fbp Monthly challenge - April

My take on our monthly challenge -
My one little word for 2010 - Joy!
I actually used a different verse and admit there are no brads on my layout - the little flowers were cut off a sticker and already had something in the middle...
Papers are Dear Lizzy and kit stuff from The Girls' Loft.
Not loving the photo on this layout [I had the camera on the wrong setting for a good shot] so I'm sure I'll be replacing it with another one. And I'll admit that i've already changed the journaling so that is moves a little 'longer' across the page - only three lines now, does tht make sense? I like it much better --
Projects are due by the last day of the month. Please post your layout in our Flickr Group or post a comment here or on my blog to let me know where to see your completed layout. A winner will be randomly chosen from those who complete the challenge.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Our baby turned 20 this week – that seems almost unbelievable. We’re so happy to have him in our lives! [ Blue hair and all -]
2. After our stop at Little Rosie’s we celebrated the next day with thai food in between the storms – and were blessed to have only a few light thunder storms around here.
3. I’ll say it again - one of my greatest joys is seeing my boys having fun being together.
4. Panoply was this week and it’s always neat to see the art tents going up around the park below my office. And what fun it was to see the fireworks from the top of my parking garage!
5. I know Mom and I talk about this every summer – but it really is amazing how differently our plants respond to rain as opposed to the sprinkler.
6. On Friday [pre-rain] my squash barely had any of their 'real' leaves – on Sunday – almost 6…
7. I came home to find a roomba waiting for me one afternoon – Drew and I named it Jack – and let’s just say its mighty fun watching Jack clean the floors up while I’m doing something else.
8. He’s worked upstairs and down and I think I’m in love…the best thing is that he can get up under furniture that is difficult to do with a regular vacuum, and does a great job picking up the ‘everyday’ stuff like dust and pollen…
9. And did I mention that Craig found him at Goodwill? New in the box? Sometimes I think it looks like we’re ‘impulse’ shoppers, when in fact, any one who knows Craig well knows he’s one of the savviest shoppers around. – We’ve been talking about getting a roomba for over a year now.
10. And finally – yesterday was a holiday for me [Happy Birthday Thomas Jefferson-] and I had several projects I wanted to complete - I painted the four silver frames I bought on sale after Christmas [2008] black, finally; I dug up all the little [?] trees that had sprung up in the flower beds; and I tried and tired to get the BIG [to me] PROJECT completed, but after much frustration decided it was best to walk away for a bit – but I went back to it and at least one of the three pieces is DONE. It’s a start.

Once a Month [old stuff] Giveaway

I've subscribed to two monthly kits now and try as I might to use it all,
I [still] have a bunch of stuff to give away!
-and I'm really tired of seeing the OMG abbreviation everywhere
[I try hard to make my mind read 'oh my goodness!]
So am hoping that we might also come to think of it as
'Once a Month [old stuff] Giveaway!

I plan to randomly draw a name from the comments on this post and send that person a little bag of [old stuff] goodies that hopefully they can use [new to them and all, you know...]
- Just browse through the blog and leave a comment about your favorite post from APRIL.

Comments will close on Thursday night April 29th midnight [central.]

And the Winner for March is:

sandyh50 said...Hi Judy, I have your blog on my Google Reader and enjoy your posts. My favorite post is the Corrie Ten Boom quote "Happiness isn't something that depends on our surroundings ...It's something we make inside ourselves." Your photos are great too and I love the ten on Tuesdays.
Sandy - Thanks so much! So glad you're enjoying the Corrie tenBoom quotes
- she's always been such an inspiration to me!
Ten on Tuesdays has been a challenge,
but I love the memories it will create once it's
all printed and in an album.
- send your mailing address to me
Judy@faithbasedpages.com
and I'll get a little box of goodies out to you soon!

