That's a successful Garage Sale!

We had a garage sale a few weekends ago to help us get rid of some of the old toys, clothes and "stuff" in the basement, as we prepare to put our house up on the market. It was one of our first garage sales in this house, so there was a lot to get rid of. Well, I think we can call the sale a huge success. Not only did we sell tons of items, but we sold the house to a family from the sale, the day before the house was to hit the market.

I think we can call that a very successful sale. Not many families can have a garage sale, and sell the garage too! ;-}

Now it's all over but the packing! Wish us luck!

Just Cre8's August Reveal

I'm posting my pages for Just Cre8's August reveal with mixed emotions and a heavy heart. While it was just a short 6 months ago that the 2009 Creative Crew was announced, Just Cre8 has always felt like home to me. Sue brings so much passion to everything she does, whether it is scrapbooking or just life in general, and having an opportunity to be part of her team was truly a dream come true for me. So many talented ladies, some who I knew from earlier
opportunities, other that I was privileged to meet through Just Cre8, made preparing for reveals and online crops so much fun! So it was a sad day for me to read Sue's decision that - needing to put time with her family ahead of everything else - Just Cre8 will be closing it's doors after the mailing of this kit. :-(
And while I will certainly miss that jam-packed pizza box every month, I totally respect Sue's need to put family first. Her awesome kits will be hard to match, but honestly, our little family has so much on the go right now with our upcoming move, that I won't be taking on anything new in the near future. We're busy enough as it is, and since I have to pack up all of my scrapbooking supplies to get them moved to the new house, timing works out well. OK, enough nostalgia . . .
I'm completely in love with the Traveler line from Little Yellow Bicycle, which is included in this kit. The first page I created (at the top) features some of my favourite photos of Vanessa, and I think the pretty florals suit her so naturally. Journaling says: Vanessa, my sweet pearl, watching you learn and grow is such a joy, a blessing; a beautiful journey. For my second page (above), I thought a photo of my view looking at the kids in their carseats was perfect for the travel theme.
And finally, one of my favourite projects ever, I mad a wall hanging using the 12" x 12" piece of denim that was included in the kit. It arrived a dark indigo, but I washed it a few times to fray the edges, and then bleached it for a grungy look. I mounted it on canvas and attached some ribbon for hanging.

This will hang up in the playroom/loft when we move to the new house. I can't wait!

Whew! That's a long post! See other creations with this kit by Just Cre8's other talented Cre8ive Crew members here. Enjoy it, since - sadly - it's the final edition. :-{ It's been a pleasure and an honour to work with Sue and this fantastic group of designers and subscribers, and I won't soon forget this wonderful experience.

I hope our scrappy paths will continue to cross in the future.

And to close on a happier note, guess where I will be one month from today?? ;-}

Just a Little Bit Longer . . .

You may be wondering when I'm finally going to post the wedding album I have eternally been creating for Scrapalicious. I promise, while it's not quite ready yet, it is very much in progress. I love the gorgeous brown felt of the album mixed with the rich purples of Wisteria. I can't wait to display my wedding photos in it.

Until then, I hope that this tiny little sneak peek has your curiosity piqued . . .

Soccer Lovers

Our house just isn't the same with our dude away. We all sure miss Evan, who is still away at camp. While work and getting the house ready for our move has been keeping the adults busy, the girls have been pouring their energy into soccer. Both girls love soccer this year, and both are great at getting goals for their team.
Above, Vanessa moves in on the ball and gets ready to head for the net. In the photo to the left, Alicia (with socks coming down over her shin guards!) breaks away with the ball. I wish Blogger hadn't changed things - I used to be able to post images that you could click on and enlarge. Sorry that I can't get that to work now.
I've been pushing myself lately and have been shooting in Manual Mode using my Nikon D300. To be honest, I really didn't feel ready for such a powerful camera when I received it. Since it has no Auto Mode, I've been "cheating" in Program Mode until now, but am finally getting more comfortable with Manual.

In the last photo (above) it was getting a bit dark already, but this is what I managed to capture.

