A box full of Surprise

Are you a little like me when you shop for scrappy goodies?  I have a tendency to want only the newest items I can find when there are always great 'older' gems still to be had.   If you've been following along for the past week you know that the Marketing Team were all sent 'surprise packages' to work with this month from the

The sweet Tanya of Let's Capture Our Memories surprised each of us on the Marketing Team this month, by sending surprise product for us to create with.  Here is a photo of my surprise box contents.

I knew that this would be the perfect month to scrap this photo of the lovely Nicole and I that I've had sitting around for a few months now.  Seeing as they are both pieces of the same puzzle.  I titled the layout "Just By Chance" as I believe that's truly how we met.  Winnipeg is not all that big of a city.  You've heard the phrase 'six degrees of separation'?  Well in this city it's more like two.  Somehow though, it took Let's Capture These Memories to bring us together.  It has been so wonderful getting to know this girl.  She's funnier than most, sweet, and more loyal than ever to her group of girlies.  I thought it would be fitting to use Tanya's package of goodies to document this new found friendship.

I used the tag to record my jounaling

I added a little mist, a doily, and some Lilybee alphas to complete the layout.

So what about you?  Any 'oldies, but goodies' laying around your scrap room that you could be pulling out to create your next layout?  As always, I'd love to come and have a peek if I've inspired you to create.  I encourage you to come back next week to see what else I was able to create with this fabulous box of goodies.




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Basically Bare Mini

A quick share of a mini I made for Let's Capture Our Memories recently.

I created a mini album of our Summer.  I love the look of the 'naked' album.  I find it super easy to work with.  Where some may feel the need to cover the entire thing up with patterned paper, I actually like the look of the chipboard under my photos.  Here's my cover.  I used an old Pink Paislee Mask and some white Mr.Huey's, to create a little bit of pizazz to it.  I felt the cover needed just a little something more without adding a bunch of patterned paper.

Rather than go into detail about every page, I'll simply let them speak for themselves.  If you saw my Amy Tangerine mini, you'll remember that I love to add bits and pieces to my albums, mixing and matching different manufactures.  I used the Echo Park Happy Days collection as my base, and added just a few little bits from my stash.  For the most part all my embellishments are made of paper and/or stickers from the collection.

I combined a few photos using a brad for easy viewing under the "flip" sticker

The album comes with five chipboard inserts for the pockets.  It quickly became apparent, however that I needed a little more for this project.  No problem.  The pockets were wide enough to simply make a few more inserts out of scrap pieces of cardboard (from cereal boxes, etc) and simply add them in.  Here is an example of just that.  Both these pages fit in the same "Aug Long" pocket.

Front view

Rear view of same inserts

Here's another set of two.

Front view

Rear view of  same insert

Even after adding a few more inserts, I still had a handful of photos that I wanted to include in the album.  Solution: tape an envelope to the back page to hold  said photos.  Easy peasy.

You can see that even though I've added those extra pages, and the envelope, that the album is not terribly thick.  Still thin enough to be easily stored on my shelf with the others.

The beauty of these little albums is how quickly they make creating a fun little keepsake.  This album from start to finish took me about 3 hours.  Sometimes I can spend that on one layout, so that gives you some perspective.

The entire Echo Park - Happy Days collection and several different varieties of mini albums are all currently available in the LCOM shop.


Happy creating friends!

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Beautiful Moments

I received the August Scrapbook Nook kit ages ago, and finally had a chance to play with it.  I wanted to make something that I could start and finish quickly, as I only had a couple of hours.  Needless to say I resorted to the style I began scrapping with.  The basic straight lines, with layers and a few stickers.  Simple, but worked great for me with this photo of Théa, and her two little Dance buddies.

Using Carta Bella Beautiful Moments collection

This was taken shortly before they performed at the Canadian National Dance Competition this past May.  Those little outfits were so stinkin' cute, and the three of them looked just gorgeous up there on the stage.  It's amazing to see how far they've come in the mere 5 years they've been dancing.  They're only 10, I can't even begin to imagine what they'll be doing when they're 13 and 15 years old.  KickIt Dance Studio has been such a huge, huge blessing in our lives, I can barely put it into words.  The directors are two of the kindest, most encouraging, dedicated people I know.  Not to mention the high level of talent they share with their students.  They run a fabulous Dance Camp every year, and bring in the strongest and best teachers in each field to teach classes during the Intensive week.  They treat the kids with respect, and challenge them to bring their best all the time.  In turn the kids treat each other in the same regard.  It is especially noticeable as you observe the older dancers (13-17), interact with the younger ones.  We are so happy we've found a home here.

