To Clip or not To Clip?

If you're wondering whether a Clip It Up is a great purchase, my answer is a resounding "yes"! My sweet hubby bought mine at Scrapalicious for my birthday in 2008. I'll admit, I couldn't find the right spot to put it in our former house, but since I didn't have a dedicated scrapbook room then, getting it up and running was harder. Now almost all of my alphas are stored on it. It's so easy to spin it and locate my beloved Thickers or Heidi Swapp chipboard alphas or MM tiny type (yes, I have a few of each of those)! It holds so much product, and I love seeing what I have at a glance. It makes me feel so organized, and it fits so perfectly on an art cart that I made in college.

On the topic of clips, I had a little clip done to my hair now that the warmer weather is here. My shorter do is so much fun, easy to care for and dries so much more quickly. Time is such a rare commodity at our house, I have to save every minute that I can. Like it?


For those of you waiting for RAKs from me, I sorted all of the goodies this weekend and will be getting boxes into the mail for you this week. If I'll be seeing you shortly at Scrapfest, and you're willing to wait, please let me know and we can hook up there, rather than worrying about shipping.

Speaking of Scrapfest, I'm so excited to be attending the crop there for the first time. I've attended in past years, but this is the first time I'll be staying overnight and cropping there. I'll be with Sue and looking forward to meeting Nancy too. If I haven't been posting layouts lately, it's because I'm a busy bee at home working on Scrapalicious projects for Scrapfest that I can't reveal until that weekend. So yes, I'm still scrapping. I'll have new projects to add to my blog coming up soon.

Peace in my Scrapbook Room

I love altering clocks! My latest project is this clock for my scrapbook room. In keeping with my OLW for 2010, peace, I wanted peace to be the theme for this clock. When I saw this clock in the store, I loved that I could alter both the inside and the outside of it. I can't wait to see it hanging in my scraproom.

The sentiment says "grow in peace and love". I absolutely adore BG's Wilma chipboard alphas, don't you?

When I was designing for Just Cre8 before the kit club folded, I wrote an Altered Clock tutorial for their blog. Unfortunately those links don't work anymore, so perhaps when I get a chance I will re-post the instructions in a future blog post. Altering a clock is so much fun, and they make such memorable, personal gifts.

You can see some of my previous clock projects here, here and here.

The draw date has come and going for this RAK, and since I haven't had a moment to spare to draw a winner, I'm going to send something out to each of you! Please be patient with me, though; your goodies will be in the mail sometime soon!

LOM Clipboard

I'm still caught up in my LOM class, believe it or not! Here's my clipboard, which - OK, I'll admit it - I received when I first took this class in 2007, finally done! Back then, I chose the papers to use for this project, and I still love them! I also used them a while ago in this layout of my Grannie, which I cherish so very much.
The papers are from a Wild Asparagus release by My Mind's Eye. I used Thickers for the title, and lots of Tim Holtz crackle paint on the clip. Now that it's finally finished, (you can see my hubby re-attaching the clip here)
:-P I'm so happy with it. Now it's time to get some pages scrapped!

Wrapping Up Round One

I had a wonderful month of giving away 29 gifts in 29 days. So many members of 29gifts.org say that after a first round, they are so fired up that they start Round Two immediately. Whew! I'm too busy scrambling to get caught up now to try that right away, but I do know I'll be doing it again sometime!

Thanks so much to all of you who sent notes of thanks, e-mails, PMs, and even flowers! I appreciate it so much, but additionally, I appreciated the chance to brighten your day just a little, and to share my OLW for 2010, peace.

The papers I used for this project were oldies but goodies from 2004. Sue answered correctly that the manufacturer was Creative Memories, but no one knew that the Pink Passion paper collection was from their Jumpstart January product line. It's sweet, isn't it?

Since Sue was first to come up with the paper's maker, I have an extra RAK for her, but guess what? Everyone wins! I have a little something going out to each of you who posted a comment on this post before March 5th. Congrats to all! I hope to have your RAKs in the mail later this week (but please be patient with me; I'm a bit behind right now!)

Giving 29 Gifts in 29 Days is a concept that anyone can undertake at any time. For more information, I encourage you to visit 29gifts.org.

Another Year...

. . . and another RAK!

