Blog Hop Madness!!!!

 Hello there friends of all things beautiful, lovely and inspiring!  I'm so glad you stopped by today as we are having a super fun Blog Hop with Lily Bee Design.  If you're coming in order, than you've just arrived here from  the fabulous Melissa Mann's Blog.  In case you didn't get to that, let me give you the full list of hoppers for today.

Deanna Misner
Melissa Mann
Ursula Schneider (you are HERE!)
Becky Williams
Lily Bee Design blog

Now, as you know, there is always a good reason for a Blog Hop!  This week, we're celebrating Lily Bee Designs Fourth Birthday!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILY BEE DESIGN!!!!! 

And I bet you know that there are usually prizes involved for hopping around excited with all of (in a celebretory manner of course!)

Now on with the blog hop. We have a lot of chances for you to win a prize package from Lily Bee each day of the hop! Here’s what you need to do to be eligible to win:

• Follow the Lily Bee Design blog
• Leave a comment on each designer’s blog
• Leave a comment on the Lily Bee Design blog telling us what your favorite new embellishments are from our collections 

• Bonus entry opportunities:
  • Like Lily Bee Design on Facebook 
  • Follow Lily Bee Design on Instagram and tag yourself and at least one friend on the Lily Bee Design blog hop photo.
  • Follow Lily Bee Design on Twitter and Tweet or Re-Tweet the blog hop info
  • Follow Lily Bee design on Pinterest
  • Pin any of this week’s design team projects that have inspired you, tagging #lilybeedesign so we can easily find the entries.

That’s a lot of ways to win! Plus, since this is a 3-day blog hop with new projects every day, there's even more chances if you participate in our hop tomorrow and go back to yesterday's as well! You have until Sunday March 3, 2013 to complete the hop. Winners will be announced next week!

Since today is card Wednesday, we've all created some fun cards to help make the celebration complete.  Here are my offerings.

Lily Bee Supplies Used (Victoria Park: 6x6 Paper Pad, Persnickety: 6x6 Paper Pad, ABC Cardstock Stickers, Christmas Cheer: 6x6 Paper Pad, Buttercup: 6x6 Paper Pad, Double Dutch: 6x6 Paper Pad)

I got happy with confetti for this first one.  In order to create a cellophane bag, I simply used packaging from some scrap item or another and sewed it inside the pocket in the size I needed.  Super easy to do.

I die cut the card on my Silhouette SD to get the balloon shape and Celebrate word and then added patterned paper behind them.

This one is an invitation.  Die cut a question mark that has options for two patterned papers.  Glue them together, add gold leafing pen around the edges and around the edges of the card.  Add gold mist droplets and sequins and Voila!

Lily Bee Supplies used: Persnickety (Patterned paper, ABC Cardstock Stickers, ABC Mixed Cardstock Stickers) Christmas Cheer: (Patterned Paper, Acrylic Stamps)

Thanks so much for celebrating with us today.  Make sure and complete the hop and leave lots of comments for your chance to win!  And don't forget to check at Lily Bee Design tomorrow for the final round!

Hello Friday -- Getting Back to Normal

Hello friends.  I've been rather quiet of late, you might have noticed.  I'll be sharing a little of why in a bit.  For now, let me show you a layout I did recently for Lily Bee Design.

We focused on Winter this week and Patricia Roebuck and I started day one with our respective views of Winter.  You can see the details of that here.

But I'll also show you my layout here.

My favorite feature of this layout is something I've been meaning to try for a good long while, a whole 12 x12 layer of vellum over the background.  I love the way it softens and adds dimension.

Now, as to the reasons for my quietude.  We've spent the last month having our daughter Maddie back at home for the holidays.  When Maddie went to Teen Challenge, we didn't anticipate her coming home for holidays, as typically, the program would continue right through the holidays.  However, circumstances dictated a closure for the facitity for a one month period and home she came.

