What is YOUR Definition of True Love?

Hello EVERYONE!  Lynne here today and this week I wanted to share with you a scrapbook page and to explain why I scrapbook and why it gives me so much joy.  It's because scrapbooking is my way of creating a tangible record of the moments in my life that I want to remember in detail.  And I know for a fact that you THINK you're going to remember these special moments forever, but unless you have a photo and the story written down somewhere - you WON'T remember - especially the details. This page called LIZARD LOVE represents the "Why" of my scrapbooking perfectly, because the photo does not give you the back story but the scrapbooked page does.  And I wanted this page to memorialize forever the moment I realized just how much my husband really loves me:

THE BACKSTORY:  I LOVE Creepy Crawly things, snakes, spiders and lizards ( I always have) but my big, burly raised-in-the-country Husband DOES NOT!  And on this afternoon in Mexico we ended up at an Iguana Farm - and the ONLY reason he went in was because he knew just how much I wanted to go!

Now the "farm" was an enclosure about the size of a small backyard, totally covered in chicken wire, even the roof had chicken wire on it, so you felt totally TRAPPED once you got in, and there were cell-like enclosures each containing a different stage of the development of the Iguana, starting with the eggs and leading up to the adults.  The adult lizards had the largest cell because there were about 100 of them and we were the ONLY ones in there... (have you got the picture yet?)

Now I don't know if you have ever been around a LOT of iguana's all at once, but it is kinda creepy, because all the adults turn to look at you at almost the same time, and then they FREEZE staring at you... NOT moving  a muscle, not even blinking! It is totally intense, and SUPER Creepy even if you LIKE them.  But my husband not only went in ... he even took some photos of me when I got to hold one of the babies ... and you can tell by the look on my face just how much I LOVE baby lizards!

When we left the farm and were once again safely in the back seat of our hired car, I got a look at my husband's face and realized just what an AMAZING thing he had done for me... and it was at that  moment when I really KNEW that money can't buy everything because no amount of money could ever buy me the gift he had given me that day and Forever... because for me This is TRUE GROWN-UP ADULT LOVE!

So in the crazy, busy lives we lead today I really encourage you to stop and take an hour to record some of those truly meaningful moments you have with your friends and family because it will be really, really worth it one day! 

Cheers!

Scrapbook LYNNE

Bloom Where You're Planted

I am a stay at home mom.

The first time I was able to say that was 8 years ago and like so many who thought they knew it all, I thought it would be a breeze. BOY...was I wrong.

It was HARD! Aside from the day to day job of caring for a child and a house, I felt like I was slowly losing my identity. Most of my conversations were spent trying to interpret the ramblings of a 2 year old, while trying to figure out how the heck June Cleaver did it all it heels, pearls and a perfect head of hair, while I couldn't seem to get out of my PJs.

I didn't know who I was anymore or what I was suppose to be when I "grew up."

Fast forward 8 years....4 months ago I quit my job that I had had on and off, full-time/part-time for the last 5 years, so once again I am a stay at home mom, but...I think I've matured in the last 8 years.

I've made the conscious decision to not let WHAT I DO define WHO I AM. Yes...I might joke that I am a chef, maid, laundress, snot-wiper, drill sergeant, elementary tutor, etc, etc, but above all that...I'm a MOM. I get the amazing PRIVILEGE of building up these little people and having hands on influence on the next generation of the human race. That's pretty powerful stuff if you ask me.

My project today is for those of you who were like me...wondering why you're in this job or that situation...wondering why your "stuck" here or there. Try...for just a moment not to ask "why?" and just look at wherever you are as an opportunity! To grow as a person, the learn new things, to help others. There is a reason you are there and you can GROW and BLOOM where ever you are, if you choose to.

I combined the house from Susan's paper and stamped images of little houses using Susan's stamps for Unity Stamps to make a little neighborhood. I surrounded my neighborhood with fussy cut flowers, making my houses "bloom" in a beautiful garden! I felt like this really followed my idea...I am GROWING in my own HOME!

  I used Prima Marketing's crackle stencil to add pink texture to my background.

Hanging above my neighborhood garden are glittery, shimmery clouds!

I wanted to accent the LOVE in our house by accenting the hearts on the little house, so I added Ranger's Glossy accents.

I wanted the whole project to be very dimensional, so I used this little trick: instead of using 3-D "pop dots" (which we all know are not the stickiest or very permanent), I simply layered 1-3 small pieces of corrugated paper to give my projects tons of levels!

I hope you enjoyed my little project! I enjoyed making it for you!

You can find me in cyberspace here:

Instagram: thecreativelifestudios

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thecreativelifestudios

Twitter: thecreativelifear

Blog: www.thecreativelifear.blogspot.com

Have a blessed day! 

XOXO

KERI

Moments Layout

Hello dear crafty friends Einat Kessler here with a special project for our Want2Scrap & Susan K. Weckesser week! This is a collaboration between two great companies so I decided to create a layout which is sort of a collaboration too. The layout has the photos of my mom and her twin sister...sort of collaboration right?

