He Is Risen!

I believe because there is no other logical explanation for how it is that I am the person I am today, other than by the grace of God.  

Today I celebrate that Christ is risen.  

He is risen indeed.

Happy Easter to you my friends.  

May you know the real and freeing love of The Father today!

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Currently

Had this layout up at Chic Tags yesterday.

It's been awhile since I've done one of these "currently" layouts about myself.  I think they'll be fun to look back on when I'm old and grey and see what my tastes and interests had been at different points in my life.

As I was excitedly looking through the new Road Trip collection the day it arrived, the "You are Here" icon really jumped out at me, and made me think about life, more than an actual road trip.  I created my layout all about my currents around that one tag.

I think the A Camping We Will Go bunting are possibly my favourite tags of all.  I could use these guys on every single layout.  Here I managed to match up the "s" from a super old set of BasicGrey alphas perfectly overtop of the tag to give it a 3D effect.  The ATC is from the Everyday Life set.

And here is the completed layout.

What about you, are you in the habit of creating "currently" layouts, to look back on someday?  Perhaps you'll feel inspired to sit down and create one this week.  The Everyday Life, and Road Trip collections are perfect tags to get you started.

Only a couple more days of Spring Break here, and Easter right on our tails.  I hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend xo Pin It

Cre8tive Cre8tions

Remember when I told you about Cre8tive Cre8tions?  It's a new scrapbook supply company out of Germany.  Andrea and her husband Thomas started their little company producing fun flair badges to start, and now only 2 months later offer patterned paper, stamps, and paper tags as well.  I am so happy they are getting their name out there, and thrilled that they have welcomed me on to design for them.

This layout of Théa and her friends Sabrina and Maya was created using several of the patterned papers available in the collection.  Along with a few of the flair pieces.

The title was made using October Afternoon mini market stickers and a free Heidi Swapp cut file.

The polar grid mask is one I made using the Silhouette also, it was super easy, and someday if I ever figure out how to offer files for free on my blog I will give it to you.  I sprayed over the mask with Hiedi Swapp Color Shine.  I did the same thing down in the bottom right corner.

You can check out the Cre8tive Cre8tions shop here.  And there's load of inspiration on her blog here.

Speaking of Color Shine, I had this layout up on the Cre8tive Cre8tions blog and Instagram last week,  where it caught the attention of the one and only Ms. Heidi Swapp and her team.

She even asked if she could re-post it.  Crazy right?!  

Oh and remember this About A Boy layout?  

It caught the attention of Echo Park, and was re-posted on their Instagram page.  It was also featured as a Gallery Highlight at scrapbookupdate.com.  Not bad for one layout, I thought.

That's it for me today.  I hope you're enjoying the day wherever you may find yourself today.  Thanks as always for stopping by! Pin It

When We're Together

Use It Tuesday has a brand new challenge up today.  We're encouraging you to think Spring this week.  In most places of the world Spring is in full force, here on the prairies, however we are still waiting.  And not so patiently anymore I might add.  Thoughts of Spring led me to thoughts of flowers, so that's what I decided the theme of my layout would be

layout based on a sketch by Kristine Davidson included in her new book Creating With Sketches Vol2.

Nyah and I took these photos of us being silly together, the last time we saw each other.

There are flowers and other Spring themed embellishments sprinkled all over the page.  That accordion flower, papers, and chipboard pieces are all from last year's Random collection by Crate Paper.  Talk about using up old stash.   Using up your stash, creating a Spring themed project with it, and linking up to Use It Tuesday could have you filling an upcoming Guest Designer spot with UIT.  Pop over here to see how the rest of the DT interpreted the Spring theme, and link up your own creation.

We're actually hanging out with this sweet, and funny Nyah, and her family all this week for Spring Break vacation.  A little skiing, a little shopping, and a lot of hanging out with friends are all on the agenda.  I'm sure I'll have more crazy photos of us for scrapping when I get back. Pin It

A Colour Challenge

Hooray for Spring Break on the prairies.  We are currently in Calgary spending it with friends of ours.  Skiing is in order, and we can't wait.  Not to worry, however, I've sheduled a few blog posts for you to come throughout the week.

