Kim's Challenge

I mentioned last month that Kim and I have become challenge buddies. We decided to do this as a way to hold each other accountable for some scrapping time. Last month I chose the Butterfly Crafts childhood fear challenge. For a reminder of what we did last month you can go HERE. This month was Kim's turn and she chose catalyst 70 at Creative Therapy which is as follows:

What's the best advice you received that encouraged you to follow your dreams? (or advice you’d give to others so they can follow their dreams.)



I wanted to record advice for my children. They are adults now and I no longer have much influence on their lives. I can share my motherly words of wisdom, but they are now responsible for themselves. I recorded my thoughts on a stamped index card and placed it inside the envelope.



I wrote: "The two of you are now adults. You've come to the point in your life where you will be making your way on your own. My wish for you is that all things will come easy...that the road ahead is smooth. But life is not always easy. And bumps in the road of life are inevitable. How you deal with these potholes and curves will define the person you become. The best advice I can give for dealing with tough times is to learn from every bruise and not let them stop the journey toward reaching your goals. While things may slow you down, please continue on and great things will be yours."

For me, perseverance has been the key to reaching my goals. Even more important is trying to learn from the pitfalls. It's not always easy, but I believe it plays a vital role in finding true happiness.

For this layout, I used a Scarlet Lime kit that I had yet to tap into. The pretty papers are exclusive to Scarlet Lime. I cut the butterflies from one of the papers, layering a few for more impact.



I also stitched underneath the photo with white embroidery floss and curled the punched border to create more texture.



Here is Kim's take on the challenge.



I love, love, love the design of this layout. I especially love the placement of the photos of her gorgeous daughter. And her advice of finding your passion is so important to remember.

A few days ago I received a sweet award from Jay and Lorry.



I am to post the award and list 10 things I love about blogging. So here are my 10:

1. Inspiration. My blog experience began as a stalker...errrr, reader of several blogs. I loved checking in everyday to see what was going in, what had been created. I have to giggle now because I would get so bummed when it would be a "slow day" in blogland...those days when it seemed no one had updated their blog. NOW, I get it!!!

2. Friendship. Simply that.

3. Opportunity. Through blogging I have been offered so many wonderful opportunities to stretch myself as a scrapper and as a person.

4. Connections. To directly quote Nerina, "Realizing that this world is not so big after all and we are all connected". She put it perfectly, don't you think?

5. Acceptance. It is so refreshing to have a place where you can be yourself without fear of judgment or disapproval.

6. Laughter. I never have a day go by in blogland that I go without a few chuckles.

7. Support. Good news are bad news, blog friends are THE best for building you up and encircling you with cyber hugs.

8. Praise. The sweet comments left for layouts, stories, well, anything are more welcome than a pot of gold.

9. Documentation. The story of me, while nothing spectacular, is one I want to record.

10. Therapy. Yep, given that blogger is currently a free place to vent, I would say it is the cheapest therapy available!!!

Jay and Lorry, thank you so much for passing this on to me. It was nice taking time to realize why I blog. I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. Until next time...

Hugs & Love,
L

P.S. You will be happy to know I learned how to fix the dark photos in class this week. Or was it last week? I'm behind and they are starting to run together! LOL! I just didn't have time to retake these. :(