The Bermuda Scrapper

Rude...

2012-02-24T20:04:00.000-04:00

Really tired of strangers (who don't even follow my boards) try to categorize my boards on Pinterest....

No-Sew Ruffle Tote & Prize Giveaway!

2012-02-24T19:39:00.000-04:00

Check it out at Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom!

Homeschool Giveaways

2012-02-08T09:18:00.002-04:00

You could win a $25 iTunes gift card at Homeschool Giveaways!

Free Stuff Friday

2012-02-02T19:18:00.000-04:00

It's Free Stuff Friday at Lauren's Hope!

Check out how you could win one of these three medic-alert tags/bracelets!

Locomotion of Expression Contest

2012-02-01T17:29:00.000-04:00

You could win a $25 gift certificate from Locomotion of Expression for the online store, Reuseit.com!

Check out Casey's blog here!

Cool challenge AND Contest

2012-01-26T16:28:00.000-04:00

Check it out:

2012 Planner – The First 30 Day Challenge, courtesy of Crystal Wilkerson.

See her blog post for more information:

CrystalWilkerson.com

The Meaning of Life - Found in a Manger

2011-12-24T14:30:00.000-04:00

What is the meaning of life?

That very question has been asked by men and women for centuries, but as we approach the celebration of Christmas here in Bermuda, and around the world, I find an answer wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.

In the beginning, God, who is beyond all comprehension of time and space, created the heavens and the earth, and all that inhabit it, plants, animals, but most notably a man and a woman.

God created those two people, not because he needed us, but because he desired to have a unique relationship with his creation, one that he couldn't have with anything else in creation.

He placed Adam and Eve in the Garden and enjoyed sweet fellowship with them, demonstrating his love for them daily.

However, God did give them one rule to follow – one simple rule – which they could not obey. They disobeyed God and unfortunately had to suffer the consequences. God, who is holy, perfect and just, had to not only banish his creation from the Garden, but from his very presence.

Adam and Eve's failure led to the cursing of everything. The ground would now battle them to produce food. They would have to contend with the dangers of the animal kingdom. Woman would suffer in childbirth. There would be a cycle of death and sadness that would last for eternity through the curse of sin, leading to eternal separation of man from his creator.

However, in the punishment God pronouced, he also provided a way out for man in the curse – the promise of a holy one who would defeat sin once and for all.

Man struggled for thousands of years, while he tried to find his own way back to God, but when the fullness of time had come, God sent a newborn babe to earth, miraculously born of a virgin in a stable in Bethlehem about 2000 years ago.

This was no ordinary baby, but conceived by God in Mary's womb, so that this child was born without the curse of sin upon him.

Born the very son of God; born to live as man, tempted as we are, yet still without sin.

Born to die; born to conquer death and rise again to new life.

Born to save the sons of earth, born to give us a second birth.

What is the meaning of life?

Man was created to worship and have fellowship with his creator, the God of Heaven and Earth, yet because of the curse of sin, we have wandered like those lost in the wilderness.

But God...

But God has provided us with the only way back to him, the only answer to the hole inside each of our hearts, the only way to escape death and hell and eternal separation from Him who loves us beyond comprehension.

“I am THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life,” Jesus said. “NO ONE can come to the Father except through me.”
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

What is the meaning of life?

Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Jesus said: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd ; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”

Jesus said: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.”

What is the meaning of life?

It is to know Christ – in a personal way as Lord and Saviour – and to make Him known to the ends of the Earth. May you KNOW the meaning of life - eternal life - this Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!

Clearsnap: Handmade Holidays Hop: Day 1

2011-11-04T22:10:00.000-03:00

Clearsnap: Handmade Holidays Hop: Day 1: Welcome to the Handmade Holidays Blog Hop !!! Calling all crafters! We’ve gathered designers from some of our favorite manufac...

Another CasaBento giveaway!

2011-11-03T23:38:00.002-03:00

Check it out! You could win this set of of Bento accessories at CasaBento! Check out their Facebook page here: CasaBento.

Tell them Sara Collins Westhead sent you!

The Twinery: Fan Celebration

2011-11-02T14:45:00.000-03:00

The Twinery: Fan Celebration:

Check it out!!!!!

A Bowl Full of Lemons Thirty-One giveaway

2011-10-26T16:02:00.002-03:00

Check out this awesome giveaway at A Bowl Full of Lemons for a $31 GC for Thirty-One!

Praying for Tommy

2011-10-25T00:43:00.002-03:00

Hi Everyone,

I'm sorry I've been all over the place recently - things have been chaotic for us since school started.

