2018....Self Care = Renewal

I decided that 2018 would be the year I get ME back.  I would do all of the things I need to do to make sure that I am taken care of:

• pamper myself
• work on spiritual growth
• emotional well-being
• get a yearly physical including mammogram
• maybe even start working out again
• get back to scrapbooking 
• read more

All of the self care I had avoided over the last few years....afterall, everyone and everything else took priority. 

What has come out of this big decision?  

I had my first mammogram where they found a hard mass in my right breast.
After a biopsy, we found out that it was a fibro-adenoma.  They tagged it during the biopsy, they plan to keep an eye on it and do another mammogram before year's end.  

I got a new prescription for eyeglasses which are now called progressives, not bi-focals.

January 7th, I stepped into a local church after not attending for years.  I felt at home immediately.  Now, it is a church that I had watched online a few times over the years, I had heard good things about it from people here and decided it was time to renew my faith.  I joined the church back in February and have jumped into serving with both feet.  I find that I feel better when I serve.  I have found joy in serving.  I joined a women's small group from church. It has been such a year for growth for me.  Sophie and I were baptized on July 1st this year.  It means so very much that she believes in God and that she accepts Jesus as her personal saviour.  Margie would be so proud.  

Friends have told me that I have my "GLOW" back and it looks good on me.  

I have not had the heart to get back to scrapbooking yet, but it is coming. I was able to go into my spare room and organize the bins a bit.  Looking at photos still hurts a little.  So, I haven't spent much time looking at photos unless they are recent photos that I took on my cell phone.  

Dating.....now dating is a totally other animal.  I don't even know where to begin with that.  But that is definitely a story for another time.  

Maybe one day....



Until then, 
BE BLESSED

~C~

Fear is a Liar...

Fear Is a Liar

Zach Williams

When he told you you're not good enough
When he told you you're not right
When he told you you're not strong enough
To put up a good fight
When he told you you're not worthy
When he told you you're not loved
When he told you you're not beautiful
That you'll never be enough

Fear, he is a liar
He will take your breath
Stop you in your steps
Fear he is a liar
He will rob your rest
Steal your happiness
Cast your fear in the fire
'Cause fear he is a liar

When he told you were troubled
You'll forever be alone
When he told you you should run away
You'll never find a home
When he told you you were dirty
And you should be ashamed
When he told you you could be the one
That grace could never change

Fear he is a liar
He will take your breath
Stop you in your steps
Fear he is a liar
He will rob your rest
Steal your happiness
Cast your fear in the fire
'Cause fear he is a liar

Let Your fire fall and cast out all my fears
Let Your fire fall Your love is all I feel

Let Your fire fall and cast out all my fears
Let Your fire fall Your love is all I feel

Let Your fire fall and cast out all my fears
Let Your fire fall Your love is all I feel

Oh, let Your fire fall and cast out all my fears
Let Your fire fall Your love is all I feel

Oh, fear he is a liar
He will take your breath
Stop you in your steps
Fear he is a liar
He will rob your rest
Steal your happiness
Cast your fear in the fire
'Cause fear he is a liar

'Cause fear he is a liar

Songwriters: Jason Ingram / Zach Williams / Jonathan Lindley Smith

Fear Is a Liar lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Essential Music Publishing

Life Changes

A few years ago, you would have thought that I was crazy.....

I would plan these scrapbooking retreats for a bunch of ladies and then attend them.  While there at the retreats around women who loved me, I would feel these feelings of dread and fear. These episodes would make my body shake, my bowels to empty and sleep to evade me.  I would be a basket-case for 4 days while I was at these retreats and not have any way to chill out or calm myself.  The fight or flight in me would have me wanting to leave the retreat I had planned to go home.  I had no clue where they came from or why I was feeling that way.

Even my regular day to day life, was full of all sorts of anxiety and feelings of abandonment. I was living with my husband, our two children and 5 animals, but felt alone. 
Little did I know, I was seeing and feeling my future....
Fear playing a huge role in that future.

But also, a great deal of inner-strength found within...strength I didn't realize I had.

It has been well over a year since my last scrapbooking retreat.  It feels like a lifetime ago.  I haven't touched a scrapbooking supply in almost two years because life has changed so much.

