Wednesday Sponsor Giveaway: Freehand Scraps, Big Picture Scrapbooking, + Paper & Co. Show
First, I want to pass along a thought for today that I came across on my friend Alex's blog about courage & leaps:
What I realized is that there is not just one big moment of courage in
our lives. There are many. These moments come to us in different ways.
At times we are forced into a leap (unexpected pregnancy, when parents
or partners pass away, when we loose our job). At times we are called
into a leap (when someone invites us for a trip of a lifetime, when our
partner wants to move to a new city, when we are offered a chance, when
we take the "money maker" role to support our family). Then there are
also the daily tiny leaps we take for the sake of adventure (when we
try new types of food, music, when we go out on a date, when we talk to
a stranger, when we transition from blogger friends to real life
friends). No matter how small, silly or hard, tiny, dramatic or
forgotten... All leaps are important because little by little, we live
through change, we figure out how to cope, we move forward, we learn
who we are, and we build our confidence for the bigger leaps, the ones
we seek for ourselves.
Maybe someone else out there needed to hear this today too...
And now, three cool midweek sponsor giveaways are on tap for today:
• One person will receive a February Kit from Freehand Scraps.
• Two people will receive passes to Stacy Julian's fantastic online Library of Memories class at Big Picture Scrapbooking. Focused on getting your scrapbook albums in working order and organizing your photos (in a very "you-centered" way), I highly recommend the class and/or Stacy's book Photo Freedom. Class begins February 12th and runs for 16 weeks. This class is only offered once a year.
• One person will receive 4 classes for the Paper & Co. event in Italy on March 27, 28, and 29 (giveaway does not include travel, accommodations, or food for the event). You can check out a list of the classes here. Italy sure sounds good to me right about now :).
To be included in the drawing today please leave a comment below and share your most recent "leap" or act of courage. Comments will be closed at 8pm Pacific tonight with the winners posted shortly after.
I would also like to take a minute to welcome and thank my newest blog sponsors:
Digital Birdhouse : digital scrapbook products
Scarlet Lime : monthly kit club
The Paper Pixie : paper embellishments
The Digital Scrapbook Teacher : photoshop tutorials and classes for hybrid + digital scrapbooking
Lettergirls : delightful hand-created address stamps
For more information on sponsor opportunities send me an email: ali at aliedwardsdesign dot com
My most recent leap was letting my two babies spend the night with their grandparents...not a big thing for most...but a BIG leap for me! lol
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A big leap for me was deciding to stop teaching preschool in the fall after 6 years. It will be sad to give it up, so I don't know yet if the big leap was worth it, because it won't take affect until September.
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My most recent leap of courage was just last week when I began to move forward on openning my own business. It's a bit scarry, but on the otherside it's very exciting!
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My latest leap was leaving my job (after 10+ years)to start my own business with a friend, allowing me to work part time instead of full and extra time. I'm so grateful to have time at home with my kids and a business partner who complements me so well, we make a great team.
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I am always reading everyone elses blog and always thinking how nice.... So my leap is I am taking pics of my layouts and I am going to start my own blog.. I am very excited..Renee' in Kentucky
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Our biggest leap took place as a family. We are Canadian, with my husband working for a US based company, and we moved from Vancouver, BC to Portland, ME!!! Coast to coast, from one country to another! We did this in order to help our son with Autism. The education system in the US far surpasses what we had in Canada, especially when it comes to these little ones.
We are forever grateful for the opportunity to make this 'leap' and for the way that God has provided what we need, when we need it! We've made some fabulous new friends and have been welcomed with open arms!
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My most recent leap of courage has been to come out of my little cocoon and actually be alive. God has given me ART to channel my thoughts and fears.
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For me...letting people pay me to take pictures for/of them. It was a huge leap...having the confidence to do that.
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Wow. I am certainly one person who needed to hear this today. My recent leap is still happening. I'm working on how to better support my parents, how to do this from 1000 miles away, recommitting to take better care of myself, and learning lots of new medical and rehab terminology and strategies after my dad's recent stroke.