My 9yro, Tommy, has been suffering from severe headaches, 3-4 a week, for the last 2 months with little to no relief, and, as a result, he's missed a ton of school - all on top of me doing an apprenticeship.

He was referred to the neurology clinic last week and they are all positive it is migraines, complete with the nausea and auras, but there is also a suggestion in he may be having absence seizures. He will be having an EEG this Friday at 9:30am (8:30am EST).

We are having trouble determining his triggers, but we have confirmed noise and photo-sensitivity. I think fluorescent lights are a specific trigger for him. We're keeping a food journal as well, to try and determine if there are any food triggers. We've got the big ol' list of them, but I'm sure we can rule out caffeine, chocolate and dairy. We're trying to keep an eye out for MSG and nitrates, though, just in case, as well as any other items.

He's been started on a prophylactic medication (Topamax) for now, and I'm very glad its mid-term break this week, so he can get some rest and his body get used to the new meds.

He's also been quite discouraged lately - normally, Tommy's that all-star, most-popular kid, center of attention, straight-A student - the kid everyone wants to be friends with... and he knows he's not able to be himself and he doesn't like that he's been sick so much. He's also worried how this might affect him making head boy next year, even though he's been told it won't affect the principal's decision.

It's been affecting me, too - more than I wanted to admit first... seeing your child sick and in pain is also far worse than anything that might happen to yourself...

Anyway, I'm still here - just very distracted!

To pray specifically:
* Ultimately, for complete, divine healing for Tommy
* That the medications will help, and for wisdom for the doctors
* That the EEG will give full and clear answers, and that if there are seizures going on, we will see them in the first test (it took 17 EEGs for the doctors to see grand mal seizures in my girlfriend's daughter, even though they knew she was having them).
* That Tommy will be encouraged, physically, spiritually and emotionally and that he will KNOW that God is with him and has a plan for him, even when he's facing such terrible plain
* For my husband and I as we figure out how to best care for Tommy
* For us to be able to figure out Tommy's triggers
* For his little brother, Jonny, who is turning 6 on Nov. 16 - Jonny has been having "jealousy pains" because he sees Tommy getting so much extra attention, missing school and doesn't understand what's going on.
* That we would be able to develop a plan at school to help Tommy cope
* That Tommy will continue to be a testimony to his Saviour, in spite of his having his own 'thorn in the flesh', just like Paul the Apostle

Win Bento Animal Picks!

2011-10-13T09:29:00.003-03:00

You could win these cute bento picks from CasaBento! Check out their blog here: CasaBento.

Win a pink Bento Box set!!!

2011-10-06T15:08:00.002-03:00

Check out Casa Bento's Facebook page and you could win this adorable bento box!

Just tell them Sara Westhead sent you!

Win a personal planning binder!

2011-10-03T10:58:00.002-03:00

Check it out on the 100days to Christmas blog!

CasaBento giveaway today on Facebook!

2011-09-08T09:02:00.004-03:00

You could win one of these awesome bento boxes (in blue) on Facebook today!

Check out the CasaBento page on Facebook!

Blog Button for The Twinery!

2011-08-19T19:06:00.001-03:00

Anniversary Giveaways at The Twinery!

2011-08-19T19:00:00.001-03:00

So much awesome stuff - and they're just giving it all away!

Be sure to check out The Twinery Blog ASAP!!!

148 days until Christmas!

2011-07-29T11:44:00.002-03:00

Okay, it's barely August, so I'm sure you're wondering why I'm telling you that we have less than 5 months until Christmas!

The reason - NOW is the time to order handmade Christmas cards or custom-designed scrapbooks for Christmas gifts! I can make just about anything your little heart desires, so if you find something on the internet that you're madly in love with, you can show me a pick and I can recreate it for you.

For Christmas cards, I can do photo cards, hybrid (printed cards with handmade embellishments) or fully hand crafted cards. I can also create one-of-a-kind announcements and invitations for your holiday parties.

When it comes to scrapbooks, I will work with you personally to design an album that suits the recipient perfectly - whether fully-handmade or a digitally designed book printed at Shutterfly in a hard-bound book.

Gift certificates are also available!

Free Stuff Friday again!

2011-07-28T20:36:00.002-03:00

So cool! Each week, Lauren's Hope give away three gorgeous medic alert jewellery items. Check it out!!!

Karma with Hematite bracelet

2011-07-14T21:24:00.002-03:00

Isn't this adorable?

It's the Karma with Hematite medical ID bracelet and is one of this week's Free-Stuff Friday products you could win at Lauren's Hope this week! I got my medic-alert bracelet there, and would love to have another. What is really cool is that you only need one tag and you can interchange the bracelets. In fact, you could even make your own!

