My Creative Side

OMG!!!!

2009-11-16T13:27:00.000-08:00

HOLY SMOKES!!! Has it really been over a year since I've been here???!!! Sorry about that...

I decided to take a break from some stuff to concentrate on myself and my family. The break has been enlightening for both myself and my family. We've made some changes at home which will help lighten the stress the whole family has suffered from for the last year. So now, on-ward and up-ward for us!!

But I certainly didn't take a break from the scrapping world. I find that scrapping is very therapeutic for me and helps me relax and centre myself so I was busy doing lots of layouts. I'm finished my DT role at ScrapShotz and am enjoying scrapping for me again. I've had a couple more layouts published in Canadian Scrapbooker and am thinking of getting into teaching. I love to share my favorite hobby with others and this seems to be the best way.

Here are some of the layouts I have done since I've been away...

Have a great day!!!

Boy oh Boy!!!

2008-10-22T08:54:00.000-07:00

I forgot how much work it is to sell your house. My God!!! I feel like I'm hardly ever home with all the viewings etc. We did get an offer though, but it was really low and we countered and I guess they didn't like it so now we're back to the beginning again. Well, at least the small repreive while the offer was pending was a nice rest from all the vacuuming. :D

I do have a lot to update you all with. This will be a long post so bare with me. I thought about splitting up all the news into a couple of posts through the next few days but with my luck I'll be back into the home showings and won't get back on here for another month so best to get it over with now.

First on the agenda, I'm no longer designing for Clipper Street. They emailed me the other day saying they were gonna stop the designs until the new year and re-evaluate things. I'll miss desinging for them and seeing my layouts up in the store, but on the other hand I'll also have more time to do work and layouts for me, which is a bonus. So, for those of you who looked for my stuff in the store, you will have to check out the blog more often (as I try to update it more often) for any new creations.

Last night I hosted my last Scrappy Hour at Scrap Shotz. I'm not done there yet, just with all the new DT over there it's the last one I do before I am finished in April (or is it March???).

Anyway, I found these 2 really cute gift ideas and couldn't decide which one to use so I did both. I found these ideas on Youtube (not really that creative myself to come up with this stuff... hehehe)

This first one is called a "Bag-a-lope". You can take an envelope and make a small gift bag with it. Very cool.

The second one is a candy bar slider. I really liked this one. It's neat how the bar slides out.

You can find the instructions for all this at Scrap Shotz here. I'd really like to see any projects that you make. If you aren't on Scrap Shotz, please leave me a link to your project so I can take a peek.

If you're still reading, thanks, we're almost done.

I picked myself up a Slice the other day. If you don't know what the Slice is check it out. Just click on the picture.

The Slice is a personal die cut machine. It's cordless, small and portable, and has some of the cutest shapes and fonts. I've been playing with it like crazy to try and get the hang of it. The learning curve is really very small. I have a Cricut machine but I think I'll be using this one a bit more. I'll post some fun creations with it soon.

And lastly, just some pics of some recent work I've done. And maybe some not-so-recent work that just didn't quite make it to the blog yet.

These 2 layouts I did for Clipper Street using some new Basic Grey Eva and Offbeat. I thought it would be neat to show how you could do virtually the same layout, one for a boy and one for a girl.

Thanks to my friend Jess for letting me use her photo of her little guy Josh.

I used some more Basic Grey on this one. I just LOVE this Ambrosia line. I'm not a real fan of orange but this paper certainly converted me!!

For this one I used some gorgeous MME Laundry line. I've been waiting for this ever since I saw the pics a few months ago. Beautiful papers. This layout will be a kit at Clipper Street (I think). It's basically all the product needed and instructions to complete this layout. I used some Maya Road chipboard snowflakes and covered them with double sided tape, cut it out and covered them with glitter. Looks very cool IRL.

This was another layout for Clipper Street. I used the very pretty Bo Bunny Beau Jardin and a Hamby transparency.

We had an Online Crop again this last weekend at Scrap Shotz. I'm sorry I didn't post about it before the weekend, just so freaking busy. There were some great challenges and you can still check them out here.

We again had a "Gives Back" challenge. These challenges are a wonderful idea that we started a couple of crops ago. Scrap Shotz picks a charity and for every layout completed for the specific challenge Scrap Shotz donates $5. This crops charity was for Alzheimers Disease. I'm not sure how much we raised yet.

Here's the layout I did for this challenge. I used some yummy AC!!!

And here are my challenge layouts.

This one was a monochromatic challenge. Again, used that yummy Basic Grey Ambrosia.

And this one was a challenge to take a photo and turn it black & white and leave part of it colour. I used some very lovely Amy Butler papers. I've had these papers for ages. I was saving them... for what I don't know but I think I'd rather use them.

And these last 2 were for Clipper again.

This one was for another kit using the Mr Campy line from Cosmo Cricket. Not my usual style but I think I made it work.

And this last one used the SEI Windsor collection. And yes, I did cut the flocked flourish out of the pp by hand. Just me and my trusty craft knife.

Well, that's it for now. Thanks again for those of you who stuck through this long post to the end. I hope you enjoyed looking at my projects and maybe I inspired you to create something today.

Cheers!

It's October 1st...

2008-10-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

and that means it's reveal day at Scrap Shotz. This month's kit October Days features the Daily Grind line by Fancy Pants. I really enjoyed using this kit. The chipboard that comes with it is so fun. The double sided papers are gorgeous and I had a lot of fun using the transparency.

Here we go...

You can check out all the other beautiful Design Team work in the Gallery.

I have also posted my newest challenge at Scrap Shotz...

"For this challenge I decided to Funk Up my frames and I want you to give it a try too. Use something that you wouldn't normally grab to frame your layout. On mine I used rubs, stitches, and flowers (I know flowers seem to me my norm but not usually all around my layout). Find some new and unique way to frame your photo."

Here's my layout.

I would love to see you come by and give the Design Team challenges a try. Every month we have a "Mystery Challenge" too where one lucky person who participates in the challenges could win a $20 gift card from Scrap Shotz. Check it out here.

I'm gonna leave you with some more layouts I've been doing this last month. Hope you enjoy.

Man oh Man!!!

2008-09-30T15:55:00.000-07:00

Time sure flies when you're having fun huh??? At least for me it does. I've been so busy this month I don't know if I'm coming or going. But now the craziness of the last few weeks has settled down and it seems to be business as usual.

I've been busy this month cause we put our house on the market. We had a lot of "stuff" to get rid of. I'll call it "stuff" but the truth is we made a LOT of trips to the local dump. We also made a lot of trips to one of those clothing donation bins. But you know what... it feels so go to get rid of all the excess and the clutter. Very liberating to say the least. The house feels like a new house and I feel like I've had this humongeous weight lifted off my shoulders. Now just for all our hard work to pay off and to sell the house. If you can, please send some good "house selling" vibes our way.

Needless to say, with being so busy getting the house ready for sale I haven't really had a lot of time to scrap. And I tell you, I REALLY miss it!!! It's only been this week that I've been able to get to my scraproom without using a pole vault...(teehee!!) And tomorrow is reveal day at Scrap Shotz for the awesome October kit called October Days featuring the gorgeous Daily Grind line from Fancy Pants. So I must get back at it or I won't make the reveal...

So stay tuned tomorrow as I'll load up my reveal stuff and some other fun stuff that I haven't had time to share.

TFL!!

Scrap Shotz Sept Reveal

2008-09-02T00:45:00.001-07:00

Well, I tried to get this posted on the 1st but I guess since it's almost 1am I'm a little late. :o)

This month's Scrap Shotz Kit Rusty Daisies is so scrumptious!! I've used almost every last piece of it. It was so easy to work with and goes with almost every photo imaginable.

So, without further ado, here are my layouts.

To see all the wonderful creations by the DT click here. We've posted them all in a thread as the gallery still isn't working 100%.

I also have 2 challenges posted for this month. One is called Scrapping is Sew Fun. It's a challenge to use machine sewing or hand sewing on a layout. I hadn't done much sewing before but I tell ya, I'm hooked!!

Here's my layout. I sewed around both pattered papers, one of them I sewed around twice.

The other challenge is a photo editing challenge Fun Effects. I love to play with my photos in Photoshop. Some of the effects are really cool.

For this layout I changed the photo using the Old Photo effect and changed the opacity to around 75%. You can see all the instructions in my challenge link above.

Well, that's about it for reveal day at Scrap Shotz. Thanks for coming by and checking out my stuff! :o)

I'm so ready...

2008-08-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

for school to start. All the school supplies have been purchased, the back to school clothes are ready, Megan is ready. Now we just wait. Megan is so excited to get back to school. She's getting bored and she misses her school friends. And it doesn't help that the weather has been really crappy this month. Less time for her to go outside and play with her friends.

But the crappy weather has been good for me. I've been scrapping my little heart out. I've been busy scrapping for Clipper Street but also for myself which has been very fun. When you get so busy scrapping for your "responsibilities" you can loose sight of why you scrap in the first place. For the relaxation, the enjoyment, the creative outlet, the recording of memories. Having some time to scrap for me has really increased my love of this hobby and my mojo. :o)

Here's some projects I've been doing the last little while.

