NAVCAN retreat and other fun!

Last weekend Sarah and I packed up my car (and was it ever full) and then we drove down to meet up with crazy other women to scrap for the weekend! Not only the lovely Diane, Natalie and Nathalie, but other amazing women we befriended.

I made it in one piece and without any anxiety. YAY! Must be Sarah’s calming effect on me (yeah right).  Once there we set up and went straight to work!

The other ladies made amazing things- I ran out of steam and enjoyed the hockey game- (GO SENS GO!). I do have a few things I can present.

I used a simple cardstock – with black ribbon and bling. I know- really simple. But sometimes less is more. I like this layout even though it is quite simple.

My next 2 were all about my girls. Sarah and Jenn and Amelia (and my hubby in there too but really- we all know it’s all about the bride and the girls).  The 1^st picture is rather shaky- I blame the camera and not the picture taker... Used black Cardstock- and using the same papers from Bo Bunny and Echo Park.  Using up some bling and flowers. On the second one pink cardstock- with paper accents. Made the flower with ribbon and a gluber – need more practice but I like it. The bling accents and pins are Close to my Heart, and I have also used PearlPen – in white and in silver.

This cutest picture of Sam and Amelia. I wanted to make it pretty, but not too girly since Sam was in there.  So I added the polka dots, with a tiny flirt of the ribbon. And added the black flowers to touch the little cuteness of the tux.

I also made the flower at the top left corner- and added some bling in the middle. In the transport in the album from NAVCAN to home caused the flower to become squished. The only problems with lovely 3D accents- they are easily damaged.

I did make more flowers when I was away but have not finished the layout they belong on.

I have sanded the edges of all my pictures in this album- as opposed to use a matting them with cardstock.  I enjoy the look it gives them.

Now that being said- I am running out of ideas of what to do with black, white and pink. I changed back to my honeymoon where I can use all sorts of colours, and accents.  As much as I love my wedding pictures, I need a bit of a break. I have made one page layout last weekend, and I’m looking forward to showing you more!

Till next time happy scrapping and GO SENS GO!

My 1st mini!

Diane and I went on a little road trip and visited Tina’s store. There I found a mini that instantly caught my fancy.  I was going to make one for my hubby to bring to work, instead of one wedding picture of us a few- displayed with creative flair that would make any boy hide it in his drawer instead of displaying it for all his co workers to see.  He said his females co workers thought it was really cool- but that the guys were like- hunh? Yeah... I’m ok with that. Scrapbooking is really wasted on most men, but I have long accepted that.

Then Diane and I talked about how minis are lovely little works that we are so proud of but that we always end up giving away.  This being my 1^st one and giving it away as a gift I see how easy it would be to make these for others and not for ourselves.  I mean they are so cute and easy and quick- and I’m already so behind on all my other scrapbooking pages- I don’t have time to make one for me. Do I?  

But the mini I made: I did it while myself and  some of the Divas (Natalie, Sarah and Diane, who needs her blog so I can link her too,Nathalie was unable to make it ) were at Auntie Em's’s for a mini crop. (We took over the store really).

 I started by picking my pictures.

Then I glued them down and sanded then so that I would not have too many obvious edges sticking out.  Even with my scalpel and steady hand I still had little fly aways.  I took my black distress ink and inked the entire edges: the mini was made of uncoloured chipboard.

I put black cardstock on the cover and back- (to make it less girly?). I used embossing powder and stamped on the cover. Still need more practice!  But my hubby just thinks I was going for that distresses letters almost cut off look. So yes of course I did!!

 Then I added a puffed up sticker someone had given me and stuck pretty bling pins I got from Close to My Heart.  For the very top at the spine I used a folded over ribbon and added a chain in the fold and hung a charm off it.  I figured why not try it. I must admit I am not opposed to this look!

Then I added small accents to the pictures:

And at the end added a little bling.  We giggled when we realised in our giddy all day scrapping high- and you know what I’m talking about it you scrap- that it looked like a bum- or a naked guy picking up something... just sayin’!!!  I blame Diane for that!

That is my little mini. J

Now- I am getting ready for an all weekend scrapping retreat- a little reward ( and test) for myself for all this hard work and effort I’ve been putting into leaving the house.  The thought of leaving for this long seems to provoke some anxiety in me still. Yesterday I was able to see the head fixing dude, and he gave me exercises to try and help and decrease that so I can leave and enjoy myself. How can I not enjoy myself?  I’ll be spooning it up with Sarah at night, and scrapping all day!  I can do this! This should be all reward- but alas seems to be an exercise with a lovely prize at the end!! 

Diane needs a blog!

Yes- you may wonder why I stole Sarah’s blog idea- in reality we talked about this (and she stole mine mwahahaha!). We are hoping that peer pressure will make Diane finally post something in her blog!

