Creative skills - sharing?

Ali Edwards ezine is great, love her philosophy on being a "life artist" ,just DO IT, capture the everyday, go with the flow type attitude (not that i can do her style myself but i have tried), and enjoy her challenges. this weeks ezine she challenged us to share our creative skills with others online or personally, to share what we do as scrapbookers that we are good at. Hmmm, i'm not sure quite what to share, i'd say color mixing but with the awesome pp collections and monthly kits i get lately that coordinate, that is the easy part, it feels like cheating sort of LOL. perhaps the way i manage to mix and use so many different patterned papers is my skill? i always want to try and use the most variety to take advantage of the sets and as many pieces as i can on one project and it can be hard but sometimes all you need is a little piece to get that nice mix of all the colors and contrast/design. You can never go wrong with a floral, a stripe and a plaid or polkadot. I guess my quilting for 8 years prior to catching the scrapping bug taught me about putting patterns and colours together but truthfully, i'm going to give credit where its due. I come from generations of talented creative women, my grandma has been quilting and painting and growing a beautiful garden full of color and design for years, and my mom just has the natural ability to design and decorate and quilt and sew..... so i say thanks to them for their instruction and their "genes".

Perhaps you can look at my layouts and tell me what my scrap skill is? i feel like my titles are sometime quirky or corny and obvious but i enjoy composing them and setting them out on a page. I am pretty handy with my sewing machine and paper :) but i don't seem to do it as often as i use to. Anyway, i just thought i'd throw that out for you today, and hope you'll comment and maybe share a link to somewhere you've shared your scrap skill with others.

and here are a couple recent pages for you. thanks to my Aunt Dot who's a great photographer and gave me some great advice this summer, as well as the cool picture of me "reflecting" and mitchell enjoying the beach :) (and mom took the ones in the creek - success!)

Sorry peeps!!

I can't imagine where the last 3 weeks went since my last post!! sorry for slacking off but i guess i've been busy with back to school and back to work and getting my feet wet at my new job. The kids are both playing volleyball (yeah, totally love the sport) so that has occupied a few extra days and evenings.

Fall has officially arrived here, well i think its still fall, we woke up to white one morning which didn't impress me much but it didn't last. did a number on lots of plants and veggies growing in peoples gardens though but its par for the course here.

We're counting down the days till we head across the ocean to Maui and i can hardly wait - 17 days - whoooohooooo. My suitcase is open and slowing being filled, i'm cleaning windows and such in preparation for winter and company, the calendar is filling fast with appointments for a pedicure and a hair cut and volleyball games and tournaments so i know the time will go fast.

Of course i do manage to fit in a bit of scrappy time when i can, loved the bright fun ribbon kit i had to work with from Savvy n Sassy this month, here are some projects i made as well as a few others i created for the new lss opening soon in GP - Scrapbook Matters!

My MOJO...

Well it may be the end of August and summer as we know it since its back to school in just a few, and the weather hasn't been exactly nice, but its been a good week, found my mojo again after weeks without scrapping, got a layout picked up for winter issue by Canadian Scrapbooker which is so cool, AND (THANKS to MICHELLE B.) got asked to be on the premier dt for a new lss opening up in GP mid oct. (the city near us where I shop and do business) so it's been a good week scrapwise and i've even managed to create several pages i'm pleased with, some for the new dt (hmm, not sure i even heard the name of the new store) , some just for fun with summer photos and some cause i simply had/wanted to play with all the new kits and papers i accumulated over the summer. (how does that happen when i don't scrap for weeks and i didn't scrap shop on holidays once!). Anyway, Life Preservers, Mosh Posh, Lisa's Scrap Shack, have provided hours of fun for me this week and here are some of the results.

at last..........

i



had a day to stay home and scrap, yep , i almost forgot how but not quite!!! Here are the projects i created with the SavvyNSassy August sassy ribbon kit which is yummy. I LOVE red, always have, to wear and decorate with, i loved using it with all the different patterned papers.

Its still COLD here, rainy and dreary, i can see a wee bit of sunshine and blue sky but its not enough for me. I suppose we'll drain the pool this weekend (Cryin here big time) as it doesn't sound like it will warm up much and i'm sure the water is way too cold to enjoy. The kids are ready for back to school with new supplies and clothes, even though they are not anxious to really go back to school the preparation is always fun. I found myself some fab new shoes for work/school too so I'm all set!!

