{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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I Made Cards!!!

You're shocked, I know, because I never make cards.  Funny thing is that, that's how I started scrapbooking.  Years ago my sister-in-law began selling Creative Memories product.  She wanted me to host a party to help her get started.  I was pretty set on the fact that I would not be getting into scrapping anytime soon (time, cost, too many hobbies, etc), but thought I'd help her out, and at least buys some pens and paper since I made cards.  Needless to say things changed.  As I began scrapping more, and meeting more advanced card makers I pretty much stopped making cards all together.  I was too intimidated by others' amazing creations (a-hem, Danni, Shellye, Anabelle...to name a few) and began seeing my own  creations as sub-standard.  I simply put the craft aside and carried on with scrapping.  Fast forward to a couple of months ago when I won this stamp set from my friend, and fellow DT member at Scrapping Everyday Miracles, Elizabeth.

Set C1467 - Spring

I thought it would be such a waste to just let them sit there untouched, and couldn't bring myself to just give them away or hand them down to my kids.  My friend Hilde also won the same set (Elizabeth is sweet like that, and offered up two sets as a prize).  All those things combined left only one option.  Hunker down, get over myself and make some cards.

I managed to create 4 cards one afternoon.

I'm doing something new today; guesting on a friend's blog.  I was invited by Elizabeth, my friend, and fellow Scrapping Everyday DT member to guest for her, as she's doing a "Feature a Friend Friday" on her blog.  To see these cards in detail I hope you will  pop over to her blog and check them out.

As an extra little surprise today Hilde and I have decided to treat you to a "twin post".  Seeing as we both won the same set, we thought it would be fun to create together.  Well not so much together as in the same room, at the same time, seeing as she's over 4000 miles away, but rather in the same week.  She is a real sweetheart with a great sense of humour, a heart full of love, and a big shoulder to lean on/cry on when needed.  Her style is simple, yet playful  with fun little touches throughout.  She's my dear friend, and I know she'd appreciate the visit.  You can see her fabulous creations with set C1467 here.  Please leave her some love, and say hi for me.

Before I go I just want to extend a huge thank you to Elizabeth for inviting me to guest for her today.  I hope you are able to stop by and say hello.  I wouldn't even mind if you left me a little love *wink*.

Have a wonderful day friends!

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Her Haircut

It's been a while since I've scrapped just for fun.  Lately my scrapping has been for DT assignments or challenges.  I love both of those, don't get me wrong, but with only so many hours in a day not everything manages to squeeze itself in.

Here's a layout using the May kit from My Scrapbook Nook featuring Echo Park's Graceful collection.

Isn't that kraft doily fabulous?  I have my friend Nicole Nowosad to thank for that.  The best bundle of joy to fit in an envelope ever :)

I had the urge to stitch on my paper, and created two separate focal points for the layout using the stitched circles as anchors.

Notice the stamping going on behind the photo.  That is courtesy of my friend Tish who showed me some fun techniques for stamping.  This, is in fact a piece of drawer liner from the Dollarstore.  Genius!

I've missed scrapping a bit since the laid back days of summer have taken over. But it sure felt good to produce something pretty with no guidelines, no sketches, and no looming deadline.

I hope you'll come back tomorrow I have a fun post to share with you.  I'm teaming up with two friends to bring you twice the fun, and inspiration.

Hope to see you then,

♥ S. Pin It

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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July Sketch Challenge

It's that time of the month again.  Cara is up this month at Scrapping Everyday Miracles, and she's brought us a Pagemaps Sketch to work with.  I altered my take a little bit (as usual, so it would seem), and also had a little bit of a different take on the twist.

Here's the sketch:

Used with permission by Becky Fleck

My take on it includes photos of Théa and her sweetheart of a friend Sabrina.  These two have been dancing together at Kick It for the past 5 years, it's really hard to believe how far they've come since their days in Tiny Dancers.  They've not only become stronger, more competent dancers, but they've also become good little friends.  They encourage each other, challenge each other other, and best of all have a lot of fun learning together, and hanging out at the studio while they wait for their older sisters to finish class.  Although the photos are not the best quality, which on a side note is something I've gotten over, as I've discovered that things move rather quickly during Dance Competition time.  So much time is spent on costumes/make-up, and rehearsing that photos need to be captured in the precious moments in between all of that other stuff.  The result is often poor lighting, people in the background, and a lot of 'take what you can get' photos.  In the past I've waited for 'a better time' and discovered at the end of the season, that I really didn't get many photos of them in their costumes, and with their friends.  No more of that, I want to capture what I can, so I'll take whatever I can get.  Here are a few of just such photos.  This is the day of their Tap Small Group number.  I'm not sure where the other 2 in the dance are, but these two were with me so I pulled them off to the side to capture a few just for fun photos in the lobby of the Pantages Playhouse.  Sabrina has enough spunk to fill the building, and Théa is trying her best to play it up too.  I thought 2 Cool for School was a fitting title, given Sabrina's facial experession in the photos.  Théa really didn't get it, which just makes me laugh. 

Here is my layout

The twist this month is to use a computer generated element.  I chose to use the Dance Manitoba image as mine. 

Joining us this month will get you into the drawing for the $30 Ormolu gift certificate (which I seriously wish I had a chance at).  All you have to do is complete a layout using the sketch, incorporate the scrap twist and link it up to the SEM blog by July 31st.  You can see what the rest of the DT came up with, and have a peek at the Ormolu goodies here. 

Thanks for popping in today friends!

♥ S. Pin It

Pieces of Me

Happy Friday the 13th friends.  Hooray for the weekend!

I've been here, there and everywhere.  Isn't that just how it seems to be in summer?  Rather than bore you with all the details, and better than not checking in at all, I thought I'd give you a quick run down of what I've been up to.

Had a layout published in Scrap Street Magazine this month.  It's all about my current musings, and wishes for myself, and my family.  Although I cannot share it here yet, you can see if for yourself here.

Eden on "our beach"

 Been out to the lake once so far.  I still love going out there, but have to face the reality that the rest of my family only puts up with it for my sake, so we will be selling our trailer this summer.  It makes me a little sad, but I know we can relax just as much in the city if we're intentional about unplugging from time to time.

This girl got braces this week.  There's some correction that needs to happen to ensure she'll have strong, healthy, and beautiful teeth to last her a lifetime.

I finally dug into the Hunger Games series, and devoured the first book in one sitting at the lake (another reason why I love going out there so much).  I have finished the first two book, and will begin the third this weekend.

Had a movie night with D recently and went to see 21 Jump.  We laughed so hard.  It was the perfect movie for us, and our  quirky sense of humor.

 Bought this little beauty the other day.  It makes me happy every time I pull out my phone.

Sent in my photos and write up for my upcoming Feature Artist spot in Scrapbook News and Review Magazine. I'll keep you posted for when if finally comes out.

This gorgeous hose is only 3 short blocks from ours, and in a few weeks it will be home to one of my favorite people in the world.  I can't wait!

Teaching these layout classes next week.  Two in the afternoon.

a mini album right on the layout

all about pennants, punches, and pinwheels

 And two in the evening of July 19th.

All about layers and misting

 If you're one of my lurkers, and would like to try your hand at scrapping, I'd love to have you come out and join me. Call The Scrapbook Cottage to register.

Girls night out for dinner at Mongo's Grill

But, mostly I've been spending lots of time with these lovely ladies.  I do not take it for granted that I get to be home with them during their summer holiday.  It is wonderful thing watching them grow.

How about you?  Anything exciting happening in your corner of the world?

Thanks for popping by today, hope you are in for a wonderful warm weekend!

♥ S.




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Pretty Party Girl

Crate Pretty party is just that, pretty, pretty papers that allow you to capture the beauty and girlieness of a 10 year old's birthday outfit perfectly.  The soft, yet distressed look to the papers are so gorgeous, the pages practically scrap themselves.  This layout came together a cluster at a time.  I love layering, and wanted to create a small cluster of layered goodies in the top right corner, and place my photo cluster to the bottom right corner.

I started with this.

The button and pink brad are from an older Crate Paper collection

I was loving the elements from the sticker sheet and wanted to use as many as I could on this layout.  It's been a while since I've hand stitched on a page, so I wanted to get that in here too.  The gorgeous Evalicious badge was the perfect element to use make this happen.

Here's a better look at all the dimension.

The photo cluster is similar, but larger.

