A December Documented (or Daily) Prompt - make 3 X 4 cards from the scraps left on your work surface after completing another project :)

Good morning and happy Thursday to you all!  It's December ... woot, woot!  Can you hear the song :  "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..." LOL.  It is one of my signature songs - I sing that portion of it in response to all sorts over the earlier part of December.  When my mom told me they had decorated the dining room at her residence, that was my response.  When my friend told me she was starting her Christmas shopping, I sang that portion of the song ... you get the picture.  Have I now implanted that in your brain for the day - will you be singing it all day???  Yay, my job is done LOL.  We can now move on to the subject at hand :

I made about 50 Christmas cards this year, here is a selection of them :

Here is my scrap table after I finished making all the cards :

So we all have messy desks after a project, right?  Please do not disillusion me if that is not your case!!  We all hate the cleaning up part, right?  Except for my cat Chopin that is (you can see his paws up in the right hand corner LOL) who loves playing in the leftovers, but usually just makes the mess messier LOL.  And finally, cleaning up that mess takes away from valuable crafting time, does it not?  So what's a crafter to do??  

TURN THAT MESS INTO 3 X 4 CARDS FOR OUR DECEMBER DOCUMENTED ALBUMS !!!

I did not buy anything this year for my album, used only things I had in my stash (the Scraptastic December kit will be Christmas themed, but it may not get here in time for me to use it in the album).  I am using a 6 X 8 album, with pocketed pages but did not have a single 3 X 4, or 4 X 6, Christmas/winter themed card.  So I cleaned my desk :

As I was making these cards, I thought of three different categories of cards that I would use in my album, and that I could make ahead of time :

• date and event specific
• event specific, but no date
• generic filler cards

The generic filler cards are the easiest and fastest to make.  I just trimmed scraps to the 3 X 4 size, rounded the corners and then searched for little bits on my desk that matched the colour and that I could layer :

There is still plenty of room to add a title or a date.   I search for different shapes and sizes from that little scrap heap, at least 3 little bits, so that I can layer.  Each little layer touches at least another one.  I also add just a touch of dimension or bling for texture and pizzazz !

Then for the event-specific cards, although I don't know yet when these events will happen :

We have not yet had our first real snow storm - that 20+ cm snowfall, but it surely will come and probably sooner rather than later ... maybe in the next few days.  So I am ready with my card.  

I don't have a tree in my house because I have my kitty and my sister has two, plus Oliver, our golden retriever; and we spend a lot of time at each other's homes.  So no trees for us.  But my mom has one, her residence has many, we have one at work, other family members and friends also have trees.  So a page will definitely be dedicated to Christmas trees.  My card is ready.  I used twine for some added texture here to represent garland on the tree and stickles on the tree to represent the lights.

Lastly, the presents.  I document shopping, wrapping, giving and opening so I am not sure where is card will wind up in my album ... probably buying because it is actually a gift card holder that I made. I may decorate the inside, or add the list of the gifts that I buy as well as who they are for:

And the very last category, is a card that is very specific and very personal to my Christmas period :

This will be the title card for December 18th.  I work in an Italian gourmet food shop and bakery and Christmas is our busiest time of the year.  We get all sorts of special orders for pastries, cakes, food, baskets .... so on the 18th of every year, I become the "List Lady"... I make lists pretty much all day - special orders by category, orders from vendors, extra staff on call, ingredient lists, crew load lists .... lists and more lists... At the bottom of each of my lists, I always write, and then sing when I give the list to whoever  "And, a partridge in a pear tree" !!! LOL

So now I have implanted a second song in your brain for the day ... wouldn't want you to get bored singing the same song over and over ... so now you have two.  You don't have to thank me, it was a pleasure!

There you have it, I hope I have given you a few ideas for 3 X 4 cards; they are so versatile and easy to make and much more fun than cleaning off the desk !!!

Pop on over to our facebook group, December Daily Inspiration Group - Anything Goes,  for lots more inspiration and gorgeous projects.  There are close to 200 amazing DD crafters in the group making beautiful stuff.  Also pop on over to Sue's You Tube channel (shiles728) to keep up to date with everything going on in the group.  And, of course, there is still time to join in Kristy Nitro's amazing challenge (Kristy Nitro on You Tube).

Are you still with me?  All the way to the end? .... Wow, you are as amazing as I thought.  Thanks so much for sticking with me and my ramblings!  Have a wonderful fun-filled day and don't forget :  SING IT FOR ALL TO HEAR !!!

My job is done LOL.  Hugs xoxo

 

11th and final layout with the Scraptastic August Boys of Summer Kit :) :)

Good morning and happy Saturday to you all!  I hope you are having a great day so far!!  I have a fair amount on my plate today - making bread (well OK, the machine makes it but still ... LOL), making chili,  getting some December Documented stuff done, planning out the layouts than I will make to give as Christmas gifts (more about that in another post); and tonight is my work Christmas party!

So I thought I would quickly pop in and post my last layout with the Boys of Summer kit. Remember when I posted the first layout and I was a little afraid that I would have trouble with this kit since it was so "little boy" specific?... Well, I guess I got over that LOL.  I am so happy that I really got a lot out of this kit and was able to adapt many of the die-cuts.

Without further ado: 

See what I mean about adapting the die-cuts!!!  If you are thinking "that die-cut has nothing whatsoever to do with that page" ... you are right LOL.  But I decided to use it simply because the critter is making the same goofy face I am on the photo and his arms are spread out like mine!  Reason enough I say, plus the colours match!

The supplies:  I was really down to scraps for this layout.  The background cardstock is from my stash as I did not have a single piece of 12X12, cardstock or paper, left.  

