Monday, June 2, 2014

Liebster Award - Discover New Blogs

Well now, I was nominated by Denise over at Mamarazzi Scraps and am happy I got mentioned as one of her 10 blogs to check out (I am honored!). So, thank you, Denise :)

This is something new to me. I had never heard of this award and now that I know about it, I am glad I have heard about it. Basically, it is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. It is a way to bring attention to these blogs and build the blogging community. Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. Here are the rules:

1. Thank the blogger who nominates you.
2. Answer the 10 questions she/he asks of you.
3. List 10 random facts about yourself.
4. Nominate 10 bloggers with less than 200 followers.
5. Ask these 10 bloggers 10 questions of your own.
6. Let them know you have mentioned them.

Well now, what can I tell you about me? Here goes nothing:

1. Most people know that I played basketball for MANY years (I am 5'10"), but most people would never guess that my first sport was figure skating. I did it for 5 years, until I realized that my height was not advantageous!
2. I once won a dance contest in Korea at a night club.
3. I have been to the Great Wall of China twice within a year and a half.
4. I LOVE to read and buy purses based on whether or not they can fit a hardcover - lol.
5. If I could live in pajama pants and racerback tops, I would.
6. I was scrapbooking even before it was the thing to do (you should see my albums from the 3 years I lived in Korea).
7. I love music and am always humming or singing something.
8. I am super close to my younger brother and can honestly say we tell each other EVERYTHING.
9. I grew up as a tomboy, but am secretly happy that having the husband I have allows me to be girlie once in a while.
10. Nothing is sweeter to my ears than the giggles of my 2 girls when they are playing together!

Now, the questions from Denise:

1. Do you consider scrapping a hobby for yourself, something you do for your family or a combination of the two?  Please explain - I consider it a hobby for myself that also is something my family benefits from. By writing down all the stories, my girls will have all these memories when my husband and I are long gone. They will know that they grew up with a lot of love around them.
2. What style is your home decorated in? I like clean lines, so a lot of angles, but warm colors. I have always been told my spaces are comfortable and "homey".
3. Do you have any other hobbies besides scrapbooking?  If so, what? I have been dabbling in mixed media for almost a year now. I also love to read, so books are constantly passing through my hands.
4. What is your favorite ink? Hmm, it has to be "Vintage Photo" distress ink by Tim Holtz. I love inking edges of things.
5. If you had to choose one color to see for the rest of your life (furniture, clothing, roads, cars, flowers, grass, buildings, all 'stuff' would be that color) what color would you choose? That's a really tough one because on any given day, that can change. I love bright, bold colors (I tend to gravitate to Bo Bunny papers when scrapping). Pastels and neutrals are not really my thing...if I had to choose one color, I guess it would have to be a bright aquamarine.
6. What is one tool you'd never give up? My Cricut!
7. Are you a girly girl or a tomboy? TOMBOY!!!
8. Do you have a go to clothing item or pattern for yourself or your children (overalls, plaid, polka dots, etc)? I love anything with a v-neck because I have broad shoulders (round necklines are not as nice on my and make me look broader).
9. Do you have any allergies (pet, food, environmental)? Cats and rodents.
10.  If you have children, what type of parenting style would you say you have? I am a mother who tries to balance being the authoritative figure with also being fun and allowing my kids to try things on their own. They know the rules, but also know they are allowed to expand their horizons. So far, so good!

So here are some blogs to check out:


And here are my 10 questions:

1. What made you start blogging?
2. If you could live anywhere else other than where you are now, where would it be?
3. What is your most prized possession?
4. What is your favorite song?
5. Where is the furthest you have traveled?
6. Are you married? How many years?
7. How would your friends describe you in one word?
8. Vanilla or chocolate?
9. What is your dream job?
10. If you had to do one cardio class every single day, what would it be?

Okay, that's it for me! I hope some of those questions were original. I am excited to see what kinds of answers they bring :)


A Bit of Canadiana

In late April my grandmother passed away. We all made plans to get to New Brunswick to her hometown, Caraquet. My brother, my dad and I drove the 12 hours from Montreal to get there (after they flew up from Florida). As we were driving on the long stretch across New Brunswick, I saw a big maple leaf and started excitedly saying, "we need to turn back and take some pictures at that maple leaf!". We stopped just after it to have a bio break and get some food and drinks at Tim Horton's. Dad and Jay agreed that it might be fun to take those pics, so we made a quick stop. This layout is of those pictures:
I just got my hands on the new Bo Bunny papers from Lemonade Stand and found these papers that I thought would be perfect as the background to my pictures. I also used the Go Canada! cartridge from Cricut to cut out the titles (which I outlined in white and black pens). Now, keep in mind that these pictures were in late April - do you see the snow in the background?! Crazy! It was quite cold, but I refused to take the pictures in my coat (I know, I am a bit stubborn about the cold). Anyways, these were so much fun to take.

Now for some details about the layout: the left side is based on a Midweek Mojo at Scrapbook Steals (Daisy #6). Because of the number of pictures I had, I adjusted it to be a double layout. The space above the title for New Brunswick will eventually get some journaling on it, but this layout is pretty much done, otherwise.

I love the simplicity of this and love how Canadian it is. I am proud that I am Canadian and am still thrilled I spotted that maple leaf as we were driving by :)