time out

we just got back from a perfect vacation in Maui a few days ago. we were gone for 9 days, which included flying time. the flight to Maui was on the fun side for all of us and the time change worked out quite well. {it was the return trip that zapped our enthusiasm!}

i'm not sure if it is possible to have a "bad" day in Hawaii. it was overcast or cloudy at times, but still hot! i don't think our skin has "tanned" since 2009....considering our Alberta summer was a bit of a sham last year. so the break from bright sunshine for a day was fine for us. we still had to use sunscreen though! it's amazing how accustomed we are in Alberta to see clouds or rain and get out the sweaters.



i miss doing this. nothing beats a morning coffee outdoors, wearing a tank top and shorts.
{fyi: this is me with a tan. i know. pathetic! i did learn that my daughter tans very easily and rarely burns. i am soooo jealous. i have stooped to a new low - jealous of a 4 year old!}

our condo was a block from the beach. apparently the street next to the condo was covered with water during the tsunami on March 11. however the complex had no water damage as a result. we heard that the tsunami warning sirens went off every hour all night long. we also heard mixed stories from the residents over the effects of the tsunami. from our perspective the part of the island we were at was more protected from it and had no long term damage. the ocean is quite interesting in how the waves, currents and tides work. natural disasters aside. it is no wonder fishermen have the stereotype of being superstitious.



nearly every beach we saw had some rock and reef nearby. at first glance this looked barren and rocky. however when we explored we saw lots of life! crabs, shells, urchins....can't wait to use those photos on some layouts.

we went to the beach every day. we swam in the outdoor pool every day. no one complained. ha!!



we did one longer road trip. we had to see the island volcanic crater. a highlight for the males in our family especially. amazing how lush it was on the outer side of the crater, below 8000 feet. inside and above the 8000 ft it looked desolate. it was also chilly. we totally forgot to pack a sweater that day, but we didn't need it. the tough Canadians we are!

i also took some photos of a plant that only grows among the volcanic rock. the Haleakala Silversword. that was cool! none were in bloom, but there were a few plants who had past blooming, so we got an idea of what it would have looked like. apparently they die after they bloom. and it can take up to 50 years before the plant will bloom. incredible. i'm sure they will appear on a layout soon enough!


one thing i did miss was my daily blog reading. i have my usual list of blogs to read, and always a few new ones. so i'm catching up! i'm so impressed with the Graphic45 new design team. i can't wait to see the designs that are yet to come. some of my favourites are part of the new team. i appreciate that there are lots of new faces. Crate Paper shared the most incredible tree Kinsey Wilson made out of pipe cleaners! the focus was on the decorations...but wow!

for my past 2 classes i have been raving about the Ranger Colour Wash. check out this challenge blog called Grungy Monday. this week their focus was on using the Colour Wash. lots of variety...my favourite is the faux batik scarf. i don't wear scarves....but this one looks so cool! maybe i could do a t-shirt for the kids?

then i came across an interesting contest. Simply Handmade surprised me with their April/May issue. now they shocked me again by using my project for a contest. make a comment on their Facebook Fan page to win all the supplies and the instructions for the project. go. do it!! the students in my Year In Review class know all about my LONG instructions. {i do try to keep them short!} when i submitted the project Northridge Media also wanted instructions, close up shots and any templates i used. i also made some templates for the flowers just for the submission. when i finally saw the issue i immediately noticed that the instructions in the article are much shorter than what i wrote! i'm hoping that those i know will enter the contest and that one of them will win. check out their video here and get the details. i can't deny how cool it was to hear my name said out loud in the video.

while i'm on the topic of contests....here is another one! did you see the Urban design team layouts for April? i was just there and saw them in person. they looked great in the photos....but even more amazing in person. the supplies in the store kits are mostly from Glitz and kept getting delayed in their delivery....keeping us all on edge. kudos to Jan for remaining calm and getting those kits out as fast as she did! Glitz has a challenge on right now too. go here for the details. you only have until May 4. wouldn't it be awesome to have one of you win?! aaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!  i think there are a few of the monthly kits still available at Urban Scrapbook. or pick up your own favourites. whichever you choose, don't delay! their current products are my favourite yet. good luck!

next week i'll share some links and a quick tutorial on photo editing. i had some questions about what i did to get my photos to look the way i did in my previous post. i'll do my best to explain that process and share some great links.

enjoy your weekend. i am hoping to see more snow disappear...and not get replaced by new stuff! we were thrilled to see that most of it melted while we were away, then totally bummed to see so much of it fall the next day.

finally

it has been crazy busy in our house this past month.

this layout was done back in the middle of July. but i forgot to take a photo of it!




i used the new Chalkboard Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels. charcoal. not 100% happy with the spray nozzle. but i've had this problem with the odd bottle of mist by any of the companies. art is not exactly picture perfect all the time either. so it is all good!

i love this photo of the kids. they were so giddy from a nice day and high on sugar from the ice cream truck! perhaps i should add that as my journaling? yes. i always get caught up in the enjoyment of creating that i forget to add some writing.



all of the paper is from Studio Calico. the flower is American Crafts. the butterfly is old Sassafrass Lass. the button is Making Memories. the arrow is Maya Road and the brad holding it is Basic Grey...from the ambrosia line.



i'm really liking ruffles.


i was so shocked and excited to win one of Echo Parks' contests a while back. eventually Canada Post delivered my winnings of the ENTIRE 'Walk in the Park' line.

before the busyness of last week began i took some time to create one layout. i need to use some photos from the summer on these papers. they are bright and fun!



and i did journal here. but i hid it! sometimes i prefer to do that if i like the layout as it is.

it still feels like something is missing on this one. can't put my finger on it.



i had some lovely butterfly die cuts. i placed them under the cardstock and sanded the edges. easy and i do like how it turned out.



like i haven't made enough pinwheels already....



