Dressed for Santa

Ashlynn was thrilled when her teacher told the students that they could dress up for Christmas every day of their last week of school before the holiday break.

 

Mommy says she dressed up everyday and loved every moment of it.

 

I think the picture tells it all; one very happy girl.

The sketch is from Let's Capture Our Memories and was designed by Laura Whitaker. This sketch had all sorts of possibilities and I loved working with it.

 

I wasn't sure what I might do with the 9 little circles on the sketch. I found this Silhouette cut file and knew it was exactly what I needed.

 

 

A Yuletide coloured title and I was done, Ashlynn's excitement then recorded for future enjoyment.

 

 

forever

I wanted to do a black and white layout for my son and daughter-in-law's wedding album. I found the papers and the picture but the photo had a bit too much colour for what I wanted to do for my layout.

I turned to my daughter Erica-dorine who is one of those people I call 'techno talented'. She took the photo and turned it from colour to black and white, leaving only the wedding rings and flowers the original colour. It was exactly what I wanted; just a touch of colour

This layout uses a sketch from Scrapmuch? designed by Laura Whitaker. I needed simplicity for the picture and this sketch had that. I also used this layout to play along with Scrapping4fun Challenge #34 "All about LOVE".

The photo Erica-dorine altered was perfect. She placed the contrast just where I wanted it.

I didn't want a lot by way of embellishment so I settled for a flower and some rhinestones.

I absolutely love how it turned out.

Lion's Gate Bridge

I'm not all that great at photography so when I'm on vacation I always augment my photo memories by buying postcards and greeting cards of the place I'm visiting. If my shots don't turn out I don't worry because I've got my Plan "B".

This is the first layout for the scrapbook of my vacation in Vancouver during the summer of 2012. I chose a card by English Bay Design that shows a gorgeous night shot of the Lion's Gate Bridge. It's the Lions shrouded in shadow at the start of the crossing that caught my eye.

The sketch I used for this layout is from Let's Get Sketchy and designed by Laura Whitaker. I wanted a sketch that would allow me to showcase the card and this one was perfect. This sketch can be found here.

I'm also using this layout for the January Color Spot Challenge at Let's Capture Our Memories. The teals and blue worked so well with my card. It's great when someone does all the hard work of blending colours for you. :)

Because I wanted the card to be prominently featured I used little by way of embellishment. It didn't take much to dress up the page. The patterned paper, from 7 Dots Studio, is from the Destination Unknown Collection. I won the paper collection by posting a layout at Sketch~n~Scrap.

I'm excited to have started my Vancouver vacation scrapbook. Now what picture should I scrap next? Hmmm.

Joy Ride

At least it was until...

In July the kids got their new to them vehicle "Jimmy Rose". A pretty red vehicle with lots of oomph to pull their boat.

Unfortunately, just over four months later, Jimmy Rose took on Mother Nature and Mother Nature won. In November we had a horrible storm here in Muskoka. It lasted five terrible days. We got everything from gale force winds to freezing rain.

Jimmy Rose just about made it home on day two when a patch of black ice sent her on a triple roll into a rock cut. She did a great job protecting the kids from major injury. The kids were treated and released from hospital that day but Jimmy Rose never came home.

This picture celebrates the excitement of their new wheels. We had all gathered to leave for our family vacation when they surprised us by showing up in the new vehicle. It was a great way to introduce us to Jimmy Rose. We all got to celebrate her arrival together.

The sketch I used is a great one from Scrapmuch? designed by Laura Whitaker. By using this sketch and posting your layout you'll have the opportunity to win a prize. You have until the end of the month to post your work.

 

 

It was fun working with the Garage Days collection by Kaisercraft.

Thanks to my mentor Danie for the idea of making the paper look like it would if it were found trampled on a garage floor. Not only did I love it because it works with the vehicle theme, but, also because poor Jimmy Rose ended up bent, folded and mutilated herself.

 

 

P. S.

For those of you that noticed that the key didn't match the make of the vehicle, remember in the scrapping world, when it comes to embellishing, "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do with what she has at hand."

 

hoo, hoo-hoo are you?

Sam has such an expressive face. There's never any wondering if he's happy, sad, confused or silly. His face will tell you in no uncertain terms just how he's feeling.

This is one of my favourite 'Sam Looks'. Once I found the owl paper in my stash the title flew onto the page.

 

The sketch is by Laura Whitaker and appeared on Stuck?! January 15th, 2015. I loved the layers this sketch suggested. You'll like it too.

