Life of a Scrapping Mom

Another LOAD layout

2012-01-12T22:45:00.000-05:00

I love scrapping my kids school photos. I also love putting information on the layout that describes what they like that year and who their teacher was. That way they will have the memories later on in life. The paper is from Simple Stories Elementary line. I fell in love with it when I saw it at the store. I used liquid pearls around the edge for my border. I love using them on my layouts.

Tickle Patch

2012-01-11T22:35:00.000-05:00

At the beginning of 2011 we took our son to see an eye specialist. We had noticed in the summer of 2010 that his left eye was starting to turn in. In Feb 2011 we found out he would require surgery on the muscles of his eyes. While we waited to have the surgery done he was to wear a patch on his good eye for 2 hours a day. The doctor called it a tickle patch whenever he had to wear one at his appointments. He always told them but it doesn't make me laugh. What a silly kid he is! He wasn't fond of wearing it at home each and every day but we kept telling him it was helping his eye get better. He no longer has to wear it and hopefully after 2 surgeries the problem will have been fixed. His most recent surgery was in Dec 2011. It will be a while until we find out if the 2nd one did the trick. This is one of the first layouts I have done for this important journey in his life. I am sure I will have many more to share with you over the next few months.

True Beauty

2012-01-10T22:27:00.002-05:00

As promised here is one of my layouts from the mini 2 week LOAD I am taking part in with APOS. This time around it is a sketch LOAD done by Vicki from A Pile of Sketches. I loved how this one turned out. I used on of my monthly kids that I get from my LSS - Scrapping Great Deals. I took the photo back in Oct when we attended a close family friends wedding. The kids were invited as well. My daughter loved getting dressed up and going to her very first wedding. She definitely has True Beauty both inside and out.

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-02T09:38:00.002-05:00

Wow! It's been a while since I have posted. It has also been a while since I scrapped. That is going to hopefully change. Now that the holidays are over I plan on sitting down and scrapping as much as I can. Things have slowed down at work (I work in retail) so that means less hours for me. I am good with that though since it means more time at home to get things done. To start off the new year I signed up for another LOAD with A Pile of Scrap. This time it is all being done through Facebook. It is a sketch one (I love using sketches!!) and each sketch is done by Vicki from A Pile of Sketches.

The other exciting thing going on here is for Christmas we surprised the kids with a vacation to DisneyWorld. We leave on January 21st and they can't wait! (neither can I). I am already imagining all of the photos I can take and all the layouts I will be doing. Yes you know you are a scrapper when you start dreaming of layouts. I was even excited to find a forum online dedicated to Disney layouts. It is called mousescrappers.com. I have been checking it out and getting lots of ideas for photos I can take while there.

So for now I have no photos but be sure to come back as I start LOAD today and I will post some of my layouts for you all to see.

Happy New Year!!!!

We have a winner!

2011-10-31T10:42:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone.. just wanted to say thank you to all who took the time to leave comments on our blogs!!! we love hearing what you have to say!!

with out further ado.. the winner of our blog hop "BLING IT ON" is:

RETTA!!!!

Congrats Retta and please send your mailing address to missusg@missusgmoments.com and we will get your little prize packet out to you soon!!

Bling it On blog hop!

2011-10-28T08:00:00.005-04:00

We are doing a blog hop right here.... right now!!!

Our term for the APOS! inspiration team has quickly come to a close and we thought it would be fun to do a little blog hop to wrap up. So between the 6 of us we came up with the theme

BLING IT ON!

Each of inspiration team members were tasked with creating a canvas using buttons, ribbon/lace and bling. I sure hope you take a moment and check them out.

The bog hop starts with Diana and will continue on through the following order:

Jen (me!)

Now onto my canvas. I started by using glimmermist on mine and didn't quite like

the shade so I used Colorbox fluid chalk ink on it. Then I added some Marshmellow glimmermist. Next I created my flowers by tearing a circle and then creating my petals by tearing down to the centre. Rolled the edges and added some more brown ink. Added some buttons and bling to the centre. My lace is down the one side and the butterflies are from a Martha Stewart punch. The letters are cut with my Opposites Attract cricut cartridge. I am very pleased with the final product and can't wait to find the perfect spot for it in my house.

Now hop on over to Kelsey's blog to check out what she did.

Online crop time!

2011-10-21T23:03:00.002-04:00

Once again it is time for the online crop over at the APOS forum. This month it will be hosted by Michelle. She has added the twist of having clues for the challenges for everyone to take a guess at what the theme is. What a cool idea! So if you have some free time this week head on over to the forum and check it out. Don't forget to show everyone your beautiful layouts.

Inspiration time again

2011-10-10T23:04:00.002-04:00

Well it was my time again to inspire the girls of APOS with a challenge. I decided to use a challenge that I received during LOAD since I loved it so much. My challenge was to use your packaging from your scrappy supplies instead of just throwing them out. I did this layout during LOAD. The middle strip was from packaging I had for some sticker titles I own. I loved the pattern and love pink, black and white colour combo.

So I challenge you to start using up your packaging more. You can use them on your layouts, cards or any altered item really. Don't forget to come back and let me know what you did and provide a link so I can check it out.

Happy Scrapping!

Fun with my I-rock

2011-10-02T23:01:00.004-04:00

Each month over at APOS! we showcase a scrappy product. For the month of September it was my turn. I decided to highlight the I-rock tool by Imaginsce. I absolutely love mine! Up until now I used it for my scrapbooking layouts and cards. I decided to branch out a bit and try other things. In looking around my house I found 2 thinks I could add some bling to.

First is a glass dish I bought at the dollar store. I decided to add a "C" to it for candy and add some of our favourite treats inside...Skittles! I tied ribbon around the lid and there we go all done and looking pretty for my kitchen counter.

Second I found some tealights that we purchased at Ikea years ago and had been put in a drawer. I added some orange bling and plan on putting this one (and a couple others) in my bathroom.

Lastly I scraplifted this card from Melinda Spinks (off the Imaginsce blog). I fell in love with it as soon as I saw hers. I made this card for a very special family friend that is getting married this weekend. This was used as her bridal shower card.

More LOAD

2011-09-26T20:59:00.003-04:00

As promised here are some more layouts from LOAD. Sorry the pictures of them are crooked. I really need to work on taking a nice straight picture.

This first one we were to use items that we have had for a while. This was paper from a kit that I purchased months ago at my LSS. I loved this photo of my daughter blowing out the candles on her cake. The flowers were cut out from one of the patterned papers.

This next one we were to scrap a moment or event that we have been meaning to for a while. These photos were taken last October at my son's first dental appointment. I used a line called Elementary by Simple Stories. I just love doing grid layouts. They come together so easily!

Lastly this one we were to use something on our layout that we love to use. I love using my border punches. I love what they add to the layout. I especially love the Martha Stewart Punch around the page punches. Slowly but surely I am adding to my collection.

I am sure I will have more layouts to share soon. Until next time...happy scrapping!

Layout a day

2011-09-25T00:10:00.003-04:00

I love participating in LOAD (layout a day). APOS! has a couple of them per year. Sometimes they are month long ones and other times it is a 2 week LOAD. This time it is a 2 week load. I get so much inspiration from them. At the end of it I will have 14 layouts done. It can't get any better than that!

For this layout we were given a sketch for inspiration. I used the Apple Cider line by Imaginsce.

This next one we were supposed to scrap our favourite person, place or thing. I of course picked my kids. I also scraplifted this layout from Lori. When I first saw her layout I loved it!

I can't wait to show you some of the other layouts I have done. We are almost done week 1. Until next time happy scrapping!

Splashing good fun!

2011-09-23T22:36:00.002-04:00

Over at APOS! for the month of September we are having colour challenges. I knew as soon as we found out we were doing colour challenges I wanted to do a summer layout with some beach photos we took this year. I was inspired by a layout that Lori (a local scrapbooker) did. I fell in love with it. I also absolutely love this Bo bunny line....so fun and summery!

I challenged the ladies to do a layout using yellow, blue and white. I just love the die cut paper!

Be sure to check back later on this weekend. I am doing a mini LOAD (layout a day) at APOS! and I have a few layouts to share with everyone. Until then happy scrapping!

Just a quickie

2011-09-14T11:04:00.002-04:00

Thought I would do a quick post to let everyone know about the online crop this weekend over at A PILE OF SCRAP. This month Kelsey is hosting. I hope to get in a few layouts in between our busy weekend that we have planned.

