Life's Trivialities

Embrace This Moment / SpiegelMom Scraps Blog Hop

Hey scrappy peeps!! Welcome to my blog if you are new and welcome back if you are a familiar with my scrappy antics! If you didn't come here from Sheryl's blog, be sure to go HERE to the SpiegelMom Scraps blog and work you way back here! Trust me when I hint (poke, prod) that you want to do this! The grand prize for this hop is a complete set of this month's sequins releases; they are stunning!

We are showcasing this month's new sequins releases so be sure to head over to the store and see what new treats Jody has! If you find that you put goodies (and they are amazing goodies!) in your shopping cart and want a coupon code, be sure to use SUZANNA15 and earn 15% off! Including the new goodies!

I used two of the new sequins collections for this layout; Peachy Keeny and Morning Glow. The peachy pink and bluey grey colored sequins from the Peachy Keeny mix were the color drivers of this layout with the softer hues in Morning Glow being a great compliment. Based on these sequins colors, I chose the papers and embellishments that would compliment the sequins. Not my usual started point!

The way the sequins cascade down the page from the flower in the upper, left corner and lead your eye to the picture against the gold studded vellum is beautiful. It makes me think of the sparkle on the water around the fort we were visiting.

If you know me, you know I'm a bit of a fussy cutting nut. The way these flowers from 1Canoe2 two tie the colors together as a uniting element make me happy. As does the PL card from Maggie Holmes poking out of the back of the top of the pictures!

 

Should you be of the process video watching ilk, you might enjoy watching the video come together!

And now for the prize!!! Best part of these hops along with all the inspiration! Jody is giving away all of the September releases to one lucky winner. Be sure to comment at each blog as you hop and let us know what you think of the new sequins mixes and each of the designers projects! We love reading your comments!

The blog hop is open through Saturday night and after that Jody will pick a random winner from the comments on the blogs.

Here is the hop order;

SpiegelMom Scraps blog (Jody)

Sara Scraps  with Raquel :)

Ali Scraps

Karla Yungwirth

Rachel Stewart

Khristina Sorge

Christy Harriman

Lisa Kingston

Christine Beuzit

Sarah King

Laura Rumble

Sheryl Banares Briker

Suzanna Lee <---- YOU ARE HERE

Hannah Lemieux   

Daisie Hanson 

Marie Friant

I hope you enjoyed my layout and process video! From here you are off to see what greatness Hannah has in store for you! Thanks for popping in today and be sure to come back and visit soon!

Top Ten 2016 Blog Hop

 

Welcome to the 2016 version of our annual Top Ten Blog Hop! You should have arrive here from the talented Wendy's page. She's an amazing scrapbooker, don't you think? If you didn't arrive via Wendy's blog, please begin at the beginning of the hop at Mendi's blog and work your way back here. There are lots of prizes up for grabs along the way so you won't want to miss out on all that!

It is that time of year again! That time when one sits down and reflects back upon the good, the bad, the ugly and all the in betweens of the days past. I like to look back at our year through my scrapbook pages. It's a wonderful trip down memory lane and of my creative endeavors. It also helps me to figure out what I have actually done and still need to do! It was so difficult to choose but this is what I narrowed it down to;

If you follow my work, you know that I scrap in all shapes and sizes; I like letter sized layouts just as much as 12x12 and I have been known to do a fair number of pocket pages as well. It just so happens that most of my favorites are on white or light backgrounds. Many of favorites involve either electronic die cutting or fussy cutting and there's a good chance that there is either hand or machine stitching involved. Or a sketch! That about sums up my "usual's"!

You can see the YouTube video I made of the layouts HERE

Be kind! I'm new to the whole video thing and still struggling to find my comfort with the whole process. I do better when I can voice over a process video. I apologize for the um's and inaccurate terminology (I know, it's a YouTube channel...). There are a number of us who have videos so be sure to join us on YouTube.

I won't make this blog post drag on too long and share ALL of the 10 layouts here individually. You can see them best in the video or go back into my blog and visit the individual posts. I do want to share a few of them however. In no particular order I'll share a few of the layouts below.

