This Is Forty

Do you ever create a layout and then think, that's not exactly what I was going for?  That is what happened to me on my last project.  Here is the layout.

I wanted to document my turning 40 in a small way.  So I grabbed this photo and threw together a little journaling with my favourite {aflairforbuttons} flair that I had been saving just for this project.

I had all the right products, and even the design is pretty good, showcasing my style of scatteredclusters all over the page.  I even tucked the journaling away in a tiny pocket as I usually do.

I used the last little bit of my favourite trim.

And this little cluster does indeed make me happy.  But overall something is just out of whack. What do you do when that happens to you?  Rip the layout apart and start over?  File it away and not share it with the world?  Or just move on?  In this case I think it's the white cardstock that is throwing it off.  I love white backgrounds, and I especially love this wood grain white cardstock. But I think I would have been better off going with a shabby chic/scripty type patterned paper on the bottom.  Oh well, I'm not usually one to rip a layout apart, or hide it.  I think it's good to allow the "real us", in my case the 40 year old "real us" to show through our work.  This is me. These are some of my favourite products on one layout to help give just a peek into who I am at 40, the kind of scrapper I am, and the happy condition of my heart.  This set of flair was just perfect to help me showcase this brief moment in time.

This set is also calling my name. 

I really want to do another layout that's a lot more detailed about this past year of my life.  It hasn't been an easy one, and some of these words and images have been exactly what I have been holding on to to make it through to my current "happy" state.

Have you looked through the {aflairforbuttons} Etsy shop lately? Perhaps there's a Lovely Words set calling your name too.

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Spread Your Wings - Paper Issues Spotlight

I think I've made my first teacher gift of the year.

This 8x8 butterfly frame seemed like the perfect project for the rainbow of colours I have of the fabulous Doodlebug Designs Vellum sheets.

The vellum cuts like a charm through the paper trimmer and the Silhouette Cameo.  In this case I used my old Martha Stewart punch to create the butterflies.  I simply layered 2 punched butterflies one on top of the other and stitched them down to the cardstock.  I created the title using my Silhouette Cameo, and added just a touch of pink distress ink to the Fly for extra pop.

You'll notice there are so many colours that I haven't used (needed a much bigger frame to get them all in).  I have another idea for getting the full rainbow of colours onto one project, but you'll have to wait for that one.

The Doodlebug Sprinkles collection is so cute. You can see these vellum sheets and the rest of the bright and cheerful collection here, in the Paper Issues shop.  Don't forget to use code:SHERRI at check out to save 20% off your entire order.  US customers earn free shipping on all orders over $60 before discount.

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Jayden & Me *Creative Scrappers Reveal*

It's Sunday, which means a new reveal over at Creative Scrappers.

This week I played along using my handsome nephew Jayden.

The April Scraptastic Kit, featuring tons of fabulous new Fancy Pants product worked great to keep the colours a little more on the masculine side.

Kristine's sketch, once again drew me outside of my usual style.

When is the last time you played along with a sketch?  They are so great for breaking us out of our mold and forcing us to think outside our proverbial scrappy box.  Playing along this month will earn you a chance at a prize from our sponsor My Creative Scrapbook.

Hop over here for more inspiration using this sketch from the Creative Scrappers dt. Pin It

Creative Scrappers - Birthday Bash

Welcome to the Creative Scrappers Blog Hop!

We are celebrating 6 years of Creating with Sketches.  We’re so excited to share 12 new sketches with you today and some inspiring layouts as well.  We’ll be giving away a few prizes so be sure to play along and check back on Saturday night, April 26th to see if you’re the lucky winner!

Here are the different ways you can play along –
1. Like Creative Scrappers on Facebook
2. Comment on our blog or on Facebook page
3. Help spread the news

Here is the sketch I chose to work with, created by Jenny Evans.

I just love Jenny's sketches, and knew I had a set of photos from a recent "kiddie" photo shoot that I could use.  I also loved that, as much as the design was already within my comfort zone there were a few elements that I wouldn't normally be drawn to in my own designing, like the triangles down down the page, in addition to the chevrons going across the page, I would have thought to put both on the same page.

Here is what I came up with:

Théa made the sweetest little Olaf on the last nice warm-weather winter day we had.  I love that she even got his mouth in the form of him singing.  He looked so cute and inviting in the middle of our cul-de-sac. 

I created the snowflake frame using my Silhouette

I've been hoarding that pink chevron flair button for just over a year now.

Hidden journaling once again, I'm pretty predictable that way, I just love to tell the story though, and the design doesn't always allow for it to be out in the open, it's what happens when you like embellishments too much, lol.

