delight

i am so thankful that the weather has been cooperative lately. i love that i could wear shorts today! i remember it being this warm two years ago. although we did not really get a fall that year. so far there are a lot of nice colours on the trees. this week is less crazy than the past few weeks, and the weather is forecast to be nice. i hope to get out and get some photos!

i was a bit late on the tag challenge this month. i should have been more on top of my game, September can be so crazy and i had added one more project to my list this year. just a tiny playground survey for our community. who knew it would take triple the time i had allotted?!!

my challenge was to use recycling. could be one item to all of it. at least that is what i thought i had said! i made a first version that my family thought was nice. i did not agree. not even a photo...it went to the garbage! i liked my next version better once it was done.



old paper bags from Urban Scrapbook. well, one actually. torn and rolled and inked and stamped.

pages from my favourite dictionary. the bird is from a Bernard Callebaute box of chocolates. yummmm..... and some old scrabble pieces. i was thrilled that i had the letters for the initials of all the girls. i sanded them, then inked them.

my hands were orange from the ink and perfect pearl mist that i used to colour the ribbon. i managed to get it all off in minutes using my Ranger Craft Scrubbie. love that thing.

in the end i was pleased with how it turned out. and the other tags? i have to take a photo of them all. they were amazing. i'm proud of what the girls did. however, we all agreed that it was a difficult task at the time. all the NEW and exciting products were arriving at the store...and we had to raid our boring recycle boxes for this project. if you take this challenge...try it around the middle of January or July.

i taught the first of my two September Year in Review layout classes this weekend. that entire line of paper from We are Memory Keepers is one of the best fall product lines. i thought it was neat that the amazing Laura Denison also thought so. she created this entire mini album using the paper products. check out the video below:



she hosts upstream video tutorials as well. this one can be ordered from her and then she teaches you how to create it with a video.

and the next class layout is ready to be seen. yahoooo! it is great to actually be ahead of schedule on something.

here is a sneak peak....



i'll share the rest of it on Friday.

i also have a tutorial to share this week. but i have to finish my design team project first. i am excited about this one! no layout, but a project instead. it has been a lot of fun.

well off to rest for tomorrow and enjoy the Amazing Race. (my most favourite way to travel these days....lots to see and experience....without spending a cent. i don't get too caught up in the drama, but find myself dreaming about the various destinations the teams travel to. my husband and i always end up discussing whether we could enjoy being a contestant on that show. tough to look your best under pressure for such a long time.)

free to dream

i was really needing to put together another layout just for me. secretly i always hope that one layout actually means 3 or 5! but i know i can't put them together that fast. one is always better than zero. for me.

i was so inspired by the deep colours Jan got on her Pink Paislee artisan elements. one day i got out a few of my own elements and tested out other methods of getting colour.

i did create a fantastic one using caramel, reds and greens.....but had no 'perfect' paper to go with it!

i used the new Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze and loved how it looked. deep and rich, yet you can easily wipe it away on this product. well, not completely. but you get just a bit of the colour. basically more control than with alcohol inks. and i didn't have a purple alcohol ink to go with my glaze. i added even more glitter with some Stickles. i just rubbed it across the surface and the glitter stuck in the crevices.

being lazy i did not want to go and find a new photo and go to the trouble of printing it. confession! instead i looked through my 'extras' and found one that sort of matched the purple.

then i needed to find some purple paper. not a usual colour for me to use. i had a few sheets. but then i was totally stumped. i was beginning to think that i would need to move on to a third option.

instead i took a break and had a whim to visit the Colour Room. they have the colour palette and a sketch for a starting point. i was shocked when they had purple as one of the colours. then shocked out of my chair when i saw they had other colours that i had on my desk....grey and yellow. no way!

i don't usually use sketches. and when i do, i tend to not follow them well. which pretty much eliminates me from any team that requires a sketch to be followed exactly! haha!!




they are on palette #28. i am not sure if i would have been comfortable trying this combination on my own. but i like how it all looks together. thank you Little Yellow Bicycle! i'm glad i ended up picking up this set.



i had these glittered scrolls left over from another project and thought they worked nice here. even if they were not the same. there were a few leftovers here that i was happy to use up! you can also see the glitter glam on the artisan elements here. i am in love with their most recent set.



when i showed the layout to my daugher {who is only 4 years old} i asked her opinion.

mistake?

she says, "i don't like it."

then she points to a layout i did a few years ago and tells me she likes that better.

