Love The Journey

Scrapbook Challenges Sketch #282

2012-02-13T08:20:00.006-07:00

Scrapbook Challenges Sketch #282 is revealed today and as I am not usually a two page layout scrapbooker, so I challenged myself to do one.

Christmas trees all over the place!

Why don't you play along with us. There is a one page sketch and a two page sketch, so choose your sketch and challenge yourself. You can find the fabulous sketches here:

Have a scrappy Monday!

Gotta Love My Art Journal

2012-02-12T11:52:00.001-07:00

Last September, I took an online workshop taught by the wonderful Christy Tomlinson called "She Has Three Hearts". It inspired me to keep an art journal. Actually, I have many art journals. Some are personal that I keep to myself and some I share with my family and some I share with the world. I love that I can paint, mist, stamp, stencil, write, draw and use Pan Pastels to express myself in a deeper way. It helps me to concentrate on being positive and grateful everyday. It helps me through many bumps in the road. It is so good for the soul and it's a way of being creative at the same time. It doesn't matter if the art doesn't feel perfect. The reason is to jumpstart my creativity and be therapeutic at the same time. Art journaling is very popular at the moment and I love it.

Here is an art journal page that I created of all the things that I love and make me happy and grateful:

Christy's workshop is fabulous and I urge everyone to take it. You will laugh, you will cry and you will explore your creativity. You will surprise yourself.

Pinterest has many ideas for your art journal and you can follow my Pinterest account as I have a board set up exclusively for art journaling. This is where I got the idea for this page.

Have a fabulous day!

Photography....My Other Passion

2012-02-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

Scrapbooking isn't my only passion. I also love photography.

Whether a person has a point and shoot camera or a DSLR, photography is what your eyes see and not what the camera sees. Anyone can take great photographs. It just takes a will to learn and get out there practice and have fun! I have a long ways to go in my photography journey, but I love to learn.

When my scrapbooking mojo is lacking, I like to head out with my camera and take photos. Living close to the mountains, my husband and I go there often to get away from the hustle bustle of everyday life and go on a search for some landscape and wildlife photography opportunities. Macro photography is another interest of mine and I enjoy the challenge of taking photos of beautiful flowers. I also love photographing architecture and my one of my photography dreams is to go to Italy some day and enjoy capturing all the beauty of the old buildings and also to New York City.

While I was out and about yesterday, I took some photos of my beautiful hometown. It has tripled in population since I was a child, but I still love the beautiful city that I grew up in. Calgary is one of the fastest growing cities in Canada and because our economy revolves around the oil and gas industry, there are many people moving here. The mountains are just an hour away so many people enjoy going there to ski some of the most beautiful and challenging ski resorts in the world. The sky looks quite smoky

because there is a landfill fire west of the city, but I still enjoyed the view and got out and captured these:

Calgary Downtown Skyline

Alberta Children's Hospital

University of Calgary Campus

Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Polytechnique

Looking Southeast

CTV Calgary Tower

Have a wonderful Friday and enjoy your weekend!

Scrapbook Challenges Sketch #281

2012-02-06T11:18:00.001-07:00

Today over at Scrapbook Challenges the Monday sketch is posted and I love what the design team has created. Here is my layout that I created of my niece Laine and her horses:

Laine Is A Horse Lover & Cowgirl

It was fun creating this western theme layout. In this layout I used my Martha Stewart Fringe Scissors, my Slice and the Happy Trails cartridge for the stars and the letters and words, some thinner jute to give it the lasso feel and a plaid stamp from Hero Arts to stamp on the die cut letters. I also used pops of red in the Cosmo Cricket letter stickers and the red pom pom trim. Finally I took some brads that I have had in my stash and embellished the stars with them and added some more buttons tied with some twine onto some horse patterned paper.

Come play along with us over at Scrapbook Challenges. We also have some prizes for our membership drive. Tell them that Lee-Anne sent you.

Here is the sketch and the entire design team's take on the sketch.

Have a wonderful Monday!

Twisted Sketches #137

2012-02-01T21:35:00.000-07:00

Today there is a new sketch over at Twisted Sketches. You can find it here:

I created this festive layout with the Wonder and Wishes collection from Little Yellow Bicycle.

Come have some fun and see what you can do with the sketch and post it at www.twistedsketches.org. Have a great day!

Scrapbook Challenges Sketch #280

2012-01-30T12:17:00.001-07:00

Brr - Sketch #280

Today is the posting of Scrapbook Challenges Sketch #280.

It is a versatile sketch and there were options to use a one page layout sketch or a two page layout sketch. Two page layouts are a challenge to me because I usually am a one page, one photo layout gal, but it is good to be challenged to break out of that comfort zone.

Come play along and challenge yourself and make some new scrappy friends while you are at it. We are a friendly bunch from all over the world.

You will find the sketch here.

Have an awesome day!

Some "Me" Layouts

2012-01-29T23:21:00.002-07:00

This weekend I got two layouts done and although I don't usually scrapbook about myself, I know that it is good to document what a person was like at a particular time. This way, my kids and grandkids can see what made me tick and what I was like. Both of these layouts were made from some challenges over at Wescrap this weekend. It was their online crop and they have some great prizes and it inspires me to get some scrapping done other than design team assignments.

It's funny because the above layout that has the mask that is a show is actually a die cut from my Cricut and I cut it too big as I am new to the Cricut Expression 2. I didn't want to waste it so I decided to get my mists out and use it as a mask. I think it turned out good. In most of my layouts, I seem to go for bright colours. Colour challenges usually inspire me and I am really liking turquoise with yellow, black and grey at the moment.

Have a wonderful scrappy day!

Pieces Of Me

2012-01-28T15:53:00.002-07:00

I don't usually get personal on my blog and usually keep it strictly to scrapbooking, and other artsy projects, but I just had to share.

It is a sad day for me today and I know that scrapbooking is so therapeutic for me. Today would have been my kid brother's 44th birthday. He passed away almost 6 years ago from a fast and deadly infection. He was only 38 and was a husband, father of a four year old and a two year old and was just starting out in a business that was his dream.

Dean

It has been really hard on my family and I and it always hits me hard on his birthday and the day he passed away. It has forever changed my family and as much as I try to rise above, I still have a hard time on these particular days.

Scrapbooking is about documenting the good times and the not so good times. It has helped me so much in the past five years of working through these life trials. I have scrapbooked some layouts of my brother, but haven't done any recently. It is something I have to be in the right mood to do. Today might be that day as I usually scrapbook what is on my mind for that day. So enough about that.

I did do a layout on myself today. It is always weird to me to scrapbook myself, but it sometimes must be done as we need to document our lives for our children and grandchildren.

Pieces of Me at 48

So that is a piece of my thoughts today and if this experience has taught me anything, it is to live each day to the fullest and try to do something fun everyday. My brother was such a funny and amazing guy. He really was passionate about life and did live his life to the fullest. I am so glad that he did.

Scrapbooking is my passion and I really try to do something creative everyday. Even if it's only ten minutes a day. It feeds my soul and it heals my wounds. It is in my blood and whether I am taking a photo, buying supplies, planning a layout or actually creating, it is part of my daily life. Is it a part of yours? Thanks for letting me share and hopefully you can carve out some time in your busy life to have fun!

A Sweet Blog Award

2012-01-24T23:53:00.001-07:00

How niceto start the day with an award...thank you so much Kelly Klapstein who gave methe Liebster blog award today!

"Liebster”is a German word meaning dearest, beloved or favorite, and the Liebster Awardis sort of a chain letter among bloggers that’s intended to showcaseexceptional up-and-coming blogs (typically, those with 200 or fewer followers).There’s no evaluation committee or formal award process for the Liebster, butin a way it’s even nicer – it’s recognition that a peer has noticed andappreciated your hard work.

Here arethe rules:

Choose 5up and coming blogs of fewer than 200 followers to award the Liebster to.

Showyour thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.

Post theaward on your blog. Link back to the blogs you have given the Liebster to soeveryone else can pay them a visit.