I will share more in the days to come.....

Until then,

~CM~

Image is from an etsy shop......

Project Life Cards - Organization PART 2

Hello all!

As I said in PART 1 of the organization posts, I have had a really hard time trying to find which cards would work in my page layouts.  I previously had the cards sorted and stored in Medium CTMH Organizers by kit.  Both 4x6 cards and 3x4 cards were stored together.  

It just wasn't working for me.

If you ever feel like something isn't working for you in your creative space, you change it right?  Well, I decided to take matters into my own hands and change the way I had the cards. 

I have found that I use the 3x4 cards a little more than I use the 4x6 cards.  

I decided to organize my cards alphabetically by kit and then by size.  The first CTMH box was used solely for 4x6 cards - alphabetically by kit name.

Half of the second CTMH box was used for the rest of the 4x6 cards I had.  

The other half of the CTMH box, I started over with the 3x4 cards.  Again, I organized the cards alphabetically by kit name.  

Now, I also have some themed cards from Hobby Lobby that really didn't fit into a kit but are used throughout my albums for specific trips, school functions, birthdays, etc.  I have an Antonius plastic organizer from IKEA that I used just for these kinds of cards.  It is arranged alphabetically and sorted by size as well.  I have even stored the grid and lined 3x4 and 4x6 cards in the Antonius organizer. 

I guess I will see how it all works when I get my daughter's scrapbook out and try to get some layouts done!  Wish me luck!

Until Next time,
SCRAP ON!
~Cyn~

Project Life Cards - Organization PART 1

I have been a busy chick lately and haven't been writing at all.

I have tried to get to work on some albums but have found that the way I am set up, I really can't find the ones I want to use quickly.  It was taking forever to find just the right card to use in my daughter's album.

A friend of mine told me about this website from a fantastic woman who has been keeping up with the PDF's of each of the kits that Becky Higgins has released in her Project Life line and has been updating it with each release!

So, I saved and printed each of the PDF Files and created a project Life Binder.

The PDF's have a picture of each of the cards that come in each kit and there is also a checklist so that you can keep track of the kits that you have.  For those of you who have a dozen or less kits, it is easy to keep track.  But for those of us who have a dozen or more to pull from, this checklist is PHENOMENAL!!!!

I used page protectors and sorted the kits alphabetically.  Now, when I work on albums, I can just flip through the book and find the proper card to suit the layout.

Pretty awesome, eh?

Until Next Time...
SCRAP ON!
~Cyn~

It's Like Herding A Bunch of Kittens!!!!

Well, it is definitely harder than I thought it would be!  Teaching the 2's I mean!
At the beginning of the school year, I was supposed to have one person as my parapro.  As it turns out, my good friend, Dawn, was hired to work with me.  It has been great to hang with her every day and do this 2's thing together!  We know each other really well and can "read" each other fairly well with regards to when we have had enough with certain children, when we need to take "a second" to calm down - it has been a good year so far!

I subbed in the 2's room last year.  When you are the teacher of the 2's, you can start out the year by showing them what you want from them and most of them will fall in line.  There are a few children that are a challenge in our classroom and it has been hard to be consistent, but we have been on it from the beginning.  

I have planned for all kinds of art and learning opportunities for the kidlets and they have done really well so far!  It is only when we get off-schedule that it feels a little HECTIC and CRAZY!  It turns into a "herding kittens" kind of day and both Dawn and I are relieved when the last child leaves for the day.  I think all the teachers have this sort of feeling though. I also think that after the first year, you get your real groove as a teacher, so next year will be a LOT better!  

I am not sure how the rest of the year will go, but I am hoping that I have proven to the preschool administration what I can do and how well I do it. Maybe next year I will get the Pre-K4 class (which is my goal).  

What worries me is, that Dawn and I will do such a good job this year, that they will want us to stay in the 2's class and repeat what we are doing this year again next year!  

Wish us luck!

Until Next Time,

SCRAP ON!
~Cyn~

New Job!

