Thinking happy thoughts - SATU and My favorite Things

After my earlier grim LO and posts, I decided I wanted to make some LO's that make me happy, and both following LO's do just that!


These are a Few of my Favorite Things


This first one I made for the challenge over at "These are a Few of my Favorite Things". While going through the other ladies' entries, I noticed that some of them were planning on making an album out of the LO's created for this challenge site. I thought this was a splendid idea, and decided to make one as well. All my LO's for this challenge site will be 6x12 LO's, a wonderful size to scrap on!

For this LO I used cardboard for the background, a foam flower stamp (with gesso), and a small flower punch ... that's it. A very simple LO, but I love looking at it. The title reads: "for you mama" and the words in black just say "My favorite flowers". Though actually strictly speaking tulips are my favorite flowers, the wild flowers picked just for me by my children are the world's most beautiful bouquet in my eyes.


Scrapping across the Universe


Well, I guess it's obvious I like the look of those stamped flowers huh?! I wanted to create a fresh and cute LO for the challenge over at "Scrapping Across the Universe", nothing too fancy, so I went with a very simple background again.

This is a very old pic of me and my husband from early in the beginning of our relationship ... almost 20 years ago!!! Ah, we look so young *sigh*. And it really was love at first sight for the both of us ...

I drew the birds after finding the images on the net by googling "love birds" ... aren't they the cutest? I used that hearts' T-shirt of Chloë's again, I so love those bright colours. I found some pages out of a book titled "Flirting for the camera" (which you can read just on top of the pic), which I thought suited this pic perfectly. The leaves I cut out and painted a little while ago, but never used them ... I added them now just to add a little extra colour to the LO. Again a very simple LO to make.

I think I might be too late for both challenges ... we'll see, I get mixed up with dates sometimes because of the time difference, but that's okay, I made these just for me. Like I said, they make me happy just by looking at them, and that was my main purpose here.

Love xxx Peggy

The abitlity to change lives

There is something I would like to share with you. As a reaction to my last LO "Swallow", my sweet friend Jocelyn sent me the following comment:

"Wow....Peggy this one had to be a difficult one to do!!!!! What a sad experience.....and the impact it has held on you to this day!!!! Actions by those that we cared about at one time, can be so strong in our lives....and I wish for RESOLUTION....ACCEPTANCE....for you to be able to move on!!!!! It is not acceptance of their behavior...but acceptance of control in your life!!!! Do Not allow them to still hold a dark place in your heart.....you are in control and you have much more room for POSITIVE people who can fill you with LOVE!!!! The stitching of the title is awesome....the real pain...exudes from this LO!!!! I adore you...I support you.....I hold you close!!!! Sending you friendship and love across the seas to enrich you and your beautiful family!!!! "

Some of you commented that making this LO must have been therapeutic ... well, actually, it didn't help much. I liked making it though, the dark side of me really liked making this LO. I enjoyed making the page as grim as I knew how to, and drawing the skulls and putting them over their images, well, I must admit that just gave me an evil thrill and it actually put a smile on my face. So with making this LO, I didn't come any closer to accepting the situation, nor did I get rid of the hatred I feel. I actually felt pleasure making this LO, a fact that scares me a bit, but then again, not all that much ... I know I have this side to me, but I also know I have a warm and caring side to me as well ... a side which I reserve for people who I feel that deserve it.

However, I'll get to the point I want to make today before I start scaring everyone off LOL. Not the making of the LO, but he comments I have received have been therapeutic, more than I had imagined them to be. And especially the one from Jocelyn made me stop and think. I do have to take control, no one but me can let go of that hatred. Especially the sentence where she said I was allowing them to hold a dark place in my heart got to me ... I AM allowing them to still matter, I AM giving them the power to feel something I don't want to feel ... I had never looked at it that way, and it's definitely another way to look at things, this really opens a door for change, not of the situation itself, but a change to how I have to deal with this. I have been brooding too much about the how's and why's, which come to think of it really isn't all that important ... it is what it is, and I have to let it go and move on. Of course reading this comment hasn't gotten rid of the hate in my heart ... but it has given me hope that I just might overcome this, a way out of this negative spiral ... I realise know that it's up to me to change how I feel ... I've been acting like a victim in this whole situation, and realising that it's time to let go is a huge step in the right direction for me. Letting go will be the next ... this won't be easy, my emotions often get the better of me, but I will try to take control!