You can see how to create this layout step by step in this video tutorial.


I started with the Beautiful Daydreams paper by Susan Weckesser. I wanted to create a scene layout with a meadow, flowers and a little house.

First, I had to cut out the flowers so they won't be covered by the cheese cloth. Then I used the Happy Homestead stamp by Susan K. Weckesser, a cheese cloth for my meadow and the beautiful Want2Scrap Designer Embellies, which I double embossed, to create the scene.

I added Want2Scrap Moments title and my layout was finished!

Have fun creating!
Einat

Layouts for special people

So glad you came back to join us for our Susan K Weckesser & Want2Scrap Blog Hop.   

 Hey there artsy peoples - Rita Barakat here! Did you know this Sept 8th is grandparents day? 

The elementary schools here in Texas declared it grandparents week so I thought 

                  it would be appropriate to share this layout with baby girl and her Abuela (grandmother).

 This week Susan K. Weckessor and Want to Scrap have teamed up! Did you know that in addition to chipboard pieces they also make cute little metal embellishments! See that little birdcage with the heart? Yep, Want to Scrap!

Here is a chipboard piece from Want to Scrap. 

I colored it with Gelatos to match Susan K. Weckesser

whimsical papers! Sweet little hearts right?

Well this might be a good time to do a grandparent layout!

Happy scrapping!

Whimsical Fairy with Want 2 Scrap

Hi Jennifer here with a little project I made for our special Want2Scrap week!  When I got my package I love everything in it, but I especially loved these flourishes.   I wanted to use them on a scrapbook page but kept thinking that they looked like "wings".  So I thought I would make some thing a bit different, a little whimsical fairy!

Here is what I made with the "wings" and Susan K Weckessar's Poised and Pretty stamps!

First I stamped two woman images, one from brown paper and one from pink paper.  I cut both of them out and them cut the head, arms and legs off of the pink image.  I layered the two images together so she had a pink dress.   I covered an old wooden thread spool with paper and tied a big ribbon around it.  I then glued the 'wings' together and pasted them onto a pop sickle stick, I then pasted the image on top.  The pop sickle stick was them placed into the hole on the thread spool and pushed into it.  I then decorated the whole thing with a little bling, resin flower and put a metal heart in her hand.  I then stamped a banner image and printed off the saying... "she flies with her own wings"....a tada a whimsical little fairy!

I hope you have a great week checking out every one's projects using Want 2 Scrap products, I know I can't wait to be inspired!

Hugs Jennifer



"1st Day Back" scrapbook layout, featuring Want2Scrap

Hello friends!  I'm happy to be sharing this layout with you today.  Susan K Weckesser and Want2Scrap are a great match, making this project come together in a fun way.

I started off by stamping leaves from the "Autumn Grunge" set, and then misting with Dylusions sprays in fall colours, and adding a few pieces of patterned paper.  For some of the misting, I used one of Want2Scrap's stencils.

I adore gears, so I was delighted to get to work with some of Want2Scrap's chipboard ones.  I primed them with gesso, painted them with glimmermist, and then added glossy accents for a bit of shine.

I gave a similar treatment to this chipboard tree, and then added a few self-adhesive pearls.

Thank you for visiting!
JJ Sobey, Susan K Weckesser Design Team member

Susan K Weckesser products:

• Live in Color paper collection
• Autumn Grunge stamp set

Want2Scrap products:

• chipboard gears
• Fancy Swirls small tree chipboard
• Sage green pearls 
• Arrows stencil

Make sure to visit both teams here and at Want2Scrap for fun inspiration all week long.  

Autumn Grunge Live, Love, Create by Susan K. Weckesser Bouquet by Susan K. Weckesser

InLinkz.com

A Sparkling Kitty - Everyone Should Have One...

The Susan K Weckesser Inc Design Team is so excited to be partnering with the Want2Scrap Design Team all week.   We are kicking off the week here at Susan K Weckesser Inc with a fabulous project by Lynne Mizera.   We hop you are inspired to check out all the fun projects all week here and will hop over to Want2Scrap to see what their team creates as well.  

Hello all you lovely, sparkling people out there!  Lynne here today to share with you something I use to lift me up when I need a pick-me-up... my "Sparkling Kitty".  She is a wooden image made by my Uncle George, and she is supposed to sit on an outside door frame to scare the mice away.

But my wee Kitty sits in my studio and brings me joy whenever I look at her.  She also helps to empower me and gives me courage whenever I am feeling a teensy bit insecure about whatever I am working on. 

because she reminds me to "Never Let Anything Dull My Sparkle" and to allow my true, authentic self to shine out, and that I am FINE exactly how I am right now... (Big Giant Smile!)

I covered her with Susan's paper and then, because I LOVE to sparkle, I totally BLINGED her out using  a lot of Want2Scrap embellishments.   And to really bring it home, I pasted every good word I could think of to every part of her.

 This Kitty makes me smile - she makes me feel good - and she sparkles -  Everyone should have one!

Thanks for stopping by to share with me today... Lynne Mizera, (Smile!)