SMS 2016 Anniversary Blog Hop

Hello everyone and welcome to the SpiegelMom Scraps SCRAP IT OFF Anniversary & Design Team reveal blog hop! You should have arrived here from Anna Sigga's blog and wasn't her layout just gorgeous!! We hope you’re as excited as we are about this event! Jody is super excited to reveal the new Design Team, three new sequin mixes, a FREE cut file designed by one of the fabulous new Sparklers and prizes! So awesome! If you’re just joining me here on my blog, be sure to check out the line up and all the other goodies over at the SpiegelMom Scraps blog here

Your entire line up for today's hop is:
SpiegelMom Scraps blog http://wp.me/p2WVrX-26I
Jody (Henrietta Towns on FB) https://spiegelmomscraps.wordpress.com/...
Katty Miranda https://kattymiranda01.wordpress.com/...
Sara Scraps - https://sarascrapsblog.wordpress.com/...
Claudia van Rooijen http://claudiavanr.wordpress.com/
Laura Rumble http://beadsbuttonsandbirds.blogspot.com/...
Rachel Stewart http://wp.me/p5zmxq-cA
Hannah Lemieux http://www.scrapbookpagesandcupcakes.com/...
Beth Soler http://scrappingwonders.com/scrap-it-off-sms…versary-blog-hop/
Christy Harriman https://christysbeautifullife.wordpress.com/...
Lea Biccelli http://sunnyflouscrap.blogspot.com/...
Felicia Young http://rosescrapco.blogspot.com/
Khristina Sorge http://www.redefinedkreative.blogspot.com/...
Evi Cortes http://lifewithevi.com
Anna Sigga http://anna-sigga.blogspot.com/2016...
Tiffani Nelson http://tiffanisscraps.blogspot.com/
Crafty Meggy http://wp.me/p3Fdep-1ZX
Sarah McClellan http://theadventuresofscrappysarah.blogspot.com/...
Lisa Kingston http://www.pinkglitterscrapper.blogspot.com/

I am so excited to share my layout with you all for this hop. My creative mojo has kind of been on the back burner due to some personal issues, but being able to sit down and create is always one of the greatest therapies. For this layout I decided to use an image of my middle child Melody last summer at the park. I love the angle of the image and the blue hues.

 
One thing about me is that I LOVE clouds. These cloud felties are always a favorite of mine and I could use them on every layout. This was also my first time using Shimmerz products and I am in love!! I used the Heidi Ho Blue Coloringz for some splatter and the Gummy Berry Blue paste. For the effect I actually used the inner seal and just dabbed on the paper. 


 
Sequins are always a favorite of mine and these, A Mermaid's Tale fit perfectly. 

Thank you for spending your time with us today! I'd love for you be in the running for the prizes that Jody is giving away on this blog hop, so be sure to leave comments on all the blogs to be entered! You have through July 31st to comment and enter. Sharing on social media will also earn you an extra entry. Just leave another comment letting us know where you shared the blog hop event. Easy Peasy!
Now, you'll be heading over to Crafty Meggy's blog. Enjoy the rest of the hop!!

Layouts, layouts and more layouts!!

So this past weekend was so much fun with all the beautiful inspiration for International Scrapbook Weekend. I had anticipated getting a lot more work done than I did, but I was happy I got some done. I have been focusing more on YouTube and I will have more process videos coming up. The response to my video for Clique Kits hop was wonderful and I thank you all for taking the time to watch. If you aren't a subbie here's my latest video.

Here is the work I did over the weekend for the Hip Kit challenges. There were so many challenges and I truly wanted to do them all, but just did not have the time. 

