12 X 12 Travel layout using Scraptastic kits and a little story :)

Happy Sunday to all!  I hope you are having, or had, an amazing day, or evening!  Hope that cover everyone LOL.  We are still in the deep-freeze in Quebec, Canada.  Our winter started quite late but it has been so so very cold since the first of the year.  We are setting records often and actually had the dubious honour of being the coldest place on earth on Thursday, January 8th!!!  The themometer seems to be stuck in the minus 20's C. I have become a master of layers, but the upside is that it is too cold to snow so we are having a very easy winter from that point of view.

I have gone back to making a few travel pages to try and stay warm LOL, so today we are revisiting Innsbruck, the capital of the Tyrol region in western Austria.  I visited  in the summer mind!  

I originally started this page with the intention of following a sketch for the weekend challenge over on the Victoria Marie Facebook Group.  But in the end, this page took on a life of its own and in no way, shape or form resembles the sketch I had chosen - absolutely nothing except for the double matting of the photo.  So back to the grindstone on that challenge !!!  But I really love how this page turned out; it is one of my favourites this month.

The product:  After finishing all my Christmas presents, I had used bits from the September, October and November Scraptastic kits but still had lots left over.  I made quite an attempt at killing the September one but then the January "This must be the Place" kit arrived and it was love at first sight.  Not wanting to leave October's kit behind (it is so beautiful), I created a mega-kit for this month - it consists of the remainder of the October Heart It races kit and add-on, the October TLN kit and January's kit and add-on)  I hope to get 20 or more layout from this mega kit and am loving it.  Those two months complement each so much that half the time I really don't know  what comes from which. Therefore, I have not really added much from my own stash.  In this case, all the supplies come from my mega kit with the just a couple of exceptions :

• The background paper is from Stampin' Up in Basic Grey with vanilla polka dots
• I used a few brads from my stash, as well as enamel dots and shapes.

I am getting a lot more comfortable using vellum and just love the effect on this page.

The story:  I visited Innsbruck and Igles fairly early on in the one-year sabbatical trip - in August of 2005.  It is so beautiful!  When we arrived, there was big convention in town so hardly a room to be found.  The tourist office eventually found us a lovely pensione, at quite an altitude and  at quite an uphill trek LOL.  This particular pensione was actually closed but the landlady (then in her late seventies, early eighties I think) still lived there with her daughter, grand-children, two dogs and three cats.  Every once in a while they would take in tourists, as long as it was for a week or more, and as long as it was not a group!.  Well, what a gem of a find.  The landlady was just so lovely as well.  She did not speak English, nor French and my German is more than atrocious but we still managed to communicate.  I spent a couple of evenings watching her sew and do the most lovely needle work I have every seen - embroidered table cloths, sheets and pillow cases that were stunning.  My room was amazingly comfortable and breakfast each morning a real treat.  There was also a lovely terrasse - the photo in the picture is the view I had sitting on that terrasse while sipping a glass of wine, or drinking coffee.  As the journaling says : "Priceless".  Unfortunately, that lovely lady would not allow her picture to be taken - she felt she was too old and no longer photo worth --- what a shame, as she was quite lovely.  It was obvious from the photos in the dining room that the pensione had once been THE place to be - there were photos of a much younger her and her husband in the pensione, or on the ski slopes,  with many celebrities, Olympic althletes and politicians.  One of the most beautiful two weeks of my trip (and such a getting into shape two weeks too LOL, lots of hiking which I loved).

So there you have, you have made it to the end of another of my long and winding blog posts - thanks so much !!  I will be back soon to report on how I made out with my goals for January.  Until then stay warm, or cool, as the case may be!  Cheers xo

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 

Did I kill the June Scraptastic Kit? and some thoughts going forward :)

Happy happy Sunday my friends !  I love nice quiet Sundays at home - cooking, scrapping, reading, cuddling with my kitty, watching tennis and going for a long walk early in the morning.  I don't get enough Sundays like that, but I sure take advantage of it when I get one.  Today is one of them!  Ahhhhh :).  I hope you are having a fabulous Sunday doing things you enjoy.

Well the "Best Day in my Life" kit is done and dusted I would say. I got 11 layouts total and I actually have one more in the works.  I started a layout of my kitty about two weeks ago and it is just not working for me - I scrapped a piece of cardstock trying to make my own background paper and then hating it. I did get the photo mounted on a bunch of layers but stalled again.  So I put that one to the side for the time being.  When it decides to cooperate with me, I will finish it :).  I really do not have much left - actually very few scraps of paper:

I could probably get a card or two and I may still do that.  I will cut the 3 X 4 cards apart and add them to my stash.

Although I feel I used the stickers quite a bit, I do still have a lot left over.  As for the die cut packages, I used a ton, and still have a ton :

I did not use that red alpha at all??  I was favouring smaller fonts this month, I guess.  But I will keep that sticker sheet close for the July kit because I think that alpha will work well with the Either Way Kit.

I struggled a bit with the vellum and acetate die cuts - but that is part of the fun of a kit - it pushes us to think out of our box; it pushes us out of our comfort zone.  And, although it looks like there is a lot left (and there is), I really did use them quite a bit but those packages were so darned packed - such value !!!