• The burlap stickers were left over from the Either Way kit, as were a couple of the other stickers
• I am not sure if the hello wood veneer was from this kit or a left over from another, but the spread you wings was from my stash
• The little gold circular pieces were left over from those totally yummy gold thickers we got with the Either Way kit
• I used Glimmer Mist on the corners

The story:  There is no real story to this one. It is an everyday photo from my year-long backpacking trip to Europe.  I spent two weeks in Sevilla, Spain in November of 2005 and loved every minute of it.  I have shared quite a few pages from this portion of the trip already.  On this photo, I simply wanted to show the size of the tree.  If you know me a little, you know I am a nature lover and yes I admit, somewhat of a tree-hugger ;).  This tree was not in a park or anything;  just there along a wide-alley walkway, in the center of town.  The only other place I have seen trees this size was in the California Redwoods area!!!

So there you have it, just a quick visit from me today... For once, I am sparing you from my usual ramblings LOL, but never fear, it is a short respite.  I will be back, ramblings and all shortly; maybe even tomorrow if I can get my DD act together.  

Thanks for stopping by as always and have a wonderful scrap-filled day.  Hugs xo

December documented - a page, an embelli, a tag and a few ramblings ;)

Happy Sunday to you all !!! Well, we seem to be out of the deep freeze for a few days but it is very cloudy and we are to get rain for two solid days Monday and Tuesday.  But having a choice between snow and rain, I will take the rain for now.  I love snow but starting around mid-December LOL... Yes, I know I live in southern Quebec and it snows in November but a girl can hope and dream, no?

On to the subject at hand before I bore you to tears ...

First up, I made my first page.  I apologise for the lighting.  I finished this page last night and took the photo straight away because I wanted to get this page into the album :

It says November 7 & 8 doesn't it?  ... That's not December?  You are right.  Because of my work schedule, I do a lot in November to get ready for Christmas.  I take the first week of December off to bake, decorate, send all my Christmas cards, do all the present shopping and even wrap the presents.  When the 15th or so rolls around, I work ... work and work pretty much solidly until 4 pm on the 24th.  So all my personal stuff has to be done and ready - the freezer has to have food so I can eat LOL, and my nephew (who happens to be my boss) has to have enough wine to keep me happy !!  So I start my season in November and therefore my December Documented will need a Prologue ;) :) ... Watch for that "cover" page soon.

Every year, on the first or second weekend of November, my local scrappy friends and I get together  for a Christmas crop.  It kicks the season off for me.  I love Christmas so an extra-long Christmas season is fine by me.

My second little project for today is a wood veneer snowflake.  The packaging called them wood veneer doilies (silly of them to make such a mistake isn't it?) :

I started by painting the bare wood veneer with some semi-gloss blank canvas acrylic paint by Claudine Hellmuth.  It gave it just a touch of sheen.  I then hapharzardly applied some gold ink (I used Brilliance) and then several layers of clear and glitterly embossing powder.  I think I did four layers.  This embellishment was originally intended for the cover of my album; it didn't make it but will definitely be in the album.

And last up for me today is my tag in response to the challenge over on our Facebook DD Inspiration Group, as well as on Sue's You Tube channel (shiles728).  The challenge is closed now. I am so amazed with the wonderful tags everyone created and posted.  Here is my little contribution :

 It is quite a simple tag :  I used a scrap of red cardstock to create the tag which is about 3 X 5 so I can fit it nicely into a 4 X 6 pocket.  I stamped and clear heat embossed the snow flakes on the background.  I then die-cut some smaller snowflakes out of white glitter paper (I used a Spellbinders die) and glued them to the tag.  I put small red star shaped gems in the center of each of those snowflakes and added the letters NOEL in silver alphas.  The hole reinforcer is also out of white glitter paper.  Lastly I added red and white twine, along with 1/8 inch silver ribbon.

Well there you have - as the title says - a page, an embelli, a tag and a lot of ramling LOL.

Thanks so much for stopping by and taking time out of your day for me.  I truly appreciate it.  I love reading all your comments.  

I will be back soon with a layout - my 11th and final layout with the August Scraptastic Boys of summer kit.  Until then, stay warm (or cool if you are down south, or in the southern hemisphere) and be well.  Hugs xo

December Documented cover, supplies and a few ramblings :)

Good morning all !  I hope you are having a lovely morning so far (or whatever time of day it is where you are :) :).  As I mentioned on Sunday, we had the first snow fall... it was pretty ... it turned ugly LOL.  This week has been brutal.  We have had high winds, actually warnings on Monday and Tuesday (gusts hitting 90 km), below freezing temperatures (and with that wind, the feel was even worse).  The snow turned to ice and therefore my "walking like a penguin" season has started.  Not a happy camper!  It is a little too early. Thankfully, they are announcing a return to normalcy next week so that we should get a little reprieve before the "real" winter starts.

So, let's talk December Documented... that is what I will be calling my project this year.  Many of you are more familiar with, or are doing, a December Daily but I don't think I will be able to record something every single day since there are days that all I will be doing is work (it is the very busy season for us), or where there is nothing special going on ...

I want to focus on traditions, memories, activities (baking, Christmas shopping, decorations ....) so some days there may be "nothing to report" whereas others there may be 2 or 3 pages worth.  There will be fun little tidbits - our local garden center has a beautiful Christmas boutique and outside they have an "Elf crossing" which I think is just too cute so that will be in the album.  My mom is 86 years old and still going pretty strong but I don't know how many more Christmasses we will be lucky enough to have her so that will be in the book.  Muffins and martinis will be in the book, pretty snow, and grumlings about snow will be in the book, prayers and thanks will be in the book, the fur-kids will be in the book, presents will be in the book, movies too.... You get the picture.

I will blog about the whole experience on a regular basis, since it is my first December Documented.  Please share if you are doing a December Daily, December documented, 25 Memories or whatever else you may be doing at this time of the year !!

It does not have to be an expensive project - so far I have not bought one single thing.  I had a 6 X 8 Bo Bunny Misc Me album in my stash together with enough page protectors (I think anyway LOL).  I had two perfect-for-the-occasion 6 X 6 paper pads from 2012 :

and then I shopped my stash for alphas, buttons, washi, enamel dots, stickles, punches, ribbons and twine ....