to risk destroying all my self confidence in one blow, i am going to choose to believe that she simply prefers the colour PINK. this week. PURPLE is just not good. this week.

yeah. let's go with that thought.

in this corner

here is a sneak peak of my next class....





have i mentioned before that Basic Grey is one of my favourite companies? and this 2 page layout is packed with them!


i've also been doing some more experimenting with the Radiant Rain by Luminarte. i discovered a similarity to watercolour paint. the first adult art class i took (and i know i have mentioned it before!) was a watercolour class by Francis Alty-Arscott. it was very humbling when i learned that she was a well-known and a professional artist. so silly when i think back on it.... she was amazing with the brush. but she also was a great mentor to all of us, reminding us constantly that art cannot be repeated exact. i took a lot of what i learned and applied it to my art classes with my elementary students - back in the day! did i just get side tracked again? focus, focus, focus!

so, this paint is like a shimmery watercolour paint. or a mist. it all depends. as it turns out a decent watercolour brush, paper towel and a splash mat will do wonders.

another variation i tested with the paints:

shake your bottle well. then pour out a teaspoon of the paint onto your splashmat. i know this sounds silly, but let it sit for a few seconds and watch what happens. the colour settles to the bottom. stir it up with your paintbrush and the colour returns. you will have to do this when you return to the puddle for more of the paint.

just as with watercolour, add water to lighten it. you can also mix colours and create new ones, or new hues.

then paint it on your paper! or chipboard...or grungepaper...

depending on your brush, you can have a lot of control where the colour goes.

try this. wet the paper with water first. then add your paint. just apply the paint in one area first and watch as it bleeds into the water. 

{i want to experiment with this paint on acrylics, microbeads and even some embellishments that could use some sprucing up!}

isn't the colour incredible?











each leaf turned out to be very unique.

the copper colour painted on solid and dark was stunning!!



i'm pretty sure this one had the copper and cinnamon combined as dark and concentrated as it gets.



as the paint dries, the colour becomes more subdued. even with the fully painted portions, there is still some variance of the hues.


yes i admit i did try to swap out my leaves with some of my students. i'm sorry! but yours all looked so good that i had to try it. the reds were so deep and rustic. thanks for letting me take photos as consolation.





we may get in another shipment, but the same company makes little pots of watercolour paints called "Twinkling H20's". they need to be misted with water first, and then you paint with them. the leaves on this layout were done with those paints. i used 3 different colours on those leaves, and blended the colours.





as i mentioned to the girls, my dear husband and i got away to the mountains for a much needed break. fall colours were still in abundance.




aren't these leaves so pretty? the colours of fall are our only consolation for the long cold winters here in the prairies. in my humble opinion.

oh my goodness!

i was chatting with my friend, Jan, during the weekend crop.

she shared some sad news that the ScrapInStyleTV website is going to be closed down on May 15. i was partly shocked. for the past year the site has been really quiet and many of the regulars haven't been around. i knew BigSis had some family stuff with her hubby going through thyroid cancer. which also coincided with much of the downturn in the economy that has hit many parts of the scrapbook industry really hard. nothing like being kicked when you're down. it was the first place i posted pages i had made, so lots of sentimental history for me there. a few of the girls have completely removed their galleries. i'm still undecided what i will do. sad. very sad.

Jan is also a fan of website challenges. we chatted about some of the recent sites she has been enjoying. i was thrilled to hear that she entered her  "ta-ta trophy" in a weekend challenge at 2Peas.

i had mentioned that i should try some challenges this year. i once entered a layout at OLW (one little word). not even close to winning! ha!! i then took a peak at some of the challenges and figured it was worth a shot. one of my entries was in the use of "spray mist"category. this one. the class has now been posted at Urban Scrapbook for May 14 at 6pm. this is a fun and messy layout. don't wear your favourite clothes and book the manicure after the class! much to my surprise and delight the layout was one of three chosen to win. no way!! {here is the list of all the winners.}

i guess i won in another category as well. how many times can one person be summoned for jury duty in 7 years? apparently 3. ugh! i tried once again to get excused on account of having young children that would require child care...which also happens to be very difficult to find. we'll see if that is excusable. the last time i was summoned the jury was cancelled a few days beforehand. however the first time i did have to sit through the procedure. lots of people who should have been excused quietly on paper were not. i felt badly for a few of them, because they had to state their reason in front of the judge, lawyers, accused and the entire group of potential jurors. some were pretty personal, and a few embarrassing. in that instance it was a high profile case and i think they expected to "deny" a good portion of people as it was. thankfully this summons did not come with a letter that warned of a lengthy or gruesome trial.