I have fabulous talented friends- but Diane is the kind of person who sees something and says- why buy that when I can make it? And does she ever and doesn’t it ever look fab!? She is working on this fabulous folder album. It looks great. I’m jealous.

She also finds and passes on the best ways to organise, speed up or just make scrapbooking a better faster way.  She’s showed me things that I may have seen online but would never had thought to apply until I saw what she had done.

Stuck on an idea? She’s a great source of inspiration, and then she just shrugs off any praise you try to give her, as if it was all in a day’s work. She’s a scrapbook fairy I swear!

I was lucky enough to spend a day with her. I was able to do a layout while with her and she helped me with some ideas that I would not have thought of. Small bling details that I would have just wasted away.  

Here’s the page I did with her:

Think it would look as good without her?! Nuh-hun!

So this is my quickie entry on how Diane is awesome and should have a blog. It’s such a great idea that other people are blogging about it too! Just one of us talking about it may be crazy talk, but the entire lot of us? Listen up you crazy scrapper that we all love- get blogging and show the world what we have the privilege to see! Let other bask in your awesomeness!

Behind on the times

Greetings! It’s been so long since I’ve posted. So many things happened! And I had wanted to post but was always distracted by a shiny! (Like I should be doing the dishes at this moment but blog!!!! Shhhh- don’t tell my hubby)

Well, I have purchased a pattern and fabric for my dress for my final project. I’ll go over the pattern w my mum (I want to make sure I don’t miss anything- the fabric is a jersey/poly blend and I’ve never worked with that before).  Can’t wait to get it done and show you the final result! Speaking of clothes- I watched the finale of project runway all-stars. Happy with who won- that being said I LOVED that wedding dress Austin Scarlet made! Makes me want to get married again! And again! Sooo many dresses- so little money lol

I’ve also started knitting again- nothing big, just a very cute very easy tuque.  I’ll post the finished product. But at the moment I’m in the black hole of knitting. If you knit you know what I mean- for you who don’t the black hole of knitting is when you are almost done a part- knit to about 17cm- and then you are stuck at 16cm for an entire hour of knitting. It’s ridiculous. I wonder where all my rows go- because I am quite positive I can push out more than a cm in an hour...

Scrapping! Well- my friend Jill came over and she did a picture layout for a friend- their dog passed away. And then did the cutest card. She has a natural talent- as Natalie says- born to be awesome.  I’m just jealous. Wish I could be like that! That being said- when you get back into it- (from when she was a teenager) and you’re surrounded with awesome people like us! (we are so modest I know) it’s easier to see the possibilities and grow vs. the picture, sticker, journal box- next! format I started off with.

Here are the projects she did while here:

I had made a lovely little baptism card that I gave to my friend Andréanne- but apparently I forgot to take a picture. I was quite proud of it too! Aww well.  But I made another card: One for my lovely hubby’s birthday. I’ll be honest- a lot easier to make girlie cards with flowers and ribbons than one for a grown man.  It’s just a little more challenging. I’m ‘happy’ with it as it has a few 1^st time methods on it.

I used embossing powder.  I had previously only used it once before when I “borrowed" Sarah's  stuff at a crop a few months ago.  So I’m learning, I just need more practice. Then I used buttons- he did like those  so I guess I did ok... folded up some cardstock to add details in orange and used the close to  my heart birthday stamps.

Here’s the finished product:

And as for my leaving the house- I went and over did it I think haha! Had a little break down but getting better. I’ve now snapped and said I don’t want to be like this anymore. A good think my pro health people say.  Next weekend will be the biggest test of them all: leaving all weekend for a crop retreat. That should be interesting. And if that goes well we are trying to get me back to work at the end of the month.  I went to my work office yesterday- by myself. Had to remind myself the entire time that I didn’t need to panic, and I was still feeling my heart racing and know fully well that I could have gone into full anxiety attack if I didn’t stop myself. This is so annoying. Not that I want to be normal- because really that’s boring- I’d rather enjoy not being held hostage by unreasonable fears. But I did it- went- and then Jenn had given me some cheese cake to enjoy once I got home as a reward. YAY! (I also needed a nap as it entirely wiped me out).

I have the lovely day I spent at Auntie Em's Scrapbooking to talk about but I’ll post that at a later date. I was actually productive that day! So I’ll have projects to show hehe!

Happy Friday! J

Skinny decaff caramel dolce latte

Here I am with my friend Sarah enjoying Starbucks and working on our blogs. Aren’t we trendy?

Next week I am planning on working on making my friend Val a jersey dress.  It’s for my final project for my Dressmaking and Design class. I’ve mentioned it in my earlier blogs- but I’ve been drawing up ideas and she likes them.  Designing for a fit girl who doesn’t need a bra is a dressmakers dream. Hahaha!