 And I decorated the album cover ... just to get things rolling.  It is a fairly simple decoration but I like the outcome.  It is not at all what I had in mind when I was thinking about the front cover but my heart and hands just made this LOL .... and I love it: 

So there you have .... LET DECEMBER DOCUMENTED BEGIN!  YAY.

Now for a few news items :  There is a DD inspiration group that is the brainchild of my friend Susan Hiles.  And there is so much going on ... challenges, inspiration, motivation etc...  There are two ways to finds us.  The main focus will be You Tube - so go on over and subscribe to Sue's channel if you haven't already (she is shiles728 on You Tube).  She already has a few videos up and each one has links to other group members, so it is like a treasure hunt LOL.  Sue also has a challenge going, until Nov. 29th for your DD cover.  Secondly, we have formed a Facebook group called December Daily Inspiration Group - Anything goes.  Come on over and join in the fun!!

So that about does it for me today LOL... True to my title, including the ramblings :)
Thanks for stopping by and spending some of your precious time with me today.  I will be back soon with more.

First ever mixed media scrapbook layout (well sort of LOL) ... 12 X 12

Good morning friends!  Hope you are well and having a lovely Sunday so far (or had a lovely Sunday should it already be over where you are).  I woke up to the first snow fall of the year this morning.  It is still snowing and so far it is staying.  I have mixed feelings about that:  it is pretty and I don't have to shovel, nor do I drive but I walk; I walk a lot and that can be quite treacherous at times during the winter...but still, it is pretty as you will see in my photo below from last year.

So on to the layout ... I took a break from my Scraptastic kit (although the background cardstock is from the August Boys of summer kit) to play with some of my December Documented stash.  This layout is in response to a weekly challenge by my friends Roni and Megan (Ronisuescrapper and Crafty Meggy on You Tube; more about my friends below).  Their challenge this week was mixed media.  I have never ever done a mixed media layout so it was a challenge indeed.  So much so that my first attempt at a background was a total, monumental and epic fail LOL.  Not even my cat would play with the wrinkled up paper (that says a lot because Chopin is not at all fussy when it comes to playing with paper - anything that flies off the trimmer will do)!!  Oh well, so back to the drawing board I went.  And this time, I am really chuffed with the results - I love it and I had so much fun doing this page.  Now, before you get all excited, it is not mixed media like many of you do but it is a start - baby steps.

I apologise for the quality of the photo - another part of the snow that I don't like - bad lighting for photo taking LOL.  

What I did:  I started simply by covering the entire surface of a 12 X 12 Whisper White cardstock from Stampin' Up with Gesso.  I don't really have a lot of mixed media supplies - well none really - no Gelatos, no watercolours...but I did find some really old stuff in my stash, along with some more current mists and played away :

• I used Nicole's and Irit's technique of mist on some packaging and then applied it to the page.  I used two colours of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist -  Patina and Italian Sunset, and then added a bit of Mister Huey's custard.  The custard mist looked nice on my try-out sheet when I sprayed it, but I found the packaging technique made it much too bright and bold so in the end I covered most of it up
• I found "Archival Opaline pigment ink" in Glacial blue in my stash (must be at least 10 years old.  It is a Tsunkineko product.  I used a SSS stencil called Stars and Dots with the ink and painted in three spots - it is not really visible on the picture, sorry.
• I misted the doily with the Glimmer Mists
• I colourd the wood veneer doily (we will just call it a snowflake, OK?) with the Patina Glimmer Mist, painted over that with the Glacial Blue paint/ink and then heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.
• The rest is pretty straight forward layering and embellishing.  The paper comes from Basic Grey; it is a 6X6 paper pad from 2012, called Aspen Frost.  You will see it a lot in my December Documented album.

The photo:  Every year in late December or early January we get one, or a couple of, ice storms.  This particular morning, I was headed to work very early  - the sun was just rising as you can see in the top RH corner of the photo.  It gave everything the "glacial blue" tone.  It was lovely, but oh so treacherous ... I had to walk like a penguin.  Luckily, we did not lose power but I did slip and slide around for a couple of days LOL

Well, there you have.  Let me know what you think of my first foray into mixed media.  I had such fun. I can certainly see how it can become addictive and of course now I need Gelatos, watercolours, modeling paste, and.... and...LOL

Roni and Megan were joined by Jennifer Cambridge (also her You Tube name I think) for the challenge and they each made such lovely layouts.  If you don't know  them yet, head on over to their channels to watch and subscribe.  Roni and Megan also just started a facebook group (Crafty Meggy and Roni) so there is another lovely place to share.  Next week's challenge is to use a monochromatic colour scheme.  Everyone is welcome to join in - the more, the scrappier :) :)

As always, thanks so much for stopping by. I will be back soon dear friends - until then, be well.  Hugs xo

12 X 12 layout - Sweet dreams filled with tickles ..., using the August Boys of Summer Kit from Scraptastic

Hello, welcome and happy Thursday to all !!  The sun is shining, the wind is blowing and the temperatures are down into the single digits... oh well, on the upside it means Xmas is approaching.  I love Christmas, don't you?  I am busier than a beaver but I do try to have fun throughout.  I will be back either tomorrow or on the weekend with the first post for my December Documented project.  In the meantime, I  today I want to share the ninth layout made using the Scraptastic August Boys of Summer kit. 

Oliver has reclaimed his bed ...

My last layout and post got him lots of great comments from y'all, a few laughs and he got lots of commiseration LOL.  So I thought I would let you know that all is right with the world - Oliver has regained the rights to his bed!  He just loves it too :).

The supplies :  I only have one full sheet of 12 X 12 paper left from this kit but did have quite a few great strips and scraps left, so made good use of them on this layout.  The background is from my stash and is a Stampin' Up (SU) cardstock called Smoky Slate.

