Father & Son

I'm very happy to be November's featured designer at Stick It Down. I hope that something in my work will be of inspiration to you and that you'll play along with us this month.


The little guy in my layout has an abundance of talented musicians in his lineage, in fact both Mom and Dad are very accomplished musicians. It looks to me like he's going to carry that talent into his generation.

The sketch I used for inspiration is the double layout featured at Stick It Down this month. I found it so intriguing and unique. Image a 24 x 12 inch canvas with little suggested for pictures. It opened things up for playing with different media.

I chose ink/stamp and metallic paint. The metallic drew in the gold and silver of the instruments. I first covered the area with an open weave burlap and using a finger ink dauber 'pushed' paint through the burlap here and there. Some musically themed embellishments, stars for his future success, and washi tape, seemed to finish things off nicely.

There's  a great card and single page sketch released today as well.

Maybe you'll 'get your craft on' and play along with all three.

Card Sketch



Single Page Sketch



I'd love to see your work.



at the FAIR

Next to Christmas morning there's nothing children like more than amusement park rides and candy floss.


Here in our small town the Fall Fair is a very big deal. Kids spend time working painstakingly on entries for everything from their own grown tomatoes to making animals out of soup cans. The children work weeks and months on their entries. It's a really big deal in our town.


Awards are great but the real draw for children will always be the rides. My little friends sure looked to be having a great time. The perfect activity for a fall themed layout.

This layout is based on the October Stick It Down double page sketch. It worked so well for the my big title and for highlighting Fall Fair favourites like arcade games and popcorn.

There is also a single page layout and a card sketch up on the site for October.

Complete 1, 2 or all 3 but share each of them by playing along with the challenge and posting them on the site. I'd love to see your work there.

Single Page Layout

Card Sketch

The Bus Stops Here.

The first day of school heralds a new year of adventure for children, renewed friendships and a few sad Mommies.

This year it was a very sad day for little Pana as he watched the big yellow machine swallow up his very best friend. Pana hadn't been separated from his adopted brother since his arrival 6 weeks ago.

My heart broke for him as I looked at the picture of him sitting patiently on the pavement waiting for Joaquin to reappear.


It was a long day for both of them but eventually they were reunited and within seconds of those bus doors opening Pana's little world had turned right side up again.

The sketch my layout it taken from is posted on the Stick It Down blog and was designed by Ali Gage. In fact on the 1st of each month there are three sketches posted; a single, double and a card. Whether a card maker or layout junkie you'll find more than enough to inspire you.

Double Page Layout

Single Page Layout 

Card Layout

I do hope you play along with as many layouts as you can fit into your crafty time. I look forward to visiting your blog and seeing more of your works of talent.

Apple Picking

This was the day that little Xavier had his first apple right off the tree. No more applesauce for this guy.


He delighted in being pulled along the rows of apple trees. He took his role as guardian of the apple filled bags very seriously.

I wanted to keep everything 'orchard' colours so stuck went with red, green and brown as my theme colours. I couldn't resist adding an apple core to my layout as Xavier left quite a few of those in his wake as the afternoon wore on.

The sketch my layout it taken from is posted on the Stick It Down blog. In fact on the 1st of each month there are three sketches posted; a single, double and a card. Whether a card maker or layout junkie you'll find more than enough to inspire you.

Double Page Layout

Single Page Layout

Card Layout

As a member of the Stick It Down Design Team I'm always excited to see everyone's creations.
I'll be dropping by your blogs to see more of your showcased talent.



Loon Lake

For our summer getaway this year we vacationed at Loon Lake. It's only an hour away but it could have been a whole different world.


I enjoyed morning my tea in a Muskoka chair on the dock. I couldn't get enough of that gorgeous view.

My inspiration for the layout is the July 1st Stuck?! sketch. It showcased my photo beautifully. Stuck?! will have another sketch out on the 15th.

Thank you to my Bestie, and constant source of inspiration, Danie for passing along the technique of using the negative of the stencil as a stencil. I think you get what I mean. :) She's got some great layouts and tips on her site. You should drop by.

I can't wait to showcase more photos from my vacation.