This is a canvas I've been wanting to do for my Dad for his room in the Home. I really like how it turned out and he just loves it.

I also posted a challenge at Scrap Shotz called Embrace Your Space. It's all about using "white space" on your layout. I don't do that very often but I really love the look.

These are some layouts I did for Clipper Street. Deanna had brought back some goodies from CHA for me to work with. The American Crafts Travel and Romance papers and some Reminisce Halloween. I don't usually work with these kinds of papers so this was a really fun challenge for me.

AC Travel papers

The AC Romance papers

Photography courtesy of Lorraine Melin (thanks Lorraine)

The Reminisce Halloween papers

Clipper Street also go this beautiful Bo Bunny paper in called Beautiful Life. This paper is definately more my style and I loved working with it.

Clipper Street also got in some Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist. I LOVE this stuff!!! It's so pretty and the array of colours available is just to die for. I was able to use some on this layout. If you get a chance, head over to the Clipper Langley store or Coquitlam store so you can see this IRL. The glimmer is so subtle but so beautiful.

I'm also working on my reveal layouts for the Scrap Shotz Sept Kit Rusty Daisies featuring the Daisy Bucket line In The Meadow and some cool Rusty Pickle cardboard letters and a Piggy Tails album.

Make sure you check back on Sept 1 for the reveal layouts for this gorgeous kit.

TTFN! :o)

The red "X" of death...

2008-08-13T12:39:00.000-07:00

Sorry about these. I usually post all my layouts and stuff to the gallery at Scrap Shotz. And since the site is being updated I never noticed for a couple of days that my pics here aren't here. The gallery at Scrap Shotz is down right now so that's the reason for the "Red X of Death"

Anyway, I've been slowing uploading all the pics to Photobucket so I can fix the links to there. I guess that'll be my new process from now on. Again I appologize for the missing pics.

I do have some new layouts to share. I recently upgraded to PSE 6 and I've been playing with digital again. I really like it but it will never replace good old paper and glue.

flower-Ashalee Wall at OScraps.com
quote-unknownpaper
ribbon, butterflies-Irene V. Alexeeva Irene Alexeeva Digital Designs
lace-Zakirah (Matahati) Matahati-Designs by Zakirah

paper and flowers-Anna Russell-The Accessories ScrapArtist.com
quote brush-Tia Bennett Apple Blossom free 2peas kit

paper, flowers,tape, ribbon ShabbyPrincess.com Harvest Spice kit
quote-Nancie Rowe Janitz of ScrapArtist.com

I've also been working on some good old paper and glue layouts. I did a bunch for Clipper Street. Deanna brought me back some goodies from CHA to play with for the store. It was really fun playing with stuff I hadn't seen before. You can check out these at the Langley or Coquitlam stores.

This paper is the new Dream Street papers Simply Stated by Amy Teets. I also used some American Crafts Thickers (I *heart* Thickers) and some Prima flowers.

I've never seen stuff from this company before. This is from ANW Crestwood The Paper Co and it's called Paws and Claws. It's a whole line for both dogs and cats. I still have the dog one to work on so it's coming soon. Some of the paper is flocked. I also added the fun Maya Road Cat Chipboard Keychains.

And this was some fun Canada papers and stickers from Reminisce. And of course I had to throw on some Thickers and also some Doodlebug Loopy Lou letter stickers.

Holy Smokes!!! Has it really been a week...

2008-08-04T18:40:00.000-07:00

already!!

Time sure flies when you're having fun, or just plain busy. So here's an update of the last week or so..

This year we decided to take in the yearly fireworks competition. It's called the HSBC Celebration of Light. Three countries display a fireworks show set to music and are judged on their shows. One country each night with the Grand Finale and winner announced on the last night. This years entrants were Canada, United States, and China. The shows were fabulous. Hundreds of thousands of people attend this competition each year. You have to get there a couple hours early to make sure you get a good spot. So we took a little picnic dinner into town and staked out our spot. We were lucky this year cause we managed to get very close to the same spot each night. I still can't believe that I didn't bring my camera to the first night which was Canada. It was my favorite show, and this years winners too.

I did bring my camera to the Grand Finale on Saturday night. Fabulous fireworks and I'm really impressed with my first attempt at fireworks pics. The night was gorgeous and the sunset was stunning. Hope you enjoy my pics.

This was a test shot before the show started. Love the look against the sunset sky.

Last weekend was also the Music Mania Online Crop at Scrap Shotz. It was tons of fun. One of the challenges was the Scrap Shotz Gives Back challenge. For every challenge completed Scrap Shotz would donate $5 to the Make a Wish Foundation. This year 29 people completed the challenge which means $145 was donated to the Make a Wish Foundation. Yeah Scrap Shotz!!

Here are some of the layouts I did for the crop.

The Scrap Shotz Gives Back challenge...

Julie's Song Title Challenge...

And last but not least it was reveal day at Scrap Shotz on August 1st. This month's kit uses the gorgeous Poppy Line from SEI. You can see all the gorgeous DT layouts here...

Here are my layouts and even a couple of cards using the August kit.

What a busy weekend...

2008-07-28T23:23:00.000-07:00

The Music Mania Online Crop at Scrap Shotz is over and it was a huge success. There were lots of inspiring challenges, games, chit chat, and youtube videos flying around all weekend. There was a great turn out and I want to thank everyone who participated and made this weekend rock!!

One of the challenges was called ScrapShotz Gives Back. For every layout done for this challenge during the weekend Scrap Shotz will donate $5 to the Children's Wish Foundation. You still have some time to get this done. The deadline to complete the challenges is Tues July 29th at 12:00pm EST. I will let you know how much we raised. Last crop we raised money for Canadian Cancer Foundation and we raised $165.00 Let's hope we can match that or beat it this time.

Here are my layouts for the challenges that I posted. Thanks to everyone who did my challenge, I really appreciate your support. I'm glad you had fun and found inspiration with my challenges.

"Hammer Time"

"867-5309eeeine"

"Dream On with Your Best Shot"

Music Mania Online Crop at Scrap Shotz

2008-07-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

Scrap Shotz is having a fabulous online crop this weekend. Check out the details below.

Join us from July 25th at 8pm EST to July 27th for a fun filled, music themed online crop! We will have challenges, games, make n takes, lots of great chit chat, and Fun! Fun! Fun! We have some great prizes to give away as well as an amazing grand prize that you don’t want to miss! Plus, be a part of “Scrap Shotz Gives Back!” by simply completing one challenge!

Here's a peek at one of my crop challenges. Bet U can't touch this....

Hope you can come by and have some fun with us this weekend.

Kits Take 2...SOLD OUT!!!

2008-07-16T14:57:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while Sandy and the gals at Scrap Shotz find some wonderful new products that just must be put into a kit. These kits are called the "Kits Take 2" and require no subscription. They are on a first come, first served basis, and when they're gone, they're gone.

This month's Kit Take 2 is called "Summer in Bloom" and uses the beautiful new line from KI Memories called Bloom.

There are still some available. Get yours soon before they're all gone. Sorry, the kits are now all sold out!!

I was the lucky DT member who got to create with this gorgeous kit. The papers are so bright and summery. The Softies are so much fun and the rubs are wonderful. And *GASP* I even made a card! :o)

Scrap Shotz Design Team Call

2008-07-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

Scrap Shotz is a wonderful Canadian online site with a great community and, in my opinion, the best kits on the scrapping market. The kits are always chocked full of the latest and greatest supplies in the industry. The online community is a wonderful place to chat with fun and friendly people, learn new techniques, and get inspiration. There are online crops, monthly Design Team challenges, monthly online classes, and more. The gallery is always brimming with gorgeous layouts, cards and other projects. Awesome eye candy!!!

I've been on the Design Team for almost a year now and I have so much fun and the kits just ROCK!!

If you think you'd like to be a part of our Design Team check out the call here.

If you have any questions feel free to email me.

Good luck!!!

ShaZAM!!!!

2008-07-13T13:38:00.001-07:00

I signed up for Jessica Sprague's Photoshop Friday newsletter and this weeks' issue was superb! She showed us an easy and awesome way to "pop" the colours in your photos. You can see her tutorial on her blog Spraguelab.Squarespace.com

Here are a couple of photos that I used her ShaZAM tutorial on. Love this!!!

SOOC (Straight Out Of the Camera)

And... ShaZAM!!!

SOOC

And... ShaZAM!!!

Give it a try! I know you won't be disappointed!!

Summer is finally here...

2008-07-12T19:36:00.000-07:00

Summer finally arrived here on the west coast. It has been beautiful and warm for the last few weeks. Makes it really hard to stay inside and do anything, even scrap!

So, my dear hubby has been taking me out to play with my new camera. The weather is perfect for this. We've been to Stanley Park, the Aquarium, downtown, Steveston, Granville Island, just a few places. It's been a great help to take my mind off of stuff in life right now. I'll post some pictures soon. So many to load to the camera. Gonna take some time.