At the end of this school year, I was asked by my two bosses if I would teach the 2 year old class for the 2014-2015 school year.  I was told that I could use this year to prove to the preschool administrators what I can do as an Early Childhood Educator from Canada and prove to them that I can lead a class.  
I had to make a decision and I decided to do it.  I have to admit that working with the 2's is more of a challenge than working with the 4's and K's this past year because they don't have the verbal skills or the attention span.  It isn't really where I want to be, but to show them what I can do, I can do it for a year.  Who knows, it may be something that I want to continue doing!  The best thing is:  It's MY classroom and I can do exactly what I did in Canada with the 2's I worked with there!  

My classroom theme:  ERIC CARLE

I think the hardest part was the planning that I spent the majority of my summer doing. Who knows, it may not be the hardest part....but the bulk of the planning is done for the year.  It is just my job to execute the planning!!!!
Wish me luck!!!

Until Next Time,
SCRAP ON!
~Cyn~

A New Home For Us!

It all started with a chat about where we may move after Nathan was done 5th grade and our current lease was finished.
A friend at work had been re-zoned for a different high school for her daughter and was angry!  I told Ben that it would be better if we could find a house within walking distance of the middle and high schools.  It would eliminate the possibility of being re-zoned.   
I went online to look at the houses that were available and printed off a few to look at.  Personally, I thought that a foreclosure would be good to get into.  My friend, Laura, and her family bought a foreclosure and they were able to do a bit of renovating before moving in.  That was what I was hoping to do as well.  

We drove out to Ola to check out a few houses that were in foreclosure or had already been foreclosed on and passed a neighbourhood that had newly constructed home in it.  
This is the PADOVA and it is built by Sunrise Builders.

We applied for a mortgage and it was approved! We told our landlord and we worked together with him to get his home listed and ready for people to do walk-throughs.  It was listed at lunch on a Saturday and was sold by 5pm on Sunday!  So, we have until May 23rd to get our stuff out of the house on Noel way and cleaned up for the new owners! 

We are homeowners again and we closed today on this beautiful new home! 

Until Next Time,

SCRAP ON!
~Cyn~

Organization: The Scrap Haven

It all started with a couple Expedit Shelves and a bunch of JetMax cubes gifted to me by a good friend.  I have been organizing in my Scrap Haven for a couple of days and can almost see my table top!  ALMOST!  

I have been scrapbooking since October 2002 (about a month after we moved from Canada to Georgia). Since then, I have accumulated a lot of paper, embellishments and albums.  Some of these items are still in their plastic wrap waiting for me to use them!  

Now, you know that one of my goals from THIS post is to USE MY STASH.
Well, it all starts with knowing what you HAVE!  

So, I started with my scrapbook paper....

Some paper is loose, some is in a plastic container, some is in a little poly folder and some came in a "stack". 
I am forever pulling out the stacks to see what they have in them.  I had an "AH-HA" moment while looking through all the stacks that I had and I wanted to share it with you. Who knows, you may have a few stacks on your stash and might want to use this idea for yourself!  

Take a sharpie marker and write on the binding of the stack:
1) Manufacturer of the Paper
2) Theme of the Paper/Name of the Paper Stack
3) Floral, Girly, Boyish, Specific Season

Example:    Recollections: Modern Bouquet  (Floral)  

Like this:

You just did an "OH!  I never thought of that before! Ah-ha!"  See?  Ah-Ha Moment!  I did it to the first stack, then the second and kept going until each stack was labelled.  
Now, instead of grabbing each of the stacks that I have and flipping through them and wasting my scrappy time - I can eyeball them, see what each one is and keep looking for the "right" paper for the layout I am working on.  

Genius, eh?  Who'd a thunk it?  
I am going back to finishing up clearing off my scrap table.  I figure the sooner I get it cleared off, the sooner I can get to work on cutting out the titles for the two doors I am doing for the Pre-K and Kindergarten classes!  I have a LOT to cut on the cricut! Sometimes, I wish I had 2 cricuts!!!!

Wish me luck!  
Oh and for those of you wanting to see the progress so far on the Scrap Haven, here is a little sneak peek:





The birch bookshelf beside the Expedit shelf is the bookshelf/desk combo from THIS post.  Ben put it together for me and I have already filled it!  It fits perfectly in the room and holds all of my idea books, power sort boxes with all the photos I still need to scrapbook and some other projects that I am working on.  It looks great so far!  Now, to just finish the table and I can get to work on school stuff!!!!

