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
First time to do this! It may post twice since I tried a few minutes ago, too...My biggest leap - we are taking big leaps every day. Our second daughter is really struggling. She is 14 years old and was diagnosed with anxiety last June, ADHD this past fall, and now they are considering that she may have PDD, a mild form of autism. So we leap every day. The most recent leap was getting her on the bus this morning. She did. Leap one for today.
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My leap -- there have been a lot of them in recent years, but personally it has been representing myself in court proceedings with my ex and successfully bringing it to a close, and professionally trying a brand new implementation of technology in my classroom and getting the support I asked for from parents and other staff. I'm hoping it's the start of something great!
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Thanks so much for sharing that blog entry!
In fact, my newest big leap was going back to work full time last week. I've been home with my boys for almost 3 years. Now it feels really great to be contributing to our family financially. It definitely makes me and my hubs feel a little more secure... and the boys are great! No big deal to them; they get to go to school 5 days a week instead of 3 :)It's been a great leap for us!
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Great giveaways! Holey Batman!
My biggest leap is trying to understand and adjust that my kids need me now just as much as when they were tiny but in different ways. I am making the leap to let them be who they are and independent and to make their own choices and to take their own responsiblities. It is hard to sometimes hand over that control for me.
Melissa F.
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This is soooo applicable to my life today! I was invited on a short trip with some friends to the beach....traveling on a PRIVATE JET, no less.....and of course this is the worst time for me to go out of town........but I'm going! Life's too short to pass things up, especially with friends.
Need the kit to document this chance of a lifetime!
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I'm heading for a different kind of leap. My last son is a senior this year and will be heading off to college next year, leaving my dh and I empty nesters. It's a feeling of both excitement and fear. I'm not sure what lies ahead (I'm exploring a few different possibilities), but it's a strange, wonderful, scary feeling!
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At this time in my life my biggest leap of faith is going back to work and leaving my little one in the care of someone else. Hope you and yours are doing well and thanks for the chance to win some awesome goodies!!!
Jennifer H.
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My most recent leap was allowing my daughter to go on the flying fox. She is almost 4 and has wanted to go on it for ages, seeing all the older kids having a go, But I just didnt have the courage to let her go until recently. But i had to get past my fear and let her do a bit of growing up and she did great. I actually just scrapped a layout about it yesterday for a layout a day challenge i am doing this Feb. It may seem like only a small leap but for me its a huge leap, letting go of the fear.
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I am pulling myself out of depression without the aid of medication and doctors, just lots of love and patience from hubby and the listening ear of my sister. It's been a tough ride but I am learning to find inspiration from a lot of people like you. People who didn't know me personally but continue to give me hope that there are better things in life to aspire for. Thanks Ali for sharing your life and your gift. :-)
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I am trying to land a full time job. Giant leap of faith for me as I've worked part time for the past 21 years! I go on an interview this Friday. Great job, but lots of local travel, along with nights and weekends. It's a leap!
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Six months ago my husband was diagnosed with Lymphoma and I had to take on much of the responsibilities of the house and our three young children while he underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments. I am happy to report that he is now in full remission.
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My biggest leap? Having a fourth child last year! Being a mom is amazing but is also a huge responsibility-and being a mom of four boys-is sort of scary sometimes. :)
Have to say though, I wouldn't trade them for anything in this world!
Christina
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my most recent leap? hmmm....I had surgery on my finger and I am TERRIFIED of needles. That was a HUGE leap! (I had two options of what I could do and opted for the surgery....) I'm happy to report that I am almost completely healed with full mobility back to my finger! :)
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Hey Ali,
The feb. kit looks like fun and so does the class with Stacy.
My BIG leap started in Dec. I started "The FLYlady thing" (flylady.net) She has shown me babysteps to get my self into a rountine and declutter my house. She has helped over 500,000 people. My DH and DC can tell a big difference in our lives already.
A leap I was called into... When i was visiting w/ a friend resently she said it would be fun if I went with her to the CKC in Portland. All reservations are made and we are going. I had never though about going to a convention so now i am stepping outside my comfort zone.
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I guess my most recent leap was changing jobs in the current economy. Going from a secure job to a newly created position in a different company. I love my new job and am so much happier. So glad that I took that leap!!
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My most recent leap of faith was after my daughter Reilly was stillborn at 38 weeks, I decided 11 months later to try again, not knowing if this would happen again...but I had faith and my son Drew was born 17 months later after Reilly died. Drew was premature and had humpty dumpty problems but I just knew he would be ok and never let my mind waiver away from that place. I could not imagine my life without Drew and I was right to take a leap of faith, because my lowest of lows were no where near as my highs. Love is always worth taking that leap!
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Hey Ali:
Well, the post today couldn't have been more timely. Just before reading it, I had returned an e-mail to my long-estranged ex-husband of 15 years. We had a chance meeting in public just before the holidays, and have sent each other an e-mail or two since then. He recently asked me out for coffee to "catch up," and today I e-mailed him back and accepted! Yikes!
We had known each other since we were 16, and over the years I realized that before we were husband and wife, we were really great friends. There is always room for another great friend, so, we'll see! The post felt like a type of reassurance; thanks!
A.E.Ford, Indianapolis, IN.
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I had a huge leap in 2008 when I received a call about a consulting contract. I was happily immersed in being a stay at home Mommy and wasn't even thinking about going back to work.... but this opportunity was too good to pass up. So....after only a few days of thinking (which is huge for me, it normally takes way more time to make the big decisions!) my husband quit his job to be a stay at home Daddy (top priority to have someone home with the kids!) and I entered the workforce again after 3 years. It was a fantastic leap! Scary but fantastic!!!
Thanks for asking!
~Laura
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Most recent "leap" is returning to Weight Watchers and learning to control my eating tendencies in time of stress, or simply out of habit (like at 10:30 at night). It has been a frustrating journey this time around, and so the Ghandi quote especially speaks to me right now. Thanks.
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My big leap was moving across the country to a town 1/10th the size, into a very small house with a new husband and his two teenager and trying not to go completely insane.
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my big leap? standing up for myself!
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Our most recent leap was to decide to become a 1-vehicle family. My husband's 16 year old Geo Metro (only 47,000 miles!) required a new transmission. He decided that instead of spending the money to get it fixed or going back into debt to buy a new car, he'll just ride his bike the 10 blocks to work. Now we're selling the car, saving on insurance, license renewal, gas and repairs, and he's getting a daily workout in exchange. On days when it's too wet or too cold to ride the bike, I'm happy to drive him or just stay at home and let him have the van. It can be slightly annoying to the schedule when we both have Girl Scout/Cub Scout meetings on opposite sides of town, but when we think about the positive impact we're having by going back to one vehicle, it is worth it.
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it seems my whole life has been one big leap lately...we sold our lovely home in a wonderful little town and moved to a much smaller town far away. then i found out we were pregnant again (quite unexpected!), just when it seemed i was getting into a pretty good rhythm with my two young sons. now my husband is interested in a new house i'm not so sure about... whenever i feel overwhelmed or long for how "things used to be", i try to stop and think about the new doors that have opened, the new memories we've created, and the things we've seen and done that we never would have unless we took the "leap". change is good!
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After being single for the past year, I finally felt ready to move on and agreed to a blind date. It was a huge leap for me and not nearly as bad as I feared!
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Wow, another great one Ali! I guess my most recent leap of courage was learning to like myself again, I made some mistakes and recently realized that no one is going to be able to forgive me unless I can forgive myself. (that wasn't easy to say...but I guess that is a leap of courage in itself :)) Have a good day Ali!
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