 

A few Silhouette cut files, an owl with googly eyes, and I was finished.

 

 

 

 

Let's Eat

After a week of blinding snow storms, and just south of three feet of snow, I'm heading back to the hot and sunny days of July.

One of the great things about going on vacation with my kids is that they never let me cook. As if I had really wanted to. They are great cooks and I'm always first to the dinner table, plate in hand waving a fork in the other. The menu is always amazing so I thought I'd chronicle one of our meals from this summer. I can still taste the herb potatoes and venison roast.

 

The sketch is a great one designed by Lisa Hidy. It was posted at Sketch~n~Scrap on January 1st. What a great sketch to start the year with. There's a sketch on the 1st and 15th of each month so two  chances a month to participate for a prize. Be sure to check it out.

 

 

Instead of the three smaller photos at the bottom of the page, I created a place setting and 'Menu' chalkboard to compliment the theme of the page. I love embellishments and my favourite on this page are the metal utensils. You can find anything in your stash if you look hard enough. I didn't even remember I had bought these. LOL

 

 

Dinner anyone?

 

 

 

Jeans to Tuxedos

Being the Mother of the Groom it fell to me to make sure that the boys got dressed and off to the ceremony on time. It seemed like a simple chore but four guys, all great friends, and each with a wild sense of humor, proved to be a bit of a challenge.

Once we switched the short pants on the tall guy with the long pants on a shorter one, made one of them take off their long johns, found some errant cuff links and got each to bend down where I could get a boutonniere pinned on them, they were ready.

A black sock check, followed by a beer and a bit of silliness in the backyard, and we were off to the venue.

The perfect layout for my pictures popped up on the Scrapmuch? blog on January 2nd. I love Laura Whitaker's double page layouts. Create your own and post in on the Scrapmuch? blog to be in the January prize draw.

Because the tuxedos were black and their boutonnieres white, I thought a predominately black and white page would suit (pun intended) the theme of the layout. The addition of a bit of blue to mimic bluejeans and an old light pull chain as an embellishment, and I pronounced the layout done.

Cutie Pie

How else would you describe her? She loves to smile and play and in this photo she's doing a great job of both. Nothing is cuter than a happy baby.

 

I'm participating in two challenges with this layout; the sketch by Karan Gerber over at Sketchabilities and the January colour challenge at Scrapmuch? There's time to play with both challenges so best get creating.

 

Sketchabilities December 30, 2014

 

 

Scrapmuch? January Colour Challenge

 

I love embellishments. Sometimes I think I pick a sketch based on how many opportunities it gives me to 'jazz it up'. With sewing as my other passion, triple stitching the circles with various colours from the Scrapmuch? colour challenge was right up my alley.

 

 

Jeans to Gowns

It's always such an amazing transformation when girls go from jeans to gowns. Our daughter-in-law and her attendants started the day in sweatshirts and jeans. A few hours later three of the most beautiful women you will ever see emerged.

The Stuck?! sketch of January 1st, created by Laura Whitaker really worked for these pictures. The ring behind the pictures added to the wedding theme. You should create your own page and post it on the Stuck?! blog. Your page will enter you in the January prize draw. Winning prizes can be great fun.

The blues from the Bo Bunny Rose Cafe collection were perfect for the jeans theme. The little hanger with a piece of the purple ribbon that the kids used on their gift boxes worked perfectly as an embellishment.

in Bloom

It's very exciting to reveal my first single page layout as a Design Team Member for Stick it Down.

Come springtime you can find me out poking about and taking pictures of spring flowers. Spring is my favourite time of year. Everything is so new and the days brighter after the long winter. This picture has always been one of my favourites.

The January single page layout sketch by Amanda, looked to be a perfect window to me. I couldn't resist the opportunity to take it a step further thought and make it look like stained glass on the top. My 5 x 7 photo of tulips in front of a granite rock slipped nicely under the window frame.

The sketch can be interpreted many ways; a window like it suggests, a large square, four small photos, 2 - 4 x6 photos, one on top of the other, etc. I encourage you to grab this sketch, make it your own, and post your layout using the link provided. You have until the end of the month to enter your layout. There is also a fabulous double page layout and a card sketch that you can enter with. There's something for everyone.

My embellishments were decidedly spring themed as well. I added two butterflies, one trimmed in gold with a rhinestone body and the other with rhinestone accents on the wings, and a pink and burgundy flower with chipboard scrolls. Once the title was added it was done and I was thoroughly pleased.