it did make me glad we requested our mail to be redirected here for the extra length of time. we did leave our address with the new owners....but not everyone forwards or returns mail. would that not be a highlight on the street to have me arrested for skipping jury selection?!

i finished this one pager recently.



it is actually more of a travel paper. since bike riding is the extent of our traveling these days, i thought it was appropriate! the crochet flowers are Dear Lizzy. the paper is CosmoCricket. the letters are JelliBeanSoup.



and the "r" is old, old, old product. i wanted to do some testing with alcohol inks and dye ink pads. it was a successful experiment in my opinion. the ribbon is a few years old too.

also, i think Adobe is trying to kill me. did my CS4 trial. LOVED it. wish i had taken more time to edit more photos. Kristian has figured out a plan to save some money off of CS5. hmmmm... i now have the CS5 trial. i tried to load the actions i used very successfully in CS4. nope. nothing. now to find 12 hours solid to sit and work through the long way to do stuff in CS5. any tips for me? i do also have PSE8....part of Kris' plan to save money. maybe i need to just stick with it for now. oh how i want CS4 back again. how long will it take to get actions made for CS5? my head is spinning!


back to things i can somewhat control.


i have been sweating over the May class layout. i won't complain about me being over-run with ideas for this one. but, what a long process to choose which ones to keep and which to ditch. seriously too many to use on one layout! i think i am nearly finished. i finally hit that point today where it started to feel right. i love this process. seeing which ideas will actually work and what it looks like when it comes together. probably the same reason why some people love to renovate....except they have more patience than i do!


well, it will be a busy creative day tomorrow and then i end the day at Urban. fun times!

next class

i completed my layout for the April class.

this is a happy marriage of traditional and very non-traditional scrapbook supplies!




that is all i'm showing for now!! i'll have the rest of the photos up next week. as well as information on the date and time.

it will give you a taste of being messy...in a safe and introductory way!


these classes have been awesome. it has been a challenge for me to find new ideas and combine it with the supplies. i love it! at times i think that i will never be able to find enough new ideas. then i come across a new one that is really inspiring and totally works. it is one thing to create the layout and an entirely new task to think about how you got it from start to end! never mind being able to communicate it to an entire class. this is the kind of challenge i enjoy! which is a good thing.

flowers are a huge trend right now and not always everyone's first choice when it comes to all scrapbookers. they are an easy and excellent embellishment and i've come across a lot of people who still struggle with adding a flower to a layout about their boys. in my humble opinion i think most layouts are neutral. there are the obvious pink and frilly layouts that scream girl and the brown or rough layouts that automatically make you think boy. i also think that my daughter does not have to have every layout done in pink or have flowers attached to them!

so that is one challenge is to keep them neutral. i think i pushed my limit when i used pink ribbon on the February layout. however, with it being valentines and the month of love....never mind finding the perfect papers from Making Memories! there was still lots of brown and cream. as long as it doesn't happen every month i doubt anyone will complain. this one doesn't have even a hint of pink...i wonder if that will be a problem? ha!! i'll keep you posted.



here is something to challenge you:
years ago i took a watercolour painting class. our teacher was the most amazing artist. she removed our thinking that we had to paint mountains grey, trees green or water blue. because of that class i had an entirely new appreciation for nature and art. we painted mountains purple and blue. trees became any colour under the rainbow. water became less blue and more of a mirror. she emphasized that our eyes can quickly find a tree or rock. with art, it is more appealing to the eye if we make the brain work a little harder to see it. {words to that effect, anyway!} cool colours like purple emphasize distance, while warm colours emphasize proximity. it was the first time i painted a picture with PURPLE trees.

look first at the layout and think of what your eye sees. if you have to ask yourself, "what colours was that exactly?" then i truly doubt you will have to worry about it being "girly" or "boyish". most likely you have just viewed a neutral layout. phew!

i find it so fascinating learning about how our brain and eyes work when it comes to art.

about me

another fun night at work. the crop was catered with home-made cooking by one of the owners. we were extra thrilled to be working on the same night as such a yummy supper. i am almost positive a few of the shoppers that night regretted not signing up for the crop just so they could enjoy a fantastic meal.

it is rewarding when someone needs your help or advice and i can actually help them out! even more rewarding when your advice is helpful!! funny.