Check out the Lauren's Hope Blog here!

Bento-style lunch boxes

2011-07-06T23:18:00.002-03:00

My little one is super picky, so to try and get him to eat a greater variety of food, I'm looking into going Bento-style for him, especially for when school starts in September. Anyway, I've found a cool site that has some really neat products AND they ship internationally.

It's called AllThingsForSale, and they also do fun give-aways. You can visit them here!

E-Scap & Scrap Nifty Boutique Lucky 7 Blog Train

2011-07-01T09:32:00.005-03:00

Welcome to The Bermuda Scrapper! If you started the blog train at store blog, you should have arrived here after visiting Kay Efflin's (Kollage by Kay) blog, Collage by a Writing Woman.

As a special treat, I created this template, inspired by the Lucky 7 kit!

You can download the template here!

Not sure what the Lucky 7 kit looks like? Here's a preview:

I created this Layout celebrating my son, Tommy's 9th birthday with the kit:

Your next stop on the Blog Train is Carol Opalinski's blog, Carol's Corner.

E-Scape & Scrap Blog Train

2011-06-30T16:19:00.002-03:00

Stay tuned - awesome blog train tomorrow with E-Scape & Scrap!

Free Stuff Friday at Lauren's Hope

2011-06-16T14:15:00.002-03:00

Gotta love Lauren's Hope!

It's Free Stuff Friday there coming up! Some great looking offerings this week!

Check out their blog!

I'm a Sweetie!

2011-06-02T15:06:00.001-03:00

New news! I'm on another CT! Liz, aka Sweet Digi Scraps, recently had a call and I had to apply - one of the sad parts of leaving ACOT was missing out on a some of my favourite designers, so I'm thrilled to be joining her team.

You can find everything of Liz's at her shop: Been There Scrapped That.

On another note, one of my favourite shops is this little online place that does these absolutely fantastic medic alert bracelets. Most Fridays, Lauren's Hope do a thing called "Free Stuff Fridays" where you can have a chance to win one of three medic alert bracelets. Always something really cute! You can visit their blog at: Lauren's Hope.

Finally, we're just a week away from the big day - knee surgery day. It's going to be a long and somewhat complicated surgery, because they're basically going to be doing 4 different procedures at the same time, including a new ACL ligament (this is my 2nd ACL surgery). Weird, but I'm excited that its finally being dealt with, but there are some risks and challenges ahead, so please be praying for the surgery and for my recovery.

Changes for the Summer

2011-05-25T17:47:00.002-03:00

Summer is fast approaching - it's so hard to believe we celebrated Bermuda Day just yesterday! That mean's its "officially" summer on the island of Bermuda, and now we're "allowed" to go swimming until Labour Day in September!

I won't be seeing much of the beach this summer, though. Sometime during the first week of June (8-10), I'll be having some major knee surgery - you name it, I've got it! - so that will incapacitate me for a good long while... Thank goodness for digital scrapping!

Speaking of scrapbooking, I'm no longer on the CT at A Cherry On Top - I decided it was time to part ways. However, I have joined up with a couple of designers.

Some of the new ladies I'm working with include:

Designs by Angel, at FaithSisters
Sus Designs, at E-Scape & Scrap and Bits2Kits
Truman Studios, at Digiridoo Scraps

In addition, I'm also going to be the Guest CT for Digiridoo Scraps for the month of June!

Of course, not to forget, I'm still working with dear Marci, who sells at ACOT and Sunshine Studio.

Awesome new book available

2011-05-10T12:47:00.002-03:00

A friend of mine, Cathy West, recently published her very first novel - and it is awesome!

Yesterday's Tomorrow is set in Vietnam during the 1960s and follows the paths of two very different people as they learn to let go of the past, learn about their relationship with God, and learn how to love.

The book is available on Amazon (click the link above), as well as in some of the bookstores in Bermuda and its flying off the shelves.

Cathy is also having a special contest on her blog - in honour of Memorial Day, she is seeking stories and photos from Veterans to share on her blog, Catherine West Blog.

She writes:

"I would love to hear your stories - do you have a soldier in your family? Are you a Veteran or do you know one? Have you been affected by war in any way? If you can't say yes to those questions, write a short story that honors veterans. Fiction or poetry, whatever you like.
Send me your stories (do try to keep them short, we're not after the Pulitzer) and photographs too! I will publish them all on my blog and we'll vote for the winner. So if you want your story to win, you'll need to send people here to vote!!