All of us involved had feelings of trepidation.  It required that Hunter leave home during that period, which was not a welcome thought.  It required that I cease pretty much all outside activities that would take me away from the home. (a considerable number!)  It required that we spend a lot of time together with one another when our previous parting had been under such conditions that any kind of communication seemed nearly impossible.  It required that we stop attending our regular church (which is our family in the truest sense of the word) during the entire holiday season. (which broke our hearts)

It was a hard thing.

It also required that I spend hours daily simply sitting and talking with my daughter, trying to help, trying to reach into the protected places, trying to rebuild a trust that had been broken countless times and in countless ways.  It required that I make myself vulnerable yet again to ridicule, scorn and rejection from a child whose heart was very much like an animal caught in a painful trap.  In the past, Maddie would sooner bite and rip at the hand reaching out to help, or even chew off her own hand, rather than let me help her to release the trap from her wounded heart.

So, as you might imagine, we were quite nervous at how this Christmas would turn out.

Boy, did we have a blessing from the Lord coming!  We picked Maddie up after an 8 hour drive at 1:00 in the afternoon and immediately began the 8 hour drive back.  It was a grueling trip and I was very 'on edge'.  However, with much prayer, my eyes were opened to a young woman whose heart had softened considerably.

Was she completely healed?  No, not by a long shot.  But she was no longer snapping at the hand that sought to release the trap.  Instead, while it hurts to open the trap and let the wound bleed, she has come to realize it is necessary for her to be free.

The process of healing from deep hurt is absolutely agonizing for the one wounded.  It's not worse than being in the trap, but the poor hurting soul doesn't know that ahead of time.

So, this last month has been spent in lancing the wound and letting the infection out again and again.  It reminds me of what is necessary to treat a burn victim.  It's a daily agony meant to ultimately heal.  But there will be scars and no one is looking forward to those either.  Everyone would like the end result to appear unscathed, but we all know that is not possible.

It's  been an intense but also a rewarding time.  It's been a time when hope has grown. Healing has taken place  Trust has been built, really for the very first time.  It's been a time to say 'sorry' and a time to say 'I love you' and a time to say 'I can't wait for the future to unfold.'

Now, I have to figure how to get back into the swing of things.  I woke up Thursday morning and missed my girl and wondered what the heck I'd do with myself all day long.  Believe me, that is a new feeling for me. It is hard to miss heartache and that is what we had before.  Now, we have a new beginning because of the healing of a Savior beyond compare, Jesus and I am so thankful for that.

Hello Wednesday -- A winner, A new layout and a Halloween Story

We have a winner!

Congratulations Tzipora!  Get your info to me and I'll mail out your stamps right away!

Today, I'd also like to show a layout and a little story.  I recently shared a layout about our family's love for Halloween candy.  I also mentioned in that layout that our family does not celebrate Halloween and I thought I'd share a little of the history behind that decision.

When I was a girl, we never celebrated Halloween.  I can remember feeling angry at my mother, because it was mainly her conviction that drove the decision.  She felt it was a day that honored the Devil and she didn't want to take part.

Fast forward a few years to when I was old enough to make my own decisions.  The very first time Halloween came around, I jumped on the chance to celebrate.  I rented a costume from the local outlet and was a court jester (and a waitress, had to work that night).  I thought I was pretty cool!

A year later, I was a new mother, but my daughter was only a month old when Halloween came around so we pretty much ignored it.  The next year, we ignored it again, but that third year, we couldn't resist decking our sweet little Kaitlin out in a cow suit.  She was the cutest little Bessie anyone ever did see.

However, I began to feel icky about participating.  It's not that I personally intended to honor Satan with my participation, but something niggled at my mind.  I began to do research and came across a small booklet called 'The Facts on Halloween'.  It's a quick read and presents information about the history of Halloween.

What I liked most about the booklet is that it presented information without in any way suggesting the reader MUST end with a particular opinion.  The authors leave the decision squarely in the hands of the reader.  In our case, we felt that we just didn't want to participate any longer.  After all that, I ended up agreeing with my mother's original stance.