i had some papers and products spread out on the counter checking out the possibility of using them in an upcoming layout. it was a busy night, so they stayed on the counter for most of it. i'd have about 5 minutes to look at the colours and see if i could come up with some design ideas or techniques to use or embellishments to work. then i'd be needed elsewhere in the store. i would make a guess that at least 5 other scrapbookers saw the paper on the counter during the evening and ended up buying some of the same products! pretty cool we thought. it will be even cooler if my design idea is as awesome today as it was late last night.


each of the 'Urban Girls' have their names and a layout about themselves on one of the walls. it was time for a layout of me to get added. when you are the one behind the camera, very few photos of you get taken. thankfully Sheri, another Urban Girl took headshots of us a few months ago. i love how it turned out! it had a plain white background, so i actually found a background in photobucket (or was it flicker?) and added it in with PSE.

for my layout i wanted to use paper and embellishments to tell about myself. no words. just my name.




i had pulled out some Cosmo Cricket, Making Memories and Studio Calico as well. in the end Websters' Pages and Graphic45 were my top choices for the photo. i thought the reds and dark colours accented each other well. lots of flowers by Prima. as well as Maya Road. i also made a few of them myself.



for the dark coloured paper i accordian folded it, then used an edge punch.

the brown paper was also edge and corner punched. then i embossed it a few times. one of my favourite looks these days.

i searched the shelves at the thrift store for music paper that has a smooth texture and aged edges. it is a huge bonus if it is also written in, like the above.



i hadn't used these 7gypsies paper clips for awhile on a page. love, love, love them. not sure if they can be ordered anymore or not. i made 2 paper flowers from the G45 paper using a tutorial i found at the Pink Paislee blog. you will be seeing more of these! the unfocused "fluffy" flower is made from pattern tracing paper. you can also use tissue paper. when you punch the tissue paper, sandwich it between regular papers and it won't get torn or stuck. if you spray tissue paper with glimmer mist or water you can scrunch it easily. then if you apply heat it will get crispy.



HAD to use some of the filmstrip ribbon from Tim Holtz. ha! if you don't want it to move or shift....staple it! his mini stapler is on my wish list. maybe for Mothers' Day i'll gift myself?

after i took these photos, i was thinking how awesome some microbeads would look on certain spots. i had some clear ones, but nothing with a copper or chocolate appearance. enter my caramel alcohol ink. pour about a tablespoon of the beads onto a quarter folded paper towel. i also put my splash mat underneath. alcohol ink is permanent! then just dropped the ink on top, stirred it with a bamboo skewer. (a popsicle stick would also work, i just grabbed what was nearby.) some of the beads really grab lots of colour and others just a touch, so you will have some variance in tones. love! you know when you tip a cake pan upside down onto your cooling rack? use that same technique with another paper towel. then spread out the beads to dry.

i added them to the flowers, letters and my photo mat. i also ran into the "trouble" of  the bead sticking to the adhesive swirls of the prima gems. happy mistakes. how awesome with mistakes work for the layout.


without using words i shared a bit about myself:  heart key. film strip. music. sewing pattern. chocolate. notebook. variety of flowers. polka dots. paperclips. ribbon. texture. 






here is my challenge to you. create a layout about yourself or someone else and use embellishments or techniques to tell part of the story. no words. just use letters to refer to the person in the photo. start "your story" with papers.


then link me up! i want to see what you use.



enjoy your weekend. we have some sun here, and clear biking trails. i think i see an activity and photo opportunity!

holiday traditions mini album

soooo excited to be the guest designer on the Making Memories blog again today!!!

{i'm really loving this happy dancing!}

i really loved Making Memories FaLaLa collection from last Christmas. i did not think they could beat it. i was wrong. their Mistletoe collection is truly incredible and fun to create with. little felt embellishments. felt snowflakes. and those amazing trees...on an entire sheet of 12x12 paper and trims!! i loved cutting out the trees from the paper and i used lots on my projects. (peaceful while i watch my favourite tv shows in the evening)


my other currrent favourite of theirs is their entire Vintage Findings.
{dear santa.....you know i've been good!! wink, wink! i'm sure much of it would fit into my stocking this year}


this project was something i had been thinking about doing for awhile, and i thought that the Mistletoe collection would be perfect. it totally inspired me to put together my collection of our holiday favourite traditions. it's kind of like a large matchbox album. it has a few pages for photos and notes. in the very centre is a "pocket" that holds 4 pages of recipes and even more photos.