And, nowI am sharing and passing on the award to five wonderful blogs that I'm sure youwill want to stop by for a visit...

Olivia Ashcraft http://livybugtheladybug.blogspot.com

Bev Code http://beeceecreativity.blogspot.com

Tabitha Jones http://zippity-do-dah-tabitha.blogspot.com

Chanell Rigterink http://theinstinctivescrapper.blogspot.com
Misty Russell http://myscraptherapy.com

Thereare many many more fantastic scrapbooking blogs I follow that deserve an award,but alas, I must follow the rules!

And nowI shall go shopping for a sparkly gown and tiara....to wear at the LiebsterAward Ceremony :) Look out red carpet...here I COME!

Scrapbook Challenges Sketch #279

2012-01-23T17:44:00.001-07:00

Every Monday a new sketch to challenge you is posted on the Scrapbook Challenges website. Today is Sketch #279. Here is the sketch:

Here was my take on the sketch:

I used Little Yellow Bicycle's "Wonder and Wishes" collection. It is perfect for all those Christmas photos.

Play along with the sketch and have fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm The DT Spotlight For The Week!

2012-01-22T14:01:00.001-07:00

Today I am featured as the DT Spotlight For The Week over at Scrapbook Challenges! I am enjoying every minute of being on this team and I am honoured to have the opportunity to inspire others.

Have a beautiful Sunday!

Cricut Expression 2

2012-01-19T08:37:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I bought a Cricut Expression 2! I can't wait to try it out and create lots of projects with it. Five years ago, I bought the original Cricut with the 6X12 cutting mats and didn't really use it all that much and it just sat in a closet, but I think this new machine will get used a lot more. I like the way it is compatible with a Mac as well as a PC now and that it is a 12X12 format. I also like that it I can use my original Cricut cartridges as well as the newer cartridges. The Cricut Expression 2 comes with a plethora of images already on the machine and it has wi-fi capability and the new Cricut Craft Room will be handy.

I also have a Slice, which I like, but I think the Cricut will expand my creativity and be more time saving. There are pros and cons to both, as I like the way the Slice has a glass cutting mat that you spray with Slice Adhesive and I also like the way it is very small and portable and that you can use it cordless if the machine is fully charged for about 90 minutes which makes it handy to take to crops.

The Cricut has it's pros and cons. I can't say I am not crazy about the cutting mats and they are expensive to replace and are quite large and cumbersome to take to crops, but I like the way I can plan out my page and use different sized images on the same mat and plan up to 6 pages of images.

So I am going to get familiar with my new toy, that I bought with my birthday money that I got in November and give it a go. I know there are lots of possibilities to create with fabric, paper, velum, chipboard and vinyl so it should be fun!

Do you have a die cutting machine? I would love to hear your comments and if you know of any good websites and blogs for the Cricut and Slice.

Happy Thursday!

Twisted Sketches Layout #135

2012-01-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

In my Canadian neck of the woods, it is a very cold day. Our temperatures are in the -30 degree celcius range. As long as I don't have to drive in it or shovel snow, I couldn't be happier as I love to hunker down in the house with nice cup of hot coffee or tea, put on the cozy fireplace and create. Why not take some time today and scrapbook a page? Twisted Sketches #135 is posted today and you will find the sketch here:

Here was my take on the sketch:

Loading Your ATG Gun

2012-01-17T21:35:00.000-07:00

I recently bought an ATG gun to use for all my scrapbooking projects and I must admit it takes a little getting used to especially when a person is used to the smaller tape runners.

The first roll that I loaded was difficult as I don't read instructions very well. I am more of a visual learner. I found a great tutorial that I thought I would share and this made the process of loading my new ATG gun a lot easier:

http://www.karleekrafts.com/2010/08/loading-your-atg-gun.html

I tried a few, but I found Karlee's tutorial very easy to understand. Now the next thing I want to do is paint my ATG gun. I'm not a fan of the bright pink so maybe I'll make it turquoise or apple green.

Have a great day!

Scrapbook Challenges Sketch #278

2012-01-16T19:49:00.001-07:00

Mondays are sketch reveal days at Scrapbook Challenges. Today's sketch is here:

And here was my take:

Why don't you play along with the sketches and also try some of the challenges from the blog hop we had this weekend at Scrapbook Challenges.

Have fun creating!

Blog Hopping

2012-01-16T19:28:00.001-07:00

Last weekend was great! Scrapbook Challenges had a blog hop and there was lots of games, fun, challenges and prizes. I had one challenges for the blog hop. The challenge was to create a love/valentine theme layout. I created a layout on my parents who have been married for 53 years! Can you say wowsers?

It was fun creating this layout as I cut out a heart from a Cheerios cereal box and then cut many paper strips and adhered them to the heart. I then turned the heart over and cut the strips down to the edge of the heart. I also wanted to put some frilly lace around the heart just like the chocolate heart boxes that I used to get from my parents every year for Valentine's Day.

Here is another challenge that Bev, another design team member of Scrapbook Challenges came up with. She challenged everyone to create a layout with just the colours black and white. Here is my take on this challenge:

This one I used bits and pieces of my stash. I painted some Maya Road chipboard letters white and stamped them with a script roller stamp that I use for my mixed media projects. I also punched the heart border, added some ribbon and flowers and for the buttons have black dimensional paint dabbed on them. I love the classic look that black and white give to any layout.

There are several more challenges that I plan on doing this week as the deadline to submit layouts for the challenges is January 22. I love being challenged and it keeps me creating.

Well thanks for stopping by and I challenge you to check out www.scrapbookchallenges.com and do some of the challenges.

Have a scrappy day!

SC Blop Hop

2012-01-13T08:00:00.033-07:00

Hi everyone! It's great to see you hanging out with us at Scrapbook Challenges for our blog hop. You should have arrived here from Chanell's blog. Here is the list of all the design team members in case you get lost along the way:

SC Blog (http://www.scrapbookchallenges.com/blog)
Amanda (http://amandapace7.blogspot.com/)
Tabitha (http://zippity-do-dah-tabitha.blogspot.com/)
Carmen (http://kalahenscrapjoy.blogspot.com/)
Anna (http://madetoscrap.blogspot.com/)
Cheryl (http://craft-thing.blogspot.com/)
Livy (http://livybugtheladybug.blogspot.com/)
Cathy(http://whatsupwithcathy.blogspot.com/)
Dinah (http://dmaningat.blogspot.com/)
Jullene (http://studiojullene.blogspot.com/)
Nanette (http://scrap-4-kids.blogspot.com/)
Lauri (http://lacreations99.blogspot.com/)
Bev (http://beeceecreativity.blogspot.com/)
Devi (http://fortheloveofdigiscrap.blogspot.com/)
Jowilna (http://www.jowilnanolte.blogspot.com/)
Chanell (http://www.theinstinctivescrapper.blogspot.com/)
Lee Anne (http://lee-annelovethejourney.blogspot.com/) You are here
Emmy (http://few-favourite-things.blogspot.com/)

My name is Lee-Anne Thornton and I am so excited to be a new design team member. I have created a layout of a winter vacation that my husband, son and I went on to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in 2010. It was my first tropical vacation and it was so beautiful and so fun. Here is the sketch:

And here is my layout:

I thought these bright papers just screamed tropical.

I am married to my best friend Rick and have three great kids. My oldest son is 26 and married. My daughter is 24 and married, and my youngest son is 12. He is my baby and the only child still at home.

Creating something everyday, whether it is scrapbooking, crafts, photography, mixed media, cooking or baking is in my blood and I feel an emptiness if I don't create in some way every single day. Here are some of the prizes:

Here is the Hop On Prize. Such a great prize! We will draw for completing a layout based on the Blog Hop Sketch and posting it to the Hop On Thread.

If you comment on all the design team blogs you could win this:

Also, there is a prize drawn for one random new member who joins Scrapbook Challenges between January 13 and January 15, 2012.

Thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog. Now hop on over to see what the talented Emmy has created at:(http://few-favourite-things.blogspot.com/)

Color Challenge

2012-01-11T09:29:00.003-07:00

Hi scrappy friends! I posted my very first challenge at Scrapbook Challenges as their new design team member.