• All of the paper is from the kit except for the golden yellow woodplank layer behind the photo which comes from the Simple Stories 6X6 Good Day Sunshine paper pad.
• the background stamping was with the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set from SU and I used Weathered Wood distress ink.
• All of the alphas are from my stash:  the chipboard letters are from and older collection (Mint Julep by Basic Grey), the October Afternoon Sticky Keys are Peacock Blue and the tile letters are from the October Afternoon Daily Flash in Deep Sea.
• The stickers and die-cuts are from all from the kit
• The heart chipboard pieces are from the Studio Calico Essentials Collection
• And finally, I used up a couple of packages of gems and brads for the October challenge over on the nicolejones911 FB group.

So there you have it - no real story here, just Oliver getting his bed back.  Oh and  maybe just to let you know that Cali is still comfortable though as she has claimed my best BIL's lap LOL.

I will be back on the weekend.  Be well my friends :)

Layout in response to the fun challenge by Jenny Box for her 500+ You Tube subbies

Happy Sunday to you all !  I hope you are having a good one.  It is rather a cloudy autumnal day here but the temperatures are still reasonable - 11 deg C so far today (it is noon here).  I am still fighting my flu bug but went for a long walk this morning to help clear my head and my sinuses.  It seemed to work ... yay !

Two blog posts in one weekend you say?  Well, yes.  This second one is for a challenge by my You Tube friend Jenny Box (you will find her under her name on You Tube, and she is also part of the nicolejones911 facebook group).  If you know Jenny, you will know that she is Australian and that she makes awesome layouts.  She has two "trademarks" - layering and black ink splatters.  I think Jenny is the queen of layering; she makes it look so effortless and the results are always beautiful.  She also finishes each page with some black India ink splatters in two corners of her page.  The perfect finishing touch.  Jenny challenged us to take on her trademarks on our own pages!!  What fun, but a challenge indeed.  So without further ado, here is my response to her challenge and my 5th layout with the Scraptastic Boys of Summer kit :

What I did that was new to me :  Firstly, this page is a lot busier than my normal style but I really like the outcome.  Normally, when I use a lot of bits of patterned paper on a layout, I will use cardstock, or a very subtle pattern, as the background but this time I went for the bold because I wanted the star PP as a  background since the layout is about Oliver's (the golden retriever in the picture)  bed and both he and Cali (the queen kitty LOL)  are sleeping.  Secondly, I clustered the title in a block down at the bottom of the layout so that it sort of acts as an embellishment cluster as well.  

This layout sure made be appreciate Jenny's layering talent even more because I did not find it as quite as effortless as it looks when Jenny does it :).  But I enjoyed it and I will certainly do more layering on my layouts as a result.  Thanks Jenny.  I used Mister Huey's mist for the splattering but I will be buying the black India ink because I like the effect much more.

The supplies: I used a few more supplies from my stash add-on this time around, to bring in the pet theme.  However all of the papers are from the kit with the exception of the grey cardstock behind the star PP, which is Smoky Slate by Stampin' Up, and the yellow-gold plank paper (which I can't quite remember where is comes from - I know it is recent and it is a 6X6 pad).  The other items from my stash add-on are :

• The dog and cat wood veneers are from Studio Calico
• the bone sticker, good dog sticker, paw sticker and kitty face sticker are all from the Simple Stories dog and cat sn@p collections
• the rest of the stickers are from the kit
• the alphas are mainly from the October afternoon's Daily Flash in Nightfall
• as I have already mentioned, the mist is from Mister Huey's

The story :  Well there isn't much of a story here, the photo is pretty much self-explanatory.  Cali, who is my sister's older cat just loves sleeping in the dog's bed.  We could never understand it because Oliver's bed, which came with him from the Rescue organisation, was pretty stinky no matter how much my sister washed it LOL.  But since it was the one thing Oliver was used to, they kept the old bed for the first year after he joined our family.  Early this autumn, Deb couldn't stand that old bed any longer so she went to buy Oliver a new one.  This photo was taken on the same day !!!  Cali got to the bed first LOL... and Oliver just let her be.  He never nudges her or tries to get her out of his bed.  But, if one of the cats gets within a yard of his food bowl ... oh my, that is a whole other story !!!

So there you have it - the story of Oliver's bed, or should it be Cali's bed?  

Thanks so much Jenny for this fun challenge, I really enjoyed it.  And, if for some reason, you don't know Jenny, get out from under that rock and search her out on You Tube.  Her videos are as amazing and her layouts.  

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I will be back soon with another layout and more ramblings.  Hugs xox

Visions of birds & squirrels & butterflies - Layout No. 4 with the August Scraptastic Kit (Boys of Summer)

Hello there and happy Saturday!  I hope you are all well and having a lovely start to the weekend?  What are you up to this weekend?  Any scrappy plans?.  I missed posting on Thursday; I am pretty laid up with an awful flu bug (figured I would get it out of the way before the holidays LOL), so pretty much spent the day in bed with tea, soup and You Tube.  All of my weekend plans are cancelled and I will hopefully be doing a little scrapping between naps and soup.  The upside is that I get to watch such great process videos on You Tube and catch up with you all! Also, Jamie Oliver just posted a bunch of videos on his Food Tube channel, so if by some stretch of the imagination, I run out of process videos, I have a Plan B.

I am here to share the fourth layout I made with my Boys of Summer kit from Scraptastic. We are back in the country, with the kitties - Chopin and Sophie :

The inspiration for the basic set-up of this page came from Jen Schow's second process video on You Tube (Jen just recently started making videos, but is a total natural and her pages are awesome - go check her out !!).  the wide polka dot paper strip and the two narrower strips at the bottom, as well as the photo placement are pretty much scraplifted from her.  Then, I think I went my own way ....

The supplies : All of the paper, the cardstock, stickers and die-cuts come from the kit or its add-on.  The items pulled from my stash add-on are :

• I am having quite a bit of fun lately making up long (and I think clever LOL) titles. This layout is no exception.  I used alphas from the Simple Stories sn@p collection, Jillibean Soup alphabeans in tart teal, October afternoon sticky keys in peacock blue and Jillibean soup mini markets in pine cone.
• The bird wood veneers are from my stash and I am not quite sure who they are from.  They are not from Studio Calico but I have all my bird wood veneer together in a jar with the SC pack. I think they are either from Citrus Twist or were in a RAK I got from Nancy Sinclair last year (kittyscrapper on You Tube).