There's something new going on this week at Let's Get Sketchy.  I really love how Brenshevia likes to mix it up on the months were there are five Mondays.  This month it's a  colour combo challenge mixed in with the regular sketch challenge.

Here are the colours we were to work with.

Can you tell someone was thinking Christmas when she came up with this one?  I was determined to try and be creative with the challenge and use anything but Christmas photos to scrap, despite the fact the colours screamed out for festive photos.  Enter Bailey's over ice.  It's a little thing I do occasionally in the evenings when the kids are in bed and I have a few quiet moments to myself.  I often do it over Christmas holidays (which I suppose does make it a Christmas photo after all, haha).  I also do it at the lake while sitting around the fire at night.

Used up a lot of old product on this one

Petaloo flowers, and leaves, and some old Studio Calico stickers

An old October Afternoon sticker, and MME tickets

And here's Brenshevia's sketch

Hop over here to see what the rest of the team did with this week's challenge, and link up your own creation. Pin It

A Quick Share

I realized that I never shared this layout that I made for Cre8tive Cre8tions on the blog.  It is by far one of my favourite layouts ever.  The photos are nothing special, but were taken just before going for dinner to celebrate our 17 year anniversary.  Crazy that it's been that long already. 3 kids, 4 homes, 5 jobs, one dog, and a multitude of laughs, and a handful of tears.  And I would do it all over again.  I love this guy.  I love the life we've created together.  And I look forward to growing old with him.

I'm am linking this layout up at Paper Issues.  There current challenge is to use flair.  There are some amazing entries already, you should pop over and have a peek.  She's teamed up with Panda Eight Designs this month.  Martha's flair are seriously some of the cutest flair out there.  I'd love to get my hands on some.  They are the prize up for grabs, so wish me luck.  Either way, however I know a few scrappy peeps who would likely want to place an order with me.  Every since USPS raised the cost of International shipping, that's the only way to go if you want to order anything from the US.  It's too bad really.  But...sometimes you've just gotta have it!  Speaking of shopping, you should also check out the fabulous assortment of scrappy goodies that Cassie currently has available in the Paper Issues Etsy Shop.  So much variety, and really, really great prices.  Plus there's always 20% simply for using any of the design team's discount codes.  You really can't beat that.  Plus your goodies arrive with the most adorable packaging I've ever seen.  I've saved my houndstooth tissue paper for use on a future project.  Thanks for popping in today, hope you're in for a great weekend friends! Pin It

It's Spring Break

Happy Birthday to this girl!

She turns 11 today.  We celebrated last night with dinner at Mongos grill, a family favourite.  We'll celebrate a bit more with gifts tonight after dance class.

And tomorrow...we're off to enjoy this...

Skiing in Canmore for a couple of days.  Can't wait.  Hooking up with a few friends, for some really nice slow down and hang out time.  

Here's to a wonderful weekend.  

I have lots of post scheduled for next week, so please pop back when you can.  

Cheers for now!

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Happy Monday

Welcome to a brand new week friends.

Not sure what the weather is like in your corner of the world, but I am so ready for the snow to be gone and the lazy days of Summer to be upon us once again.

Reading on the deck, with the sun beaming down on me, and a drink in hand is one of my absolute favourite things to do in the summer. 

I have this layout up on the Chic Tags blog today.  I would love if you'd pop over to have a peek.

Here's another one I had up recently on the Cre8tive Cre8tions blog recently, thought I'd share it with you all too.

Let loose with the stamping, masking, and paint.  Love the end result.  You are definitely going to be seeing more of this on my pages.

Lastly I, I have this layout up on the Cre8tive Cre8tions blog today.  

If you're up for a little bit of a hop I'd love to see you over there too.  The designers are amazing, so much talent over there working with Andrea's fabulous flair, papers, and stamps.

It's a busy week around here, one that will end in an 11 year old's birthday party and a road trip to Calgary.  Lots to do in the meantime to prepare for both.  Hope your week is off to a great start.  