There is so much inspiration waiting for you along with way, with 11 more brand new layouts just for the party.  Here is the blog hop order:

Amanda Johnson 

Ashley Horton 

Danielle de Konink 

Jenny Evans 

Jody Rogers 

Kathy Skou 

Kristine Davidson 

Michelle Whorwood 

Missy Whidden 

Sherri Funk <--- You are here

Stephanie Hart 

Tara Elias 

Creative Scrappers

Now head on over to the Creative Scrappers blog to download the sketches from today's birthday bash blog hop!   We have a ton of giveaways happening all day on our Facebook Page thanks to our amazing sponsors: Creative Scrappers, Let's Capture Our Memories,  Paper Camellia, Creative Embellishments, My Scraps & More, Scrapbook & Cards Today, Simple Stories, Jillibean Soup, Pinkfresh Studio, Davida Stafford - CTMH, Paper Issues, My Creative Scrapbook.  And don't forget to stop back at the Creative Scrappers blog on Sunday April 27 to see our reveal of Sketch #267.

Thanks for popping in today friends, your next stop on our hop is Stephanie Hart.  Happy hopping!

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Beauty Wandering

I played along with Susan's Sketch again this month for Scraptastic Kit Club.  I really do enjoy her sketches, and this month was especially fun because I got to work with a landscape 4x6 photo, that is rare for me.

The sketch was perfect as I had finally stopped and taken a photo of this old abandoned barn that we pass every time we go out to mom & dad's in Niverville.  It's so pretty, and always calms me to look at.

I added one of the stamps in the Stamp Add On set to the center of my start.

I just love all the bits and pieces from the Fancy Pants As You Wish Collection.  That glob was just calling for me to add a flair piece I've been hoarding from {aflairforbuttons}.  Lots of handstitching on this one too.  I don't think I'll ever tire of that, I find it so relaxing to do while watching Netflix.

Here is the original sketch.

Did you know that playing along with our monthly challenges will earn you a gift certificate to the Scraptastic shop?  Jessica has so many great kits still in stock, as well she also has packages of tags, and wood veneer, and other goodies that she sells separately for those who want to add to their kits or simply pick up some additional embellishments to use on their projects.  They are especially great for adding to your Project Life style scrapping, or Moments In Between as I call it.

Hop over here to see how some of the DT played along this month. Pin It

We're having a party

Come Join us next Friday April 25th for a full day filled with inspiration from our Design Team Members, Great Giveaways from our Sponsors, and much more!

We thank our sponsors for being involved in our Birthday Bash and being so generous to our friends! - to win prizes you'll have to join us on facebook ;-)

Creative Scrappers, Let's Capture Our Memories, Paper Camellia, 
Creative Embellishments, My Scraps & More, Scrapbook & Cards Today, 
Simple Stories, Jillibean Soup, Pinkfresh Studio, Davida Stafford - CTMH, Paper Issues, My Creative Scrapbook and more!

Hope to see you there friends!

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Moments In Between

It's been quite sometime since I've shared any of my pages here.

Here are the last two that I completed using the Scraptastic This Life Noted March & April kits.

Feb 16-22

A pretty ordinary week.  The Olympics were still on-going, the gold medal match between Canada and the US was quite something.  I thought for sure we were out of it, being down 3-0 with only 3 minutes to go.  But then a fire was lit and we managed to tie it up with seconds on the clock, and then took gold in overtime.  It was amazing, so, so proud of those girls, especially our own Jocelyn LaRocque from small town Ste. Anne Manitoba.

That Pepsi cup is a photo of a crayon drawing Belle did while we were waiting for our food out for dinner one night.

So many great embellies in this kit

March 2-8

Loved that funky alphabet stamp that came in the kit this month.

We celebrated Wilson's 4th Birthday with a "cheese" cake, and registered Isabelle for High School - WHAAAAT?!?

Those Evalicious puffy stickers are so fun.

There you have it, short and sweet.  Now, I'm really behind.  The good news is I have a ton of new product just waiting to be used up on the un-documented weeks.

How is your Project Life style scrapping coming along?  Love it? Hate it?  Still debating?  I may be behind, but I'm so not stressed about it.  Actually I kind of like it this way because now when I get new product,  I don't have to wait for my week to be over to use it, I have a few weeks to choose from.  I can just print and scrap.  I also think having the Selphy wireless printer is a HUGE help for this style of scrapping.  I almost never go to the photography center anymore.

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May Sneaks Are Up

I have the May Scraptastic Sneaks to share with you today.