I hope that you all had a great iNSD. I will be working on a few more challenges and for those that follow me on instagram I am finally unblocked and will be redoing my giveaway with some added prizes.

xx Tiffani

NSD Scrapbook Jam with Spiegelmom Scraps

Hey everyone!!!! I hope you are all having a fabulous time scrapping this weekend. I am hoping to get caught up on some projects, but with 3 little ones, I am not sure how successful that will be ;) When I was younger you would always find random silly photos of me, days before there were camera cell phones. A lot people don't get to see that silly person anymore as she is hidden beneath my layers, but sometimes she will come out. So I thought I would honor my silly side with a layout for Spiegel Mom's NSD hop with a challenge. For my challenge you are to create a layout using the 3 following ingredients: a stamp, spray ink and a texture paste.

I must say I have quite a few stamps and I rarely if ever use them. So I like to challenge myself often to use them. I used two stamps, the hot air balloon stamp from Creative Retreat and the phrase stamp I believe is from Michael's. I had actually won the April kit from Creative Retreats Instagram post. I loved everything about this kit and had no issues at all working with it.

I also used Spiegelmom's Sunny Smiles and Pink Lagoon sequins. I truly love the quality of her sequins.

This was my first time use Heidi Swapp's metallic texture paste. I love the shimmer effect it leaves and of course this mint green color is one of my favs.

A layout created by me would never be complete without some ink splatter. Some people like enamel dots and then there are those of us that love splatter. I could not live without my spray ink! I also had to add Spiegelmom's feltie clouds. I cannot wait to see what you create.

The prizes:

Spiegelmom's Scraps $25 shop credit and some Fancy Free goodies

Claudia Van Rooijen Digital Collection

Scrapbook Adhesives EZ runner grand

May Designs Journal

American Crafts Star Shine goodies

So how do you win?? Post your layout from this challenge over at the NSD Scrapbook Jam Event Facebook page.

Here is the hop line up:

SpiegelMom Scraps - http://wp.me/p2WVrX-1UN

Jody's Blog (Creating shaker pockets on layouts) - http://wp.me/p1MGmM-O

Tiffani Nelson -  Recipe challenge: stamp, spray ink texture paste - <~~ you are here

Sarah McClellan -  5 ingredient challenge: cork, sequins, doilies, ephemera, shipping tags - http://theadventuresofscrappysarah.blogspot.com/2016/05/nsd-scrapbook-jam-blog-hop.html

Katty Miranda - Recipe: layout using more than 1 photo, mixed media, (a little or a lot), sequins, doilies, and wood veneer - https://kattymiranda01.wordpress.com/2016/05/06/nsd-spiegelmom-scraps

Claudia Van Rooijen - Using Printables: https://claudiavanr.wordpress.com/2016/05/06/spiegelmom-scraps-nsd-2016-blog-hop

Laura Rumble - Ribbon - https://beadsbuttonsandbirds.blogspot.com/2016/05/hop.html

Sara Scraps - Sketch Challenge - https://sarascrapsblog.wordpress.com/2016/05/06/nsd-blog-hop-with-spiegalmom-scraps

Anna Sigga - Mixed Media layout with stencils - http://anna-sigga.blogspot.com/2016/05/nsd-scrapbook-jam.html

The more challenges you enter the better chance you have at winning!! I cannot wait to see everyone's creations.

Happy Scrapping!!

Tiffani xx <3

Guest Designer for Spiegel Mom's Scraps

Hey guys!! I am super excited to announce that I am gust designing this month for SpiegelMoms Scraps. You can check out my full layout, blog post and process video here. I had so much fun with this layout. I took Wilna Furstenberg's Spring class and improvised with the mixed media supplies I had on hand.

I will be having a giveaway up on the blog at some point today. I have 3 sick little girls, so you can imagine what life has been like here. I hope you are all having a fantastic week and that you are well.

xx

Tiffani

My Sweet Melody

I made this layout a little over a month ago for the Hip Kit DT Call. I did not make the cut this time around, but man it is so hard holding on to layouts for that long. Especially when they are one of your favorites. I absolutely loved how this turned out.

The clouds are from The Cut Shoppe

The bow is from Felicity Jane

The handwriting is not mine, you can find that here 

Rediscovering Who I Am

We are never prepared for the curve balls that life throws our way. We can go days, weeks, months and even years on incredible highs in life and then the next thing we know everything around us is spiraling out of control and we become trapped in our own bodies. I wake up every day not knowing who I am anymore and it is not a very pleasant experience. 