Until Next Time,
SCRAP ON!
~Cyn~

Organization = A Little Bit of Happiness

I have been "AT WORK" here in the house organizing as much as I can before I head back to work.  I started by getting Ben to move the futon from the front foyer.  We moved it up to the old scrap loft - now we call it "The Loft" - and it is there for when visitors come.  It sits in the kid's play/library area.  

Dawn and I took a trip to "the mother ship" called IKEA! I bought an Expedit Shelf, a bookshelf/desk combo that was on clearance and a new dresser for our bedroom. 

The Expedit Shelf was for my front foyer to store some items that do not need to be stored in my Scrap Haven.  I have been working away in my Scrap Haven to start on the goals written in this post.

(Not the best picture, but it works)

I have since populated the shelf with a few of the 31 Cubes and the FINISHED scrapbooks that I had sitting on my shelves in the scrap haven.  Not all of the finished books are on the shelf, but a few to start with.  The albums that are "in process" are still in the Scrap Haven.

The bookshelf/desk combo was split into two rooms. The bookshelf is now in my Scrap Haven (it is the same birch colour as my Expedit Shelves in there). The desk went to Nathan's room for him to do his homework at.  I think it will be a good spot for it.  I originally wanted to sell that part of the combo, but when I went into Nathan's room and saw that his loft bed desk was covered with Lego, I thought the desk would work in there for him to use. 

The new dresser is a replacement for our old dresser that we have had from before we got married.  My pajama drawer broke a couple years ago and when it finally wouldn't open and close anymore, I just set it on top of the dresser.  So, it was an eye-sore.  See?

(again, not the greatest picture, but it works)

Now, my dear hubby Ben took all afternoon on Sunday to put this beautiful dresser together for me and it looks FABULOUS!!!!

What a difference it makes, eh?  I am one happy chick!

So, now, I am in the Scrap Loft trying to get it organized to start working on projects.

 The bookshelf from the combo that I bought is beside the Expedit Shelf and I have put all my idea books/scrapbook sketch books and power sort boxes with all my photos on it.  

I am working to clean off the top of the scrap table and I am getting close!  

Woot!  Woot!

There you have it!  The Organization of 2014 to get READY for 2014.  

Makes this chick a happy chick!

Take care of business now, so that I can PLAY later.

Now, back to the Scrap Haven to get finished with the scrap table so that I can work on a couple of projects before school starts!

Until Next Time,
SCRAP ON!
~Cyn~

A New Year...A Bunch of New Challenges....

Well, technically, they aren't really "NEW" challenges, but to me they are because this is the first year that I have actually attempted the challenge while WORKING!  

• USE YOUR STASH
• GET SCRAPPY
• WATCH PORTIONS & CALORIC INTAKE
• MEAL PLAN 90% OF OUR MEALS
• FINANCIAL PEACE
• BEN AND CYN TIME

I haven't set any resolutions this year and I don't think I am going to.  Shocking, isn't it?  

What's a new year without resolutions?  

Well, it is a year for ~Cyn~. 

I am going to focus on ME this year.
It sounds kind of selfish, and you know what?  It's O.K.
You know that saying "It Mama ain't happy, then nobody's happy"?
Well, that is the case here at our house.  

I want to improve ME - body, mind & soul AND my relationships with my family and friends.

By working on this, it will also improve contentment & happiness in my day-to-day life which makes for a good family life at home.  It makes sense, right?

  

These challenges for 2014 also means that some things have "got to go" to be able to achieve them.  (more on that later)

I am preparing/organizing to help me with the 6 items listed above.

I am working on a few posts to assist others that may have the same goals that I do this year.  Should be fun!

Wish me luck!

Until Next Time,

SCRAP ON!
~Cyn~

Lisa's Door for the 4's

Our REINDEER STABLE with the kid's handprints as antlers and a pom pom for their noses.
All 8 of our kids got to take them home at the end of school in December to share with their parents. 

I had fun doing them too!
Until Next Time,
SCRAP ON!
~Cyn~

Meet WANDA!!!!

