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

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

Got my head in the clouds - 12 X 12 layout with the July Scraptastic Kit

Happy Thursday everyone !!!  It is a rainy one here and the weather has turned slightly cooler .... autumn is around the corner but so far September has been lovely so I won't complain :).  I am off on Thursdays, as well as weekends.  I try and get most of the chores, and errands, out of the way on Thursdays to free up more fun time on the weekends.  Sometimes it works; but sometimes I play a little hooky on Thursdays too.  Some scrapping time is so good for the soul is it not ?

I have really been enjoying the July Either Way kit from Scraptastic.  The colour scheme is right up my alley and the papers are just beautiful,  It is a varied and versatile kit!  I have also been playing along with some of the challenges over on the Scraptastic blog and the layout I want to share with you today was made in response to a challenge to use a monochromatic colour scheme.

When I saw the cloud paper in the kit, I knew immediately which photos I wanted to scrap!  I am really quite proud of this layout, if I may say so myself heehee !

It is quite a simple page design as I wanted the cloud paper to stand out, it is central to the theme and subject of this layout.

The supplies:   All of the paper and cardstock are from the kit, as is the wood veneer.  My original intention was to use markers to colour the continents on the wood veneer but in the end I inked up the entire piece.  I wish I had stuck to my original idea... but, oh well, I still like it :)

• The camera stickers, the bow, the vellum flower piece and the tags are from previous Scraptstic kits (although the tags may be from this one; I can't quite remember).
• The aqua chipboard hearts and stars are from the Studio Calico essentials line
• The washi tape is from my stash and i actually think it is from a RAK I got last year from Lisa and Sandra (Maggie Mylow and Oh Snap Gonzo on You Tube)
• The foam Thickers are from Dear Lizzy and the alpha stickers are from the October Afternoon Daily Flash collection (I really love the Daily Flash alphas - they are my favourites right now).
• The enamel dots, flair and puffy sticker are from my stash.  The latter is from Amy Tangerine and was the last on the sheet.... yay for using up entire sheets, or sets of embellishments !!!

The story:  these photos were taken on the flight back home after my one-year backpacking trip (there are several posts and layouts about this trip and several more to come :)).  I felt that the mood of the photos matched the cloud paper and the monochromatic colour scheme.  It was a bittersweet day, one filled with mixed emotions.  On the one hand, I was happy to be reuniting with friends and family after a year apart, but on the other hand I was sad to be leaving many new friends behind.  I so loved that trip and the lifestyle it allowed me to have for a whole year.  A year as a nomad, with all my belongings on my back.  I worked when the budget required it (I am fortunate to have my Irish citizenship and well as my Canadian one) or when something interesting came along. I visited 21 countries in that year.  I saw some amazing things and places, met some fantastic local people everywhere I went, but also made great friends amongst fellow travelers.  I discovered so many interesting foods, music, culture, art, history, nature, flora,  animals ..... I could go on and on.  I could write a book.  I could, and probably will, fill many scrapbooking albums as well as many journals.  I cherish all of the memories, good and bad (there were few of those), funny, hilarious and life enriching.  All of that made for a very full heart and a lot of thinking on the  flight home.  I felt those two photos depicted that very well.

So there you have it !  Thanks so much for joining me today, as always.  I appreciate your lovely comments, likes and shares.  The scrapping community is such a great one and I value each and every one of you my friends.  Hugs xoxo

I will be back soon !  Until then, be well!

... so just call me the salad queen - 12 X 12 layout with the July Scraptastic kit

Good morning sweet friends and happy Sunday.  I hope this finds you well.  It is a little brisk where I am this morning but the sun is glorious.  I have been MIA for a couple of weeks; it is a busy time in the garden and I am there at least every second weekend.  Last weekend, we harvested the onions, thinned out the carrots, beets and turnips and mapped out the transplanting that will need to be done at the end of the month.  Next weekend, we will be canning the tomatoes - yay !!  But oh my that is a chore and a half heehee; my back is already protesting just thinking about it :)

I have still managed to get a few layouts done (priorities of course !!).  

Scraptastic had a couple of fun challenges during August, as they do every month.  It was my first time participating in two of them and I really enjoyed it.  There was a challenge for a "long title" that really got me thinking but then I sort of fell into it,  

That die cut with the quote from Julia Child was just so perfect !!!  Don't you love it when that happens.  I used it to start my title and then just continued on from there.

The supplies:   Everything on this layout comes from the July Either Way kit, except :

• The coral alpha Thickers are from Dear Lizzy and the aqua alphas are from October Afternoon's Daily flash (Mason Jar).
• The acetate butterfly is from June's kit
• the vellum with the gold hearts that I use as a mat is from my stash
• The love paper clip is from Freckled Fawn but I can't remember where I got it - likely a previous kit.
• The ribbon is from Stampin' Up - it is a 3/8 inch taffeta in Crumb Cake (their kraft colour).

