Catching Up and Inspirations

A friend shared this video of a short film with me, and I shared it with my boys today. It's quite long (6 minutes) but worth every minute in its beautifully put message. Take a look if you have time. Poignant especially for my Jared who is such a fussy picky eater, in our land of abundance. They were both rather moved.

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

Life's been terribly hectic! Jared is falling behind in his work and has a huge backlog of homework, so a lot of time is now focused on that. It's hard, but he's been a trooper.
I'm falling behind in my layouts, and just managed to complete my 365 layout of two weeks ago. It seems my photos are mainly taken around our home, which is where most of our family time is spent, and home really is best! :)
Credits: Daydream patches by Brittishdesigns, Mojo Papers by Amanda Rockwell, abc jump papers by tiptoestudio, spotted paper by Jackie Eckles, Home word art by Krystal Hartley

Finally I'm going to share with you all the lovely, lovely layouts that have been shared with me, be blown away!

First, you must go and check out an entire album that the super talented Christie Hayes completed !!!
New Zealand Album
Here are three more breathtaking layouts by Christie!
And these two are by Cassandra Nelson - love her clean and striking style!
And here are two sweet layouts I picked from so many shared with me by Karen Mathre, thanks for sharing with us, Karen!
I do so love this birtyday layout by Honeybee!
And this is Erika's wonderful desktop layout
Finally two super disney layouts by my friend AnitaThank you so much for sharing your talents ladies, I greatly appreciate it, and you always make my day with the privilege of seeing my templates in such beautiful action!

And if it can be useful for you, this template can be downloaded Here !

A Strong Woman vs A Woman of Strength

Thanks to Linda, who found for us that the poem is by Luke Easter & Dee Cheeks, and there is a full version, which I re-produced here. I googled some more, and found this site where it seems Luke Easter posts his poems. Thank you Luke and Dee for blessing us so much with these words of spiritual wisdom.

A strong woman works out every day,
Pride in her appearance she portrays,
But a woman of strength kneels to pray,
Keeping her soul in shape, God leading the way.

A strong woman isn't afraid of anything,
Looking forward to challenges each day will bring,
Women of strength show courage in the midst of fear,
Knowing triumph through faith because the Lord is near.

Strong women won't let anyone get the best of them,
So skilled in defense even if they have to pretend,
Yet a woman of strength gives her best to everyone,
Being anointed with divine blood from the only begotten Son.

A strong woman relies on the physical attributes making her tough,
In her search for power and money she will never have enough,
A woman of strength understands that it’s not about material stuff,
Knowing that before becoming a diamond first she’ll be in the rough,

A strong woman sometimes disguises her feelings shadowed by clouds,
Unhinged when challenged on her policy becoming boisterous and loud,
A woman of strength concerns herself not with judgment from others,
And will not let business interfere with commitments as a wife and mother.

A strong woman is easily impatient back and forth she will begin to pace,
Counting on her holier than thou attitude instead of depending on faith,
A woman of strength is assured trust in God will always carry her through,
And at the Creator’s appointed time she’ll receive all that is justly due.

A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same for tomorrow,
Refusing to take time looking back with reverence and Godly sorrow,
The woman of strength realizes life's mistakes no matter how slim,
While thanking God for the blessings as she capitalizes on them.

A strong woman walks head first with no doubt in her mind,
Again, no matter what, she’ll not make this mistake a second time,
But a woman of strength knows God will catch her when she falls,
So when a situation arises again, she’s not afraid to answer the call.

A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face,
Always doing whatever it takes to finish, seeking only first place,
The woman of strength competes with an emotional sense of grace,
Understanding it’s more important to run a Holy Spirit filled race.

A strong woman has faith that for the journey she’ll have enough,
No matter how uneven the terrain or roads being rocky and rough,
A woman of strength knows it’s in the journey she will become strong,
And the love of God is forever with her, no matter how difficult or long.

A strong woman when uninformed thinks that she is being mistreated,
In the end her physical attributes fail causing doubt to become seeded,
A woman of strength will compromise as a little give and take is needed,
Why? Because a lesson not learned the first time is soon to be repeated.

