Altenew January Release Blog Hop II + Giveaway

27 January 2017

Hello everyone. If you are following the hop you should have just been at Erum Tasneem  blog. (Isn't her work amazing). Today is release day and oh my isn't everything so gorgeous. I chose to work with 3 sets and created three layouts for you but first: DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT because there are prizes up for grabs :

On the Altenew blog:
To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to THREE lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew blog by Thursday, February 2nd at 11:59 PM EST for a chance to win. The winners will be announced on the Altenew blog on Saturday, February 4th.
HERE on my blog:
I'll also draw a winner to receive a $30 gift certificate. The winner will be announced on my blog by Saturday, February 4th at 8:00AM EST.

These are the stamps I used:


Here are the layouts I created:

I was so excited to see an ink splash set. It is such a versatile set and I made the focal point of my layout. I also cut out images from photos, something I have never done before but I like the way it looks. 



The "Let the Wind Carry you" is such a whimsical set. I created a lot of floating bubbles using the set on this dotted patterned paper from the Reflection kit. Not my usual style but it is so light, airy and dreamy. 



For this layout I used the Artist markers to colour the flowers. They are amazing and the colours are so vibrant.




 There you have it. Lots to see and so many new products. I always have a hard time choosing. What are your favourites?

Your next stop is:

Emily Leiphart. I love her work ... so delicate and sweet.

And here is the full list. Have fun hopping.




38

26 January 2017


Today I turned 38. It was a great day. Simple yet wonderful. I have been wanting to write a special blog post for quite a while but always found an excuse not to.  As it is my birthday I thought it was the perfect time to write this special message down. Having it in writing will be a reminder to myself and also force me not to fall back into old habits. So here it is, .... A letter. 

Dear Body,

38 years, me and you. As a child I would run around and do cartwheels on the grass and then jump into the pool. I would jump, swing on poles and fall. I have had a broken arm, stitches, scrapes and bruises and each time I would get up and start all over. You never complained. You just kept going.

As a teenager I was shy and reserved but happy. I didn't listen to what others thought of me and then one day, and I can't quite remember when, something shifted. I looked in the mirror and saw you, my body, and I felt a cringing feeling in my stomach. That day, I pushed you into a corner and saw you an enemy.

When I was in adolescence and even in early adulthood I was a little overweight. I had a healthy diet and was in overall good health but even with all these facts I somehow put it into my mind that I needed to loose weight and I did. I started by eating slowing and walking a lot. At university I rode my bike every where and when my wedding day came when I was 21 I had lost 10 kg. I was no longer overweight but still slightly on the chubby side. You would think that once you have lost weight you are happy and that's that. Well it isn't. I married and we quickly had our children. Pregnant I always put my babies first so I ate well but didn't exaggerate.  I lost my baby weight pretty quickly but I still wasn't happy with the way I looked. Once our youngest was born I decided to loose some more and once I start something I see it through. I lost another 10 kg. And guess what?! Even at 62 kg which is perfect for my height I still didn't feel well. Each time I looked in the mirror I would look at you and tell you how awful and disgusting you looked. All I saw were stretch marks and cellulite. I would even take my fists and hit you. I was cruel. Cruel and blind.  I would never say the things I said to you to any other person. Everyone was telling me how good I looked and all I could see was an ugly blob of fat. 

Then one day something started to change. One of my boys came up to me and started talking about abs and how he would like to have them. "As a boy you need to have abs". I told him that he needed to be was healthy and kind. And then it hit me. I was healthy but was I kind? Towards others, yes, but not to myself. 

So today I am writing you this letter. 

Dear body, I am sorry. Sorry for setting such unrealistic goals, for trying to be someone I am not and for not seeing your true beauty. I was chasing an ideal which doesn't even exist. 

From now on I will encourage and embrace you. You have been my vehicle through life and you have brought me so much joy. You carried my 4 boys. My first pregnancy was with twins and I was so afraid but you did your job and Damien and Noé were born at 35 weeks and 5 days, healthy and full energy. You showed me how to cope with pain and you have reminded me on several occasions that it was time to slow down. You don't feel pain easily which has meant I got to experience 2 natural and pain free births which I had hoped for. You showed me I could breastfeed not only one by two children.  You are extremely flexible and resistant. I am always busy and you follow without complaining. You seem to be inexhaustible and I can keep on plowing through all my to do lists. Why has it taken me so long to see how amazing you are. 

Today is the last day I let the scale dictate who I am and what I should look like. I am not a full time sportsperson, I am not a model. I am Lilith with her beautiful body that has cellulite, birth marks, twin skin, you name it. I will never again be cruel to you, dear body. You have been loyal to me all these years and you have done your job remarkably well. So hat off to you and here's to many more years ahead, you and me, together in joy and happiness. 

Love Lilith 




January Citrus Twist

25 January 2017

HELLO everyone. Today I'm going to share my layout that I created with the January kit. I was hard this month with my gran's passing but I got my bug back last weekend and created 7 layouts (not all for Citrus Twist). Waiting for the February kit and am so anxious to start working with it.

For the first layout I used a leftover sheet from a cut file that I had used to cut labels with for my stamps. I placed papers behind the shapes and added some embellishments from the main and sprinkles kit.



For the following layout I  used one of the papers and cut out some balloons. I drew some string as detail. I love how this turned out.


On this layout I also used a leftover from a cut file. I usually cut a lot in advance and always cut extra shapes in case. Here I had some stars lying around.



I told you that I was super inspired last weekend. Here is another layout with lots of layered embellishments that came in the main kit. LOVE those die cuts.




And now for the last layout where I went with lots of white space and a hanging hearts feature.





WOW. That's that. I made 6 layouts with the January kit and could maybe squeeze in another two. Let's see what this weekend brings.

Hope to see you back tomorrow as I have a special post lined up.

Happy Scrapping.

Altenew's scrapbook kit

13 January 2017

After a funny start to the year I'm back with a couple of Altenew layouts. Both were made with the Altenew Reflection Scrapbook kit. I'm loving this kit more and more and I'm so curious to see what the next kit will look kit. Altenew has also released some alcohol markers. They are on their way too me and I'm so excited to test them.

On the first layout I worked with a lot of layers and focused on using the upper part of the background paper. I added petals to draw the eye towards the photo and create flow.




For the next layout I decided to work with a cut file which had from a previous project. I went with bright colours and added homemade embellishment (feathers) using one of the Altenew stamp sets.






Thanks for stopping by. See you soon ad happy scrapping.

Lilith

SUPPLIES:

All things old and new (Citrus Twist)

4 January 2017

Happy New Year everyone. The Christmas holidays have been very different this year. We had a lovely Christmas with our family but sadly one of my grandmothers died on the 29th. It is something I knew would happen one day but I have always put it in a drawer in the back of my mind. I am an over optimistic person and tend to see good every where and even though I know my grandparents are coming to an age where death is close I still deep down believe they'll be there forever. 

I have been lucky to have known my grandparents for so long and my grandma was the first of the 4 to leave. She nurtured my love of books and we would talk about poetry. When I was a teenager we would write each other letters. During my time at university I would pop in every week and enjoy her company. I miss her so much but know she is in a better place. She passed away peacefully in her sleep and didn't suffer. Her funeral is this Friday. We'll be able to saw goodbye.  These past few days have been a blur, trying to get things done but still my heart is aching. I thought I wouldn't be able to scrapbook but funnily enough creating has helped me work through the pain.

Today I would like to share a layout I created with my grandma in mind.





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