SFTIO Blog Hop!

Good morning!! I hope you all have been having a wonderful week! Today is the Blog Hop for Scrapbooking From the Inside Out!!! So exciting, right?! We want YOU to win this beautiful kit - ENLIGHTENMENT....

So what you have to do is go through the DT's blogs, leave a comment to better your chances at winning, and 'like' SFTIO on facebook. Easy Peasy right?


For me Enlightenment is a state of mind, a state of MY mind at least. So I created this LO with that entire concept. Something that is enlightening to me might not be so to you. So I journaled about that, about what enlightenment meant to me, in my own personal life. I have edited my picture by washing it out to create a sense of peace as well as left a lot of white space to represent the calmness I feel that comes along with being enlightened.



It's a simple LO, but represents so much to ME, and that's what SFTIO is all about! Creating meaningful LO's that speak to yourself :)

Once you have left a comment here then head on over to the beautiful Nancy's blog for another chance to win! Good luck!!!


PeaceOut-ScrapOn-LoveAlways

Scrapbooking From the Inside Out Blog Hop Tomorrow

Tomorrow is an exciting day! Scrapbooking From the Inside Out is having a blog hop!!! That means that YOU could win the beautiful September kit - ENLIGHTENMENT!! So make sure to come back tomorrow and leave a comment on all the DT's blogs as well as SFTIO's blog for even more chances to win :)

PeaceOut-ScrapOn-LoveAlways

Life Experiences - SFTIO Reveal #2 - Enlightenment

Hello Beautiful people! Amy here....yes, I know I have been gone for a bit...sorry! Life has a way of keeping me super busy these days!! Today I have my second reveal for Scrapbooking From the Inside Out. Have I told you all how much I absolutely LOVE the colors in this months kit: Enlightenment?! I wish I could just take the kit and turn it into an outfit....I mean it would fit right in with my current wardrobe already :)

For this LO I focused on Life Experiences and how you learn from those. For me, life experiences are one of lives most in your face ways of learning....and seriously you learn!!! I have seen this tearing and layering technique around here and there and wanted to try my hand at it! I LOVE the way it turned out, especially with these muted colors. I did something a bit different and added punched layers and then stained all the paper with a new favorite - Walnut Crystals! So, if you ever get bored and have lots of scraps....just tear them up and slap em' on a piece of paper :) It is a stress reliever too!!! lol

SFTIO always has beautiful and unique product in their kits.....I mean, check out that flower!! I wish I had 10 more of them. And the cream wax seal - love!
Journaling:
Personal life experiences are always one of a kind. I have learned so much through my own life experiences. The kind of knowledge you can't learn in a text book. You have to experience them first hand. Learn from them and have a personal understanding as to how those experiences could or should...or should not apply to your life in the future. These can mold you into the you you need to be.

Do you have any experiences in your life that has helped mold you into who you are today? Something that you will never forget? I encourage you to scrap about it, get it on paper. It may not be something that you want to share, but I promise you, anything....good or bad....that has helped make you who you are today is a beautiful lesson in itself!


PeaceOut-ScrapOn-LoveAlways

Ignorance Not so Bliss - SFTIO Reveal #1 - Enlightenment

It's the 1st of the month...that means it's reveal day for Scrapbooking From the Inside Out! I have been waiting FOREVER to share this kit. It's absolutely remarkable. The colors alone make you gravitate to it, not to mention it is freakin' loaded with delicious product! Seriously, I would eat it! The emotion we are focusing on this month is ENLIGHTENMENT. This kit is all about looking beneath the surface at what moves you, at what spiritual expressions have shaped your path. Beautiful, exotic designs, rich color and meaningful symbolism will light your way.

Here is the first of many LO's I have created with the Enlightenment kit:

Journaling:

To be so blissfully ignorant in some situations is something that I have chosen for myself. Why? Because sometimes it is easier to just not know the truth. It's a guarding mechanism I have created for myself. The truth can sometimes hurt just as bad as it can be good. So I hide in the shadows, eyes closed to certain realities because it's easier to face my self-indulgent perception. This is definitely something I am not so proud of. There is nothing enlightening about playing ignorant. I need to open my eyes and learn truths.