My challenge is to use the following palette to create a layout.

You can find the colour palette here:

Here is my layout:

Come challenge yourself and play along at www.scrapbookchallenges.com

Have a scrappy day!

Scrapbook Challenges Blog Hop

2012-01-10T21:42:00.001-07:00

I just got on the Scrapbook Challenges design team and we are having a blog hop to introduce the new design team. We are also having some challenges, games and prizes. Why don't you join me and the entire team all weekend from Friday, January 13 to Sunday, January 15, 2012 and get ready for some scrappy fun all weekend!

Hope to see you then!

Scrapbook Challenges Sketch #277

2012-01-09T19:59:00.001-07:00

Here is the layout I designed for Scrapbook Challenges Design Team:

and here is the sketch:

Come get some inspiration and join us for the challenges.

Have a great day!

Valentine's Day Layout

2012-01-09T16:15:00.000-07:00

Here is a a layout that I made for Valentine' Day. I like using strips of patterned paper and the bright colors. I used the Crush collection from Bo Bunny. It is two years old, but it's nice to use up some stash. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Zentangle

2012-01-08T16:16:00.000-07:00

Zentangle is a form of doodling that I discovered one day when I was looking at books at Michaels. It looks like a great form of relaxation and I have heard that it is taught to children in some schools.

Zentangle

Some designs are very intricate and others more simple. I like to doodle and make flowers in my art journals, but they aren't really fancy. Pinterest is another place that I have a board that I pin some beautiful creations that others have shared. It looks so good for the soul.

Creative Jumpstart

2012-01-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

It sometimes happens to me when I sit down to do something creative whether it's scrapbooking, writing in my art journal, mixed media or photography and I just don't have any creative mojo. Well there is a website that I want to share that will inspire you. Check out Nathalie Kalbach's Creative Jumpstart Summit 2012. It started up January 1 and it's just what a person needs to get the creative juices flowing again. Here is the link:

It's going to be great year!

Sony Digital Frame and Printer

2012-01-05T14:06:00.003-07:00

Woohoo! It is shaping up to be a fabulous new year. I won a Sony Digital Frame and Printer from Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine! There was a contest in December that I posted a comment on their blog for watching Webisode 24. Here is the prize:

Sony Digital Frame and Printer Model DPP-F800

Canadian Scrapbooker is a fabulous Canadian scrapbooking magazine that I love and read regularly. Check them out at www.canadianscrapbooker.ca

Have a fabulous day!

First Layout For 2012

2012-01-03T23:00:00.001-07:00

As a new design team member for Scrapbook Challenges, I didn't waste any time getting down to business. This is my first layout for 2012 and I know it's going to be a great year.

This is a layout of my oldest son when he was 10 years old. He is now married and will be 27 years old next month. Yikes! Where does the time go? I used Theresa Collins On The Edge Collection of papers, brads, and ribbon and used my Slice to cut out the paper stars. I then used my Scor-Pal to score the stars to give them more dimension. Finally I used some Making Memories letter stickers for the title and Kaisercraft rubons for the sentiment.

You can find the sketch here:

http://www.scrapbookchallenges.com/forum/showthread.php?235-Sketch-276

Come follow along with me and the other ladies on the team and get your scrapbooking inspiration for 2012 at Scrapbook Challenges.

Have a scrappy day!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T00:30:00.005-07:00

Well now I can let you in on my little secret that I have been keeping for a week or so. I am super excited and honored to announce that I was accepted on the Scrapbook Challenges Design Team! This is going to be a great opportunity to take my passion for scrapbooking to the next level! I am looking forward to the next six months with all these ladies:

Come play along with us and enjoy the fun at www.scrapbookchallenges.com

Happy New Year to all my scrappy friends!

Winter Paper Cone Wreath

2011-12-23T12:43:00.002-07:00

Winter Paper Cone Wreath

I was totally inspired by a paper wreath that Greta Hammond created on the Little Yellow Bicycle blog that I had to make one to hang in my home for the entire winter. You can find it here:
http://littleyellowbicycle.typepad.com/my-blog/2011/12/a-chilly-day-on-the-blog-with-new-winter-twig-and-the-biker-chicks.html.

Blue is my favorite color and I just love Little Yellow Bicycle's new Winter Twig collection. The colors are gorgeous. I used many of the collection's patterned paper, and added some ribbon, a snowman sticker, letter stickers and a plastic star ornament to complete the centre of the wreath. It was a little tricky making the paper cones at first, but once I learned it was fine. I googled paper cone wreath and found this tutorial at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcV9QIZy6kU

Have a wonderful day!

Twisted Sketches Layout #133

2011-12-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

I have so enjoyed being on the Twisted Sketches Layout Team for the last six months. The twist on this sketch was "jewel". I never find it difficult to put a little bling on my layouts. This layout was created with the new Fancy Pants "Wonderland" collection. I love the soft colors in this collection and had the perfect photo to scrap with it.

You can find the sketch here. Come follow along with us and take a break from the craziness of Christmas.

Ribbon Tree

2011-12-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a great way to use ribbon from your stash. A ribbon tree! I made this one last night using a 12 inch styrofoam cone tree, four different types of ribbon, a poinsettia flower pick, a ruler, scissors and a hot glue gun.

Measure and cut 4 inch pieces of ribbon. I used 5/8 inches wide ribbon in silver and blue and 1/2 inch wide ribbon in pink.

Starting at the bottom of your styrofoam cone, fold ribbon in half and either use a pin or a dab of hot glue on each piece. Go around the tree and hot glue pieces onto styrofoam. Keep adding ribbon until you reach the top of the tree.

Take your poinsettia pick and stick it into the top of the styrofoam tree.

It is a little time consuming, but worth it in the end.

I like using non-traditional colors for Christmas decorating. I think I will give my Mom this one for her front entrance as she has the perfect table to display it on.

Have an awesome day!

Loopy Winter Wreath

2011-12-13T10:56:00.001-07:00

I am on a wreath kick these days and I wanted to use up some scraps of paper so a loopy wreath was the way to do this.

Echo Park is one of my favorite scrapbooking paper manufacturers and I had some scraps left over from last year from their "Wintertime" collection and this year they have a winter collection named "Winter Park". It was easy to combine these two collections as the colors are very similar.

Our Canadian winters are long so it is a good way to decorate the home for the winter season.

Have a great day!

Puppy Love

2011-12-12T15:16:00.002-07:00

My daughter and her husband have a dog named Elly. Here is a layout of her when she was a puppy:

This layout was done with Fancy Pants "It's The Little Things" collection. First I distressed the edges and cut a frame from the paper. I made the rosettes from a Tim Holtz Rosette die, the sheer flower was one of my own creations using a Bounce fabric softener sheet, Stickles and a Prima jewel. The vintage buttons are from Jenni Bowlin and the pearls from Kaisercraft. I painted the Maya Road Chipboard Letters with a Ranger Paint Dabber in the color "Pool" and rolled a text roller stamp on top of the painted chipboard letters. Lastly, I wanted to give it some texture so I adhered some lacy ribbon, painted a little area and used some rubons from the same Fancy Pants collection. Thanks for checking out my blog and have a wonderful day!

Rolled Paper Christmas Tree Canvas

2011-12-10T13:52:00.003-07:00

Rolled Paper Christmas Tree Canvas

This was super fun to create. One of my favorite collections of Christmas papers is the Fancy Pants Hot Chocolate Collection. I rolled the papers and hot glued them onto a 8X10 canvas. The tree is embellished with buttons and brads and I added a snow flake sticker to the top of the tree and adhered a jewel to the center of the snowflake. The sky is created from Pan Pastels and also I cut a pom pom ribbon apart and hot glued some snowballs onto the canvas. The snow on the bottom of the canvas was created by using a Versamark pad and some crystal embossing power of which I heat embossed. Finally I added a small piece of ribbon to the bottom of the tree to give it more texture and cut a trunk out of paper. Hope you have a great weekend and have some time to get crafty for Christmas!