Not only did our girls' 7th birthday just fly by, but my blog turned 3 years old yesterday too. Wasn't that fast? Plus my blog just passed its 15,000th view! Wow, thanks so much to all of you for spending time here. I appreciate it so much! Since I'm late in having RAKs for each of those events, how about I just give out one big one?

Remember this post when I mentioned that after sorting all of my scrap supplies, I wanted to give some stuff away? Well, the time has come! Tell me what scrap supply you originally thought wasn't all that interesting, and now you can't live without it. Maybe you thought glimmer mists were passé, but now you don't make a layout without them? Or perhaps you didn't see yourself using bling, but now you love it! Leave a comment by March 14th, and I'll include your name in a draw for a kit of scrappy goodies I've put together.

Better yet, become a follower of my blog, and I'll throw in an extra entry! :-}

Oh, and I haven't forgotten this RAK! Details are coming soon. Have a great week!

Photo Connections

I'm so happy with my progress to date in the Library of Memories class I'm taking with Stacy Julian. I've never really felt tied to chronological scrapping, so I'm already on board there. Stacey's photo triage process, though, has really helped me to get (most of) my photos from a mess to organized!!
All the photos that friends and family took at our wedding. Sorted. Those Sears portraits and kids' school pictures. Filed. Most of our digital files, too. I still have old prints to sort, but the latest 5 years are done! I'll get photos of my system up soon, (once I've had a chance to take some!)
Here's a really simple example of a photo connection I found while filing photos. When Evan made his Swiss Chalet for Social Studies at age 6, the girls were only 3 years old. We were in our previous house (and yes, I actually miss that wallpaper!) See how young Evan looks? Now the girls are in grade 1.

They're at a different school than Evan was for grade 1, and we live in a different house, but they are studying the same curriculum, learning about the foundation of our community (ironically, it seems to include many fast food restaurants!) They're studying in French, just like Evan did. I realize how much alike they are in appearance, although Vanessa is miles ahead of both her siblings when it comes to missing teeth for her age!

This connection is so much fun, and I am looking forward to creating a layout about all three of our kids and their collective experience with this project, which they all loved doing. I've seen much more complex connections too, including ones that link my kids' childhood experiences to my own. Places - for example my aunt and uncles' homes in Montreal. Activities - like camping. Music. Outdoor play. So much more. It makes scrapbooking so much fun.

I'm still planning to do annual chronological highlights albums about our household each year. But other than that, chronology definitely doesn't live in my scraproom!

Enjoy Peace (and a little RAK)

I've wanted to participate in the annual LOAD challenge for years now, but I know that between our business and our family's crazy schedule, there's no way I could create a page a day for a month. But creating the same project 29 times - that seemed a bit more feasible. So this year, I did it - my peace project.
Each peace wall hanging is a little different from the others. Each one is special. Each one is going out to someone who deserves it, someone who makes my life a bit happier, someone who is a gift. I hope the recipients can find a place for these in their home or scraproom, to remind them to enjoy peace.

In keeping with the theme of giving, I have a little surprise that I will send out to whomever can name 1) the manufacturer of the paper that I have been using for these wall hangings and 2) a bonus if you can also tell me the release name and the year it was released.

See the photos above, or peek at another photo here.

A few little hints - you couldn't buy this paper at your LSS; you would have to look waaay back in your stash to find it; and there is the name of a month (not the current one) in the release name.

Leave a comment with your answer, or - if you've given up on finding it - leave a comment with the name of one of your favourite realllllly old releases, and I'll put your name into the draw. You have until March 5th to leave your comment.

Giving 29 Gifts in 29 Days is a concept that anyone can undertake at any time. For more information, I encourage you to visit 29gifts.org.