The story:  In the country, there is a large, very old style, bay window in the dining room (so terribly drafty in the winter LOL).  It has an extra large ledge and is just the perfect place for the kitties to watch the world go by.  And it is perfectly set up for them.  Just outside that window, there are a few bird feeders, a small ornamental garden, and a few trees, a couple of which are a little poorly.  So there there is a never ending stream of birds of all sorts, including woodpeckers pecking away at the trees that are sickly, butterflies, bees, squirrels and chipmunks (stealing all the pine cones).  They often spend time sitting in that window, watching, and chattering away together, and at all the critters.  It also makes for a great sunning spot in the afternoons.

So there you have it - I leave you with  visions of birds & squirrels & butterflies; or if you prefer chocolate and fudge LOL.  Have a lovely day and I will be back tomorrow with my layout in response to a challenge from Jen Box, who has reached over 500 subbies on You tube (I will tell you more about her and her lovely pages tomorrow).  Til then, be well and be happy.  Hugs xoxo

Amazing Daily Harvest, 12 X 12 layout with my Scraptastic August Boys of Summer Kit

Happy Saturday!!!  Thanks for popping in to spend a few minutes with me today.  How is your weekend going?  I hope you have some time for fun this weekend.  In my neck of the woods, it is going to be indoor fun today because outdoors is pretty rainy and windy. Although, I think I saw the sun for a few minutes LOL. I am getting some laundry out of the way, will do some cooking and scrapping.  A nice "homey" day !!

I am forging ahead with the August kit and really enjoying it.  It is so colourful and fun :). This second layout is meant to be a companion page to the first (see my last post) one.  It is not a double page spread but it is complementary - the two pages will live side-by-side in my album.  Basically the same colour scheme but in a different order as well as some of the same multi-coloured die-cuts, stars and alphas.

Without further ado:

Just like on the previous layout, I integrated one of the die-cuts into my title but I did not really try anything else new-to-me on this page.  

I seem to have developed a slight addiction to arrows.  I have been using them a lot lately and loving them.  I bought a new SU punch with two sizes of arrows, and there are quite a few die-cuts and stickers with arrows in the kit. I guess that explains it in part.  I like how arrows can easily help bring the focus to where you want it and also act as an embellishment. I like staggering them and mixing them up with banner shapes as well.

The supplies:  I integrated a few things from my stash add-on :

• I used Jillibean Soup Alphabeans in Blue Corn Navy and October Afternoon Sticky key in Honey for the title.
• the multi-coloured polka dot paper layer behind the photo, is a 6X6 sheet from the Fancy Pants Be Different paper pad
• the  wood veneer are left over from a previous kit, and
• the enamel dots are from My Mind's Eye

The story:  This photo was taken during my vacation month in the country, in our garden.  It is a very relaxing and peaceful month with very simple pleasures!  In the morning, right after breakfast, I would go and work in the garden for a couple of hours - weeding, pruning if needed, dead-heading the flowers, adjusting and adding stakes;  whatever little chores needed doing.  I enjoyed working early in the day, before the heat set in (although we did not have a very hot summer this year).  Then, I hit the shower, and headed back out to sit in the garden and admire the view LOL.  Just before lunch was harvest time!!!  I really enjoyed this part of the day - walking around with my basket and harvesting whatever was available that particular morning.  I could then plan out that day's menu - lunch and dinner from the garden.  There is nothing like garden fresh meals and letting the garden bounty inspire you!

There you have it - another day in the garden.

Thanks for being here and have a wonderful day, whereever you are!  I will be back later in the week with layout number 3, which I promise is not the garden this time.  We could be back to the furkids though LOL...  Hugs, xoxo

All that awesome was a treat - Layout No. 1 with the Scraptastic Boys of Summer Kit

Well, hello there and welcome !  I am always so glad when you take the time to stop by and there have been more and more of you doing so;  so I am doubly grateful.

I have started using the August Scraptastic Kit, the Boys of Summer Kit. I got the main kit and the add-on.  I must say that when I chose the kit, I was not really sure.  The colours are what convinced me to choose this one and in all honesty, the other kit was just too themey for me (it was the Celebration kit, a birthday themed kit).  But then this kit seemed geared to boys, young boys.  I don't have boys (except for the four-legged kind) and the "boys" in my family, and extended family, are either adults, young adults, or babies.  None of them are "gamey" types either.  I was sceptical .... BUT I was worried for nothing.  I loooove this kit so far. I have made 4 layouts and am not having trouble at all using all the fun stuff.  I got the extra wood veneer, from all the kits,  so that helps (the ones that are really geared toward games have been put in a give-away pile, but that still leaves me plenty to play with).  We also got a lovely gift of very useable flair and I bought extra flair.  Some of the die-cuts may need altering but all in all I am really happy with the kit.  Yay !

Here is the first layout I made :

What I did that was new to me :  I incorporated one of the large die-cuts into my title.  I love it and this is an example of "altering" the die-cut.  The bottom half of the die-cut is under the photo block.  The words continue with "in such a little kid".  That part was not useable for me.  The top part made an awesome beginning to my title and then I just continued using colourful little stickers from the Fancy Pants sticker sheet !  What do you think?

The supplies:  Since this is the first layout with the kit, everything on the page comes from the kit with very few exceptions.  I had a partial pack of the Fancy Pants Be Different 6 X 6 paper pad in my stash so added that to my homemade add-on since quite a bit of that collection is in the kit.  I used two sheets of the 6 X 6 pad for layering, the star and polka dot papers to the left and right of the photos.  The only other items from my own add-on are:

• the star wood veneer which came in one of my last Simon Says Stamp card kits,
• the gems which are from Bo Bunny (and part of the 10 embellishment packs I put aside for the October challenge over on our nicolejones911 Facebook group)
• The brads are from My Mind's Eye Lost and found 3 (Oliver) and also part of my challenge pack.