It's funny how sometimes we have to take the long way around, but if I hadn't done the research myself, I wouldn't have really owned the thing I decided to take my stand on.

I'm not standing in judgement over what other families have decided to do, but this is what we have chosen.  We've often said that our first priority was to honor God and since it seemed to us that celebrating Halloween would take away from that goal, we decided to say 'NO' to Halloween.  Hope that clears up any questions anyone has about the why's.  If not feel free to ask.

And now for the Lily Bee layout based on my sketch.  You can see the sketch and participate in the challenge at this post.

I got out my embossing powders for this page and did the polaroid frames is red, yellow and pale blue to blend with the collection colors.

My Sodalicious goodies finally came in so I got to use those super fun wood veneer chevrons!

And here you see my 'still all time favorite thickers ever', the exclusives from Glee Club about a year ago now.  Still love that kit!  You'll also notice that I used those awesome Lily Bee stamps from the Autumn Spice collection quite a bit.  Love how crisply they stamp the image.

Have a beautiful day!

Hello Friday -- It's Time for a Lily Bee Blog Hop

And you all know what that means!  Lots of inspiration and giveaways and fun!  We have added a lot of amazingly talented new ladies to our design team and we thought that was a good reason to celebrate, so we're inviting you to celebrate with us in our Design Team Blog Hop!

I've got a little something to start off the inspiration today.  I've combined all three of the new lines, Persnickety, Autumn Spice and Christmas Cheer on this one layout.  

The colors in these collections are so versatile that even a 'vintage' style layout works well.  I'm sharing this page of myself and my grandpa when I was just 8 years old. (Wow! That was a looonngg time ago!)

I've incorporated lots of stitching and layers since I wanted to showcase lots of the different papers.

I'm kind of in love with the idea of layered shapes right now.  The sizes of the patterns on these papers really lends them beautifully to this kind of layering.

And now, it's time for you to hop on over to some of the other DT members blogs to see what inspiring ideas they have for you.

Here are the hoppin' spots!  

Ursula Schneider ==>> You are here!

Summer Fullerton 

Stacey Michaud 

Patricia Roebuck 

Melissa Mann 

Lisa Dickinson

Leslie Ashe

Heather Leopard 

Deanna Misner

Cindy Liebel 

Becky Williams 

Andrea Budjack

Amy Heller 

Lily Bee Blog

Make sure you leave a comment on every single one of these blogs to win!  One lucky hopper will win all three of our newest collections!  And since we don't want there to be a lack, some of girls are having a little giveaway of our own.  For myself, I have a gorgeous set of Pink Paislee's new Portfolio stamps to share.  If you both leave a comment and follow my blog, you'll be entered to win the stamps as well!

Have a lovely time hoppin' around the amazing new Lily Bee Design Team. I know you'll have a great time getting to know all the new gals today!

Hello Friday -- A card to share

Quick post today.  I'm sharing a sweet little card I made using the Persnickety Line for Lily Bee Design. 

I like it when a card can be used for most anything and this is an example of that.

I added layers of clouds to create depth.

And wavy stitching to create the idea of the movement of the clouds across the sky.

The ABC card-stock stickers have so many you can easily create a whole sentence.  Love that.

Here's hoping you are having an 'On Cloud Nine' kind of day!

Hello Tuesday -- Anyone Feeling Persnickety??

We all are over at Lily Bee Design this week.  LBD is showcasing the awesome new Persnickety Line this week.  I have been itching to get my hands on this beautiful collection.

The patterns and colors are delish and so very versatile.  Not a lot of lines are masculine friendly but this selection of colors and patterns are a match made in heaven for masculine or feminine projects.

Yesterday, LBD shared this layout on the blog as part of the parade of beautiful Persnickety projects for this weeks feature.

No offense to my favorite men, but these two have really big heads!  They really do.  Can't find a hat to fit on  poor Jeremy's head, and.....well.....Bean's doggy brain is apparently quite large as his head is even bigger than Jeremy's.  Title is cut with my Silhouette using Franklin Gothic font.  To the LBD goodies, I added some Scarlet Bird Designs Button Badges and some Studio calico Wood Veneer Asterisks.