Thank you so much Jocelyn, you are a true friend. You gave me the following award the other day, and in accepting it I should list 10 things I love about blogging.

I hope you don't mind, but I'm just going to give you one thing I love about blogging, because all the other things are fun but obvious, like finding inspiration and so on ... we all feel this way about blogging, otherwise we wouldn't do it as often. And I knew up front it was going to be this way, anyone who spends some time on the internet, even before starting their own blog, knows this.

However, the one thing that surprised me and makes me want to come back for more and more, is the friendship I feel in the comments I receive. I really feel people care, and in return, I care for them. Some of your stories make me laugh, others make me cry, and some even make me lose some sleep worrying everything will be okay ... which is amazing in itself isn't it, caring so much for people you haven't even met in real life? And once in awhile, a comment like the one Jocelyn wrote to me has the ability to change lives ... now this would have to be the one thing I like best about blogging. Thank you so much my sweet friend, I can honestly say I love you!

Have you ever received a comment that changed your life, or that made you think about the path your taking? If so, please grab this award, leave me a link and share your story with me/us. I would love to hear how blogging has affected you!

Love xxx Peggy

Guest Gutter Girl

I was asked to be the guest designer over at Gutter Girlz, I'm so excited, check it out here, I even got my very own post!!!! However, I did have to think long and hard about this challenge, ... nothing immediately came to mind. And then, suddenly everything just fell into place. I even used all the prompts that were given: I used part of the lyrics (Maneater) - I adjusted them a little bit- as a background, used "swallow" as the title, and I splattered white paint onto the brown background paper. Oh, and I machine stitched my title, what do you think?? I don't think it's a look that would work on every LO, but I do like the look of it on this one!

Most LO's are made out of love, this one was created out of pure hate. I don't like to admit this, but I hate those people in the pic with all of my heart. This is why I didn't want to create a "beautiful" LO, I really wanted this LO to reflect my feelings towards these people. It's also why I changed their heads into skulls ... I still can't make a LO with their image on it.

The beautiful baby in the middle of the pic is my daughter Chloë, and the skulls are her ex-godparents, my husband's brother and his wife. A few years ago, we had an argument, and right there and then my BIL announced we should look for other godparents, because they didn't want anything to do with us anymore. My girl, about 4 or 5 at the time, was shattered. She had bad dreams and a fear of being left by me as well for many months to follow.

I'm not a vindictive person, you have to do a lot to make me stay mad at you, but don't ever touch my babies!!! Like I said before, I don't like to admit I hate those people, I don't like to hate anyone, it eats me up inside. I wish the day would come I would feel nothing when I think about them, but unfortunately, that day hasn't come yet. Hence the "hate-stitching" at the left of the page.

The journaling reads: "The mere thought that these people are on all our important photographs is not pleasant, but the fact that our sweet daughter wears their name is almost too hard to swallow".

That's why I made a copy of our marriage certificate/book (don't know the English word for this) where also our children are listed, and added the silver circle around Chloë's full name (just so you understand what that little book is doing on the LO).

Anyway, that's the background of the LO. I do hope you like it, despite the dark message it brings.

Xxx Peggy

Life has been good to me - Forward Progress Challenge

I'm warning you up front ... if you don't have a lot of time, save this post for later. If you feel you're up for it, grab a cup of coffee before you start reading ... I guess you all know how much I like to hear myself speak, well, I have outdone myself this time...

Let me start by saying that I decided to quit my position as a DT over at Songbird Scraps. I had been on their team for 6 months, but was having a hard time coming up with good LO's, the lyrics just didn't speak to me anymore. I want my scrapping to be more than just displaying pretty pictures, I want to tell a story, my story, my family's story ... There are so many challenge sites to be found on the net who provide subjects perfect for my goal ... unfortunately, for me, Songbirds Scraps wasn't one of them. However, don't let this keep you from entering their challenges, that's the good thing about the diversity of the challenge sites, there's always one perfect for you, and in your case, that perfect one just might be Songbird Scraps! And with the right lyrics and the right pictures, who knows, I might play along myself some time!