The story:  Planting garlic in our climate can be tricky.  It is a bulb so should be planted in the fall at the same time as tulips and other bulbs.  Some years are easier than others...The temperature needs to be cold enough that the plant will not sprout but not too cold to shock the bulb, or to make working the earth difficult.  It is often a very narrow window.  In 2012, we totally missed the window.  It was a terribly rainy autumn and then turned bitterly cold ... on days we thought we could plant, it poured!  I had read somewhere that there was a variety that could be planted in the spring.  So we had a fallback - phfewww!!! We diligently planted the garlic in the spring of 2013.  And, you ask?  MONUMENTAL FAIL!!! no garlic, not a one, nada.  As if that weren't enough, we missed the window again in the fall of 2013.  At that point, we just gave up.  But for some reason, we did not touch the area that had been planted in the spring when we planted the rest of the garden this year!  And .... drum roll .... LO AND BEHOLD...look what 2014 brought us!  A total surprise, a total treat - the best garlic EVER lol.  

So there you have the story of the garlic :).  What about this year?  It is shaping up to be a difficult one again .... it is 22 deg C today and has been all week!  But we almost planted last weekend because we had had a ground frost two weeks earlier.  The plan now is to plant on the 25th.  I will keep you posted (I know you just can't wait to know LOL).

Have a wonderful rest of the week and I will be back on the weekend with another layout and another silly story ! Hugs xo

Have cage, will travel, 12 X 12 scrapbook layout with the Scraptastic July 2014 Either Way Kit

Happy Sunday to you and thanks for stopping by!  It is Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada and a beautiful one it is.  The sun is shining bright today, the colours are absolutely gorgeous and the temperature is pleasant.  We had a family day yesterday - watching the Shanghai Tennis Masters semis, having brunch and generally catching up with each other.  I love those days!!  How about you?  what are you up to this weekend?  Any scrappy time?

I am bringing you the 14th and final layout done with my July Scraptastic Kit.   I so loved playing with this kit and as you will see later in this post, I think I did it proud - there are litterally just some tiny scraps left.  Here it is :

What I did that was new to me :  I mixed upper and lower case letters in the word "travel" in the title and I love how it looks.  I have seen many of you do this but never have - not for any specific reason, just because I didn't think of it or because I had all the letters I need in one case!  But I think it certainly adds interest to the title and now I wish I had done the first part of the title that way as well.  There is always a next time :) :)

The supplies:  I was down to bits and pieces of patterned paper so I used vanilla cardstock as my background (something else I don't do very often but love the look of on this one).  Everything is from the kit, with the following exceptions :

• The floral wood-grain paper is from the 6 X 6 Good day sunshine paper pad, from Simple Stories.  I had that paper pad in my stash and since a lot of this paper was in the other main kit for July, I made it part of my stash add-on.  The "Hello" die-cut also comes from that paper pad.
• The pink chipboard stars and camera are from Studio Calico Essentials
• The gold stickers are from Maggie Holmes and came in my June Citrus Twist PL kit
• I used Dear Lizzy Thickers for the word "will" in the title
• Finally, the bow was left over from the June kit.

The story:  Most cats don't like cages.  Not so with Chopin and Sophie (she is my sister's younger cat and Chopin's girlfriend.  She is also the kitty in the picture).  They love playing in and around the cage.  When we go visit, Sophie always comes over to the cage to nose kiss with Chopin before I let him out. When I do let him out, Miss Sophie goes into the cage and settles in for a few minutes LOL.  They then often play - one will go inside the cage and the other will be on the outside, on top of the cage and they play through the side openings. They also play chase and I gather that when one runs into the cage, it is a time out??  Oh and, the cage makes for a really cool obstacle when running - they jump over it, or run around it LOL.  Neither Chopin, nor Sophie, ever complain when being put in the cage but they are both travel snobs - they complain all the way in my sister's little car but not a peep out of either when we use my BIL's big truck !!!

So there you have it ... the story of the cage!!!  

And now, here are the only bits left of the Either Way Kit :

I can hardly believe all that is left on the Gold Thicker sheets because I used them on many titles - wow!!!  I can also see a few of the die cuts that will fit perfectly with the Boys of Summer kit.  The sticker sheet is part of the 10 items I want to use up in October (the challenge over on the nicolejones911 facebook group).  So I call this kit killed, done and dusted !!

My next post will be the first layout with the August kit, Boys of Summer.  

Have a wonderful end to the weekend and I will be back on Thursday with another layout and a few ramblings.  Hugs xoxo

Chatting with the neighbours - 12 X 12 layout with the July 2014 Scraptastic Either Way Kit

Hello there!  Welcome!  I am glad you stopped by.  How has your week been?  I am lucky this week since I have four days off.  It is the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, the fall colours are just brilliant and all in all it is crisp, fresh and rosy cheek weather out there.

This is the 13th layout with the July Either Way kit from Scraptastic.  I really enjoyed playing with this kit and used up pretty much every last bit of paper!!  For this layout, we are going back to my summer vacations :

What I did that was new for me:  I thought I would add a little feature to my posts.  I am so inspired by all of you - all my friends on facebook, You Tube and on your various blogs - that I have been trying new-to-me techniques, or placement, or embellishments on my pages.  On this page, I added some clear & black speech bubble stickers right on the photo.  I thought I was quite clever LOL, and that it fit right in with the title.  What do you think?

The supplies:  I was pretty much down to paper scraps for this one, but managed to get it done.  The Kraft cardstock is from my stash since I had already used up both sheets that came with the kit.  The items from my own stash add-on are:

• Wood veneer from a previous kit, or from one of my Citrus Twist PL kits.
• The enamel dots are from My Mind's Eye
• The mist is Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Coffee Shop
• I used two alphas for the title :  the larger font is from Elle's Studio in Kraft (they may have come in this kit?? or if not they came in a previous one) and the smaller letter stickers have been in my stash for a couple of years now - they are from Glitz Design. Time to get them used up :)

The story : I called this one "Chatting with the neighbours" LOL.  Our little family house is right in the middle of country farmland so a lot of the neighbours are four-legged.  Our neighbour to the left has cows and horses!  Sometimes, it is the cows that are in the field adjacent to our house and sometimes it is the horses.  I love just sitting under a tree in the afternoon and watching the animals interact.  It is very relaxing and sometimes quite funny.  This summer, it was mainly the cows that were close and there were quite a few playful calves as well.  I walked up to the fence between the two properties and zoomed in a little for the photo.  They are not quite that close really when I am sitting under a shade tree facing the garden.