In the meantime, here are the last 3 layouts that I did for Clipper Street. If you would like to see them in person, they are on display at both the Langley and Coquitlam stores.

For this layout I used the new Cloud 9 papers and embellishments from Fiskars called Cocoa Mint. The very handsome young man in the photo is my good friend Jess's son and his very lovely girlfriend. Thanks so much for the picture Jess!

I love the new papers from Little Yellow Bicycle. This Vita Bella line is just gorgeous! I love the rich blues and greens with a little bit of shimmer. Gorgeous!

And lastly Basic Grey. Who doesn't love Basic Grey?? This new Euphoria line is so pretty!! The colours are so fun!! I just love it!! I'm not sure if you can see them very well, but there are actual little bubbles on the layout. My dh came up with the idea of cutting out the large bubbles from bubble wrap and sticking them down on the layout. It looks very cool irl!

That's it for today. Hope to get all those photos uploaded so I can share them.

Cheers!

Playing around in digital

2008-07-05T00:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I felt like scrapping today but was having way more fun editing my photos in Photoshop so I didn't quite make it to my scrap room.

I love to change my photos. I change the colours, make them black & white, give them a "dreamy" effect, cross process, add digital frames... so much fun. Now to just print them out and scrap them. That will maybe be tomorrow's job.

But, I did, however get a digital layout done while I was playing.

Elements used:

LivEdesigns http://www.livestories.wordpress.comSpraground Sun Fun Kitpaper-Vineyard, flowers-Petal Fun

Peppermint Creative http://www.peppermintcreative.comMiss Mint Wild Weekend kit bubble wrap paint

Taylor Made Designs True Beauty quote

Happy Canada Day!!!!!

2008-07-01T11:39:00.001-07:00

I hope you're all enjoying our Nation's Birthday!! The weather here is perfect. Not too hot, not too cool. We're not celebrating too hard today. Got the pool up, now just relaxing. There's a Canada Day Celebration by us. We might go later tonight. Loverboy is playing as well as the Payola$. Then fireworks later. We'll just play it by ear.

It's also Reveal Day at ScrapShotz. The July Kit "Oh Happy Day" was so fun to work with. The papers are so bright and fun and the embellies are so yummy. The Creative Team did a fabulous job with this kit. If you have a chance, check out all their wonderful work in the Gallery.

Here are my layouts with this fabulous kit.

Busy, busy, busy...

2008-06-23T21:09:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post tonight to show a couple of layouts that I've done recently.

This one is another layout for Clipper Street. I got to use the new Making Memories Passport line. Very cool stuff.

This second layout was just for fun for me. I used some K&Co papers and some Thickers. I "heart" Thickers. They are like my favorite letters ever!!! I also made my own transparencies using a Fancy Pants stamp and some white Staz On ink. Great technique. I'll have to try that again.

And lastly, Scrap Shotz revealed the July Kit. It's called Oh Happy Day and features the new Happy Day line from Chatterbox. I've been waiting for Chatterbox to come out with a new line and they certainly don't disappoint.

Reveal Day at Scrap Shotz

2008-06-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

This month was late for the June kit reveal at ScrapShotz but SO worth the wait. The delay was due to being one of the first sites to have the new October Afternoon Detours papers for the June kit Summer Afternoon. The papers are so bright and fun. I loved working with them. The kit is so full of great stuff!! You have to check it out.

One of my favorite items in this kit is the new Ranger Inkssentials white opaque ink pen. It's so smooth and the white really shows up well. Even on patterned paper and dark cardstock. The only thing I haven't tried it on yet is acrylic but I can't wait to get to it!!

Here are my creations with the kit. You can check out the other DT member's projects in the Gallery.

Some pictures from my new camera...

2008-06-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

I haven't really had a chance to play with my new camera since I got it. It's either been raining, or too cold to stand around and take some pics, but today was OK. The weather Gods finally decided to cooperate with me and I was able to have a little "photo shoot" with Megan.

Here are a few of the photos I took today...

Look at what I got...

2008-06-10T19:31:00.001-07:00

I was out yesterday looking for some new lenses for my Canon XTi. I quickly realized that lenses cost almost as much as my camera!!! So, while I was looking around I finally decided on a little something...

the Canon 40D with the 17-85 IS USM lens kit

and the Canon EF 75-300 IS USM lens.

I am totally in love with this camera!!!!! I haven't had a lot of time to play with it yet. I've already gone over the instruction manual from cover to cover. The weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow afternoon so I'm hoping after work to get out and play a bit.

So, with the addition of my new camera, I have one camera too many. I have a Canon XT or a Canon XTi for sale. I'm wanting to sell one, doesn't matter which one, and then keep the other. Either camera comes with the standard 18-55 lens but also a 55-200 zoom lens.

If you're intersted, leave a comment with your info and I'll get back to you with the specs of the camera you're interested in.

I'm sure you'd love either one of these cameras. They are awesome to work with, easy to use with great results.

I'll post some pics from my new camera soon, once the weather clears up and I can take some.

*Edited to add, we sold the XT and are keeping the XTi. Thanks for your interest.*

Actually had some time...

2008-06-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

Usually during the week I don't get a lot of time to work on any scrapbooking projects. With working full time and then coming home and doing "family" stuff it's like 10 o'oclock and almost time for bed before I have any time to myself.

But this week I've actually had time to work on some layouts. I had a lot of fun using some gorgeous products from Clipper Street. I made two layouts, one using the fabulous Pink Paisley Spring Fling papers and another with the Jenni Bowlin line.

I also had fun using some very cool techniques too. I've always wanted to try using corregated cardborad and I finally did. The result was so COOL!! I'm definately doing it again! I also played around with some paint and bubble wrap. WOW that looks amazing!! What a great way to texture your papers.

I want to thank my good friend Jess for giving me some pictures of her kids to use for my layouts. I love my daughter very much, but I must say, the store was getting rather full of her beautiful face. I really had fun scrapping someone else's pictures.

Doing the "boy" layout was a REAL challenge for me. I only have the one daughter so I never really have an opportunity to scrap masculine pages. I mean, I do have a hubby but he's not exactly into having his picture taken. If you notice, I still managed to add a flower to the layout. I did try and "dirty" it up a bit to make it less femine. Hope it worked.

The June Scrap Shotz kit has been delayed a few weeks. It is SO going to be worth the wait though! It's the new October Afternoon Detours line. There was a bit of a delay from the manufacturer but...it's finally here and mine should be at my door tomorrow. Come on Canada Post!!!! Can't wait to get my hands on it! Watch on June 15th for the Design Team reveal with this fabulous kit.

IT FINALLY HAPPENED....

2008-05-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

I GOT THE CALL!!!!!! Or should I say email. Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine emailed me, they are going to publish one of my layouts in their Fall 2008 issue available Sept 1!!! I'm just over the moon about this!!! I've been trying for ages and it finally happened!! Now I just have to wait....

Meanwhile, I've been busy creating again. Heidi, one of my friends on the DT at ScrapShotz hosted another fun Layout Tag. You can watch the tag unfold here... and here is my layout for it.

I've also had time to catch up with my friend Virginia's LOTD challenge on ScrapShotz. These are some of the layouts I've done. The 2-pager was really hard for me. I rarely scrap 2-pagers anymore, and the number of photos on each layout was a work of art in itself. Definately took me out of my comfort zone, but then I guess that's why it's called a challenge.

Pg 1

Pg 2

That's all for now. Thanks for looking.

Layout updates

2008-05-22T21:27:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty busy lately. Lets see...

I just finished doing an online class called Scrappy Hour for ScrapShotz. It was a class on using acrylic paint to transfer images, either pictures or patterned paper onto another medium like cardstock or a canvas. I really had fun doing this. The technique is so cool. I did a picture of my daughter and also the background paper on this layout.

I've been trying to keep up with my friend and fellow DT member at ScrapShotz Virginia and her Layout Of The Day and Card Of The Day challenge at ScrapShotz. It started on May 12th and goes for 28 days. If you'd like to check out any of the sketches she's posted and join along check it out here. I'm have to admit, I'm a bit behind but I'm hoping to catch up soon.

Did a couple more layouts for the ClipperStreet stores. I used the Fancy Pants Papa line and Sweet Spring line.

You can see these on display at the Langley and Coquitlam stores. I loved working with these papers. They are so bright and fun. Love the already distressed look of the papers.

I went to Calgary, AB for a National Scrapbook Day crop sponsored by ScrapShotz. It was so fun to meet some of the other members of the message board and to meet some of the Design Team. I want to thank Lizette for picking me up at the airport and thanks to Jess for organizing the hotel and everything for us out-of-towners. It was so nice to meet Lorraine, Brenda, Ann, Virginia, Bonnie, Lizette, Laura, Jess, Jodi, Jen, Carolyn, Martina, Viviana and of course Sandy. If I missed anyone I'm sorry. It was so busy and so much fun. I even got some layouts done, not just visiting.

On May 1st it was reveal day at ScrapShotz for the DT and the May kit Fleuriste using the Cosmo Cricket line. The kit also included the very cool black chipboard from Cosmo Cricket and a Fiskars ribbon punch. Both very cool. You can see the kit layout from the Design Team here.

