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 :) 

Layout in response to shiles728 300 YT subbie challenge

Well hello again, and welcome.  I seem to have found a groove and am keeping up with the blogging.  And you know what?  I am loving it. All of the great challenges from my You Tube friends lately have kept me hopping on the scrap table and therefore eager to share.  So thanks so much for sticking with me and coming back!

I am here with another layout in response to a challenge.  This time it is for my friend Sue (shiles728 on You Tube).  She has hit the 300 subbie mark.  Woot woot and congratulations Sue.  I have spoken to you about her before (in March I think), but just in case you forgot, you should really go over and check out her channel.  Sue is so very talented.  She creates layouts, does pocketed scrapbooking, mixed media and even did a fun ATC card tutorial for me (just cause I asked!!! Wow).  Sue is also an Ahni and Zoe consultant and has a dedicated channel for that (Susan creates with Ahni and Zoe).  In fact, if you are in the States, she has an online party tomorrow so head on over there to check it all out :)

So on to the challenge; the requirements are quite simple really :

• Be a subbie
• Create a project (12 X 12 layout, 8 X 10 layout, mixed media etc.)
• The theme :  Fun and flowers - so there needs to be flowers on the project in some form (she is not fussy LOL, it can be the paper, stickers, die cuts, stamps, brads ... anything really) and the photo chosen should be one that means fun to you.  She asks that we explain why it means fun to us.

Now, before I show you my layout, let me just say that for some reason I changed my mind about 10 times for the photo, the papers and everything else; and then the layout winds up totally different from anything I thought LOL.  I think my hands just made the layout and my mind forgot to attend the party :).  The result is sort of a throw back to the eighties. It is totally different from my style and I am not sure I actually  like it LOL.  But I certainly made a dent in my flower stash (I couldn't even tell you how old they are).  So here it is (the story and supply list follow) :

Wow, right ?  Well, it is certainly bright and I had fun making it.  It is done and in the book :)

The story:  The title has two meanings :  one the literal one of blooming lilacs, and the second as in "bloomin'  "... (e.g. the darn lilacs).  Some years, we have an amazing show of lovely flowers and other years quite a poor one - it seems to alternate every second year.  But how is this fun?  Well, firstly, they are pretty much the first flowers to bloom after the bulbs (daffodils, tulips etc.) and their fragrance fills the air just as we are finally able to open the windows (Ahhh!).  And, their blooming brings the promise of being able to get out to play in the garden very soon, very very soon.  And playing in the garden is major fun :)

The supplies:

• The background patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye, the sweetest thing (a PP that Sue actually gave me in an amazing RAK).
• For layering, I used Echo Park, Here and Then by Lori Whitlock (Feathers), as well as the 6 X 6 paper pad from Dear Lizzy Day Dreamer.
• The Doily came from a Citrus Twist Kit
• the Alphas:  October Afternoon Mini Market in Red and Cream, Stickey Keys in Honey, My Mind's Eye Now and Then Mildred alpha stickers and I have no idea where I got the pink ones :)
• As for the flowers and butterflies, well, they are from my stash and that is about all I know.  Don't know when or where I got them, just that I have had them for a very, very long time.

Well, there you have. Thanks so much for visiting and sticking with me all the way to the end of this post.  Once, again, congratulations Sue and thanks for the fun challenge. 

See you soon :)