More Project 365

We've been incredibly busy this month - nothing new there :-} - but what is different is that regardless of what we're up to, I'm documenting it all with Project 365. The Olympics has been on the TV more often than not at our house, and there's no shortage of Olympic wear, for the girls particularly. Check it out!
Since I didn't manage to get Christmas letters out the door this year (don't give up hope - I'll still be mailing something eventually!), I haven't said much about our recent love of astronomy. Evan just loves it, and since the kids received an awesome telescope for Christmas, we're slowly getting to know more.
Hockey, hockey, hockey! Our weekends are typically taken up by multiple trips to the rink. Evan's team is now in the playoffs, and in this photo they are celebrating winning the first of their playoff games. That's Evan in the foreground skating toward me. Let's hope we see our Olympic teams rejoicing too!
We had intended to have the girls join Evan in piano lessons this fall, but due to the move, it took a while to put that plan into action. I finally had them start lessons two weeks ago at a local music school, and they think their teacher is the most awesome young man they've ever met! So, lots of effort on their part! :-}
It was also the girls' birthday this month, and they had a wonderful time celebrating with family. Scooters were a big hit this birthday along with the latest version of Bop It (the one with "shout it". What were we thinking??) Oh, and don't forget more Olympic clothing. Notice their Miga shirts in this pic - again!
Of course, there's the regular routine to document. The daily ride to and from school. An abundance of field trips - to the skating rink, to the ski hill, to the Safety Village - all via school bus. The kids love travelling by school bus, and we are lucky enough to have a totally awesome driver.
Reading time is a daily event in our house. Evan is required to read 20 minutes per day as homework, but in actuality he usually reads far more than that. The girls are doing regular French reading this year too. Even I try to steal a few minutes every day to read a novel (as opposed to scrapbooking mags!)

Yes, there's never a dull moment at our house, but we wouldn't have it any other way!

In the midst of all this, I'm still participating in the 29 gifts challenge and LOM, both of which I am reasonably caught up on, along with my design team work for Scrapalicious, both for the store and for Scrapfest (are you going? See you there!)

I know I've been scarce, but I'm running around like crazy when I'm not here. Thanks for checking in. Whew - you read the whole thing! :-} There are photos of more peace wall hangings coming soon, as well as a little RAK being posted shortly, so be sure to check back in. See you soon!

Priceless!

Crop-a-dile - $25.00

Clipboard (nicely altered for LOM and in need of having clip re-attached) - $3.00

Capturing a pic of hubby as he admits that nothing punches holes for rivets like your pink scrapbooking tool - priceless!

For the Next 29 Days

Welcome, February! This month, I am embarking on a challenge that I've wanted to take on for quite a while now. Inspired by the website 29 Gifts, I'm going to give one away little gift, a peace canvas like the one below, each day for the next 29 days.

Why? Because to see our world change, we have to do something to change our world. I chose the word peace as the gift I'm sharing this month as it is particularly close to my heart. peace is my One Little Word for 2010, inspired by the awesome Ali Edwards. I'm hoping to post about it often this year.
The canvas says: peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.
So simple, yet so meaningful, don't you think? I still have to post the story of why I chose peace, so stay tuned!

It's only Day 1 and I'm already having so much fun making these and envisioning the face of each recipient as they open them. I think this challenge is going to be one of the most rewarding I have undertaken. I'll be posting more pics of these canvases throughout the month, so be sure to check back again.

Giving 29 Gifts in 29 Days is a concept that anyone can undertake at any time. For more information, I encourage you to visit 29gifts.org.

This Year I'm Ready!

A few years ago I heard about Stacy Julian's Library of Memories concept. I loved it instantly. Before I had kids, I was the kind of person who had all of my photos organized and in albums. I wanted to get back to that place (and better), so I signed up. Oooops! I only made it through the first 2 lessons.
Not this time! Alumni registration for LOM 2010 started today, and I am totally IN! My lesson binder is altered (see it above), my pre-workshop handouts are printed, my clipboard is ready and my AC albums are on order! The unit on the right in this picture houses my storage system, labeled and ready! I can't wait!

I jumped the gun when I originally signed up for this workshop, since when the girls were tiny I just didn't have the time to devote to setting the system up. This time I'm going all the way. If you are also taking this class, as a newbie or an alumni, touch base and we can work on our systems together.

Scrapstrong! :-}

Make Yourself at Home!