Stay tuned for another post this week for the colour challenge I am doing over at APOS. I am working on it today and hope to have it posted on my blog by tomorrow night.

Until then....happy scrapping!

I love working with sketches

2011-09-04T11:43:00.000-04:00

I always find lots of inspiration from sketches and I was super excited when Vicki from A Pile of Sketches asked if I could work with one of the sketches. I had so much fun with this one. I used some glimmermist, crackle paint and a bit of stitching. I used the Elementary collection by Simple Stories. I thought it was a perfect time to do a layout about school when we are about to send the kids back for another year. Head on over to the sketch blog to check out some of the other sketches. You won't be disappointed.

K.I.S.S

2011-08-16T13:15:00.002-04:00

You heard me right....KISS! That's the next theme for the online crop at APOS! In case you didn't know we have an online crop each month over at A PILE OF SCRAP forums. They are always so much fun and this one will be just as fun as the others. This time Megan is hosting it. I am super excited since we don't have any plans this weekend so I will have lots of time to scrap!

I love doing girly projects!

2011-08-11T16:30:00.003-04:00

I have wanted to make a door plaque for my kids for quite some time now. I purchased a couple of canvases a while back and finally decided to sit down and create. I belong to a monthly kit club through Scrapping Great Deals and when I saw some of the papers from one of their kits I knew they were perfect for what I wanted to do. I am pretty sure I mixed and matched from a couple of the kits but I am not positive.

The base patterned paper is from the Hello Luscious line by Basic Grey (Raspberry Syrup), the flowers and butterfly are made with the Chanteause line by Kaisercraft. I used iridescent gold glimmer mist on the flowers and also over the whole background paper I used Distress Crackle paint in clear Rock candy.

Now while editing my photos I noticed one of the kids dropped some food on it. I guess that will teach me not to leave my stuff on the dining room table. Oh well...my daughter still loves it and I had lots of fun making it!

Close up of my flowers. You can't really tell but there is glimmer mist on them.

Close up of the crackle paint I used.

Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer :)

2011-08-09T22:46:00.003-04:00

Yes you heard that right....RUDOLPH! I know it's not quite Christmas but I am having fun making some of my Christmas cards. Hopefully before I know it they will be done and all I will need to do is mail them out come December. So if you are like me and want to get a head start on your Christmas cards head on over to the APOS! forum.

Kelsey, a fellow inspiration team member from APOS! proposed we make a card that was inspired by a Christmas song. Right away Rudolph popped into my head and I knew what I wanted to do. In December of last year I found some templates from myscrapchick.com and I couldn't pass up this cute one of a reindeer. I just love this as a card! I will be making a few more of these cards for sure.

Crop circle time!

2011-08-08T22:32:00.003-04:00

The last Friday of every month the APOS! forum hosted a crop circle. It was like a recipe challenge for scrapbooking. The person hosting lists 5 things that need to be included in your layout. We had taken a bit of a break from doing this challenge but Tammy brought it back for the end of July. Check out the challenge over at the forum and while you are there check out some of the other challenges going on. Her inspiration came from the holiday New Brunswick Day.

Here are the 5 things we needed to include in our layout.

1. 1 photo

2. 4 of one thing on your layout

3. the colour black

4. the colour purple

5. Use both french and english on your layout.

Here is my layout. I scraplifted it from the April 2009 Scrapbook Etc magazine.

A Pile of Sketches!

2011-08-03T23:03:00.003-04:00

Princesspea (from APOS! forum) aka Vicki has started a new sketch blog. The first sketch is fantastic!! So if you love working from sketches be sure to go and check out the new blog.

A Pile of Sketches

I can't wait to use this sketch and plan on spending the weekend scrapping. Stay tuned for hopefully lots of new layouts and perhaps a card or two from the Christmas in July challenge over at APOS!

Summer is keeping us busy!

2011-07-26T17:39:00.002-04:00

I can't believe we are almost at the end of July. The kids and I have been keeping ourselves very busy (more so for my sanity). Lots of fun happening here and next week we are taking them camping for 2 nights. We have never gone camping with them before and they are super excited. We leave in a week and I am already planning what we will eat and making lists of what we need to bring with us (always the planner I am!)

In my scrappy life I seem to have hit a wall and there is no mojo here. I always seem to go through these ruts. One thing that always helps me is to head on over to the APOS! forum to check out the weekly challenges that are going on.

The inspiration challenge this week is from Kelsey. She challenged us to do a layout about someone/something we are thankful for. She also wanted to see some journaling and use something we have had in our stash for a while. Go here to check out her layout and don't forget to come back here later on this week and I will post what I came up with for the challenge.

Diana came up with a fantastic Christmas in July card challenge. Her neverending card is amazing! I have never heard of this kind of card but I know I will be trying it out soon. Don't forget to go check out her card here.

And one last thing. Meg is putting together an All about Me album over the next several months. It will focus on what you are instead of what you like. This is also on my scrappy to do list (boy is my list getting long ). Meg's first couple of pages are fantastic!! Here is a link

Well I think that is all for now.

Happy Scrapping!

Inspiration time!

2011-07-15T09:11:00.004-04:00

This week I had the pleasure of coming up with a challenge on the APOS! forum. I recently purchased a new sewing machine and was inspired by it. Now I didn't use it on my layout I opted instead to hand sew everything but I plan on using my new machine in the near future to create a few things. That is the great part about stitching on your layouts if you don't have a sewing machine there is still a ton of things that can be done by hand.

When looking around the internet I found lots of inspiration but there was one site that

I just loved. I used a sketch from them. It is called Sketch Support.

Now onto my layout. I hand drew the scallop border at the bottom and then punched holes then hand stitched. I stitched around my stars and part of my titl

e. Lastly I stitched around one of the background papers. I used

the Snow Day paper by Crate paper. I loved that I didn't have to use it for a winter layout. The paper is really versatile.

And don't forget the online crop that starts tonight at 6 pm (NB time). The theme is games and I can't wait to see what Tammy has for us.

APOS! Online crop

2011-07-12T19:06:00.002-04:00

Starting this Friday July 15th A PILE OF SCRAP forum will be having an online crop. This time Tammy will be the host. I hope to see you on the forum playing along. There will be a bingo game and another new game that Tammy has come up with. I can't wait to see what she has in store for us!!

Happy Scrapping!

APOS! Blog hop winner

2011-07-11T18:30:00.001-04:00

We have a winner.....Brandy!!! Thank you to everyone for playing along. I hope you enjoyed the blog hop and perhaps there may be another one in the future.

Splash!

2011-07-09T21:45:00.003-04:00

This layout was inspired by a challenge that Michelle did a couple weeks ago at APOS! We were to use a summer black and white or sepia photo and use psychadelic colours. I decided to use the Summer Days paper by Echo park (love the bright colours!). I took the photo of my niece on Canada Day (July 1st). I used black to mat my patterned paper (just loving this look right now)

Here is a close up of one of the flowers I made with the paper. Just loved how they turned out. I got the instructions from the Scrap a Little blog. Here is the link to the instructions.

APOS! Blog hop

2011-07-04T16:00:00.003-04:00

Welcome to the APOS! blog hop!

If you arrived here from the Facebook page then you are on the right track. If you’ve arrived here by accident,then go here APOS! Facebook page discussion to start at the beginning. Not a facebook user no problem.. below is the listing to help you get back on track!
I think you’re really going to enjoy seeing what each of the APOS! inspiration Team have come up with using their chosen products.
To participate in the blog hop (and maybe win some candy) is so easy! Visit each inspiration team member’s blog and leave a comment. You will get one entry into a draw for some pretty amazing blog candy just for visiting and leaving a comment at each Inspiration Team Member’s blog. Adding yourself as a follower to any of the team members or 'liking' APOS! on facebook, another entry for each is yours!