My new 2010 Honda CRV!

YES, I name my vehicles!!!!  

I also named my Cricut Expression too!  But that is a different Blog post!  HA!!!

I went through CarMax in Stockbridge, GA and the experience was wonderful.

Gary Moeller was my salesperson and he was able to bring in, from other stores, the two vehicles that I wanted to test-drive and choose from.  

I test-drove: 

2011 Nissan Rogue

2012 Honda CRV

2010 Toyota Rav4

2010 Honda CRV.

 

I went with the 2010 Honda CRV and she is AWESOME!

Gary was very patient with me and my requests too!  I know it is his job, but he didn't roll his eyes when I asked to test drive the Honda CRV again before I made my decision.  Even though I had driven it once before, he opened the car door for me and away we went!  

I wasn't pressured at any point to make my decision, I wasn't hassled by emails or phone calls.  He just waited for me to figure out what I wanted in a new-to-me vehicle and make the decision.  

I was able to give them the majority of the information before I decided on the vehicle.  

We were in and out for the signing in under a half hour!  Now THAT is what I call service!

I would highly recommend CarMax to anyone who needs a vehicle.  

Wanda and I have already been on a little road trip down to Perry for a little scrapbooking trip and the ride was smooth and kinda fun!  I am a happy camper!  

No buyers remorse from this chick!!!!

Until Next Time,

SCRAP ON!

~Cyn~

It Only Took 3 Years!

We are coming up on our 3-year anniversary in this rental and last weekend, after the yard sale, Ben and I took to the garage for a little "clean-up".

I had put the old grill out on the front lawn with a FREE sign on it and it wasn't out there for an hour when someone picked it up and carted it off.
I had already loaded up the leftovers and took them to Goodwill.
I had placed the bags of clothes in the back of my car to take to the MPCA Clothing Trailer.

I started by moving our riding lawnmower to the cut-out area near our fridge.  That left a huge space in the middle of the garage and I started to see "potential".....potential to actually park in our garage for the first time, potential for better storage options for our stuff.  

So, I started to work on the boxes that were in the middle of the garage.  I wish I had taken a before picture!!!  It was a full garage and a messy garage.  I often thought we would never get to this point.  

Ben came out after his shower and helped me start moving the boxes and other stuff around. I found several Rubbermaid bins that were half full or empty and put them in the driveway to get them out of there.

I went through a few Rubbermaid bins and threw out old college textbooks that I wouldn't need. 

You know the ones I am talking about....I betcha you are holding onto yours in your garage/basement/attic/crawl space.  The electives that you took or the core classes that you don't use much in your day to day life: sociology, student wellness, student study techniques, psychology.  Yep, I kept them from back in 1994-1997 (now I am showing my age) when I was in college in Canada.  They have made the move from my parents house in Ontario, to our first home in Ontario, to our second home in Warner Robins, GA and now to our home here.  Why?  They just took up storage space and were heavy as heck to tote from place to place!  Why?  WHY?!?!?!

I digress.....

Here is what we have come up with so far and I have to admit that there are still a lot of boxes that we need to go through and figure out what to do with the stuff: 

• sell it
• donate it 
• "file 13" it

But at least we can park in there now!!!!
Before we pulled the cars in....

 My car in the garage......

 

Both cars in the garage and my handsome hubby who helped!

Not bad eh?  

I think it looks pretty good, if I do say so myself!  

Until Next Time,

SCRAP ON!

~Cyn~

Happy Halloween 2013!!!!

Our Ballerina and Our Duck Hunter

Until Next Time,

SCRAP ON!
~Cyn~

Gotta Love A Deadline......

A great way to make money in a short period of time is to participate in a yard sale.

My neighbour and I talked about doing it and we set a date.  There is nothing that lights a fire under you than a deadline.  

That was the kick-in-the-pants that I needed to get started with piling up items for the yard sale.  

• I already had all the outgrown clothes on hangers and in rubbermaid bins in the garage.  So, I literally pulled them out of the bins and hung them up on the clothing racks that I borrowed from a friend that does a lot of clothing consignment (thanks Dawnie).
• The next thing I did was go through the toy box for any items that the children didn't play with anymore and put them in a box in the garage.  I started doing this earlier in the summer and didn't finish (adult ADHD - isn't it great?).  So, I just continued on with this task.
• I also went through our closet to get out anything we weren't using anymore.
• I went through a bunch of boxes in the garage.