I ran out of the kit flair and  wood veneer early on, but I did have quite a bit in my own add-on so it was all good LOL.

In summary, after two months of working with the kit, having the third all ready to go (my own add-on is pulled) and the fourth on deck, I have a few thoughts to share :

• Scraptastic is definitely the way to go for me.  I love getting a kit and this one is so well put together.  I enjoy getting new goodies without breaking the bank.  Also, I used to spend a lot of time pulling product for each page and having the kit with my own little add-on has made that process so much easier.  I have never scrapped as much as I did in the last two months.  And I have never loved my pages more.  I spent a year, or so,  researching kits before making my final decision.  I may buy the odd Hip Kit here and there because they were a close second in my final analysis LOL.  But I cannot foresee ever stopping Scraptastic heehee :

• The best value for me is getting the main kit plus the add-on.  The first month, I got only the main kit and made my own add-on.  I got about 6 layouts but did not find that my add-on was enough (I don't have a large stash of die cuts, stickers and chipboard).  So in the second month, I did get the add-on but still made another add-on from my stash.  This time my add-on was mainly wood veneer, flair, enamel dots (I have a serious addiction) and washi, a couple of sticker sheets and some twine.  It worked a lot better.

• I pulled some of my own patterned paper and cardstock.  I did not wind up using the patterned paper (in the end, it just didn't go LOL) but did use all the extra cardstock I pulled.

• I felt I needed more of the kit wood veneer and flair

In July, I got the Either Way kit, add-on, and extra flair.  In August, I did the same thing, but added the extra wood veneer package.  I have a feeling I will be settling down to that.

In conclusion :  I have not shopped at all, other than glue and consumables.  I get new goodies and am using my own stash way more.  I scrap more and spend less time pulling product and overthinking.  Win, win, win !!!

Thanks so much for reading my ramblings all the way to the end.  I hope my thoughts may help if you are still in the evaluating process for a kit.  I will be back on Thursday with my July kit set-up and the first layout done with it.

Hugs xoxo

My scraptastic June kit, vacations and summer :) :) YAY

Happy Tuesday everyone and welcome !  I am sorry that I have been MIA  the last couple of weeks.  But I am on vacation now, and really plan on making up for lost time!!!  As with every year, the two or three weeks before my vacation are rather intense at work - I tend to have to pull a few doubles and then I usually work about 11-12 days straight.  This year was no different.  That unfortunately leaves little time for scrapping, reading, tennis watching and blogging !!!

I did manage to watch some Wimbledon as our Canadians did an amazing job - wow semi-finals for both men's and women's; and then Genie Bouchard made the final - wow, double and triple wow !!! 

In preparing for my vacation, I decided that I would use the June Scraptastic kit - I got the Best Day of My Life kit and the add-on.  I put together a rather large add-on from my stash and the leftovers from the May Daylight kit (details below).  But then, on the Thursday before my vacation started - that would be last Thursday the 10th, my July kit arrived (I got the Either Way kit and add-on).  I had previously decided that I would leave the July kit for after my vacations; but then I opened the box!!!  What a quandry LOL.  How did I resolve it - well, I prepared a second add-on to that kit and brought both with me on vacation !!! So I think I have enough stuff to last me the month.  I do plan on scrapping a lot during my vacations - most evenings in fact.

I get up really early - tour the garden, come back in for coffee and a large breakfast and then on out to the garden for a good part of the morning.  I come in about 11 or so and stay indoors for lunch, a few chores, shower time and some playtime with the cats.  Then I head on back out to relax under a tree, gazing at the view, reading (I will post a couple of reviews shortly), watching tennis and just taking advantage of the peace and quiet.  Come the late afternoon, I am back indoors for a cocktail (yup it is vacations, right ? LOL), a garden dinner and scrappy time, accompanied by You Tube or Netflix.  I am a lucky girl am I not ???

Ok, well about that June kit; after all that is why you are here.

First, I took the left-over wood veneer, flair, exclusive die cuts and other embellis from the May kit, and added them to the June kit.  I then added a few fun things from my stash like ribbon and twine from Stampin' Up, enamel dots (I love enamel dots), brads and some washi tape 

A couple of highlights are the Studio Calico essentials chipboard shapes in the pink shades, the Amy Tangerine Puffy stickers, Freckled fawn washi and some really fun wood veneer from previous Scraptastic kits and my stash.  I pulled a couple Stampin' Up colours to go with this kit and added the inks, twine or ribbon, and markers.  I took Melon Mambo, Pool party, Bermuda Bay and two great neutrals - Crumb Cake (a kraft) and soft suede.  I also added a few mists from my stash - Mr. Huey's and Tattered Angels.

Then on to the papers and cardstock.  I did not add much in the way of either.  Since I got the main kit and add-on, I had quite a bit to choose from :

I added three sheet of pattern paper from Stampin' Up (pictured at the far left of the photo) and some journaling cards from a previous Citrus Twist PL kit.  As far as cardstock goes, I only added a couple of sheets of Kraft.

