My Graduate

This was my final layout for Chic Tags.  I shared this post on their blog a few weeks ago, but never shared it with you all, so thought I would do that today.

I was super pleased with the way this layout turned out.  I had a picture in my head, and it actually looks as I had hoped, don't you love when that happens?  I wanted to try my hand at a little more messy technique than usual, and had been wanting to scrap this photo of Belle and I the evening of her Grade 9 grad celebration.  My baby is growing up so beautifully, sometimes she takes my breath away.  This photo is one of those moments.

My intention was to use tiny tags to create my photo base, and only colour mists to create my background, rather than patterned paper.  Talk about easy, and fun.  I started by choosing some of the cards from the Cloud 9 Collection, and one journal card from the Let's Go Collection to act as my base, and ground everything.  After that, I simply sprayed some Heidi Swapp Color Shine (in mustard) near the area where I wanted my photo cluster to be, and then dropped some coordinating colours around the outer edges of the yellow.  I then took my long narrow date stamp and placed it just off center to the left of the page.  From there I placed my yellow journal card to be the base around which everything else was layered.

A few Mini Icon cards scattered around with some coordinating buttons and enamel dots, and my layout was complete.

Mixing in just a touch of gold from the Cloud 9 label stickers, and (last year's) Good Tidings Christmas rub-ons, helped to tie in the the gold glitter alphabets that I knew I wanted to use for my title.

I have so enjoyed my time with Chic Tags.  Albert & Veronica are two of the kindest, most encouraging people you will meet in this industry.  They love each of us as designers and most importantly as people, and have been a huge inspiration for me with their innovative and trendy products.  I can't thank them enough for allowing me to go on this wonderful adventure with them.  I wish them all the best in their endeavors, and want to thank each of you who so faithfully popped in to see how I might inspire you to use Chic Tags products.

Have a wonderful last hoorah before school begins (for some of us anyway) friends, thanks so much for popping in!

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Her Grade Six Grad

I fell in love with Chic Tags products a few years ago when all they were were great little tags to tuck here and there onto your projects.  They were great for adding journaling, little details like the date, and made great little embellishments.  Today, in addition to those great tags they've also added paper collections, wood veneer, transparencies, label stickers, rub-ons, and flair buttons.

This photo is of my Théa daughter and her two besties on the morning of their Grade 6 graduation.  They say time flies, and boy do I ever believe them.  

You can see how simple this layout really is, boasting just a few pieces of patterned paper, and using mostly embellishments to add detail to my page.

That veneer cloud is so cute, add a little ink, and voila, you've made it even cuter.

This collection is available right here in the Paper Issues shop. Use my code at checkout to save yourself 20% off your entire order.

Thanks for stopping by today friends!

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The Right Adhesive

I was pretty excited to have received an email from Tombow a little while back asking if I would like to participate in their Sticky U!  I've been a loyal Tombow fan for years and years, so of course saying yes was a no-brainer.  I was shipped a roll of their new Xtreme Permanent Adhesive.  I wanted to put it to the test on my regular layered, with lots of bits and pieces style.  Here is the result.

I love this photo of Isabelle and her friend Keira just prior to their grad dinner.  Both their dresses had so much pretty detail around the waist, and the way they were both holding their clutches called for a photo all it's own, and in turn a layout of the shot, of course.

I couldn't resist adding in the photo of the just the girls' feet, showing off their fab shoes on the layout.  I used a Webster's Pages clip to fasten it to a tag and tucked it into a glassine bag behind the main photo.

Not only was the adhesive a breeze to put on, requiring just the teeniest bit of pressure to dispense from the roll, it also worked perfectly to hold my sequins, and wood veneer pieces (which are normalled glued down with liquid glue), my flair buttons, my burlap bow, and my chipboard accents (which are normally secured in another fashion).  A closer look reveals that you can't even see the adhesive under the transparent sequins.

Thank you Tombow for inviting me to participate in Sticky U!  The Extreme Permanent Adhesive has found a new home among my other Tombow go-tos.

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Because of You

I finally used up this background paper I have been hoarding for at least 2 months.

Of course Isabelle is not the only young lady in our lives making in wonderful, and beautiful but she does happen to be wearing a colour coordinating shirt in this photo.  After several silly shots (to come on a later layout), we finally managed to get a natural looking shot of this girl just before leaving for her Hip Hop Duo Dance at Competition.

I love that the acetate letters of the Let's Go Collection barely show the adhesive through them.

So many great pieces in this collection, it was hard not to include a little bit of everything on this layout.  That's actually how the layout came together.  First, I chose the background, then the photo, and then every little veneer piece, and paper tag that I wanted to incorporate on the layout.

I don't think my urge to layer, and layer this fabulous little tags will ever die.  The pops of colour peeking out, and teeny phrases on several elements are just addictive and must be used with abandon I say.

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You & Me

Just had to document a quick little coffee Belle and I had a couple of weeks ago.  I used the new Cloud 9 Collection to do so.

We made a little stop at Tim Horton's to celebrate her 2nd last orthodontist appointment.  July 15 can't come soon enough for this girl, she's even got a countdown running on her iPhone.