I was asked by Valerie Salmon to do another layout for her blog Got Sketch? I did this layout for her Sketch #59

It's been a busy month or so but it's also been very productive. I'm hoping I can keep this pace up but with the summer coming and the nice weather I might slow down a bit. But the nice weather will mean more pictures too so this will give me more to scrap later.

Finally my good news...

2008-05-10T19:46:00.001-07:00

Hello again. Long time no see. Well, I'm gonna stop making excuses for not being on here as much as I should. Some of my fellow bloggers are WAY worse than me so I no longer feel bad. I can't possibly get here every day. Even every week is sometimes hard. So I'm gonna stop beating myself up about it and just enjoy the updates that I make.

I left my last post with a teaser about some good news that I could share. I know, you've all been waiting with baited breath for me to reveal it...(hahaha). So without further ado, here is my big news...

One of the LSS by me asked me to design layouts for their store. I was so very excited. They apparently stumbled across my work either here or at my gallery at SSZ and thought my stuff was awesome. (insert inflated ego here...). The best part is that I get paid for my work. This is just so freaking awesome for me! I've tried so hard to get published and it just doesn't seem to click with any of the magazines. But my LSS loves my stuff enough to pay me to make it. Now if I could just make enough at this to quit my real job...that would be heaven. The LSS is called Clipper Street and they have 3 stores, one in Langley, one in Coquitlam and one in Richmond. Stop by either the Langley or Coquitlam stores to see my layouts.

The first two lines I chose were both Basic Grey (one of my favorites). I used Recess for one and Obscure for the other.

And it just so happens that both layouts were chosen for the Basic Grey gallery too. Here is the link for those.

This is using the Recess line...

This is using the Obscure line...

2008-04-23T12:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't been around for a while. We've had the stomach flu going through our house and I'm the last one to get it. YUK!! I'm starting to feel better so that is a good thing. Hopefully we're finished with all these "bugs" for a while.

I did get some layouts done in the last few weeks that I haven't posted up here yet. I love being able to play with whatever I want to. No deadlines or anything. So liberating and really gets the mojo going.

I did these two for two calendars that I'm working on. One for me and one for the mil. Not sure which one I'll keep and which one I'll give to the mil. These are for February.

I had so much fun doing this layout. I had to use this picture I took of Megan taking a picture. She loves photography as much as I do. I had some leftovers from the March SSZ kit and put this one together. Just played around with moving the papers and voila.

I have some exciting news to share too. But that will have to wait for another day. Stay tuned!!!

SSZ Spring Fling Online Crop a huge success...

2008-04-08T20:41:00.000-07:00

The Spring Fling Online Crop at SSZ was a huge success. There were tons of fun challenges and the gallery is full of all kinds of amazing work. To take a look at all the wonderful work check it out at the gallery.

One of the challenges was very special. It was the SSZ Gives Back challenge. For every layout that was done for this challenge SSZ would donate $5 to the Canadian Cancer Foundation. The total raised over this weekend was $165.00. Fabulous work SSZ and all the people who contributed by doing the challenge. To see all the layouts for the challenge check out SSZ Gives Back.

This is the layout that I did for this challenge.

I posted 3 challenges for the crop. The first one was a challenge to use birds on a layout.

The second one was to use up old kits that had never been used or had never been used up.

And the third one was a challenge with a twist. You had to use up scraps but you couldn't cut them. You had to use them "as is".

This one is a layout I did for one of the other challenges. It was called Spring Parade by Jen and it was to use new goodies on the layout. I used my new Scenic Route Grafton papers. YUM!!!

Scrap Shotz Spring Fling Online Crop

2008-04-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

Scrap Shotz is hosting an online crop this coming weekend: April 4-6th. And in honour of April being Cancer Awareness month, Scrap Shotz is giving back and doing their part to help. Here are the details.

"In honour of so many of you coming together and spending your time with us during our online crops, we would like to celebrate that by giving back!! April is Cancer month, and with cancer affecting so many people, we have chosen the Canadian Cancer Society as our designated charity this month.

How can you help? It's really simple. At crop kick off on Friday, April 4, we will post a specific "Scrap Shotz Gives Back" Challenge! All you have to do to make a difference is complete the challenge! For every member who completes the challenge, SSZ will donate $5 to the Canadian Cancer Society! In addition, anyone who completes the challenge will get our special "I made a difference! SSZ Gives Back" blinkie which will be made available during the crop! We are really excited about recognizing our online community in such a positive way and we want to thank you in advance for coming together and helping out!

Please help us give back!"

Reveal day at SSZ

2008-04-01T20:05:00.000-07:00

Today is reveal day at SSZ for the April Kit Pump Up the Volume. I tell you, this kit was so much fun. It's full of wonderful American Crafts goodies like the Amplified papers, some Glitter Thickers and Accent Thickers, some ribbon and some Detail Felt Embellishments and some Spring and Summer Chipboard. Not to mention all the matching cardstock you need and some really cute flowers from YMBD Scrapbooking and some fun Melissa Frances rubons. To see all the gorgeous layouts from the SSZ DT click here. I was so pumped when I actually started with this kit that I did 5 layouts in one day. I had such a good time that day.

Busy, busy, busy...

2008-03-24T16:15:00.000-07:00

That's my life these days, way too busy. I know it's been a very long time since I posted any new work. Not that I haven't been doing any, I just haven't had time to post anything. I missed the Scrap Shotz March 1 reveal, the February Members crop at Scrap Shotz, my Feb and March DT challenges at Scrap Shotz, any many more that I missed...

So this is just going to be a catch up post. I know I've said it before but I'm gonna really try to keep on top of this from now on...

Without further ado... here are all the layouts I've done since my last post. Enjoy.

Here is my March DT Challenge for Scrap Shotz. My challenge is called Not So Perfect. Check out the details here.

I went to an all day crop sponsored by an LSS by me called Scrapbook City on March 8th. I had a great time and did lots of make-n-takes. Here is the layout I got finished that day. I used all products from Scrap Shotz's March Kit New York New York.

We added a new DT member at Scrap Shotz. We welcomed Jess as our Ambassador. She contributed her first DT challenge in March. It was to create a hybrid mini album. Here's mine.

This was for the March Layout Tag.

These are the layouts for Scrap Shotz March Kit New York New York featuring the 5th Avenue line by Making Memories.

This was my February DT challenge at Scrap Shotz - Home Sweet Home. The challenge was to do a layout about your home, or where you live.

February Members Online Crop layouts...

This was for the challenge to not use your cutter, just scissors to make your cuts.

This was for the Progressive Layout Challenge.

This was a mini album make-n-take.

This was for the Ode to Kathy Challenge. I used the digital kit A Thankful Heart by Jackie Eckles from littledreamerdesigns.com

This was the Ode to Heidi Challenge using the digital kit Twinkle Toes from PeppermintCreative.com

This was for the Ode to Wendy Challenge.

This was for the Ode to Julie Challenge.

This was for the Ode to Jen Challenge.

This was for the Ode to Sandy Challenge.

I think I'll keep it for a while...

2008-03-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

Well I've been tweaking my new blog template for a few days and I think I'm finally happy with it. I really like my header. I had a lot of fun making it. The paper is from Miss Mint Winter Sparkle, the flowers, pen, notebook paper and paper clip is from Ronna Penner at Scrapadelic.com. The swirl is by Dana Zarling c/o an Ad challenge at Designer Digitals and the paint chip is by Jeanine Baechtold and her Essence kit at Scrapbook.com.

New look, new blog...

2008-02-08T21:06:00.000-08:00

So, what do you think of the new look??? I decided that maybe if I changed the look a bit I'd be more apt to update this blog more often...hehehe. We'll see how long this lasts.

I've been very busy lately. Life has a way of hitting your hard sometimes. But now everything seems to be settling down nicely.

But February wasn't all work and no play. I was busy creating. I love creating!! I had the pleasure of being asked to supply layouts for two very talented ladies and their websites.

Becky Fleck sent me a very gorgeous sketch and asked me to do a layout for her February PageMaps. I must admit, I was so nervous about this one. I really admire all Becky's sketches and layouts and the "Friends of PageMaps" have created such beautiful projects that I was really intimidated. Excited and scared to death all at the same time. I didn't want to disappoint and I'm glad she liked it.

I also got asked by Valerie Salmon to do a layout for one of her beautiful sketches for her site Got Sketch? I'm a real fan of her sketches and have used them before for inspiration. I was very flattered to have her ask me to create a layout for her. I loved her sketch (#47) that I was given to work with and I hope I did her proud.

Also, there was still the February DT stuff for Scrap Shotz. The kit was so beautiful. It was the Manhattan line from Autumn Leaves. It sold out really quick too. I just love the colours and the papers. I was responsible for the kit inserts this month. So instead of posting my monthly creations using the kit, with the other CT members (whose gorgeous stuff can be seen in the gallery) I made some layouts and stuff and those were included with the kits. I was really nervous about this project too. I've never had to do anything like these inserts before. I sure hope the kit subscribers enjoyed them.