We have our tickets booked for Maui, our passports will be in our hands this evening, the condo's are booked and I've got part of my wardrobe already planned to take, it may be close to 2 months away but i know how fast time flies, sooo excited. It feels more official now but till i step foot on the airplane (a big jet which will be a first for me) It won't seem quite real.

SO hope you are enjoying summer and sunshine where you are!!! send some our way pretty pretty please!!!

Sunshine, where are you?

Just a quick post to let you all know we are home from our sunny okanagan holiday, the kids and i had a great time visiting and shopping and lazing on the beach (well mitch worked hard at perfecting his waterskiing skills and that means early mornings on Lake Okanagan) and i miss the heat and mom's good cooking already. It has not been nice since we got home, i sure hope summer isn't over here yet, we did not use the pool enough. This week i'm just getting unpacked and the house cleaned and stuff ready for the local fair that takes quite a bit of our time so its another busy week with no scrap time to speak off, i hope i don't forget how to make a layout when i finally do get back in the groove. will update soon with pics. Oh and love coming home to find goodies in my mailbox and today i got some gorgeous ribbon kits from Savvy N Sassy and i can hardly wait to play with them. Hope August is treating you well.

It figures...

Why is it that when you have all the time in the world and plan to do something creative, you have no mojo, no juices flowing, and then when you're out of time you have all the inspiration in the world. Yep, just not fair. But I was productive a bit yesterday and today so here are those layouts and ya know when something just clicks and you're giddy with excitement when its done? thats how i feel about 10 years later!! i just loved the photos (Sears portrait) and the color combo, fun with scalloped edges and a lil bling for fun. Here's hoping someone else likes it enough to publish it!!!

Happy to have taken Second place in the challenge contest at Life Preservers and can't wait to see the prize Shellye sends.

The kids and i are packing our suitcases and sleeping bags and heading to Bible camp sunday for the week so I'm praying for strength and patience and no cuts in the kitchen!! I'm sure it will be lots of fun, it usually is. Have a good week.

Ribbon Ribbon glorious Ribbon

I've been having lots of fun creating with the great Savvy N Sassy ribbon kit i got for my dt assignment for July. It coordinates with the Zany Zinnia Tropical Breeze Kit and you can get the Ribbon Kit here. Lovely collection of flower trim, chocolate ric rac, laces and ribbons, yum. Here are the projects as well as one i did last week with a photo of my Great Grandma (and the black ribbon from SNS which went so well with the paper line i used) that i found and enlarged. Remembering.

Its HOT HOT HOT and i LOVE LOVE LOVE it, swimming and sunning and relaxing. Life is good, hay is ready to be cut so hope we can get that done before the weather changes (or maybe it won't and we'll have another gorgeous summer which would suite me just fine).

YEAH, my books arrived, Understanding Exposure, Digital SLR's for Dummies and the Unofficial Guide to PHotoshop CS2 so guess what i have to read and study over the summer, LOTS of info to absorb and take in, but i know i will reap the benefits of understanding these two important (and most expensive) tools of the trade. And improving my photography is a goal i can work towards. Did i mention i LOVE my new camera? Apparently the 50mm 1.4 lens is da bomb so better start saving my pennies for it, its a pricey one.

Bzzzzzzzzzzz

I love summertime but NOT so much the bees that are always around and it seems there are lots this year. Poor Mitchell got stung (or bit) on the forehead the other day while out with his dad on the quads and his face is just getting back to normal, it swelled quite a bit, so perhaps we'll have to be prepared for a reaction next time around. My peony finally bloomed after 3 years, of transplanting from Grandmas gorgeous garden so that makes me happy, i hope the other one will next year.

Just a few layouts to share that i did this past week, got my first DT kit from Savvy N Sassy so will have lots of fun with the ribbons they put together I'm sure. And i am now the owner of an ATG tape gun, the grandaddy of taperunners LOL. Thanks Rhea for doing the legwork and bringing those in, I'm sure we'll all appreciate the seemingly endless feet of STICKY adhesive and not having to worry about running out, not to mention the economy of it. I've added a link on the side to the new Savvy N Sassy BLOG so be sure to check it out for contests and news and inspiration.

And if you haven't purchased the summer issue of Canadian Scrapbooker you should, its fab, and not just cause i've got two layouts in there LOL. I love that we have an all Canadian Magazine and it can be found at the grocery stores and Zellers i see now so easy to find. Enjoy.

Its suppose to be nice and hot the next few days so I'll be - yep, you guessed it, lounging outside by the pool reading a book!! with some scrapping thrown in there of course.

Summertime and the livin is Easy!!!