Our girls seem to like my new scrapbook room as much as I do. Yesterday as I was making lunch they decided that VersaColor ink cubes were a quick and easy alternative to nail polish! Alicia put on Orchid and Vanessa tried Grape. Fortunately it washed off easily. Good thing I didn't leave any StazOn on my desk! ;-}

Gorgeous lines from Scrapalicious

OK, I totally love Basic Grey! Who doesn't? I don't think I know a scrapbooker who doesn't have a passion for one (if not all) of their lines. I'm lucky to have had so many opportunities to create with their products, for example the recent wedding album using Wisteria. I finally scrapped my wedding!
I love the wedding album that I created for Scrapalicious, and in the years I've been designing for the store, I cherish my BG projects as favourites; this Stella Ruby clock, a family photo frame using Marrakech and Ambrosia, a few Marrakech layouts, and this Two Scoops wedding mini.
This time my kit contains pieces of a few lines, starting with the beautiful Origins (top photo); so pretty for both heritage and modern pages. Gorgeous fall colours of Indian Summer are perfect for autumn photos, and Eskimo Kisses will keep the Christmas Spirit alive all year. How lucky can I get?

Keep checking back, as these creations will be coming some time soon!

Project 365

I've wanted to do Project 365 for years now, and it feels great to finally be doing it. I find the little snippets of everyday life to be such an important part of documenting our family's memories. I won't be posting all of the photos here. I know that I'll get too far behind in uploading and editing my photos to do that!
I will post some of my favourites, though, like the one (above) of the girls' first snowman for the year. We had such fun building this little guy! I also love the DCWV sheer vinyl decals I added to the door of my scrapbook room. See me and my camera reflected in the glass in the lower left corner of the photo?

I'll be back soon with a peek at my newest DT kit from Scrapalicious. See you soon!

Scrapping Nook's Opening Day

I had a ton of fun at the opening of the new Scrapping Nook last Saturday. Scrapping Nook Ltd., now located in Welland, is now Janice's baby, and how truly fitting. Once Patti and Elia decided to sell the store they created with so much heart, it's only fitting that it go to someone who has been a huge part of the Nook right from the start.

Congratulations, Janice!

Jen and I drove down together and it was so worth the trip. To be honest, it was a bit of an emotional day. The Scrapping Nook in Fonthill was just one of those places that lives in your heart forever. I went to my first crop ever at that location, and when I arrived I didn't know anyone in person at all. We had only met online, I was a beginning scrapbooker, and I was totally nervous!

That was in 2005, and these ladies were so wonderful and welcoming, and have been a part of my scrapbooking life ever since. I can't say enough about how much Patti and Elia have connected a wonderful group of women through their hard work, beautiful personalities and generosity of spirit. The fall of 2009 was a difficult time for the store, first with an electrical fire, followed by the sudden, sad loss of Patti's Mom, Barb, taking its toll. So many of us were worried that we had seen the end of our beloved Nook.

But now, Janice has picked up the torch and is running with it. I'm so glad to see Scrapping Nook Ltd. continue into the future, and look forward to many more fun events and meaningful connections there.

In the photo above, clockwise, are Patti, Lori, Vicki, Janice, me, Deanna and Elia. Jen was behind the camera, and there were so many others, both present and there in spirit, that made the day great! See you again soon, gals!

See some of my posts about the Nook over the years here.

The Olympic Torch

Just before the new year we were fortunate to be able to see the Olympic Torch as it ran through our town. Santa left the kids each a pair of red Olympic Mittens, which helped to build the excitement as the morning approached. It was a bright, clear day with just a sprinkling of snow falling as we waited.
We chose to wait at the corner where the torch relay would be turning to go into the local arena, and it turned out to be a great vantage point. We were quite close to the torch as the caravan went by us. The crowd was cheering and waving Canadian flags, and it was very exciting. Olympic fever was all around us!
We followed the torchbearers into the parking lot where the crowd gathered around to take photos with the torch. While we waited a kind member of the crowd offered to take a photo of the whole family, which we happily took advantage of! We don't get many photos of the five of us together. Look closely; you see the kids' red mittens.
The torch was extinguished before they allowed the public to take photos with it. We each were able to touch and take a photo with the torch. It was then perfect timing to head home and enjoy some hot chocolate beside the fire. Now I can't wait for the Opening Ceremonies! Go, Team Canada, go!