© 2006 by Luke Easter & Dee Cheeks
www.LyricsByLucas.com

Replies

How wonderful to hear from you all who are as blessed as me by the poem. Trac asked if I know who wrote it, I'm sorry I don't. My copy is printed from an email sent to me years ago by a wonderful colleague who has now gone to be with the Lord. But the blessing from that sharing continues! If anyone knows who wrote it, please let us know!

Someone also asked how I create my layouts. Well I always choose the pictures I want to use first and then adjust the sizes of each photo depending on whether I want to highlight some over others. Then I kind of play around, shifting them around until they look pleasing to the eye. And finally I tilt them around! No real method to the madness, lol! I do also keep some sketches in a notebook when ideas hit me. And I refer to it when nothing works on a particular layout. Yes it does happen to me too. :) When the photos are in place, I look for the background (the hardest part for me actually), and the elements, and then do the title and journaling, and I'm done!

How do you do your layouts?

A Woman of Strength

I like to put lovely things on the blog, layouts, funny anecdotes, encouraging words, stuff to feel good. We do have challenges and frustrations and mundane daily routines, too of course, our lives are not just overseas trips, lol! Anyways this week I had some challenging situations as a mom, and was feeling low cos being a mom is what I probably regard to be my highest calling, yet there are days I don't seem to be cut out for it at all!! At times like this, I get drawn to this poem stuck onto my bedroom notice board, so this is what I will share with you today.

A STRONG WOMAN VERSUS A WOMAN OF STRENGTH
A strong woman works out everyday to keep her body in shape, but a woman of strength kneels in prayer to keep her soul in shape
A strong woman isn't afraid of anything, but a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of her fear.
A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her, but a woman of strength gives the best of her to everyone.
A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same in the future, a woman of strength realises life's mistakes can also be God's blessings and capitalizes on them
A strong woman walks sure footedly, but a woman of strength knows God will catch her when she falls
A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face, but a woman of strength wears grace
A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey, but a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that she will become strong
May we all become women of strength :)

I completed 3 more Japan layouts, from grand temples to traditional weddings to awesome shopping all in one day you can see why we really enjoyed our trip.
Credits: Background image has been blended with WW's Natural Neutral papers, swirl brush by Andrea Victoria downloaded from Designers' digitals, stitches by Gunhill, and chipboard flowers by Jessica Sprague in Echoes of Asia

Credits: Blue paper from Laura18k's new home 2, heart by Mira Designs, white paper by Kim Crothers in her Citrus Sea papers, pin by Tracy King in her woodpin freebie 9


The above templates are in the store here and the template for this layout is for your to play!
I'm so happy to finally use some of my Japan themed kits on the layouts!! Credits: Black paper by Laurenreid, fan paper from Cori Gammon's Asian Fusion, little doll peg is in a folder named Maiko on my harddrive, I'm so sorry I seemed to have lost the designer's information, anyone who knows pls let me know! Journal tab from Shabby Princess' Promise, scalloped edge by Nina Scraps Designs


This template is now available as a set in the store HERE

Catching up on 365

It's late and I'm tired, but just completed my next 365 and I'm very pleased with it, want to share it with you!

The template is for you, I've left the journaling around the squares for you, just use your text tool as usual. (I did not test it in PSE though, hope it works) And a couple of word art I did up, go catch up with your 365!
Here is the template download link! Tell me if you like this squares style as much as I do :)

Celebrating 100 Templates !

I'm celebrating 100 templates with a sale!Amazing isn't it? I can't believe I've reached 100 and more. Who knew? You may know the principle I adopted ever since I started template making, I only make templates from my own layouts, as opposed to making them just for sale. This way my own scrapping stays as priority, and the store is secondary just for self-supporting my digi-hobby (and a little more!). And I won't stop sharing freebies as well, cos that's just giving back to this wonderful community from whom I receive so much! Thanks for your great support! Dh asks me how many ways can I arrange the photos?? lol I wonder too! I guess as long as I keep having photos and reasons to scrap!

Finally I've got a blinkie too! I was asked about one and just had no time to get to it, until Jared helped me put this up last weekend, isn't my son great! He's only 10! I gave him the images, told me my ideas, and look what I got! You can snag it for your blogs and all, thanks for being my friends!