"The winner will receive an autographed copy of Yesterday's Tomorrow, and something special from Bermuda! Can't wait to hear from you!"

Babypalooza at Britt-ish Designs this weekend...

2011-02-09T19:42:00.002-04:00

Check it out at Britt-ish Designs!

Last week of Scrapbook Class!

2010-11-20T22:30:00.002-04:00

Last week is coming this week!

Classes are moving to Thursday next term, so be on the look out for next term's Community & Education Development Programme booklet!

Going beautifully!

2010-10-17T21:23:00.002-03:00

Well, we've just had week 3 of this term's Scrapbooking & Paper Crafting class at Tatem Middle School! Week 4 is coming up and we're making shaker cards - I wanna try and kill 2 birds with one stone though, by teaching the class AND making my son's 5th birthday card at the same time... Any one got any Buzz Lightyear confetti???

Anyway, I'm sure it'll be a blast!

Also coming up is the monthly scrap night at Evangelical Church of Bermuda. Our next date is Saturday, October 30 at 6:30pm. Hopefully, we'll be starting this cool new Bible study, Discovering Your Creativity, part of Thomas Nelson's Women of Faith Study Series. If you'd like your own copy of the book, please let me know straight away so I can order you one!

Week #2 Tonight

2010-10-06T13:27:00.002-03:00

Week 2 of my scrapbooking class is tonight! We're creating our own embellishments and talking about mixing patterns. Should be lots of fun!

The next scrapbooking night at the Evangelical Church of Bermuda is October 30 at 6:30pm. Not sure what project I'm going to be doing yet, but it should be fun!

Don't scrapbook? That's okay - bring along your own crafty indulgence, whether it be knitting, cross-stitch, or whatever! It's a great time of fun and fellowship, just for ladies!

We're here!

2010-09-24T11:15:00.002-03:00

YAY! We're back in Bermuda!

Things aren't 100% set up at home yet, so I'm not in the position to take on any orders for books, but I am teaching a class through Department of Community Education and Development at Tatem Middle School every Wednesday night from 6pm-8pm.

The outline for the class is as follows:
Week 1 - Basic page layouts using sketches
Week 2 - Mixing colours & patterns
Week 3 - Clustering & Doodling
Week 4 - Shaker Cards
Week 5 - "Decoupage"
Week 6 - Rubber Stamping & Embossing
Week 7 - Creating Mini Books
Week 8 - Home Decor

Classes begin on Sept. 29, but there is still time to register. Visit the CEDP for more info!

Finally back online

2010-07-11T15:07:00.002-03:00

As some of you might know, my email and Facebook accounts got hacked a week ago, which caused all kinds of trouble, preventing me from logging into everything! But, we're back online now, so, hopefully, you'll be seeing some cool new stuff soon - that is if I find some extra time in the middle of all this mad packing!

Packing up boxes and a free Poppy Stamp!

2010-07-02T08:21:00.000-03:00

Wow - time sure flies. We've been extremely busy packing up and getting ready to head back to Bermuda. We don't have specific dates yet - that should happen this weekend, I hope! - but the kids and I are looking at heading over to Georgia the beginning of August, and then onto Bermuda later. DH will join us either in GA, or we'll meet him in Bermuda. Just gotta see...

Needless to say, I've been wanting to get this free digi stamp up for DAYS now!

The poppies have only just started appearing here in Yorkshire, and I'm just biding my time until the wheat fields are covered with them. Then I'll be heading out with my camera, but for now, I hope you enjoy this digi-stamp of a sketched poppy. I've left it blank, so you can colour it in, if you want.

To download the .PNG image, click HERE!

If you do use it, please give me credit - a simple "by the Bermuda Scrapper, Sara Westhead," would suffice! Also, I'd love to see your work, so feel free to email me a low-res version of your project. It just might make an appearance on this blog!

Choo.. Choo... Here comes the ESS Summer So Fine Blog Train!

2010-06-12T01:00:00.009-03:00

Welcome to stop #5 on the E-scape and Scrap Summer So Fine Blog Train!

You can download this cute quick page by clicking on the image.

After downloading be sure to head to your next blog train stop at Sus Designs where you can download these adorable recipe cards.

The blog train downloads will be available through the end of June 2010.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Blog Train starts this weekend...

2010-06-10T20:11:00.000-03:00

WE'RE COMING BACK!

2010-06-06T12:37:00.000-03:00

Our family is returning to Bermuda this August, so the Bermuda Scrapper is now BACK!

If you're in need of a custom-designed personal album for yourself, or for a gift, or if you're wanting help creating your own, let me know!