Too much happy?? Never!

Happy Monday folks!
The sun is shining here, and we have  nice cool breeze happening.

I had a chance to do a card this morning....just one of those cards where you have an idea, and wonder how it'll turn out. This card turned out 'OK'...not sure if I 'like' it though!

I 'played' with my new Hero Arts Neon blocks---they are so fun!! I also broke out one of my new Unity stamps. Can one ever have too much happy?? NAH! That's like saying that a scrapper has too much scrapbooking supplies! ;) The papers are from Lily Bee, from one of my Simon Says Card kits.

I am linking up this card for Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Summer Food and Drink

Anyhow. Have a great day.

Be safe. Get crafty.

Crafty Sunday

Happy Sunday folks!
How was your weekend so far? Is it just me, or does it go by extremely fast??

Anyways, I had a chance to do a card this morning, and finished it up after church. (I'll be honest here--my mind was not on the Reverend's sermon today, it was on my card ...!)

It was my first time doing a card like this.....pretty much ALL stamping!

I used my chevron stamp from My Mind's Eye (love that stamp!) and just alternated with purple and green ink, from Hero Arts. The 2 stars are from UmWow Studio (if you haven't tried these bad boys yet, you have no idea how awesome they are...seriously!) I inked up those bad boys with my Distress inks--the colors are Freshly Mowed and Dusty Concord. you can't really tell the colors of the stars, but believe me, my fingers prove that they are those colors!! The sentiment is from Kelly Purkey, attached with my TH tiny Attacher; and the bling is from Making Memories.

I based my card on this awesome sketch found over at Paper Lovers Studio :

I am also linking up this card up to Cocoa Creations...color challenge using green and purple.

That's it for me for today.

Be safe. Get crafty.

Yippee---it's FRIDAY!

Hiya folks!

Anyone else happy that it's Friday??

After the week I've had, I am soo relieved that it's Friday. Also very relieved that our electricity is restored. That's right . No electricity for 6 days. We had a terrible storm last Friday, and I mean terrible. I have witnessed severe storms before, but none to this caliber. No exaggeration here.
I was scared. Huge trees fell, completely uprooted, and fell onto cars and power lines. Our area was hit hardest, unfortunately. We couldn't leave our property for a couple of days, as the roads were blocked by fallen trees. No electricity, no internet (ack!), also means no cooking/baking, and probably the worst..no hot water...EGADS!!(we're 5 in the house, that includes 2 teenage boys--need I say more?!) But it could have been worst for us, which thankfully it wasn't. Not so for many of our neighbors.

Anyways, I am relieved that our electricity is restored so I could submit my card for Unity's Friends with Flair challenge. Yippeee!! :) (Pretty much the only challenge I am entering this week!)

Without the power this week, I had to be super inventive with activities for my 3 year old. One of them was that we stamp images and we color them. So, I pulled my large bucket of Unity stamps (I did not realize that I had THAT many!! It doesn't help that Unity has awesome sales!!) and looked through them for ones to stamp and color. It was quite fun. While she stamped and colored away, I decided to make a card for another one of my online friends.

I stamped this image a few times, and colored it in various mediums. Then decided on this one. (I also decided that I need to practice more with my watercolors, but that's a whole different story!) I kinda like this one.

This one is for a gal pal of mine whom I met through a scrapbook website...and Boy! is she talented, and quirky, and ...I just *heart* her so! Seriously! She's always there to give a quick word of encouragement. She's awesome! So, this one's for her, and I already popped it in the mail. I certainly hope I have the right address! lol That would stink if it went to someone else, no?

Anyways, have to finish this off. I have a TON of laundry to do, among other things! yuck! ;)

Be safe. Get crafty.

It's Friday....already??

Happy Friday!

And we are past the half point of July ALREADY! Can you believe it?? I can't...Summer seems to be flying by so fast! **sigh!**

Anyhow.

With Friday, comes Unity's Friends with Flair. Yippee!

I broke out of my 'new' stamps....new meaning it's a relatively new release, but I never have used it yet. But I used it now.

I made this card for one of my online friends. I've made many friends online, and some are really dear to my heart. I made this one for one of them.

She's an amazing crafter. An amazing, AMAZING crafter. I am blown away by her creativity.