This is just about as good as it gets

Enjoy

Ten on Tuesday

1. Yes, I did – I cut a few [?] more inches off my hair. So now it’s off my neck and ready for the summer grow-out.
   
2. The color is a little darker for a nice change too -
   
3. It was Fishing Trip Week for Craig and he & his dad were the fishing champions. I had great plans to get lots of projects done, but only accomplished about a third of my list…still, the BIG one is in progress.
4. Might be that getting on the road at 5:30 a.m. to Montgomery for a meeting 8:30 -3:30 [and then the drive home] wiped me out.
5. Or – it could be that I received a box of goodness from The Girls’ Loft - always fun to see what might be created from those coordinated scrapbook kits.
6. Or – it could be the spend-the-night party my Bible Study Group had…I never planned to stay all night, but did stay out [much] later than usual. [I was the youngest one there...]
7. Speaking of that – you know the tide has turned when your young adult son calls you at midnight to ask if you’re okay...
8. It was wonderful having time to just be together and share with each other. [Thanks Pat!]
9. We worked together Saturday afternoon to get the dirt in my new raised bed and I’ve now planted all of my vegetables: tomatoes [4], yellow squash, zucchini, bell peppers [2], jalapeño peppers, mild banana peppers, cucumbers, cantaloupe, basil, and brown cotton [and yes, I KNOW that's not a veggie-] We still have spinach, cabbage, and bibb lettuce to harvest. Oh! And I planted sun flowers too – both the giant yellow ones and the orange ones like last year’s.
10. After all that, the pollen bothered me so much that I could hardly breathe at church [in fact, had to listen to the service out in javabrook because someone’s perfume was just more than I could handle.]

"This is what the past is for!
Every experience God gives us,
every person He puts in our lives
is the perfect preparation for the future
that only He can see."

April's Monthly Challenge

My ‘one little word’ for 2010 is ‘Joy.’ And while I fully embraced my word last year [choice] by putting quotes on my blog each month, I feel like I have neglected ‘joy’ just a bit. So our challenge for April is to make a page about joy! [Please, feel free to do a layout on your own one little word for 2010.]

April 2010 FBP Challenge Must include:

Title – ‘Joy’ [or your word for the year]

Photo[s] – one large photo depicting your word in some way – cut in a circle; + smaller photos if you want

Papers – at least three solid colors, not including white [white may be used – but you need 3 additional colors]

Embellishments – three small flowers, three brads or snaps, and border of patterned paper

Technique – verse / quote / or journaling on strips of paper

Scripture – John 15:11, “I will fill you with joy and your joy will overflow!” [New Living Translation] – or a verse or quote that represents your word for this year.

Projects are due by the last day of the month. Please post your layout in our Flickr Group or post a comment here or on my blog to let me know where to see your completed layout. A winner will be randomly chosen from those who complete the challenge.

Ten on Tuesday

1. The pollen [actually, it’s these blooming trees] finally got the best of me and I stayed in bed most of Wednesday. But after a nice rain things were better. [Not great, but better.]
2. Enjoyed some extended family time this week as one of my favorite aunts celebrated her 80th birthday. I did a scrapbook page about her [and her sister, another favorite aunt] a few years ago titled, “When I Grow Up I want to be Just Like You.” They really are amazing women and I’m blessed to have them in my life.
3. I was treated to an impromptu air show while traveling this week – I pulled over to the side of the road to take photos. Pretty neat.
4. We drove by a Nestle Café one day while we were out and about – and of course, I had to stop and check it out – Have you ever seen one before? A little shop full of ice cream and toll-house cookie goodness. Fun AND yummy.
5. I’m gearing up for some [very] busy travel days ahead as we have three weeks of policy training scheduled – and since I’m the primary trainer for our program with the state there’s LOTS to do in preparation too.
6. Add in our new computer system to record everything about each training session and it’s a blast [that’s said with a very sarcastic tone-] Wheee.
7. My ‘boys’ made another raised garden bed for me this weekend. I’m particularly proud of the way we try to re-use / re-purpose old wood or discarded items. Sure it saves money, but it’s less waste too.
8. And I knew I should not have taken that first SNIP. Now I’ve cut at least two inches off my hair. I’m happy with it, but I know I’ll be trimming a little more here and there…until I can no longer feel in on my neck…
9. Lots of talk about ‘work clothes’ for our oldest as he prepares to start the new job. Let’s face it, for a guy who has spent the last five [ - nine?] years wearing shorts year ‘round, this will be HUGE transition. But he cleans up well and we know he’ll do fine with it.
10. And finally, our redbuds are blooming – very LATE this year, and, because it’s so warm [high 80*s,] the blooms aren’t lasting very long…

[All photos edited with picnik - free on-line.]