If you are interested in purchasing this FABULOUS kit and exploring your inner emotions you can go here and Rachel will get one right out to you!!!

PeaceOut-ScrapOn-LoveAlways

ScrapBiking is what I've been doing

So, there isn't much scrapbooking going on here at the moment because I have been ScrapBIKING with my husband! As many of you know, building bikes is something that the DH and I love to do. It all started off as his passion and somewhere along the way I grew an interest in it as well....Well, more for the design of the bike than the overall mechanics. I will leave all that mumble-jumble for the DH! This month we started on a bike that I have been thinking about for quite sometime now, and I was super excited to dig in and get my hands a little dirty. We have a bunch of parts laying around that we have took off other bikes, that we have ordered and decided that we no longer needed, or that we have picked up at the local bike meets. My idea was to take all these parts and up cycle them to create one AWESOME bike! I absolutely do not like things to get wasted :)

Here she is in the just getting started stages: Just a Rigid frame, primered gas tank bought really cheaply on eBay, and a raw seat pan.

(Don't you just love what Travis has done with my deep freezer?! He says all the paint adds character....I say "Hmm, OK dear")

For the paint job I wanted to keep it....cheap! All it took was 4 cans of spray paint in 4 different colors: Light grey primer, dark grey primer, black, and red. Look at me sanding away :)
Still sanding! Don't you just love candid shots. Look a Chai tea!
Here is the tank finished! It got painted in layers and then I sanded down the layers to give it an aged distressed look. It's an acquired taste.....or so I am told. I think it rocks!

Rear fender that I just finished up. This fender was another eBay find! It's not mounted yet, but it's getting done right now - so excited!
This seat happens to be one of my favorite things on the bike. Can you believe I actually covered this myself?! I still can't believe it. It only took 4 hours....3 of which were dedicated to doing some fancy Mexican Basket weave stitch to hold it together. MY. FINGERS. WERE. RAW. for days. The Ostrich leather was bought at a local Tandy Leather store for a whopping 3 dollars!

Here she is as she sat in the yard today (before I finished sanding the fender). We still have a long way to go in building her....BUT it's been fun so far! Not to mention a wonderful project for the DH and I to spend some quality time together! Ladies, you know a man loves you when he doesn't kick you out of his garage when he asks for a torque wrench and you have no idea what he is talking about.....Or any other tool for that matter! lol Travis is doing his part as well. Like I said he is working on the mechanics, like rebuilding the motor and whatnot's :) Guy stuff!

Hopefully we will have most of her done soon. I would love to see her running within the next month. We shall see what time allows us now that Travis has returned to work!!



PeaceOut-ScrapOn-LoveAlways

Want to win the Discovery kit from SFTIO?

Then head on over to Donna Downey's blog and simply tell her what you would like to DISCOVER about yourself! It's as simple as that! She will be choosing a winner tomorrow morning, so hop on over and join in on the fun! And thank you for your continuous support of Scrapbooking From the Inside Out!

PeaceOut-ScrapOn-LoveAlways

No More Chances - Dirty Scraps

The new challenge is now live at Dirty Scraps! For this challenge you are being asked to create a LO based on the thought 'Your Love Hurts Me'. Now this prompt is a little difficult, one that will require you to dig deep and just lay it all out there. In my life I am one who doesn't really allow people to hurt me, and if I have been hurt I am the type of person to hold it in and never let it be known. There are very few people that know this about me and can tell when I am hurting over something someone has said to me. One of those people is my DH. Bless this man, he tries to protect me from said encounters and people. There is only one circumstance in my life that just jumped out at me when I started this project and that being one with my 'best' friend.......

The challenge:
Your Love Hurts Me
It's funny how people hurt the ones they love the most.
Sometimes is it so toxic you have to cut them off, sometimes you
can handle it but it's a daily struggle, sometimes you just avoid it
altogether. This challenge is all about those who love to hurt you
or just blindly hurt you while saying "I love you".
No it might not be intentional, but it still hurts.
Maybe it's the sister who constantly says how horrible your
children are, or the friend who always criticizes your weight.
Or the parent who only sees their child who makes mistakes
and does not acknowledge your accomplishments.
It's ok to see the pain, and it's ok to still love them.
It's therapeutic to be aware!

