Monday, December 7, 2015

A new Challenge!

Good Morning everyone! Welcome to the second week of December.  Whew!  I know I say it every time, but time is really flying by.  Today I have some exciting and sad news to share.  Sad because Lynn Lefevbre has decided to step down from Challenge YOUrself.  Her life is just so busy right now and she feels in her heart that she needs to spend more time with her family and less time in front of a computer.  I am going to miss her!  The exciting part is that she has asked me to take over at Challenge YOUrself!  I am honored and happy to become the new blog owner and hope that I can follow in her footsteps.  And I am really glad that she is allowing Challenge YOUrself to continue.

So without further ado, I would like to share this month's challenge with you:

And here is my layout:

I loved working with this sketch made my Lynn!  And I knew that I wanted to use this photo taken of me with my sisters when we did the Women's 5K Classic in memory of my sister, Cathy.  As you can see, she was there with us in spirit!

Here are some different views:


I encourage all of your scrappers out there to check out the challenge this month and join in on the fun at Challenge YOUrself.

And I would like to end by sharing a couple of photos that I took last night.  We had our annual tree decorating tradition and my sister and her hubby came over to help.

Here's Anne, Katie, Karen and of course, Kita:

Here's Karen and me, and the guys: John and Tim!


Last, but definitely not least, here is a photo for Our Beautiful World!  This week's prompt is "decorations!"  I was so excited to see this and want to share a photo of our most prized "decoration" - our Polar Express train that was given to us by my sister Karen.  She helps us assemble it every year!!


And our trees:
We have a little tree in our piano room:

And our bigger tree in our TV room:



Merry Christmas season everyone!

That's it for now!  I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season and enjoying the hustle and bustle of it all.  We were so happy to have Katie home with us again this weekend so that she could help decorate our tree.  YAY!

Hugs to you all.  Thanks for stopping by my blog.
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21 comments:

  1. LizzycDecember 7, 2015 at 5:12 AM

    Yes the days are flying by and Christmas Day is edging closer! Love the photos so good to see the festive fun! And I am sure you will manège the challenge yourself challenges with great skill! Love the sketch and I will have to find another family photos for this challenge! I hope the days slow down enough for me to play along! Have a great week!

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  2. Lizzy HillDecember 7, 2015 at 5:59 AM

    Love your family snaps! And good on you! It's a fabulous, fun & interesting challenge blog, so I'm glad it's not closing and even gladder you're taking it over. Hope it goes from strength to strength!!!

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  3. Julie Tucker-WolekDecember 7, 2015 at 7:13 AM

    Gorgeous! LOVING the stars!! And loving the fun family photos too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  4. Lynette JacobsDecember 7, 2015 at 10:30 AM

    I always love to see your photos♥ Well done on taking over this challenge blog. I am going to try and play along with you in future. Your sparkly layout is gorgeous.

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  5. Mary Ann PotterDecember 7, 2015 at 11:05 AM

    Oh, so very nice! You'll be one great blog owner; it's hard to see favorite art sites "going out of business." Unruly Paper Arts is being withdrawn at the end of this month.

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  6. Cindy deRosierDecember 7, 2015 at 3:48 PM

    Congrats on your new role! I'm sure you'll keep up the high standards. Your layout is gorgeous, as always.

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  7. Leslie GermainDecember 7, 2015 at 9:04 PM

    Beautiful page!! LOVE the gold and all the stars!!

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  8. Michelle LaPoint RydellDecember 7, 2015 at 11:26 PM

    Congratulations Sharon! That's awesome news about the Challenge YOUrself blog - you are perfect for the job! Your layout is beautiful, both in spirit and design!

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  9. Kirsty VittetoeDecember 8, 2015 at 3:46 AM

    I am glad to hear that Challenge YOUself blog is starting a new journey! You will do a great job Sharon!
    Such a pretty layout! I hope I can find sometime to play again soon, my family is here for the whole month, I am busy taking them in and out of town, leaving for SF tomorrow, less time in the craft room in December I guess!

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  10. Arnoldo L. Romero, MLADecember 8, 2015 at 6:49 PM

    I really like the excitement that all those stars gave to your scrapbook page. I also love your train, since I've been a fan of them ever since I was a young child. Blessings!

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  11. Jinny NewlinDecember 8, 2015 at 9:36 PM

    Such festive pics and happy smiles! And I just love your page! The gold and black palette is timeless, and that star paper is perfectly scrumptious! I have a sheet of that somewhere, too. Hmmmm? Thinking I need to use it up soon. Thanks of the inspiration!

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  12. A SASSY SCRAPPERDecember 9, 2015 at 3:15 AM

    Lovely post, Sharon! Congratulations on your blog ownership..so excited for you! Your home looks beautiful and ready for Santa! Merry Christmas!

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  13. Dolly BDecember 9, 2015 at 3:46 AM

    Congrats on being the new blog owner, so glad it is going to continue and I am sure you will do a super job running it. Gorgeous and special layout of yours, love all the gold and the quote (I say that to my Grandchildren ) Hope to join in , just have to find a family photo, harder and harder as they get older to have photo's with everyone in it. Lovely photo's of your Christmas tree putting up, this is a special tradition for us and once again getting harder to have everyone home now. Wishing you a very magical Christmas x

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  14. Ros CrawfordDecember 10, 2015 at 7:12 AM

    Lovely photos... Thanks so much for sharing at OBW!!!

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  15. Contagiously CraftyDecember 10, 2015 at 8:19 AM

    Beautiful layouts. I really like your polar express. My son was fascinated as a kid but we never got one. Lovely. So glad to have found you through Our Beautiful World.

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  16. 48SevenTimeDecember 10, 2015 at 10:42 AM

    A beautiful, inspirational layout...I know I say that every time, but it's true!!! Good luck with your challenge and I may have to take a shot with this sketch! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!

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  17. Lorraine December 13, 2015 at 12:05 AM

    Your decorations are beautiful. Looks like you had a wonderful time putting them up together. Have a wonderful holiday season.

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  18. Heather McMahonDecember 13, 2015 at 5:19 AM

    Fabulous Sharon! What a great take on the sketch! Love the gold stars too.

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  19. dawnDecember 13, 2015 at 6:16 AM

    Hello Sharon!! I love your layout, so pretty!!! Congrats on being the new leader for the challenge, you will do a great job! LOVE seeing your trees and family photos, so nice for all of you to be together. YAY for Katie being home now!!! Renee is done with college till January 16, she is already going crazy and doesn't know what to do all day, lol. I told her she can help me with my chores and things.
    Thank you so much for the sweet comment on my blog, so nice to see you there. We are all doing good and enjoying these warm days as I'm sure you have them too. So crazy!! We did see the last Middle and laughed thru it, we should teach Frankie about printing out her photos and scrapping them, lol. Enjoy this time with the family and magic of the season. Sending hugs and love with a thankful heart for your friendship.

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  20. ChristelDecember 18, 2015 at 12:31 PM

    I love to look around here, your layouts are great and your photos are so nice, thank you!

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  21. snapdragonDecember 24, 2015 at 3:31 PM

    Hiya Sharon! It feels like forever since I have blogged or read any blogs, but I am always glad to check yours and marvel at your creativity! Love the L.O.- the stars just sprinkle down so perfectly!
    Thanks for your Christmas card- I'm not on top of things this year but maybe I'll get something done for New Year's...
    Merry Christmas to you and your family!
    G

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