Both of my kids swim and I create a plethora of swimming layouts. If you too are a Swim Mom and are looking for swimming inspiration, another scrappy friend of mine, Madeline Fox, and I have a Pinterest board full of our swimming layouts that you will find HERE. This layout was created using a Just Nick cut file and a Creative Scrappers sketch - two things that I love to use on my creations!

My Mind's Eye and The Project Bin sentiment stamps! Swoon! I have long been a fan of My Mind's Eye and this was how I began 2016. Clean and simple. With Cocoa Daisy! These goodies, minus the stamp, were part of my first kit with Cocoa Daisy. I really didn't stamp much prior to 2016. Well, I collected plenty of stamps. I actually began to use them this year. It took some doing to overcome my fear of ruining a page that I had worked so hard on but persistence paid off.

Yup, another Cocoa Daisy page! That fantastic background paper is a Cocoa Daisy exclusive! I know some people aren't fans of the exclusive but I really love it. It makes it "boutique" to me in that not as many people have the same as you. Christine does an amazing job of coordinating different manufacturers. And yes, another of my little fish. I broke away from the red and blue swimming pages this year (our year round team colors) and tried doing something a little different.

With those three layouts, I think I'll stop there. You get the idea.

We wanted to give you plenty of chances and opportunity to get to know us and be eligible for prizes so there is also an Instagram hop happening simultaneously! You can find me on Instagram HERE. Each of us are tagged in the photo so be sure to follow everybody on Instagram as well.

Because I am such a huge Cocoa Daisy fan and so many of my layouts are created Cocoa Daisy kits, it's only fitting that my prize be Cocoa Daisy! I have two stamp sets for one lucky winner! You will earn one entry for each of the following;

• Follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/suzlee72/ and leave a comment
• Leave me a blog comment telling me what your favorite memory of 2016 is 
• Like/Follow my scrapbooking/crafting FaceBook page https://www.facebook.com/SuzannaScraps/
• Subscribe to my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6wRdBnTBM4gYqz-NN-jZOA

You have until 10pm EST on Monday, January 2nd, 2017 to enter and hop along. I will post a winner, local or International, here on the blog and on Instagram the following day, Wednesday, January 3rd.

Here is the full blog hop order;

Mendi Yoshikawa

Audrey Yeager

Christine Meyer

Juliana Michaels

Wendy Antenucci

Suzanna Lee  <------ You are HERE

Karen Hunter

Monique Liedtke

Kat Benjamin

Jennifer Haggerty

Jen Matott

Missy Whidden

Marcia Dehn Nix

Heather Leopard

Rebecca Keppel

Traci Penrod

Melissa Elsner

Monika Wright

Laura Whitaker

Chantalle McDaniel

 

From here, you are off to visit Karen. Karen creates some of the most inspirational bible journaling posts I have ever seen! I know she will blow you away as well!

 

Happy New Year to you and yours and thanks for stopping into the hop today!

Announcing / 17Turtles / Giveaway

It is an aboslute honor to share with you this latest venture which I have been asked to be a part of. Juliana Michaels, aka the designer behind the amazing cut files at 17 Turtles, has asked me to join Katrina and Monique to be a part of her first ever 17 Turtles design team!

To celebrate this occasion, Juliana is giving away a $20 gift certificate to her Etsy store, 17 Turtles, where you can find the most amazing cut files. Not only are the designs incredible but so too is the customer service. Not sure if the design will cut small or large enough, just ask! Don't see the sport you are looking for, just ask, she might be able to create something for you! I got the swimming files I asked for. For details on how to win Juliana's $20 GC, be sure to check in on the blog HERE.

To stay up to date on the going's on, free files, tutorials and coupons, be sure to subscribe to the 17 Turtles Newsletter. You can do that HERE.

The 17 Turtle FaceBook page can be found HERE. And Instagram HERE.

To celebrate today's announcement, I too have a $10 gift certificate to the 17 Turtles Etsy store to give away! To eligible for the prize please leave me a comment for each of the following;

1. Follow me on my scrappy FaceBook page HERE. (Suzanna Scraps)
2. Leave me a comment letting me know which of the 17 Turtle files you would buy with your $10 GC or if there are files you would to see.
3. Follow me on Instagram HERE. (suzlee72)

Thanks for popping in today! Be sure to bookmark the 17 Turtles Etsy store and blog for more great inspiration!