The two doilis, lace, office tag, and alphas are from my stash

More hand stitching, more stickers, more Evalicious, and some Maya Road pins

I've hidden the journaling on the tag behind the photo.

Here is how it all came together.  A snapshot of my daughter's 10th birthday, in her pretty new outfit from her grandparents.

I added just a little more machine stitching to the corners to finish it off

Crate Pretty Party Papers and embellishments are all 40% off in  the store right now.  You can get this collection and more amazing deals here. If new is what you're looking for there are plenty of new release items to satisfy you in that department also.  Check out the new Heidi Swapp for example, it's bright, bold, and full of inspiration.  Regardless of what you're in the mood for the store has plenty to offer, you're sure to find something to suit your fancy.

We are finally off to the lake for the first time of the season.  So I'll be offline for a while.  I'm really hoping to sink my teeth way into The Hunger Games series.  I've been saving up the trilogy to read over summer holidays.  We're all ready to be unplugged for a few days.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, I'll be back soon.

♥ S.

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Reveal Day

It has been so gloriously warm here these past few days I've been enjoying the outdoors a lot more than blogging.  I suppose I should warn you that, that will likely be the norm over the next 2 months.  Summer is so very short here, we must take full advantage of the outdoors.

Let's Capture These sketches has it's first reveal from the brand new team today.  Very exciting stuff.  The sketch was a super fun one to work with, as it allowed me to break open some paint.  Here's my take on the Natalie's great sketch.

Using My Scrapbook Nook May Kit.  Hover your mouse over the layout to read the journaling.

Later today you will be able to see the rest of the teams' layouts, and link up your own take on the sketch here.  We have a wonderfully talented team, and some really sweet ladies.  I hope you'll take a moment to pop by and have a peek, maybe even say "hello".  If you're in a shopping mood be sure to stop by the store.  Tanya is having another huge sale.  Lots of newer items included in the sale also.  If the latest scrappy supplies are what you're after you'll be sure to satisfied in that department too.  Check out the new Jillibean Soup for instance, here.  Shipping anywhere in North America is only $12 too, that's a great price.

I'm off to work today, then into the garden to replace some of my shrubs that have died.  Then, it's Friday Nite Football in this house.  I'll be hanging with my man, watching the Bombers take on the Montreal Alouettes, really hoping we can come out with a win this week.

Have a wonderful weekend friends!  I'll be back on Monday with my first of 3 projects featuring Crate Paper Pretty Party, for Let's Capture These Memories.

See you then,

♥ S. Pin It

Created Beauty

Challenge #18 is live over at Scrapping Everyday Miracles.  This month I wanted to have us focus on the beauty we see all around us that point us back to God proclaiming His creativity and genius. We have the privilege of being in relationship with an amazing inventor, and artist, the creator of all things. He could have chosen for us to live in an bland, uninteresting world, of black and white, but He didn't. Scripture says that He created all things, seen and unseen, and that He delights in His children. Psalm 8 reads “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place... You put everything under our feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.” There is nowhere we can turn where creation doesn't point back to its creator. From a brilliant rainbow after the rain, to the beauty of a new born baby, to intricate spider webs, to fragrant rose bushes, to a deep and meaningful friendship, to tiny red ladybugs. There is beauty all around us just begging for us to stop and take it in.  Let's choose to stop with intention, and look with our hearts at all the ways our world is being colored by creation.

I was on my way to pick up the girls from school one day when I was forced to stop and wait while a family of geese made their way from one side to the other, where lush grasses and a man made lake awaited.  I was struck by how cute they all looked as they waddled their way across.  What also spoke to my heart was how they intuitively knew to stay together hedged in by mom and dad on either side.  I was reminded once again of the Lord's deep, deep love for each of us.  It's a love that goes far beyond the way he cares for every need of every creature.  It's deep, intense, passionate, and never ending.  How lucky we are to have such an amazing Father in Heaven.

Here's the layout I created.

My Mind's Eye Indie Chic Collection

I hope you'll join us by capturing the beauty you see around you.  This month we have another fabulous scrappy sponsor!  You can see who it is, check out the scrap twist, and get all the deets here.  If scrapping is not your thing, however, may you be blessed by all the beauty you see around you today.  Maybe take a moment to add a touch of your own beauty to the world around you.

Be blessed, and have a fabulous day friends!

♥ S.


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