Here's my card:

I used Bazzill cardstock as the base, with Jillibean patterned papers. Watercolor paper with my watercolor pencils, and a little washi.

This is going in the mail today, for her.

So, that's it for me today.

I hope to get crafty this weekend. In all honesty, it was too darn hot to craft this past week. lol

Be safe. Get crafty.

More Sunday sweetness...

My second post for Sunday!

Say what??! lol

What can I say? I'm on a roll.....

I was able to create another layout. This layout features one of my fave companies...Fancy Pants Designs. It was created for a certain layout in mind. Let me explain.

I have been scrapbooking for almost 13 years. At a time when scrapbooking  was not what it is now, AND in an area where it was almost impossible to find any scrapbooking supplies, especially English ones. I literally searched the whole city of Montreal to find supplies. I did find some here and there...in sewing shops, camera shops, etc. Get the point??  And the Internet was not what it is now.  So, I made do with what I could find, and improvised here and there. I did find some catalog retailers, and excitedly ordered from them.....at 'regular' prices. Geez! I wish I knew then what I know now, know what I mean??

Fast forward a few years. One day, at my kitchen table, I was 'surfing' (I was still a newbie at this Internet stuff---still am...kinda!) and Guess what I found?? A scrapbook deal site..Scrapbooksteals.com. And their sale at that particular time was the Fancy Pants designs 'to the Moon ' Collection. Excitedly, I purchased my very first 'name brand' scrapbook supplies!!! I was in heaven---and the shipping was speedy!

When I received my package, it was beautiful! lol  And that was the start of it all......

It is now Scrapbook Steals 4th birthday. Congrats to them! And to celebrate, they are celebrating with challenges. I did 2 of the 4 challenges.

Challenge #3--fave vendor:

I must admit, Fancy Pants will always have a spot in my heart. I literally love all their designs, and am loving them more and more with their new collections. 98% of this layout is Fancy Pants, with some Making Memories silver letters, and American Crafts Thickers.

Challenge #4--Washi fever.

I must admit, the hardest part for me on this challenge was choosing which washi tape to use. Yep, I have many, many rolls. It's almost an obsession.


So, 2 challenges are done--I hope to get 2 others done.


Happy Birthday, Scrapbook Steals!! Here's to many more!


Be safe. Get crafty.

Sunday Sweetness

Happy Sunday!

Is the sun shining brightly on this lovely day?? It is shining brightly here, so much so that it actually hurts my eyes! (Doesn't help that they are many, many windows in my house! )

I had a chance to create a layout yesterday....Yah! Pretty simple, using one of my favorite items....WASHI!!!

Over at Crop Chocolate, the challenge this week is about resolutions. Corrie, who posted the challenge, said that she has 20 rolls of rolls of washi, and doesn't use them enough. The challenge was to create a project using at least 4 types of washi. Super fun, IMO. My only problem? Which ones to use. lol. I won't say how many I have....we'll just say I have enough to last a LONG time! ;) (My story is that my DD loves to play with washi, too, so I MUST have enough to satisfy our needs and wants, no??)

Anyways, in all seriousness, I knew what picture to use, and I knew I wanted 'simple' paper/cardstock. I just needed an idea of placement. That's when I remembered the sketch over on Paper Lover's Studio. I saw Emily's sketch, and loved it. I just tweaked it a bit.

Here it is:

When I snapped this picture about a year and a half ago, I fell in love with it. Even with the shadow over the kids. I love these 3 kids so much. April (my DD) is lucky to have great cousins like these 2--they are great with her. And she loves them so much.

I used Bazill cardstock, with different washi tapes from My Mind's Eye, Echo Park, and Elmer's; 'cousin' is AC glitter thickers; 'Fun' is cute from my Slice machine-Summer Fun design card; Die cuts are from October Afternoon, and the pin is from Jillibean soup. 'Family' sticker is from My Mind's Eye. I did the journal around the page in pink from my Zig marker.

I am entering this layout in the following:
Paper Lover's Studio - Layout sketch#4
Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Pin It!
Crop Chocolate- Cocoa Creations #4

So, that's it for me for today!

I just wanted to pass on my condolences to Cory Monteith's family and loved ones. So sad. he was one of my favorite on Glee. So sad.

Be safe. Get crafty.

Thank you...with Flair

It's Friday. Happy Friday.