There is a hidden journal tag on this layout.  The half scalloped journal spot pulls out to reveal the following journaling: "These 3 are so fortunate to have found each other as dance mates at KickIt. They push each other, and genuinely love each other.  Competition is even more fun as they dance as friends.  May 2012"

I'm up over at Let's Capture Our Memories today with a little tutorial on how I created the hidden pocket if you'd like to have a peek.  The LCOM store also has the Carta Bella paper line in stock and ready to ship.  You can check it out here.

Thanks for stopping by today friends.  Hope you're in the middle of a great weekend.

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LCOM + Amy Tangerine

I'm up at Let's Capture Our Memories today with a fun little mini book.  It's been awhile since I've done one, but it's like riding a bicycle really, it all came back to me in no time.

I decided to do a 'Book Of Me'.  Here are a couple of pages to whet your appetite.  To see the finished album, I'd love for you to head over the the LCOM blog.  

I apologize in advance for my hand being visible in many of the photos.  Photographing this little guy proved a lot more tricky than putting it together :)

Click on the images to enlarge

The game day ticket is peeking out behind the page

I've mentioned before how important I think it is to scrap about ourselves in addition to our family and friends.  This little book will serve as a reminder in years to come of all the rich blessing my life held at this point.  It may seem to go against the grain to do a BOM album in the middle of the year, but that's me, that's how I roll, and I find great freedom in scrapping whatever my heart desires, and not restraining myself to chronological order, or standard timelines.

If you struggle with mini albums and don't know where to start I've got some ideas listed on the blog that may help you to get started on your own: 

If you are inspired to create a mini, please let me know.  I'd love to come and have a peek. 

Thanks for popping by today friends.  I hope your week is off to a great start.

♥ S. Pin It

LCTS Sketch #145

Natalie is our sketch designer this week over at Let's Capture These Sketches.  Here is the sketch we had to work with.

This one was a little tricky at first for me, until I realized I could group everything just a little closer together creating a layout that still followed the sketch, but reflected my true style.

Here is my take on it.

One of the best things to me about being part of a sketch team, is that I get the opportunity to dig into my stash and pull out older items that I've let sit idle for too long.  Because the focus is on the sketch and not the product, I'm free to mix and match to my heart's content.  Here I've used some new Evalicious: journal card, badge, and tag, some really old Crate Paper: the punched yellow strip (Random Collection), some Studio Calico washi tape, some Amy Tan leaves, and Ormolu tag, an old Prima sculpture flower, a really old stamp (I think it's Maya Road), and the start chip board again is really old (I think maybe Jenni Bowlin?!), along with some Studio Calico mist, Jillibean soup alphas and some Maya Raod trim.  Love 'using it all up'.  If you'd like to get your hands on those Evalicious goodies, or even the Ormolu tags they are available in the LCOM store.

A couple detail shots:

Made the flower with a Gluber and some May Arts trim

A little Studio Calico washi tape

 To see what the rest of the DT created and link up your own take on Sketch #145 hop on over here.

Thanks for popping in today friends.  Hope you're in the middle of a great weekend!

♥ S.


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Just Love This

Have any of you become as addicted with Instagram and all it's co-ordinating apps as I have?  I love the 4x4 size for scrapping, and the lighting effects in Picfx are so gorgeous on the printed photo.  As soon as I finished editing this photo of my youngest two girls, and myself, I knew it would be a perfect match to this gorgeous paper line.

I really do love this page, it's simplicity with little clusters of fun, a little stamping, a little misting, and a little stitching all just make me happy.

rest your mouse over the photo to read the journaling

This collection has been one of my favorite collections to work with.  I've created so many pages with it, and still have paper, and embellishments to spare.

You see more close ups and get your hands on some of the product used by checking out my post on the Let's Capture Our Memories blog today.

Thanks for your comments they sure make my day (and help me to know I'm not just talking to the air around me).

Speaking of comments, have you seen this post yet?  It's a great opportunity to support two wonderful scrappy women I just happen to really like, and win yourself a little shopping spree at the same time.  You really don't want to miss out on this opportunity!

Have a wonderful day friends!

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Summer Luvin'

August already hey?!

