Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend

*Edited to add the link to 2Peas Cookbook HERE -hope you all enjoy these recipes as much as I have!
At 1:30 pm yesterday, I saw that Two Peas In a Bucket would be closing down. Two Peas has been so much more than a scrapbook store for me! It was one of the main reasons that I talked my husband into getting the internet in our home many years ago, because I had read about this great site in Creating Keepsakes magazine, and I wanted to visit it and be a part of this community. Even though I never really posted as much as some people, or used the site as a stepping stone to become a famous scrapbooker like some, it was a sight that I have always visited daily! I have learned so much from the Peas about scrapbooking, and life in general. Here is a glimpse of my profile at 2Peas:

If you would like to look at my pages on 2Peas, you can see them HERE , at least as long as they are available there. The first page I ever posted on 2Peas was this one:

I was so proud of this page, mostly because I loved the photo. I see many "mistakes", but the start of so many treasured memories as well! I am reminded by looking at it how I started out as an 8 1/2 x 11 scrapper, mostly so I could share my layouts via scanner to 2peas. I see a sweet little girl that is a sophomore in high school now, and that makes me want to cry. I see the beginnings of a hobby and many friendships that mean so much to me. And I still see things about this page that I love. I love the textured photo mat tied with raffia.  I love the fact that I used my own handwriting, too! But oh, how far my skills in scrapbooking and photography have come since then, and how technology has changed since then!
My most recently shared page, using a selfie from my iphone:

Still handwritten journaling! Much more layering, 12x12, and so much lovely product is available to me now-back then, I had one little clear plastic box of supplies that I kept under my bed. Now, I am working on putting a scrapbook room full of supplies together. Which, of course, I was so looking forward to sharing on 2Peas. But I will, of course, share my progression on my room here.

So, I guess this post is to say thank you, more than anything. Thank you, 2Peas for the many late nights of inspiration, hours spent reading "Pea Soup", and and perusing beautiful layouts when I couldn't sleep. Thank you, 2Peas, for inspiring me to be a better scrapbooker myself. Thank you, 2Peas, for all of the wonderful people I met through challenges, the message boards, CHA chats, and the friendships that I have developed because of them. Thank you, 2Peas for the inspiration to develop my photography skills, and the wonderful people on the Photography board that helped me to learn my camera, and taught me how to "see the light" through my lens. Thank you, 2Peas, for the NSBR board, where I got so much life news for a while, where I got so many recipes (several recipe books worth!), and where I learned about Flylady and the Pioneer Woman (my family thanks you for these!). Thank you, 2Peas, for the Swap board, where I swapped many times over a few years, made lovely friends, and learned to make lovely layered embellishments (I still have many beautiful goodies from these swaps in my stash, and a couple more recipe books from these swaps as well!). Thank you, 2Peas, for the General Scrappin board, where my heart stayed throughout- I was challenged and inspired many ways. To buy a Cricut, to start a blog, to start Project Life, far too many to name. Thank you 2Peas, for all of the wonderful weekly classes. I learned so much from Glitter Girl, Jill Sprott, and all of the others. The videos have been my friends as I cleaned and folded laundry, or just whenever I wanted to be inspired. So to sum it all up, THANK YOU Two Peas In A Bucket! For all of the memories, for everything! You have given me so much more than I have given you, and I will ever be grateful. You have made my life richer!