I just love the look of white on white, and the pops of colour in this collection make it even more fun to design tone on tone layouts.

I am so happy that Albert & Veronica to decided to create flair for their new collections, as you know I'm a sucker for great flair buttons.

Using minimal patterned paper, also allows me to easily mix and match remnants from my stash helping me to try and use it up, something I think we can all use a little help with right?!  This little Fancy Pants pocket was perfect to hold my journaling tag, and matched so nicely with the rest of the collection.

I pulled out my neglected Tim Holtz blending tool, some pink distress ink, and my old Pink Paislee stencil, and went to town dressing up my naked cardstock. I really love this like, and sure would love to know how to layer more ink, and gesso on top of it.  Maybe one day I'll actually break out of my "clean" box, and go for it.

Thanks for stopping by today friends! Pin It

Let's Go

Happy Friday friends!  Just wanted to share with ya'll a layout I had up on the Chic Tags blog yesterday.

The Let's Go Collection by Chic Tags was perfect to document this photo I've been hanging on to since last summer.

Waiting to board the plane is almost as exciting as the journey itself for me.  Call me crazy, but I've always been one to love the anticipation of an event almost more than the actual event or experience itself.  I think it's the dreaming part of what's to come that gets me every time.

Who doesn't love a good piece of flair?  This cute airplane one was hard to actually use up.  And the wood veneer pieces are so cute and perfectly suited to any travel themed projects.  I often just leave them naked, although they are cute to emboss, paint, and ink up also.

This particular photo was taken while waiting out a massive thunderstorm in the Winnipeg airport this past July.  It's not much to look at, but to me this photo conjures up all the feelings of excitement of attending my very first CHA experience.  The anticipation of seeing all my friends, working in the Chic Tags booth with Veronica, Jennifer, and Malika, and meeting people from all over the world.  Watching the lightening cut through the sky and hearing the rain pounding on the roof of the airport didn't dampen my spirits a bit, it just gave me one more thing to enjoy as I anticipated the start of a wonderful week in Vegas.

The clear tags are so fun, and I really love that there are several of each letter of the alphabet in each package.  Just a touch of adhesive on the coloured portion of the tag and they'll stick to your paper nicely.  Here, I added just a bit of machine stitching over top to create a bit of a trail for my airplane veneer piece.

Got any vacation photos you've been hanging on to?  This collection proves that now is the time to dig them out and get scrapping.

Happy scrapping friends! Pin It

#Happiness

The moment I opened by Chic Tags box of new collections I fell in love with  Cloud 9.  So many "happy feeling" colours, papers, and embellishments.  I knew I needed to find a photo that evoked the same kind of feeling.

My friend Tara exudes happiness, she's one of the happiest people I know. Nothing gets her too down, and she brightens the room wherever she is.  She has a kind heart, and gentle spirit.  She laughs easily and is just plain fun to be around.  These photos are from the Winnipeg Crop & Create event in April, a little scrapping, some delicious food, chatting with a table full of friends, and lots of laughs.  A weekend well spent.

Acetate tags, flair buttons, rub-ons, label stickers, and delightful wood sequins.

The wood veneer shapes are so cute too.  Here I simply used a little chalk ink to add colour and help them pop off the page a little better, especially that little cloud that I layered over top of the cloud paper.  A little mist, and a few pieces of bling here and there and I have one happy layout to remember our fun weekend crop.

The Cloud 9 Collection can be found in both the Chic Tags store, and the Paper Issues store where you will receive 20% by using code: Sherri

Thanks for stopping by today friends! Pin It

Chic Tags Sketch Challenge

Jennifer gave us a new challenge over on the Chic Tags blog on Sunday.  I really loved the simplicity of the sketch, and wanted to play along.

There are too many photos with all three girls willingly in them, so of course I had to scrap this one taken a few weeks ago on our back deck as Spring was trying to make it's appearance.  

 The Happy Place Collection seemed fitting to use.  I punched hearts and stitched them to the cardstock background.

There really was not a lot of journaling that needed to be recorded on this layout, so this teeny tiny tag sufficed.  I also liked the idea of having the date right out as part of the design.

Here is Jennifer's sketch.  Playing along, and linking up in the comments section on this post could earn you a Chic Tags prize pack.  Please note we love to see how YOU use Chic Tags, but it is not required for participation in the Sketch Challenge.

 Hop over to the Chic Tags blog to see some other creative takes on Jen's sketch.

Thanks for popping in today friends!

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It's That Time Of Year

Good morning friends!  As the kids are just getting ready, I thought I'd pop in here to share just a bit of what's been going on around here.  It's that time of year around here.  Hours and hours of practices are about to be put to the test as the girls begin their Dance Competitive Season.

We have several pieces of shimmery, sparkly goodness all packed up and ready for our trip to Saskatchewan today for the CanDance Competition.

I've got a couple of scrappy things lined up for you while I'm away, however.  Including Sunday's Creative Scrappers reveal.  Here's a little sneak for now.

Be sure to stop back here on Sunday for the full reveal.

I'll leave you with this layout that I created for Chic Tags the other day, using a piece of Lawn Fawn patterned paper as my background (they have the cutest papers out now).