it will even stand up on it's own when the cover is closed.


open album. you can see the red pages that hold the photos. i also adhered some clear transparency pages. {i think they have little journaling books for most of their collections. they are very handy!}

to make the cover:

(1) trim cardstock to 6x12.
(2) make score lines at approximately 3/4 inches, 1 1/2 inches and then two more at 7 and 7 1/4 inches.
(3) fold the first score line toward the long side of the paper, then make the next fold under that one (double fold). this will become the "spine" for your album.
(4) fold the second score lines (7 and 7 1/4) towards the "spine". they should be able to tuck under the the edge of the spine to keep the album closed.

don't put it away just yet, we need to make the interior pages and do some sewing!



another view of the interior pages. just so you can get a feel for the mini-album.


to make the "pocket":
trim another piece of cardstock to 4x6 inches. adhere to the centre back section of the cover. i used my sewing machine to stitch along the top and bottom portions of the pocket.

to make the "album" pages:
(1) trim 2 sheets of paper (could be cardstock or a lighter paper). to 6x10 1/2. score and fold each at 5 1/4 inches.
(2) tuck the cut edges into the spine, even with the sides.
(3) use your sewing machine to straight stitch along the spine to bind the pages and spine together. your line of stitching should be slightly off centre towards the left. (with some patience, you could do this by hand with a paper piercer and a threaded needle. for me, sewing is easier and faster)

the base of the album is now complete!




here you can see the "pocket" i created in the centre of the last page. i pulled out a few of the recipe cards to show where they are hidden.
to make the pocket inserts:
(1) trim 4 pieces of cardstock to 4 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches.
(2) to mark out the placement for the tabs, i found the centre of the page. then i divided each half again, making the page into a quarter. light pencil lines help with this! (measure on one page, then transfer to the other 3)
(3) i centred the punch between the "quarter markings" to cut holes in the edges of the cardstock. only slide the paper punch halfway into the paper, to form a type of tab.
(3) these sheets will stack together and then slide into the centre pocket.




i pulled them out, so you can see more of the details. i did not add any thick embellisments because you don't have a lot of room for that. i also made them out of cardstock...they need to be durable enough to get pulled out when needed.

at this point you can start the fun stuff and decorate to your heart's content! this type of album is more suitable to "flat" layouts. the bulky stuff will work great on the cover, but not the inside. i love the word-fetti. it was used on almost every page! as well, the Making Memories glitter alphabet stickers (in red and green) are awesome here.

i know we'll treasure these easily forgotten traditions in the years to come. another reason why i scrapbook!!

i designed the recipes in Adobe PSE7, then printed them out on my printer at home. i selected a few sweet treats that we all enjoy making and eating at Christmas.


click on the images below, and you are welcome to use them in your own albums. {or kitchen!}




just to note! i am a cook and baker....but i have no skill in creating my own recipes. my best skill is to have awesome friends who share their favourites with me. {when i typed out the recipes i noticed that 2 friends contributed the most to our favourites....both with the name Joanne. interesting coincidence.} the sugar and gingerbread cookies will be the best you have ever eaten. and the icing is also incredible. Joanne C also gave me the most amazing whipped shortbread recipe. can't go wrong with butter and icing sugar!!

i'll share it here:

Whipped Shortbread (by Joanne C)

1 cup butter
2 cups white flour
3/4 cup icing sugar

combine all the ingredients and beat for 10 minutes. preheat your oven to 350F

i use a cookie press, so this is more firm and suitable for it.
{i make "trees" then add green sugar sprinkles. or i make "poinsettias" and add red sugar sprinkles. i am also in the market for a new cookie press....maybe there are more shape options?! i am hoping for a snowflake.}

if you don't have a cookie press, and just want to drop them on your cookie sheet. add 1/2 cup less flour and 1/4 cup less icing sugar.

cookie press cookies only need to be baked for 10-12 minutes, while the dropped cookies will need 17 minutes. when the bottoms are lightly browned, you know they are done!