Practical Scrapper's August Blog Hop /

The end of the month nears and that means time for another Scrapping Our Stash Blog Hope with Practical Scrappers!! You should have arrived here via Wendi's blog. If you haven't, please head over to the Practical Scrappers blog and work your way here.

Old patterned paper + old pictures + old stuff = great memories! Every day I spend with these three truly is a gift, a blessing and, as the quote up there says "a memory to treasure". It doesn't matter what product you have, just use it! Old or new, it doesn't really matter when it comes to preserving your families adventures or daily events. Just make sure you're recording those moments!

I love mixing and matching my fonts for titling. Those aqua colored stickers from American Crafts are fantastic! They are a bit opaque and make me think of the translucency of water. I also love titles with play on words or something a bit smart, smart alecy smart. "Beautiful" or "Be You", while I have used them, and a few times more than I care to admit, don't require much thought. I like my titles to be unique when I can conjure up something!

Some of the speech bubbles are fussy cut from the American Crafts patterned paper that was the "conceptualization central" of this layout. Some are stamps. Other's are shapes I hand cut into speech bubbles and filled with sentiments using Kaiser Craft stamps or other bits and bobs.

So here's today's hop list;

Practical Scrappers

Christine

Wendy C 

Bobbi

Wendi R

Suzanna  <--- That's me!

Kerri

Lee-Anne

Marcia

Cheryl

Cathy

For all your hopping efforts, I have a little give away. I have some Cloud 9 Rub Ons from Chic Tags and Flag Clips from Studio Calico that need to leave my stash and find a new home! These went unclaimed from the July hop and still need a home! To enter, please leave a comment telling me the last time you "busted" your stash! For an extra (or several) entries, follow my scrappy page on FaceBook and leave another comment letting me know you did so. Follow me via Bloglovin using the sidebar button on the right and leave (yet) another comment. Comments will close on Monday, September 1st, 2014 at 10pm EST and I will announce a winner on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2014 in the evening. The winner will have 7 days to claim their prize.

From here you head on to Kerri's blog! Thanks for stopping by and joining in the hop this month! It's always fun to see who passes through and figure out how you got here!

Christmas in July Blog Hop with Practical Scrappers

WELCOME!! Another month means another Practical Scrappers blog hop! And only fitting that it be Christmas for Christmas in July. July 25th, none the less, even better!

You should have arrive here via Laura's blog. If not, please begin at the Practical Scrappers blog and work your way back here, it's won't take you long, promise.

In keeping with the theme, I have a Christmas layout to share with you today created with some of Imaginisce's Christmas line from last year, Colors of Christmas. I love the little hedgehog and owl that are a part of this collection! And the snowflakes!! It's doesn't look Christmas but we were at Christmas Town and in the Christmas spirit! This is a picture of my youngest standing by the giant Christmas tree in the center of Christmas Town.

I pulled apart some of the sticker stackers and used them as separate pieces through out the layout.

I also used my iTop to create snowflake brads for the center of the die cut snowflakes.

PRIZE TIME!!! Yup, I have a prize to give away. What would Christmas (in July) be without presents, right?! So here's my present to one lucky winner. There are several ways you can enter, each being worth an entry into a random drawing for the rub ons and flag clips;

1. Leave a comment telling me your favorite Christmas collection ever.
2. Follow my scrappy page on Facebook; http://www.facebook.com/SuzannaScraps?ref=hl
3. Follow my blog on Bloglovin' (button on the top, right hand sidebar of my blog)

Entries will close at midnight Eastern time on Sunday, July 27th, 2014 and I will post the winner on Monday the 28th so be sure to check back and see if you won and claim your prize!

