Prima Projects for Scrapalicious

I'm very happy with how my projects for Scrapalicious with Prima's Madeline collection have turned out so far. The first project I created was this image transfer canvas. I used gel medium to transfer a colour copy of this photo of Alicia directly onto the canvas. I like the aged and distressed look it created.

You can see in this close up, the image almost looks like it was painted onto the canvas! The green foliage is a Donna Downey for Prima foam stamp. The letters for BLOOM in the title are grungeboard inked with Staz-On. The full title is Bloom where you're Planted.

I brushed Perfect Pearls on the Maya Road crown, spritzed a white Prima crocheted flower with Glimmer Mist to match the project, and surrounded the canvas with matching ribbon. These fun little altered art projects make our house feel so happy!

Butterflies, which are so prominent in this collection, are so fun and feminine that I knew my first few projects had to be girly.

I created this page from a sketch challenge at Scrap That! I printed it off and intended to submit, but time got away from me and the deadline slipped past - typical of me lately! Isn't it a great sketch, though?



This page features Vanessa, both solo as well as in her roles of daughter, sister and twin. Beneath her name, the journaling says "beautiful, inside and out".

I have more creations coming with this kit, so stay tuned!

Scrapalicious Sneak Peek

I have projects almost ready to share with you from Prima's Madeline collection. This collection is gorgeous; perfect for feminine pages, vintage projects - anything pretty. Here is a peek at one of my creations about our sweet Vanessa.

I'll be posting more soon, so stay tuned! Have a great week!

April's 12 of 12

I've been trying to do Project 365 for a number of years now, and haven't managed to make it all the way through the year. I was so inspired, though, by an idea I saw on Lee's blog - 12 of 12. Twelve photos, taken on the 12th of the month, each month for 12 months - what a great overview of daily life over the course of the year. So I decided to make it my next project.

Since the April 12th was a Tuesday, work was on the agenda for me, as well as school, piano practice and French class for the kids. I documented morning, work day, dinner time and evening, so I'm quite pleased with how my first attempt went. The photo above shows the passenger seat of my van. Since I spend a lot of time driving (what working Mom doesn't?) I keep a stash of necessary supplies at my fingertips: wipes, kleenex, hand lotion, chapsick and lip gloss, a comb, reading material for the inevitable time spent waiting to pick kids up, and plenty of audio books. Right now I am listening to Wally Lamb's The Hour I First Believed. It's looooooong - 19 discs - and I'm about halfway through.

There is always a snack for the drive handy today. Lately I've been keeping my diet quite healthy, so an apple made the cut on Tuesday. I haven't had time to edit and upload the rest of my photos, so this one will represent my 12 for this month.

Look for this to become a monthly tradition on my blog from now on. I think this will definitely be easier to keep up than a photo a day!

March Break at Niagara Falls

I mentioned last time that I would have a peek at the Scrapalicious projects I'm working on. We took a family trip to Niagara Falls over March Break, and I thought Best Creation's Travel Forever would be the perfect collection for a travel mini-album. Here's a sneak peek at the cover, more to follow soon!

This is the first time in recent years that we have visited Niagara Falls and not stayed at Great Wolf Lodge. The kids love it there, but we tend to spend our entire time at the resort and don't venture out to show the kids the falls. So we did it differently this time, and stayed close to the falls.

Despite what an absolute breathtaking wonder the falls are - we take them for granted, living so close, don't you think? - there is only so much time the kids want to spend looking at them. We decided to take in a magic show at the Greg Frewin theatre. Definitely worth doing if you get the chance.

We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and after the show we went up on stage and had our photo taken with one of the tigers. The kids were a bit nervous. Notice that there seems to be a common lean in my direction and away from the tiger?! Regardless, we had fun up on the stage and the kids couldn't wait to see our photo. (In case you were wondering, yes, there is a barrier between us and the tiger!)

Along with the above, we had dinner at a restaurant with singing servers, which was also a lot of fun. The hotel's pool didn't compare to the water slides at Great Wolf Lodge, but we still spend hours in the pool and had a great time.

Thanks to my friend Lee's recommendation, I read Brene Brown's book The Gift of Imperfection pretty much non-stop during the trip. I found it completely insightful. Use the link above to take a look. Brene's work is such perfect inspiration for the art journaling that I've been doing lately. You can also follow her blog here.

Speaking of memorable times, are you heading to Scrapfest this weekend? I hope to see many familiar faces there. I decided just to visit and shop; I'm not cropping this time, so there is no need for my blinged-up helmet! :-} I hope to see you there! Don't forget to drop by the Scrapalicious booth to say HI to everyone and check out the latest and greatest product!

Donna Downey Weekend

Two weekends ago (I know, I've been slow on the draw with this blog lately - I'm working on it!) I was lucky enough to take a Donna Downey workshop with my friends Sue, Lori and Lee. It was my 2nd Donna workshop, and I knew it would be inspiring, but it far exceeded my expectations!
The event was hosted by Karen Ellis at The Art House Studio in Kitchener. Karen is both a gracious and fun hostess, and she made everything about the weekend so wonderful! Here's a look at one of my pages from the Life's Artistry class. Yes - that is my own handwriting on the page! Donna made it all so easy, I had to try it!
After dinner on Saturday night, Sue and I were so inspired that we headed back to my house where we scrapped until - get this - 5AM! At left is my project from Donna's Swatches workshop last summer. I was nervous about writing on it last year, but after today's workshop I took the plunge and finished all 3 Swatches. More pics to follow soon.

With all of the fun I've been having with mixed media art lately, don't think I've forgotten about the gorgeous DT kit I have waiting from Scrapalicious. I've been playing with those gorgeous Prima and fun Best Creations papers too, and will have a peek to show you very soon. Thanks for stopping by!