Do you want to know what you’re hopping for? This is what you are playing for... a small something from each of the design teams choice of papers/products. So that will be an item from the following lines:

Tim Holtz, MME, Fancy Pants, BoBunny, Imaginisce and Cosmo Cricket!!
So with all that being said now on to what I have done.
We were all given this sketch to work with and the paper line I chose was Lime Twist (Fly a Kite) by My Minds Eye. The sketch can be found at Scrapbook.com and is in IcePanthress's gallery. The colours in the Lime Twist paper just screamed summer to me and to add an extra pop I decided to matte the patterned paper in black. (we had a challenge a few weeks back by Tammy to matte all our paper in black). I paper pieced the tent that is on the bottom and the title is done using the Dear Lizzy line of Thickers

Now hop on over to Michelle's blog and check out her awesome layout. As promised here is the listing for the inspiration team in case you get lost

Jen
Michelle
Kelsey
Diana
Megan
Tams

Christmas in July

2011-07-01T23:16:00.003-04:00

We thought it would be fun over at APOS! to have a Christmas in July card challenge. Each week an Inspiration team member will post a new challenge to create a Christmas card. For each card posted the girls will recieve a ballot to win a little prize from me. Today was the first post and I picked the challenge of creating a card with non christmas colours. Hop on over to the forum and join in on the fun we would love to see you!

A great weekend!

2011-06-22T12:33:00.003-04:00

This past weekend I hosted the online crop over at APOS! My theme was Harry Potter and I put out 8 scrapbooking challenges, played bingo and we did a photo scavenger hunt. I had so much fun chatting and scrapping with all of the ladies over there. So much creativity!!!

This first one was a challenge to have 7 of one embellishment on the page since there are 7 books in the series.

This challenge was to use black cardstock as your base. It was based off the fact that they wear black robes as part of their school uniform.

This one I scraplifted off the 2peas gallery. The challenge was to have a larger embellishment on the page so mine is the sun.

Come join us!

2011-06-17T22:48:00.003-04:00

The online crop has started over at APOS! The theme this month is Harry Potter. I had so much fun coming up with challenges for this. I will post some pictures tomorrow of the make and take that I am doing. I had super fun with it!

It's that time again!

2011-06-13T20:12:00.001-04:00

That's right it time for another APOS! online crop!! This month I will be hosting it. It starts this Friday the 17th at 5 pm EST. There will be a grand prize, games, a make and take and lots of other scrappy fun! So come on over this weekend and join in on the fun! We would love to have you!!

Scrapbuilder layout

2011-06-06T12:01:00.000-04:00

Each month at APOS! we play a fun game of Scrapbuilder. It is just like the game telephone however we start with our original layout and the 1st person is to scraplift it and then their layout goes to the second in line and so on. I always enjoy playing and it is a great way to ensure I create at least a couple layouts in a month. So if you want to try something different head on over to the APOS! forum and join in on the fun!! June has already started but you can always join in the July one. (usually posted at the end of the month)

This month I absolutely loved my layout! I was able to use paper scraps (which is awesome) and my IRock (which I LOVE!). The picture was taken last fall when my daughter was learning how to ride her bike on 2 wheels.

Crop layouts

2011-06-05T20:38:00.003-04:00

As you know APOS! had their online crop a week ago. It was so much fun! There was a bingo game (I won that!!), a photo scavenger hunt, a mini make and take and lots of challenges. I wasn't able to complete them all but have tucked them away for a day that I need some inspiration. Diana was our host this month and she decided on a Spring theme. Here are a few things that I was able to complete.

We were to create a card using the colours of the rainbow. I scraplifted this one from a Papercrafts magazine.

This was our make and take. It was a blind scrap to create this card. Inside there is a spot for a gift card.

And I was able to get one layout done. I believe I scraplifted this one from a Scrapbooks Etc magazine.

Paper Marbling

2011-05-28T19:37:00.003-04:00

This week over at APOS! it was my turn to have a tutorial. I wanted to show the girls how they can use liquid pearls in other ways besides straight from the bottle. I came across a great technique using shaving cream and liquid pearls to create a marble effect. For the tutorial head on over to APOS! and I will show you how I did it. As well I also used my mini mister and the liquid pearls to make them more of a liquid so I could paint my flowers to have the colours match my paper I made. The marbling was so easy my daughter was able to do it as well.

Here is the card I made using the marbling technique. It was so much fun I can't wait to use this technique on a layout.

APOS! Online crop

2011-05-26T13:13:00.003-04:00

Well it is time again for the monthly online crop. It will be happening this weekend - May 27th-29th. Diana will be hosting it this month and has lots of fun in store for us. So head on over right now and pick out your bingo words so you can play along. She hasn't revealed the theme yet but I bet you will be able to make a guess based on the list of bingo words.

Inspiration challenge time again!

2011-05-20T16:33:00.000-04:00

It's Friday so you know what that means! Head on over to the APOS! forum and check out the challenge for this week. This week it will be Megan inspiring us. I can't wait to find out what she has in store for us!!

Guess where I am right now

2011-05-19T16:28:00.000-04:00

That's right - New York City!!! The hubby and I decided to have a mini vacation just the two of us for our 8th anniversary. We wanted to go someplace different. He has never been and it has been a very long time since I have been there. We are driving there and then will spend 3 days enjoying the city and hopefully taking in a broadway show. So until I get back there will be no more layouts posted. Once I get back though I have lots of crafting I need to get done so stay tuned for some more layouts. And of course lots of New York photos :)

Inspiration challenge

2011-05-17T16:13:00.003-04:00

There was another challenge over at APOS! to inspire us all to create. This time Michelle gave us the inspiration. She picked a George Strait song I Saw God today. I was inspired by this line in the song "stood there for a minute takin' the sky Lost in that sunset". I have had a picture of a sunset from our family vacation to New Brunswick since last August. I have wanted to do a layout with it and this was the inspiration I needed.

I used paper by Basic Grey and liquid pearls for my circle accent. The brads came from the same line of Basic Grey Hello Luscious. I scraplifted my layout from PrincessPea, one of the ladies from APOS! forum.

APOS! Scrapper of the Month

2011-05-16T10:14:00.002-04:00

Kelsey (one of the APOS! inspiration team members) had the suggestion to bring back Scrapper of the Month. Each month on the 15th she is going to reveal who is scrapper of the month. At the beginning of the month she sends a message to the person selected for that month and asks several questions. Then on the 15th Kelsey reveals who it is along with her questions and some of her favourite layouts. What a great way to showcase the amazing talent there is over on the forums!

So I encourage you to head on over to the forums and check it out. Here is a direct link to the first Scrapper of the month!

APOS! Inspiration Challenge

2011-05-11T21:03:00.000-04:00

Last week I posted about the first Inspiration challenge over at APOS! Tammy used the Royal wedding as her inspiration and challenged us to create a layout (or layouts) with the Something Borrowed, Something New, Something old and Something Blue saying. Click here to take you right to the challenge. And don't forget to share your work!

Something borrowed - we were to scraplift a layout from the APOS! gallery ( I picked a layout by Jennypooh624)

Something New - my chipboard button

Something Old - floss I have had forever

Something blue - well you can tell what is blue :)

10 Things Tuesday

2011-05-10T22:20:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I did this and a great friend started up again on her blog so I decided I would play along. This week it is my top 10 favourite movies. These are in no particular order.

1. Pretty Woman - I loved that it was a modern twist on every girls fairy tale. Also I love Julia Roberts as an actress.

2. The Harry Potter movies - I clumped these together as I love them all! All the detail that goes into them, the imagination. I think they are just brilliant!

3. Transformers - I think I have seen this movie about 30 times and I will never get bored with it. I was not a big Transformers fan as as child but from the first time I watched this movie at the theatre I was hooked!

4. Finding Nemo - Who wouldn't love a Disney movie. Dory is the best!

5. The Wizard of Oz - What can I say it is a classic! I can't wait to show this movie to my daughter.

6. A Bugs Life - What a wonderful story of standing up to bullies. Heimlich (the catapillar) is my favourite character. Love him!

7. The Hangover - What can I say other than I need a good laugh every once and a while and this movie does exactly that. I can't wait for the 2nd one to come out

8. What Woman Want - Brilliant movie! If only all men could read our minds. LOL

9. The Lion King - The music is fantastic and I love the story. So by now can you tell I am a Disney fan. LOL

10. Monsters, Inc. - What can I say the child in me loves to watch the animated movies. And in doing research for this post I found out there will be a Monsters, Inc 2....can't wait!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T20:53:00.002-04:00

Today had to be the best Mothers Day yet! I got breakfast in bed, showered with gifts (including beautiful homemade ones) and I finished it off with enjoying a nice dinner with my own Mom. The weather was beautiful and my kids were the cutest ever! I feel blessed each and every day to be married to my wonderful family and having two children who make me laugh, cry and smile. Now all I need to do is plan a Father's Day that is just as great!

I even managed to create a card for my Mom for Mothers Day. I used the Basic Grey Hello Luscious line. What a beautiful line!