You made it to the end once again :) :)  Thanks so much and have a wonderful Friday and I will be back on Sunday with the last layout from this kit.
Hugs xoxo

12 X 12 layout - Ode to nappin', scrappin' and dreamin' ......

Well hello there and welcome!  I am so happy you are here.  The scrapping community is just so supportive, whether it be on You Tube, on the fun and inspiring groups we have on Facebook, on Instagram, and of course on our blogs!  Thank-you so much :)

I am still working with the Scraptastic July Kit - the Either Way kit.  It is almost done and dusted; just a couple more layouts.  When I am done with this kit, there sure won't be much left.  It was my favourite kit so far, but I think I am in for some beautiful kits to come; and I am getting anxious to get started with the August kit.  But before that, I want to share another kitty layout;  and, yes yet another one about the kitties and food LOL. It is the 11th layout with the Either Way Kit:

I had a lot of fun making this layout and I am pretty proud of the title :  "Ode to nappin', scrappin & dreamin' of catching yummy scallops" LOL.  I am enjoying coming up with out of the ordinary titles lately.  It is something that Nancy Sinclair (kittyscrapper on You Tube) does so well and she has inspired me to move away from the who-what-where titles once in a while.  

The supplies:  Pretty much everything on this layout comes from the kit, with very few exceptions :

• The biggest exception is the title :  I used 4 different alphas, all from my stash add-on :  Dear Lizzy foam thickers, Simple Stories Snap alphas, MME word stickers and alphas as well as October Afternoon Daily Flash mini alphas
• The washi tape comes from my August (or September) Citrus Twist PL kit
• Finally, the enamel dots are Dew Drops from Freckled Fawn.

I got the extra cardstock with the July kit and that definitely allowed me to get more layouts - I will finish with a total of 14.  That, I think, would make Nicole Jones (nicolejones911 on pretty much all social media) proud LOL.

The story:  There is not much of a story for this one.  Chopin just loves to lie on my scrap table when I am scrapping.  It helps that there are two quite hot lights shining on my work surface; and, since I am a cheapskate, I don't heat much in winter.  I believe in wearing socks and sweaters in the house, during the winter months, as opposed to shorts and sandals.  That was a constant disagreement between me and my ex-husband (that's a whole different story, with no layouts - so no fun :) :).  Anyway, back to this story ....  on this picture, Chopin is lounging and sleeping while I scrap about a special entree I made for my mom on Xmas. There are other times when he is not so quiet, and tries to "help" - he grabs die-cuts, wood veneer and just loves scraps as they "fly" of the paper trimmer. But plastic packaging has got to be the most fun - it makes noise as well.

Well, there you have it - a fun little bit of everyday scrappy fun from my house to yours!  Happy Sunday to all!  Talk to you soon :)

The proof is in the shrimp ! - 12 X 12 layout - July Scraptastic Kit

Happy Thursday to you !!!  It is a glorious day here - we are back to summer.  Such crazy weather this year.  Last week, there were a couple of mornings that I had to wear my winter scarf (and I even wore mitts one morning - yes, I did and yes I am a woosse LOL, but it did go down to 3 degrees C)!  Since Monday however, it has been sunny and getting warmer, by about two degrees each day.  The forecast calls for us getting back to 25-28 deg C this weekend.  I sure won't complain as we have a big garden weekend planned.  Lots of splitting and transplanting, harvesting the rest of the veg, and maybe planting the garlic (although it may actually be too warm for that).  How is the weather where you are?  What do you have planned for the weekend?  Any scrappy plans?  Please share.

I am back this time with another kitty layout.  It is the 9th layout with the July Either Way kit from Scraptastic :

Another title that I am proud of.  I find that the more I scrap, the more creative I become and the more fun I have.  Page designs and titles come a lot easier to me if I manage to scrap everyday - even if only for a few minutes.  I love that!

The supplies:  I used more product from my own add-on to create this page.  I used vanilla cardstock as the background; a first for me and I am really happy with the outcome. Other items that did not come with the kit include :

• I used Simple Stories alphas, Dear Lizzy thickers and October Afternoon Daily flash alphas for the title
• The viewfinders and dark brown woodgrain paper came from the Good Day Sunshine 6 X 6 pad from Simple Stories
• The cat wood veneer is from Studio Calico.  
• For the background stamping, I used a stamp from Stampin' Up (Gorgeous Grunge) and Soft Suede classic ink, also from Stampin' Up
• I used Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Italian Sunset and Coffee Shop to splatter

The story:  As I have mentioned many times, I spent my vacation in the country; in the garden.  My sister and BIL went off touring Nova Scotia.  They brought Oliver, our family golden retriever with them, since they were camping in a quite luxurious tent trailer - if a tent trailer can be luxurious LOL.  This one has a king size bed, a fridge, a gas cooker as well as heating/airconditioning.  So I guess that qualifies as luxurious ?  Anyway, I had all three cats with me (my Chopin and their Sophie and Calli).  The picture is of Sophie.  She is actually Chopin's "girlfriend" - they are just adorable together (I have scrapped and blogged about a couple of layouts featuring them playing together).  Sophie is so tiny and she is also a very cuddly, mild-mannered and a very well-behaved girl.  That is until there is shrimp in the house, or should I say "shrimp in the plate" ...  I caught her in the act of trying to steal from my plate and when I put her down on the floor, she was literally tugging at my arm with her paw LOL.  So I sent a text message to my BIL telling him about it. He jokingly replied "I want proof".  So I snapped this picture and messaged it to him LOL!!!  