Summer has been wonderful around here so far.  Lots of playing, lots of late nights with movies, and popcorn.  Some time with friends, time at the lake, and a little bit of everything in between.  That's the way I like it.  I do apologize for being more absent from the blog, but our down time is something I take pretty seriously with the way our lives are so very scheduled during the school year.  Rather than writing about our experiences I'm out with my friends and family creating them.

I thought I'd share a few of those memories with you today.  I love Instagram, and so enjoy preserving, and scrapping my photos this way.  It's also a fabulous way to stay connected with friends, and their every day little moments.

One morning before gymnastics camp

Cat sitting for Gus

This kid is so creative, even her nails are fun

Ice cream on the beach with Aunty Deb

Eden in the neighbour's dreamy backyard

A little dessert

This was actually the last day of school at the hotel pool

Loved the Hunger Games trilogy.  Have you read it?

Together for the first time in over 15 years

Can't wait to see this next week!  Our sweet little friend is in it.

Yes, he's really that cute!

I couldn't help this ridiculous smile, there's nothing like the first publication!

Blue Bombers home opener.  They won, I lost my voice for 4 days :)

Are you on Instagram.  I'd love to follow you, leave me your username in the comments section, and I'll look you up.  You can find me at "sherrifunk", original, I know :)

Here's a page  of our ever adorable Wilson I created a  while back for the 12 Days of Summer Challenge over at Let's Capture Our Memories.

For someone who never wanted a dog, I sure to seem to have a lot of photos of him :)

We are off for holidays for the next couple of weeks.  We'll be in and out a couple of times, but I just wanted to let you know that I will not be blogging regularly, although I do  have a few posts scheduled to run, so you won't be left high and dry.

• Tomorrow I'll be back with Sketch #143 reveal for Let's Capture These Sketches. 
• Monday I'll have Challenge #19 live for Scrapping Everyday Miracles.
• Tuesday I'll have a layout to share for Let's Capture Our Memories.
• And a couple more will follow the week after. 

I'm  also gathering up some goodies to do a giveaway at the end of summer.  You all have been so wonderful keeping up with me, encouraging me, and blessing me with your kind words.  So much so, that I've surpassed 100 followers.  That's exciting, and something worth celebrating.  Because I want the goodies to be great, I've decided to do it at the end of summer in hopes that I'll be able to get my hands on more of the new CHA items.  So keep coming back to visit.  And if you're not already a follower, please join me to become eligible.

Off to enjoy the rest of this gorgeous Manitoba summer day.  Have a blessed day friends,

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{Pretty} Homework

Can you believe it's been a month since the days of school homework?  If you're like me you have to stop yourself from thinking "It's only one more month until we're back into homework".  As a little bit of a control freak, planner, I struggle with living in the moment, a lot.  But that's another story for another time.

It's my turn over at the Let's Capture These Memories blog today.  I have a super simple design with lots of straight lines, and as usual a few layers to share with you.  I'm still working with Crate Paper Pretty Party Collection, and still finding lots of variety to go with pretty much any photo.

These photos of my girls doing homework in the back of the van are nothing special really.  If you look through my scrapbooks you'll see other similar photos of routine/mundane activities.  I've tried hard to make a point of incorporating the 'everyday' into my scrapbooks.  I think that is something that many of us struggle with (unless of course you  keep up with Project Life).  It's easy to get caught up in the events, vacations,and other milestones.  There are, however, so many other day-to-day occurrences, that make up our lives,  I believe it is just as much fun to look back and remember, celebrate, and appreciate them as we would birthdays, or first day of school 

 type events.

I've outlined the alphas from the collection with a Tim Holtz Distress marker

This layout is in remembrance of this past year where my younger two girls and I would wait for 25 minutes outside the school of my oldest.  We would use that time to get caught up on home reading, spelling practice, and math homework.  It was a great use of time, and even a nice way to wind down just a bit after school, but before Dance Class and supper took over.  I know the days are not far off, where they will no longer want me to pick them up from school, choosing rather to walk or take public transportation with their friends.  I'm sure there will come a day way down the road, when my girls are grown, and gone, and I'll stumble upon this page and long for 'the days of homework in the back of the van' once more. 

How about you, are you in the habit of recording the 'every day'?  Have you ever considered that it may be neat to one day look back at the way you spent your days during this chapter of your life?  Perhaps today is a good day to start? 

Tanya has been a busy lady.  You should see all the new stuff in the store already.  American Crafts, Carta Bella, and Basic Grey are already in stock, just to name a few.  I strongly suggest you head on over to the store and check it out for yourself.