Today's hop order is as follows;

Practical Scrappers http://practicalscrappers.blogspot.com

Marcia http://www.onescrapatatime-bymumsie.blogspot.com/

Laura http://scrapaddict4life.blogspot.com/

Suzanna  http://lifestrivialities.typepad.com/

Christine http://scrappingwithchristine.blogspot.com

Alison  http://alisondaydesigns.com/

Ruth  http://paperandmusings.wordpress.com/

Lee-Anne http://lee-annelovethejourney.blogspot.com

Cheryl http://patchesandscraps.blogspot.com

Kelly Jean www.kelsterjean.com

Kristy http://alwaysaworldaway.blogspot.com

Brenda http://simplybrenhavingfun.blogspot.com/

Majken  http://chocoscrapaholic.blogspot.com/

Lyne HTTP://LYNNSEVERYDAYIDEAS.BLOGSPOT.COM

Jennifer http://livethemoment-jen.blogspot.com 

Wendy C www.stampingrules.com

From here you are off to my friend Christine's blog to see what awesome she has to share with you! I know she will WOW! you with her project! Thanks for stopping into today and hope to see you back sometime soon!

The Twiney & Chic Tags Blog Hop, Day 2

AND

Welcome to Day 2 of The Twinery and Chic Tags blog hop! What an incredible pairing! Designers from both teams shared projects with us yesterday and there are more great projects today too demonstrating how wonderfully Twinery's bakers twine compliments Chic Tags products!

You should have arrived here from Jennie's blog. If not, start at the Chic Tags blog and work your way back here!

This layout was created using the Cloud 9 collection by Chic Tags and some of The Twinery's stunning solid baker's twine (Marigold, Pink Sorbet and Caribbean) which are the perfect complimentary colors!

Chic Tags was so generous with the product they sent us from the Cloud 9 collection! I used bits and pieces of the fabulous tags, wood veneers, gold tags, clips, flair and rub ons every where! Combine that with The Twinery's twine and it's heaven on a layout! Thread the twine through the wood veneers for some dangly fun or stitch a title, it's all good!

There are prizes from both companies so make sure you have left comments on all the blogs you visited today!!

The Twinery will be giving away a Solid Sampler Pack (a $45 value!) to one lucky winner. Full details for prize eligibilitly can be found on The Twinery blog!  The deadline for commenting is Friday, July 11th and the winner will be announced on The Twinery/Chic Tags blogs on Sunday, July 13th.

In case you get lost along the way, here's the full hop order for today. I'm the caboose, closing things up for the day and the hop!

Chic Tags - http://blog.chictags.com/

The Twinery - http://thetwinery.com/blog

Amy Coose - http://www.amycoose.blogspot.com

Tifany DeGough - http://www.inkblotsbytrd.blogspot.com/

Jennifer Haggerty - http://livethemoment-jen.blogspot.com

Christine Meyer - http://scrappingwithchristine.blogspot.com/

Mandy Kay Starner - http://www.heyheymandykay.com

Jennifer Cuthbertson - http://www.jencuthbertson.blogspot.com/

Jennie McGarvey - http://jenniemcgarvey.typepad.com

Suzanna Lee - http://www.lifestrivialities.typepad.com/

Thanks so much for joining us today and I hop you were inspired by all the wonderful projects! Don't forget to check back at the Chic Tags and The Twinery blogs to see if you were a lucky winner!!

Top Dog Dies Guest Designer

Top Dog Dies is a new online store that offers their own brand of wafer-thin and steel-rule dies, along with dies from brands you already know and trust, including Little B, Lawn Fawn, Taylored Expressions, Savvy Stamps and Cheery Lynn Designs. Top Dog Dies is also the leading U.S. retailer for Tattered Lace, a new line of intricate dies designed by British designer Stephanie Weightman.

Wow! What an amazing opportunity! I am so excited to be guest designing for Top Dog Dies! I am sharing a project here, but be sure and head over to the Top Dog Dies blog and check out the layout I have for you there, that features two of their stunning dies; both a wafer thin Vintage alpha die and a steel rule Photo Mats!

The Photo Mat die was the center piece of this card! It's such a versatile piece; here I have a card, on the Top Dog Die blog a layout. Others have used it for a mini-album. Or, as the title suggests, a photo mat!!

