This card is for Ivy…HAPPY BIRTHDAY IVY!!!! Ivy and her friends have been celebrating all month long via an Instagram Challenge taking photos every day with specific prompts. Check out #ivyfotoaday to see some hilarious prompts and photos! You’ll get to see the Birthday girl herself AND a peek into Lawn Fawn HQ. My favorite prompt so far has been #whereiwork
I hope everyone has a happy weekend!
Hey Ivy, if you’re reading this, I hope you’re HAPPY!!!!
Hope you had a fabulous 4th of July! I spent the evening with friends eating yummy foods (including some red, white, and blue creations) and watched some bits & pieces of various fireworks shows from their back porch!
This week, I’m hosting the Mix-Ability Challenge over on Splitcoaststampers.com, MIX23: Multi-Surface. I’m challenging everyone to incorporate 3 or more different surfaces into their project!
I have a video tutorial on how to keep it simple:
I hope you’ll play along!!! I have an awesome prize package up for grabs! Many of you couldn’t play along with my last Mix-Ability Challenge, MIX15: Scene-It Scraps, so I’ll be combining participants from this challenge and my last one to win the following prize package:
Simply upload your MIX23 or MIX15 creations onto Splitcoaststampers.com, include “MIX23″ or MIX14″ in the keywords”, and then comment on this blog post with the link to your creation in the gallery!
–Thanks for visiting, please leave a comment here on my blog, then visit theCrafty Power Blog and leave a comment there to enter to win a $50 prize package of Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L® adhesives and then on toPerfect Paper Crafting‘s blog, shop with this discount code SA3L5% and enter to win a gift certificate! Comments on all the blogs count as entries. One comment per blog post per person please! Visit the Crafty Power Blog each day May 6-11 for a new project and another chance to win!
-All who choose to comment on my blog will be entered into a giveaway for a Perfect Paper Crafting Prize Package! You have until May 11th to comment. The winner will be chosen on May 12th & announced that day!
Everywhere I turn, I’m drawn to blog posts by other bloggers titled Instagram’s Envy Effect, Pressures of Social Media, and the like. There is a strange phenomenon happening. We are not only envious of the stars who show up on the glossy pages of the fashion magazines or the super models in the latest perfume ad, but we’re beginning to harbor strong resentment for our peers via social media outlets like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc.
Personally, I’ve grown jealous of friends who post pictures of their bikini ready bodies, their genius kids, and perfectly styled homes. Some people make doing an updo look as easy as 1,2, 3, pin. Then there are the wives posting about the awesomeness that is their cooking, cleaning, organized, considerate, hands-on, family man of a husband. We don’t see the full story that is their life because we’re only privy to the small blips they choose to share with us.
Just like I’ve experienced jealousy through the looking glass, I know of a couple friends who have unfollowed me or hidden my feeds from their FB because of the very same feelings of resentment.
So, I’m going to do a bit of sharing today. This may be TMI for most, but I want to keep it real.
Let’s be real.
At my heaviest non-pregnant self, I weighed a shocking 165 lbs.
My husband is rarely home during the week. Right now, he’s deployed, so he’s never home.
My 3 kids sometimes drive me crazy & we go to bed in a tizzy. No stories read, no tucking in, no kisses or hugs, just plain exhaustion.
I have terrible self-confidence in my appearance.
My marriage is far less than perfect. We have weeks where we constantly bicker. We’ve used the D word in our most heated moments.
As a designer, I’ve let down manufacturers and friends more times than I’d like to admit.
There was a whole year during my pregnancy and a little after, I couldn’t bring myself to create anything of worth.
I sometimes make meals my family would rather leave for the dog than eat a few bites of.
At my darkest hour, I don’t log-in to Facebook or any social media for fear of overly happy accomplished friends.
I hide friends from my FB wall who are constant braggers or downers. I like to see a human-like balance!
I rarely “get dressed”. I’m always in gym clothes.
I haven’t had a haircut since January.
I have a good life, my husband works hard for what we have, I am proud of my accomplishments, proud of my children, but I, like you, have my every day struggles. I think the more self-confidence we have, the less we’ll allow ourselves to feel lesser than or not equal to our peers we connect with through social media.
Next time you see your friend’s rock hard abs or her perfect children, just remember that she has her own personal struggles she faces every day. Just be happy. Happy for your friend, thankful for your life- successes and failures alike.