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Seeing Starts

A new challenge is up at Chic Tags today.  It's all about stars.  I've had this mediocre photo of us with some friends since last April.  I've put it off time and again because it's not the best quality.  The memory of it, however is still so vivid that I could put it off no longer.  I thought It was fitting with the star theme.  We were invited to join our friends in a suite at the MTS Centre to watch the Winnipeg Jets play their final game of their first season back in the NHL.  The atmosphere in the arena was so electric.  Fans were so loud, and so supportive of this beloved team.  At the end of the game each of the starters' jerseys were raffled off to a fan in attendance.  It was an emotional ending to an emotional season.  I felt blessed to have been able to be in attendance to witness it.  All thanks to a call from Deb & Terry.

I used my silhouette to cut out some tone on tone starts, outlined them with red marker, and machine stitched them to the cardstock.

I kept it pretty simple this week, but added a few more inked up veneer stars, a handful of sequins, and a Crate paper button to finish things off.

Journaling reads "We were super excited when Deb called to say her brother had 2 extra tickets for the final Jets game of the season.  I thought I would never get the chance to see a game live, as tickets are almost impossible to come by.  The game was even more exciting than I thought it would be.  It may have ended in a loss, but he arena was alive with excitement from start to finish."

Hop over to the Chic Tags blog to see more star laden examples, and link up your own creation.  As always Veronica has a great prize up for grabs.  Hope to see you play along.

Thanks for popping in, have a wonderful Sunday friends! Pin It

Leaving Paradise

Another challenge was revealed today at Use It Tuesday.  This one is all about die cuts.  Whether it's the tradition die cuts that come in various collection, or even ones you've created yourself with your die cut machine, we are challenging you to use em up.

I bought a Silhouette Cameo back in October.  In November the Silhouette store put on a fabulous deal for an entire week in the name of Black Friday.  All cut files were 50% off.  Part of the deal when I purchased my cameo was that I got a $20 gift card towards the store.  The class I signed up for at Studio Calico to learn the basics of my machine also came with a $20 gift card, so I made a big dent in my credit during that week.  Needless to say more than half of my cut files have yet to be used.  I took this challenge as a great opportunity to break out a few new ones and put them to good use.

This layout boasts several new Maggie Holmes papers, combined with old items from my stash, including 5 month old, untouched cut files form the Silhouette store.

The brand new Maggie Holmes collaboration with Crate Paper is just delightful.  The patterns are so perfectly vintage girlie.  The colours matched perfectly with this photo of the gorgeous sunset our last day in Mexico back in February.  That trip still is so clearly full of sweet thankfulness for the time away just the two of us.  Four days of tropical, sunshiny, white sand, turquoise water, perfected bliss in Quinta Roo, Mexico (just outside of Playa del Carmen).

All the brand and buttons are from older Crate Paper lines.

I managed to get our hotel key card right onto the layout

Love this layout, it's the perfect blend of old meet new.  Check out what the rest of the DT pulled out of their stash to use this week.  You can even link up your own take on the challenge right here.  Use It Tuesday is all about getting us to use up all the goodies we bought but have not yet managed to use up, so just remember let us know what exactly you used from your stash.  If you're our top pick you could find yourself guesting for us down the road.

Thanks for stopping in friends.  Hope to see you link up. Pin It

Let's Get Sketchy Reveal

Happy Monday friends,

I had no idea when I completed this layout over a month ago that the reveal date would fall smack dab in the middle of Birthday Month Celebration.  Pretty cool I think.

I decided to finally document a snippet of 39th Birthday.  It was nothing special, just a little dinner after the girls finished Dance class with my favourite...Peanut Butter ice cream cake from Marble Slab Creamery.  Delish.

I thought it was only fitting to pull out the scraps I have remaining of Crate Paper Pretty Party for this one.  Journaling reads "A quiet celebration - just the girls, and Darwin, and I of my 39th birthday.  Really 39?  Crazy!  So much to be thankful for.  My family, my beautiful girls, God's grace, and constant pursuit of me.  Calling me to better, bigger, more meaningful, more rewarding for His kingdom.  I am so very blessed.  Here's to a great year."

