Sharing an everyday miracle...

Its my turn to share an everyday miracle at SEM this month, my first post in my DT role and I am so nervous that I have done something really wrong - spelling and grammatical errors will abound!

I took some time out to think about the everyday miracles that have touched my life, and one that I far too often take for granted is acceptance. I am blessed to live in a diverse family who have been exposed to the very multicultural mix that is modern Melbourne. Here is a little sample of my post...

This is my Grade Prep photo, taken in 1979. I am in the front row seated 2^nd from the right, with my home haircut and pretty dress that Mum sewed for me.

In this class of 31 children I can distinctly remember having friends who came from Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Italy, Israel, Finland, Vietnam, Cambodia, New Zealand and Yugoslavia (as it was known then), and they are the nations that come to mind over 30 years later, there may have been more. We shared our cultures, stories, our food and languages. This was our normal.

My family embraced this multiculturalism that my brother Adam and I lived amongst. 
Adam has learning difficulties and special needs. Cahn accepted him as his friend. Adam never noticed that Cahn was Vietnamese. He accepted him as his friend. My parents ‘adopted’ Cahn, since he was living in the care of the Wesley Mission, but what he really needed was a family.

Galations 3:28

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Please drop by  Scrapping Everyday Miracles to read the rest of my post.

 

Thanks for looking xx

SEM October Sketch Challenge

We will ROCK you!

 

My kids had their school concert last month, a rock musical set to music by ABBA and Queen. The songs they had to sing were "Money, money, money" and "Princes of the Universe".

Can you guess who sang what?

I really wanted to scrap these photos, they capture so much personality! I started out with some pretty paper but decided I needed to grunge it up a bit. I used glimmermist over washi tape as a mask, a grid stamp, scrunched it all and then added some doodling. The guitar was a lucky find when searching for music clip art.

Einat set this months sketch challenge with a lovely sketch from PageMaps.

and the Scrap twist: Since this is the season of the Jewish New Year the twist will be to use red or green colors and shades on your layout (like the colors of an apple). One of the New Year's traditions is to eat an apple with honey: an apple so the year will be round, whole with no bumps or obstacles, and honey so the year will be good and sweet.

 

(Sorry Einat, I didn't intend to take your beautiful sentiment and mess it up so much, but that's how the sketch worked for me!)

 

Be sure to check out the DT samples at SEM and have a go at using the sketch this month.

 

Thanks for looking!

Kerri's October Challenge

Meeting Nudge

This was a particularly memorable moment on our Gold Coast holiday over summer. 

We had the opportunity to swim with a beautiful, clever juvenile dolphin named Nudge.

Nudge came to Seaworld after being found on Nudgee Beach (hence his name), tied in fishing nets. When he rolled over for us we could see the scarring under his belly from the carelessly discarded nets that were left by irresponsible fishermen. It took months of intensive rehabilitation to get Nudge swimming again, and yet here he was, trusting us implicitly, following instructions from his trainer impeccably and demonstrating just how important it is to care for our environment.

I am so grateful that I had this opportunity and got to share it with my family - without doubt this was one of the most incredible things I have done in my life - a bucket list moment for sure.

Kerri @ Home and Scrapped challenged us to use chevrons and a large title on a layout.

I have completely fallen in love with the Echo Park 'Everyday Electic' range and its gorgeous summer colours and funky chevrons. I have made so many projects from it I have a lot of scraps so I thought I could cut them into strips and weave my background - I know, I know, all of those chevrons make for a very busy layout but I still love it!

Thanks for looking xx

SEM Challenge #21 - Miracles of Fall

Nicole set this months main challenge at Scrapping Everyday Miracles.

Hi Everyone it is Nicole writing you from above the Arctic Circle in Norway.  Well Fall is in full force around here. For this months Main Challenge I want us to be inspired by the Fall season and to look for those everyday miracles around us at this time of year. I want to challenge you to really look for a special moment from the fall season.... maybe something that you could have overlooked or taken for granted.

Scrap Twist: This challenge I would like if you could use PAINT on your layout!  I know you might be afraid that you will mess it up but that is part of the charm of using paint on your layout!  Have fun and get creative!

You've got a friend

I have taken up your challenge, Nicole, and run with it! 

I took your inspiration and immediately thought of the Carole King song lyrics;

You just call out my name,
and you know where ever I am
I'll come running,
oh yeah baby to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,
all you have to do is call
and I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You've got a friend.

Now, this layout is not particularly about Autumn,  but more about the feelings and memories that this song brings to the fore. This photo was taken over 20 years ago (ugh, that seems so much longer than it feels) at my dear friend Sherri's 18th birthday party. We had a lovely evening at a fancy restaurant, pretending we were all grown up - although at the time I am sure we thought  we were. Lots of years have passed, and we certainly don't see each other or call often enough, but that doesn't mean that we are any less friends now than then.

This is just a little message to remind these special ladies that it doesn't matter the time, the distance or the season, you've got a friend in me.

Do you like my pretty paper flowers? They were made from recycled brown paper bags and my background corrugated card was the packaging from my new frypan! Don't discount anything when you are scrapping, I know that I can't afford to buy all of the fancy new products - as lovely as they are and as much as I'd like to - so I have to work with what I've got, and the results? Not perfect, but effective, and it leaves me a little cash to splurge on the things I really want.

Don't forget to check out the other DT blogs and link you own project back to SEM for your chance to win! This months challenge is sponsored by Boys Rule kit club, for those of us who have a dirty, grungy, smelly little man to scrap about!

Thanks for looking xx