APOS! Inspiration Challenge

2011-05-06T13:51:00.002-04:00

The new team is officially now hard at work over at APOS! Tammy has issued the first challenge over at the forum and I think everyone should go check it out and show us what you got! I love where she got the inspiration for the challenge (The Royal Wedding) and I can't wait to get started on my layout. Click here to take you right to the challenge. And be sure to come check out my blog later on this weekend for my take on the challenge.

Until next time Happy Scrapping to you all!

My first all day crop!

2011-05-04T12:00:00.001-04:00

Back in April I attended my first all day crop. I spent a couple of days getting stuff ready and as I wasn't sure what I should take and what I would leave at home. I had a blast and I hope I can make some more time to do more crops. The one I attended was a fundraiser for my children's school. I managed to get 3 layouts done in the 8 hours I was there. I of course did some talking and some shopping as well.

My first layout was a scraplift from the April 2011 Scrapbooks Etc magazine. I also found the instructions to do the large flower on the layout. It took me a bit of fiddling with the paper but I finally got it where I was happy with the outcome. I took a closeup picture of the flower.

This layout was inspired by a sketch from the Got Sketch blog by Valerie Salmon. As soon as I saw the sketch I knew what photos I wanted to use. I was able to use my scraps and kraft cardstock and embellished the scallop border with some of my I rock bling.
Lastly I used a sketch from the Scrapbooks Etc magazine for this layout. These pictures were taken last fall of the 2 men in my life playing with my son's new remote control cars. I used paper Echo Parks Little Boy line. It was just so perfect for the pictures.

Until next time Happy Scrapping!

Where does the time go?

2011-05-03T22:01:00.003-04:00

Back in February my daughter turned 7. When thinking about what we would do for her party I came across a local company that sends out princesses, spiderman, and Demi Lovato look alikes. As soon as I told her she could have a Camp Rock party there was no going back. I ordered a Rock Princess cricut cartridge to make the invitations, party favour bags and banner and as soon as it arrived Sydney and I started working on everything. She was so excited to help me and I absolutely loved how everything turned out.

So I am finally getting around to posting pictures of everything that we did.

The invitation. I used my cuttlebug embossing folders and used one of the cuts from the Rock Princess cartridge.

The party favour bags. I used the Font from the Rock princess cartridge. It is too adorable with the hearts in it.

Lastly the banner. Again the font is from the Rock Princess Cartridge and I have shown a close-up so you can see that I embossed the letters.

APOS! Inspiration Team!

2011-04-28T21:40:00.004-04:00

I am so excited to share my wonderful news! I applied to be on the APOS! Inspiration Team again and I was selected along with 5 other talented ladies. We all have our own style and we hope to inspire everyone on the forum in our own way. If you haven't checked out the forum yet I encourage you to do so. They are a wonderful group over there and I am proud to call all of them my friends. To get to the forum you can click on my APOS! blinkie at the side and it will take you right there. Don't forget to introduce yourself while you are there. No worries we don't bite. :)

Don't forget to check out the other team members blogs.

Online Photoshop class

2011-04-26T13:12:00.006-04:00

I have always wanted to learn how to use Photoshop but never found the right online course for me to learn the basics. Then over at A PILE OF SCRAP forum they announced they were going to have an online course to learn the basics of photo editing. One course was using Photoshop and the other one used a free program. I jumped at the chance to learn how to do a few things with photoshop. I had a blast learning and wanted to share a few photos with everyone to see what I can now do. Now these are along a few of the things we did in the class. Even though the class is over you can still head over to the forum and sign up since they have now left it as an open class that you can take at any time. If you are looking to learn the basics in photoshop I highly recommend taking the class. Cori-lyn did the tutorials and she is fantastic at explaining things so you can understand. Click here to go directly to the APOS forum and sign up!

Here is my original photo.

Here is my photo cropped and using an action.

Here is my original photo.

Here is my photo with 2 items cloned out of the picture.

This photo I cropped, changed to black and white and added some test. These are some of the lovely ladies from the APOS forum. I got to meet them last August while we were in New Brunswick visiting family.

Wednesday Wishes

2011-03-23T20:33:00.005-04:00

I thought I would try something new on my blog. On Wednesdays I will post an item that I would love to have. Of course it will be scrappy related. To start off I thought I would go big! I have wanted a binding tool for a while now. I can only imagine the mini albums I could make if I had one. I am looking at making mini albums for my kids teachers this year as gifts and it would be awesome if I had the Cinch Bindery tool. As an added bonus it is PINK!

So what is on your scrappy wish list? Please share...perhaps I will learn about something new out there and I can add it on my ever growing wish list :)

Looking forward to Spring!

2011-03-22T14:32:00.003-04:00

I really need Spring to arrive. The first official day was yesterday yet tomorrow we are supposed to get more snow and ice pellets. Seriously I am done with winter! It can leave now and make way for lots of sun, flowers and fresh air. So I figured I would start fresh on my blog and hopefully keep up some posts by posting what I love best about spring. Don't forget to leave a comment to let me know what you most enjoy about spring.

1. Going for bike rides with the family. What better exercise and fun with the whole family.

2. Opening my windows and letting in all the fresh air. Airing out my rooms and hopefully all the nasty winter germs.

3. Seeing the flowers start to sprout up. So bright, colourful and cheerful.

4. Just plain old getting outside more. Taking in the sun and feeling more free and not confined to my house.

5. Spring cleaning my house. I don't always manage to get everything I

want done but I always try to get rid of some clutter. This year I think I will come up with a plan.

And I thought I would leave you with a recent layout I did using one of the kits I purchased from Scrapping Great deals. The picture is of my Dad and I when we were in New Brunswick last year. I used my IRock for the bling....love that thing! The sketch is from the Sketch savvy blog. Sorry for the not so great pic. It was taken at night.

Imaginisce and "Be Mine"

2011-02-07T13:46:00.002-05:00

Imaginisce is having a 3 day "Be Mine" blog posts. They are showing lots of fantastic things to create that center around love. It's Day 1 today and there are some fabulous layouts on there. So go check it out! You even have a chance to win something....you doesn't LOVE that!

As for me stay tuned as I hope to pictures soon of the invitations and decorations I have been working on for Sydney's 7th birthday party.

Ezee Pzee blog hop

2011-01-19T14:54:00.003-05:00

There is this new company out that makes wonderful embellishments to scrapbook with. They are having a blog hop and are giving away an amazing prize to the winner. So if you would like to play along check out their Facebook page! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ezee-Pzee-by-Engravit/152993484732724

Tuesday photo of the day

2011-01-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

I took this photo yesterday however I just had to share it. My son loves to drink hot chocolate and I decided to take a few pics while he sat down to enjoy a cup. This photo makes me laugh. Typical him....licking the side of the mug and enjoying every last drop he can.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!!!

LOAD Day 3-7

2011-01-10T14:13:00.004-05:00

7 layouts down....7 more to go. I am having so much doing this and I am creating layouts I wouldn't normally think to do.

This layout was about a lesson I learned in 2010. To enjoy the simple things in life.

This was a layout about something I lost in 2010. We sold my baby grand piano. Music was and is a huge part of my life. One day I would love to own a piano again but for now I will have to sit back and enjoy the radio.

For this layout I was to do one about me for the age I was in 2010. I rarely do layouts about me and hardly ever have my picture taken. I knew as soon as I saw the prompt for this day that these were the pics I would use. They were taken in November at my husband's Christmas party. This one explains itself. These are a few of my favourites in the year 2010
We were supposed to do a layout about somewhere that we traveled. In August of 2010 we went to New Brunswick to visit family and I got some pictures of Logan on the beach.

2010 Wrap up!

2011-01-05T22:42:00.003-05:00

I am doing another LOAD over at APOS. This one is a 2 week LOAD (just perfect for me) and the theme is 2010 Wrap up. I just finished up Day 3 and I think it's safe to say I feel like my mojo is BACK!! It's been a while since I sat down to do a layout and it feels so good to be scrapping again.

Here are pictures from Day 1 and Day 2. Day 1 was all about what one moment defined my 2010. For me it was Family. I loved spending time with my family even if it was just the small things. Day 2 was all about summing up my 2010. I focused on my journaling (which I never do) and I am so happy I did. Now my kids can look back on this layout and hopefully remember what 2010 was all about.

