U2 in Concert

Added to the on-going list of things we probably wouldn't have planned if we knew we were moving, we were lucky enough to see U2 in concert last night! I did feel a bit guilty as we were driving into the city that I should be packing for our move instead, but as the band took the stage, that feeling wore of, at least for the rest of the night. :-)
The stage was amazing! The stadium's dome was open and the top of the stage - a huge point with a disco ball on top - reached way up into the sky. The video screen, which you can see above, was actually a collection of tiny, connected screens, which they then stretched out later in the show (see left). It was quite fantastic!

We met up with Stephen's friends Adam and Greg and attended the concert with them, and all in all it was a great night. They had preciously seen U2 in concert, but it was a first for me, and U2 is one of the groups I've always wanted to see live in concert. If you ever get the opportunity to see them, I highly recommend it!

Thinking of The Scrapping Nook

My thoughts lately have been with Patti and Elia, owners of The Scrapping Nook - an awesome LSS in the Niagara region. A short time ago, the store had an electrical fire and the gals have been working so hard getting everything repaired, resolved and getting their inventory sorted.

Fortunately, no one was hurt in the fire and the while the brick and mortar store is currently closed for repair, it will re-open as soon as the gals can get everything ready. In the interim, the online store is still open.

If you've never met Patti and Elia, oh my gosh, you have to! They are incredibly funny, sweet and kind gals. They work so hard buying great product for their store, on top of their (sometimes more than) full-time, NSBR jobs. Patti (far left) and Elia (far right) host an annual event called Destination Create on the National Scrapbook Day weekend, which is a ton of fun. Ladies have travelled quite far to attend this retreat, such as Pam (centre in the photo) who came all the way from Idaho, and is now an "honourary Canadian".

I hope you join me in wishing a swift and safe repair to the store for these ladies, and hopefully some rest and relaxation somewhere down the road once everything is complete. Thoughts, prayers and hugs are coming your way, Patti and Elia!

Canadian Scrapbooker Basics Volume 4

I created this layout for the Gr8 Cre8ive Idol contest that was held in late 2008 over at Just Cre8, and looking at this page reminds me of what hot summer weather we had that year. This year's summer was so cool and rainy, and I'm not sure we took the sprinkler out at all! What a difference a year makes! Our children have certainly grown and changed. As we pack up this house to move in a few weeks, and it makes me glad I capture happy memories like these in our scrapbooks.
This page was just featured in Canadian Scrapbooker Basics Volume 4, in a section highlighting unique embellishments. I love the look of wide ribbon on a page, and had fun adding the colourful stick pins through the knot here. In the contest I created this page for, the challenge was to use a well-known advertising slogan, and I though Obey Your Thirst was fitting for this photo.

It's always a treat to be a part of this fantastic, all-Canadian publication! Pick up Canadian Scrapbooker magazines at your local scrapbook store, or subscribe here.

How Did That Happen?

With the large amount of rain we've had this year, it barely seems like we've had a summer, does it? There sure weren't as many days at the splash pad or jumping through the sprinkler this summer, since the sun was rarely shining. It certainly makes back to school seem like it's here too early!
Despite the lack of hot weather, the kids seemed to agree that we had a great summer this year. With our trip to the Delawana, the annual family visit to Montreal (which I still haven't blogged about yet - ack!) and some fun camp activities, they all are quite ready to head back to the classroom. For me, it's fantastic to finally be dropping all three kids off at the same school, instead of driving to and from two different schools. Hooray!
And the girls barely seem nervous at all, since not only to they have a big brother at school, but they will be in the same classroom, so they have each other. Their teacher also taught Evan grade 1 and that gives them some added familiarity, at least until we move at the end of the month!

So in as much as I can't believe it's back to school already, at least I have three happy, well rested and enthusiastic kids heading back to the classroom. I can't believe we will be doing it all again at the end of the month though! Wish me luck!

Hands On Photography

If you are interested in improving your photography, you'll want to check out the latest and greatest online feature from Sue Sykes and Canadian Scrapbooker, Hands On Photography.

As mentioned in Sue's Fall 2009 Canadian Scrapbooker photography article, each month, Sue will offer some tips and techniques on the basics discussed in the current issue, plus she will post an assignment. Everyone is invited to share their photos on the Canadian Scrapbooker blog, and each assignment completed and uploaded earns you a chance to win a prize from that month's sponsor. This month’s sponsor is Rose Moka.

See more details here.

While you are checking out Sue's awesome new online feature, take a peek at the photo credits under the water photos, too. *grin*

Creative Escape Trunk Show

The day before classes began at Creative Escape we had the opportunity to attend a trunk show, where we saw tables laid out with the work of each of our instructors. To say that the talent represented in that room was absolutely outstanding would be a total understatement!

Each table was covered with amazing pieces of art, mini-albums, scrapbook pages, vintage finds and how decor pieces. I took a ton of pictures; more than I could possibly post, so here are a few highlights. Here is a peek at Tim Holtz's table, filled with awesome pages, projects and the coolest collection of ephemera.
Another of my favourites from the trunk show was this canvas but Carol Wingert. The 64 tiny squares on this canvas each a miniature work of art, and my photo truly doesn't do it justice. The details on this project are truly amazing. Take a peek at Carol's post about this on her blog. In addition to seeing the instructor's tables, we had an opportunity to meet and take photos with each of them. I've also guest posted on Scrapscene about my experience at Creative Escape, so take a peek at more here.

In the slide show below, take a little look at projects from each of the instructor's tables, as well as a peek at the lamps I mentioned in my previous entry and in this Scrapscene guest post. Enjoy!