Since it's way past February 15th I can post my Feb layouts now...

You say it's my birthday!!!!!

2008-01-18T21:16:00.000-08:00

Na na na na na na... You say it's your birthday...
Na na na na na na... it's my birthday too yeah!
Happy Birthday to Me!!! - Lets just say I'm still young enough to enjoy having one.

Today has been a great day. Had the day off work. Got my new Bind It All for my birthday from my family. Got some scrapbook giftcards and some money. It doesn't get any better than this does it? Well maybe, but today was a pretty good day!

Today is also the kick off for the ScrapShotz number themed weekend crop Cropping by the Numbers. The DT has put together some great challenges, make-n-takes, and games. And Sandy has put up a GREAT grand prize this time. A Clip-it-up top and bottom. Value over $100!!! Check out the great challenges this weekend and make sure you enter for this great prize. I wish I could enter!

Here is my first challenge for the weekend. My number is #7.

I'll post the other challenges later this weekend. Stay tuned!!!

A few new things...

2008-01-09T21:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been busy this holiday moving my scrapbook space. I was currently using the dining room table for my workspace. After some serious reorganizing, I have been moved into my new space over the garage. I am sharing it with my DD and her toys and Wii but that's OK. I have a HUGE workspace now, way more storage and a great view out of one of the windows. Not to mention that now I can watch TV while I scrap and I can be in the same room as my DD while she plays and I scrap. It's not quite 100% finished but it's almost there. I will take some pics and post them when it's completely done.

But, I have been able to USE the space and I've found that my mojo has come back. New space, new inspiration.

This weekend Scrap Shotz had a little impromptu crop. A couple of the members posted some challenges just for fun. I did Joan's B&W challenge and made this layout...

then I decided to make some cards with the leftovers.

Speaking of cards... Carla and Jen at Scrap Shotz have started a new Christmas Card Club. The idea behind it being that instead of being in a rush come November to make your Christmas cards, they have challenged anyone who wants to join to establish a goal and work on them thoughout the year. Every month they will post a sketch or challenge for you to work on and by the end of October you would have all your Christmas cards done for the year.

So my goal is 30 cards (give or take a few). The challenge for January is an awesome sketch from Carla. These are the cards that I made. I'm really happy with them too.

I'm really looking forward to these challenges. It's giving me an opportunity to get my cards done. This past year I was so disappointed that didn't get any made.

Reveal day at Scrap Shotz 2008

2008-01-02T14:07:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful New Year!! The holidays seemed to go by so quickly this year. I can't believe it's Jan 2nd let alone 2008!

It is Reveal Day at Scrap Shotz for the Design Team. We usually reveal on the 1st of the month but since it was New Years Day we got until the 2nd, to make sure that we recover from any New Years Eve parties.

The kit this month is called Passing Through and features the We R MemoryKeepers Explore line and the very hot and new Grungeboard by Tim Holtz.

I had a lot of fun using this kit. I could have done more if I had more time.

Only 5 more days till Christmas

2007-12-20T16:04:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it!?!?! Where did the time go??? I thought I had loads of time left to get ready!!! I haven't even finished my shopping yet, let alone my baking, decorating the house, cards sent... oh man, I'm so far behind I may be ready by NEXT Christmas!!!!

Well, it's not quite that bad but is sure feels like it. I DO have the tree up and decorated, I DO have most of the Christmas shopping done, but cards and baking are still waiting...*sigh* maybe tomorrow.

I did manage to get my December Creative Team challenge done for Scrap Shotz. I thought since most everyone has their trees and decorations out it was a perfect time to take some pictures of these and do some Christmas layouts.

Mine is about the Story of the Tree.

The hidden journaling reads...

We moved into the new house with Mom and Dad just after Christmas 1997. The next year we realized that we had two Christmas trees and ornaments and lights for both. I put both trees up that year and decided I wasn't going to do that again, it was just way too much work. So on Boxing Day that year we found a 9 foot Christmas tree on sale and bought it. All the lights and the ornaments from both trees fit on the one new tree. It is the perfect tree for our new blended family.

I just love the Crate pp from last year. I've been saving it for just the perfect layout. I love the way it looks with the picture of the tree and that it's not your "traditional" colours for Christmas. The chipboard trees, tag and swirl are from Kelly Panaci Holiday Chipboard collection by SandyLion, The ribbon is from a LSS by me (don't know the brand, I just bought it in bulk). I used some Basic Grey alphabet stickers (Fruitcake line) and added some Stickles to make it all sparkly. I also added some Stickles to the berries on the pp to add some more sparkle.

Reveal day at Scrap Shotz

2007-12-01T11:09:00.000-08:00

It's December 1st so that means it's reveal day at Scrap Shotz. This month's kit was a choice between the two Christmas lines from My Mind's Eye; Frost or Festive . The Scrap Shotz kit is called A Beautiful Mind.

I chose the Frost line and I must say, I LOVE it!!! The blues and browns and creams work so beautifully together. I actually did 2 layouts and a canvas and I'm still not done.

Here are my projects...

To see the other wonderful projects done by the rest of the Creative Team at Scrap Shotz, check out the gallery.

Today is my Nov CT Challenge reveal day

2007-11-29T09:34:00.000-08:00

Today is the day!!! My November CT challenge reveal is today. The team at Scrap Shotz thought it would be fun to post challenges everything Thursday instead of at the beginning of the month with our kit reveals, and today is my day.

I had a really hard time trying to come up with a challenge this time. I was doing hybrid challenges and I think the members liked them but with all the "stuff" going on in my life these days it just seemed too much. They are really involved. I have to get the pics posted and instructions down so they are nice and clear. Not just a layout KWIM?

So my challenge was simple. Use the word "JOY" in your layout somewhere. Use it in your title or in your journaling. Just make sure the word is visible. Check out the forum at Scrap Shotz to see who else takes on my challenge.

Here's my layout for the challenge...

I used Bazzil cardstock for the base. The pp is American Crafts from their Metropolitan line. The little flowers are all Prima and the gems in the middle are from Michaels' $1.50 bin. The journaling strips are in my handwriting on cardstock from Michaels with the edges inked using VersaMark Dew Drops chalk ind. And finally, the title word "Joy" is actually black glitter (doesn't show up really well in the picture) chipboard letters from Making Memories.

TFL

Scrap Shotz November Online Crop

2007-11-23T19:54:00.000-08:00

Well, last weekend was Scrap Shotz November Online Crop. It was the last crop of the year (can you believe that...) and there was such awesome inspiration. There were make n takes, challenges, games, sales. It was a lot of fun.

I did a make n take and a couple of challenges. I'm really happy with how my layouts and make n takes turned out.

Here's my make n take (CD Magnet)

I also did a couple of challenges. One was called "Get Down and Dirty" and was all about distressing. Using ink, paint, sanding, crumpling, ripping, wetting, everything.

Here's my layout

My other challenge was the opposite. It was called "Clean Sweep" and was all about not distressing but making a clean and simple layout. This was really hard for me cause I'm all about distressing and inking. But I'm really happy with the way my layout turned out.

Scrap Shotz next online crop is scheduled for January 2008. I'll post more details closer to the date.

TGIF!!!!!

2007-11-16T19:29:00.001-08:00

Yup, it's Friday, finally!!! It's been a long week, even though it's been a short week.

I've been busy getting ready for the online crop this weekend at Scrap Shotz. Come and join us this weekend for tons of fun and games and challenges.

I'll be posting my creations this weekend as I get them done.

Fall Photo Shoot

2007-11-06T20:04:00.000-08:00

I've been waiting for the perfect time to get outside and do a fall photo shoot. The problem was that it was either raining, or we just didn't have the time. So I finally made some time and got some great shots of Megan outside with the fall colours. That's one good thing about being on the west coast, fall lasts a lot longer for us than for those easterners. Some of the trees here still have leaves that are green, and it's already Nov 6th today.

I'm really enjoying playing with the manual settings on my camera. Drives my hubby wild though, cause it does take me longer to get the settings down right. But, if I don't try, I'll never learn.

Anyway, just thought I'd share some of my pics...

These pics were shot in my back yard. I love the colour of the red leaves in the picture of Chloe, and yes, those are real dahlias in bloom still. Gotta love the west coast.

Nov 1st - CT Reveal Day

2007-11-01T19:15:00.000-07:00

Well, today was reveal day for the Scrap Shotz Creative Team. The November Kit is from Heidi Grace called Moonlight Grace and was sold out before it even was released. This kit was full of all kinds of wonderful goodies. It was really fun to work with. Not my normal style, but that's what makes it fun.

Here are my two CT layouts...

To see the rest of the layouts and projects from the Scrap Shotz CT check out the gallery.

Online Card Crop

2007-10-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

Have you made your Christmas cards yet? Do you want to start? ScrapShotz is having an online card crop this weekend. It's called the 12 cards of Christmas and a Mini Album in a Pear Tree. Beginning Friday October 19th at 8pm est come and join us and get started on those Christmas cards. There will be challenges, and games and I'm sure there'll be some prizes too.

Here is a sneak peek of my challenge...