Alphas are probably the item that I added to the most:  some Dear Lizzy foam thickers, Alpha beans, Sn@p and some of the MME word stickers.  You can never have enough letter stickers or alphas can you ?

And finally I added the Sticker sheets from the Simple stories Homespun collection to the stickers sheets we got in the add-on.  The colours match so well and I tend to take garden photos as well as photos of food and preserves that I make from the garden harvest; so I also brought along the Paper pack from Simple Stories home spun collection

Wow ... I may have been away for a bit but I sure did go on today LOL.  As always thanks so much for sticking with me all the way through.  If you have any questions about a specific item that I may have added, please let me know in the comments below or over on one of our facebook groups :).  But as I make and post layouts, I will try and be quite specific about exactly what I use.

I will be back soon with the July kit (I did the same exercise) and also a note about some of the "basics" that I brought along.

Have a wonderful day wherever you are whatever your are doing!  Hugs xo

Travel with a twist layout - 12 X 12 using the May Scraptastic Kit

Well hello there and happy Sunday to you all !  Summer has definitely arrived here in Southern Quebec - it did keep us waiting a little this year, but it is here in full force now - it is about 30 deg C today, with bright sunshine.  Unfortunately, when it gets hot here, it also tends to get muggy - but oh well, it is such a short season, I won't complain !!

I thought I would pop in today with the 8th layout I did with the May Daylight kit from Scraptastic.  I have almost killed the kit I think LOL.  I will get one more layout in for sure, with scraps and bits of die cuts, but that is probably it.  But I really, really (did I say really?) enjoyed my first kit and am so happy I subscribed.  I am certainly scrapping more and spending less time choosing product.

So now... this layout gave me trouble.  I love the end result but it is nowhere close to the idea I had in my head when I started.  It all started with a layout my friend Roni did (Ronisuescrapper on You Tube - check her out, she does great layouts).  It was a grid type layout and I really find that I am loving them lately.  It seemed perfect timing to also do a grid type layout since I was starting to get into the scraps with my kit.  So I cut a few 3 X 4 cards out of the scraps with the intention of making 6 mini layouts on a cardstock background.  But then I got side-tracked by one of Nicole Jones layouts where she cuts up scraps and glues them to the page to create a background .... so, well here is the background piece I made : 

Now the photo I had selected for this layout was a 4 X 6 but once it was matted on a piece of  yellow-gold cardstock, I just couldn't find placement for it  on this background - no matter which way I turned the photo, or the background LOL.  So  off I went to get a series of small photos I had printed (mainly 2 X 2, or a little larger) from one of the Will Craft for Supplies Day in the Life days that I had participated in.  Well, the colours were all wrong - so that didn't work either.  So I had to change my idea completely.  I found three 4 X 6 photos that worked wonderfully with this background, so I cut them down into smaller pieces and made 5 photo blocks with them.  Here is the resultant layout :

Would you call that grid style ?  PL style?  Collage style?  I don't really know what to call it but in the end I actually like it LOL.

So, on to why I call this "Travel with a Twist" ...

The story behind this page:  My l'il sister and best BIL love travelling as much as I do and three years before I embarked on my one-year backpacking trip to Europe, they went on a 15 month sailing trip!  They took a sabbatical, sold the house and off they went.  They bought a small (really small for that kind of trip) sailboat - a 26 ft Tanzer (BTW, my BIL is 6 foot 5 LOL) and left from Valleyfield here in Quebec, did the intercoastal for part of the way through the States - went to Florida and then crossed to the Bahamas where they spent their 40th birthdays (that was in 2002).  In 2012, when they were turning 50, I asked them what kind of party they wanted.  They asked for a virtual return trip to the Bahamas.  So that is what we did - a full menu of Bahamian food (sweet potato salad, pigeon peas and rice, particular Caribbean coleslaw, tomato dip, Bahama Mamas of course), I decorated the house in Bahamian colours of turquoise and yellow, we had to wear those colours as well, played Bahamian music, I made little party favours .... the whole nine yards!!  We had a wonderul day and they were so happy.  Part of their present included a scrapbook layout of photos from when they were in the Bahamas.

Oh my, I do go on, and on, and on.  If you are still reading, my gosh thanks so much!!  I will be back during the week, with my last layout and a sort of kill the kit blog post.  I hope you have a wonderful Sunday and a great start to the week.  I must just take a minute to thank you all for the sweet comments.  You Tube, our Facebook groups and this blogging world are just amazing - well actually I think it is the Scrapbooking community that is just amazing.  I have made so many lovely friends here - thank-you so so much.

Hugs xoxo   

Scrapping some more of my "passions" with the Daylight Kit from Scraptastic

Happy Sunday to all !  What a glorious day here.  The sun is shining; it is lovely and warm, but not hot and muggy ... so all in all a YAY day.  I spent a lot of time outdoors yesterday so today will be more of an indoor day, but with all the windows open and the occasional few minutes sitting outside to take full advantage :)  Hope you have, or are having, a wonderful day!

I wanted to pop in today to share my 6th and 7th layouts using my augmented May Scraptastic Kit.  This time we are moving away from travel layouts for just a bit to focus on a couple of my other passions - my animals and the garden !!

