Sunday, November 30, 2008

December Photo-a-Day


I'll be joining Izzy, Diane and Jo in this challenge of a Photo-a-Day for the entire month of December. I know I'll have lots of opportunities to take some fun pictures this month. I'm planning on making a little album in the new year with all the pictures too. Posting each photo here will help me stay organized and I'll be able to scrap each photo chronologically. If I'm super organized I'm going to try and digi scrap each photo to post on my blog. Hope you'll stop by and visit. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's photos too! Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Christmas Swaps with the Scrapaholics




Check out these adorable Christmas cards, gift cards and tags from my Scrapaholic buddies. These women have some serious talent! I don't know if I can part with them this season lol I just finished taking photos of everyone's creations to keep in my Scrapaholics album that I made up at Timberline last weekend. They will really add that speical touch to this year's gift giving!

Close To My Heart Card Kit



Isn't this a cute little card kit from Close To My Heart? I purchased this kit from my friend Jenn who is a CTMH consultant. I love their scrapbooking kits and have several of their scrapbooking kits but I had to post these pictures of these cute little cards. I had so much fun putting them together. I love embellishents so I used some pop dots, stickles, eyelets and buttons to add just that little bit extra. These were super fast and easy to make! I can't wait to get some more. A perfect little project for a rainy afternoon.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Back from Timberline Ranch


and Ohhhhh! What fun! Diane put on another fabulous Get Creative Scrapbooking Company retreat for us Srapaholics! I had a glorious 20 minute massage and spent the entire weekend scrapbooking with my buddies. I completed an entire album of 25 layouts. This album has taken on a life of it's own and I will treasure it and all the memories of my time with the Scrapaholic gals. The last page of the album is an "autograph" page....I called it the "Hall of Fame" and already some of the girls have written such lovely messages to me. I'm planning on brining it to the Crop-a-mas to have the rest of the girls sign it. I've been scrapping with Izzy, Iris and Patty for over six years already! I'm waiting for my issue of Canadian Scrapbooker magazine to arrive so I can include Izzy's and Diane's published layouts in the page I've dedicated to Published Scrapaholics. I've already got Jo's in there. I thought I might take pictures of some of the swaps we've done together and dedicate a page for that too. I'm just having so much fun with this album! Like I said...it kind of took on a life of it's own this weekend and I will continue to add to it with more memories of the special times I share with my scrapbooking diva girlfriends.

Anyway, besides being thrilled with what I created at Timberline, I'd like to thank Diane once again for putting on such a wonderful retreat. We had SO much fun! Her high energy and creative ideas kept us all laughing and enjoying ourselves from the moment we arrived until the time we had to leave. Haley won the 50/50 draws twice! Twice! Lots of the women went home with some great prizes from the "Pass the Hat" tradition and Iris came in second in Diane's new game this year, "Pass the Horse", a game similar to musical chairs. The "One Kit, Many Looks" produced some amazing creations and I was the lucky winnder of a beautiful stylin Making Memories leather tote in the "Toss the Twoonie" game. I LOVE it! A few of the gals went horse back riding and I spent at least an hour taking pictures on Sunday morning. It was chilly but I think I caputed some fabulous shots of the morning frost and the beautiful scenery. Thanks again Diane for such a great weekend! It was even better than your last one and I'll be signing up again for April 2009. If you haven't attended one of Diane's retreats, you really should! You will not be disappointed!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Indulge Me......


The results are in and apparently I've earned the title of Scrapahlic Queen over at Scrapaholics! Allow me to brag won't you? lol My moment of fame! Izzy tallied the votes and over the past 8 weeks I received 44 votes for the layouts I submitted. It was a very close race with Haley receiving 42 votes! She must have missed a week because she is one amazing scrapper! Jo came in second (another truly talented artist!) Everyone that participated in these challenges did such beautiful layouts! I was inspired by all the creativity and talent. To be honest, I forgot about the wonderful prize that I will be receiving and really got caught up in the challenges and stretching my imagination and stepping outside my usual scrapping style which is what it was all about. Izzy put on a top notch challenge and worked so hard at motivating us all to try something new. Be sure to check out Jo's and Haley's layouts on their blogs, they are gorgeous!