Twisted Sketches #131

2011-12-07T22:39:00.000-07:00

My layout design #131 for Twisted Sketches is posted here today. You will find the sketch here at www.twistedsketches.org. Come play along with myself and the other Twisted Sisters.

Christmas Gifts

2011-12-07T12:31:00.000-07:00

This year I am making a lot of my Christmas gifts. I made this with a dollar store frame and some scrapbook papers from Fancy Pants Hot Chocolate collection.

I used some small white fuzzy snowballs from Little Yellow Bicycle and stamped and embossed some snowflakes on the background and the snowman. I adhered some clear glass crystals to the tree and the "winter" sticker. It was so fun to do and it really took me only about 30 minutes to complete.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Wreaths

2011-12-03T17:13:00.006-07:00

I love wreaths and I love Pinterest. Here are two wreaths that I created that I pinned on Pinterest. The first one was created with the new Echo Park Winter Park Collection. I love the blues and burgundy together. I used my Slice to cut out the stars. They measure 4 inches. I used my Scor-Pal Scoring Board to score the stars to give them more dimension. I used my hot glue gun and adhered all the stars onto a flat wood wreath that I bought in the floral department at Michaels. I put a button on each star and tied some ribbon behind the wreath to hang.

You can find the tutorial at: http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2010/12/last-mintue-christmas-decorations-3d.html

The other wreath I made today is made out of gold tissue paper that I bought at the dollar store. I bought the 12" styrofoam wreath form at Michaels and used my hot glue gun to glue the tissue paper onto the wreath. This was a labour of love but I think the final product was worth it.

You can find the tutorial for this at: http://www.ablissfulnest.com/2010/03/tissue-paper-wreath-how-to.html

I hope this inspires you to make a wreath. They are nice anytime of the year!

Creating Texture With Household Items

2011-11-30T14:14:00.002-07:00

Here is a great video on creating texture on your scrapbook pages, art journals and mixed media projects. I love her practical approach to art! Christy rocks!

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/New-Behind-the-Art-Video---creating-texture-with-the-everyday--.html?soid=1102045935010&aid=_F2bOG_WG_Q

I tried to find a pair of flip flops at the dollar store, but they were all out since it is our winter right now. I know I have some shoes in the garage that have great texture so I'll see you later.....

Oh Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

2011-11-28T12:24:00.002-07:00

Today I made this Christmas tree for my coffee table. It's just the perfect size.

I was inspired by Liz Qualman's tree on the Little Yellow Bicycle Blog. It came together pretty quickly with the Scor-Pal scoring board. The tricky part was gluing it all together. I used Little Yellow Bicycle's Wonder and Wishes patterned papers, and garland, which I added bling to every circle and I punched out a flower from the Dahlia Punch by EK Success. I then added pearls to the flower and placed it on a little plastic jar. It was fun! Have a great day!

My New Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer!

2011-11-25T10:40:00.006-07:00


Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixers Besides scrapbooking, I love baking. It is so relaxing. Christmas is just around the corner and my husband bought me something that I have wanted for years. A new Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer! It's going to be great! I got the mixer in Green Apple. Today I am going to make some chocolate chip cookies and try it out.

Twisted Sketches Layout #129

2011-11-24T17:26:00.001-07:00

I created this layout for the Twisted Sketches Layout Design Team.

The twist on the sketch was ribbon. I made a flower from ribbon and pleated a ribbon on the layout. I used Lime Twist patterned papers by My Minds Eye and corrugated letters by Jillibean Soup. I then painted the letters. The paint splats I created with paint dabber and water.

You can find the sketch here.

Come have some fun with us and create your own layout from this sketch.

I also want to thank my American friends a very happy Thanksgiving. As a Canadian, I celebrated Thanksgiving in October with a turkey, all the trimmings and a pumpkin pie.

Have a wonderful day!

Some Layouts

2011-11-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

There are some challenges going on for Sketchy Saturdays at Wescrap.

Here is my layout for the November 12 challenge:

and the layout for the November 19 Sketchy Saturday Challenge:

Nothing gets my creative juices flowing like a sketch. Have a wonderful Sunday!

Christmas Tree - Mixed Media

2011-11-19T14:48:00.002-07:00

I am starting to make some Christmas gifts and I am posting this because I know this friend doesn't read my blog. Christy Tomlinson, a mixed media artist has a wonderful free tutorial online at:

http://christytomlinson.typepad.com/...dmediaart2.pdf

Here is my Christmas Tree:

She Art Workshop 2

2011-11-19T14:37:00.000-07:00

Christy Tomlinson's She Art Workshop 2 began online this week and this talented lady inspires me so much! If you haven't taken any classes with her, DO IT NOW! You will surprise the heck out of yourself.

Here is my first girl with a face. It's going to take a bit more practice, but I am happy with the first attempt.

Christmas Tree Canvas Tutorial

2011-11-19T00:29:00.001-07:00

I am a huge fan of Christy Tomlinson. She has some wonderful online workshops to inspire and explore our inner artist. Christmas is around the corner and she has a great tutorial on making a Christmas Tree Canvas. You can find the tutorial here:

http://christytomlinson.typepad.com/files/christytomlinson_decmixedmediaart2.pdf

I love that you can use a lot of scrapbook supplies to make this such as paint, rubons, patterned paper, glitter and embellishments such as buttons. She recommends using Matte Mod Podge, but I have recently found Decoupage, made by Deco Art, works even better. I buy it at Michaels and it comes in matte or glossy finish. I prefer the matte finish.

I plan on making lots of little projects for Christmas with Decoupage. Have a wonderful day!

Flowers Made From Bounce Sheets

2011-11-16T13:35:00.001-07:00

Here is a simple, fun idea to make flowers for all your projects while you upcycle at the same time! You will need:

A Bounce Fabric Softener Sheet that has already been used in the dryer
A pair of scissors
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist (your choice of color)
Ranger Stickles (your choice of color)
Adhesive (glue dots, Mono Adhesive or Fabri-Tac)
A button, brad, jewels, pearls or a pebble for the center of flower

Let's begin:

Cut 3 circles from the used Bounce Fabric Softener Sheet. I usually cut one circle 2-1/2 inches, one circle 1-1/2 inches, and one circle 1 inch. They don't have to be perfect as it looks better if they aren't.

Place the three circles on a craft mat, or inside of a box, and spray with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist until thoroughly saturated.

Let dry naturally or with a heat tool to speed up the drying process.

Once misted circles are dry, take your bottle of Stickles and apply around the outer edge of each misted circle.

Let these dry naturally because a heat tool doesn't dry Stickles.

Once the misted circles are completely dry and the Stickles around the outer edges are dry, apply a dab of glue in the middle of the 1 inch and 1 1/2 inch circle and layer your circles.

Place a brad, button, jewel or pebble on the top center of the flower.

Voila! You now have a flower to embellish your favorite project!

Some Layouts From A Prize I Won

2011-11-14T12:18:00.001-07:00

There was recently a blog hop on the Wescrap forum that I participate in regularly. I received their November kit "Recess" and made these two layouts with the kit.

Right now they are looking for four new design team members to join their team. If you are interested, check out www.wescrap.com.

Have a scrap happy day!

Twisted Sketches Layout #127

2011-11-10T08:28:00.000-07:00

Twisted Sketches Layout #127 is posted now. For my layout this week the twist was chipboard. This layout is of my son's 12th birthday that he celebrated almost two weeks ago. I used chipboard a lot on this layout. The banner, the heart and the little swirlydoo on the top of the photo is all chipboard that I painted and stamped.

You can find the sketch here:

Hope you can play along with us. Have fun and have a wonderful day!

crop-a-ganza!: Registration Open!!

2011-11-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

crop-a-ganza!: Registration Open!!: We can't think of a better way to spend a weekend in the cold of February... then to hang out with some amazing scrapbooking friends and som...