Anyway, I'm telling you this for a reason. I was asked to join the DT (for a 3 month term) of the perfect challenge site, a site I have been following for so long now: Forward Progress. I'm sooooo excited ... yeah me!!! I did think twice before accepting, because their challenges aren't always easy ... some require some real soul searching. Like I said, I had been following this site for the longest time, but had never entered one of their challenges for this very reason. So I asked myself: "Would I be able to open up, to share my inner thoughts and most private feelings for the world to see?". The answer was yes. In fact, I think that's the easy part. The hardest part for me is getting them on paper, because it means I have to be honest with myself. I consider myself to be an honest person, I try not to lie, ever. Not even to spare someone's feelings. If for example I don't like your new haircut, I won't say I like it. I won't say I don't like it either ... see, it's not that I don't care about your feelings LOL. Of course my best friends all know this about me, so this doesn't really work ... if I don't comment on their new haircut, they know I don't like it LOL, so much for not hurting their feelings huh?!!! LOL. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that I try to be honest in relation to other people, but I have been known to lie to myself ... quite often actually. And don't we all at one point or another? So the real question was: "Would I be able to stay true to myself?" The best answer I could come up with this time was: "I'll try my best". And that's what I intend to do. I'll try to make LO's that share a little bit about me, one step at a time, the good and the bad.

The new challenge doesn't go up until the 15th, so you still have time to start creating for this month's challenge. The prompt is easy enough, or at least, it can be as easy as you want it to, and it can be interpreted in so many ways:

Taking Stock...Assessing my personal well being. How can we expect to have forward progress if we are not looking after our state of well being. peace within ourselves.. I have goals...dreams...aspirations...but how do I expect to reach those if i don't have "stock" in myself. This means evaluating your present position. Are you happy? Probably. Could you say you are even if aren't? Are we honest with our present self? If you could put a monetary number on how much one share of stock in yourself would cost, what would it be? Are you worth it?

I do hope my little introduction here has inspired some of you to participate in our challenges., I would love to see all of my friends join us! Ellen, the owner of the site, is dedicated to make this site into a huge success, and so am I and my fellow DT members ... I don't think further introductions are necessary when I say that the fabulous Lisa and the gorgeous Jocelyn are on the team as well ... And let's not forget Sasha ... now there's a girl with a story to tell! I still can't believe what awesome company I'm finding myself in!

Enough chit chat, here's my very first LO as a member of Forward Progress:


Journaling left page:

When I think about where I am at this point in my life, I can only come to the conclusion that I have everything I have ever wanted ... my family. Although in my childhood dreams I definitely was a mom, but never a SAHM, I now can't imagine nor ever wish for another life. Maybe this fact, the fact that I'm a SAHM, is the reason that I still have so many plans for our house, our home, the place where I am at most of my time. Nothing in my house is 100% the way I want it to be. Still, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else, I love my home and my life in it. But then, sometimes from one minute to the other, I get frustrated because the bathroom isn't big enough, or the electricity is playing up again... How can a person go from intense happiness to utter dissatisfaction in just a moment's time? But then I turn on the TV and watch a documentary about homeless people, or poor people in Africa or other poor countries, and I am reminded once again, for a minute anyway, how good life has been to me. Still, I don't think it's so unusual for a person to want more, I think we all do from time to time, it's in our nature. What would we be without our dreams, without goals in our lives?

Journaling right page:

Yes, 3 different kind of bricks. The exterior of our home definitely leaves room for improvement. However, this ugly exterior houses a safe haven for our family. It's our own cozy little place, where we are building our own happy memories.

Our bathroom ("the little white room") definitely could do with a make-over... but ... it provides us with everything we need: water, just by turning the tap ... what a luxury!

Yes, there are way to many weeds in our garden, and we so need to replace our fences. But, when our kids are playing here, and the garden is filled with laughter, this garden feels like paradise!


I know, I know, a lot of journaling on these pages, but for me it was very therapeutic to write it down. I can feel very dissatisfied at times, and sometimes I need a little reminder of what's really important in life, and just how blessed I am ... something I forget sometimes!