Hope to see you there.

I can't believe the time....

2007-10-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

WOW, almost the middle of October already. Where has the time gone? Sorry for being so lax in keeping up on this blog thing. I knew it would happen. Note to self (get on here WAY more often) :)

My life has been so very busy lately. With both good news and bad.

The bad news was that I lost my cat Jake at the end of September. He just never came home. I put posters up in our neighbourhood but no kitty. We live in an area with lots of coyotes so I don't suspect we'll ever see him again. It's been really hard on me. I've had him for almost 15 years. He was my "first born" so to speak. It's taken a little while but I think Megan is finally starting to understand that he won't be coming home. She had such high hopes with the posters. It's just going to take some time and I'm sure she'll be OK.

Here's a layout that I did last summer of my beloved Jake. It's based on a Becky Fleck round PageMap. She has great sketches. Check her site out HERE.

The good news is that October 1 was my first official debut at Scrap Shotz for the CT and my October kit reveal. First I just want to say that I LOVE this kit!!! It is called Basic Clarity and used the Periphery line from Basic Grey. This has to be my favorite Basic Grey paper to date. I love the rich browns and blues and greens, yummy! We had two challenges this month with out kits. We had to do a layout with 10 photos and a layout using the word EVOLVE somewhere, either as the title or with the journaling. We could combine them if we wanted to. I knew exactly what pictures I was going to use for the 10 photo challenge. I had taken them when I was in California this summer. I had every intention to use them on a layout, and then this challenge just fell into my lap (so to speak).

Here are my layouts for this month's reveal.

Again there is a monthly challenge done by each CT member. My challenges are to incorporate some hybrid scrapping into your layouts. I love being able to use my computer to help enhance my layouts. My challenge this month is HERE. If anyone is interested, I will send out a RAK to the first person who posts on my blog that they have completed my challenge. Please include a link to the layout. Now I'll be able to see if anyone is really coming by here or not.

These are the layouts I did for my challenge. The first one is putting text on a picture with lots of "white space" room for the text. The next one showed how to make the picture more faded so the text stands out more.

Click HERE to see all the CT layouts with this awesome kit.

Also in this kit was a round PageFrame album. This was just too cool! I had heard about these and seen them online before so I was so excited to know I was getting one. Each of the CT members received on in out kit and we were to use whatever we wanted to create out album. The albums are all so beautiful and different. Click HERE to go to the forum and check out each CT members PageFrame album reveal.

Here is my PageFrame album. Enjoy.

Scrappy Hour Tonight

2007-09-23T18:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight is my first Scrappy Hour. Scrap Shotz has a monthly online class hosted by DT members. My class is a fun and easy Maze Album. Click on this link Maze Album to see the tutorial on this. I found this wonderful album on a great website Craft TV. They have other awesome little projects. Check them out when you have time.

So, here is my Maze Album.

Boy so much going on...

2007-09-22T12:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't been keeping this up as much as I should or wanted to. I've just been so darn busy with work and Megan back in school and everything.

So, just to clean up some old business....

The online crop at Scrap Shotz was a HUGE success! There is so much great work in the gallery. You can check it out here. The grand prize was a gorgeous new mid-month kit Kits Take2. And the grand prize winner was Nicola MacNaughton. Since there was such a great turnout for the crop Sandy decided to award a consolation prize of some wonderful stuff from the Scrap Shotz store. Neisy (Denise) was the winner of the consolation prize.

Here are my layouts for my challenges. Thanks so much for everyone who did my challenge. I hope you enjoyed them.

This one was a challenge to use a favorite song for inspiration. I used PopRocks and Coke by GreenDay.

My other challenge was to do a layout about your favorite thing.

This is a layout I did for Wendy's Super Size Challenge. You had to use some supersized elements on your layout.

These are the cards I did for Jen's Card Sketch Challenge

And I did this card for Carla's Card Challenge. I also did this one for my friend Norma's mom. She was asking for red and white cards for her mil's 90th birthday.

Online Crop Starts Tomorrow...

2007-09-13T19:23:00.000-07:00

Is everyone ready for some big fun, big challenges, and big prizes!!?!???!!!

Scrap Shotz is having an online crop this weekend. Challenges will be starting Friday Sept 14th at 8pm est and going until Sunday Sept 16th at noon. You will have until midnight on Monday Sept 17th to get your stuff loaded to the gallery and posted in the correct thread in order to be eligible for the prizes.

I hope to see you there. I've got a couple of awesome challenges lined up.

Here's my sneak peek!!

Card challenge for a friend...

2007-09-10T19:04:00.000-07:00

My friend Norma had issued a challenge on her blog to make a birthday card for her 90 year old mother-in-law using red and white as colours. She was giving up some blog candy for the winner. Unfortunately she got some bad news that her mother-in-law had been diagnosed with stomach cancer and the outlook doesn't look good.

So now it is even more important to her that anyone who was thinking of doing her challenge to make a red and white card for her mother-in-law. If you are interested in doing Norma's challenge please visit her blog here (Norma's Blog).

My first "Official" Creative Team Challenge

2007-09-01T00:25:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Sept 1st and I'm officially a Creative Team Member at Scrap Shotz. Well, I was before but this is my first "job" as Creative Team member. Every month we must create a challenge for the members of the Scrap Shotz community, or anyone for that matter, to try and do. My challenge is a Hybrid Scrapping Challenge. I love to use my computer to aid in my scrapbooking but I hate to give up my paper and pens and glue and everything so hybrid is a perfect way to meld the two formats.

Here is the layout I did with my challenge.

Also, Sept 1st is the reveal day for the Creative Team and the monthly kit. This months' kit is from Daisy D called Fall Into Autumn. The Creative Team did a fabulous job with this kit. The layouts, cards, and mini albums are just spectacular. Here's the link for the CT Gallery. Check it out, they projects will blow you away!!!

Last day at Disneyland

2007-08-30T22:55:00.000-07:00

Well, this is our last day. We did everything that we wanted to do. We even did some things that we had never done before. We all had a great time but I think we're also longing to get back home. I know I can't wait to sleep in my own bed.

Our main objective today was to get some pictures done with some characters and some pictures of special places at Disney. You know, those 'must have' pictures.

Here are some of the character pictures....

and here are a few of those 'must have' pictures

We then headed to Mickey's Toontown. Megan really loves the Gadget Go Coaster. It's not too fast for her.

We also discovered a really cool place in California Adventure. It's called Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. It's like a big outdoor playground for kids. There was tire rope rides, rock wall climbing, suspension bridges, rope bridges. It's really cool. Definitely one of Disney's best kept little secrets.

I think Megan is finally done!!

Tomorrow we head home. I miss my bed...

Amazing Disney shows

2007-08-29T22:18:00.000-07:00

Today we wanted to go and see some of the fantastic Disney shows. We went over to California Adventure park to see the Disney Playhouse show and the Aladdin show.

Playhouse Disney was first on the list. This show has Bear in the Big Blue House, which is Megan and mine`s favorite show, Stanley, JoJo`s Circus and Winnie the Pooh. I know, they seem a little young but the show is really cute, and I love Tutter the mouse from Bear.

Then we went to see the Aladdin show. It`s fantastic!! We saw it last year and we made sure we went again this year. It`s like a Broadway show. The costumes are phenomenal and the singing and dancing are awesome!! If you ever get a chance, make sure you see this when you are in Disney.

Later in the afternoon we went back to Disneyland park for the parade. We wanted to see the electrical parade but that is only on the weekends now so we missed it. We found ourselves a good spot on Main Street in Disneyland and waited.

Again, Disney does everything to the hilt. The parade is wonderful!! The floats and the costumes are so bright and amazing! I love parades and this one is the best!!

Surfer Girl

2007-08-28T21:54:00.000-07:00

Today we decided to take a break from the parks and check out the beach. We bought Megan a boogie board before we left home and she has been dying to try it out. We wanted to go somewhere we hadn't been before and Allan has always wanted to go to Venice Beach so that's what we did. First we just walked up and down the boardwalk. There were lots of "different" people hanging around. Lots of homeless, people selling their crafts and different stuff. There were also lots of little store fronts selling everything from t-shirts to bongs and pipes. It was very interesting to say the least.

So, when we got back to the van Megan got changed into her swimsuit and we headed down to the water with boogie board in hand.

The beach is HUGE!! It was quite a walk down to the water. I found a spot where I could watch and layed down my blanket. Allan went down to the water with her to show her what to do.

The waves were really big and I could tell she was a little nervous at first. But once she caught her first wave she was hooked! All I could hear from where I was sitting was her laughing and yelling cowabunga dude!! Too cute!!

I was very impressed with how well she took to it. She really is my little surfer girl.