At the Crop-a-mas, I will be presented with a 1 year subscription to Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine, a Basket of Scrapbook Supplies ($50 value), a Basket of Spa Products ($50 value) and Scrapaholic Queen bragging rights! lol I have always thought about how exciting it would be to be published but never really thought too seriously about pursuing it. I have to admit, it would be very cool to see one of my layouts in print. Izzy, Jo and Diane have all been published in Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine. Maybe one day I'll join them? I certainly feel inspired now to give it a shot. A special thank you to everyone who voted for me and a great big thank you to Izzy for all of her hard work in making the last 8 weeks so much fun and for the wonderful prize she has so thoughtfully put together for us all! I feel honoured to be a part of such an amazing group of women. We're all winners in my books!

And the Winner Is...............

Jadranka! Congratulations Jadranka! Emily pulled your name tonight. I'm pretty sure you're coming to the Crop-a-mas so I'll bring your Xmas Red Stickles then. Thanks for playing everyone! I'm planning on doing a few more "Just for Fun" draws for scrappin goodies, so hope you'll all check back and play again!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Have I mentioned...


how much I love Stampin Up recently? lol I just got some of their gorgeous Ski Slope DP and made this cute little snowman card with all of my favourite colours, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip and Real Red. The felt Alpine ribbon is gorgeous and is from their Holiday Mini Catalogue along with the Ski Slope DP. I did a ribbon swap with my SU demonstrator, Sue and our Smee's Bees Card Club and am playing with all the new holiday ribbons. They're all so beautiful! This one is definitely a favourite! I think I am going to have to order some more!

My friend Sue C. from Scrapaholics just signed on as an independent demonstrator with SU and is such a lovely and talented woman. I'm really happy for her! She also makes some amazing jewelry! Check out her blog here. Congratulations again Sue!

Today I went to a crop at Jo's with my Scrapaholic buddies and on Friday, I'm heading off to Timberline again. This will be my second time there. Diane, with Get Creative Scrapbooking puts on such a fabulous retreat and I can't wait for Friday to get here! I'm so excited! Only 5 more sleeps!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Just for Fun...


I enjoyed Diane's idea of posting for a little give away. I was lucky enough to win a cute set of Christmas rub ons from her. So....here's mine.

I'm going to do a random draw for a new bottle of Xmas Red Stickles. All you have to do is post a comment as to what Scrapbooking tool you could just not live without. I'll draw the winner's name next Thursday night, November 20th, and I can bring it with me to Timberline if you'll be attending, otherwise I'll get it to you another way. :o)

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Check This Out!

I just received a link from my mom to an amazing slide show of pictures of the Obama family watching the election returns and then celebrating the victory with the Bidens. There are some truly amazing photographs in this worth seeing. If you're interested, click here to check it out. Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Copic Markers Class with Marianne Walker

On Sunday night me and the girls attended a Copic Marker class taught by Marianne Walker, product specialist for Copic and hosted by Haroldine from Be Creative. Haroldine and her family own the cutest little store out in Pitt Meadows and I highly recommend you go visit it. Haroldine carries an extensive line of Copics and is a lovely lady who really takes care of her customers! You can get a hold of her at becreative@pacificcoast.net After our class we all went back to her store to do a little shopping and then out for dinner. We had a great time and learned a lot! Thanks Sue for inviting me to Marianne's class, driving us all out and for sharing your photos! Below are some of the photos that Sue and I took from our class.

Here's a little card I made tonight with my Copics. Clearly I need more practice to get that shading technique down. But Ohhhhhhh, what a ton of fun! Can't wait to have some more time to play again soon!

A Day of Remembrance


In a few moments, I will stop to remember all those who have sacrificed so very much to protect our freedoms. I will remember the families of those who have served and who are still serving. I will remember the soldiers who didn't make it home. I will remember our brave Canadians who are now overseas, away from their families and I will remember our fellow Americans. I will pray for peace, tolerance and I will pray for everyone's loved ones to return home safely.

As I stood looking out my window, observing the stillness of the ocean and the pristene white seagull that circled in front my studio window and listened to the sound of silence, I sensed a feeling of hope and a chance for peace in our troubled world.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Good Morning Autumn!


Look what greeted me this morning on my balcony. Isn't she beautiful?!

