Welcome to my blog for the Happiness Blog Hop!
[The blog hop goes live at 8 AM CST (Chicago), but I am posting this a little early since I am about to hop on a plane and wanted to make sure it publishes OK. So, you may have to come back in a few minutes if the other blogs haven't gone life yet.]
You should have arrived from Scrapping Mojo (www.scrappingmojo.blogspot.com), but if you didn't you can continue on through the hop until you find me again, or feel free to start at the beginning at Stephanie's blog: Scrapworthy Lives: http://www.scrapworthylives.com.
I love the idea of this blog hop. Who couldn't use a little more happiness in their life? And I don't know about you but for me scrapbooking and my other creative endeavors do a lot to bring more happiness to my life.
When I was trying to decide what to do for this blog hop, I was originally going to make a layout of all the things in my life that make me happy. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized most of those things are here on this blog.
I love to:
** record memories - I do that here almost on a daily basis
** take photos - I've posted many, many photos here and shared some a bit about my study of photography over the past year.
** scrapbook - I often share scrapbook layouts here.
** baking & cooking - I have shared some of my favorite recipes.
** designing and decorating cupcakes - I've posted many times the cupcake creations I've made as well as links to where I get my inspiration
I moved to China almost three years ago. Although, I've lived abroad before and traveled extensively in Asia, it was still a huge adjustment. If I am to be totally honest, it was much more than I had originally anticipated. This additional stress can certainly wear me down and makes happiness that much more difficult to find. But this blog, has been a huge help. It has given me some place to record things and share my creations and gives me a bit of a purpose or a goal. And I find it fun and rewarding. I have something I can look back on and enjoy.
And it makes me happy when I get kind comments. Some of those really nice comments can make my day!
So thank you to those of you who visit regularly and are kind enough to comment - even occasionally. It lifts my spirits.
Before I go, I wanted to share a happy layout. I was a coach for Library of Memories 2010 and as part of our good-bye Stacy asked the coaches to make a layout with five random photos - a HAPPY one of ourselves, a PERSON we love, a THING, a PLACE we pass everyday and a photo taken at 4:29.
I found it a challenge to put all of those unrelated photos on a layout - this is what I came up with:
I enjoyed the challenge. The end result made me happy and it still lifts my spirits when I look at it after all this time. Even the layout itself, unrelated to the photos, holds happy memories for me.
Thanks for stopping by! Now off to the next blog - Nuggets: http://adriennefalzon.blogspot.com/ . If you get lost along the way, there is a list of all the blogs on the hop at the bottom of this post.
DON'T FORGET:
In order to enter the giveaway from Scrapworthy Lives, be sure to comment below! You can earn one entry per blog. So that means if you visit everyone’s blog and comment on each of their blogs, you will get 13 entries! All entries must be posted by Friday, June 3 at midnight Central Standard Time (Chicago, IL, USA). Stephanie will ship anywhere in the world. The winner will be announced on Sunday, June 5 on Scrapworthy Lives.
Scrapworthy Lives: http://www.scrapworthylives.com
1200 Some Miles: http://1200somemiles.blogspot.com/
Take a Picture and Remember This: www.MichelleRoycroft.blogspot.com
Scrap Your Life: http://scrapyourlife.net/
My Life in Photos & Words: http://julieshepler.wordpress.com/
This Kalil Life: http://www.kimberlykalil.com/
Fun Mama: http://blog.funmama.net/
Scrapping Mojo: www.scrappingmojo.blogspot.com
XNomad’s Blog: http://xnomads.typepad.com/blog <---- YOU ARE HERE
Nuggets: http://adriennefalzon.blogspot.com/ <----- Go here next
The Constant Scrapper: http://www.theconstantscrapper.com/
Pie for Breakfast: http://www.vsws.typepad.com/
Scraps & Sass: http://scrapsandsass.blogspot.com
Nice post and thanks for participating in the happiness blog hop! I like to eat cupcakes, not decorate them! Even a basic coating of icing frustrates me! LOL
Posted by: Scrapworthy | May 30, 2011 at 05:25
I love that you did a 2-pager. I have been wanting to do one lately, but I haven't tried it yet. Yours is an inspiration.
Posted by: Kimberlee | May 30, 2011 at 08:38
I love that layout! Very fun idea! I too love to make cupcakes! More and more stores are popping up in the U.S. but I find many of their cupcakes to be dry and frosting to be sugary. Has the cupcake invasion occurred in China? Safe travels!!
Posted by: Amy Sotolongo | May 30, 2011 at 11:05
I like the idea of putting seemingly unrelated things on a layout. For me being creative is my happiness.
Posted by: Sharis | May 30, 2011 at 12:32
I love your layout. It has inspired me to make a page about happy memories too. It sounds like you are having a wonderful adventure in China.
Posted by: Adrienne | May 30, 2011 at 18:30
Blogs are a great place to gather and share things that makes us happy!
Posted by: Sara G | May 30, 2011 at 19:35
Wonderful post. I love the scrapbook page and the challenge behind it. I'm taking Finding Photo Freedom (never took LOM) and I'm so excited to learn this workflow. I think it will bring me more happiness and less stress. Have a safe, fun trip!
Posted by: MonicaB | May 31, 2011 at 04:07
What a wonderful post and layout! I appreciate your comments too...thank you for stopping by when you can! :) Looking forward to our OLW hop tomorrow.
Posted by: Rebekah | May 31, 2011 at 10:09
What a cool layout! I love the idea of bringing unrelated photos together on a page.
Posted by: Fun Mama - Deanna | May 31, 2011 at 12:56