Well for now its easy and i can sleep in a bit. The kids are off to camp for the week, the sun is shining and the pool water is warming up, my camera has taken many pics already and i'm anxious to get them developed, i scrapped 4 pages for challenges at Savvy N sassy that i'll share and i'm excited to share that i made the Savvy N Sassy Design team starting July 1 so yeah, bring on the awesome ribbon kits!!!

I must say i'm proud of my kids, both coming home with Academic Achievement awards and excellent report cards, they wrapped up another season of 4-H and Greg and I enjoyed some serious horseshoes and bocce ball at the school staff bbq at the lake! IT feels good to say I have the summer off and i'm going to relish the next 2 months as my work load will be heavier in the fall than it has been since.........well probably before i had kids, i haven't worked out of the house "full time"for man years.......it will be a change and a challenge.

Here are some pics and pages for your viewing pleasure. Happy Canada Day everyone, fly your flag high and pray for our politicians and the decisions they have to make that effect all of us and our country as a whole!!! I pray that "GOD Keep our Land, glorious and Free"stays part of the national anthem forever!!!!

3 More days!!!

and school is officially finished, work for me is DONE for this year and we can say Summer's Here. I must say i'm still giddy with excitement at having finally got my new Camera, the Rebel XTi with a zoom lens. its awesome. learning how to use it to its fullest potential will be a job but i'm up to it. SPeaking of jobs, i was offered a 20hr/wk position at school working with a few kindergarten kids who need extra help, its not for sure yet but sounds good. will mean none of the unexpected call ins that subbing brings which i look forward to. Pray for me, i'll need extra patience and energy to do this job. :)

Anyway, despite the crazy busy past 2 months i've managed to create some layouts i'm happy with, here are a few of them. Just participated in an online crop at Scrapbookers Clubhouse and got 5 layouts done and they had a great WORLD theme and some awesome challenges. was lots of fun.

Jumping for Joy!!! its June

And that means the weather is warmer, the last day of school and work is almost here, 4-H is over and the kids are happy to have finished another successful year with their calves. the cows and calves are out on the pasture enjoying all the green grass, my summer sandals are out and ready to wear daily, my windows are all clean and sparkly (well almost all of them) and the flowerbeds are starting to share their colors (as well as those rotten dandelions :) . I can honestly say May went by with a blurr, just rediculously busy and the kids and i ended the month with colds but we are on the mend. Have lots of fun layouts to share with you, mostly design team ones for L2S using Cosmo Cricket that i can't share there with the site down for the summer so here they are.

I also wanted to tell you how much i am loving PS these days especially with the help of the CK Computer tricks for scrapbooking as well as online help from friends, i will be including lots of pics and elements that i've played with in PS CS2 as the summer goes on. Its a learning curve but it feels so good to master something.

Hi All!!

just a quick post to show you my recent layouts, the first one using Zany Zinnia's kit and savvy ribbon for a challenge on Savvy n sassy's RIbbon rave contest, the second one for a challenge at Scrapbookers Clubhouse using a sketch there, and using my newest MOSH POSH kit, LOVE new goodies to work with and can i just say the bazzill bling flowers are amazing.

FYI, there was a conversation not long ago between dd and i, actually when she was organizing all my scrapbook flowers into colors/jars and she asked "how come you don't have any black flowers mom"? well i decided i have black paint and white blossom, make one LOL. but i just got an awesome box of stuff from Lisas Scrap shack today and in there was a package of black bling blossoms so expect to see those on a layout soon.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

to all my friends and family who are MOMS, hope you had a special day and were treated to breakfast in bed or lunch out or something to make you smile and feel appreciated. I hope my mom and grandma are having a great time on their trip, i want to say thanks for all you do and LOVE you both. Here is a fun page i did yesterday in honor of my Grandma who is amazing, riding a bike at her age, so active and strong, i hope i am like that in my golden years. This was for the ribbon RAVE contest at Savvy N Sassy, great challenges so far.

I got a dozen beautiful red roses from my family, so thoughtful, and was a lovely relaxing day. the believe layout i did for my dt assignment at Timeless Inspirations and i just had fun mixing the black with the cool colors of the patterned paper.

the Love2Scrap site is still down, going into withdrawal here so hope its up and running real soon, miss you guys.

Soccer starts tonight and the kids are sooo anxious to get out on the field, weather is looking up, green grass everywhere and the trees are popping so i am glad to see the blah brown disappear.
this week will fly by with lots of stuff going on, always an adventure. Chow for now.