The first layout is of my cat Chopin, relaxing and snoozing on my craft table.  It is one of his favourite spots.  There are two warm and bright lights above my table; and he seems to think that it is a kitty spa, or tanning salon LOL.  It also keeps him close in the event that any fun strips of paper fly of the paper trimmer, or any flowers, flair, wood veneer or buttons become all of a sudden within chasing and playing distance :) :).  You will also notice that is head is resting on the trimmer.  He loves to sleep with his head slightly elevated - at night my legs seem to be the perfect pillow.

I really like this layout, except for the misting that I decided to add at the last minute.  I should have left well enough along (sigh)... Because of the colour of the cardstock and the mist I used, it just looks dirty and stained.... oh well !

The next layout is going to be the final page in my 2013 garden album; the transition page to this year's !  I love spending time in the garden and once the chores (weeding, harvesting, transforming ....) are done, I love just sitting and gazing out at the view. It is so peaceful and relaxing.  This year I will have a little over 3 weeks there, from mid July to the 7th or 8th of August. 

So that's it for me today - I am working on another layout using some of the patterned paper scraps.  I am cutting them up in blocks a la Nicole Jones, or grid style, to create a background and then... well I have a couple of ideas.  I'll be sure to come back and show you the result.  There are a few cards in the making as well.

As always, thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful, restful Sunday.  Hugs xo

Two more travel layouts with the Scraptastic Daylight Kit for May 2014

Well hello there, welcome and happy Saturday !  It is a glorious day here so it looks like we will be able to plant the garden next weekend as planned.  Meanwhile, it is still a little too wet to get out there today, but I accomplished the next best thing:  buying the seeds, YAY !  On Thursday, we will buy the plants and then we should be off to the races :).  I hope the sun is shining wherever you are.

Today, I want to share the second and third layouts I did with the Scraptastic Daylight kit for May 2014.  But, first let me just say that I don't think I have ever done 3 layouts in one week - ever.  I am just so happy with the kit and am very glad I decided to subscribe. Getting the kit and putting together an add-on from my stash, is really the best of both worlds.  I get new goodies every month without breaking the bank and I use up some of my great and voluminous stash :).

So we are still in Europe, still scrapping the photos from my 2005-2006 year-long backpacking trip and I am still enjoying it.  i hope you are too.

Here is the first of two layouts today :

I used my augmented kit entirely for this page, with the exception of the doily (can't believe that I forgot to add doilies to this kit !).  As I mentioned in the previous post, I used the Weathered Wood Distress ink to ink all the edges and I find that it really complements the kit wonderfully. 

The story behind this page:  While I was visiting some very good friends in Madrid in September 2005, I spent a jam-packed day visiting Segovia.  Located about an hours + drive north from Madrid, Segovia is a small city of no more than 55,000 inhabitants but it sure packs a lot of history and landmarks!  Of course the famous aqueduct,  the Alcazar and its beautiful gardens (more about all of these in future posts), but also one of the most beautiful and famous cathedrals in Europe.  The Catedral de Santa Maria is located right in Plaza Mayor, the main square of the city as can be seen in the first photo.  It was built between 1525 and 1577 in a late Gothic style. It is massive and beautiful inside and out.

For my next layout, we are off further north - all the way to Amsterdam :

I love this layout !  It is really a far cry from my normal style and nowhere close to what I had as an idea when I started the page.  Actually, I just started with the photo and the mats around it.  The page then took on a life of its own.  I think I was influenced by a couple of pages on the Scraptastic facebook page as well as a couple of videos on You Tube (one by Sandra (ohsnapgonzo) and another by Gina (Gina Beth). The idea for the ampersand came from KittyScrapper (Nancy Sinclair)  I am really proud of this page LOL (I even researched the Dutch words for Bye and thanks - the title of the page).

The story behind this page :  Well there really isn't much of a story to this one.  it will be the last page in the Amsterdam portion of my trip.  The picture is simply one of me going into the train station in Amsterdam after an amazing 10-day visit in July 2005.  I really loved Amsterdam, so much so, that I actually went back in May 2006 just before coming back home.

As always, thanks so much for sticking with me to the end of this post.  Have a great weekend and I'll be back soon with another layout - I am on a roll with this kit!

First Scraptastic Layout - 12 X 12, using the Daylight Kit

Good morning and happy Thursday to all !  I hope the sun is shining wherever your are.  We have had a lot of cold and wet weather so far this Spring and are having trouble getting out to play in the garden.  Planting is now scheduled for next week (sigh ...) but I should be out there getting things ready on Saturday (hope springs eternal LOL) !

Meanwhile, I am off today and the sun is shining and it should stay out all day (small wonders LOL).  It is also Roland Garros time, one of the four grand slam tennis championships; this one from Paris, France.  So I am keeping a keen eye on what is going on there.  For the first time in the history of ATP tennis, there is a Canadian in the top ten men's ranking - Milos Raonic from Ontario is No. 8 in the world and safely through to the third round.  On the women's side, we are making history as well.   Montrealer Genie Bouchard is no. 18 in the world and is also safely through to Round 3. Yay !!  