My hopes for 2011

2011-01-02T23:19:00.003-05:00

Each year I make resolutions and every year I never follow through with them. I wonder why I even bother to do this every year. Then I thought I do this so I have something to look forward to, to try and stay motivated and to hopefully make things just a little bit easier. I am very lucky in that we are able to manage things so I can stay home with the kids. You would think I have all this time to organize and clean my home but that is just not the case. So this of course is my first resolution.

1. Organize and de-clutter our house room by room. We have bins of stuff that we moved here and I have not touched in almost 8 years. I think it is time for it to go!

2. The same resolution I make every year. To lose weight. I would like to shed 20 pounds. Next Saturday (Jan 8th) I will be walking into a Weight Watchers meeting and signing up (for the 5th time). I have done it before and I CAN and WILL do it again. This time around though I will be going to the YMCA at least 3 times a week and supplementing that with my Wii workouts.

3. My husband and I are planning on heading on a vacation just the 2 of us. It has been a very long time (about 9 years) since we last went on a major vacation just the 2 of us. We have done weekends away but it just isn't the same. We think we have narrowed it down to Las Vegas or perhaps a warm island somewhere.

4. Lastly to spend less time online, more time scrapping and more time with my family. This one ties in with my biggest hope of this year to work on a better relationship with my son. I think our biggest problem is we are too much alike. We butt heads and I would like this to be the year that all changes.

And to start off the New Year here is a family picture taken with my new camera.

Winter has arrived

2010-12-08T10:37:00.003-05:00

and with a vengence! Starting on Sunday Dec 5th we got lots of snow and then it continued straight through until Tuesday Dec 7th. Currently we are getting a break from it but they say we are going to see more of it before the week is done. Right now we have over 3 feet of snow and the kids are having a blast! They are on their 3rd snow day today and surprisingly I have kept them busy with things and they aren't too bored. I have gotten some great winter photos and can't wait to scrap them. Hopefully I can get my christmas gifts done soon so I can go back to doing some layouts.

Logan and Daddy shoveling the snow

Our house all covered in snow

Sydney rolling down one of the hills in our front yard

My two cuties!

When was my last post?

2010-12-06T15:48:00.005-05:00

I am almost embarrased about when I last posted. I haven't really done a lot of scrapbooking lately and now that the holidays are upon us I am scrambling to get gifts done that I wanted to make. I promise as soon as I get them done I will post pictures. Over the next couple of days I should have lots of time to get things done since we are getting quite a bit of snow. So far we have had at least 40 cm and there is lots more to come. So for now I thought I would post a few photos that I have taken with my new camera. I am loving it!!

Sydney at her Nana's Birthday celebration on November 28th.

The firebush in our front yard. I loved the bright red berries on it with snow on the branches

This past Friday we had our first bit of snow. In the afternoon Logan and I ventured outside to shovel the driveway and have some fun. I love his eyelashes in this photo!

LOAD again!

2010-10-05T21:56:00.003-04:00

Well call me crazy...I signed up for a month long LOAD with Lain Ehmann again. I did it back in May and had so much fun I decided to do it again. So far so good. 5 days in and I now have 5 completed layouts. Here is one of the layouts I did with our prompt being use Once upon a time as our title. I used Bo bunny paper and added a few flowers to it. The frame around the picture is a Martha Stewart punch. Stay tuned for more layouts to come :)

My baby boy turned 4!

2010-10-05T10:35:00.000-04:00

Logan's birthday was on September 20th however it was just this past weekend that we had his birthday party with his friends. We held it at the YMCA and we took the kids swimming. They all had a blast. Here are a few photos from the day.

My favourites from the APOS load

2010-10-04T22:17:00.002-04:00

I thought I would share my favourite layouts from the APOS load that I did back in Sept. It was so much fun and I received a lot of inspiration over the 2 weeks. And the best part I completed 14 layouts!!

I have been a bad blogger :(

2010-09-23T13:37:00.002-04:00

Well each time I say this and I honestly want to follow through with it. I promise to blog more. I guess since I am not scrapping much right now (sick with a cold) I can't really blog about my scrappy stuff.

I managed to do all 14 days of LOAD and had lots of fun doing it. Perhaps if I get around to taking some nice photos of the layouts I will post my favourite ones right here on my blog. The next thing I am getting ready for is a full LOAD in October run by Lain Ehmann. I am really looking forward to it but not sure if I can do 31 layouts. One thing I have decided is I need to be more organized. In everyday life and in my scrappy life. My scrap area is not that organized and I am sure I have lot of stuff that can be used on layouts that I have no idea I own them.

As for my everyday life I think I need to have set days where I get my cleaning done, laundry and grocery shopping. I have 2.5 hours to myself with no kids from Mon-Fri so I need to start using that to the fullest.

Anyways I am now just babbling on....I think that is the cold medication talking.

Happy Scrapping!

LOAD - Day 3

2010-09-09T16:43:00.000-04:00

For Day 3 we were asked to have butterflies in our layout. I went the simple route and used only 1 and then I also used the SOTW from the APOS forum that Cori-lyn posted this week. So far this is my favourite layout of the 3 I have done for LOAD. I used some Echo Park summertime paper and also some scrap paper I had laying around. The butterfly is Riff Raff and then covered with some of the summertime paper. I cut 2 pieces and bent the top paper to give the butterfly a 3-D effect. I also pop dotted my title.

LOAD - Day 2

2010-09-09T04:39:00.000-04:00

For day 2 we were asked to scrap a picture or pictures from our summer. I picked out pics from our mini golfing experience when we were up at a friends cottage. Sydney had a great time. Logan however decided at about hole 3 (of 18 holes) that he was done.

I used a sketch from the Scrapbooks Etc April 2009 edition. It is called Parade love. I loved it for the ability to get so many photos on a 12 x 12 layout. The white circle at the top of my layout is embossed with the Swiss dots cuttlebug folder to represent a golf ball and so is the pink one at the bottom. I also paper pieced a golf club for the "L" in my title.

Mini LOAD - Day 1

2010-09-08T16:31:00.004-04:00

I signed up for the mini LOAD over at APOS. It is running for 2 weeks and I am so glad I did. I am back in a scrappy mood. I haven't really sat down to scrap in about 2 months so it was about time I got my MOJO back and flowing!

Day 1 our task was to do a layout about something that makes us laugh. Well I had the perfect photo that every time I see it I chuckle to myself.

This photo was taken in May when we had a hot spell. I put the sprinkler on for the kids and started taking photos. I got the perfect shot of my son. He was screaming and I feel this conveys him perfectly....he is always loud and is always talking. I used a sketch from the Scrapbooks Etc June 2010 edition. I loved how the strips were cut in the same colour cardstock and then several different punches were used.

Tuesday Ten

2010-09-08T11:42:00.002-04:00

O.k so I am a day behind but better late than never right?!?!?

This week our task was to put down 10 things we wanted to do before winter comes. Perhaps if I put the list out for all to see I will actually accomplish them.

1. Take the kids to O'sheas Farm

2. Clean up our backyard and prepare it for the winter

3. paint all the trim in our kitchen

4. Clean out and organize the 4th bedroom - make it into a toy room for the kids

5. Lose at least 15 pounds - easier said than done right now

6. Set up our office/scrappy space better than it is

7. Finish putting up the trim in the upstairs hallway

8. Clean out the laundry room/junk room - declutter and purge anything I just don't use

9. Get into a nice workout routine so by winter it is second nature to work up a sweat

10. Lastly - go on more date nights with my hubby!

More New Brunswick photos

2010-09-01T08:08:00.002-04:00

Well it's Wednesday and I thought what better way to start the day then to share some more photos from our vacation to New Brunswick.

I love this shot of Travis and the kids.

The swinging kid shot.

Our first time in a kayak. Logan loved it so much he went twice with us.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-08-31T20:03:00.002-04:00

This week I thought it would be fun to list 10 places I visit on the internet. Now you are going to notice most of them are scrappy related since that is all I really look up online :)

1. Facebook

2. Scraphappy

3. APOS Forum

4. Justmommies

5. Pagemaps

6. Scrapbook.com (mostly for title inspiration)

7. Flickr

8. Scrapbook Cards and today blog

9. Layout a day

10. Julie Bonners blog

Now there are many other places I visit but these are my top 10. So now you know where to find me :)

My term is done :(

2010-08-30T09:19:00.002-04:00

Well my time is up for the Design team over at APOS. I am actually quite sad about this. I had a blast, couldn't wait each month to find out what we had to create and feel truly blessed to have been selected a year ago along with some very talented ladies.

