about not having found the time to do so. I'll be writing to her next to explain... I do hope, since my kiddies have their last day of school tomorrow, that next month will be more relaxed and I will find some more time to scrap. I did ask my mom about my childhood fears, because I couldn't remember any, which is kind of strange, because now I'm afraid of many things like spiders, heights, well, anything that seems dangerous really. But she said nothing scared me at all. I guess I could have made a LO out of that (given the time), but I had no inspiration whatsoever. Your story is quite the opposite of mine, I seems I always liked to talk LOL. I remember a story my mom likes to tell (over and over again I might add...) about a time they went out for a walk, me still in the buggy, very young (I had just started talking), and they stopped to have a drink. Apparantly I had said hello to the waiter several times before, without him acknowledging me. I guess the poor man was working and just didn't hear me or didn't have time to hear me, but anyway, the next time the man passed us I screamed HEELLLLOOOOOOOO from the top of my longs (so I've been told, and knowing me, I tend to believe my mom LOL). Just to say I talked to everyone and anything I thought might talk back LOL. I haven't changed all that much really LOL.

    Also because of the time issue I didn't enter in your challenge over at Forward Progress, but I promise to do my best to participate next month.

    Big hugs, and wouldn't you believe it, I'm still not finished talking so I'm going to start on your mail now LOL.
    xxx Peggy

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  27. oh man, i am trying to picture you shying away from ppl...and it's not working, LOL! j.k. i am sure that was hard. i lived on Elm Street growing up so i still don't watch scary movies {sigh}. that birdie stitching is amazing! hope you had a great weekend.

    i have been running for my 5k!

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  28. Great LO. Love the details. I can't believe how quickly the summer is passing. When I was a kid I remember hearing how quickly time flies when you get older. Of course being a kid I never really got it. In fact I thought time often passed painfully slow LOL Now that I'm "older" I so get it.

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  29. What a fun colorful layout to contrast with your fear! Really love the hand stitching. Isn't it amazing how we can take inspiration from so many places....including what we are wearing?!

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  30. Great layout Lisa and I share your fear! This made me think of so many things about my childhood that would be fun to scrap!

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  31. Love the work Lisa!! Esp. the birdie stitching!! :) It's great, AND as always, reading your stories make me smile... thanks for sharing... :)

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