Twisted Sketches Layout #125

2011-10-27T09:32:00.000-06:00

Today is the day Twisted Sketches reveals layout #125. The twist was black. I created a layout of my oldest son Brandon. He was married three years ago and in this photo he was waiting in a room at the back of the church for the ceremony to begin. I was so proud of him. I don't have many photos of Brandon and I so this one is special to me. Here is the layout I created:

I used black vintage buttons from Jenni Bowlin and flowers and crystals from Prima and the paper is from Bo Bunny's Timeless Collection.

It would be great if you followed along and created a layout with the sketch here. Anam Stubbington designs the sketches and she does such a great job.

Have a great day!

Color

2011-10-24T13:31:00.001-06:00

I love color. It sets a mood and art wouldn't be art without color.

I like to challenge myself with color. I took this color pallette:

and made this:

I am normally a scrapbooker, but I am trying to explore new things so I am learning Mixed Media.

These colors are quite bright together, but I think I was able to pull off this challenge.

Sometimes it's good to get out of my comfort zone.

Hope you have a wonderful day and I have inspired you to be creative with color!

My Northern Lights She Art Girl

2011-10-18T10:48:00.001-06:00

Lately, I am very inspired by the colors of the sky. As I worked on this girl, it made me remember living in Northern Alberta and seeing the beautiful Northern Lights often. I wanted to try to create a girl with the Northern Lights.

She was a lot of fun to do. I wanted to add a bit more texture by adding a lacy belt and some sparkle.

So much fun! I can't wait to start the She Art Workshop 2 in November! But for now, I will explore the mixed media world, which is quite new to me.

Another She Art Girl

2011-10-16T20:31:00.002-06:00

For the past few months I have been scrapbooking, but sometimes get in a rut so I try something different. A few months ago I signed up for Christy Tomlinson's She Art Workshop. It is a mixed media class that she teaches online. I was hooked after making my first girl. Today I thought I would create another girl.

This is my fifth girl and I think she turned out well. I have now signed up for her She Art Workshop 2 online class which starts in November.

These girls are so much fun!!! I like adding a tiny bit of dimension by adding some pearls for a necklace and a little resin rose in her hair.

I like the fact that I can use patterned paper, stamps, paint, and rubons from my scrapbooking stash. If you haven't tried these, you will surprise yourself. You can find Christy's She Art Workshop here.

The colour palette for this girl was inspired by a sunrise that I woke up to one morning this week. It was like the sky was on fire and I had to grab my camera and capture this:

This photo was straight out of the camera with no tweaking. I do believe in making every day count and trying to take time to see the beauty in everyday things.

Have a wonderful week!

The Colour Suite Challenge

2011-10-15T21:08:00.001-06:00

I am working on an art journal at the moment and it's so much fun to get words out onto paper and get inky and messy with paint and other mediums.

Scrapbook and Cards Today Magazine has a monthly challenge. It's The Colour Suite Challenge. They give a palette of colours and it challenges me to get creative with the colours. I thought I would try it as I love all the colors. It almost looks like halloween colours. My page reads Be Bold...Live Out Loud.

You can find the link here: Why don't you play along?

Twisted Sketches Layout #123

2011-10-12T09:38:00.000-06:00

I love being on the Twisted Sketches Design Team. It is so cool to see how everyone comes up with a unique creation! It keeps my creativity flowing too. I loved this sketch as the twist was envelopes. I made my own envelope from black and white polka dot paper. Since we just celebrated Thanksgiving here in Canada last weekend, I thought this layout was appropriate. It is a layout on my youngest son who will be twelve years old this month. My other children are 26 and 24 and he is the one that is going to keep me young. Why don't you join the Twisted Sisters on Twisted Sketches and create your own unique layout? You can find the sketch at www.twistedsketches.org.

Have fun!

Loving My Pan Pastels

2011-10-11T09:42:00.002-06:00

Last week I went to an art supply store and bought some Pan Pastels and are they ever a lot of fun! Christy Tomlinson teaches an art journaling class and suggests these little pans of goodness. They are awesome! Pan Pastels can be used both wet or dry and they are wonderful. Here is a little tutorial I found on how to use them with card makers and scrapbookers in mind. I can't wait to collect them in every color because I can see using these often.

Scrap Time - Ep. 536 - Pan Pastels from Mark Giles on Vimeo.

Twisted Sketches Layout #121

2011-09-28T14:33:00.000-06:00

Today is the reveal of the Twisted Sketches Layout #121 on the Twisted Sketches blog. Why don't you play along with us? You can find the sketch here.

I loved doing this layout as I used Teresa Collins On The Edge Collection papers, brads and trims and also Maya Road Chipboard Letters, Corrugated Shapes and Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists. The border punch is actually the Dahlia shaped flower punch by EK Success.

Coffee Filters and Dryer Sheets?

2011-09-17T11:06:00.001-06:00

Yes, that's right. In this layout I had some fun with coffee filters and used fabric softener dryer sheets. They make great embellishments for layouts and the nice thing is that you can customize them to whatever color you want for your layouts. Don't forget to spray them with archival mists afterwards!

On this layout of my daughter and her husband on their wedding day, I made the ruffles and the tiny rosebuds from coffee filters sprayed with Tattered Angels Chalkboard Glimmer Mist in Polka Dot Pink and the larger pink flowers were made out of used fabric softener sheets, sprayed with Polka Dot Pink Glimmer Mist and outlined with Pink Stickles. All other embellishments are Prima.

This layout was so much fun to create. So go ahead and have fun experimenting with everyday items. Have a scrap happy day!

Twisted Sketches Layout #119

2011-09-14T09:10:00.001-06:00

I love designing layouts from Anam Stubbington's sketches. Here is one I created of my daughter Shannon with Graphic 45's Steampunk Debutante collection.

Come play along with the sketches. You will find the sketches here.

Have a great day!

Flower Punches

2011-09-09T10:18:00.005-06:00

Have you seen the new dimensional flower punches that are making their way into the papercraft stores? I absolutely love the new punches by EK Success. I bought the Dahlia shaped one yesterday and thought I would try it on a beachy layout. I thought it could double as the sun.

I used 12X12 sheets of cardstock and punch a strip of both orange and yellow cardstock to make this one. So fun! I can't wait to try the other three punches too. Oh the crafting possibilities! Check out this video:

The entire layout was made from the Echo Park Splash collection. Have a great day and thanks for popping by!

Twelve Years Ago I Married My Best Friend...

2011-09-05T09:22:00.001-06:00

Twelve years ago I married my best friend. He means the world to me and he has shown me what true happiness is.


Lee-Anne and Rick - September 5, 1999

I look forward to many more wonderful years with my bestie.

To celebrate our twelve years together, I made a layout of our wedding day:

I know it is quite girly, but I wanted to portray a garden layout with all the flowers and butterflies. I wanted the layout to have lots of dimension:

Now I will have to decide how to frame it and where to display it in our home.

Have a wonderful day!

Love Le Cirque

2011-09-04T12:50:00.000-06:00

Graphic 45 is my latest obsession and I am loving the vintage look right now. This layout of my daughter was created with the Le Cirque collection.

I distressed and inked the edges with Vintage Photo (Tim Holtz Distress Ink). I layered the photo and inked the edges of three doilies (Little Yellow Bicycle). I then used some vintage buttons (Jenni Bowlin) and adhered some black pearls (Prima) and finished the layout with a black flower (Petaloo) and some paper roses (Prima).

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day!

Twisted Sketches Layout #117

2011-09-01T09:21:00.000-06:00

The Twisted Sketches Layout #117 is posted on www.twistedsketches.org. Here was my submission this week for the sketch:

The twist for the layout was "long". My take was that I am looking forward to having a long and happy life together. I used Cosmo Cricket's Circa 38 Collection, Prima Flower, Kaisercraft Doily, Fiskars Scalloped Border Punch, Kaisercraft Pearls, Jenni Bowlin Vintage Buttons, Distress Inks Black Soot (Ranger) and Bazzill Cardstock.

Please check out Twisted Sketches and play along with us. Have a great day!

First Day Of Junior High School

2011-09-01T09:09:00.000-06:00

Well my youngest son went back to school on August 29. It was his first day of junior high school and first day being in grade seven. Where does the time go?