My Mind's Eye just arrived at the store. it is the first time i've seen glittered paper priced the same is plain ol' cardstock. and it is totally lovely. Pat from Urban made the most amazing birthday card from this paper. she also gave a sneak peak of an upcoming card class using the paper from this recent line. no doubt it will be popular! the paper and accompanying products are flying off the shelves.





i loved how Pat used the word happy....and i had this Riff Raff word in my stash for ages. i used some Judikins chocolate embossing powder to cover it. it actually matches the brown glitter on some of the other papers i picked up. love!



i also shamelessly and gratefully scrap lifted Jody and Pat's filmstrip ribbon idea. not sure who started it, but they both have projects displayed with it like this. thanks girls!! i love how it looks and can't wait to use it like this on a few more projects!!


a long time company, Sassafrass Lass, has not produced anything new and different until now. their Indie Girl line has the best design ideas from their past lines, but new colours and products. i have ALWAYS loved their decorative name label trim. not plain boring white...but always matches the paper pattern.

and....we got to use some of it in our recent Urban Design Team assignment. woot!woot!



i used A LOT of ink on this layout. so much that my fingers were coated in it. even had to wash my hands several times.

i have finally found the right printer paper i like for photos and started to print my own. after picking up my photo numerous times with inky-fingers....at the very end i got a spot on the crisp white border of my photo. the border that i thought added to the whole layout. the more i rubbed at the spot....the worse it got. small miracle that i had not adhered the photo yet. i got out my Ranger Rock Candy paint and painted over the border. i figured it couldn't get worse. and if it didn't work...i would just reprint.

as "luck" would have it...i added even more ink. on purpose!!

in the end i think it worked to my benefit. Divine inspiration perhaps?!

i can't wait to see what the other girls do. every month it is so amazing to see how unique we each are in our designs. they have always inspired me, and the have not let me down yet!

putting my feet up

all morning i found myself checking my watch repeatedly.

Aidan kept asking me about the time too.

i couldn't wait to get to work. Aidan couldn't wait to get to his "best buddies'" birthday party.

Saturday we both bounced into our destinations with silly grins on our faces. my smile was still evident on my face a few hours later. as Heather's pic indicate! she is a smart one and took millions of photos yesterday. go to her blog to check out some of the fun we had yesterday.

it was a really fun weekend for everyone. Jan made a "ta-ta trophy. go here to view it. and it must be viewed! totally fun. when each crop participant finished a project they would shout "ta-ta" and then display the trophy at their spot. every once in awhile one of the staff would surprise them with a shout of "who has the ta-ta's?" at that point whoever had them won a grab bag. they weekend started on Friday afternoon/evening and just finished this afternoon (Sunday). they got to crop until midnight on Friday and Saturday. food was provided. yummy food made in Lori's kitchen.




i snapped a photo before everyone arrived this Sunday morning. you can see the ta-ta trophy draped over the organizer bag in the front table.

on my way home i was kicking myself for not taking a photo of the layouts that were entered for a prize. i cannot wait to see who won. i have no idea how Lori and Pat will ever make the decision. one category is for using the special "pink" kits to create a layout, card or project. {and it is amazing how different they look with each of their personal style and take on the components.} the other category was for layouts that they made during the weekend. incredible. they are a very talented group. very. i hope they realize how amazing they each are.

i learned that some of the ladies like to purchase the monthly design kits and copy what the design team made. surprisingly, i had no idea that this was happening. i know, i'm slow! it is a huge compliment to each of us when our layout is one chosen to be lifted. and even more so when we are there to witness it. i'm still getting used to that. however, i do love to share techniques i used on the layouts when scrapbookers are interested.

a couple of the girls made these amazing projects from the 7gypsies tray frames. watching them piece them together made me want to create my own even more! i'll post them this week. they did a great job. i was disappointed {maybe a bit less than them} that they wouldn't qualify for the design contest. however, we all totally understood that you can't really judge a 3D layout like that against a page or card. that is one way to make a tough job even tougher. seriously, i really don't know how they will ever decide!



these are my buddies from today. Lynette is on the left and we often work together for the Friday crop nights. Lori is one of the owners and cook/baker extraordinaire. {Heather posted a few more of the staff on her blog.} i feel blessed...lucky...thrilled to be a part of this team. amazing women. today i worked later than i was supposed to because i lost track of time. ha! crazy. the day went by so quickly.

now i REALLY have to get to my layouts. the weekend was inspiring.

did you visit Jan's blog yet to enter her giveaway? today is the last day!

hooray!

news to me! and it's HAPPY news!! and it's double-happy news too!!!

if you have been reading you will have heard me mention a few times that i've been doing some dabbling in digital scrapbooking. i used a digital brush kit by Rhonna Farrer on last years' Christmas card. and i still love it.

and the digi frames she has...amazing.

she started a blog again here. and she has a give-away. now you know why i am so happy!!

even if you don't do digital...go take a peak and enjoy! {don't forget your coffee...}


thanks! Rhonna

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.