Have you ever been so anxious to get your idea onto paper that you scrap the first photo you can find?  That's what happened here.  I knew that I wanted to stick with the soft pastel colour scheme so I grabbed my 5th & Frolic Project Life cards, and printed out the photo I took with my girls that same morning, knowing that they would co-ordinate perfectly.

I layered the cards I wanted to use and then began tucking tags here and there.  Using a few embellishments to finish things up, and my layout was complete.

I've been hoarding these Bunting tags for a long time, I just love the rich woodgrain colour and the fact that you can use them for just about anything on both layouts and cards. 

That's it for today, the highway awaits.  Thanks for stopping in today friends!

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Chic Tags & Maya Road Swap

We've got another product swap to share with you over at Chic Tags.

Teaming up with Maya Road was a super fun idea.  I've always been a fan of their embellishments.  Here are the projects I created with goodies from both companies.

Meet my friend Shannon.  She and her family have done life with us for the past 14 years.  Our families have such a nice time when we're together, kids, dogs, and all.  Last August she took her family, and transferred job positions to one in Calgary. I miss her so much.  Life is busy these days, which isn't too much of a change, but it sure is nice to have that person in your life that when you're together you each enjoy the time so much.  Chatting, learning, challenging, and encouraging one another.  I was so happy to receive her text saying she was going to be in Winnipeg for one night recently.  We had the chance to meet for supper, catch up and just enjoy the short time we had together.

The chipboard words, and hearts were so great for embossing.

Burlap, felt flowers, and twine?  Yes please.

As is a habit of mine, I placed my journaling on a hidden tag behind the photos.

And here is my second layout.  My favourite photo from our Fall photo shoot.

I just love the looks on the girls' faces as they threw the leaves around.

I used my silhouette to cut leaves out of gold cardstock, and vellum.  The Happy Place tags are perfect for journaling.

This time rather than embossing the chipboard words, I simply used my Tim Holtz blending tool to add a little distress ink to them.  That cute little ampersand stamp is by Chic Tags, and I may or may not be hoarding a few of those Maya Road heart pennant clips.

Now be sure to pop over to the Chic Tags blog to enter for your chance at the Happy Place collection we're giving away to celebrate our blog hop with Maya Road.  And don't forget to pop over to the Maya Road blog also to enter their giveaway, and see what they're talented crew has created using our Chic Tag products.  Good luck to all.

Thanks for stopping in today friends! Pin It

Funk Flashback

I recently browsed through several of my albums and was amazed at how much we've all changed.  Especially the girls.  It filled my heart so much to see these old photos of them that I just had to re-scrap one of the photos.

This old photo of us brought back such fond memories of taking the girls to a fair in the Summer of 2008.  They had so much fun on all the rides.

There really wasn't a lot I needed to say about the photo, especially since it has already been scrapped, but several of the Photo Toppers, and that great patterned paper from the Happy Place collection, had such wonderful words, and phrases already printed on them, that the journaling really was done for me. 

Don't you just love when products make it even easier to tell your story in quick and fun way? Handy little embellishments like these photo toppers make it so we can spend more time making memories than scrapping them. I think we can all appreciate that.

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Chic Tags Monthy Challenge

Happy Sunday friends,

It's time for a new monthly challenge at Chic Tags.  This month we are challenging you to "Go Green".  I loved this one, as it was so wide open for interpretation.  You could upcycle something for your project, go all out using the actual colour, or in my case simply use the word in your title, among many other interpretations I'm sure.

This photos was taken in Saskatoon last November when we took Théa to a Dance Convention she won a registration for.  The instructors were amazing, and she was pushed pretty hard; loving almost every minute of it (the Lyrical section was a little beyond her ability).  One of the instructors that weekend, just happened to be my Dance crush from So You Think You Can Dance, none other than the super talented passionately serious about the Jazz Funk genre, sweetly funny, and easy on the eyes: Mr Sean Cheesman.  At the end of the competition all the instructors lineup, and have a seat with a Sharpie to sign autographs for the students.  I was seriously jealous that Théa got to have her photo taken with him (and the sweet, and equally as talented Tap Dancer Lisa Latouche), and I didn't.

These mini icons are my favourite pieces of the last CHA collection.  I almost always use 3D foam to raise them off the page a bit.

Love these little Happy Place phrases.  Did you know that the Love Notes collection has some almost identical tags that are currently on clearance for only $1.40 USD per package.  There are in fact, A LOT of awesome tags on clearance.  Some as low as $1 USD.  Hop over here to check them out. (the flair I've used is one of Shelley's fab creations at {aflairforbuttons}.

I will forever treasure this tweet that Mr. Cheesman himself replied to promising that 'next time' I'll get to be the one in the photo with him.  I used two mini icons glued back to back to allow me to retrieve the tweet photo from the pocket behind the main photo.

This challenge presented the perfect opportunity for me to scrap this photo.  Have you got your wheels churning yet?  If you'd like a few more examples of how the DT interpreted the challenge hop over to the Chic Tags blog post.  I would love to see you link up your own version for a chance at Chic Tags grab bag.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend friends! Pin It