So moving forward, I am forcing myself to really learn, and will be using the D300 all of the time, even if I know I could have easily captured the image in Auto using my D70. So wish me luck! I know there is still quite a learning curve, but I think I'm up for it! ;-}

Favourite Recipes Altered Binder

Before we move on to the reveal of Just Cre8's awesome August kit, here is the most recent project I created with the July Scrap Pack. It's an altered binder for holding recipe cards, and I think the Cosmo Cricket papers and of course the digital elements from the Kit - recipe cards - were just perfect for this project. The word Favourite in the title here is from Scribblz Art.
I created a tutorial with step by step instructions for altering your own Favourite Recipes binder on the Just Cre8 blog here. I had an empty old photo album at home with 4 x 6 photo sleeves inside, which ended up working really well for altering to hold recipe cards. Everything I used to create this album was from the July Scrap Pack from Just Cre8, with the addition of the
Doodlebug alphas.
On the inside front and back covers of the binder are pockets for holding extra cards, shopping lists, ideas torn from magazines or recipes received from friends that you plan on transferring to a recipe card. I also created dividers for each section of the binder using patterned paper, ribbon, brads and letter stickers.
This is now one of my favourite projects ever, and it was truly so quick and easy to make. You should give it a try. Now, if I could only find more time to make recipes from scratch! ;-}
There are some other great ideas on the Just Cre8 blg this month from other members of the Cre8ive Crew. Be sure to check them our here. And stay tuned for that long awaited wedding album, which I promise to have posted soon, as well as some fun projects from the August Just Cre8 kit, coming up soon.

My Boys of Summer

If this year isn't going by like a speeding train, I don't know what is! It's so hard to believe that it's been a year since Evan went to camp, but the time has come again for him to spend some time paddling, camping, swimming, singing campfire songs, playing soccer and learning camp games, tricks and cheers. Last year was his first year sleeping at camp and he was a bit nervous, but this year he was totally excited and ready! On the trip to camp we stopped at Webers for lunch just like we did last year, and I talked Evan into posing and capturing a few memories. There's nothing like a Webers chocolate shake to bribe a kid to stand still for a few moments! :-}
Once we arrived, Evan was totally at home and showed us around in a way that he didn't know how to last year. Many of the same counsellors are back again, and even a few of the same campers. Last summer Evan had his cousin Kristian in the same cabin, but since he isn't camping this year, Evan sure misses him. But Evan has written home twice already, and is having fun!

I know that time will fly and the next thing I know, we will be picking him up. I hope these two weeks don't fly by for Evan the way they seem to for us, as these are memories that last a lifetime. Have fun, bud!

Aren't my two boys handsome?

It's That Time Again!

I can't believe that it's already almost time for another Just Cre8 reveal! The August Cre8ive Pack is a stunning combination of good things. I have been having a blast putting together some fun creations with this kit and I just know you will too. Take a little peek at wall hanging I made for our kids' playroom! And I have more still in the process as we speak.

Check out August's reveal here on July 15th. It's going to be worth the trip!

BTW, the "worth the trip" part was a hint! ;-}

I Just Can't Wait 'til Creative Escape!

When I posted this cryptic little hint a while back, not everyone understood why I was so excited. Well, the closer the calendar gets to Creative Escape 2009, the more excited I'm getting. Virginia and I are thrilled to be heading to Arizona for this action-packed scrapbooking event full of classes and projects taught by leading instructors in the industry. Sneak peeks of some of the classes were recently posted on the Creative Escape blog, and I've attached a few below to give you a little peek at the fun we'll be having.

A peek at the class taught by the incredible Tim Holtz . . .












Can't wait to work with fabric diva extraordinaire Heather Bailey . . .












Then there's the fun and funky Heidi Swapp . . .












The ultra-talented Marah Johnson . . .












And the talented team of Deb and Paula from 7 Gypsies . . .












Don't those look like gorgeous projects! There is so much more, too! Not to mentioned the shopping, and the goodie bags! Oh my! If I haven't eluded to it already, I can't WAIT! :-}

P.S. For those of you wishing that you were going too, guess what? They've opened up more space! Hmmmmm, maybe we'll see you there??