So on to the layout ...  Even though this is just the first layout, I already know that I am loving the Scraptastic kit.  It made this layout come together much faster but with just as much fun.  I did not get the kit to make my scrapping experience faster - I am a slow scrapper and don't mind - I do it for fun and enjoy every second.  But I was finding that a lot of my time was spent choosing my supplies, going back and forth, dilly-dallying ... you get the picture LOL.  And getting the kit, and then assembling my own add-on was a fun process as well as  eliminating much of the dilly-dallying.  To see my kit, with the list of supplies I added from my stash, check-out my previous blog post here : 
 http://lifescrapsbymoira.blogspot.ca/2014/05/my-first-scraptastic-kit-daylight-kit.html.

Hereis the layout :

I am really happy with the outcome.  I went back into my stash for just a couple of things:

• Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Harlequin
• Tim Holtz Distress ink in Weathered wood.  I think this will be my go to ink for this kit.  I used for the stenciling but also to ink my edges, for more definition.  I am already half way through the second layout and also used this ink for edging.

The story behind this layout:  We are still in Romania, still in Brasov as we have been for the last couple of layouts.  Every morning, coming out of our pensione, we would turn towards town to go exploring.  One morning, after about a week, I decided to turn in the opposite direction.  It didn't look as if there was anywhere to go from there, just forest, brush and minimal plant life.  But off I went anyway.  Well, 2 km later I wound up at this oh so lovely look-out point with the most beautiful views of Brasov and its surroundings.  It was evidently well known to all but I since it was full of people - tourists and locals alike.  It was a small park, with benches to just sit and contemplate the city.  I am so happy I went the "Other" way.  A layout, showing the gorgeious view will follow soon and will be the facing page to this one in my album.

As always, thanks for stopping by.  Don't hesitate to leave a comment if you have any questions, or just want to say hi!  Have a wonderful day and I will be back soon with Layout No. 2 from the Daylight Kit.

My first Scraptastic Kit - the Daylight kit - May 2014

Well hello there and happy Saturday.  I hope you are having an amazing weekend.  It turned out beautiful here, although they had announced some rain.  So yay !!  My day is winding down and I am about to settle in with a glass of wine after all the chores (the last load of laundry is in the dryer LOL).  But on to the reason for my popping in here today :

I got my first ever Scraptastic kit!!!  Oh my, I was so excited and it seemed to take forever to get here LOL.  It shipped out to me, from South Carolina, on the 1st of May and didn't actually make here until Wednesday.  Since, I was at work, I had to wait until today to pick it up.  I am really pleased with the contents.  I had been on the fence for several months, trying to decide if I would subscribe to a kit club or not.  It became clear about 3 months ago, after seeing Tracy Banks (Mercy Tiara on You Tube) and Nicole Jones use theirs that If I did subscribe to a kit, it would be Scraptastic.  Then, quite a few of my other You Tube, and Facebook, friends also subscribed; and started making process videos with the kit.  So I had to join the club (LOL, pun intented)!

For the first month, I got only the main kit : 

and I am quite happy.  It is a well balanced kit with lovely patterned paper and cardstock, and definitely enough embellishments (which often seems to be lacking in other kit clubs).

Right after joining Scraptastic, I put myself on a spending freeze, except for the kit, for at least 90 days.  So, this afternoon, I went through my stash and added to the Daylight kit, to create my own kit for the next month.  Here it is :

These are the supplies I added :

• Alphas :  Studio Calico Essentials in blue and yellow, SN@P aqua, Amy Tangerine Thickers in Ocean and American Crafts Thickers in leaf
• 2 pieces of cardstock - vanilla and aqua and a couple of smaller scraps in pool and yellow.  I added a few sheets of patterned paper - from Jillibean soup Chilled Cucumber Soup and another from Stampin' Up from the Sweater Weather collection (in crushed curry).
• Additional chipboard shapes from Studio Calico essentials in the blue, yellow and green (some cameras, stars and hearts)
• partial sticker sheets from the Jillibean Soup Chilled Cucumber Soup collection and from October Afternoon Woodland ParK
• I added additional wood veneer pieces from my stash - mainly some wood chip from my Citrus Twist PL kit.
• A small collection of buttons from SU in coordinating colours to the kit
• 4 washi tapes and two ribbon spools, also in coordinating colours
• Enamel dots and shapes from My Mind's Eye Milo, Basic Grey Basics, Freckled Fawn and Studio Calico 

There you have it!  That is what I will be working with for the next month.  I am challenging myself to work with a kit for the whole month, something I have never done before.  I think it should be fun.  i will post the layouts and let you know how it goes.

I think this could be a great way of getting a little new stuff everymonth (without breaking the bank) and using up a lot of my lovely stash - the best of both worlds :).

Thanks for joining me again today and I'll be back soon with my first layout from this kit.

12 X 12 Layout - From here to there - Nazare, Portugal, Feb 2006

Well hello there and happy Sunday !!  I have had a weekend like I love them :)  Nothing on the calendar - a ME weekend.  Of course, there are always chores but when they are done, I got to go for a walk, do some cooking for the week, and scrap while watching the semis and finals of the ATP and WTA Tennis tournaments in Rome, Italy.  Love it !!!