Do you not simply LOVE the new stamps for this line?  So many fun options.  Who can't find a use for a polaroid frame, a row of sweet hearts and phrases such as happy day.  You may notice that I only used half of that phrase on the tab to the left of the photo.  Simply use an easy to place ink such as the Prima Chalk inks to selectively apply the ink.

I also used my Epiphany crafts brad makers to create my own brad using the 6x6 Tiny tablet paper.  If you like that ink splotch, please visit Tina Walker's quick tutorial to learn her awesome and easy technique.  I'll be using this one again!

Make sure you keep an eye on the LBD blog all week for more Persnickety inspiration.

So what do you have planned for today?  I'm going to head down the road to enjoy some of the results of a wonderful desert monsoon season.  Everything is green and lush but things are heating back up and drying out like beef jerky so I have to act fast.  I'll let you know what I find.

Thanks for stopping in and have a lovely!

Hello Tuesday -- A Layout and a Smile

Hi friends!  I'm in a good mood!  Why you ask??  Because we have had a cooling trend in our temps lately.  Lots of grey skies and rain.  Such a welcome gift in the desert.  Of course, it also means my clean floors don't stay that way, but a girl has to make certain sacrifices.

I've got a new layout to share with you today. If you've been over visiting Lily Bee's Blog you may have seen it.  If not, here it is, in all it's glory.

Well, first, here is the sketch on which it's based.  I created the sketch and followed it pretty closely.

I went back in time for this page.  I am actually shocked at how FAR back I had to go for this event.  I can scarcely believe that six entire years have passed since my little girl entered high school.  But alas, it's the truth.

My hubby commented, looking at the photos, that she's hardly changed at all.  I guess she already looked quite grown up at the ripe old age of 13.  Yep, she's only 13 here.  It's mid July and she won't be 14 until mid October.

As you can see, I mirrored the border strip from the top and added it on the bottom as well.

Used the chevron punch to cut out those shapes.  I love it and only wish I had several more sizes, both narrower and wider. (Yes, I can do it on the Silhouette but somehow I rebel against doing that sort of the thing on my Silhouette.)

I am truly in love with the new mini word stamps from the Lily Bee Autumn Spice collection. They will be getting LOTS of use!  Well, to be honest, all the stamps from the new releases are going to be well loved in my studio.

For the block on the bottom, I stuck with the foundation that was provided and built on it to add a bit more dimension.

Did you notice my new tapes?!  I'm pretty stoked about them.  They come from two separate sets that I recently picked up from Blue Moon Scrapbooking. I purchased this one and this one.  Not that I'm enabling or anything like that.

(Lily Bee Supplies: Memorandum Collection(Patterned Paper) Handmade Collection (Bag O Bits, Mixed Cardstock Sticker, Patterned Paper) Victoria Park Collection (Patterned Paper), Buttercup (Mixed Cardstock Stickers, Patterned Paper) Persnickity (ABC Cardstock Stickers, Mixed Cardstock Stickers, Journal Cards, Clear Stamps) Autumn Spice (Clear stamps), Christmas Cheer (Clear Stamps)

Hope ya'll have a lovely day!

Hello Monday -- Instaddict

Hey friends, I'm starting off today with a share.  Lily Bee Design is having a huge giveaway and I sure don't want my readers to miss it.  Check out  this post to find out what is going on!

I also thought I'd show you some of my instagraming from the past week in case you're not following my feed.  (by the way, if you want to do that, you can find it by going to Instagram and following ursie1972.)

Yesterday, I spent quite a long time on the phone with my DD and of course, we talked phones since we both recently got the Samsung Galaxy S3.  She's teaching me how to use it.  While we were yacking, I snapped the following.

This one was taken from the trampoline, on which I was laying while we chatted. (this is not a good option if you have any symptoms of vertigo, fyi)

This is a miracle. Bean willingly posed for me.  Miracle I tell ya!