It almost the weekend, and do you know what today means?? It's Unity Friends with Flair. I must say, I do enjoy participating in these weekly challenges. It also gives me a chance to use my ever-growing collection of Unity. just saying! ;)

I made a thank you card with one of my favorite stamps from Unity. It's a pretty recent one, one released in the past couple months. I fell in love with it, and just had to have it. Ever experience that? ;)

This card is made for a very special person in my family's lives. She is such an amazing woman...funny, kind, considerate, true. All wrapped up in a 5 foot frame. My kids call her 'Grandma Joan'. She is like their surrogate grandma. She's always thinking about us. She is just too kind for words.

Every once in a while, someone comes into your lives and is truly amazing. This is her. I just wanted to show my appreciation for her, so I made her this card.

I used Bazzill Cardstock, Cosmo Cricket's 'Little Girls' patterned paper, Strathmore watercolor paper, Unity stamp, watercolor pencils. The pink ribbon is something I had in my stash for some time.

I am pretty sure she will enjoy it. I am going to pop it into the mailbox this a.m.

Now it's too find an envelope that will fit this card--it's not the normal size. ;)

I am also linking this card to:
Inspire me Fridays 111- Anything goes

Have a great day.

Be safe. Get crafty

It's Pizza time.

Happy Wednesday!

How are you all??

The heat wave has finally broken here, and the rain is a welcomed break.

I had a chance to do another layout...this one is a double page. I haven't done a double page in such a long time. It was kinda fun to do again.

These pictures were taken at the beginning of this year, and I had been itching to get them scrapbooked. Phew! Done! :)

 I followed a sketch for this layout. I stayed on track, kind of, but split th skecth into half to accommodate my double page spread.

This sketch is Scrapfriend's July sketch challenge found here!
Of course, like I said, I altered it a bit. But it's all about creative freedom, isn't it?? ;)

The papers I used are cs from Bazzill, the striped paper is something from my stash (I have no clue whom it is from!), corrugated letters are from Jillibean Soup, along with the white number stickers. The round number stickers are from Echo Park, and behind the pictures, are journaling cards (total of 5!) from My Mind's Eye. The arrow is from UmWow Studio, and the star is from My Mind's Eye, stamped with red momento ink.  Small journaling tabs are from studio Calico kit; and green ink splatters from Mister Huey's. Secret recipe sticker is from Making Memories Design Shop 'Cooking' stickers.

I am also entering this layout in the following challenges:
Paper Issues: hey Good lookin', what's cooking? challenge: a layout about cooking
Simon Says Stamp and Show : A little stamping
The paper Girls Challenge blog :Challenge #35--journaling cards

I think that's it for me today!

Until next time.

Be safe. Get crafty.

Monday with a layout

 Happy Monday folks!

Or is it? ;)

The heat wave has finally let up, it seems,here in the Laurentians. there's a nice breeze this morning, and looks like rain is on its way. I am kind of welcoming it....for now! Ask me again after a couple of days.

I am getting braver and braver with my scrapbooking.....I am stepping out of my comfort zones more often these days. Being pushed to do and try new things. For the most part, I like it!

There's a challenge blog that is pretty interesting to me. It's PaperLovers Studio, and they have different types of challenges, and I like it. I don't always get to join in the fun, but I try.

This week's challenge is.......Create a layout without any photos.

Ummm....OK.

I was determined to do this challenge...it was different.

BUT.

I was stumped.

Then. As I looked around my room, I knew what I was going to do.

I'll make a layout of my favorite things for scrapbooking.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I always keep a snippet of the product that I am using. Like Thickers...I have to keep track of what I have used, so I can keep my supply replenished. I have always done this...ever since I was a little girl. Weird, I know. lol

So, without any pictures, just logos. I have the majority of my favorite things here. Some name brands (ah, heck, the majority of them are all name brand!!) and some are items, like brads, twine, and washi...which I have no particular favorite brand.

So, I hope I succeeded for this challenge.

That's it for me today.

Thanks for stopping by!

Be safe. Get crafty.

Non Traditional Get Well

Happy Friday!

The week went by slowly for me, it seems. Go figure, as it was a short week, with Canada Day for us at the beginning of the week, and then America's Independence Day. Hot and humid. Boy, summer took its sweet time getting here, and it is now in full swing. Phew!