The announcement for the new inspiration team will be made this Wednesday and I can't wait to find out what ladies with be inspiring me on a daily basis.

For now I plan on scrapping more, submitting layouts more often and hopefully learning a bunch of new techniques.

I want to thank Alissa for a great year. There were times you really did challenge us with the papers you picked. Love you for that!!

New Brunswick is beautiful!

2010-08-27T10:05:00.000-04:00

We just got back from our vacation to New Brunswick to visit my Aunt and Uncle and let me say it is just the most beautiful province ever! (well at least out of the ones I have seen - LOL)

So over the next week I thought I would share a few photos from our vacation. Today I decided I would share a few nature photos.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-08-26T21:52:00.004-04:00

O.k well Thursday. I know I am 2 days late on this but we have been busy here since returning from vacation. So better late than never right?!?!?

This week I thought it would be fun to list 10 things I would love to buy but can't afford right now or is just over the top outrageous.

1. Apple Ipad - I think they are the coolest things ever!
2. A new camera - I have a Sony DSC-H9 and I really don't like it at all.
3. A hot tub - There was one in the hotels we stayed in while on vacation and I find them so relaxing
4. A garage for our house. I really don't want to do another winter of scraping off my car windshield.
5. All of the new releases in Scrapbooking (and I mean everything!)
6. A cricut Expression. I really want to upgrade from my baby bug
7. A cottage that is right on the water. I find it so peaceful being right on the water and really wish I was back in NB right now.
8. A e-reader - I want to get back into reading more and think these are pretty darn cool
9. Apple Macbook - can you tell I am a bit addicted right now to all things computer related :)
10. A nice buffet hutch that will go in my living room to act as my organizational area for everything (school items from the kids, mail, place for keys and phones - basically a place to organize all that stuff that comes into the house)

So there it is...my list of 10....now what are 10 things you would love to have right now but can't afford.

Ten things Tuesday - Vacations!

2010-08-16T22:06:00.002-04:00

I am on vacation this week in New Brunswick so I thought it would be neat to list the top 10 places I would love to go on vacation and have not yet. These are in no particular order.

1. Australia

2. London, Engeland

3. Scotland (we wanted to go for our honeymoon but bought a house instead)

4. Vancouver, British Columbia

5. Las Vegas

6. Hollywood (just to see if i can mingle with the stars)

7. Hawaii

8. Bahamas

9. Texas (anywhere there really just to say I have been)

10. Paris, France

So what are your top 10 vacation spots that you haven't been to yet?

Ten things Tuesday - SUMMER!

2010-08-10T21:46:00.002-04:00

Well it's Tuesday again so that means my 10 things Tuesday list. This week it is all about Summer. So here goes....my top 10 things I love about summer.

1. Going to the beach
2. No set bedtime for the kids
3. Going to the wading pool behind our house (it's free!)
4. Enjoying a good book in the backyard while the kids play
5. Lots and lots of ICE-CREAM!!!
6. Family bike rides - Logan just got his big boy bike and he is doing great on it
7. Family vacations - this year we are headed out east to New Brunswick to visit family
8. Sleeping in until 8 am
9. Not having to bundle everyone up to head outside
10. Summer camps for the kids - it sure is nice to get a break and they have a blast going.

October LOAD

2010-08-07T09:28:00.003-04:00

I have signed up for LOAD again. The last LOAD in May I wasn't able to get a layout done each day so my goal for this next one is to complete the whole month. I had so much fun last time and recieved a lot of inspiration from the other ladies that I couldn't pass up doing it again.

I also signed up for a new site called Scrap Happy. It is run by Lain Ehmann (she runs LOAD). Here is the link. I am anxiously awaiting my password so I can get on the site and hopefully start creating and get rid of this scrappers block. So hopefully real soon you will be seeing lots of new layouts and cards from me!

I think I have lost my scrappy mojo :(

2010-08-04T10:03:00.004-04:00

but there was a good reason, if there really ever is a good reason to lose your scrappy mojo. For the past month we have been working on our brand new kitchen! We had a company come in and install the cabinets but we had to remove the old ones, put up new drywall, take out part of a wall and paint. I am in love with my new kitchen! It looks so bright and cheerful now. I enjoy cooking every day and even christened it last week by baking brownies from scratch. (I usually buy the box kind). They were short a bit of the crown molding for the top so that is on backorder but the rest of it is all done!

So I am sorry there are no new layouts to show off but I do have some beautiful new kitchen photos :)

Ten on Tuesday - Games I loved as a child

2010-07-20T14:12:00.003-04:00

Happy Tuesday everyone! So for this week we were prompted to list 10 games we loved to play as a child. I am not too sure if I will be able to list 10 but I am going to give it a try.

1. Skip Rope - I used to tie one end to our garage door handle and then we could jump rope when there was only 2 of us.

2. Pictionary - I loved sitting down with my family and a few friends and playing this game. It was always good for a lot of laughs.

3. Monopoly - This was another family favourite. A classic that I don't think I could ever get bored with.

4. Scrabble - I would sit down with my mom to play Scrabble. She always beat me but it was still fun!

5. Mouse trap - My brother and I loved playing this game. I have been thinking lately I would love to get this one for my kids

6. Solitaire - I could have played this for hours when I was younger. Nothing better than playing solitaire while up at a cottage.

7. Super Mario Brothers - My brother had the old school Nintendo. I loved the super Mario games. I wasn't into playing video games a lot but loved playing these ones and have even purchased it for the Nintendo Wii to bring back great memories.

8. Trivial Pursuit - This one was more for when I was older. I played the original version but would love to get some of the other ones like the Disney one.

9. Connect 4 - What can I say about this one....it's simple but fun.

10. Milton Bradleys Super Simon - I loved this game! I only wish my parents had kept it so my kids could play with it now.

Well I guess I could remember 10 games I loved to play. So now it's your turn...what games did you love?

Beach time!

2010-07-14T21:27:00.000-04:00

Well as promised here are some photos from our family vacation to the beach. We stayed at a friends cottage in Port Austin, Michigan. It is on Lake Huron and let me say it was so relaxing, beautiful and it was great to spend 4 days with such a wonderful family. We did a few day trips. One was to an amusement type place with mini golf, go carts and bumper cars. The kids loved that. The other was to a lighthouse and park. It was really beautiful there.

Family photo at the lighthouse and park area (Pt Aux Barques)

When we first arrived on Tuesday evening the kids went out to the beach to check it out.

The rainbow we saw on one of our days. We were eating lunch and one of the adults noticed it so I ran out to take some pics.

The lighthouse at Pt Aux Barques. There was a little museum in the house portion of it.

Daddy and Logan taking a walk on the beach.

10 on Tuesday - Things I love

2010-07-13T21:18:00.003-04:00

A forum friend had this idea to have a 10 on Tuesday post. It will be various things but will always be 10. This week it is 10 things I love. So here goes...10 things I currently love

1. Sitting on my front porch with a cup of tea...it is so relaxing
2. Vanilla Coke - I love it but sadly they do not sell it here in Canada so I try and get some whenever we take a trip to the U.S
3. My new bed - oh so comfy and solved my problem of my hips going numb at night
4. My YMCA membership - the whole family loves going now I just need to go more often to get in shape
5. The new President's Choice Loaded Baked Potato and Greek potato chips...they are to die for...too bad I started Weight Watchers again...I won't be eating them for a while
6. Going for evening walks with the family.
7. Sleeping in till 8:30 am....YAY for summer vacation and alarm clocks for the kids!
8. Eating a large salad with my meal....I love that everything is so fresh right now
9. The wading pool behind our house and the fact that it is free for us to go to. The kids love it there
10. The fact that the kids were not signed up for one single thing this summer and we are free to do what we want and are not on a schedule.

I would love to hear what are some things you love....leave me a comment!

Has it really been a month???

2010-07-12T14:48:00.004-04:00

Wow where did that time go? I can't believe it has been a month since I last posted. We have been super busy with house renovations. We are getting our kitchen ready for our brand new one to be installed...so that means demolishing the old, new drywall and paint and then Casey's Creative Kitchens will be here on July 21st to install our new one (don't worry pics are to come). We are also working our upstairs level. Our new carpet is going to be installed on July 20th and then we can add the trim and baseboard and the 2nd level will almost be complete. YAHOO!!!!!