How to:

I started out by using glimmer mist on the left page (sooooo love glimmer mist, I'll be buying lots more of that I tell you!!!) and acrylic paints on the right page.


And what do you know, I used my sewing machine again for the frame!! I'm telling you, those girls over at The Next Step really get under my skin with their wonderful techniques!

The images on the left are images I found on the net, the images on the right are actual pictures of my home.

I drew a bare tree on a piece of cereals' packaging and inked them with my distress inks.

The title is chipboard which I inked and embossed (loooooove the look of embossing - so glad I finally bought me a heat gun and some embossing powders ... it's a whole new world LOL!!)

I wanted the tree on the right to be very bright, I wanted to create a big contrast with the bare tree on the left. However, I didn't have any green acrylic paint, so to create the leaves, I used the oil pastels I have bought recently (another thing Lucy from The Next Step inspired me to buy!). I was so pleasantly surprised, it's very easy to use and the colours are gorgeous in real life, I'll so be using these again on my pages! And to give it some extra "oemph" I added some really bright flowers.


A very simple LO to make, but I love the result. For once it came out exactly as I had planned in my head ... a first I think! Keandra commented on one of my last LO's that she was shocked because that LO was so different for me ... well my friend, I guess you'll be even more shocked now! I think this looks nothing like I've ever done before and Keandra, I'll tell you a little secret ... you'll be even more shocked when you see my next one (can't share it just yet, but I will soon... ). I have no idea why my LO's keep changing so much. Do I get bored with one look, or does the look simply change because I tend to try new techniques a lot? I don't know, but I do know I like the fact that a lot of my pages look different and I hope this won't change any time soon.

And if my post isn't long enough already, I still want to share the following. Christina loves to draw, and she's always giving them to me as presents... Look at what she drew for me the other day, I so love this:

It reads: For mama ... The best scrapper ever ... 1st place
The little guy says: And the winner is Peggy and he's standing on the "sjuri block" (that's how she wrote it LOL, isn't that cute?)
In her eyes I'm the best, isn't that sweet? And did you notice how skinny she drew me LOL ... that girl sure loves her mama haha. I'll treasure this image of her of me, I know this perfect image won't last for long anymore...

Well, I hope I haven't bored you too much, and I do apologize for assuming that you all have the time to read such a lenghty post. For those of you that have made it all the way down, know that I'm extremely grateful to have such dedicated friends who put up with my talkative nature LOL. Oh, and thanks to all of you who took the time to leave Chloë a comment on her LO, please know that all of you made a little girl very happy!

Oh, and remember, try to play along with Forward Progress!!
Love xxx Peggy

Aussie Scrapjacked July Challenge

This is a very important post for my 8-year old daughter Chloë ... she entered her very first challenge!

Her little sis Christina made a LO a while back for Aussie Scrapjack, and received a lot of comments from you lovely ladies, and each and every comment put a huge smile on her face. This smile got even more enthousiastic when she received a package from Australia with gorgeous kiddie scrap stuff (and some flowers I wanted to steal but she won't let me!!! LOL)

Anyway, Chloë of course was disappointed she hadn't finished her LO (though she had started on one), and was determined to play along this month. She had finished it a couple of weeks ago, but I had forgotten all about it. Luckily I found it today, the last day to enter - pfewww - I would have been in trouble otherwise!!!

Here it is:


Chloë is the one on the right, and the girl on the left is her best friend.
Her journaling: You are my very best friend. I met you in the second grade. We were friends from the very first day.

It came out pretty close to the LO she had to lift, so I think she did a great job. Can you tell she wasn't allowed to use one of her sister's flowers either?? And I don't have any, and she didn't feel like making one herself (though I did offer to teach her ... aaah kids!!!!), so she simply drew one LOL.

Up till now, I haven't allowed my girls to use any of my good stuff, because they tend to start drawing on the pages and stick everything to the page without thinking about it first. I don't understand why a page has to be finished within the hour, do you??? But, seeing as they both pretty much followed the example they had to lift, I guess I might let them use a few (selected) things ... I'll let you know how that works out LOL!

Here's Chloë working on her LO.

My friends, I'll hope you'll do me favour and write a little comment for my sweet girl. I want to see that same proud smile on her face as well! Thanks in advance, you're the best!

Love xxx Peggy