You know those items that you just feel weird about throwing out or even giving away?  You know the ones.....they make every move with you, even though you have never used them or have used them once and never again?

Well, I had a few of those and I put them on the tables to sell.  

I made a promise to myself that whatever didn't sell would be boxed up and taken to Goodwill after the yard sale.  Everything that went in the garage/yard sale would NOT come back into the house......

That didn't happen......

Sophie brought one of the shape sorting toys back into the house.  This is just a small item and I am sure that it will "disappear" in the coming days.  

By the time I was finished cataloging all the items for the clothing donation for the MPCA Clothing Trailer, it was 5:30 and I was starving.  

Dawn helped me bring the tables into the garage with all the items that did not sell.  I promise NOT to bring them back into the house!  The garage held them until I cataloged everything before taking them to Goodwill this afternoon.

My neighbours have decided that they will do it again next week.  I may put out a few items next week to see if they go, but I am even considering going through the house again.  

It feels GOOD to purge and get rid of stuff that just sits there!  The extra cash in your wallet is nice too!  I made $215.00 and I cleaned out my garage!

You know what the best part of my day was?  There are SEVERAL!!!!

1. A lady came who was from Haiti and she bought all my summer outfits to send home to her people.  I gave her all the items for 50 cents a piece because I know that Haiti needs all the help they can get!  She was a super sweet woman!
2. A woman named Doreen and her hubby walked over to have a look and she saw a Xyron "X" sticker maker.  She said "I know what this is!!!"  We got talking about scrapbooking and how it is hard to get out stuff to scrapbook when you don't have a space.  I took her inside to show her my "scrap haven" and we got to talking about all the new scrappy stuff and CM and CTMH.  She mentioned going to Perry and I asked her if she knew Lisa Mosely and she said YES!!!  The world got a little smaller!!!  
   The then went on to tell me about Fran Washko and I told her that Frannie was my side-line sister for Creative Memories!!!  The world got a whole lot smaller!  We exchanged numbers and emails and plan to get together to scrapbook sometime!  FUN!!!
3. Talking to everyone that came to the house - if you really don't believe that everyone has a story, you really need to have a YARD SALE!!!
4. Hanging out with my neighbours and meeting their daughters (they live in SC).  

It was FUN!!!!

Not only did I make a little money, I cleaned out the garage a bit AND made a new SCRAPPY friend!  

Awesomesauce!!!!

Until Next Time,

SCRAP ON!
~Cyn~

The Door

Nikita told me that I could do whatever I wanted to her classroom door.  So, while she was out, I decorated the door!

The letters, apples and bushel were cut using my Cricut Expression die cut machine.  Then I traced the hands of each of the kids.  Julie helped me cut put each hand and then I hot glued them to the tree.  It was a lot of fun to do!



It looks great!!!

Until Next Time,
SCRAP ON!
~Cyn~

Project Life - the 5 "W's" and an "H"

I hear so many people asking about Project Life.

I think it is time for a "regular plain jane" to speak up.
**I am not paid by anyone to endorse the product or even use the product. I am a scrapper (obviously you got that from the title of my blog - hahaha) and I am a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) with a small part time job, on the side, at a local preschool.  What I am saying is that I just LOVE the product!**

So, from one "Plain Jane" to another, here is what I can tell you:

WHY?
I scrapbook for many reasons.  There are 3 things that are huge on that list of reasons:  NATHAN, SOPHIE and SANITY!  Scrapbooking is MY hobby.  It is a great way for me to relax, get creative and enjoy reminiscing about the past. But, what's more important?  My children.
They will want to know the stories behind their relatives when they are older. They want to know their own stories now.  They love to look at photos from past trips, their birth, vacations, relatives they don't see enough, etc.  This is the main reason that I scrapbook.  

WHAT?
Project Life is a KIT.  It comes with matching 4x6 decorative cards, 3x4 decorative cards for journaling.  