In other news...my friend Patricia kindly hooked me up with an Instagram photo of my layout as it appears in the August issue of Scrapbook Trends!  So I can say I've seen a photo of the photo, but I can't wait to see the real deal as soon as the magazine shows up in The Scrapbook Cottage where I work!
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Reveal

Happy Saturday friends!

Yesterday was revel day over at Let's Capture These Sketches.  We had a guest this month,and Cindy Stevens did not let us down with sketch #141. Just look at this fabulous sketch.

This sketch has been one of my favorites to work with.  I loved the butterflies, the straight lines, the overlapping squares, the funky stringy business going on, on the left.  It was a pleasure to work with.  Thanks so much Cindy for the inspiration.

Hop over to the LCTS blog to see what the rest of the talented ladies came up with.  Hope you take a stab at it yourself.  I'd love to see your take.

Until then, here's mine:

If you're looking for even more of a mojo boost you should check out the 12 Day Summer Challenge over at Let's Capture These Sketches.  You'll need to register an account on the forum to see all the challenges, but it's a very quick process, honest.  There are several challenges there, and I'm sure there's bound to be a few to pique your interest.

I hope you're in the middle of a wonderful weekend.  Thanks for stopping by!


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Scrappin' Your Stash

I'm up on the Let's Capture Our Memories Blog today.

The excitement of CHA can be felt all over the scrappy web.  It's always so exciting to see what our favorite manufacturers have come up with to delight our scrappy senses.  I know I'm not the only one who struggles with balancing wanting more new goodness and using up the goodness we still have in our stash.  As much as we want to bring brand new scrappy goodness into our home, we have a slight sense of guilt over all the scrappy supplies we still have piled up, staring us in the face ever time we sit down to scrap.  For today's post, I thought it may be a good idea to showcase a couple of ideas to help us use up some of that stash to make room for some of the new CHA goodness we've got our eye on.  So I gathered up my Crate Paper Pretty Party Collection pack, and some other random supplies that have been gathering dust in my space and got to work.

First an altered tin.  Add a little Mod Podge, eliminate a few things here and there, and voila a cute little tin for my 10 year old girly, girl to keep her treasures in.

Next up a layout.

This design uses 10 different strips of paper.  It's not a new design by any means but efficient in helping you to make a dent in that stash of yours.  Have a look and you'll see what I mean.

To create this design I began by using a lightweight piece of cardboard I recycled from my pocket page protectors packaging.

I cut the piece of cardboard to 12" x 6.75".  I then marked the center point on the cardboard and drew angular lines about every two inches all the way around.

Next I sliced the pieces apart, and numbered them so that I could replicate it easily once the pieces of patterned paper were cut out.  This will also allow you to keep, and reuse the pieces over, and over again.

Because the traced pieces are always slightly larger than the original there will be a tiny bit of overlapping at the center.  This is easily covered up once you put your layout together.   I like the look of stitching on my pages, and this is a great design for it.

Remember we're trying to use up our stash, so I've layered several die cut shapes,  and boarder stickers that came with the collection around my photos.

And here is the final product.

The photos are from Tuesday when two of my longest standing friends came over for the afternoon.  It had been a long time since we'd all been together.  Hover your mouse over the photo to read the journaling.

I hope I've been able to inspire you to dig into your stash and put some of the scrappy goodness you've been hoarding, or just haven't gotten around to using, to good use.  What kinds of empty little containers have you been saving that could benefit from a little sprucing up with pretty paper, ribbon, and embellishments?  Canning jars?  Pringle tubes?  Little vases from the Dollarstore?  I'm sure you don't have to look too hard to find something.  And what about all those layouts you've been pinning, or adding to your favorites folders that use a lot of little bits of paper and tags, or die cuts, or journal spots?  Maybe it's time to lift one and make some room in your stash for the new goodness that's sure to arrive in the LCOM store within the next month or two.  If you do decide to tackle your stash I'd sure love to come and have a peek, be sure to link me up.


Happy scrapping friends!

Scrappy Goodness Used:
Crate Paper Pretty Party
Maya Road Vintage Butterflies
Maya Road Pins
Maya Road ribbon
Ormolu Chevron Tag
October Afternoon Sticky Keys
American Crafts Thickers
The Twinery Twine
3D Foam Squares
Other:
Petallo flower
May Arts Jute & Tulle
Tombow Adhesive


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