That tiny camera is an Amy Tangerine Silhouette cut file.  I just shrunk it way down. Isn't it cute?

Our sketch this week is courtesy of Bev Code.   I preferred the look of the layout best once I flipped the sketch.  It gave me a little more room to journal.

Click here to see what the rest of the team did with the sketch, and to get in on your chance at some really great Birthday Month shwag. Pin It

Chic Tags Sunday Challenge

Happy Sunday friends,

Sunday means another challenge at Chic Tags.  This week the challenge is to do like Ali taught us and scrap A Day In The Life.  I picked Wednesday of last week to document.  Nothing special, just an ordinary day around here.  There weren't a lot of pix, but it was still pretty cool to document one day out of my life.

And some close ups of the Chic Tags used. 

The title was made by creating a mask with may Cameo and spraying over it with Heidi Swapp Colour Shine in Chartreuse and Tropical Teal

 Journaling reads "I truly think it's a wonderful experience to document our lives through photos on a regular ordinary day.  All too often you hear, "treasure it, it goes by so fast."  I have no doubt that before I know it, my girls will be grown and gone, living lives of their own, and I'll wonder what it was that kept me so busy when they were young.  On this particular day there wasn't a whole lot of running around to do like usual.  No Dance, no piano, no groceries to get, just a regular day.  I did take the RAV in, it needs new tires, and several things were repaired.  Big bucks = no fun.  But ended the day winning a coffee at Tim's, meeting Will's partner, and 83 likes on IG.  All in all, it was one fine day to be me!"

Hope you'll pop over to the Blog to see what the rest of the DT was up to this week, and link up a layout of your own for your chance at a scrappy prize.

Have a wonderful day friends.  Thanks so much for popping by! Pin It

Winners

Hooray for the weekend!

It's an even sweeter one for a couple of my blog readers today.  I have two winners to post.

First up is the winner of my rak for the Let's Get Sketchy blog hop.  Receiving a bundle of hand selected flair is...

Congratulations Lisa!  

I will get your goodies in the mail to you as soon as we connect.  And a big thank you once again to Andrea Gomoll of Cre8tive Cre8tions for donating some of her fabulous flair especially for this event.

Second is my winner for the Creating With Sketches Vol 2 giveaway.  Receiving their very own copy of the newly released digital book is...

Congratulations Kelly!  

I will be sending your email address to Kristine today, and she will get your copy out to you asap.  Thank you once again to Kristine for the generous prize.

And a big thanks again to YOU, and everyone who takes the time to stop by my home on the web, especially those who leave behind a comment.  I love this hobby, and have been blessed to work with some really great people, and teams over the past few years.  It is a real pleasure to share that with all of you.

I'll leave you with a layout I created last week just for fun with the awesome new DYI collection by Create Paper.  

The photo is one of Eden and I taken under the mirrored ceiling outside of the Winnipeg Art Gallery.  I had the opportunity to join her class on a field trip a couple of weeks ago.  I loved watching her love of learning and creativity come alive as we toured the Inuit exhibit, and created screen prints in the Art Studio later.

Detail shots:

Thanks for stopping by today friends, and especially to those who take a moment to comment.  Your encouragement and friendship across the miles means so much to be.  Be blessed today!

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About A Boy

I have this layout up at Chic Tags today.

I may not see him too often but my nephew Jayden manages to find his way onto my scrap pages every so often.  This kid is the most perfect bundle of sweet, funny, generous, kind, and loving all rolled up into one super handsome little man.

When I saw the new About A Boy collection by Echo Park, I just knew the papers would be a perfect match up for Chic Tags products and my little man here.

This page came together super quick.  The design made it easy to incorporate several chic tags perfectly.

Had fun using several different colours of Zing to colour up my Studio Calico wood veneers.  I cut the title using scraps, and my Silhouette Cameo.  The cloud is an old Fiskars punch on corrugated paper.

That number 3, is actually from the Christmas Set.  I just could it out to make it look like a die cut.