For the last few days I have been starting at these two pictures from my wedding.

I want to do an amazing job on them.  But again here I am with inspiration block. The “white” page is looking at me and taunting me.  That darn white page.  Scrappers block. The creativity gods are messing with me.  But I have been spending a little less time locked up in the scrap room and leaving the house.  I have been going on walks with Tinkerbell.  I find that if I decide on a whim to leave the house I don’t have enough time to get worked up and anxious about it and by the time we are out the door and down the street my brain has had the chance the realise that it’s been tricked.  However it’s still not a happy place in my world when I know I have to leave the house on my own. I’m too smart for my own good- and I mean S-M-R-T smart of course.

I’ve been noticing that I have been pinning lots of cards.  It’s something that I enjoy to do.  I just wish I could get better at it.  Here’s the last time I made a card:

It was a Valentine’s Day card I made for my husband.  (He has made me a treasure hunt throughout the house so could find more charms for my bracelet).  I used some scrap pieces of cardstock I had lying around the house to make the twirls.  Then I glued them.  Being an impatient woman without a crafts heater (I know I know, I just got one, it’s on its way) I was a little too pearl pen happy a little early.  Because my twirls loosened up and ruined my very cute “pearls” I had made as accents.  None the less my hubby like it, mostly because it contained a starwars kinect game!  

And now the waiting begins.  There is nothing worse than waiting for something you ordered to arrive – and I have placed my order with Lisa and I can’t WAIT! I got lovely embellishments that I think will look great with the look of my wedding! In case you have not noticed so far, all my pictures included in the pages are either 6X8 or 8X10.  I decided to place emphasis on one of two bigger pictures.  And it’s so hard to pick some out of the 500+ my photographer took and the hundreds more my friends took!

So here I am impatiently waiting for items, toys and inspiration.  And my decaf skinny cinnamon dolce latte is all gone. Oh noes! Woe is me. Guess that’s it for tonight. Hopefully I’ll have something a little more recent to present, including kick ass pages with those pictures and a dress! 

Kitty

 

Woohoo?

My friend Jill came over today.  We set up in the scrap room and she decided to do a layout for a frame. This is something she hasn’t done in AGES! She wants to get back into the hobby- and what a great time to restart when you can do it with friends? Armed with a Page maps (http://www.pagemaps.com/pdfsketches.htm), knowing what picture she wanted to use and my supplies she started off! Now- the base is done and embellishments need to be added- as much as the printed out picture- but hopefully when she is done she will let me post her finished product!

But while happily in my scrap room with my friend I started looking at that page again. RAWR! I was set to win this battle! I picked out a picture, almost at random this time, and just went for it.  I did so many things to this page that I had to stop myself. It was too much.  You can over accessorise Coco Channel always said. Take off the last piece you put on. Well, I was going to add bling (well, more bling) and I took it off.  I am not quite sure how I like it but this is the result:

I took the white cardstock and the black patterned paper ( Toil&Trouble by Makingmemories) and sewed it w pink thread. Originally I was going to sew the picture down with black thread, but the papers underneath where to think and bent my needle.   And apparently I did not have bigger replacements... 

So I took those papers, and set down one of the Tattered Angels Glimmer screen down (Garden Lattice) and used “Cosmo” from Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist.

I also used Glimmer Mist in Dazzling Diamonds and Cosmo on white Prima flowers and the black ones are from Bazzill basics paper.

Then using brads and ribbons I picked up over time I added those to the Lay out.

All to finish on the pink cardstock the hand written title and black accents from Imaginisce and the white ones made with my Pearl Pen in Ice White.

After all that work this may not be my favourite page. But- as my friend Andréanne once said- it happens.  Time to move on.  Seeing that this is a good day and that I’m feeling ok, I may be brave enough to leave the house by myself. Ok, maybe not by myself, but with the dog and that’s almost by myself right?  

ARRRGGGGG!!!!

So here I am stuck in a creative rut.  I took out my new sewing machine, took some paper and trying to get something going. So far I’ve had this base done- I quite like it. I just don’t know what to do with it.  I placed some pictures, played with some flowers and ribbons and multiple embellishments.  None of them have been making me fall in love with it.  So now I have a page and coming up dud.  And it’s like I can’t move forward until I am done with this.  Any suggestions?

Yesterday I hosted a Close to My Heart party. Lisa Page is my consultant ( http://lisapage.myctmh.com ) came over.  As a gift for hosting she made me this amazing box (created w the CTMH critcut cartridge) and lovely cards. Don’t you think?

A big congrats from Natalie from http://mamanhall.blogspot.com/ won a prize! Lucky her! Read about what she won on her blog!  We made a card using the cutest of paper. I love it!

And my show was more successful that I anticipated! Now to reap the benefits!  I’m only hoping that this will help jumpstart my creativity!!