Now go get Dirty!

No More Chances:

Our July Sponsor Keller's Creations was so generous and sent the DT some amazing products to work with. So I wanted to use as much as possible in this LO! All the circles (except the yellow) are from Keller's Creations. I used gesso and embedded the circles into it to create a 3Dish background!

Also from Kellers Creations are these white little frames I used to create this hidden pop out journaling spot. I am not one to use hidden journaling, but I felt on this LO it just needed to be hidden for design purposes.

Journaling:
Having a child at 18 really puts into perspective who your true friends are in life. There were a few people who I had thought were forever friends, but as soon as I had a child and was no longer able to be the 'Amy' I once was, they distanced themselves from me. What hurt the most is that they still claim to be one of my best friends. All the while talking crap behind my back. I overlooked it over and over. Guess What? NO MORE 'one more chances' with me. YES!!! I had a child at a very young age. Do I regret it? Hell NO! It caused me to finally grow up and learn to appreciate life so much more. I'm actually sorry our friendship is over, but having people in my life that don't support me when they said they always would is not something I want. I want my kids to value friendship - TRUE friendship. You hurt me far too many times. NO MORE.

This challenge is being sponsored by Scrappy Jo's! Come on over and play along with us....we would love to see you get Dirty!!!

PeaceOut-ScrapOn-LoveAlways

Destination - SFTIO Reveal #5 - Discovery

Hello, it's Amy coming at you (of course it's me, this is my blog!!!) Today I have my very last reveal from the August kit - Discovery from Scrapbooking From the Inside Out! This LO just happens to be my absolute favorite one from the August kit. Although it is the simplest one I created, it represents something that I am forever working on and struggle with in daily life - discovering myself through God. This piece of paper just spoke to me as soon as I pulled it out of the kit. It's just so beautiful! I used it to represent letting God be my compass through life. My picture is in the center to always remind me that no matter which way I go, that if I just let myself be true in my relationship with God then I will forever be going in the right direction.

Journaling:

Over the years I have lost sight of who you are and what you mean to me. I have set you aside and lived for me. I am slowly finding myself and building our relationship again. This time I am discovering myself through you. You make me better.

The embellishments on this LO are very scarce, but I wanted to show the pen work I did to make the compass pop a little more. I used a black & white pen and outlined the compass...never a straight line though..this is to represent that I am still shaky in my relationship with God. I can't be certain that those lines will ever be straight though. Just one more thing to work on!

PeaceOut-ScrapOn-LoveAlways

You Learn - SFTIO Reveal #4 - Discovery

Hello beautiful Bloggers! I am coming at you today in a very happy state of mind! One of my most amazing friends is currently (as I type this) in in labor! Hopefully soon we will have a beautiful little girl joining us in this world of ours!! Her son is currently staying with us Ox's, and it's so precious to see the excitement in his face knowing that soon he will have a baby sister! I love babies & Kiddos, they truly do light up our lives in ways that we never thought imaginable. Please keep the Lloyd family in your thoughts and prayers today as they welcome an addition to their already cute little family :)

Also today I have my 4th reveal from Scrapbooking From the Inside Out - August kit - Discovery. For this LO I focused on learning about life and love. When I was 15 years old I read a poem by Veronica A. Schoffstall called You Learn. This poem resonated with me in such a deep way and has stuck with me over the years. Every time I need a few words of encouragement I reach in my wallet and grab my old, worn, much read copy of it and read it yet again. Every single time I read this poem it seems like the first time. It has taught me a lot over the years. Helped me through rough times with friends, family, and even my own husband. Life is a learning experience, one that should be cherished.

After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul
and you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
and company doesn't always mean security.
And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts
and presents aren't promises
and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up
and your eyes ahead with the grace of woman,
not the grief of a child
and you learn
to build all your roads on today
because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.
After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much
so you plant your own garden
and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure
you really are strong
you really do have worth
and you learn
and you learn
with every goodbye, you learn...