So, Friday means Unity time. Not hammer time. Unity time. Of course, if you feel like 'busting a move', by all means, go ahead! :)

I broke out of my newer stamps for my card this week. I wanted to do a layout, but I also needed a Get Well card for my boss. So, two birds, one stone, so to speak. ;)

My boss is a real great gal. She is the director of a very large camp for Scouts Canada, and from my standpoint, does not have it easy. We'll just say that I would not want her job. Anyways, she is 'under the weather' right now. She is awaiting surgery to repair her retina, as it 'came out' off her eyeball. I don't have the proper medical terms, as I am still grasping the fact that THAT can actually happen! Seriously! And it was not ONE eye, it was BOTH! Yowza!

Anyways, as Alison is a trooper, and stays positive, no matter what the circumstance, it seems, I felt this stamp was appropriate. It reminds me so much of her. Except for the braids. Alison has short curly hair. She is such an outdoorsy person. She's amazing!

Anyhow. Here is my card for Unity's Friends with Flair.

I used Simple Stories 'Take a Hike' papers (fitting!), Momento ink, and my watercolor pencils. I ned to work on my fussy cutting---I have absolutely little patience for this! lol

So, it's a non-traditional get Well card. I hope it brings a smile to her face. I hope she gets better soon.

So, that's it for me.

Have a great weekend.

Be safe. Get crafty.

Tag! You're it!

Happy 4th of July to our American friends! Hope you have a safe, fun, and beautiful day!

I want to share with you some creations I made. Something I don't really make, even for the holidays.

Tags.

Nope. I haven't really 'jumped' onto the tag wagon. Until now, that is.

Over at the 'Just Us Girls' Challenge blog, their challenge this week is tags. Not something I have an abundance of, only kraft tags. And I have not known what to really do with them. Go figure!

So, with this challenge in mind, I searched, and racked my brain of what to make. I looked through my stamps, and then, BOOM! Inspiration hit, when I came across one of my first stamp sets that I had purchased a while ago. The set was from Inkadinkadoo, 'Games'. I could make playing cards inspired tags!!!!

And this is what I came up with:

These were actually quite fun to make, to be honest. I went out of my comfort zone, and ventured out into the tag world. I really enjoyed it!

I am entering these tags in the following:
'Just Us Girls' Challenge: tags
One Crazy Stamper : Kraft color challenge
Simon Says Stamp and Show: Anything goes

So, that's it for me.

I plan on making more tags soon. Let the inspiration hit me!!! :)

In the meantime, I am working on a card for my boss--- a get well card. I'll have more details tomorrow.

Be safe. Get crafty.

Happy Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday, and Happy Belated Canada Day to my fellow Canucks!

We spent the day at our town's ski lodge, where there were all different activities: bouncy toys for the younger kids, zip-lining for the teens and adults (looks like fun, but I am NOT brave enough to do that!!), magic show, petting zoo, BBQ...awhole lotta fun. Our church also had their annual Strawberry Social event....yummy strawberries with fresh whipped cream, over homemade biscuits. YUM! They also had a bake sale, with all the proceeds going towards the Breakfast program for the elementary school. Donations of baked goods were encouraged, so I made a few loaves of my Olive Rosemary bread, which sold very quickly, I'm proud to say. :) Some of the church goers are known for certain specialties --it seems breads are mine! :)

Anyhow, it was a fun day for us all.

April with her dad riding a pony. Her first time.

 April did not want her face painted, so she opted for her arm:

I thought I had a better shot of her arm. It was a beautiful butterfly--she was so proud!

I had to take a picture of this turkey--he was HUGE! (and kinda scary!)

April was such a big girl and went into the bouncy house several times by herself--yah!

It was a great day! I also had to post this picture of my goofy boys--who were great sports, and a barrel of laughs! They made me laugh continuously... and April, too. Phew!

You'd think I could get a single 'NORMAL' picture of them. Phsaw! yeah, right! lol

When we got home yesterday, we were pretty pooped, but I was feeling the creative groove, so I went to my craft room, and just flowed.

Here's the product of that flow!

I used a little gesso, a little paint,a 'few' buttons, some stickle glue, some Jillibean stickers and Studio Calico letters, and a Unity butterfly stamp. It's not really visible, so here's another shot of it:

So, that is where the flow went. I'm done for today.

Be safe. Get crafty.

Laura