Scrapalicious Fun

I just finished off a fantastic weekend with Sue, Jen, Nancy and my little family at our house. The ladies came to stay, scrap into the wee hours of the morning (while I slept! :-P) and attend Sue's awesome photography workshop at Scrapalicious. Here's Sue giving us some in-depth shooting pointers.
It's impossible not to have a good time with these ladies! We continued the antics that we began at Scrapfest last spring, but this time there was no helmet (blinged-out or otherwise) required for me! We all managed to get a respectable amount of scrapping done, drink a respectable amount of Bailey's and have a blast!

And to add to the awesomeness of the weekend, on Sunday after the gals left, our family managed to get our Christmas tree up, too! Just in time too, as I will be doing Our December in Daily Photos again this year.

Talk about a productive weekend! Here's hoping that Lee, Lori, Ann and Virginia can make it next time! Scrappy weekends are so much fun! :-}

Smitten!

I was so smitten with the new Be My Valentine collection from We R Memory Keepers that - after receiving it for my Scrapalicious DT kit - I took it straight home and started to play! I didn't even remember to take a teaser photo of the kit so that you can see it! So instead, here's a little peek at my first layout.

Isn't this collection adorable? It's brand new and Scrapalicious has it all! See more goodness here.

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

New Layouts for Scrapalicious

Seven - count 'em - here are seven new pages I created for Scrapalicious with the gorgeous Lost & Found collection from My Mind's Eye! I've previously gone on and on about how much I love this versatile line, so I won't repeat myself. Scroll through the images here and you can see how this collection covers all the bases. First, a very girly Sisters Forever page. The journaling says "kindred spirits, guardian angels, best friends forever."


I love the scalloped die-cut paper and the glittered title block here. I have so many photos of our twins sharing that special bond that only twins have, so I created a multi-photo page inspired by the pretty title block.





Stephen and I enjoyed so many breathtaking views when we were in Whistler in 2007, and I can't believe this is the first time I've scrapped these photos. We were lucky enough to enjoy an airshow from the top of Whistler mountain. It was amazing! Journaling here says "Nothing compares to a private airshow at the top of Whistler mountain. As the planes soared by they took our breath away!"




I used a few of my absolute favourite shots from the airshow on this layout. You can see the original slideshow I created after our Whistler trip here.





This title block was so elegant, I felt I had to use it for one of the most significant milestones my hubby and I just celebrated - our 12th wedding anniversary. The title here is "A Love Simply Perfect in Every Way" and "Twelve years of marriage, three wonderful kids and still so much in love!" is what the journaling says on this page.





These glitter alpha stickers are just gorgeous and the font is so elegant too. Speaking of elegant, the black & white photo of Stephen on the right was taken on our wedding day. Doesn't he look handsome?



Our sweet little Alicia tot has been home with the flu the past few days, poor thing. She's usually such a lively little imp, just like in these photos! I just know she'll make the most of every opportunity she gets in life. Journaling here says" You're so full of spunk, Alicia. Reach for the sky; I know you'll get there!" You can see a close up of this page on my previous post, here.


I love how this line can be used for boy pages, even with the glitter and flourishes. All of the papers are so fantastic; I literally used every scrap of paper I had in my kit. Journaling here talks about how blessed Evan is to have such a fantastic foundation of cousins and friends, and how wonderful it is that he stays in touch with his long time friends despite our move and the new friends he's making here.



Here's a close up of the title block on this page.








Crepe paper ribbon is so hot right now, and when I saw the ribbon in this collection, it immediately made me thing of splashes of water. Isn't it fun? This page talks about how much our kids love to splash in a pool. I sure have a lot of great photos of them enjoying hot weather plunges. The bottom right photo of Evan being tossed into the pool by his Grandpa is a perennial favourite! :-}




Here's a close up of the title placed over the crepe paper ribbon. The alphas are Maya Road chipboard letters coloured with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist.