We Found Nemo

2007-08-27T21:10:00.000-07:00

With our 5-day flex passes we got 2 early entries into the park which means that we could go into the park an hour before it actually opens. We thought this would be the perfect time to go on the brand new Finding Nemo ride. The line during the day ranges anywhere between 1 1/2-2 hrs. This way, we could get there early and make a b-line to the ride and get on before the line got too big. So, we got up and left the hotel at 6:30am to wait for the early entry opening at 7am. Unfortunately, when we got up to the bag check they told us that the park hours had changed starting today (Monday) and the regular opening was at 9am instead of 8am so the early entry wasn't until 8am instead of 7am. So we ended up waiting for 1 1/2 anyway, but this time outside of the park. So, once we got inside Allan made a mad dash for the ride to get into line first thing and Megan and I caught up. We got on the first submarine ride of the day!! Cool!! So was it worth all the hype and long lines....

It was cute. Would I wait for over an hour in line to see it again....probably not. So after the Finding Nemo ride we decided to head over to California Adventure park.

We wondered around a bit and got some pics taken with some new characters. Lightening McQueen and To Mater were there and Megan had her picture taken with them.

Then we went to our favorite ride at California Adventure - Soarin' over California.

That is the best ride. You sit in rows of seats and they are lifted into the air towards this huge screen that wraps around you and you fly over different areas of California. You go under the Golden Gate Bridge, fly over golf courses in Palm Springs, over rivers, skiing hills, orange groves and vinyards. It's such a cool ride!!

One of the best things about this trip to Disneyland compared to the others is that we are staying at a hotel right across from the main gate. So, we can easily leave when it gets too hot and too busy and go back to the hotel and take a rest or swim in the pool and then go back to the parks again later.

Every year we've been we make sure we do a character dinner for Megan. We've always gone to Ariel's Grotto in California Adventure park. You get to have a nice sitdown dinner and the Disney Princesses come around to your table to visit, sign autographs, and have pictures taken. So after our rest and swim back at the hotel we went back to the park for dinner with Ariel. Megan really loves this dinner. She's so cute!! She is just awestruck when the pricesses come to the table. She can't even hardly talk, and that is so NOT like her!!

After dinner we watched the High School Musical show that plays at the entrance to the park. Megan was so excited!! She really likes the High School Musical movies. She know almost all the words to all the songs. The show is really good, the actors get the kids involved and up dancing with them.

So that was a big day, two parks, dinner with Pricesses, and a High School Musical show. Tomorrow I think we may take a break from the parks and hit the beach!

Disneyland Fireworks!!

2007-08-26T22:50:00.000-07:00

If you've ever been to Disneyland you know what these are all about. I've never seen fireworks like the ones at Disneyland. They are spectacular!! They are choreographed to music and highlight different rides and lands from the park. We went early and got a good spot right in front of the castle.

Disneyland Hurray!!!!

2007-08-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

Well, today was our first day at Disneyland. Felt so good to be back. The park opened at 8am and we got there just after it opened. It didn't seem very busy, not like the last 2 times we had been. Maybe coming just that little bit later in the summer makes a big difference.

We decided to go and check out the line for the new Finding Nemo ride first. It was already almost 2 hrs long. I couldn't believe it!! So instead we wondered over to the Matterhorn. The wait was only about 5 mins. This is Megan's favorite ride. The first time we came, she was only 3 and rode the Matterhorn. It scared her but that was the only ride she talked about. Now it's a "must do" ride whenever we come.

So then we went over to the teacups and walked right on. This time all 3 of us went on. Yes, we managed to drag Allan on. They spun the cups really fast. Believe it or not, I had to tell them to stop or I would be sick. It's the teacups for crying out loud!! Oh well, I guess I'm not as young as I used to be.

Everything we went to that morning we practically walked right on. Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones. Pirates of the Caribbean is a favorite ride for all of us. Last year we went on it at least 4 times. This time about 1/2 was through, the ride stopped and a voice over the loudspeaker came on and said there were technical difficulties and to stay in the boats. Boy, did we ever get the "extended" version of the ride. We just crawled along and finally got to the end. I think that'll do it for this year.

We managed to get Megan on the Indiana Jones ride again this year. Last year she went on but just hated it. This time wasn't much better. She bawled her eyes out getting to the ride. She was just freaking. But when we got off she said it wasn't as bad as she remembered. There's one part where a big snake comes out and that really scared her. I think if that hadn't been in there she would have had a really good time.

The Haunted Mansion is another one of Megan's favorite rides. This was another ride we just walked right onto. I remember last year that we had to wait in line to get on. Not a huge line, but still like 20-25 mins. I just couldn't believe the lack of waiting we did this time.

The only ride there was a wait for was Splash Mountain and even then the wait was only about 20 mins.

I love standing and taking pictures of Allan and Megan on this ride. My pictures actually turn out better than the ones that Disney takes and then tries to sell to you for $12. I love my zoom lens!!

We did some things that we've never done before. We had never been to the Enchanted Tiki Room. That was really cute. My friend Amanda had been to Disney in June this year and told me to make sure we went to the Tiki Room and also to get the frozen pineapple whip. Yummy!!! She was right!!! We also watched the new Pirate show on Tom Sawyer Island. We watched it from the other side of the lagoon. It looked really fun. Captain Jack Sparrow was there and so was Elizabeth Swan.

We left the park around 2pm for a break. We did a bit of shopping. Allan was still looking for a helmet for himself so we drove around looking for some motorcycle shops he found in the yellow pages. Then we went back to the hotel for a swim. The pool was really nice. Felt very refreshing. Gonna head back tonight to watch the fireworks. We want to go early to make sure we get a good seat!!

Are we there yet?

2007-08-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

Today is a travelling day. We left San Diego this morning and headed for Anaheim. Check in at the hotel isn't until 2pm and it's only about an hour drive from San Diego to Anaheim so we can take our time and take the scenic route.

While I was in San Diego I looked in the yellow pages for some scrapbook stores. I found two that sounded like they were pretty big so I went to check them out. One was OK. It was really big but the stock inside was pretty old. No new stuff from CHA. I was really disappointed. The worst part about this store was that all the patterned paper was displayed by colour. So all the "green" was in one row, all the "blue" was in another row. None of the brands were grouped together. That was really weird. Oh well, off to the next one.

The second store I went to was in Carlsbad which is between San Diego and Anaheim. This store is called Ever After Scrapbooks. It was everything I was expecting from a large scrapbook store. It was HUGE!! It must have taken me about 1/2 hour just to go around and look at everything. They had new Basic Grey, Daisy D, Creative Imaginations, Cosmo Cricket, Primas just tons of new CHA stuff. I bought some of the new Flocked Primas (very yummy) and some new Creative Imaginations paper and undressed chipboard. I also bought some paper that is from a company from California. I can hardly wait to get home and use all my new stuff!!

We finally made it into Anaheim around 2pm and checked into the hotel. The room is really nice and big and it has a fridge and a microwave (sweet!) After we moved everything into the room we went to Downtown Disney to look around.

The Disney store there is HUGE!! Lots of neat new stuff in there too. But we suppressed the urge to spend all our money on the first day (hehehe) Just did some window shopping.

Back to the hotel to get a good nights sleep cause tomorrow we hit Disneyland!!

Sea World

2007-08-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

This morning we headed to Sea World. I love Sea World, it's my favorite park in San Diego. When I was little I always wanted to be a marine biologist, but since I can't swim, it wasn't in the cards for me. My favorite show is the Shamu show, which we saw first. It was the same as the last 2 times we had been but I never get tired of it. I love to watch the whales do their jumps and to see them interact with the trainers. This year we sat really close to the "stage" so we could see them really up close. Megan was disappointed cause she never got wet even though we were in the "splash" zone. She wanted to get wet by the whales so bad, oh well, maybe next time.

Next we went and fed the dolphins. You buy some fish (4 little herring for $5) and then you can lean over the pool and feed them. They let you touch them and then you throw a fish in their mouth. It was so cool!

We also hit the shark tank. It's really neat. There is a motivator that takes you under the tank and the sharks swim all around you. Kind of reminds me of the movie Jaws 3.

Since this was our 3rd time we decided to skip a few shows that we had already seen (like the dolphin show and the sea lion show) and we went to the Cirque de la Mer show. Allan got to be part of the show. There were two clowns who were keeping us entertained before the show started who pulled Allan up in front of everyone and made him do some funny stuff. I was surprised, he was a really good sport! The show itself was really awesome!! Acrobatics and water in beautiful, bright costumes. I'm glad we finally had a chance to see it!! It was so cool, I just loved it.

Well, that's it for San Diego. Next stop on our trip is Anaheim and Disneyland.

At the Beach...

2007-08-23T22:50:00.000-07:00

Today we decided to take a bit of a break from the "park" scene. We did a bit of site seeing driving around downtown and then we thought we'd check out some of the beaches.

Every time we come into San Diego we stop at the visitors centre right along the I5. It's in the Mission Bay area which is a large water sport recreation area. So I looked on the map and found a nice scenic route along the ocean from downtown to the Mission Bay Beach area. One area that we stopped at was along Sunset Cliffs. The cliffs were really cool. We could walk down almost to the water. The tide must have been coming in cause the waves were really crashing against the cliffs.

The next spot we stopped at was a neat little area called Ocean Beach. There is a huge pier that seemed like it went out into the ocean for almost a mile. There was a beach area and tons of surfers. The little town area really catered to the surfers. Lots of surf shops, restaurants and bars, and eclectic little shops. We walked down to the water at the beach and watched the surfers for a while. Then we wondered along the "main" street and did a little shopping.

