creative inspiration

I know I've already shared my adoration for Heidi Swapp with you. Honestly, she's who completely altered my view of scrapbooking. Her funky fun style & totally hip personality , plus her over use of pink ( wink!) inspired me to create a new form of art for me, scrapbooking & now I'm hooked.

Two summers ago Heidi hosted a photography contest. The winner would recieve a ginormous box of Heidi goodies & a way fun funky summer tote she created. But the real prize was that Heidi herself would use the photos to scrap a layout. Hundreds & hundreds of photos were submitted.

I was at the Seaside wtih one of my besties for her 40th birthday all-girls blowout when Dan called & said I'd won!!!!!!!!!!! Get out!! To have my favorite celebrity ( because in the world of scrapbooks, she is a rockstar) create a layout using my photos was more than I could stand.

Sure enough, a huge ( I mean huge) box of goodies arrived....holy happy days! She had told me that "if i didn't want the layout ( as if) she'd love to have it back" HA! I framed that baby so fast your head would spin. I love it, love everything about it...... I wish I could get these images larger so you can see the detail....

Carol Wingert is another one of my favorite artists. I have bought her white book kit & love it. Talk about completely loaded with details & yummy treasures. This summer Carol has put together yet another gorgeous book. I had emailed her to let her know that I'd love one. Sweet Carol let me know that one of Caroline's photos from last summer was actually the inspiration for her to re-create another white book , this time with a summer theme. Talk about completely humbling & flattering at the same time. I was blown away! Thank you sweet Carol!!

You can read her sweet article here & find out about her kits here.

After my scrap-crush on Heidi, I found Jenni Bowlin. Love her simple vintage style & colors. Her kits have long been some of my favorite. Rita joined on with Jenni this spring & talk about a fun crew! I have been a fan of Rita's--always love her fun, colorful, multi-dimensional & cheerful layouts.

She had mentioned wanting to scrap a layout using Caroline's pictures. Are you kidding me ummm.....absolutely!!.....nothing is more flattering than to have someone you admire, in a craft you love, use a "little part" of you in their creation. Rita's layouts & an over the top cute book she created with more pics of Caroline will be with Jenni & crew at CHA this week in their booth!

Here is one of the amazingly sweet layouts she made for us!

I've been pinching myself all week!Well, I hope ya'll didn't mind me sharing some of my fave girls & their creations.

Thank you Heidi, thank you Carol, & thank you Rita....you inspire me!

These are all priceless treasures to me & inspire me daily. Inspire me to spend more time journaling my simple thoughts, capturing the simpleness of our days, & creating little pieces of art along the way.

Blessings to you~~~

ps-Rita just emailed me as soon as I finished the post to let me know her layout I've shown above was voted in the Top 5 today over at Two Peas!!!

check it out & vote if you are a two peas member!!

go rita, YOU are a rockstar baby!!

a priceless memory

I have a priceless memory, tucked safely in my heart, of Lil that I know I won't soon forget.
A lesson that I hope to teach to my girls. A vivid image of a fragile woman sitting in her hospice bed, having accepted what would probably be her pending passage to Heaven. She offered her prayer of thanksgiving said just moments after the nurse had brought in her lunch, served on a silver platter with a crystal goblet full of pink lemonade. With her precious husband at her side, she tearfully & tenderly thanked her Lord for this day, thanked Him for the hospice "this place" she called it where they would take care of her. She asked Him to take away her pain & help her to feel better. She told Him despite her condition, she would still praise Him, that she would always praise Him.
I've learned that is called sacrifice of praise. A heart that has prayed but yet had different answers given. A brave heart, accepting what ever will be, will be. Not one of denial but one whose hands are open to where the Lord will lead them, even if not the road they would have chosen. A sacrifice because it would be much easier to be angry or have dispair. A sacrifice because it is a choice to praise Him in the storm.
It's easy for any of us to have hope & joy when life is going as "it should". When the bills are all able to be paid, everyone is healthy, the roof over our heads is strong, & we live with those we love. Of course its easy to say Thank You Lord, on those days & yes we'll praise you.... of course we'll praise you. You've allowed everything to work out just great.
But oh what truly lives in our soul is seen when things are going as they should.
& I saw that in Lil that very day.