PeaceOut-ScrapOn-LoveAlways

First Sketch Reveal for Sketchabilities & Cardabilities

I am so very over the moon excited! Today my very first Sketches went live for Sketchabilities and Cardabilities!! It is amazing to see so many fabulous scrappers working with my sketches. I, myself, LOVE working with sketches and love interpreting them into my own style. It's truly TRULY awesome to see SO many different takes on a sketch! If you have the time I would like to invite you over to join us. This Sept Sketchabilities is celebrating their 1 year anniversary! There will be guest designers, FABULOUS sponsors, and a Blog hop on Sept 15th!

LO Sketch for Sketchabilities:

Card Sketch for Cardabilities:

PeaceOut-ScrapOn-LoveAlways

Me Myself & I - SFTIO Reveal #3 - Discovery

DISCOVERY. When I first heard Scrapbooking From the Inside Out's emotion for August I immediately thought of one thing that we all yearn for - Self Discovery. What is self discovery in general? One thing I have come to realize is that finding yourself is a long and never ending journey, and that's a good thing. We are always changing and we need to learn to love who we are no matter what life's circumstances are.

Journaling:

Finding yourself is an enlightening experience. You become self-sufficient and do things for others without expectations of something in return. You are no longer needy and become utterly grateful for all the things people have done for you in the past. Finding yourself is a time of harmony because you develop that philosophy or belief system that will carry you throughout the rest of your life. When you love yourself and who you are, you will savor and enjoy both life's pain and pleasures. How do you know you have found yourself? When you are able to help others find themselves. Finding yourself is not easy. If you have never felt connected to who you are, and you want to find whatever makes you you, being yourself will be hard. The first step is always the hardest, but after that hill, you will be smooth sailing to discovering who you are. Be you!

See...isn't that one BEAUTIFUL kit? There are still some in the store if you want to head on over and grab one up!!

PeaceOut-ScrapOn-LoveAlways

Self Love - SFTIO - Discovery reveal #2

Hello everyone! Today I have my second reveal for Scrapbooking From the Inside Out August kit - DISCOVERY. For this LO I focused on discovering self love. I think that self love is a very important aspect of life. Without loving yourself then you aren't opened up entirely to allowing others to love you. I have struggled with self love for a really long time, but by opening up my mind and looking at myself through others and seeing what they see, I have learned to love myself in a completely different way.

Journaling:

It took me a long time to love ME. Discovering myself through others helped. Sometimes you have to travel outside your own head to truly discover life and who you are. Take a look at yourself from the outside. Do you like who you see?

PeaceOut-ScrapOn-LoveAlways

DISCOVERY - SFTIO Reveal #1

Today I have my first August Reveal for Scrapbooking From the Inside Out. This month we are exploring Discovery and how that applies to our past, present, and future. What are things that you have discovered or want to discover? Maybe you have discovered a way to overcome those fears to move on to a better place in life. Maybe you have discovered something about yourself that you never thought possible. Maybe you even discovered the perfect recipe for that German Chocolate cake! Every discovery that we make in life, whether it be good or bad, has a place, has a meaning....and that's what we are exploring this month!

For my first adventure in Discovery I wanted to create a LO about how 'all the little things' add up to create something much bigger, referring to my relationship with the DH.

Journaling:

Growing up I always thought that when I fell in love it would be like all the fairy tales. My love would be picture perfect, without problems, without inhibitions. It would be one huge gesture of perfection wrapped up in two people that couldn’t live without each other, white picket fence and all. To be in love with my very own Prince Charming is every little girls dream come true. As I grew up I have discovered that love is not a fairy tale, it’s not just one huge gesture of overall life completion. Love is a combination of all the little things added together that creates a life with that one person that you can’t imagine living without. Love is having the ability to fall in love with you over and over again, deeper in love each and every time. Love is two people growing together, learning life together, compromising, and always having the ability to say you’re sorry and actually mean it. Love for me is having you know me so well that you mail me Carmex from Afghanistan because you know I always forget to buy it for myself. Love is waking up in the morning to a pizza bagel on the night stand and a text that says “Enjoy babe”. Love is not being able to sleep without you beside me because I miss your cold feet resting on my legs. Love is our children who bring us so much joy, and our undying love we share for them. Love is just being happy sitting on the couch watching a random late night TV show. Love is that one look you give me that just makes me melt. Love is so many things. I could go on forever about the little things that make our love ours. You are love. We are love. I knew at 15 that you were the man for me and 13 years later I still know this. We may not be Prince Charming and his Princess, but we are so much more.