The past 4 days I had been 'grounded' at home due to a nasty ear infection (I didn't know it could be so bad!), couldn't really eat or even speak properly, but I could scrap very well, so I happily did. :) I totally enjoyed the next few layouts of the first couple of days in Japan, loved searching for that perfect background and embellishments. Strangely the couple of Japanese themed kits I purchased or downloaded just could not fit in well? I guess my style is too grunge or abstract for them.
This layout is of the beautiful Hama gardens a beautiful oasis amongst concrete skyscrappers of Tokyo.

Credits: Paper by Heidi of Weeds & Wildflowers, red flowers by Vicki Stegall, word strips from Mary's ScrapGallerie, floral frame from Shabby Princess' HarvestSpice
Here we are at Asakusa, so much the quaint and old Japan, with temples, shops, alleys, and lanes for wondering, exploring, taking our time... it was just wonderful...
Credits: Paper and buttons by Livia Y Designs from her shabby elegance kit, label by Michelle Coleman
Now this is a layout of our first day on arrival in Tokyo after a 7 hour overnight flight. It was our first time in Japan, and we were travelling totally on our own, just the four of us. Immediately upon arrival dh's luggage fell apart, we had to put in a claim, rent our mobile phones, exchange for our rail pass and make reservations for our journeys, take the local train, negotiate the huge station, find our tiny apartment hotel in the tiny lane, all with limited means of communication! It was equally exciting as well as trying. Thankfully the boys were well prepped on travelling on 'militantly happy' mode, and the japanese we met were just so friendly and helpful even if we can't understand each other much at all! It was this combination of not knowing what to expect, and finding all kinds of wonderful surprises that made the entire trip a fantastic cultural and travelling adventure!
Credits: background paper by Vinnie Pearce, asterisk doodle by Rachel Martin
Credits: Background paper by K Schmidt (I love her papers!) and glittered leaves by Agnes Lahur
Credits: Background paper from AjaAbney at Lilypad, ribbon by Jessica Sprague, flowers by Jenna Desai
Credits: background paper by Jackie Eckles, journal spot by Sclingerman, and flowers by Mira Designs
All these templates are available in the STORE
And this layout has been made into Template 100 for you!
Credits: Background paper by Ginna Miller, lace by Radmiller Little Deer designs , plaque and keyhole by Vinnie Pearce
This template is now available as a set in the store HERE

Guarantees

Thanks in part to the economic situation, we've been getting great deals everywhere, and I finally got my own laptop - a Vaio, no less, the NS model, heavy but with a beautiful large screen! The boys now have the old computer to themselves, our great three year old Compaq which is chugging along, even 'died' many a times but manages always to revive itself to serve us faithfully. :)
I have a 15 month guarantee on the Vaio, I hope it will last far longer than that!
Tonight I was flipping through 'every teenager's little black book of God's guarantees' by Blaine Bartel, and was so blessed I hope she doesn't mind that I share a bit of it with you:
1. The bible guarantees that if we trust in God, He will direct our path (Prov 3:5,6)
2. The bible guarantees that God has a plan for our lives (Jer 29:11)
3. The bible guarantees that God's purpose for us will prevail (Prov 19:21)She goes on to say that: No matter what we face or how many people let us down, God's direction and plan for us will stand strong. It is not dependent on what other people do or what breaks we catch, it is dependent on our trust in God, and God will never let us down. How true this is as I look back, and how encouraging as I look forward!

And here is our next 14 days of my 365 Project. I'm so glad we still enjoy simple joys everyday despite all the bad news going on. Also loved how this all white page turned out. Scrapping our lives is one of my best simple joys!
Credits: Paiseley from Shabby Princess' HAppy Go Lucky, "living' wordart by J Cafe.

And here are my first two layouts of our Japan trip! Finally I'm starting on them, and it's so exciting to review and re-live the trip... can't believe it's been nearly 3 months....
Credits: background paper by lauraskathi, swirl from SAreverie by Weeds & Wildflowers
We were so happily surprised to find impressionist art on our first day in Tokyo, in Ueno Park just a short walk from our hotel!
Credits: Background paper from Beautiful Rage by Scarlet Heels, swirls by Janosh Designs, ribbons by Krista Designs
As usual, the templates are available now in the store here Thanks for looking!

Not forgetting the link for this linear template
over here at Box Net Box Net is great but it does not seem to allow for your lovely comments! :)