I've wanted to create a page about scrapbooking for quite a while now; even more so now that I have my own space to create in! The title here says "Scrapbooking brings me Peace". I chose the word Peace as my 2010 One Little Word, inspired by Ali Edwards, and it has definitely proven to be the perfect choice for me. Peace has been a predominant theme for me in 2010, not just in scrapbooking, but in my life. Read about my Peace project here.
Journaling reads "memories captured, great friends, laughter, sharing, creative expression, peace. Scrapbooking brings me these gifts and more. This is why I scrapbook". This page really expresses how I feel about this amazing hobby. The photos include peeks at my scraproom, as well as some of the wonderful people I share this hobby with.

Phew! That was a long post, so thanks for sticking with me. I'm so pleased with all of these pages. I'm looking forward to doing more scrapping next weekend with Sue and Jennifer. Woo hoo! Time to get cleaning my scraproom (it sure needs it after all of these!) and planning my next few projects.

Where should I start? Check back soon and I'll let you know.

Scrapalicious Sneak Peek

I've loved working with Lost and Found by My Mind's Eye for Scrapalicious this month. Here's a little peek at what I've created with this gorgeous line. This layout is timely - Stephen and I were married twelve years ago today and he still rocks my world! Happy 12th wedding anniversary to us.
There is so much to this collection - gorgeous glitter alphas, beautiful glittered, die-cut and embossed papers, glittered title blocks, fantastic stamps, glittered and crepe paper ribbons, brads and buttons - the list goes on and on. I'll have photos of these pages and more for posting in the next few days.

Our Rhine Cruise Slide Show

When we decided to go on a Rhine river cruise, I wasn't sure what to expect. It was the first time in Europe for both of us. For me, it was my first cruise. Stephen and I are both beach vacationers, but the opportunity to get our first glimpse of Europe with a great group of people was too much to pass up!

While it would be tough to select a favourite experience on the trip, if I had to shortlist a few most memorable highlights, I would definitely select Amsterdam (at night in the photo above), with it's history, architecture, canals and culture; followed by the Alsace region of France, with its beautiful countryside and - of course - wine!

Travelling with a fantastic group of colleagues and business associates was a huge part of the great experience. We had the wonderful surprise of finding that our long-time friends Brian and Pilar from Vancouver were on the trip with us! It was also wonderful to spend more time with Shane, to see Andy again and meet everyone from the CityTV offices nationally.
I took over 500 photos during our trip, and still haven't finished going editing all of them, but here is a glimpse at my favourites. You can click on any slide to view the show at full screen.

Enjoy!

Turning Back Time...

It's time to turn the clocks back this weekend! Wow, 2010 is flying - I wish I could slow it down. Back in time I mentioned the gorgeous My Mind's Eye's Lost & Found line. I'm finally posting a peek of it for you! See more here. To me, it's their most beautiful release since the original Wild Asparagus.
I'm finishing up some layouts this weekend using this beautiful collection, and am looking forward to posting them for you. I love the way MME creates such diverse releases. There is literally something for everyone here - girl or boy pages, lovers of collage or clean, graphic pages - anything's possible!

Have a fantastic (and hopefully scrappy, if you are so inclined) weekend! Check back soon for some new Scrapalicious creations.

Home again, home again...

Stephen and I just returned from our first trip to Europe. We cruised up the Rhine River in a beautiful, brand new river cruise ship, ate far too much bratwurst, schnitzel and cheese, drank too much beer and wine, and essentially enjoyed ourselves tremendously for 10 days. This is us cruising along the beautiful Rhine Gorge.

We spent most of our time in Germany but also saw the Alsace region of France, spent just over a day in Amsterdam and a morning in Zurich before we flew home. The weather was lovely the first few days, but then became foggy and damp as our trip progressed. That didn't stop us though. This is Germany's Heidelberg Castle.

It was my first time on a cruise ship, and since it was small, I didn't have to worry about sea-sickness. Everything about the ship was wonderful - the crew and the group we cruised with were fantastic, and I've already mentioned the great food! The scenic Rhine was beautiful. This is sunset from our stateroom.