I got a couple of layouts done - yay me!  Since Tuesdae's challenge, I have been on a "scrapping my passions" kick and today's layout is no different. Another travel layout; this time I am taking you to Nazare in Portugal.  It is a lovely little fishing village on the Atlantic coast and I spent a relaxing, sun and sand filled week there in February 2006 (still part of my year-long backpacking trip).  I visited a few places in Portugal and loved most of them - Porto, Figueras da Foz, Tomar and Nazare.  I didn't however enjoy the capital Lisbon quite as much (more about that in a future post LOL).

So, here is the layout :

The top photo is one I took just outside our little pensione; if you enlarge it you will notice that at the end of the street, you see just a touch of blue - blue ocean. The bottom photo is the beach at the end of the street.  Hence the title "From here to there, ahh!"

Nazare was another discovery, it was not on the agenda.  We went there on the recommendation of friends we met in Tomar and, I am so happy we did.  It is a lovely, very traditional village.  In parts of it, I swear time stood still since the 50's.  All along the ocean front, there are old-fashioned nets strung here and there with fish drying in the sun.  Many of the elderly ladies still dress in  traditional garb.  My one regret is that I did not get pictures of some of these lovely ladies. Since I did not speak enough of the language to converse freely with them, I was not able to ask their permission for a photo and, I felt it disrespectful to just take photos without asking.

The supplies :

• The background and layering patterned papers :  My Mind's Eye (MME) The Sweetest Thing and Simple Stories Vintage Bliss.  The heart paper is a 4 X 6 from the Citrus Twist April PL  Kit as is the "Bliss" die cut (I fussy cut it from the 4 X 6).
• I used Mister Huey's custard mist on the doily
• I used all sorts of bits and pieces form my die cut bowl plus some stickers from Jillibean Soup's cold cucumber soup collection
• I used the DIY shop cork stickers. I was quite disappointed with these, they are so thin, that I actually broke, or tore, as many as I put on the layout :(
• The alphas :  Lily Bee, Daily Flash Mason jar, and some very old Thickers from my stash
• The wood veneer are again from Studio Calico and I used Stampin' Up Baja Breeze ink on them.
• A few enamel dots from MME and rhinestones from Queen & Co. complete the page.

So there you have it!  Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely Sunday afternoon.  I hope the sun is shining whereever you are. 

Layout in response to Roni Sue Scrapper's 550+ You Tube subbies challenge

Good morning and happy Thursday!!  I have Thursdays off, as well as my weekends - yup down to 4 days a week and I hope that by the end of the year, I will be able to go down to working 3 days a week LOL.  Thursdays, I try and get all the errands and chores out of the way so that I can take full advantage of my weekends.  Sometimes, it actually works.  Sometimes, like this morning, I play before I get to the chores :)

I am here this morning to share my layout in response to Roni Sue Scrapper's 550+ You Tube subbies challenge (as of this morning, she is actually at 601 subbies - yay Roni !!).  Now I am sure you already know Roni but if by any chance you are new to scrapbooking, or to the You Tube community and don't know her, then run on over to her channel right now (Roni Sue Scrapper).  She is such a nice lady.  I really wanted to participate in this challenge because Roni is definitely a champion supporter.  She participates in every challenge, comments on layouts, promotes everyone's channels, follows us all on our blogs and makes fantastic layouts, and process videos, to boot.

Roni also made her challenge super easy but fun :

• Be a subbie
• Make a layout - the layout can be anything really but you have to tell the story behind it. That is it really.  But you can get extra entries ...
• Make a 4 X 6 card, decorate the front anyway you want and, on the back put your You Tube name, birthdate and a list of the things you love (they don't all have to be scrappy related).  Mail the card to her.

Isn't that fun!

If you recall, on NSD, I made three layouts and mentioned that I would be choosing one for Tuesdae Hubbard's challenge (see previous post) and one for Roni's challege.  In the comments Roni left me on my layouts, she mentioned that she liked seeing travel layouts as she had not had the opportunity to travel as much as she would like.  So, a travel layout it is  Roni!!!

The story :  There are actually a couple of stories that go with this layout, or rather my travels in Romania.  Firstly, how I managed to go to Romania is interesting.  Romania was not on the itinerary of my year-long European backpacking trip.  But at certain times of the year, destinations can be difficult to get to because of tourists, vacation etc...  Little did I suspect that In May, after a second visit to Vienna, Austria, I could not book a train or bus to any of the destinations I wanted to go to next.  I had checked out of my pensione, was at the bus terminal with my pack on my back and traveling with a friend.  We were at the ticket counter, and every place we tried to buy a ticket for, we could not get one.  Full, full, and full ... so eventually I just said:  OK where can we go?  The answer was Brasov, Romania.  So there you go ... off to Brasov we went!!!  The bus trip was quite the experience (but I will keep that for another time LOL).  Twenty four hours later we were in Brasov, sort of stranded as we knew nothing of the town (other than the fact Dracula's Castle is a mere 20 or so km away), didn't speak the language, had no guidebook and the tourism office was closed.  LOL.  I eventually found an internet cafe, went online and found a  little pensione walking distance from downtown Brasov.  It was lovely, only about 2-3 km from town, but it really felt like being in the country.  The hosts were such a nice couple.  We would mime and draw to communicate LOL (I picked up a few strategic words in Romanian as they did in English).  We spent a wonderful week in Brasov.  I loved every minute of it.  It was quite the culture shock but such a great experience at the same time.  The people from the pensione took us to Dracula's castle for a full day.  On the day we went, even the weather cooperated to make it an "eerie" atmosphere LOL.  