This die would be the perfect compliment to any crafters collection. Remember, it is larger in size, there are three size photo mats contained within one die. When running it through your die cut machine, you will need to use the longer platform.

And because Top Dog Die wants to share their awesome products with you, there's something fun for you, my awesome blog readers and followers! You have a chance to win! Head on over HERE and enter to win! The winner will receive $50 worth of exclusive dies from Top Dog Dies of your choice! Register via the Rafflecopter app on the page to enter. Monday, June 30 at midnight Central Standard Time is the deadline to enter. How incredibly generous!

 

The Twinery and Top Dog Dies Blog Hop / Corner Die Flower Tutorial

Welcome!! Another fabulous day and a great day for a hop don't you think? Today is the third and final day of The Twinery and Top Dog Dies Blog Hop.

You should have hopped here from Amy's blog, if not, be sure to begin the hop HERE and work your way back here. Designers from both teams have projects created using baker's twine and dies from Top Dog Dies to wow you!

Before you get your twine in a tangle or die over those dies, let me share my wears!

I have a party "set up" to share with you today. Miss Mia will be turning 8 in a few short weeks and we are planning her birthday party. I thought the laural lace border die and decorative corner dies were perfectly suited to a name card and flowers for a napkin ring. And of course, Twinery baker's twine are the perfect compliment!

Here's a little step by step photo tutorial should you want to create your own flowers;

1. Gather your supplies

2. Cut five "petals" using the corner die by Top Dog Dies and slightly over lap each one to create the flower base.

3. Cut one flower using the Mini Flower die by Top Dog Dies for the flower center, applying a glue dot to the back of the flower.

4.  Begin to twist your Twinery bakers twine to the create the twine petals on the back of the small flower using the glue dot to secure the twine.

5.  Keep wrapping until you have five petals.

6.  Tie a knot in the center to secure the twine. Snip edges. Apply another glue dot to the center.

7.  Adhere top flower to base petals.

8.  Bling it up with bling for a flower center.

Because every birthday girl wants to feel special, I made Mia a friendship bracelet from Twinery twine, some braiding and a button. Simple! Super simple!

Top Dog Dies was incredibly generous when they sent their product for this cross promotion and they sent me the Baby on Board Die Set as well! I created this little tid bit with that collection and once again used the border and corner dies for "support". A little solid and twisted bakers twine from the Twinery wrapped things up nicely, don't you think?

Follow the list below and hop along the blogs to see fabulous projects by both design teams. The Twinery is giving away a $25 sampler pack of twine to those who comment along the hop. Top Dog Dies is giving away $50 in exclusive wafer-thin dies to one lucky winner.

Top Dog Dies

The Twinery

Monika Wright

Amy Crockett

Suzanna Lee <---- You are HERE!

Jeanne Jachna

Stacey Schafer

Jennifer Cuthbertson

Thanks for stopping by and hopping along with these two amazing companies! I hope I've inspired you and you've found a new way to use baker's twine and dies. Don't forget that to be eligible for The Twinery prize, you need to comment on each blogger's blog, we all like a little love! After you leave a comment, hop on over to Jeanne's blog! I'm sure she's got something amazing to share with you!

 

 

National Scrapbook Day Blog Hop with Pebbles

Hi there and Happy National Scrapbook Day! Welcome to Pebbles Hop! I hope you have had fun so far viewing all of the amazing projects that the Pebbles Design Team has to share with you. The projects are outstanding!

 

We know you will not want to miss visiting each of the sites for details on the full project...

Tiffany Hood Kim Jeffress Suzanna Lee Marjan Pel Samantha Taylor Holly Gagnon Wendy Sue Anderson Emily Spahn Juliana Michaels Nina Yang Amanda Coleman Wendy Antenucci Eva Pizarro Renee Zwirek Patricia Kumfer Kim Kesti

Visit each Design Team member's website and leave a comment. Once you're done, visit Pebbles and enter to win $200 in Pebbles products so that you can get creating on your own!

I have a scrapbooking related pocket style layout to share with you today that I created using Pebbles' Front Porch collection. I thought it only fitting to share a scrapbook related layout for National Scrapbook Day, don't you?