How about you do you use your holiday or seasonal tags on layouts during the rest of the year?  Talk about getting your money's worth, Veronica's designs and colour choices make it so easy to do.  Speaking of which, have you popped by the store lately.  Not only is the Road Trip collection now stocked and available to purchase, but it also has a fresh, fun new look to it.  Spring Cleaning all around here at Chic Tags.  Hop over here to see the entire new collection.

Tags used:
Autumn Days Triangles
25 Days Number Sets
Fall Note Circles
A Camping We Will Go Bunting Alphabet
Hello Months Pin It

Exciting News

Today I am finally able to let you in on my little secret.  

My work will be among many fabulous layouts all based on the sketches of the very talented Kristine Davidson for her brand new release Creating With Sketches 2.  I had a great sketch to work with, that I paired with Echo Park's Scoot papers.

You may recognize the photos from a previous layout.  I loved them so much I thought they'd be fun to work with again, and this sketch was perfect for them.  Journalling is hidden on the tag.

Sketches are a great way to get the mojo going when you just don't know where to start.  And this book has over 120 of of Kristine's trademark jump starters.

Kristine has very generously offered up a great deal for one of my lucky blog readers.  ONE FREE DIGITAL COPY.  Isn't she wonderful?  In order to get in on this amazing deal all you have to do is make sure you're a follower, and leave me a comment telling me you've done so.  You can increase your chances by sharing, or linking back to this post on any form of social media.  One extra entry per method shared.  Just leave me additional comments with your links.  I'll post my winner on this Friday morning.  Be sure to leave me your contact info so I can get a hold of you personally. 

If you are too anxious to wait on a draw, Kristine has also generously offered up a discount code for immediate use.  Use code CSW2Discount to save 2$ off your newly released digital copy of Creating With Sketches 2 today.  Coupon code will be valid until March 31 at 10pm EST.  If you prefer a paper copy, they are also available right here on Kristine's site.

Thanks for popping in today.

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The Sweetest Thing

Blog Hop Giveaway extended.  Because I've got so much to share on the blog over the next couple of days.  I've decided to extend my giveaway to Thursday.  If you haven't done so, you may get in on the action here.  Winner will be announced on Friday, March 8th.

A new month a new Challenge over at Scrapping Everyday Miracles.

This month Marjolaine has challenged us to scrap about a gift we've given or received, that really touched our hearts.  It was a perfect challenge to scrap the sweet, sweet gift Théa, my 10 year old, gave us this past Valentine's Day.  After dinner that night she took off from the table and returned with two gift bags.  One marked Daddy, and one marked Mommy.  We were told we had to open them simultaneously.  Inside were these canvases.

The twist is to add bling.  Mine is yellow, so a little difficult to see.

I have been fortunate enough to receive many gifts in my lifetime, but none so sweet, and thoughtful as this.  There is just something about your child choosing to pour time and energy into something handmade especially for you.  I love that the Lord put inside of her a love for all things artsy.  It's been a real blessing watching her discover her strengths and giftings, and even more so when she chooses to use them in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.  For all the times I want to crumple over in frustration, exhaustion, or sheer bewilderment at this thing called parenting, moments like that one on Valentine's Day, make it all seem like a journey I should feel continually blessed to be on.  How about you?  What gifts have you received or given that still cause you to feel incredibly proud or grateful?

To see what the rest of the team created in the spirit of gratitude pop over to the SEM blog.  You have until March 31st to link up you own creation, and get in on a chance at lovely kit sponsored by Sue at ScrapChicKits

This will be my last post for Scrapping Everyday Miracles.  I will forever be grateful to Nicole for welcoming me onto the team in the middle of a term.  SEM is a wonderfully warm, inspiring, supportive, creative place on the web.  She has done a wonderful job of creating a place for those who love the Lord to come together, share together, and create together, all with Jesus at the centre of it.  I wish her and all the new, soon-to-be announced members of the team the very best as they carry on the vision of Scrapping Everyday Miracles.

On a happier note, please come back tomorrow for a fun announcement, I've been keeping secret for weeks, and for your chance at the best RAK I've ever offered on my blog.  It's big.  I promise you'll want in on this.

Happy Monday friends! Pin It