He really had the jitters, but it turned out to be a great day. It was really great that his dad was home to take him to school.

Another Graphic 45 Layout...

2011-08-23T12:44:00.000-06:00

This one is of my husband. It was taken last year and I thought that the "Le Cirque" Collection by Graphic 45 would be perfect for it.

Graphic 45, I think we may have a love affair happening, but don't tell my husband. He he he!

Have a scrap happy day!

Graphic 45 - First Layout

2011-08-22T09:51:00.000-06:00

I wanted to share a layout I did last week while I was away in Fort McMurray. This one is of my son and I this summer.

Graphic 45 Le Cirque Collection, Prima flower, Jenni Bowlin (Vintage Buttons), Cosmo Cricket (Red Letter Stickers) Graphic 45 ("Curtain Call" letter sticker), Maya Road (Journal Die Cut), twine, Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Black Soot, and Vintage)

I used the Graphic 45 Le Cirque collection. This is the first time I have ever tried Graphic 45 as I have always felt that it was out of my comfort zone. It was fun! I think I will have to try some more as I love their papers. Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Twisted Sketches Design Team Layout #115

2011-08-17T07:03:00.003-06:00

The sketch for layout #115 is posted today on www.twistedsketches.org for this week.

I loved doing this layout on my mom. I got to play with some flowers and bling that I bought from Prima and patterned papers from Kaisercraft. The twist was "clear" so my take on that was it was "clear" that my mom is a selfless, devoted person.

Check out the sketch on www.twistedsketches.org and play along. Just link your layout up and enter for a prize.

Have a great day!

Where Does The Time Go?

2011-08-16T09:44:00.000-06:00

Enjoying my time up in Fort McMurray. The weather is gorgeous this morning and I just finished dropping my husband Rick off at a course he is taking in town this week. It will be nice to have some wheels and go see my friend Tracy and her son Connor today for a visit.

This summer has gone by way too quickly and it's less than two weeks away from the beginning of a new school year for my youngest son Clayton, who is going into junior high this year. He is apprehensive about it, but I reassured him that it is normal to feel this way and that he will probably really enjoy it once he gets over the first day jitters. There will be lots of new things to experience and he can expand his horizons with options such as photography, computers, clubs, etc.

Today I also want to congratulate my oldest son and his wife as they are celebrating their third wedding anniversary today. Wow! Three years already. Where has the time gone? It was such a beautiful, hot day that day.

Also, my daughter and her husband just celebrated their first year wedding anniversary in May. I can't believe that two of my children are already married. One more to go....but that will be a while I'm sure.

Time just goes by way too quickly. That reminds me....my twelvth year anniversary is September 5. That's not even a month away! It has been the happiest twelve years of my life. Sure, we have our good days and not so good days but all in all I love being married to my best friend and I truly would marry him all over again.

Back In The Mac

2011-08-11T11:08:00.007-06:00

It's August and we are taking a trip north to Fort McMurray....this is a canola field about two hours south of Fort McMurray.

Canola field near Wandering River

Rick, Clay and I are spending the week together in Fort McMurray. Rick is employed here and I am grateful for the living that Fort McMurray provides for my family.

My Hubby Rick

These photos are from last summer and I plan on taking more this summer, but we just arrived so it will be later this week. Here is a photo of Rick getting off the bus to greet Clayton after work.

Greeting Dad As He Gets Off The Bus After His Shift

This is the nice lake we used to camp at and still visit. It's only 30 minutes south of Fort McMurray and it's a great place to spend a nice summer day.

Gregoire Lake

Just down from where my husband rents a basement suite there are these beautiful trails to walk, rollerblade or cycle on. They have recently put in exercise equipment along the trails. So cool! Time to get in shape so I can use them.

Birchwood Trails

Here is the home where we lived for five years. It was our first home and Clayton was just 19 months old when we moved there. We lived there until Clayton was in grade two. Now the home is for sale again. Unfortunately it is listed for a whopping price of $769,000! It's amazing how houses up here can quadruple in 10 years!

Our home from 2001-2006

Clayton and I hung out at one of the many spray parks

Waterways Spray Park

Here is my handsome boy, Clayton

We are looking forward to hanging with some great people. This is Tracy.

Tracy McKinnon

She is an amazing gal that is a school trustee, a radio station announcer for a family christian radio station here in Fort McMurray, and a great friend. This is Connor, Tracy's son.

Clayton and Connor

He is an awesome kid who is a terric baseball player. Clayton and Connor like to hang out, swim, go to movies and play video games.

Well there you have it. It's going to be another fun time in Fort McMurray and looking forward to hanging out with my husband and son, my peeps, going to the beach, taking photos, and maybe do some shopping.

I Made The Design Team!

2011-08-03T08:35:00.000-06:00

Yes I am very excited and honored to announce that I made the Twisted Sketches Design Team - Layouts! I am super stoked to work with all these talented ladies from all over the world. It looks like I am the only Canadian gal on the team. It is going to be fun! I will be creating layouts for Anam Stubbington's wonderful sketches. My term is from August 2011 to January 2012.

In order to try out for the team, a sketch was provided from Anam and the twist was "vintage". Here was my take:

Back In Time

My husband and I love cars so we are in our local Camaro club and also attend car shows. This was one of the classic cars in the last World Of Wheels show that we attended. I love taking photos of cars.

I pulled out some October Afternoon "5 and Dime" papers and embellishments for this layout and layered, inked and machine stitched this layout.

Looking so forward to the next six months and meeting all the designers. Thanks Anam!

Some Quick, Simple Layouts

2011-08-02T15:14:00.000-06:00

I did these two layouts before work yesterday. They were quick to pull together once I had an idea what I wanted to create. These are of my youngest son Clayton, who is the baby of the family. There is a fifteen year span between my oldest son and my youngest son, Clayton. Yes, he is a bit spoiled, but he is my last child and I have learned to not sweat the small stuff. I enjoy his company because my older two are married and live a few hours away and with all the shift workers in my family, it is a challenge to see them, especially all at once.

Here are the two layouts:

I hand cut the "fries" freehand. I bet you can't guess what the "M" stands for. They are our favorite french fries hands down!

Hope you have a great day!

Oh and come back tomorrow because I have some exciting news to share.

Some More Summer Layouts

2011-07-31T15:38:00.000-06:00

Finding time to scrapbook these days is getting to be a challenge with my new job and all the other responsibilities. It has taken a big bite out my creativity, but I am determined to keep on trying to find the balance. The last thing I want to happen is to lose my passion for this wonderful art of scrapbooking. I think I am going to have to evaluate what makes me happy and what is important to me. Time is such a precious thing and I can not rush my creativity. It needs to flow and when I get too busy it tends to go away. Today, I wanted to scrapbook, no matter what else came up. Sometimes a person has to make the time for what they love and enjoy. I definitely am in a rut with my layouts, but I wanted to focus more on the photos in these layouts. I enjoy photography about as much as I enjoy scrapbooking. They are both things that a person can never stop learning and practicing.

My summer vacation was spent this year in Osoyoos, B.C. Canada. It is such a great place to unwind. I love low light photography and we had the perfect place to stay. It was on the third floor and it overlooked Osoyoos Lake. I waited until dark and snuck out with my tripod and my 70-200 mm lens to capture the night lights.

I really like the way the lights reflected on the lake in this photo, but I am not too sure what I think of this layout, but it is done and that is that.

One day we went to the Osoyoos Waterslides and Clayton had a blast. I captured this photo with my Iphone 4. It isn't the best quality, but I liked that he put his thumbs up when he was coming off of the slide. It was just at the right moment. In the layout, I used bright, summer colors and papers from Bo Bunny.

Hope you find time to do what you enjoy today! Have a wonderful day!

Rose Colored Glasses....

2011-07-29T13:47:00.002-06:00

Today on Facebook, I came across these colored jars that a person can make themselves. Carolyn shows how you can color glass jars with Modge Podge and food coloring. What an awesome idea!