Years ago, I had somewhat playfully, as those converstations seem to go, asked for her bible, The Bible when & if "the day " ever came. She knows how much I love family heirlooms ( & the color red too-wink!) Her King James leather well worn, well read bible---notes on every page, completely tattered & falling apart, even has a piece of duct tape in the back! She had quit using over the last decade because of its fragile condition.
Days before she went to hospice, I asked her if I might take her Bible...not to have , but to use during my quiet times. I thought that if I read her notes, prayed with her bible in my hands, maybe my prayers would mean even more. Maybe they would carry with them the years of faith Lil had, the years of faith she truly lived.
The same hands that made that ole red leather bend & soften "just so" in my hands too were the same hands that folded that day & offered a sacrifice of praise.
What a legacy she left me & I am so thankful that I was there that day to witness it.


I want to thank you , each of you for your words of comfort. Just days before she passed, Lil asked me " have you gotten anymore of those notes?". I knew she meant comments on my blog related to her. She knows I have a website but she had no understanding of what a blog is. But she did know as I had printed for her, all the comments those of you left for her. They meant so much to her--the fact that others around the world had taken a moment of their day to pray for & think of her.
I thank you dear ones.

The days surrounding her passing were totally overwhelming full of events. Tickets purchased & reservations made long in advance. Besides planning a beautiful memorial service for his mom, Dan had many other things to keep him busy & totally surrounded by his family. I'll upload & share those images later. For now, I'll add yet more pictures from our trip to Seaside--seems like a lifetime ago already....
if I'm really still & quiet, I can hear the ocean now....

grammy

Dan's sweet mom passed on to be with Jesus yesterday.

She & her precious hubby had been married for 53 years.

Lil had battled four completely different cancers over the last 50 years.

we miss you dearly, grammy....

I also wanted to thank you. Many of you have continued to email me to let me know that Lil was in your thoughts & prayers over these last several weeks & for that, I am forever grateful to you.

I have spent much time over the last several days going through her photos. I know many of you are scrapbookers, journalers, photographers, & self appointed family historians.....what priceless treasures we are leaving for our next generation. I have been tickled just reading some of her notes & memories beside what are now fabulous vintage photos. I am inspired to spend more time journaling for my own children.

Here are two of my most favorite of her & Dan.

Proverbs 31: 30
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

love you grammy...

capturing the moments

I promise they didn't match everyday.

I promise I didn't talk them into wearing the same suits on the same day~~ because we all know, had it been my idea they would never have agreed.

I promise I did not wear a giraffe bikini that day.

A friend recently asked me how I manage to take so many pictures of the girls ( actually, she probably thinks I'm crazy). I told her that had I have known back then how much I would have grown to love photography, editing photos, journaling & eventually scrapbooking, or that I was to have 4 daughters, that I would have invested in a photography class years ago.

I also told her this....I love the smiles my girls have when they see me spending time working on a photo I took of them. They love it when I spend hours getting things just right in a layout that is all about them. I want them to know how much I value our times together, how much I value their little moments, their simple days & their big events and accomplishments. I want them to feel beautiful & comfortable in front of the camera. Its very important to me that in these days of so much pressure on them , that they know they are a gift to me & I treasure them so. Especially the moments spent at the beach. I love those days & capturing hundreds of pictures allows me to go back and relive those memories day after day.

I probably shouldn't share what my complete view of scrapbooking was years ago....definately not a good one! I thought of large groups of women spending hours together cutting up photos into goofy shapes & writing dorky sayings of what the picture is obviously about.....stickers....tacky.....you get the picture. Then I stumbled upon Heidi Swapp--talk about blowing that image out of the water. She is cute & funky --that's all I need & off I went with that. Then along came Jenni Bowlin & Rita too. I love how they take a simple photo, embellish around that & make a little document of life. Now all the goodies out there to choose from & narry a tacky sticker in sight!!

