Pencillines Collaborative with the Next Step and DT Call

Well yesterday was an exciting day for me!!!! PENCILLINES. The design team at The Next Step collaborated with Pencillines this week and we got to contribute a layout each using one of Anna's sketches. I can't tell you all how thrilling this last couple of months have been for me. I am amazed by what can happen when you are filled with passion and when you learn how to channel it. I am learning more and more how accessible things can be when you just r-e-a-c-h.

This scrapbooking thing has been such a blessing for me. I honestly believe that it's effect has been incredibly wide reaching in my life. I am changing because of it. It has sparked belief in myself. That alone is life changing, but it doesn't stop there.
When I was struggling after the birth of my children, and feeling more and more alone and isolated in my own mind, I fell into scrapbooking. It has helped me with anxiety problems. It helped make me feel less "broken". I was able to fully focus on it with the magic of passion and art, something that I have always had issues with(focusing, that is). I was able to prove to myself that I can stick to something. It has been a bit of a struggle to convince others of the fact it is something worth "sticking with". But that in itself has been very affirming too, because in feeling a need to justify it to people all the time, I (a) had to question why I felt the need to justify it , and (b) really reflected on just what it's merits are/have been. The biggest thing I think that I have gotten from all of this is that you have absolutely no control over what people are going to think of you, say about you, treat you. All I have control over is myself, and that is a struggle itself. What matters is having a clear view of what is important to you and the people that you love. It's you and them that you answer to at the end of the day, and mostly just yourself really. So I try to live now in a way that makes me feel good at the end of the day. IE. Have I served myself today? Have I been the person that I want to be? Have I served my children and family? Am I proud of my choices and my actions? The answer isn't always yes to all those questions, but I am also learning how to be more forgiving of myself, more tolerant, and it feels really good. Anyway, the whole point is that scrapbooking has been instrumental in helping me learn to love myself...and others.

Here is the sketch that we got to work with:

Here's Lucy's LO:

Here's Gayle's:

Here's Bethany's:

Here's Jamie's:

And mine:

Pencillines DT:

Anna

Ania

Carina

Michelle

Sue:

Tracie:

Yuko:

I also wanted to share a clip from last night's so you think you can dance Canada. It was Mia Michael's choreography for the top 10 in the finale episode. The quality of the video is not great, couldn't find anything else and the volume needs to be cranked way up, but this dance is stunning. The outfits were amazing. Check it out:


~Tricia

OH and one last thing. ScrapMuse may or may not be looking for 4 new Design Team members, deets to follow soon.