We also went on vacation last week to a friends cottage. I will post a few photos from that in a few days. First things first the June DT reveal for APOS. I was given papers from a New Brunswick based company called Black River designs . I absolutely loved this paper. Right up my alley. I also decided to do some basic photo editing since I have always wanted to do that but never really knew how to use the complicated programs like Paint Shop Pro (which I own). So once discovering Picnik I was all good to go and love how it looks!

Now onto the layouts. Hope you like them.

I used a photo collage site for this one. It was so easy to use. It is called photosheet by Photility. The pictures were taken at my nieces 6th birthday party.

This one I used Picnik to add a white shaded border around the photo and to crop in tight. I cut out the butterflies from the patterned paper.

I added tex to the photos on this layout and also a black shaded border. You can't really tell from the picture but I hand stitched a zig zag along the edge of the polka dotted paper.

This was a quick little gift card holder I made for my Dad's birthday.

Lastly I took my photo and changed it to black and white then added the colour back to only the butterfly. I again cut out the blue butterflies for the top right hand corner.

Challenge time!

2010-06-07T21:26:00.004-04:00

Well it's time for another challenge over at APOS. This month I decided to get the ladies over there to break out their border punches and use them on a layout. I challenged them to come up with different ways to use the same border punch. I used one of my Martha Stewart punch around the page punches to do a border all around and then punched a strip on both sides to create a flower look. I also cut out every third loop on each side to create that flower look.

Hop on over to the APOS forums to check out the DT challenges.

LOAD is done!

2010-06-02T16:30:00.002-04:00

I had a blast! I discovered some things about my style and I can't wait to do it again. Although I didn't complete every day I am proud of what I did do. I finished 23 out of the 31 days. So next time around I am aiming for 31 layouts.

So here is what I discovered about my style.

I am a simple kind of girl
Love my clean layouts
I used flowers alot
I like using lots of photos
I like my journaling short and sweet

Day 28 - W is for White Space

2010-06-02T16:26:00.003-04:00

Well the title explains it all. We were to create a layout with white space. I was really happy with how mine turned out. I used a bit of glimmer mist, a border punch, some flowers and some bling.

Day 25 - U is for Unique

2010-06-02T16:24:00.002-04:00

Today we were asked to think about what makes we love to put on a layout. What makes us happy. I love to add lots of photos to my layouts to help tell the story. So that is what I did for this layout.

Day 24 - T is for Templates

2010-06-02T16:20:00.002-04:00

Our prompt from Lain today was to use a sketch to create our layout. I was in my comfort zone for this one. I love using sketches. I used a sketch by Beggahuna.

Day 23 - S is for Size

2010-06-02T16:15:00.002-04:00

I am so sorry for not keeping up with this. So I am going to catch up on all the layouts I was able to do. I didn't end up getting all 31 done but did quite a few.

So Day 23 - S is for size. Our prompt was to have a small, medium and large item on our layout. I didn't really follow it but used that as a starting point to do this layout. I used a Julie Bonner sketch for this layout.

LOAD layouts - lots of them!

2010-05-23T23:15:00.004-04:00

It has been a while since I last posted about LOAD. I am still going strong but missed a few days when I went away for the weekend on a shopping/anniversary getaway.

Day 14 - K is for Kalidescope. We were prompted to do a monochromatic layout or one with a lot of colour. I picked bright to go with the celebration of my sons 3rd birthday.

Day 17 - N is for Never. We were to do a layout using things we never use. I did an 8.5 x 11 layout since I never do them and left off a title. I am going to frame this and hang it in my sons room.

Day 18 - O is for Order - We had to think about what order we do our layouts in and then create a layout. I always pick my photos, then a sketch, then my paper and finally my embellishments.

Day 19 - P is for Patterns. We had to decide what type of patterned paper we use most and then do a layout using that type of paper. I tend to use polka dots and strips more often then larger patterned paper.

I missed Day 20 just because I wasn't feeling very creative that day. I hope to go back and do it.

Day 21 - Q is for quick. Create a layout in 30 minutes. Here is what I came up with and it took me 15 minutes. This is my Dad 2 christmases ago.

Day 22 - R is for Recycle. It's not what you think. We were prompted to look for where we repeat ourselves or find something about a page that we would like to repeat. I didn't really follow the prompt except for creating a clean layout (Cheryl pointed this out to me after I posted on LOAD). So I guess that is something I always do...create a clean layout.

So I am all caught up now with posts. Stay tuned in the next couple of days for some more layouts. I finished day 23 but I am waiting for it to dry before I take a picture.

Day 12 and 13

2010-05-15T11:16:00.000-04:00

Day 12 - J is for journaling. Our challenge today was to add journaling to our layout. Normally I don't add a lot of journaling. I like to keep it short and sweet. I decided part of the reason is I feel with a lot of journaling on my page there is less room to add embellishments and pictures. I like to tell my story with pictures.

Day 13 - Iconic style day again! This time we were asked to scraplift Jody Wenke. She does 8.5x11 layouts and I thought why not change things up and do one as well. She also has a clean and simple style. I like how this turned out and I plan on framing it and hanging it up on Sydney's bedroom wall.

Day 10 and 11

2010-05-13T23:12:00.004-04:00

Day 10 - H is for Holidays. Todays challenge was to use holiday papers. We could use them in any way...even a layout that was not about a holiday. I decided to do a christmas layout. I enjoy scrapping the holidays so I figured I would stick with what I know.

Day 11 - I is for inspiration. Our challenge today was to scraplift a layout from the LOAD gallery. As soon as I saw the challenge I knew which layout I wanted to scraplift....one from Alissa (from APOS). I fell in love with her layout when I saw it. I had lots of fun doing this and just love how the stitching turned out.

Day 8 and 9

2010-05-09T21:10:00.003-04:00

Day 8 - F is for Five. Our challenge was to have the number 5, or 5 things, or 5 embellishments on our layout. I used cardstock, stars, pictures, letters and doodling. I scraplifted this from Kelli Crowe. I am just loving her stuff! This was such a fun layout to do.

Day 9 - G is for grouping. Our challenge today was to think about how we group our embellishments. Do we cluster them, line them up or something else. I figured out that I tend to line things up more then cluster. Every time I try and cluster things on my page it just doesn't look right so I have decided I am just not a cluster type of gal. The paper used for this one was the Teachers Pet line from Imaginesce and the border punch is from Martha Stewart (double loops). Just purchased it today as part of my Mothers day gift. I used crackle paint and glimmer mist on my frame.

Day 6 and 7

2010-05-07T23:16:00.004-04:00

I should apologize for the flash on the photos of my layouts. I usually get my layouts done at night and since they need to be uploaded by midnight Pacific time I need to use my flash.

Day 6 - We were given the challenge to scraplift something from Kelli Crowe. She has such a great style. Definately very different from mine but oh so fun! Check out her blog. I was however drawn to this one layout in her Two Peas gallery. I knew it was perfect for the photo I wanted to use. And it was so quick to put together. Love when that happens!

Day 7 - E is for Embellishment. We needed to use any type of embellishment on our page. We were also asked some questions. From those questions I have decided I really like flowers on my pages. I seems to use them a lot. I just love how this page turned out. The pictures were taken last year when my daughter and her cousin were trying to catch a fairy.

Day 5 - D is for Distressing

2010-05-07T23:12:00.003-04:00

For Day 5 we needed to distress our layout but we also needed to take a look at what we like to do when distressing and try and step it up a notch. I distressed all paper, the title and the photos. I really don't distress much and what I took from this challenge is that I am more of a clean scrapper. I never really think of distressing and can't really get into the grungy look. Although when seeing others layouts that are distressed I always like what they have done with it. So here is my layout. This is my least favourite one so far. It just didn't come out like I had wanted it to.

B is for Buttons and Brads and C is for Cardstock

2010-05-05T19:37:00.004-04:00

So here are Day 3 and 4 from LOAD. Day 3 was B is for Buttons or Brads. Pretty self explanitory we needed to use buttons or brads on our layout. But how we used them would help in the puzzle of how to define our style. I used brads to attach my flowers and to also attach my journaling strips. I tend to add them as an afterthought and don't really make them the forefront of my page.

For my flowers I cut them out using my George cricut cart, glimmer misted them and then curled them. I found a post on how to do this.