The Top Ten Lessons I Learned From Charlie Brown #4

4. Sometimes you need to talk.

One thing the 'Peanuts' gang understood was the importance of talking things out. Whether leaning up against Schroeder's piano or atop the brick wall, they always had someplace to discuss what was of concern to them.

Submitted by Jim Allen, a personal & business success coach, who can be reached at Jim@CoachJim.com, or visited on the web at http://www.CoachJim.com.Jim Allen wants you to know: Charles Schulz taught me much through his daily work. Now, I hope to return the favor in some small way.

My hometown...

okay, okay, I may be the only one who will admit to riding my bike around [and around and around] Fame in 6th grade when the Osmonds were said to be in town - but I bet there's more than one of us that checked out of school in 11th or 12th hoping for a glimpse of Rod Stewart when word leaked out that he was recording...join me on a little reminisce of my little town -

photo grabbing -

I must admit that I tend to grab photos [that my friends & family take] off the internet and play with them using Photoshop, or perhaps taking them on a picnik with me
[free photo editing, available for everyone.]
I usually send them a copy so they can see what I've been up to. And if I post it anywhere, I always - ALWAYS try to remember to give them photo credit.
Of course, I play with my own photos and share them with you from time to time as well - here is one that I LOVE – edited with picnik:

So, last week when my cousin John shared photos of the flowers around his house in Tuscan

I couldn’t resist this one:

I took it over to picnik and tweaked it by brightening it up a bit [a lot-?], saturating those gorgeous colors, added soft focal focus, and a very light dark burned edge. Voila!

I LOVE THIS.

John did such a great job with the photo composition

and I just popped it up a bit.

I think it’s lovely, and I hope you do too: It will surely show up on a scrapbook page

with a new favorite quote [having to do with our next study over on FBP-Classes] very soon.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Loving my new Liz Claiborne sweater. I’ve always been drawn to her clothes but this is the first time I’ve bought something because 1- they’re a little price-y and, 2- don’t always fit me right - but I love this one...
2. And the photo? Just keeping it real, folks. It’s not all pretty - [Photo taken by my sister-in-law - Thanks Kelly – ha.] I’m thinking I won’t be wearing it for a while because….
3. The hostas are up! I declare! It’s Spring!
4. I’ve realized I’m addicted [ADDICTED, I say] to ice cube gum [the blue ones.] I keep them by our home pc and I allow myself only two a day. – If I bring them to work I can go through a whole box in just a day or two. Seriously.
5. Had a new plant poop up in my yard this week and my FB friends help me identify it and gave me info that has helped me know just where it should go – ha. So I transplanted it to the back edge of our yard late Friday afternoon. It’ll be interesting watching it grow through the summer.
6. I’ve had so many praise songs playing in my head this week, “He is Alive and I’m Forgiven, Heaven’s Gates are Open Wide,” “It is Finished – the Battle is Over!” and “How do I say thanks for the things that He has done for? Things so undeserved, yet He gives to me abundantly –the voices of a thousand angels could not express my gratitude…” Just to share a few – Praying that each of you know the security of salvation that only Jesus can give and hope you had a wonderful Easter too!
   
7. Got the Easter Baskets together early [have to mail one off, you know] and went with an orange and blue theme this year [imagine THAT]; they’re filled with lots of candy goodies.
8. I bought an Easter treat for me too – and have to admit I succumbed to “peer” pressure, if you will. I’ve been hearing from my scrapbook buddies talk for months about the new fabric line coming to Target, “Liberty of London,” so I took a look-see – and loved it too! Got me a nice pretty umbrella for all this nasty weather we have in April.
9. Made our Easter Cake on Saturday. Love this little tradition, even if I’m the only one in our house who ‘gets it.’
10. And finally – “we” got a job offer this week! So happy to say that our oldest will be one of the newest employees of Lockheed-Martin here in town.Yippee!