The story:  It is quite simple really - I loooooove salads, I could live on salads and if I may say so myself, I make great salads heehee.  My friends and family call me the Salad Queen, as I seem to just gather up stuff from the garden and the pantry,  and turn it into a salad.  I create recipes, I invent and improvise.  Whenever, we have a get together, I am always called upon to bring, or make, the salad.  Whenever I invite friends or family over, I am told that there has to be salad as part of the meal.  So it seems I have a label and one I will gladly take on :) :)

Enjoy your Sunday everyone and thanks for stopping by.  

First layout with the Either Way Scraptastic Kit (July 2014) - 12 X 12 travel related

Happy Thursday to all !  I hope you are having a fun and amazing day !  It is one of those cloudy, heavy, blah days here - feels like rain but so far, it has held off.  I am off on Thursdays and usually get a lot of the chores out of the way so that that my weekends are not all cleaning, cooking, washing etc....  but more garden fun, scrappy fun, tennis fun, photo fun and any other fun I can drum up!  How about you ?  How is your week shaping up?

I have broken into my July kit.  I must say that I was a little intimidated with this one at first... for just a bit.  The papers are so beautiful; the colour scheme is really right up my alley.  And with the touch of gold throughout, the kit felt a little regal. As I was sorting through my photos, I kept thinking they were not up to the standard of the kit LOL.  I felt I needed THE photo, just the perfect shot, the important photo .... you know the one that records that all important moment.  But truth be told, I don't actually have many of those photos (or those moments!!).  So, I just took the plunge and started.  And, I am sooooo loving this kit; truly!

My first layout is a scraplift of a layout by Tracy Banks (mercytiara on You Tube and a member of the Scraptastic Design Team).  She made her layout for the Bingo challenge during the 4th anniversary celebrations.  She mentioned that the L shape was one of her go-to designs and I just loved her layout.  So, to lessen the "awe" factor of this kit, I went with a scraplift of her lovely layout.  And I am so pleased with the outcome, This design will definitely become one of my go-to's as well.  I also find that I am enjoying scrapping 4X4 photos a lot recently.

My layout :

Since this is my first layout with this kit, there is very little from my own add-on, or from my stash.  Everything is from the kit except for :

• The October afternoon Mini Market alphas in mint and cream for part of the title
• The woodgrain photo mat and scalloped circle in the top RH cluster are from the 6X6 Simple Stories Good Day Sunshine paper pad
• The cork stars are from a previous kit (the May kit maybe?)

The scraplift is pretty much integral except that I journaled to the right of the photo as opposed to the top part of the L,  where Tracy had added speech bubbles for her journaling. 

The story:  This is one of those really great travel stories - well actually a story of how kind people can be.  In Feb. 2006, I was into the eighth month of my backpacking trip and was travelling with a friend in Porgugal.  We had spent a fantastic week in Porto and were on the train going back Lisbon.  We arrived at the Fatima station, and since my friend's uncle is a priest, he asked if we could get off there and visit for a bit, take photos for his uncle and go onto to Lisbon the next day.  So on the spur of the moment, we got off the train!!  Well, little did we know, the Fatima train station is 30+ km from the town of Fatima.  So there we were, in a station, in the middle of nowhere - there was a restaurant, a bar, a tourist office and a very long line of taxis just waiting to charge 50 euros or more to take unsuspecting tourists to the town LOL.  Well my friend, who is a little "hot blooded" was ranting, raving and using quite colourful language (in Canadian French).  I was laughing, which wasn't helping matters.  All of a sudden, we heard a French (from France) accent say "Eh les canadiens!!  Etes-vous perdus" (Hey are you Canadians lost?); hence the title of my layout.  This gentleman (Luis) had just returned from a work trip and was on the same train as us.  His wife (Marie-France)  was picking him up and they lived in a nearby town called Tomar.  To make a long story short, they took us to lunch, took us sightseeing in Tomar and absolutely insisted that we stay with them until we could go on our way the next day.  We went to the market, I cooked dinner, my friend bought some wine and we had a more than lovely evening.  They told us about a lovely fishing village called Nazare, so the next morning instead of getting back on the train for Lisbon, Luis and Marie-France took us to the bus station and we boarded the bus for Nazare where we spent another absolutely lovely week !!!

There is just a little bit of journaling on the front of the layout - I journaled the whole story on the back :)

Hmmm you know what?  The photo itself may be just one of my newfound friends, not the "life-changing, worthy" one I was searching for when I first looked at this kit; but boy the story sure is!

Thanks for joining me today and I'll be back on the weekend with the second layout!  Hugs xoxo