It brings me back to my childhood when my grandma would have me over for little "tea parties". She would take out her rose colored goblets and fill them with milk or juice along with her baked cookies or delicious brownies. I can't wait to try these! Thanks Carolyn for the inspiration!

So Excited!!!

2011-07-27T12:08:00.000-06:00

Tonight, at the local scrapbook store that I am employed at, we are having some amazing, talented ladies coming to share their talents with us. Ingvild Bolme, an extremely talented artist from Norway, will be teaching two classes in our store. Tonight it is a layout class and tomorrow night is a mini album class. Trisha Ladouceur, another extremely talented artist from Canada, will also be there doing some make and takes with the customers. Prima, I love your products! If you are in the Calgary area, please be sure and stop by.

Oh I love my job!!!

Summer Vacation 2011

2011-07-21T12:27:00.000-06:00

For the past three years we have enjoyed our vacations in the Okanagan. We enjoy the hot, dry weather, the beautiful lakes, the orchards where we like to pick fresh fruit such as cherries and peaches, the vineyards and the laid back lifestyle.

We usually rent a villa or townhome every year and stay in Osoyoos, which is the most southern part of the Okanagan Valley. Here is is the only desert in Canada and there are certain types of plants that only grow here that don't grow in other parts of Canada. We are usually guaranteed to have nice weather. Here is a photo from our balcony in the late evening:

It is time to go out and spend the day on the air mattresses on the lake and watch the clouds roll by. More photos to follow. Have a wonderful day!

Rock On...

2011-07-10T10:11:00.002-06:00

Sometimes I love to totally let go with my layouts and let the creativity flow. This layout is a perfect example of letting it flow. I love when I get this mojo. It doesn't happen all the time but I look at this photo of my son and it makes me smile. He bought a fedora in the Dominican Republic last year and he went through a phase where he had to wear it everywhere. We were in vacation with my brother and his family last year in Osoyoos and he wore it there too. Doesn't the shades just complete the look?

Smash Journal Craze

2011-07-09T08:49:00.002-06:00

I'm sure there are a lot of scrapbookers out there that have some sort of a journal that they put pics and ideas in.

Smash Journals by K and Company are taking the world by storm. I suppose you could say they are like Pinterest where there are lots of artsy ideas but you get to put them in a journal for your own safekeeping. I found this video on YouTube and it explains the Smash Journals:

http://youtu.be/_PFsArr4Z1s

Or check out the blog:

http://www.smashstoriesblog.com/2011/02/whole-sheboygan.html

Now to go and get one. That's if a person can find one. Have a smashing day!

More Bright Summer Layouts

2011-07-08T20:10:00.002-06:00

These days I am on a kick to scrapbook bright colored layouts. These are both from our summer vacation last year in Osoyoos, B.C.

10 Things I Love About Summer - "Sweet Summertime" by Little Yellow Bicycle

I love how Little Yellow Bicycle have these pockets with little tickets. I wrote on each ticket one thing that I love about summer. They are:

sleeping in
lazy days
sundresses
vacation
the beach
fruit stands
fresh fruit
coffee on the deck
ice cream
barbeques

I took out the sewing machine this week and although the stitching is perfectly imperfect, it will have to do. I just think it gives these layouts a little more pizzaz.

Summer Fun - "Popsicle" by Bo Bunny Press

Buttons are something that I love to embellish layouts with and I am also loving the new colored twine. I hope I have inspired you to scrapbook your summer photos. Have a great night!

Sweet Summertime

2011-07-07T16:04:00.001-06:00

Little Yellow Bicycle has a fun, bright summery collection called Sweet Summertime. It is chock full of vibrant colors that scream summer.

It's been a while since I have stitched on my layouts so I pulled out my ancient sewing machine today and stitched on my layout. I cut out some lemons and stitched a banner to make it look like the rays of the sun. The chipboard elements are great for embellishing the layout.

As a scrapbooker that tends to scrapbook seasonally, I thought it would be good to scrap this during the summer. I am happy with the results.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Canada Rocks!

2011-07-01T16:31:00.001-06:00

Today is Canada Day and I am so proud to be a Canadian. I love everything about my country and I feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful, free country.

Rail Car

Store Window For Canada Day

Tonight there are Canada Day fireworks that are going to be happening at 10 p.m. local time so I have been getting the batteries charged up and all the equipment ready. My husband and son are going to join in the fun and it will be great to compare photos.

My Fireworks Photo From July 1, 2010

Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians!

Flaming Skies

2011-06-30T12:30:00.000-06:00

Last night the sky was amazing. I captured this photos at about 10 p.m., just when the sun was starting to go down. I am loving my new camera for the low light capabilities.

Tomorrow is Canada Day and I am planning on getting outside and viewing the local fireworks display. It will be fun to practice taking some photos of fireworks. Have a wonderful day!

Summer Layouts

2011-06-30T11:56:00.000-06:00

Sizzlin Hot Summer (A layout on Osoyoos, B.C, Canada)

Clayton's New Bike

I have been getting inspired to do some summer layouts from one of my favorite websites Two Peas In A Bucket. At the moment they have an event happening called "Snap and Scrap Your Summer".

I love all the bright colors for summer and got busy creating with some older Bo Bunny papers. The colors and papers are perfect for these. I am on a real kick with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists and Tattered Angels Chalkboard Mists. On these layouts I used the Marigold and Tiger Lily glimmer mists. Fun, fun, fun!

If anyone knows of a way to prevent my papers from curling when using the mists, please let me know. I had to put big books on the above two page layout as the corners curled up after the misting.

Two page layouts are out of the norm for me, but thought I would give one a try. It definitely gives it more of a flowing feel to the story of the page as I wanted to showcase my photos of Osoyoos.

Have a wonderful summer day!

Battling The Weight

2011-06-28T21:30:00.001-06:00

Since December, 2010 I have been attending Weight Watcher's meetings. It isn't anything new because this is the third attempt on trying to get down to a decent body weight. Like many adults, I have had weight issues since the birth of my youngest son. He is now 11. It all started with a pregnancy in my late thirties, and adding to that quitting a package and a half cigarette habit just before the pregnancy and then after the birth of my son I mysteriously gained thirty pounds in a matter of three months. That is when it was discovered that I had hypothyroidism. To treat hypothyroidism, I was prescribed Synthroid, which is a synthetic drug. So what is my excuse for being overweight now? Well my metabolism has slowed down considerably and I am an emotional eater. The first attempt to get the weight off was in 2001. It took me a gruelling 14 months, but I managed to lose 60 pounds. I became dissatisfied with the weight loss as my doctor wanted me to lose 90 pounds and the weight just was not coming off. I would go to my meetings week after week and I know I was losing inches as my clothes were fitting well, but the scale was not moving. Discouraged, I gave up.

The second time, was in 2007 that I went back to Weight Watchers and managed to lose thirty pounds. I worked out faithfully everyday, tracked everything I ate in a journal. I was happy with how I felt and I came to the conclusion that I was never going to be really slim, but as long as I was healthy that was my main goal.

After a while, I slipped into my old habits and eventually gained the weight back. In December 2010, after gaining all of it back I started back at Weight Watchers for the third time with the inspiration from my doctor who was also attending meetings after the birth of her child. It was nice to know doctors are real and they struggle just like the rest of us. I really admired her, because she practices what she preaches.

This time I have been attending meetings for 6 months and tonight I reached my 5%, which doesn't sound like a significant amount but hey, if I hadn't gone to meetings at all, I would have either gained or not lost at all.

Weight loss for me is one of my biggest obstacles in life but I have realized that I have to accept the fact that I am only human and that I love to cook and I love to eat. I have accepted that I will never be the slim person I once was because when I was slim, I didn't eat healthy. Now, I live a much healthier lifestyle, even though I'm overweight. My blood pressure, blood sugar and cholestrol are at healthy levels and I can enjoy all that life has to offer so why stress about weight? We only live once and I plan on keeping on this weight loss journey, but I am not going to beat myself up over every little bite. I am going to do my best and give myself a hug. I have realized that for me, if I am balanced in body, mind and spirit, I can achieve great things. It is a struggle for me because of my circumstances and now that I am self aware of what I need to do to change my circumstances, the weight loss isn't going to be speedy. Weight loss at my age now isn't about vanity, it is about getting healthy and having more energy and confidence and knowing that I can have more quality in my daily life.