Christmas Cards

about a month ago i was asked if i could prepare and demonstrate some cards for a group of ladies. they want to have semi-formal evenings where they can relax, learn something new and not spend a lot of money. an environment where they can invite friends, family or neighbors to join them. with Christmas approaching, they thought it might be nice to start out with some cardmaking.

i keep laughing, because although i'm not really a cardmaker, i tend to be making a lot of these lately! truthfully it was cardmaking that got me started into scrapbooking as i have been.

anyways it was a lot of fun to prepare. their challenge was to create 3 cards that would cost no more than $5. in this instance, my time was totally volunteer and not paid.

as with any project i have a million ideas floating around in my head. honestly it is a nice problem to have....it's just tough to pick one idea and go with it! after a few weeks of thought and ideas....i had a sufficient amount of caffeine and sleep....narrowed it down to a few design ideas and went shopping!




Making Memories, Prima, Maya Road, Imaginisce stamp and glimmer mist. the edge punch is Martha Stewart lace.

Cosmo Cricket.




i cut the snowflakes out on my cricut. then glimmer misted them too.

i made two versions of this card, but they will be making the last one. pink is one of those colours that is either loved or hated by people. better to go with the blue and be a bit more traditional i decided!

My Mind's Eye patterned cardstock.  PinkPaislee stamp. the edge punch is by ek success called Parisian.

some of the ladies are veteran cardmakers. others are quite frightened by it. {i'm still trying to figure that one out!} i cut out ALL the papers to the correct size. then i used my edge punches on about 85% of the papers. edge punches are new to some of the girls, and i thought i'd leave some for them to try punching out. otherwise if they know how to use a glue stick, then they should be very happy with their results.

i am very excited and hope all my pre-planning has been worth it!

oh, and the cost? managed to get it to be exactly $5 per set of cards....not a penny more!!!

off to work on more Christmas projects.....falalalala...la...la...la....la....

so happy

that i get to finally use this little sign....




you could say that it was a bit of a new years' resolution to enter some contests and submit some of my pages to magazines for publication.

all year i've been chickening out!

i finally dove in and have sent off a few pages to magazines and contests in the past few months.

i was thrilled and a bit shocked to have had one of my pages chosen by the Canadian Scrapbooker!!


i am very lucky.
and a big thank you to you know who you are.....thanks for giving me the push and encouragement i needed.

procrastinator...

i don't design cards too often. but i was inspired. i stop by Melissa Philipps blog on a regular basis to get inspired by her creations. she does it all. and well. maybe her talent will rub off on me the more i visit her blog?! i can only dream....

anyways....she had a sketch and a challenge. here is my card for her challenge.

Melissa is "shabby chic". i don't know what i am! but this card is quite a mix of products....Daisy D, Prima, Sassafrass Lass, Making Memories, Jenni Bowlin, Autumn Leaves (ribbon) and why not some tulle.... is this what they call eclectic?

sorry for not alerting you to this fun challenge earlier. that is what you get for hanging out with a procrastinator....i just finished this card today. yeah. i'm honestly trying to work on this problem.


wish me luck!

so excited!

starting a blog was a big step.

posting my scrapbooking stuff was a big step.

and then sharing some of my stuff with Heather, Roslyn, and staff at Urban Scrapbook was a big step.

and then the day when i shared my mini maze albums with Lori and Jan and Pat (in that order!) was a very big step.

i am very good at comparing myself to others. and there are some totally incredible artists out there. where i cannot come close to being in the same ring as them. i am comfortable with that. now! i like what i do. and i do it for me. that was a big revelation.

so then i met with Pat and got the challenge to prepare something more specific for a class.

and i worked my little butt off! heehee (we all know how little that is....i wish!)

and so i came up with these teacher gifts:


i did my best to meet the challenge. and i was happy. phew! but would Pat be happy? how much would i have to change? yes lots of little questions pinging around in my little head. (i think i'm hung up on "little" these days...wonder what that means?)

this one has front and back covers made of felt. and the apple is felt. after the years of cross-stitching....and sewing clothing and do-dads.....and i now sew felt! is that a 70's thing coming back?
and it has 8 pages - precisely! 2 tags plus a gift card. this is a sample of 2 of the pages. i tried to gear this one towards a preschool, kindergaren, primary teacher.

this one is more typical of the maze albums. ribbon binding and closure.

again 8 pages. that spell t-e-a-c-h-e-r. and this is just a sample. i tried to design this one more for primary or even upper elementary. but perhaps a jr. high teacher would like this one too. or a principal. or a vice-principal. or.... and yes 2 tags and room for a gift card.