Summer CHA 2013 was a check off of a bucket list dream of mine! While there, I got to meet some wonderful ladies who I've "known" through the scrappy world online but never had the opportunity to meet in person. Until Vegas! There were many amazing, talented people that I met while there but there were 3 who are particularly near and dear to me for various reasons, people who I really hit it off with.

I used the Project Life mini collection that accompanies the Front Porch collection and dresses the cards up with embellishments.

I was late to the pocket scrapping band wagon but I've really enjoyed having multiple mini canvases to adorn and fill to my hearts content!

Thanks for stopping into my blog today! If you're new, welcome and feel free to browse around. Do stop back in again and pay me a visit, I'd love that! If you're a faithful, friend, thanks again!

 

Scrapping Our Stash Blog Hop / Practical Scrappers

Welcome to the Scrapping Our Stash Blog Hop!! I'm glad you could join us! You should have hopped here from Lee-Anne's blog. If you're just joining us, might I suggest you start at the beginning over at the Practical Scrappers blog!

The theme of this blog hop is scrapping our stash; digging past the newly coveted collections to things that were once coveted and brand spankin' new but have fallen into neglect, overshadowed by the latest and greatest. I know you can ALL relate to that. So here's my non-design team, not bound to one collection or manufacturer (primarily), all across the board, whatever I want stash layout!

A little of this, a little of that and voila! It was fun to create with the "old" stuff. To re-discover some of the things that once made you go "aaahhh!". With the newer collections fresh in mind, you see the "old" in a different light sometimes. I certainly did!

Oh the freedom to mix manufacturer's! American Crafts with Lily Bee with Pebbles! Some Chic Tags and October Afternoon! I used the colors in the pictures, as I always do, as the basis for my color selections and just rumaged around until things started taking shape!

The chevrons are a bit of an over-riding theme here with the circles to break up the pattern a bit.

That is me busting my stash! I hope I've inspired you to go take a look at yours and find something "old" to play with.

Here's the hop list.

Practical Scrappers http:practicalscrappers.blogspot.com

Jennifer Haggerty http://livethemoment-jen.blogspot.com

Audrey Yeager http://audreysreflection.blogspot.com/

Lee-Anne Thornton http://lee-annelovethejourney.blogspot.com

------> ME ----->Suzanna Lee http://lifestrivialities.typepad.com/

Monica Bradford http://scrapinspired.com

Brenda Ragsdale:  http://granddivasscrappyplace.blogspot.com/

Nicole Laha http://www.shezigzags.blogspot.com

Susie Bentz  http://mytime2play.blogspot.com/

Wendy Coffman: www.stampingrules.com

Erin Morehouse: http://girlpaperscissors.blogspot.com

Bobbi Smith: http://vintagemusedesigns.blogspot.com/

Wendi Robinson: http://scrappydayinparadise.blogspot.com/

Lisa Peeples: http://www.snappinandscrappin.blogspot.com/

Alison Day: http://alisondaydesigns.com/

Majken Pullin:  http://chocoscrapaholic.blogspot.com/

Cheryl Wegener Freet http://patchesandscraps.blogspot.com

Laura Cox:  http://scrapaddict4life.blogspot.com/

Christine Meyer: http://scrappingwithchristine.blogspot.com

Kerri Yarus: http://kerrikr8tions.blogspot.com

For joining us and hopping along, I have a small, little something for one lucky hopper! I have a three pack of The Twinery twine to give away! You can choose from the Blossom/Charcoal/Honeydew pack OR the Denim/Buttercream/Stone pack. There are 15 yards of each of the 3 colors. From my stash to yours. To enter to win, each is worth an entry;

1. Leave me a comment telling me the oldest thing in your stash
2. Follow my scrappy FaceBook page https://www.facebook.com/SuzannaScraps
3. Follow me on Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/SuzannaLee72/

You have until midnight EST Sunday, April 27th, 2014 and I will post a winner on Monday, April 28th.

From here you're hopping on to Monica's blog! She's got some amazing stash bustin' of her own going on over there! Thanks for swinging by the ol' blog and hopping along with us at Practical Scrappers!