So far, these feel like huge leaps. Not only are we working without a net, we've never done this before and are also learning how to face lots of unknowns and life-altering change with strength and love.
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Hi Ali,
I think my biggest leaps lately have been just knowing when 'yes' is the correct answer and also being able to say 'no' when I really should and need to do so. Thanks for the encouraging words today.
All the best to you in the coming days...I have a very close friend who is due the same day (or thereabouts) as are you and it is such a blessing to be able to pray for you both.
Kelly
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My most recent leap of faith was finally putting an end to a 3 year on and off again relationship. My heart was broken and so was his but it was for the best.
light and love,
tryshia
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My latest leap was ignoring another parent who was comparing her gymnast son to mine at a meet. Sports should be fun, not stress! Maybe I should have leapt more and told her that.
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My leap was to leave my job I loved and move to another state to let my husband pursue his dream job.
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Life is funny, isn't it? This topic is so appropriate today. I was just laid off from a position I had held for 4 years; a job I accidentally fell into, but loved all the same. My leap has been to put myself out there trying to be relevant in the current job market, as a 44 year old former stay-at-home-mom. But the real irony is that my word for this year is COURAGE. Go figure. (It chose me the first week in January, before all this happened.)
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I was forced into a leap when I broke my back 6 months ago. I have had to relinquish control of many things. Forcing me to accept the way others do things, even if it is not exactly the way I would do them if, I could...
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My most recent act of courage is leaving family and friends behind to so that my husband can be on campus to complete his graduate school studies-1,000 miles away!
We'll have our two little ones in tow... I'm nervous about the transition and leaving the "comforts" of home... but have great hope that we will reap eternal rewards for taking this leap of faith.
Thanks for the opportunity to participate in this super give-away, Ali! Take care.
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My recent leap of faith was accepting the responsibility of the youth group at our church. Teenagers scare me a bit, so it was a pretty big leap!
Thanks for the chance to win.
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wow, awesome giveaways...most recent act of courage? Letting go of my first born, she is off to college and it has been a very difficult to let go.
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My most recent act of courage came last week, when we were hit with the worst ice storm Kentucky has seen in history. We were without power, and without water. We also had no way to call our family members to see if they were okay (land lines and cell phones were down). It was terrifying to me. Luckily, family and friends only suffered minor, repairable damage. And I got electricity a week later! Now I can say I know how Mary Ingles Wilder lived! (Except I'll bet she didn't warm her water on a grill...)
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I made the leap to homeschool my girls recently. Big leap for all of us but I think it's bringing us closer together as a family.
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When I decided not to return to work and run a home daycare so I could be with my own kids. Some days I still think I was crazy but I never regret being with my kids. What a wonderful gift to be with my kids every day and make my home my workplace. It fills with me with pride and joy to be in this place at this time of my life.
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My biggest leap was to come back to live in Switzerland with my husband after a first attempt that didn't turn well.
And my last but smallest leap was to take my baby because she was crying after I had just put her in bed yesterday. There was a lady here checking on me and the baby and I new it wasn't the right thing to do to pick up the baby (apparently, we should let the baby cry, otherwise he will know he just has to cry and we pick him up), but it was what I felt was the right thing to do. So I did it.
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My leap was in joining the choir at our church. It is something that I have wanted to do for a long time, but the time commitment level is pretty high in comparison to other ministries at our church. My spouse and family are backing me up and I am enjoying it. Thank you for the chance at some great giveaways.
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It's been a big leap for me these past few months. I got married in October and then found out I was pregnant a few weeks later (much, much sooner than we had wanted). So adjusting to the idea of being a parent is an enormous leap for me, albeit an exciting one.
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Oh, I so want that Library of Memories Workshop. I've been eyeing that....
I think my BIGGEST leap recently has been putting our house up for sale. Especially with the market as it is. The other leap I have been considering taking is deciding after 6 months to stay, put the boys together in a room, and make things work with what we have.
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