So there you have it!  That is my story for today.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend, spending time doing fun stuff with fun people.  Thanks for stopping by and spending your valuable time with me today.  Hugs xoxo 

A couple more layouts with the July Scraptastic Kit ... some travel, some cookin' :) :)

Happy Sunday to all !  It is a rainy one here so far.  But that's ok, the temperatures are back up to seasonal and I had a day indoors planned anyway - chores, cooking, scrapping and a little tennis watching.  And, lot of kitty cuddles :) :)

Hope you are having a great Sunday, doing what you like best and doing it with those you love most!!!  Have a couple of chuckles while you are at it !

Here are the 7th and 8th layouts I made with the July Either Way Kit.  I actually have 10 layouts completed and still have quite a bit of the kit and add-on left.  It may be a record breaking month - I think I might get 14 or 15 layouts.  Woot woot!!

For, the first layout, we are back to a travel theme.  Let me take you back to Amsterdam for a stroll along "Canal Street" ... 

The supplies:  Everything on this layout comes from the kit, or add-on, with very few exceptions :

• The "hello" die-cut comes from the Simple Stories 6 X 6 Good Day Sunshine paper pad.
• I used Dear Lizzy Foam thickers for the word "canal" in the title, and MME stickers for the word Amsterdam.  I used October Afternoon's Daily Flash for the year - 2005
• the airplane puffy stickers was the very last in the set from Amy Tangerine.

This layout came together quite quickly for me.  It is the first time I put a title sideways on a layout and I quite like the outcome.  The inspiration for this came from nicolejones911 - she does it quite a lot and I always love the way it looks on her layouts.

The story:  There really isn't any great big story with this one.  It is meant to convey how I love wandering the canal streets of Amsterdam.  It is such a pretty city.  And, to me, Amsterdam is a city to stroll - not walk, not run, not rush - but wander, and stroll, on foot or on a bicycle :)

Now let's wander back to this summer :

I thought I was quite clever with this title LOL :).

The supplies:  Again, everything came from the kit, with just a couple of items from my stash add-on:

• The doily is from my stash and I used Tattered Angel's glimmer mist, in Italian Sunset to colour it.  The colour is a little more peach, than the coral in the papers and embellishments but I still like the effect since the photo has lots of golden, peach, orange and reddish tones.
• I used my one inch circle punch to punch out the viewfinders from the Good Day Sunshine 6 X 6 paper pad
• The the subtitle uses MME word and alpha stickers.

The story:  This page will go in my summer garden/vacation album and is meant to record part of my vacation routine.  I just love stir-frying - it is so fast, healthy, yummy and it's the fastest clean-up around :) :).  It became an integral part of my vacation routine:  a long walk followed by garden work in the morning, garden salad for lunch, lazy afternoon under a tree, harvesting, reading, or scrapping.  And then a lovely stir fry for supper, again using garden fresh veggies.  I would add shrimp, or scallops, or tofu, or beans and voila ... Clean-up took all of 5 minutes and then I could settle in for an evening of You Tube or tennis watching, as well as puppy and kitty cuddles!!!  Bliss

So there you have - you have made to the end again!  Thanks so much.  Hugs xoxo

1-2-3 Stretch - 12 X 12 Layout using the July Scraptastic Kit

Happy Thursday everyone!  I hope this finds you well and enjoying the day.  As I mentioned in my previous post, we were canning tomatoes over the weekend.  And, we were very productive indeed :) :)  We got  sixteen 500 ml jars and 11 one litre jars. On top of that, we got about twenty 500 ml jars of corn done as well.  So yay us!  This weekend, all the cats (3) are with me in town as my sister and best BIL have a Golden (Retriever) Rescue activity out of town.  Oliver of course goes with them.   I am promising myself a fun scrappy weekend.  Then back to the garden next weekend to plant the garlic and finish harvesting the carrots, beets, turnips, eggplants and peppers.

Today, I want to share the sixth layout I made with the July Either Way Kit from Scraptastic.  I am getting a lot of mileage out of this kit and add-on.  The colours and patterns are so lovely and luscious.  

We are back to a puppy layout - you may have noticed that my main scrappy subjects are the furkids, travel, the garden and its bounty, food and then some everyday moments.  I try to get a few layouts from each category done with every kit.  So, on to the layout :

I am so glad I got this photo; it was such a cute and spontaneous moment.  So often, these moments happen and for whatever reason I don't manage to get a photo.  Pets will not pose and certainly won't "stay" when you want to get a photo LOL.  But this one, just worked out beautifully !!!

The supplies: I chose the Either Way kit in July and am really happy with my choice.  But I was lucky to get the Simple Stories 6 X 6 Good Day Sunshine pad as part of my Citrus Twist PL kit, so I made it part of my stash add-on since that collection was the main focus of the other Scraptastic July Kit. 

• The majority of the items on this page are from the main kit and from the Good Day Sunshine 6 X 6 paper pad.
• I used a one inch circle punch to punch out the view finders and then also used a few pieces from the cut-apart sheets in that pad.
• the wood veneer, enamel dots and stickers are from the kit as are those beautiful gold glitter thickers.  I got so much use out of them - four titles so far!
• the gold stickers are from my stash add-on and I believe they came in a Citrus Twist PL kit and are from the Oh Darling collection.

The story :  The photo was taken the day we planted the garden this year.  Ron had strained his back during the week as he worked to prepare the earth for our planting endeavour.  So he had to wear a brace for a couple of weeks.  Our planting day was a full day of physical work - a lot of bending, crouching, being on our knees etc.  So at the end of the day, Ron laid down on the floor to "straighten out" his back.  Oliver thought this was such an interesting new game :).  He ran over to Ron and immediately laid down on his back as well!!!!  I am so happy I got this photo.

So there you have it.  Thanks for joining me again today and I plan on being back on the weekend with a couple more layouts.  Until then, be happy and have fun.  Hugs