Day 4 was C is for Cardstock. Our challenge was to use only cardstock. We were able to use letter stickers and one other thing to embellish if we wanted to but no patterned paper. I decided to only have cardstock and add some doodling on the page with a white gell pen. I really like how the paper makes you take focus on the pictures. The pictures were taken on my son's 2nd birthday party. It has always been about the trucks for him and I don't see him outgrowing that anytime soon.

April DT Reveal - CARDS!

2010-05-03T12:00:00.000-04:00

This month we were given the task to create cards with our paper. But not the ordinary card we needed to do something a little different - Shaped cards! I was given paper by Sassafras Lass - some from the Amplify line and some from the Sweet Marmalade line. At first I was a bit stumped as to what I would do but after a bit of thought I think I came up with some cute cards.

I made this cake card for my Mom's birthday. I freehanded the cake shape and then paper pieced the 3 layers on top of it.

I cut the shape from my Storybook cricut cartridge for this one. This card I am giving to my husband for our 7th wedding anniversary on May 10th. The inside will read: Love is a friendship set to music.

I made this clown hat card for my niece who just turned 6. She was having a clown themed party.

A fun circle birthday card.

This is one of the cards that will go to my kids teachers. I will be making 2 more just like it for their end of the year gifts. It swivels open and is held together with a brad.

Don't forget to check out the other DT blogs for their reveals. Valerie, Cheryl, Candace and Cori-lyn.

A is for Adjuctive

2010-05-02T21:56:00.003-04:00

For LOAD Day 2 our task was to think about 3 adjuctives that describe our scrappy style. I really had to think about this one. I finally decided on clean, simple and colourful. Clean because I am not a messy scrapper and I don't do a lot of distressing or grungy things. Simple because I have very few embellishments on my layout and colourful because well I am really into bright colours these days.

So here is my layout for Day 2! The pictures are from Sydney's 3rd Birthday. She looks so young in this photo. Oh and I finished this one about 6 hours early! YAY!!!!

LOAD Day 1

2010-05-01T23:12:00.002-04:00

Well I did it! My first layout of Load is done. I can already tell I am going to be creating in the evenings and perhaps having a few late nights. Now if only I had a DVR to record my favourite shows I would be all set. For the May LOAD it will be all about Defining my style. I am so excited to do this since I am not even sure what my style is.

For our first challenge we were supposed to create a layout that we love. Use photos we love, paper we love, embellishments we love...basically create something that we feel comfortable doing and not try and go outside of our boundaries. I seem to like doing the nice and easy layouts with not a lot on the page. I went through my scraps of paper and picked out some fun colourful scraps to go with my blue cardstock. I wanted to showcase the photos since I just love spending time with my family and especially love taking the kids to Niagara Falls every year. We always have a great time there. I cut circles out of my blue cardstock and placed the patterned paper under my cardstock and attached it with pop dots to create a bit of dimension. I also loved using the circle as my main embellisment. Simple but I think the patterned paper adds that pop to the page.

So here is my first layout of LOAD! YAY!!!!!!

Tomorrow marks the first day of LOAD!

2010-04-30T15:46:00.002-04:00

Well this is my first time signing up for LOAD (layout a day) with Lain Ehmann. I am pretty excited about it but also nervous that I won't accomplish the task and do one layout a day. It starts May 1st and goes to the end of the month. I am still trying to work out how I will upload a few of my layouts when I go away in two weeks for a weekend but I have until then to worry about it. Check out Lain's blog post here for more information.

For now I am busy selecting photos to print and once I get them back from Costco I will start to pre plan some pages for those busy days that I won't have much time to ponder my layout.

So hopefully soon you will be seeing a blog post each day from me with a photo of my layout. Another little thing I am trying to do is use only the supplies I have and not go and purchase more. So stay tuned and I might just have my first layout from LOAD on my blog tomorrow night!

Two excited kids!

2010-04-28T10:50:00.000-04:00

We woke up Saturday April 10th to no power. We figured perhaps there was a car accident somewhere and in a few short hours we would have power again. That was not the case! About 2 hours after the power shut off we saw London Hydro vehicles a few doors down from us. By noon we knew it was not a simple fix. They had a brand new transformer on the back of one of those trucks. Then a while after that we saw the crane arrive. By then we had figured out that the transformer that was in our neighbours backyard had blown and they were going to replace it with a new one. This meant lifting it over the house and into their backyard. So our fun and exciting entertainment for the day was watching them work. Boy did my son love this! He is all about trucks, cranes and diggers. His eyes just lit up when he saw that crane on our street. At one point he turned to his sister and said "Syn I am going to grow up and work on one of those cranes". And I for one believe that. He is constantly talking about construction or trucks and just loves to build and destroy things. Here are a few photos from that day. I can't wait to create my layout for these.

Family

2010-04-26T10:25:00.000-04:00

It's not often that we take pictures of all of us. I am usually focused on getting pictures of the kids. So after Logan's 3rd birthday party back in September we had an impromtu photo session. Sydney took some photos, Logan took some and so did Travis and I. We had so much fun and I have wanted to scrap these photos for quite some time. So when I saw this sketch from a challenge over on one of my scrappy boards I knew it would be perfect for just these photos.

The sketch is from Julie Bonner...I just love her sketches. You can see it here.

And here is my version. I used the fantasty flourish template from Bazzill and stickles for my flourish on the top. Sorry but I am not sure what paper that is. Just had it in my stash. The chipboard letters are from making memories.

Finally the mini album is done!

2010-04-24T10:10:00.005-04:00

I started this mini album back in November while visiting a friend in Michigan. She gave me the chipboard album and papers to create this Halloween album. I didn't get it finished while there so brought it home. But it seemed some other project always came up. So this month I was determined to complete it. I am really happy how it turned out. The paper is a mix of lines - Whimsical Halloween by Junkitz, Spooked Stars by MME and Central Park by Pebbles Inc. I used my cricut for some of the diecuts, some glimmer mist and rub ons.

April's challenge at APOS

2010-04-06T22:00:00.003-04:00

I decided this month I would do a colour challenge. I love the colours blue and brown together so that is what I went with. I did something a little different this time around and made a mini accordian album for my husband to take to work and put on his desk. Check out the APOS online store...there are quite a few paper lines out right now with brown and blue in it.

Beautiful weather and some Easter goodies

2010-04-03T22:46:00.004-04:00

The past 2 days have been beautiful here. On Good Friday my parents and I took the kids to Springbank park to walk around and have some fun at their playground. This was our first outing to the park so I brought along my camera. Here are a few pics from our morning out.

Watching the ducksSitting on a cool looking tree

Sydney is trying to get Logan to smile. He was pretty grumpy at this point.

Today I made some easter goodies. The cupcake baskets are for the kids tomorrow at our Easter brunch. I found the idea for this on this website. I thought they were just too cute and boy were they easy to do.

Then I decided to make some sugar cookies. Sydney helped me decorate them with coloured sugar. They are in the shape of an egg and a butterfly. I haven't sampled one yet but Travis tells me they are very yummy. Wishing everyone a very Hoppy Easter!!!

March DT Reveal

2010-04-01T09:00:00.001-04:00

For the month of March I was given the pink Lush line by MME. Here is a link to one of the papers that I was given. A PILE OF SCRAP We were asked to create a mini album but not purchase an album like a chipboard one. So I decided since I have always wanted to do a paperbag album I would do a smaller version from the standard lunch bag size. I purchased the mini paperbags at Michaels and put my mini album together with 4 of the bags.

Along with the patterned paper I was given prima flowers, MME ribbon to match and the flocked chipboard letters my MME. I had so much fun working with this paper and I can't wait to use the brown lush paper I purchased to make a mini album for my mother in law.

Now for pictures of the album. NB stands for New Brunswick. This album is all about our first family vacation in August 2004 with our 6 month old daughter. I also made tags to fit inside the pockets of the paper bags. They have additional photos on them and a bit of journaling. For more pictures check out the design team gallery over at APOS.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the design teams albums. Candace, Cheryl, Valerie and Cori-lyn.

March APOS challenge

2010-03-05T15:02:00.003-05:00

My challenge for this month was to do a layout about The Year you were born. I had so much fun finding out what happened in 1976 and also the prices of things. The hardest part for this challenge was finding a photo of just me. I don't like having my photo taken at all so there are very few photos of me and if there is one I usually have someone in the picture with me. This photo is from my Highschool graduation ceremony. My parents took this picture before we were heading out for the ceremony.

Don't forget to head on over to the APOS forums to check out the other DT challenges for this month!