In going on this cruise, I missed out on going to fall Scrapfest, but it was so worth the beautiful trip. Of course, every time I travel anywhere, I manage to find the local scrap store. This one was in Koblenz, and we stumbled upon it without even looking! I also picked up a great French magazine in Strasbourg, Esprit Scrapbooking.

I'm still getting caught up at home and work, but may post more trip photos soon. I also have a little teaser of some Lost & Found pages I'm creating for Scrapalicious coming up, so stay tuned.

From A to Zip...

Wow, I'm sure behind in blog posting! Time, there is just never enough. Funnily, "time" is one of my entries in the Me: The Abridged Version album that I am working on. I'm taking Cathy Zielski's awesome class from BPC and am thoroughly enjoying the process. It's fun, while introspective too.
Homework, hockey, dance, Cubs, French and piano are all back in full swing now. The school bus arrives a half hour earlier this year, so our mornings are always hectic. Work is busy as always; reading, scrapping and exercising need to be in there somewhere too. So we're endlessly "zipping" around in my van!

Can you guess what one of my Z entries will be in my Me:TAV album?

Me:TAV was created based on this book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. If you haven't read it yet, it's a thought-provoking and humorous read for non-scrappers and scrappers alike. Check it out!

Speaking of scrapbooking, I have some new pages for Scrapalicious spread out on my desk, so stay tuned for a little peek at that.

Thanks so much for checkin' in! :-}

Every Last Ounce!

Can you believe it is September already? We have been busy squeezing in every last ounce of summer. While Stephen and I enjoyed our time alone while the kids were at camp, we sure missed them, so now we're taking off as much time as we can and enjoying the summer warmth in the pool every chance we get!
When we drove to camp to pick the kids up, Sierra was waiting for us and came home with us to visit for a while. The kids have been having such a fantastic time with her. We took a day off this week and spend the whole day at the beach. We couldn't have asked for a better day. The sky was clear, the water was warm, the waves were soft . . . it was perfect!
Once upon a time we had a little boy with shortly cropped hair. No more! Evan has decided that he wants to wear his hair long. I tried taking him for a trim to keep the ends healthy, but he wasn't having any of it! His hair is so light from the sun this year. It reminds me a lot of photos of Stephen when he was little.
Sierra's little brother Kristian is once again in the Rising Star competition at the CNE. This year he has sung his way into the Finals this Sunday. He is such a talented young man, and we're so proud of him. Here are the links to his Youtube page and his Facebook fan page. Be sure to check him out!

Savouring Summer

I'll be posting a slide show of the rest of my Montreal photos soon, but in the interim, here is a little look at what else we've been enjoying this summer.

Evan was so excited to have his sisters joining him this year at camp for the first time. Here's a shot of them as we arrived at camp, ready to get started. I had the girls' hair braided to make it easy for them, and I love the way it looks! I'm already missing them, but I know they're learning and having fun!
After dropping off the kids, Stephen and I had our own little mini-vacation up at Lake Joseph. We had a beautifully relaxing time. The rain stayed away, the weather was just right and the food was excellent. We lay on the dock and read, went for a cruise to look at local cottages, and just spent time together.
Chris, Howard and Mom arrived at our house the week before our trip to Montreal. They toured our new house, went sight-seeing and spent some time here with us and the kids. We had Stephen's family and Indra over for a BBQ and wonderful visit one night that week. We then drove together to Montreal.
Since things were so hectic back around the time of the girls' birthday, we decided to wait to have their "birthday" party until the weather was nice. The theme was High School Musical, and the kids enjoyed a visit from "Gabriella" along with songs, games, food and fun. So perfect for a group of 7 year old girls!
Do you recognize this beautiful young woman? Kristen was the sweet little flower girl at our wedding, the one with her broken arm in a cast. We spent some wonderful time with friends this summer, including pool parties at Kristen's parents' home as well as at our friends Doug and Nicole's new house.
If there's been a consistent theme at our house this summer, it's been nature. The girls love frogs! They find them in the pool or on the BBQ;they love to play with them! When company comes, the girls show off the critters they find. Rob and Elise have visited with us (and frogs), as have Adam and his daughter Emma.