Oh my, I do go on!!!  You are still here ... boy oh boy, thanks so much.  

The supplies: 

• The background cardstock is from the Citrus Twist September 2013 kit 
• The patterned paper is from the Authentique Strong Collection
• I used Studio Calico wood veneer, My Mind's Eye enamel dots, strong twine from Stampin' Up (coastal cabana I think) and Simple Stories Urban Traveller stickers.
• The alphas are from the October Afternoon Daily Flash collection - Nightfall and Mason Jar
• I also used two different size scalloped circle punches and Tim Holtz Tea Dye Distress Ink.

So there you have it.  Thanks again for being here and a big thank-you to Roni for hosting such a fun challenge, and for being such a big support to all of us !!!  Roni, I will be working on my card later today :)

Cheers and I will be back on the weekend

12 X 12 Layout - Of Flowers and Zukes

Good morning all and welcome !!!  Happy Mother's Day :).  Well, it looks like we have turned a corner and are headed for a few days of sunshine and .... oh my!!  20 deg C weather.  I can hardly believe it.  The buds are budding, the birds are chirping and Chopin is very busy taking it all in.  He is going from window to window, chatting up the birds, smelling the smells and generally have a fun spring fever time :).

I am off to visit my mom and will walk to her house to enjoy the weather a bit myself.  She lives about 3 km from me so just a perfect Sunday morning walk.  We will be watching the final of the Madrid Open Tennis tournament, and brunching with the gang !  Hope you all have a fabulous day wherever you are :).

I did a quick layout (well for me anyway) - I think this one only took me about 1 hour, or a little over.  Since Tuesdae and Roni have inspired me to scrap about my passions and their stories, it seems I can't stop LOL.  So it would seem we are in for a series!

This time, I chose gardening.  My sister, BIL and I have a garden together at their place in the country.  They live about an hour away from me, in Ontario.  We all love gardening and more specifically, growing our own fruit and veg.  So we started a garden about 5 years ago, with the goal of eventually being self-sufficient in vegetables. Our climate does not permit us to do so with fruit, but at least we can still get quite a few - currants, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and apples.  We have not planted strawberries yet.  Our garden has grown to about 2000 sq ft; we will have to add at least another 1000 sq feet to achieve our goal.  We have given ourselves another 3 years, our approximate retirement date, to get there. In the meantime, we are having a blast.

I am in charge of planning the garden, the companion planting and buying the plants (or seeds).  We love zucchini so last year, I bought a few more plants than usual (6 actually)!  I did not, however, notice that what I bought was actually the summer yellow squash LOL.  And, boy did they like our soil.  We were certainly self-sufficient in summer squash, as were many of the family, friends and neighbours around us LOL...  But you have to admit, they are beautiful and really added some lovely colour to the garden :

And, I have found a great recipe for yellow summer squash pickle to boot !

The supplies:

• The background paper is from the Amy Tangerine Cut and Paste collection and the wood grain strip is from Fancy pants.  For layering, I used the reverse side of the Fancy Pants paper and some scraps that were on my table.
• The washi tape is from Stampin' Up as are the stamps I used on this layout, namely the hearts and hexagons.
• I used four different alphas for the title:  October Afternoon Sticky keys in Honey, the Daily Flash from October afternoon as well as some SN@P alphas.
• The wood veneer are from Studio Calico and I coloured them using Distress inks, the flowers are from my stash, and left over from the layout I did for Sue's challenge. The enamel dots are from My Mind's Eye. 

Well, there you have it.  As always, thanks so much for joining me and for leaving such sweet comments.  Have a wonderful Sunday.

I'll be back soon with my layout for Roni's challenge :)

Layout in Response to Tuesdae Hubbard's 500+ You Tube subbies challenge

Goodmorning and happy Thursday to all!  We have sun, yes we do; oh my, how we have waited for this.  Yesterday we hit about 17 deg C and today we are headed for 19.  I can hardly believe it!!!  Yay, double yay!  I have my windows open and I can actually see buds on the trees out there (I have to squint a bit, but I can see them LOL).

Ok, so now for the subject at hand.  Do you know Tuesdae Hubbard on You Tube (you can find her here : https://www.youtube.com/user/thelonlaire/feed).  She makes lovely pages and great process videos to accompany them.  Her layouts are beautiful and colourful (well except for a little monochromatic stint recently, but she will tell you all about that on her channel) and I love her page designs.  You really have to go on over there and check her out because she is also a super sweet gal and she is having a 500+ challenge (it is open until May 12th, so you still have time to participate).