Welcoming 2010

A new year has begun, with all of its resolutions, goals and unknowns. Looking back upon 2009 for our family, what a surprising year we had. Wow! We're starting 2010 in a new home, and our view of the year ahead looks great! Speaking of sweet views, this what I see from the desk in my new scrapbook studio! :-}
I've displayed some of my favourite layouts on the wall above a cabinet, using an idea a borrowed from the awesome Layle Koncar. Her blog rocks!
In fact, if you are still creating your December Daily album, you have to check out how stunning Layle's album is. As for me, I've taken the daily photos again (like last year), but no album yet! But, I've found that I love the photo a day process so much that this year I'm going to do Project 365 this year.
I'm always inspired when I visit Lee's blog. Her gorgeous photos are part of my inspiration for joining 365 this year. Lee also does One Little Word, which I'm looking forward to this year. Read Lee's OLW post here. My OLW post will be coming soon (can you guess my word?) but won't be as eloquent as Lee's!

I'm not quite ready for a wide-angle shot of my entire scrapbook room, but above are some happy little peeks at it. Others I know have spoken about how it feels to sit in an organized scraproom, and I have to admit, the feeling is exquisite! I'm really looking forward to creating in a beautiful space which makes me totally happy!

Speaking of organized space, in order to find homes for all of my supplies, I went through (almost) everything scrappy that I own, and have quite a bit that I would like to pass along to someone who can use them. So you do know what that means? Yes, I have some RAKs coming up - including a few stamp sets, lots of embellishments and even an album or two. Stay tuned.

Wishing you joy, love, prosperity and peace in 2010. Scrappy New Year!

Scrapalicious Wedding Album

One of the coolest albums I have ever worked with is this Fancy Pants Mixed Media album. With a mix of chipboard, felt and clear pages, this dynamic album is a blast to work with. Paired with the gorgeous purples of BG's Wisteria collection, it was a perfect colour match for documenting our wedding day.

The 8" x 8" size of this album is perfect for trimming down 8" x 10" photos to fill a whole page, which I did for a few of the chipboard pages. Scrapalicious still has a number of these albums in stock, but hurry as I'm sure they will go quickly. My album will also be on display in the store for a while.

I also used a lot of Prima products in this album. I love the way the self-adhesive felt gate frames our faces in a heart on the cover of the album (top photo). I also just love the look of their bling frames (left). All flowers in the album are by Prima, including leaves, which are white flowers.

Title stickers and stamps in the album are from two different Basic Grey sets. The mini alphas are by Making Memories. The die-cut stickers are Wisteria to match the papers. I also used lots of Kaiser bling. Of course, my favourite part of this entire album is the groom - doesn't he look handsome?

I've created a slide show of the entire wedding album below. You can also click on the slideshow and select Full Screen if you would like a closer look. Thanks to Virginia, Lancia and Mike at Scrapalicious for their patience with me as I created this album during our move, which was one of the more hectic times for our family, causing the album to take a while! Good news though - I'm making great progress on my new scrapbook room, and will be able to scrap up a storm soon! More photos of that will be coming soon. :-}

Enjoy the slideshow, and have a wonderful New Year's Eve!

A Wonderful Christmas

I hope your Christmas was blessed with the chance to spend time with those who matter to you most. We celebrated our first Christmas in our new house, and the it feels so very much like home! Santa did spoil the kids a bit, but otherwise we've spent a lot of time at home and have had a very quiet Christmas.
After finally dropping my wedding album off at Scrapalicious, (and it's next on my posting list!), I pulled together a shadow box for Stephen for Christmas. We had a caricature done when we were on our honeymoon 11 years ago, and I had totally forgotten about it until I came across it during the move.
It was a ton of fun to watch Stephen open it, and he was totally surprised! :-}
Since Christmas I've been on a mission - getting my scrapbook room unpacked. It's still a work in progress, but here's a peek through the door. I think it's looking good, don't you? More to follow soon!

I took a bit of an (unintentional) break from posting lately due to how hectic the season has been, and thanks to those who dropped me an e-mail to check on me. I'm slowly coming out from under our hectic Christmastime, and once I get my Christmas cards in the mail (I know, I know!), I'll be totally caught up.

I've been quite diligent in taking my photo a day pictures for December, and am looking forward to a review of those pictures when I get a chance.

Sending you all the blessings of this wonderful Christmas season, heartfelt, if not timely! Merry Christmas!

Breakfast with Santa

It wouldn't be the holiday season without a visit with Santa Claus, and ours was wonderful! A few weeks ago we ventured out for an early morning breakfast with the grand old elf, complete with pancakes, fruit, chocolate milk and a few moments on Santa's lap to detail each child's wish list. Santa was as jolly as ever, and the kids had a fantastic time!