this one i am proud of. those are Tim Holtz grungeboard hinges. yahoo! this is the front....
... and this is the back. i love how i attached the ribbon. and LOVE that ribbon. little (that word again!) story with the ribbon....searched the rack specifically for alphabet, or ruler or numbers. came up empty. sigh. then just while i was picking out another part, Roslyn came across this. i think it makes the album just pop! because the hinges just aren't enough! haha

and again...same number of pages, and you guessed it tags and all. these spell out i-n-s-p-i-r-e. tried to gear this one with more of a masculine feel. and more for upper elementary....jr. high....and those sr. high teachers need some appreciation too! Heather saw the little "live out loud" quote on one of the die-cut sheets i chose. we laughed over the irony of it being used for a teacher. then she suggested doing the "shhhh" over top. perfect! i didn't think i'd be able to fit it in. but then i found this great poem....and realized that this particular line was a great fit for the idea.

soooo....now when i see the alphabet and number ribbon, i think of Roslyn. and when i see the "live out loud" shhhhhh.... i think of Heather. and then my next thought moves to....i wonder how it would have looked had i gone for the other die-cut sheet....what do you think, Heather?! {wink}

and so finished the albums. shared them with Pat yesterday. and she loved them! and they will be a class. and i am SO EXCITED!!!!

so i'll keep you updated. the class will be in June. the date will be set soon. and the price too. it will be for all three albums.

and Sherri must have seen the relief spread across my face...that first one is a biggie. it was good to hear that subsequent projects are less intimidating.

i'm looking forward to the teaching part. is definitely different teaching adults than kids. it will be another learning experience. it will be the first scrapbook class i've taught where the students are required to bring their own supplies...not use mine! it will be fun.

and i can breathe.

and clean my house.

but i really want to scrapbook a page for myself now!

[oh....Aidan and Kiara wanted to say thanks again for the candy aunty heffer! maybe they'll be in tomorrow for a vist.]

creative

energy...

i bought this frame nearly a year ago. bought the paper a few weeks ago. and i need to add a more recent photo of our big boy. (but love this old sweet one.....he was 19 months old...which is our little girls age right now....wow!)


the paper is by cosmo cricket. transparency by hambley. brad by american crafts. ribbon by my minds's eye. letter by go west studios....inked by ranger alcohol inks. tag by daisy d's. frame by ikea.

i used alcohol ink on the back side of the letter. it is a thick plastic piece with etched designs. i was impressed with how well they coordinated with this paper. and i love how the ink worked it's magic on it too. sometimes designs just seem to do better than you expect...(if only this was the rule and not the exception!)

(the tag came with the box of goodies from Kim!)

the goodie box girls announce a fun challenge each month. this month is their first anniversary of their business. so the challenge was to create a layout using the word "one". or incorportating "one" in some way. perhaps one color. one photo. or some other creative way to use "one"!

this is the first time i will submit a layout to a contest like this. so a historical moment!

and i thought it would be stressful. not at all. this was fun!

normally i start with the photo and let the page take shape from there.

but in this case i thought about what i could do with "one" in the title. then i chose a few photos i hadn't scrapped before that worked with what i was thinking. i had several ideas...so the photos just helped me narrow it down.

i wanted to use the title "one fine day". then when i pulled out stuff to go with the photo i thought it would be fun to do it all in pink. then i found these other photos. and it just grew. and i ended up not using the initial photo at all. and i changed the title too!

cardstock is bazzill. notepaper, felt and paper flowers, buttons by making memories. letters, foam flowers and bird, brads by american crafts. rhinestones are heidi swapp and also craft supply. and a little hambley transparency. rub-ons are k-i memories (also part of the goody box from kim!) pigment ink is colorbox. white pen is stampin' up. (this is a great pen!)

and i got to use my edge distresser too!

well...i finished this one. and then i still had that original title and photo. hmmm....

so i pulled out the blue cardstock. yum! and then i found these circles on some scrap paper. oh yes! eureka?!

again cardstock by bazzill. patterned paper, letters, acrylic flowers by american crafts. blue letters and butterfly by heidi swapp. i also used stickles glitter glue on the butterfly. buttons and rhinestone brads were just hanging out on a shelf begging to be used....can't remember if they're making memories or some other fine company?!

this is my favourite.

and i also stretched myself to cut out the circle pattern by hand. using an exacto knife and some detail scissors. i surprised myself. and i think i am now addicted to this kind of trimming. uh oh. watch out!


and the prizes....go check them out. they may look familiar to you....then enter your page. it will be fun. just enter before Sunday!

and then share your creations with me. please. oh pretty please.