There are so many amazing photographers whose blogs I am daily blown away by. They take these amazing photos in fun & funky settings with vivid colors. Gone are the days of olan mills photos, huh? Watching the way many weddings are now shot & those pregnancy photos too--oh my! Who knew how cute a pregnant belly with mommy's hands folded in the shape of a heart could be? A vintage settee out in a field of wildflowers....oh do I need a shot like that! Anyway, I keep saying I will learn how to use my photoshop elements, that i will take an online course from her, but I never seem to find, err...make the time. sigh

also.....thank you sweet Clare and Susie for sending me this sweet blog award!
Looks like my shout out award today goes to all the fabulous ladies who inspire me to capture & keepsake the simple moments in my day.
xo

the same, yet oh so different

Having four girls , three of whom are all close in age, it continues to fascinate me as I watch their different personalites & temperments unfold.
& yes, they are all so uniquely different.

Meet Emily, or sweet emi as we often call her.
This almost 12 year old has a tender loyal heart & i mean loyal. I liken her to the character Lucy in the narnia series. never holds a grudge, never treats others as she's been treated-she outkinds everyone, thinks everyone is good, is kind to all people, gives you the benefit of the doubt, quick to forgive, can be stubborn, tells me often that she thinks I'm pretty, very naive, loves her baby sister, will hold my hand in public, wants to be a school teacher, & asks everyone she sees to pray for her grammy who is quite sick.




My little bit, my precious baby girl Caroline, born 5 years later but on the same day that my first hubby Gregg was diagnosed with cancer. I know I've shared that before but I think its just a special little gift from the Lord.

Its so sweet to watch each of her older sisters completely dote on her. She loves them so much & they love her big! She is very outgoing & has a super cute personality. Not a whiner, very gentle & affectionate, smiles & giggles constantly, loves Jesus, athletic & things seem to come quite easy to her. loves to read, independent, loves chocolate, currently has her toes painted sky blue, a leader & has the cutest button nose I've ever seen.

oldest sister & littlest sis...definitely think these two have the most in common & remind me of each other. It brings joy to my heart to watch these two have such a fun relationship as they grow up.

My valentines day girl, Savannah--15 years old...oh my!

talk about growing up in the blink of an eye.

sometimes when i see her smile, i can still see that little 3 year old face , that sweet girl that lost her daddy at such a young age. i see that precious girl that made me want to get out of bed each day & keep on keeping on when the world was too big for me.

here is that smile she had 12 years ago...

very smart-has had straight A's from kindergarten through 9th grade, top 10% in her class of over 700, has more friends than she can count, great sense of humor,a talented gymnast/cheerleader, completely obsessed with david cook, an ferocious reader, wants to go in the medical field, super independent & loved dearly by me. currently doesn't have a boyfriend ( not that they aren't constantly asking!) & has never acted like she really needed one --you go girl!

i love that she's the age where we can talk & dream about her future. she will be a great success at whatever she chooses...skies the limit baby girl!
thirteen going on thirty, Madison Grace my middle child.

very easy to please & oh what a blessing that is in a house full of girls!, loves to shop, has always loved to dress up, loves all things concerning fashion & fun hair too!

my ballerina, tenderhearted, probably the most introverted in our family, never liked to read until she discovered harry potter & now there's no stopping her, calls me mommy, has the prettiest blue eyes I've ever seen, laid back & gentle. keeps the messiest room in the house, dependable, my helper, loves little children & thankfully not boy crazy!

growing up into a lovely young lady right before my eyes!



I try to not compare the girls or make them think that I value a certain quality higher than another. I love that they are all so different--definately makes for fun in our house & a little bickering here and there is ok too!

I love you girls!!

ps~

I am so tickled to share a special treasure that arrived today from Australia!!

an absolutely gorgeous charm created by my new dear kindred spirit blog friend, Cathy.

I have loved these silver photo charms for years & this one is perfectly made!

Drop by & say hello and see her beautiful pieces.

Thank you thank you dear Cathy!!!! this will be an heirloom treasure for each of us!

another ps~ the shades of inspiration photo button at the top of the page is a flickr group that Sara has started. I began a little late but am looking forward to seeing what everyone brings to the group! check that out too!

have a great day!