Love Tim?

It's very late Sunday night (OK technically it's Monday morning) but I'm so excited about Creative Escape that I had to stay up late and write.

We arrived home at about 10:30 p.m. tonight. The trip was beyond fantastic! Everything about it - the instructors, the classes, the resort (and the hot weather) was outstanding, and Virginia and I had a great time! We made some awesome projects, I took a lot of photos, and I will tell you more as soon as I can.
If you've been keeping your eyes and ears open for news from Creative Escape, you may have heard a rumour about Tim Holtz that sounds totally outrageous! On Saturday night, CE held an auction to benefit the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society. Up for bidding were lamps altered for the event by Tim Holtz and Heidi Swapp.
Here on stage are Heidi and Tim with Tim's lamp. Just minutes before this photo was shot, Heidi's lamp had been auctioned for approx. $8,200! Then Tim came on stage and talked about the inspiration for his lamp before the bidding started. Tim's lamp raised an absolutely amazing $29,000 for the charity! WOW!
There's so much more to write about, but I'm exhausted from the trip, and need to get to bed. But before I go, I want to give a shout out to Dawn Hueser. Dawn and her friend Janet were in Arizona this weekend, where Virginia and I hung out with them. I've known them from Just Cre8 for a while now. Dawn is second from the left here.

Dawn was Graphic 45's featured artist on their blog last Friday, and her work is absolutely awesome, so go check it out on her blog here. Congratulations Dawn, and it was fantastic finally meeting you and Janet.

Of course, I also want to send a big shout out to Virginia for being an awesome roommate and travelling buddy for this weekend's event. I had such a wonderful time, and those zebra print hair clips are the absolute best!

Stay tuned for some more news and project photos from Creative Escape, coming soon!

While I'm Away

Well, my bags are almost packed . . . .

OK wait, I'll admit it! My scrap supplies are not packed at all! But my clothes are, and my scrap tote will be ready in the next few hours. Creative Escape 2009 is here. It sure has come quickly. I'm going to try to blog while I'm away, but I've never used our new laptop, so I'm not sure how I'll do.

So in case I don't get around to updating this blog while I'm gone, I thought I would leave a happy little photo at the top of the page. These are my three favourite tots in the whole wide world. I love these three little faces with all my heart. They are my reason for scrapbooking and my reason for being. I'll miss them and my hubby so much while I'm gone, and can't wait to cuddle them all when I get back.

So enjoy the sweet view, and hopefully I'll be talking to you from Arizona very soon. Cheers!

It's Amost Here . . .

When I found out back in March that I had won the chance to go to Creative Escape 2009, it seemed so very far away. Yet, here we are, less than a week away from this exciting trip to Arizona, and I can't believe how quickly it has come. I checked out the weather forecast this morning - it's over 100 degrees Fahrenheit now! Ack! Rain on the weekend should cool it off a bit just in time for our trip. Check out the weather forecast here!

Heidi has been blogging about CE 2009 also, and I grabbed this photo of last year's event on her blog. Doesn't it look like fun? To say "I'm so excited" is a bit of an understatement! See more about what we will be doing here.

I'm going to be keeping a journal while I'm away and doing a few guest posts for Scrapscene about the whole CE experience, so stay tuned for that. Don't worry, I plan on taking tons of photos, so hopefully it will almost feel like you're there (minus the heat!)

I was talking to Virginia this morning, and since neither of us has started packing yet, I guess I had better get a move on! Not only do I have to organize my list of required scrap supplies, but I have a ton of laundry to do too.

More on Creative Escape 2009, coming soon.

A great vacation!

With how unpredictable the weather has been this summer, we somehow managed to pick the best week of the entire year to go on vacation. Hooray! We had a wonderful time up at a resort on Honey Harbour, where the kids loved being in camp all days with other kids their age and the adults enjoyed having the day free to read by the pool, play a little round of golf, go for walks and just bask in the peace and quiet!

We were away for 5 days, and while the first few were windy, the rest were awesome. Doug and Nicole and their girls were in the room right beside us. We had dinners together and took this tour on the Miss Midland (left) together. The evening shows were great - Stephen and Doug even tried (unsuccessfully) to be hypnotized!
Then on Thursday morning, Leanne and Pete sailed into Honey Harbour and picked us for a day sailing on their boat. We had a fantastic time! Look at the concentration on Evan's face as he controls the boat - he soaked it all in so quickly and had a great time. Even the girls had their turn at the wheel!
And of course, the kids loved playing with Leanne and Pete's sweet dog, Bailey, and I think Bailey had a great time too. Good weather, good company, good food, good friends and a ton of fun - what more could a family want from a vacation?! I guess maybe just a few good photos - or is that just me? :-}

I hope your family's vacation is as fun-filled and action-packed as ours!

Busy, busy summer!

It seems every year in August and December, I end up taking more photos than I can possibly ever edit (or post) within a reasonable time. This year is no exception. We've been here, keeping busy, and while my scrapping activity isn't happening all that much, we've certainly had lots going on around our house.
Towards the end of July, we were lucky enough to have tickets to see Coldplay in concert. It was a blast! We rented a limo, along with a few friends, and had a fantastic night. After that, we managed to get a way for a week at a resort on Honey Harbour, which I will post some photos of shortly (after I tackle the mountains of laundry!)

In between all of that, we are still trying to get the house packed for our upcoming move, and I'm getting more and more excited about my trip to Arizona for Creative Escape 2009. So stay tuned, and I'll fill you in a bit more about our summer, and maybe you will even see a scrapping project or two!

I hope your summer is turning out to be as busy and fun as ours is.

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??