Next we arrived at the Mission Bay Beach area. This place is really cool. Along the west coast is the ocean. Boardwalks and piers to walk along and an Amusement park right along the ocean called Belmont Park. We didn't stop but it looked really fun. There are lots of beaches along this stretch, one called Pacific Beach is where we stopped. Along the east side is all the small lagoons and inlets. There are a lot of summer homes and marinas along this side. Sea World is also along this side of Mission Bay.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day. Tomorrow, we go to Sea World.

Wild Animal Park San Diego

2007-08-22T22:30:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Wild Animal Park. It's very different from the San Diego Zoo. You get to ride on a tram around the park and the animals are running around in huge areas together. The giraffes are with the antelopes and the rhinos. Very cool. The lions and tigers are the same except that they have their own pens. Really large pens all to themselves. This was really neat to see.

Here are some pictures of us....

This was on the safari tour...

You could get really close to the animals at the park which was really cool.

Hello from California

2007-08-20T22:25:00.000-07:00

We started our California road trip this morning. We left at around 7 this morning and headed south. The weather was terrible!!! We went through so much rain!! We were getting worried that we weren't going to find any nice weather on our trip. But, just as we got to the California border, it was like there was a line. One side was rain, the other was clear and sunny. We arrived in Redding, CA for the night at around 9:30pm and the temp was 28 C (around 80 F) and clear. Perfect, we found our good weather.

Tomorrow we head for San Diego, our first stop. We're going to Sea World and the Wild Animal Park. We'll be there for 3nights and then heading to Anaheim and Disneyland. I'm hoping to get to Coronado Island and take a look around the Hotel Del Coronado. It looks so beautiful. Allan wants to go and see the Mexican border. He doesn't want to go across, just see it....

Anyway, gotta run. Up early tomorrow for more driving. I'll keep you posted.

Sketch sites.....

2007-08-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

Last week Heidi (another Creative Team member at Scrap Shotz) posted a bunch of great sketch sites on the Scrap Shotz message board.

Gettin' Sketchy

PageMaps by Becky Fleck

Pencil Lines

Little Book of Sketches

Sketch This

Sketch It

Got Sketch?

They have some awesome sketches. Great for inspiration. I did a couple of layouts based on some sketches.

This layout is from a sketch at Got Sketch

and this one is from a sketch at Gettin Sketchy

Great to get the mojo going. Give them a try!!!

Online Card Crop this weekend

2007-08-13T14:05:00.000-07:00

Whew, what a weekend! Scrap Shotz had their very first online Mini Card Crop. It was so much fun. Carla, Jen and Aimee from the Scrap Shotz Creative Team got together and hosted. They posted challenges and games all weekend. (check out the links to their blogs). I've done online crops before, but never just a card crop. Boy, you can really get a lot accomplished when you're just doing cards. I learned a lot of new techniques and different card styles to try. They posted 10 challenges between the 3 of them. Everything from using Plastic wrap to Triangle folds to a back-to-basics Pocket card using library pockets. I only got 4 of the challenges done (I was having a garage sale the same weekend) but if I didn't I would have gotten them all done.

This is the one I did for Jen's Triangle fold challenge

This was Carla's "Cut that Card" challenge

I did this for Jen's sketch challenge

And this one was Carla's back-to-basics "Library Pocket" card

NICKELBACK ROCKS!!!!!

2007-08-10T08:21:00.000-07:00

Man, what at awesome night!!! Me, Allan and Megan went to see Nickelback last night! Yes, Megan. I know she's only 7 but she LOVES Nickelback!! We went a bit late, didn't really want to see the opening bands. We wondered around, looked at the souvenirs ($40 t-shirts YIKES!) got something to drink and went to find our seats. AWESOME!! We had row 1 just left of the stage! They were the best seats we've ever had for a concert! Right behind the boards, about 8ft from the people on the floor. Perfect! No one in front, tons of leg room, Megan could jump around all she wanted. And she DID!!! They played for almost 2 hours and it was awesome! They are a really great band to see live. If you ever get a chance I would say GO!!

Al had his cell phone so we have some pics. Not the greatest but not bad for a 2MP cell phone. Some video too but I don't know how to post that yet.

Some layouts finally released

2007-08-09T16:08:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I entered a contest on one of my frequented websites to get a layout published in Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine. There were 12 of us to start (only 11 by the end) and each week for 6 weeks we had to make a layout based on a challenge. Well, I didn't win (the winning layout will be featured in the Fall issue) but I sure got some gorgeous layouts done (even if I do say so myself) and I can finally share them.

The first challenge was to take a picture from a layout that you had sent in for qualifying and re-scrap the picture.

Here is my original layout...

And here is the layout where I re-scrapped the picture.

The next week we had to "Scrap our Fears" be it a real phobia or our scrapbooking fears. I did a layout about both. The real fear is of spiders, the scrapbook fear is just using cardstock, no pp or embellishments and just my own doodling for decoration.

The third challenge was to use some pp and supplies given to use by the owners Upsy Daisy Designs and do a layout that described the feeling of laughter. The paper and supplies were really cool. Very bright and graphic, not something I would normally go for, but I loved it!

The fourth challenge was to scrap an old photograph of yourself. I chose the picture of me and my first puppy Chester. Love that picture.

With the fifth challenge we again used some items given to us. This time we each had been given a stamp set from Tin Box Creations and had to use the stamps to create a layout about at least two seasons. My stamps were OK cause they were flowers and butterflies so I had spring and summer taken care of. We each got different stamps to use so it was interesting to see the different layouts.

The last layout was to be about ourselves. Tell something about ourselves that people may not know. I was hoping we would get a challenge like this. I had wanted to do a page about me for a while and this was the perfect opportunity.

If you want to see the other layouts in the contest visit Scrapbooking Fanatics and go to the gallery for the Scrap Fan Summer Jam.

Nice day for the beach

2007-08-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

Man we were up early today. Up and out of the house by 9am. It's SUNDAY!! Oh well, we decided to take the dog down to the beach. There is an off-leash area right on the water where you can take your dogs. We've been there before with Chloe and she just LOVES it!! It was SO beautiful. The weather was perfect, not too hot (yet) and not too cool. The tide was just coming in so we didn't get to walk as far out as we normally do. The tidal pools were just filling up and Megan had a good time trying to catch the tiny sucker fish.

After the beach we stayed at the park and Megan ran around on the playground there. We sat in the sun and enjoyed the beautiful day.

Chloe had fun helping Megan clean her face!

Went downtown Vancouver afterwards. Walked up and down Robson St window shopping and people watching. Love doing that. See some really *interesting* things downtown. Boy, you can sure get a lot of stuff done when you get up so early!!

My new digs

2007-08-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

Sometimes my dh really surprises me. Just this last weekend I was whining about not having my own space for my scrapbooking. I'm currently using the dining room (which we never used anyway) but I was still trying to keep it a dining room. Then I got the news about the position on the Scrap Shotz CT. Well, my dh decided that I needed a scraproom more than we needed a dining room so we went for the big make over. I have so much room and storage now it's like heaven compared to what I had before.

This was my little space before the make over....

And this is the space after my make over...

I just love it!! I feel like it's really my scraproom now!! The only trouble is that it's so nice that I don't want to use it and mess it up. I keep going in there and looking at stuff, and moving a few things here and there, but just can't seem to get myself to sit down and use it. Hopefully this weekend I can get over that!

Scrap Shotz & The Creative Team

2007-08-02T22:37:00.000-07:00

As my last post said, I'm very excited to be a new member of the Creative Team at Scrap Shotz. The CT is so talented, I'm really in awe of being in such creative company! I have links to everyone's blogs at the side. Check them out, the work these ladies do is amazing!!

I love Scrap Shotz!! They have an amazing kit program! The kits are so full of great stuff!! Check out the latest kit for August, it's Elsie's Roxi and Toby lines. Part of my job as a member of the CT will be to make LOs, cards, and altered "stuff" with the monthly kits; to hopefully give some inspiration to the kit subscribers and give different ideas of how to work with the kits. Check out what the CT did this month with the Elsie Kit! Fantastic work!! My first CT "reveal" will be for the October kit. I can hardly wait!!!!

Here I am

2007-08-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

Lots of exciting things happening in my life over the last couple of days.

The most exciting change for me was that I was asked to join the most awesome design team on the web! One of the best scrapbooking websites and my personal favorite Scrap Shotz asked me to join their design team. I was so excited!! I'm still so excited!!! Rather stunned actually!

So with this exciting new life I have started I thought I'd better really jump on the blog bandwagon with everyone else so I can keep everyone up to date with all the exciting things happening at Scrap Shotz.

So, it's with a fond farewell that I say goodbye to the old, outdated blog and in with the new and improved blog (besides, this one seems so much easier to use and I can add more cool stuff like the blog header I created).

I'm having tons of fun with this new blog. Keep checking back, I'll be making lots of changes in the next little while. Please let me know what you think.