The rules to Tuesdae's challenge are really super easy:

• Be a subbie
• Scrap about your passion(s) !!  That is pretty much it LOL.  You can make a 12X12 layout, 8.5X11, anything really.
• You can make a process video, send her the picture via email, post it on Instagram and then let her know.
• Multiple entries are welcome.

I think it was a great idea to get us scrapping about our passions.  In fact, I am very thankful to Tuesdae because it made me sit back for a moment and just think about my passions in life and realise yet again that I am a very luck lady to have quite a few in addition to the obvious scrapbooking one of course : family and friends top the list but then I also love travel, animals,  gardening, cooking and preserving, tennis as well as walking and hiking.  Pretty big list huh?

So now, which to choose for the challenge?  I scrapped three layouts on NSD (two travel related and one of Chopin, my cat, when he was just a kitten) and posted them to our FB groups and said that I would choose one of those for Tuesdae's challenge and then one for Roni Sue Scrapper's challenge.  So based on their comments, I have made a choice.

Here is the page I chose to submit for Tuesdae's challenge :

This layout, well Chopin actually, got more comments and likes than any other, ever LOL.

The story:  Chopin's mother was heavily pregnant when she was rescued by my sister and BIL.  She had a litter of 5 and the only "smoky" coloured one was Chopin.  Within a few days he was the friendliest and cuddliest (is that a word?) of the bunch so my sister immediately said :  "that's MO`s cat".  Three months later he arrived!  He was a little terror as a kitten, tearing around the place like nobody's business, climbing curtains and me, nibbling toes, pouncing on me in bed .... but he oh so cuddly and lovable as well. The day after he arrived, as he was on a running mission, I put some music on.  I love Chopin.  My cat ran straight to the sound system and stopped abruptly and just stared, was totally quiet for the duration of the piece and then climbed up on my lap for a nap.  So Chopin he was named !

The supplies:

I used a lot of the scraps that were on my desk to create this layout; sometimes it is just more fun to use up those scraps than to tidy up, don't you think?.  

• The background cardstock is Stampin' Up's Daffodil delight and the patterned paper is also from and SU collection.
• the for the layering and banners I used some SU scraps as well as at least two 6 X 6 paper pads : My Mind's Eye Indie Chic Saffron and Dear Lizzy Day Dreamer
• I fussy cut those doilies, so they would act as die cuts
• I used Amy Tangerine puffy stickers, flair from my Citrus Twist Kit and enamel dots from Basic Grey
• I inked all the edges with Tim Holtz Black Soot

So there you have it!  Thanks so much Tuesdae for putting on such a fun challenge.  Again, if you haven't seen any of Tuesdae's videos, run on over to her channel, you will have a great time.  Thank-you all who have stuck with this post all the way to the end (I do go on don't I ?  but you know I just love it all)

Have a great day and I will be back soon with my page for Roni Sue Scrapper's challenge

Hugs, xx

Fun day in Segovia - layout scraplifted from Kitty Scrapper (Nancy Sinclair)

Happy Thursday everyone :) .  Hope this finds you well and happy.  We are having rain, rain  and more rain this week although the temperatures are finally climbing a little (16 deg. C today LOL).  

I have a pretty good schedule this week.  I am off today, and since it is raining, I got the chores out of the way early so I could scrap the rest of the day away.  I do work tomorrow, but hopefully only a half day because I have a crop with my local scrap buddies tomorrow evening.  Then, Saturday is NSD ... yay !  I plan to scrap all day, check in with Big Picture Classes and Two Peas, but more importantly, with our Facebook groups and my You Tube friends!  What are your NSD plans ?  I would love to know, and see your projects.

Speaking of projects, on to today's layout.  I borrowed this page design from Nancy (Kitty Scrapper on You Tube), more specifically her Process Video No. 61 called "Pull the damn lever".  She had me in stitches, as usual LOL.  I have done a few layouts in this type of style recently and am really enjoying it.  I think I am even getting the hang of the small clusters.  What do you think ?

I mixed a few different textures this time :  patterned paper, washi tape, cork, wood veneer, mist and gems.  I am happy with the outcome.

Here is the full layout :

Sorry, the picture quality is not great.  I used some vellum on this layout, something I don't do very often as I never know how to put it on, where, or how to stick it down LOL.  But it worked this time and I may start using it more.  You never know, I may even graduate to those lovely transparencies in my stash, yup the ones that keep staring at me.  Oh you have some of those too?  Let's try then and use them on a layout on NSD shall we?

The supplies :

• The background patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye The Sweetest Thing (again from the lovely RAK I got from Sue Hiles (shiles728 on You Tube).
• For layering I used an Stampin' Up scrap (the purple and cream paper), as well as the 6 X 6 paper pad from My Mind's Eye Indie Chic saffron.
• I used two alphas on this one : The  Thickers are Cecily in gold, and the October Afternoon are  Daily Flash Bonfire.
• The washi is also from the October Afternoon Daily Flash collection
• The wood veneer is from Studio Calico
• Finally, I used two mists :  Tattered Angels Coffee Shop and Mister Huey's Custard

Well, there you have it.  Thanks for stopping by today and I will be back on the weekend with some of my NSD projects. See you then :)