I held onto the negative aspects of the relationship between my father and I for 27 long years. When I sit back and think about all the wasted energy I put into to that negative thought, I want to smack myself because really it was silly. Sure, there was pain there, but holding on just caused even more pain. I associated a lot of my issues to that relationship and I blamed everything on my father. I told myself that the way my life turned out was his fault. How foolish is that? 

In December, my father and I had a really nice 2 hour conversation. It was the first time in my adult life where we just were able to talk about life without passing judgement or discussing negative things. At the end of the day I have always loved my father deeply and I have always cared about him, As time goes on, I know that we will never have the relationship I desire, but I am comfortable in the release I have gained from letting go of all that negative energy. I now, can find positive aspects in every song I listen to and I remember the positive memories. 

With letting go of that release, I thought that my anxiety would have gotten better, that life would have been a straight path from here, but I was not prepared for what was to come. All the built of stress and emotion led me to just become really emotionally unstable. I was focusing on everything negative. Every negative aspect of my marriage, friendships and life in general. It made me feel alone when in reality I wasn't.

Despite how my marriage may be at times, there is no question how much love my husband has for my children and I. Sometimes I loose sight of that and just look at all the wrong. This is why I love having such a wide age range of friends from 16 to 78. Your younger friends are quick to jump on ship with saying things like, "leave him", "you don't need him" etc. (you catch my drift) But then my wiser, older friends. that have been married for 30+ years offer some of the best advice. We all need that balance in life. 

Truth is, I told my husband to leave and as hard as it was for him he purchased that ticket. I had been crying out for help for weeks, but no one was listening. We explained to my oldest that daddy was leaving and tried to explain the best we could. Nothing could have ever prepared me for her emotional state. Of course I knew she would going to be upset, but the worst thing you can ever do to a child, and I know this because it happened to me, is to just leave with no explanation. I held onto my father never saying goodbye for 27 years. I did not want that for her. "But daddy buys you flowers mommy" "Daddy loves you mommy" "Daddy won't be here to see me open presents on Christmas" "We won't have a family anymore mommy" It hurt me to the core. Pain I had never felt in my life. I wanted to escape. I knew that I could not do this on my own, not in the state that I was mentally and I knew that the pain I was feeling was not normal if my love for my husband was truly gone. I sat on the floor of my shower for 90 minutes crying and finally gathered the courage to admit myself to the hospital. I reached out to a friend who brought me in and stayed there with me until I asked her to leave. It is the hardest thing I think I have had to do. 

Coming home, I was still in a state of shell shock. Where I was, although a place to get help, was not helpful. I had been placed somewhere else because of no capacity at my original destination. The care there was very poor and so it was in my best interest to come home. I am struggling with my anxiety as it does get the best of me. Noise is my trigger and being a mom of three little girls, you can imagine what the noise level is at home. It is a terrible feeling when the only reaction I have is to yell because the constant feeling of adrenaline pulsates through my veins. I constantly drop things because I shake so terribly, but I know that this is not the end. 

You have to take care of yourself first and foremost, that is what I have learned through all of this. I have put myself on the back burner for all of my life. I truly cannot think of a time in my life that I just took care of me. I feel selfish for even saying that, and by just making that statement I know it is wrong, but that is how I feel. This is something that I have to learn. Everyday is a new beginning to learning how to put myself first and once I can figure that out then I will figure out who I am again.

 

I'm Still Here

I have been working on projects that I am not allowed to share and haven't done anything outside of those for the time being. Starting next month be on the look out for a giveaway and a $10 gift card to the shop that I am guest designing for. Also if you haven't already, please subscribe to my YouTube channel as I will be having a RAK there. I will be doing a 4 part series on origami and I am so excited to share it with you all. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Easter weekend and many blessings to you all.

Tiffani