Wednesday Potpourrie

There's a lot on the go around here, both in my scrappy life, and in my personal life.  I affectionately call this time of year "crazy land".  We are on the tail end of Dance season, school at this time of year picks up with fiend trips, and other small class activities where parental help is required, then there's track and field, and my dear hubby is traveling a little more.  It gets a little crazy.  Good, and fulfilling, but a little all over the place at times.

Let's Capture Our Memories is hopping these days.  They are celebrating 3 years this week.  There are games and challenges, and lots of chit chat going on, on the Facebook Page.  Even the store is celebrating with on going sales, the first of which is a 40% discount off LilyBee product.  Have you seen the new collections, they are so beautiful.  I've been working with them this month, and just love the colours.  I have a new layout coming up next week with the Double Dutch Collection, it's one of my faves, I'll be sure to keep you posted.

Here are some scrappy shares for you.  The first is a layout I created with the new Cosmo Cricket papers.  It's a title-less layout.  I really couldn't come up with one, and there wasn't a lot of room left on the page in the design anyway.  I don't think it affects the overall design, and the story behind the layout is recorded on the tag.

The next project is one that I created on request. My sister-in-law asked me to create a card to give to a  young woman she knows who is graduating this year.  Can I just say this stressed me out a little.  Who knew?  I found it a big responsibility to be making something for someone else.  I was very concerned that she would not like it.  I started one, with an idea in mind, but ended up tossing it, because it just wasn't what I had envisioned.  I started over again, and created the entire design around the pearl flourish this time.  I was happy with the result, and thankfully so was she.

Using Echo Park Graceful collection

 I thought it would be fun to create a coordinating envelope

That's it for me today friends.  Thanks so much for popping by.  Hope you get a chance to pop by LCOM for the Birthday Bash.  You'll be sure to meet some of my scrappy new friends, and fun and welcoming bunch.

** If you're looking for the winner of my SEM Birthday Blog Hop, it will be posted soon, I promise.  We are just getting the final details all pulled together for the SEM blog.  There were a lot of prizes, and a lot of winners :)  Check back here soon to see if you are my winner**

Have a great day all!

♥ S. Pin It

Just couldn't stay away

I've been involved in a really great project with a dear friend of mine from church.  It's all about what I'm all about: the power of story.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I am always interested in what is going on in the lives of the people around me, especially those I meet for the first time.  I love how the more you learn about a person, the smaller the world feels.  It's been going very well so far.  Of course it's all pretty new still, so this would still be the 'honeymoon phase'.

Yesterday afternoon I just had to do something creative.  Not to neglect the work I was doing.  I just needed to get my hands on some paper, ribbon, and glue, to make something pretty.  This is what came together

Using My Scrapbook Nook's October Kit featuring My Mind's Eeye

I think I'll makes some cards next.  It's been so long that I'm not sure where to even begin.  I've pinned a few great creations that the DT have made with the October kit, I may have to lift one or two of them to get me going. Speaking of pinning, have any of you gotten into Pinterest?  I resisted for a long time, but have succumb to the call of the world of colourful images, creative ideas, and pin board sharing going on over there. 

things I want to try like this

and this...

and things that speak to me like this

What kinds of images have you been pinning lately?

Thanks for stopping by today.

♥ S.

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School Photos

I don't know about you, but I love getting the school photos of the girls every year.  I know they're nothing special, but they just take me back to the days when I was the one getting my picture taken.  Spending time the night before trying on, and taking off outfit after outfit until I found the perfect thing to wear.  Trying so hard all morning to keep 'the look' just right while awaiting my class' turn for pictures.  Sitting there with the fake smile pasted on my face hoping it wouldn't look fake in the actual picture.  You know.  The problem with the girls' school photos however, is that despite the memories they bring up in me, they look really bland in frames, and are really hard to scrap.  Hence the fact that last year's photo were only scrapped the other day.  I put it off, and put if off, until I just couldn't do in any longer.  I decided to keep it real simple.  The photos are what they are, and there's only so much you can do with a 5x7 Lifetouch photograph.  In the end I think they turned out better than anticipated, well except for Théa's, I think I ran out of mojo by the time I got to that poor girls' photo.  Alas, they all look worlds better now than they did sitting in the envelope in my 'important papers' pile.

Using Cosmo Cricket Circa 1934 papers.

Using Basic Grey Hello Luscious papers

Using Crate, My Mind's Eye, Webster's trim, Sassafraslass alphas, Studio Calico mist (Barnwood)

Any big plans for the weekend?  Ours are pretty status quo from weekend to weekend: Youth Group on Fridays, Dance on Saturdays, Church on Sundays.  This weekend we'll start up our Small Group again.  I'm looking forward to that.  For those who don't know Small Group is a bunch of us who get together (4 couples, 1 single mom, and anywhere from 6-12 kids), have dinner, and discuss Jesus, the Bible, Christian living and how they all relate to our real lives day in and day out.  The kids play, and usually end up watching a movie together.  We rotate from one home to home every other week.   Sometimes we'll watch a dvd, other times we'll read something together, a few times we've done a service project of some type, like working at a food bank, or painting a small inner city community center.  It's been great 'doing life' together with these friends.  Proverbs 27:17 reads "as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another", and Hebrews 10:24-25 reads "let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, but encouraging one another..."  we want to live by these standards, together.  But before Small Group on Saturday, D and I will watch the Bomber Game (our local football team) and see what will happen with the new QB and running back.  Last week was a horrible week for our beloved team, 3 players out, 2 for the rest of the season, ugh!  Here's hoping 29, 000 people don't freeze their butts off in the cold, at the stadium for nothing.  At least I'll be watching from the comfort of my home with D by my side, maybe I'll make us a yummy appetizer to share.

Hope you've got an enjoyable weekend lined up too.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Happy Friday friends,

♥ S. Pin It

Cosmo Cricket Love

I received my July Kit from My Scrapbook Nook yesterday, much to my delight.  I wasn't expecting to receive it until much later in the month due to the postal strike, but yippee, it was waiting for me in my mailbox yesterday.  It is full of Cosmo Cricket goodness.  Normally, I find Cosmo wonderful to look at, but difficult to use.  This 5 and Dime line, however has got the mojo going.  Here are two layouts I created yesterday afternoon.

Eden in mid air at the school playground

I had so much fun with this one.  It came together in about an hour.  I love the added touch of the embroidery floss on the Maya Road canvas tags.

The talented Jessy posted another fun sketch challenge over at the Nook.  Not sure how it is that hers are the only ones I manage to complete, but hey I guess that's a good thing.  

Here is Jessy's sketch:

And here is my take on it:

I hand cut most of those large flowers from a sheet of patterned paper (the one in the bottom right corner, however is a chipboard sticker).  This layout took me much, much longer than the first.  I played around with the composition a lot more before finding something I was satisfied with.

I've had these photos of Belle & me at the lake, all year, but was never really happy with the layout I'd come up with to scrap them, so they've sat untouched until now.  I flipped the sketch, and made some minor alterations to suit my needs, but am very happy with the final result. 

What kind of creative projects have you been up to lately?

Thanks for popping in.    Have a great day!

♥ S.

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