While we'll be sorry to see this summer end, I'm happy that we've managed to cram it full of wonderful people and things. We still have time left, but it sure is getting darker earlier now, a certain sign that our summer is coming to an end.

Like so many of us, my summer has been so busy that there's been little time for scrapbooking. But now that the kids are happily away at camp, I'm hoping I can squeeze some in before Labour Day.

I'll be back soon with my full Montreal slide show, as well as - hopefully - a few scrappy projects! Thanks for checking in with us. :-}

A Peek at our Summer Vacation

Every summer I look forward to packing up the kids and heading to Montreal for a reunion with my Mom's side of the family. This year, my Mom and my brothers Chris and Howard flew together to Toronto to visit us for a week, then made the drive to Montreal with me. Here we are at the party.
My grandparents had 11 children and I still find it amazing that there are only 15 grandchildren. Here are the nine of us that were there that day. Isabel, second from the left, traveled all the way from Texas. Isabel's two sisters, our Austrian twin cousins and our two youngest cousins are the only ones missing.
Eight of my grandparent's children are still living, and here are seven of them. Uncle Roy lives in Montreal, but unfortunately was taking cousin Theresa to the train station that day and didn't make it here for photos. Oldest to youngest (left to right) are Hilary, Ilma, Romie, Mannie, Julian, Juliet and Marion.
The gang's all here! This is the group of us at Ian and Ann's cottage that afternoon. Almost all of us are my grandparents' descendants, along with spouses and my cousin Zandra and her husband. We all took so many photos that day, but this one holds a ton of meaning. I hope there are even more of us next year!

We had a fantastic day and the rain held out until well after dinner. Overall, we were in Montreal for almost a week and enjoyed visiting with everyone. Each generation had a chance to spend time together as well as with the elders and youngsters. Chris spent a day with Theresa learning some long-held family culinary secrets, so I'm looking forward to seeing him whip up some traditional Guyanese dishes for our next reunion! :-}

My Mom's cousin Georgie from Connecticut and his daughter Lisa and hubby Greg spent a few days with us, and while they were gone before the reunion day, their ukulele playing inspired so many of us to break out in song! The kids always love a day at the pool, and they even talked my brothers and I into the water for some volleyball games (which - of course - the kids won!)

You can probably tell from the photos that this trip is always special and it means so much to spend time with my Mom's family every summer. I'm working on a slide show of photos of the trip, so stay tuned for that shortly!

I hope you are having a great summer too!

A Few New Layouts

When I say that these are new pages, I'm speaking relatively, since I created these pages back during the National Scrapboook Day weekend, and just haven't had a moment to post them yet. In fact, I'm holding this layout (sans journaling) in my NSD post! I had just bought the Bloomers the week I made this page, and was so anxious to use them. I used Maya Mist and ink to colour the alabaster laquered paper, then distressed the edges.
This photo was taken back when the girls were in kindergarten. Vanessa lost a tooth that day at school, and when I arrived to pick them up that night, she wanted a photo, but wanted her sister in it too. So sweet! If you look closely, the Prima swirl extends onto the photo and wraps around the little tooth in her hand.
The photo on this page is very special. It is the only photo I have of my great-grandmother on my father's side. My cousin sent it to me when I was creating my Mom's 80th birthday scrapbook, and I've been meaning to scrapbook it ever since. My great-grandmother's name was Eftina, and the family resemblance I see in this photo to my aunts and grandmother (and even myself) is quite amazing. We don't have a date for this photo, but it is likely from the early 1900s.
Journaling on this page tells how much I wish I knew more of my Dad's family when I was growing up. Eftina died before I was born. My grandmother lived away when I was growing up and died when I was 12. I barely remember meeting her. I wish I had had more of a chance to know that side of my family.