Challenge #8....Our Last One


Our last challenge over at Scrapaholics was to create a Boho Chic layout, which is similar to Shabby Chic only with more of a natural flair. Izzy's instructions were to try and encorporate the following in our layouts: earth tones, natural embellishments such as leather, tiny wood beads, natural fibers and also swirls, paisley, embroidery and hand stitching. This is what I came up with. I'm really going to miss these challenges! Everyone has done such a wonderful job! It's really gotten me to step outside the box, try new things and get some layouts done. I really hope we can do it again soon! Stay tuned for the results...

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Copics & Creative Expo

What a fabulous weekend I'm having! I'm so excited to be going to Haroldine's with Be Creative out in Pitt Meadows tomorrow night to take a class with Marianne Walker to learn how to use my Copic Markers to their full potential! Marianne is a Graphic Designer and the Product Specialist for Copic markers and an incredible artist! Just check out her blog!

Yesterday I went to BC's Creative Expo downtown with Izzy, Diane, Susan and Haley and took two fabulous classes with Trisha Ladouceur, Altered Chipboard and Just Me, an acrylic album project. This is the first acrylic album class I've ever taken and I am hooked. I love the look of these beautiful little albums. I'll post a photo of my finished project as soon as I complete it. Of course I did some shopping too and picked up some more fun goodies to play with! I even got my picture taken with one of Canadian Scrapbooker's founding editors Katharina Doyle. Check out some of the photos below of our day.

I spent the day today re-organizing my studio and updating my blog. I just finished posting some more photos of some recent projects I've completed. I have a HUGE To Do list to get through but am feeling a little more organized. I seem to have gotten a big burst of energy today so I'm off to work on my SYTYCS Boho Chic Challenge that's due tomorrow night. I hope I can keep up this pace at least until I pick up my B6 and B12 vitamins lol


Canvas Layout


Here's another project I just recently finished as a gift for my boss. I took a canvas class back in October with Kristen at Shelley's ScrapArts over in North Vancouver. We made two cute little canvas projects which inspired me to make this one as a gift for Christmas. I know I'll be making more of these!

More from Crop for Kids


I'm slowly getting through all my projects from Crop for Kids. Here's another project I made in Cari Locken's Dates to Celebrate class. I loved this project and the gorgeous paper from Upsy Daisy Design. Don't you think these would make great little gifts?

This little Altered Tin Album project was in my goodie bag from Crop4Kids. I didn't make it into the Accordion Album that it was meant to be as you can see but thought it would make a cute little Christmas gift for someone special. All they need to do is add their own photos to the little pages.


Thursday, November 6, 2008

Wow! What an Amazing Time in History!


Can you believe it? Barack Obama, the 44th President Elect of the United States. An African American, an anti-war hero, a man of the people for the people, a man of integrity. There is much to clean up Mr. Obama, but I have faith you are the man to do it. It is time for change and the voice of the people clearly made their voices heard. Congratulations to all my American friends. We now have a chance for peace, a chance for our environment, a chance for our economy and a chance to stamp out hate and racism. Congratulations to the American people for making the right decision!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

More Photos from Hallowe'en Night

Here's some of Izzy's photos that she took from our Halloween evening together. It was a great night! Thanks for sharing Izzy. I'm definitely scrapping some of these!


Sunday, November 2, 2008

So You Think You Can Scrap Challenge #7




So I thought I was going to have a hard time with this layout. In fact, I procrastinated all week starting it but boy did I have fun once I got going! For those of you who know me well, I'm a bit of a perfectionist and somewhat of a neat freak so for me to get dirty and rip, tear and use unconventional items such as a beer can on my layout lol, is not really something I would normally do! I have a pretty good stash of Tim Holtz' distress ink, grunge board and hardware but haven't used much of it, mostly because I've been a little intimidated. Thanks to Izzy and this week's Urban Grunge Challenge, I finally pulled out my stash and gave it a go. I'm hooked! Does it ever end????

After I finished this layout, I took some pictures and played a little more with my Canon Digital point and shoot. Izzy taught me some great tricks, one being how to use the digital macro feature. I love what you can do with it! Thanks again Izzy for the photography lesson! I've now found my manual and am planning on reading everything this little baby can do! Hubby is really pleased too and I think Izzy just made a new best friend because now I'm not so determined to go out and buy a new SLR! He thinks I'll save my money, but really it just means I have more to spend on scrapbooking goodies instead! Once I really learn how to use my current camera I think it will serve me quite well. At least for a little while longer lol.