In My Mailbox...

There's nothing sweeter at the end of a long day than finding a box of scrappy goodness in my mailbox - nothing, maybe, other than being with my family AND that great scrappy goodie box.

I was very excited to be selected as the Guest Design Team member for Scraptivity for September 2008. When my kit box arrived, I was really excited to take a photo of it. Of course, I can't reveal the contents yet, but Evan was happy to take this photo of us with the box. The big reveal will be on September 1st in the S! gallery.

Check back for my creations using this kit at the beginning of September. In the interim, I'm off to get the kids reluctantly ready for heading back to school. Wish me luck! :-)

Scrapalicious Sneak Peek

Whew! It's so great to finally get a chance to scrapbook. It's been a busy summer, and finding time to get pages scrapped hasn't been easy. Here's a peek at one of the pages I created this week with my Scrapalicious DT kit. This page features Basic Grey's new Euphoria with a little Chatterbox and Doodlebug.

There will be more coming soon, so be sure to check back again soon!

Did you hear the one about the Scrapbooker. . . ?

I once read on 2peas the story of a gal who invited another she had never met in person to be a bridesmaid at her wedding! I'm serious! You'll have to trust me on this one, as I can't locate the thread now. These gals had only met online, but they felt like they had known each other since childhood. They only met face to face just moments before the walk down the aisle!

And you know what - I can understand that!

Scrapbookers are awesome people, and I can certainly understand how two ladies could develop a friendship of wedding party calibre over years of regular chats on a message board and blogs, despite whatever geographic distance exists between them.

About now, you're probably wondering what my story has to do with the above photo of the July 2008 Scrap Pack from Just Cre8, aren't you? Let me tell you.

Last month, I was lucky enough to be the winner of this gorgeous kit through a message board contest over at Just Cre8. Just Cre8 is a Canadian monthly kit club that allows you to customize your kit using some or all of the product offered each month. It's a wonderfully flexible idea, and the kits Sue puts together are both stunning as well as creative.

When Sue started Just Cre8 over a year ago, I purchased one of her kits, and loved it! I joined the message board, and regularly peruse the gallery, where their very talented Cre8ive Crew design team posts tons of inspiring pages. My friend Lori is one of the Cre8ive Crew, and creates beautiful work with these kits. Check out the gallery here.

So I took a photo of this kit, which I can't wait to dig into when I get a chance, and started this post. Then, as I typed, I found myself writing that "not only does Sue put together an awesome monthly kit, but she's one of the coolest gals you could meet..." Then I realized - I've never met Sue in person! I did a bit of a double take as I typed, because truly, I feel like I've known Sue forever. I met Sue on the very first scrapping message board I joined years ago, and have "known" her ever since. Our kids are similar in age, we obviously share a passion for scrapbooking, but also share family values of education and faith, as well as a love of photography, a sense of humour, and so much more. I drop by her blog regularly and stay up to date on her family's antics. I feel like we go way back, despite that we've only ever chatted on message boards!

So a big thank you to Just Cre8 and to Sue for this great kit. I'll post creations with it as soon as I can - although I won't EVER promise Sue that I'll remove all of the centres from my chipboard letters! ;-)

And if you haven't yet, check out Just Cre8, and stay tuned here for some creations with this "gr8" kit, coming (relatively) soon!

What we did on our Summer Vacation

Have I mentioned lately that my cousins ROCK?! Well they do.

The great thing about planning a vacation with these gals (and the few not in this photo) is that they never lose sight of that these trips are all about the kids! Our parents' generation let us spend as much holiday time as we could together growing up, and it's critical to each of us to let our kids do the same!
While our parents visited in Montreal, we drove together up to Mount Tremblant. In past years, Tessa and I haven't been in town for this trip, but everyone made room for us so graciously! Thanks so much, gals! And guess what - after the kids were in bed, we even talked scrapbooking! :-)
You see, my cousin Sharon is a scrapbooker who doesn't know it yet! Tell me what you think: she reads my blog daily, along with Vicki's and Layle's, has read Elsie's book, she tags along on my Montreal LSS runs...Sharon, really - get scrapping already! You know you want to! :-)
I was also lucky enough to see my cousin Julie from NY for the first time in almost 20 years! I loved getting caught up and meeting her husband John, as well as her great kids - they are adorable! Even though we only overlapped in Montreal for less than a day, we made the most of it.

So thanks to my cousins, my cousins' cousins :-), our aunts and uncles, and - of course - our great kids, for such an awesome vacation. I've put together a little slide show of the trip below, so take a peek. To see the a larger version, click here.

Check this Out!

The fall 2008 issue of Canadian Scrapbooker will be on newsstands September 1st. I'm looking forward to this issue, since I have two layouts coming out in it. If you don't subscribe, be sure to look for it at a newsstand near you! This is a great magazine, and it sells out quickly.

Until then, check out the table of contents preview, which Canadian Scrapbooker posted on their website here. Part way down the page you will see Alicia featured in my So Very You layout, one of the layouts that will be in print this issue. What a treat to have it featured in the online preview.


I'm so proud to be a part of this great magazine!

A Day at the Races

We've been back from Montreal for five days, and I still haven't done any scrapping. I still have hope that I might get some done this weekend, but life is getting in the way. Too many chores to do! Perhaps whoever invented the self-cleaning oven could invent a self-cleaning house! :-P

I have managed to go through and edit some of our vacation photos, though. The first set I finished is of our day trip to Montreal's Nascar event. I wasn't sure if the girls would be crazy about going to a car race, but they loved it! It was a fantastic day. Thanks to my cousin Sharon for suggesting it, as I would probably never have even considered it otherwise!

As we arrived at the event, I really didn't know what to expect. I certainly didn't know that we would be able to get so close to the action. There was really only one name in racing on the agenda that I recognized going in, and it was Alex Tagliani. To my surprise, Alicia and I walked around a corner and there he was! He was so nice! He would have taken a photo with Alicia if she wasn't too shy. I've posted a slide show below of some of our shots of the day so take a peek.

Next on my agenda - the rest of my Montreal pictures, and some designs with my Scrapalicious DT kit - coming soon!

These are the Days We'll Remember

It's true - we are so blessed and lucky. We've just returned from a wonderful vacation in Montreal with many of my cousins and their children. It was filled with days of complete fun and wonder. I'll post more about this in the next while, but here is one of my favourite photos of the trip.

It's been such a busy summer at our house. One of the things that had been keeping me hopping just before our trip was my attempt at a Memory Makers Masters entry, which I managed to get about 4/5 of the way through. So no submission this year for me, but I'm completely thrilled with the layouts I've created. I haven't yet decided whether I'll post them or hold them back, so more about that later - maybe! :-)

I will admit, thought, that I've held back and not posted a number of photos I've recently taken that I absolutely love. I did this because I wasn't sure what I might use for MMM, and since MMM requires never-posted photos, I didn't post them. With the deadline behind me, I'm now taking a break from withholding my faves! This photo is definitely one of them. My family is such a gift in my life, and I thank God every day for them. Don't you just love this photo of these three tots? It was taken at the top of the big gondola at Mount Tremblant. The kids loved it up there - they were literally "on top of the world!"

I've got to run now. I have TONS of photo organizing and editing to do - not to mention TONS of laundry!

Following that, I'll be working on my next DT kit from Scrapalicious, so stay tuned.