I may have an Instaddiction!

I don't know why this looks like a painting, it's not.  It was a butterfly on a plant I found at the local nursery.

Hubby and a friend, don't they look like they could be brothers?!

Happy Lily Bee mail!

Sunset in the Saguaros.

Alright, that's enough for now.  I could go on and on, but you may end up hating me. ;)

Happy Monday!

Hello Thursday

I wanted to share some questions I ask myself from time to time.  I will tell you straight up that I'm inclined to think that many of you will relate to the things I share.  Of course, not in exactly the same manner, but I'm a believer that most of us have a whole lot more in common than gets voiced.  Sooooo, I"m guessing I'm not the only one who thinks things like......

Why do I feel like if someone disagrees with me, it means that they don't like me?
Why do I think I need to prove that I am worthwhile person to literally everyone I come into contact with?
Why do I even care if the guy in the line behind me at McDonald's thinks I'm a worthwhile person?

Yep, those kinds of thoughts traverse the space between my ears far more regularly than I'd like.  My intellect knows that I should throw those particular thoughts in the trash.  My heart is afraid that somehow that wouldn't be a good idea.  And forever the two shall war.

Nothing further on that, but I just thought I'd put it on the table in case anyone else has similar conversations inside their own heads.  Anyone???

For those of you who don't have such thoughts, feel free to refrain from comment.  I can't understand you, nor you me and that is ok.  We probably wouldn't agree anyway and then I'd be afraid you wouldn't like me. LOL

Now, what can I show and tell today???  Let's see, here is one I did a few weeks ago for Lily Bee Design.  I pretty much love how it turned out. I did a design sense tutorial over on the Lily Bee Blog if you care to have a look.

I had lots of fun with my Creative Memories hexagon punches.

And lately, foam squares are my best buddy.  Love raising things up!

I hope your day is inspired!

Hello Friday -- I've missed you

Wow, we have been on quite an adventure.  Ten full days on the road from Tucson to Santa Rosa, CA and back.  We took the slow route, along the coastal highway and saw sooo many amazing views.  I can't even tell you how awesome it was.

I'll be sharing photos from this trip for a while.  I think I took over 2000 of them.  Haven't counted yet.  We met amazing people along the way and had a generally wonderful time.  It never turns out to be enough time to fully enjoy the places where you go, but then I guess that gives you the impetus to go back again right.

This one is of a lighthouse at Pt Reyes just a little north of San Francisco.  Unfortunately, we arrived to late in the day to get to walk down to the lighthouse, but I thought the view from the top of the hill was pretty incredible.  

This may be the straightest beach in California!  It is Point Reyes Beach and the surf is absolutely stunning.  I'm guessing that the beach drops off quickly.  This beach is known for some scary sneaker waves that can be quite deadly.  After we finished up here, we did go down for a closer look.  I wish I could capture for you the crashing of these massive waves.  Amazing!

This is the surface beach, it doesn't do it justice, I can tell you.  

Here we were at the lighthouse observation point.

These made me think of kitty tails.

There was a lot of fog rolling in by this time in the day so the lighting wasn't just what I wanted but I just turned my eye in a different direction.  I became fascinated with the many tiny landscapes that were all around me.

This lone cypress baby made me think of Japanese bonsai, so tiny and sweet.

The color present on the coast fascinated me.

We plants growing under a damp rock ledge.

While I was away, there was at least one share of a layout and sketch I created for Lily Bee which I'd love to share here on my blog as well.

I got to partner with Julia Stainton and I do hope you'll check out the LBD post to see her rendition of the sketch as well.

I like to keep my sketches simple so I can add as much as I want, or not.

I'm realizing that I do a lot of layouts that send a message, rather than about people.  They are more of a journal of 'lessons learned' that I am passing on for my family.

Had fun with the clouds, thanks to a class I took from Celine and Karine!

Used my Silhouette to cut out some leaf shapes, inspired by Kim Stewart!

Well, I think that may be enough for now.  Though I have tons more to share.  I'll see you next week!