August SFTIO kit - DISCOVERY
This kit is FILLED with amazing product. Featuring Little Yellow Bicycle 'Pack your Bags' and Bo Bunny 'Mama-razzi'.
Yummy embellishments too! Thickers, Flowers, printed ribbon, chipboard, and MUCH more!!
Speaking of Discovering... I have realized quite a few things the past few weeks......

1.)Having your Internet go down really doesn't do wonders for ones nail biting habit. I need a manicure bad.

2.)Blackberry's aren't as cool as one might think, unless I am just that special that I couldn't figure out how to access web sites and get them to load....

3.)My DH leaving his freshly shaved facial hair in the sink is causing me to go crazy. Daily.

4.)Not having Internet made me actually scrap MORE :) I guess there was a silver lining after all.

5.) When did my dog get allergies???

6.)Wanting to cook again is requiring more patience than I expected. Why can't my DH just eat mac-n-cheese? The kids love it :)

7.)Reese's Whipps are REALLY delicious and I should stop buying them.

8.)Twilight movies are getting to be disappointing. I think I should have read the books AFTER seeing all the movies, not before. I am not on team Edward, or Jacob. I am on team 'get me out of this theatre with all these yappy little teeny boppers before I blow a gasket...where are my migraine meds?' Yep, that's my new team. You can join me if you want!

9.) I should really consider cleaning out my car more often. I did so this morning and found something very important hiding under my son's car seat. BUTTONS! Buttons that I had thought were mailed, but apparently not. Also hiding in the dark abyss were 3 half eaten chicken nuggets, my spare house key, 7 hot wheels, a barbie comb, a pair of gloves, and one scooby doo house slipper. Wow, what a kid. The Buttons ARE mailed now, expect them soon. Sorry, as I hold my head in shame :(

10.) Last but definitely not least....I have discovered that my DH thinks I am not nice, and he loves it. He was helping out a buddy today with some car issues, he came home and said "Wow, his wife was nice. I mean overly nice...Too nice. Amy, you would drive me insane if you were that nice." Thanks dear......I think.....

PeaceOut-ScrapOn-LoveAlways

Dirty Scraps Reveal #14 - IMPACT

The new challenge is now up at Dirty Scraps and it's all about things that IMPACT your life. You are being asked to create a LO about something that has had an impact on you in some way, shape, or form. Here are the details.

IMPACT!!!
I think of a car wreck when I hear the word IMPACT, but it can mean so many different things. An abusive parent can IMPACT your life in detrimental ways.
A wonderful teacher can IMPACT your life in amazing ways, a loving mother can IMPACT your life forever. You can be scarred or shaped with it. Scrap a page with the word IMPACT in it, make it strong, make it you!

Journaling:

Good or bad, memories affect lives in unimaginable ways. Just remember everything happens for a reason and you will always have those memories to learn from.

I created this LO as a reminder more or less to myself. I didn't add specific journaling with all the details, but it represents the friends I have lost due to death because of decisions they have made. The memories that they leave behind in my heart are wonderful, but the personal decisions they made were horrific.

It's a reminder to myself to be careful, to love life, and to never take a minute for granted. Because honestly, it could be your last.

This Challenge is being sponsored by:

They are sponsoring the winner with a $50 Gift Certificate to their online store! That's one pretty amazing prize and all you have to do is be in it to win it! Create that page about IMPACT and share it with us over on the Dirty Scraps Blog.

PeaceOut-ScrapOn-LoveAlways