I can only do what I can do and I know that the people in my life that love me, love me for me. They support me in the good times and the bad times. Sure, I would like to be that slim girl that my husband met thirteen years ago, but it isn't going to happen. My husband knows I struggle and he knows I try. He loves me anyway. I'm on a mission to get healthy and that's what I am striving for. It is going to be a day at a time. It's going to be baby steps....

Wild Thang

2011-06-27T19:58:00.000-06:00

My cat Asia loves to play in boxes. Especially the box I use to spray my glimmer mists. I don't know a cat that doesn't love boxes or bags. I created this layout because she can be a wild thing. Bo Bunny has a new collection called "Zoology" and even though it really is for zoo animals, my Asia is a bit of a tiger. I used several products in this layout and also stamped the tiger and colored it with Copic Markers and glazed it with Ranger's Glossy Accents. The brown cardstock was sprayed with Chalkboard Mist by Tattered Angels and the stencil is "Zebra" by Crafter's Workshop.

Where Does The Time Go?

2011-06-27T07:50:00.000-06:00

My daughter is turning 24 today and I can't believe it! This photo above is when she turned 18 and it just seems like yesterday. So much life has been lived in six short years. She has graduated from high school, worked as an operating room technician in a major hospital, got married, and now just finished her first year of nursing.

Shannon is a trooper and has always been such a joy to me with her sweet personality, her sense of humor and her positive attitude. I love you Shannon! Have a wonderful day!

Roar!

2011-06-25T12:00:00.002-06:00

My son, who recently went on a grade six field trip to the zoo, took some photos of some of the wild animals. I loved this tiger and thought I'd create a layout with the new Bo Bunny "Zoology" collection.

It was fun to do and I used a few different elements such as sequins, fibers from Basic Grey's "Archaeic" collection, buttons from Basic Grey's "Granola" collection, mosaic tiles from Harmonie and a corrugated tree that I painted from Jillibean Soup.

I really was impressed with my son's photo and as he goes to junior high school next year, he will be trying new options such as photography. I think it will be so good for him.

This makes me want to visit the zoo. How about you?

So Proud

2011-06-24T14:40:00.000-06:00

My youngest son is finishing grade six and his school had a farewell mass and ceremony to celebrate the occasion.

I am such an emotional person and I kept on feeling a tear roll down my face. I remember when we moved here in grade two and now he has just completed grade six and he will be going to junior high school next year. Wow! Life goes by way too fast.

Some of my photos are a bit blurry as I am using manual settings on my camera and it's still a challenge for me in lower light situations, but it just takes practice, practice and more practice. Here are some of Clayton's special day:

Clayton's goes to such an awesome school and the teachers are wonderful. The highlight of the mass was when the cute little grade one students sang a farewell song to them. I loved it!

My New Camera! The Canon EOS 7D!

2011-06-23T20:15:00.001-06:00

It was time to upgrade my camera so I headed down to Saneal Camera, located in Calgary at the Southcentre Mall. They are very knowledgeable and John always takes care of our photography needs.

I am very happy with my Canon EOS 30D, but wanted more ISO flexibility and more frames per second continuous shooting and the full HD video is a real bonus. I have been eyeing the Canon EOS 7D for about a year now, but wanted to know my first DSLR camera very well before upgrading to my new 7D. All my lenses are compatible with my new camera body too!

It will be great to capture some video of my son's Grade Six Farewell tomorrow at my church and also with vacation coming up it is the perfect time. Now to let the battery charge up and try to sneak in a few "golden hour" photos.

What's going to be really nice is that my husband and I can go out to the mountains and he can use the 30D while I use my 7D. It's going to be double the fun! My son went to the zoo on a field trip today and took some great photos of the tigers with his point and shoot. He will be taking photography classes at school next year in grade 7 so I'm sure he will enjoy it too! We will be the family of shutterbugs!

Enjoy your evening!

Some Free Online Classes!

2011-06-21T09:54:00.006-06:00

I don't know about you, but whenever I can save money and take classes for free, I'm all over it. I tend to learn better with online classes when I'm in the comfort of my own home and don't have to feel stressed about keeping up with the rest of the class. I am a visual learner and I like to take my time and not be rushed. Want to know my best kept secret? I like to watch online photography or photo editing classes on CreativeLive and if you watch it live, it is absolutely free! After the live class, you can purchase the course and go over it and rewind it as many times as you like. I have taken two online courses in the past year through CreativeLive and it has helped me grow in my photography and photo editing skills.

Photography and photo editing are two areas where there is always room for improvement and since I have mastered the workings of my camera, now it is time to move on to the "digital darkroom" to make those photos pop more.

It is such a lovely day today, but this is something I don't want to miss so I'll be hanging out on my computer and watching Lesa Snider make sense of Photoshop Elements 9 and then maybe spend tonight photographing some landscapes to put my new photo editing skills into practice.

Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe for Royal Raspberry Cake

2011-06-20T23:30:00.001-06:00

Royal Raspberry Cake

I had a few people ask for the recipe for Royal Raspberry Cake that I posted earlier. Here it is:

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Royal-Raspberry-Cake?refurl=&_mid=455702&_rid=455702.1304955633.7576

I bet you can't stop at one piece! Enjoy!

Baking On The Last Day Of Spring

2011-06-20T13:10:00.002-06:00

It hasn't really felt like spring here in Alberta, Canada but the first day of summer starts tomorrow. I really don't enjoy cooking or baking as much in the summer except for grilled fare and cooking with berries. The raspberries, blueberries and strawberries are coming into season and I couldn't resist baking my usual Royal Raspberry Cake. It is so delicious and very low in fat.

Measure 3 and 1/2 cups of fresh or frozen raspberries, thawed.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes

Let cool on cooling rack for 5 minutes

Drizzle with icing

Enjoy! It's best warm and also excellent with vanilla ice cream.

If anyone is interested in this recipe, let me know. Have a wonderful last day of Spring!

She Art Girl No. 4 - My Modern Girl

2011-06-19T14:30:00.001-06:00

There are lots of things happening in my life right now and this She Art Girl is a tad busy, but it depicts the busy and chaotic life I have right now. I first started with some notes, drawings and cards that my two sons, my daughter, and my husband have given me and Mod Podged them on my canvas. I then painted and inked on top of them so it may not be visible, but it has some personal meaning to me.

She Art Girl #4 - Modern Girl

She Art girls are so much fun and I am looking forward to the next online course that Christy Tomlinson is offering. I signed up for "She Has Three Hearts" which is an art journaling class taught by the funny, adorable Christy Tomlinson. It starts in July.

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T12:52:00.001-06:00

I love my dad

and I love my husband.

They deserve a day to be honored. I had to share this video.

http://youtu.be/DOKuSQIJlog

Hope all you dads out there have a wonderful day!

Cute Mixed Media Album

2011-06-15T20:21:00.000-06:00

Prima has done it again! This mixed media album is super cute and looks like so much fun. It is my new interest besides scrapbooking. I can't wait to try this!

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/15388870

What Am I Doing Right Now...

2011-06-15T13:59:00.000-06:00

Right Now > June 15

Right now (at 1:51 p.m.) I am...

listening: to the silence
eating: nothing
drinking: nothing
wearing: black "New York" top and black pants
feeling: happy and excited
wanting: to go to the grocery store
needing: a weekend away to do some scrapbookng
thinking: it would be great if my older kids lived closer so I could see them more often
enjoying: the peace and quiet before my youngest son comes home from school
learning: to juggle a new part-time job with all the home responsibilities
wondering: when I'll get time to create some art or layouts
procrastinating: changing the sheets on the guest room bed
loving: my new job
anticipating: our summer vacation with my husband and youngest son as we need more family time.

What's happening in your life RIGHT NOW?