This Life Noted Kit

Daylight - Scrapbook Kit #1

The Story I Heard - Scrapbook Kit #2

And remember that the Scrapbook kits each have Add On kits filled with extra papers and embellies, as well as Add On Stamp Kits (all at an additional charge).  You'll want to keep your eyes peeled on the blog for the full reveals on May 1st.  If you've decided this is the month to jump in and subscribe you may do so here.

I'll leave you with a just for fun layout I completed recently using the February Feel Again kit.

The "I love you to the moon..." quote reminded me of what I say to the girls every night before bed.  A quick and easy layout using a lot of the stickers from the Echo Park sticker sheet.

Thanks for stopping by today friends!

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It's a Blog Hop: A Flair For Buttons Style

Happy Saturday friends!

A special welcome, for those hopping along with A Flair For Buttons.  Shelley has been adding so many fabulous sets to the shop over the past several weeks it's been fun seeing all the new creations.  I've chosen to showcase the My Life Words 3 set for you today.

Normally I begin my scrapping process by deciding on the photo I want to scrap and choosing product from there.  This time, however, I chose the set of flair first and then added the photo, and the rest of the paper, and embellishments second.  I really wanted to work with a set of flair that were for everyday photos, and this photo sort of fit the category.  It was from a Dance Competition my girls were are a part of last October (although they aren't actually in this shot). It's a Dance photo, but doesn't really have a theme, as there aren't any other photos of this particular practice, nor are any of my children actually in the shot.  It's meaningful to me, however because of the experience it represents.  The dance was called "We Are Family".  There were about 30 kids in the dance, and there was a "family" section where all the siblings had a little showcase part as they danced together in family units. There were a total of 5 families with a total of 12 siblings in all.  It was pretty special to see all my girls on the stage at the same time. I should mention they won Judges Choice Award for that one :)

Here is the layout.

I have a bit of an addiction to glassine bags.  I just love the way they look behind a photo.  Not quite like vellum, but more subtle than patterned paper.

In this case I added a piece of Doodlebug Sprinkles vellum to the inside of it.  A little trick I learned from Virginia Nebel when I was at Crop & Create a couple of weekends ago. Although she used patterned paper instead of vellum. I thought the idea was genius.

So happy that my gold pen still worked, as I used it to add some journaling to the WeRMemory keepers pocket page card.  Doesn't it look kinda cool tucked inside the vellum bag?!  And did you notice that even though I have 3 pieces of flair added to my page, it doesn't feel too bulky and over-powering.  I love flair, and that little extra bit of fabulous they add to my projects.

And...because Shelley is so generous, she is offering a discount code just for you during this hop. 

Did you know that all orders outside of the US qualify for 10% off all the time?  Simply enter INTERNATIONALFRIENDS at checkout anytime of the year, not just during the hop.  Shelley's the best!

Hop along with us over the weekend for a chance to win your choice of a set of flair from the {aflairforbuttons} Etsy shop.  I can promise you that there will be lots of inspo along the way, I'm fortunate enough to work with some super talented girls.

Erica Weinstock

Michelle Hernandez

Joy Taylor 

Mary Ann Maldonado

Ashli Oliver

Diane Payne

Els Brige

Sherri Funk --> that's me :)

Daniela Dobson

{a flair for buttons}

Stop at each blog, and leave a comment by midnight CST on Monday April 21st for your chance to win.  Shelley will post the list of winners on the A Flair For Buttons blog on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Happy hopping everyone! Pin It

Creative Scrappers Reveal #266

Wilson has been getting a lot of face time in my posts lately.  Here he is, again in my take on Creative Scrappers Sketch #266.

Here is Jenny's sketch.

You can see that I flipped the sketch and added my own touch to it just a little.  I loved the arrows she incorporated.  I used some Studio Calico veneer, and added a little coating of Perfect Pearls to shine them up a little and help them blend in with the background paper just a little bit better.

That transparency is from the Crate Paper Love Notes overlays pack, and I cut out and stitched circles of coordinating paper.  Some of my circles are peeking through behind holes I've cut into the cardstock, and some are raised with 3D adhesive, I stitched around all of them to give them a little more dimension.  Since the design didn't have a dedicated spot for journaling, I've added it to the largest circle grouping simply outlining the overlay with it.  Journaling reads "so cute the way he plays with his stuffie."

Once again, our sponsor is none other than my favourite kit club.  I should note that I used their February kit and Add On kit to complete this layout too.

Complete as many takes as you like on either this sketch or sketch 265 (revealed here), and link them up using the inlinkz tool on the Creative Scrappers site, and you're automatically entered to win.

Thanks for stopping by today friends, I always appreciate when you take the time to visit.

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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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