From: http://mycreativityblog.com/“And the day came when the risk [it took] to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

Anais Nin

Thought:

My calendar says that Spring begins officially on Saturday. Apparently, the trees, shrubs, and bulbs in Portland did not read the calendar. We have been blessed with blooms in a riotous array of color for the last few weeks. As the days began to get longer and the temperatures warmer, the flowers could not wait to burst forth.

What would Spring be like without flowers? Imagine delicate buds holding their petals tightly together in a refusal to show their beauty, to do as God intended. Can you imagine the energy required to go against the laws of nature and God’s will?

How drab and dull our lives would be without flowers.

Tomorrow as we celebrate the first day of Spring, let’s commit to using our energy to blossom creatively. Let’s stop holding back. Let’s do God’s will. Let’s be the creative beings He had in mind.

Prayer:

Lord God Almighty,

I am so in awe of Your wisdom and Your creation. Thank you so much for the seasons of the year and the beauty that surrounds us. Thank you for blooming plants, energy, and strength. Bless us with the ability to use our talents as You see fit. Give us knowledge of our next best creative move. Help us to burst forth creatively and to overcome fear as we open ourselves up to the world.

In Christ’s name.

Amen

Happy Mail

I'm crazy busy at work these days and
just generally feeling kind of blah once I get home -
- but not today!
First, I got a call before I left work that a book I had ordered for our next study over at FBP-Classes was in at B & N - I could have ordered off Amazon, but for the same money - [if I include shipping] I can support a local store - and they had it for me within three days - not bad. [But more on THAT later. I'm thinking the gals in the group are going to love THIS study and you're welcome to come on over and join us too!]

So I picked that up on the way home and then walked in to find my package from Women of Faith - the bright green polka-dot bag I'd ordered from them last week [like I need another bag!] But it has a quote about JOY [my word for the year, remember?] on it and since it was in my favorite color I just couldn't resist it.
FUN MAIL.

So I settled on the back patio with my glass of sweet [fake] tea and started reading my new book [I'm seriously looking forward to seeing the direction this will take -] and I hear the door bell - I come inside to see THE BIG BROWN TRUCK at the bottom of the hill and since Craig is the King of Ebay I'm thinking it's a package for him... and almost didn't even look to see who it was addressed to ,
but hmmm it was nicely square [think 12x12]
so I took a peek - and [[YIPPEEE!]]
It's the prize I won from American Crafts over on the
Paper Crafter's Corner Blog.
WOW. Seriously -
I've been a long-time fan of American Crafts and I loved this Dear Lizzy line when I saw photos of of it from CHA - but up close and personal - it's just too cute to describe. Here's what was in my package: 6 pages of adhesive backed fabric paper; 17 papers from the spring line [printed front and back,] 6 sets of alphabet stickers [thickers: 3 each puffy and chipboard,] 2 sets of chipboard stickers, 3 sets of 'flair' buttons, 2 sets of rub-ons, 3 sets of 'remarks' stickers, 1 set each of: 3-d stickers, ribbon, and felt stickers. Whew. I'm heading over to give some great big THANK YOUS to the Paper Crafter's Corner, American Crafts, and Dear Lizzy.
[You should visit them too!]

And then I'm going to go enjoy some scrappy fun...

March - Monthly Challenge

I hope some of you participated in the monthly challenge this month. Here's my layout: I used mostly Jenni Bowlin product and wanted to try my hand at those little banners I'm seeing everywhere these days...journal card and arrow are hand-cut, metal alphabets are painted with stickles. Again, please post your layout in our Flickr Group or post a comment here or on the FBP Yahoo Group to let me know where to see your completed layout. Thanks for sharing!