To complete an entire album, you will need:

• the Core Kit
• page protectors to slide photos, mats and journaling cards into 
• a 3-ring 12x12 binder 
• a black pen (acid-free, archival safe)

Project Life has taken the guesswork out of matching papers, cutting out photo mats, cutting titles and embellishing the pages.  

***side-note***
Now, don't get me wrong....if you want to embellish cards or pictures and cut titles, you can do that, but it isn't "a must-do" if you have a Project Life Core Kit.
The products shown above are:

• Olive Core Kit
• Midnight 3-Ring Binder
• Big Variety Pack 2
• Project Life Marker Set (from HSN)

WHERE?
You can purchase Project Life through HSN, Amazon, Michaels, Hobby Lobby. Michaels and Hobby Lobby (which we lovingly call it HobLob) have coupons for 40% off most weeks or even put the kits on 50% off.  If you are "unsure" if you will use it, print a coupon and go to the store to buy one!
WHO?
Use Project Life to do a scrapbook about your children.  If you don't have children, do one about YOU!  Use Project Life for a vacation.  Use it to brag about your fur-babies. Project Life is a great product to showcase LIFE....in any way, shape or form! Whether it is a heritage album, a school album, a celebration of life, a vacation of a lifetime or even the only trip you will ever take.  It works for ANYONE!  

WHEN?
A lot of people I know are just hearing about Project Life.  They aren't sure when to start it.  Here's the best part.....you can start ANY time!!!
Some people start at the beginning of January.  
Others start the beginning of the school year.  
Some have even started on a particular birthday.  
Just pick YOUR date and go for it!

HOW?

1. You open the box, take the cellophane off 
2. Get out all the photos you want to work with  
3. Slide the photos and project life cards into the slots of the page protectors 
4. Write thoughts or stories on the 3x4 or 4x6 project life cards and slide them into open spots of the page protectors.

VOILA!!!!!     It is really that easy!

So, there you have it folks, the "skinny" on Project Life. 

If you have started Project Life, drop me a line and tell me which kit you are using and what you are using it for.  I can't wait to hear all about your projects!

Until Next Time,
SCRAP ON!
~Cyn~

Holy Cow! I did it!

I did something I have never done before....

I sent in my application to be a member of the Project Life Creative Team 2014!!!

Yep, my hands are shaking a little and I am a little bit shocked that I hit the "Send" button on my email!  

Here is what I wrote (minus the contact info of course):

"Hi there Kari!!!

I'm Cyndi M (aka Cyn)

I live in Hampton, GA but I am originally from Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Links to all things "Cyn":
Http://cynmscrappiness.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/CynMCanuck
https://mobile.twitter.com/GACynM
http://www.pinterest.com/CynMCanuck/


About Me:
Married to Ben for 14 years (together 17)
2 children - Nathan -9- and  Sophie -4-
Stay at home mom
Work part time at a private preschool as a paraprofessional in the Kindergarten classroom

First PL album done in 2012 with a photo-a-day with extras thrown in when we did special trips
Second PL is being put together this year but not "photo-a-day" style but more of a monthly view.

My son is in the 4th grade and he used the cards from PL to do his INUIT scrapbook for one of his assignments.

I plan 2 scrappy retreats a year and have "enabled" plenty to use Project Life for their scrappy projects.

Project Life Photos are attached below.  I attached a few journaling samples - handwritten and typed.

I call my PL stuff "plain jane" because I don't do anything too fancy.  

I also attached a couple of my favourite layouts for "Design G" which is one of my favourite plastics that Becky came out with.

Thanks for this fabulous opportunity!!!!  I have to admit, I have never applied for anything like this before and it will be an awesome challenge for me!  I hope to hear from you soon!

~Cyn~"

I attached the following pictures to my email.

Before I had time to re-think or doubt myself, I clicked SEND.  Now, I have been on a creative team for Sketchapalooza in the past, but it was just for one class (which is a month long) and it was a lot of fun.  I enjoyed it.   But for someone as well-known as Becky Higgins and a product like Project Life, nope.  NEVER!  

So, cross your fingers and pray for a good outcome and I will know by November 20th if I have been chosen.  Wish me luck!!!!

Until Next Time,

SCRAP ON!
~Cyn~