Happy Sunday...

 Working over the weekend now that the weather is getting nicer sucks. I'm off to work in a bit, but thought I'd share some sun with you.
I'll be back tomorrow with a page... yeah, I scrapped!

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Always a bridesmaid...

I thought I'd share my cover version for the latest issue of Scrapbook & Cards Today. It's a wonderful Canadian magazine, very professionally done, and (gasp!) free of charge. If you haven't seen it in hard copy, you can download it on the above link- you won't be disappointed. I was pleasantly surprised to get an email from Crystal back in December, asking me to try out for the cover. I did several cover attempts during my years at Simple Scrapbooks, and alas, none of them made it to that coveted spot on the magazine. So, I wasn't too surprised when this one didn't make it either, lol... but it was an honour to be asked. In retrospect, it was probably a little TOO simple, but it's my style, and I was happy with it!

Hope you're having a gorgeous Monday!~

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random.org says....

nspiegel said...

Beautiful layout and you are right - I can't wait to get my hands on these products (hint, hint)! As for future lines, I am always looking for beach/vacation lines that are a little different, i.e., something other than pails and shovels and seashells.  Thanks! nspiegel, please email me at melaniedotlouette@gmaildotcom, and I will get some Abode goodies in the mail to you asap. Thanks for all your comments and great suggestions!

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Welcome to the AC Abode blog hop!

When I saw the Abode line from American Crafts at CHA previews last January, my heart skipped a beat... the colours, the patterns, and most of all, the theme of this line was made just for me. Case in point, the subject of my layout below. ( click on it twice to see it larger) It couldn't be more perfect for someone who has a chef in the family, n'est pas? I was thrilled to finally get a chance to scrap a layout about my hubby's job- been wanting to do this page forever.
Since I am someone with limited willpower and patience, I couldn't wait for my DT box to arrive, and had to buy some... ok, mostly all of the Abode at my lss when it came in- it was very hard to resist when it sat there taunting me on a daily basis. ;p So, seeing as I have some stuff in duplicate, I have an extra pack of these robin's egg blue 'Flat' thickers and a few other goodies to give away. Just leave me a comment about what you'd love to see AC come out with in future lines... it's always fun to dream about your personal wish list, isn't it?  And you never know who might be be reading the comments. ;)
  I'll draw a name from that random generator thingie Tuesday night, and post the winner here on Wednesday.

Please be sure and visit my DT colleagues blogs to check out their pages- I'm off to do that now. :)
Here's the list of who's where:

 kim arnold - www.kimarnold.typepad.com
moon ko - www.mooner363.typepad.com
kathy thompson - www.kathythompsonlaffoley.typepad.com
katrina simeck - www.katyat34.typepad.com
piradee talvanna - www.piradee.blogspot.com
loredana bucaria - www.lovescraplife.typepad.com
martha bonneau - www.mugsyboo.typepad.com
nichole duenke - www.nicholew.typepad.com
shannon zickel - www.shannonzickel.typepad.com
beth proudfoot - www.bethproudfoot.blogspot.com
paige evans - www.chrisandpaige.blogspot.com
wendy sue anderson - www.wendysueanderson.blogspot.com
doris sander - www.sanderdk.typepad.com
mary jo johnston - www.maryjojohnston.blogspot.com
elizabeth carney - www.itsmythingy.blogspot.com
dusti nakamura - www.acupcakelife.blogspot.com
kim watson - www.kj-starre.blogspot.com
holly hanks - www.hollyscharmedlife.blogspot.com
danielle layton - www.vtpuggirl.blogspot.com
kelly purkey - www.kellypurkey.typepad.com

amy tan - http://amytangerine.blogspot.com/ 

Happy hopping!

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Happy Easter!

Wishing you all a blessed Easter- hope the bunny leaves you lots of chocolate!

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Confession time

Don't fall off your chairs... but yes, I'm actually posting on the blog twice in one week.Shocking, isn't it!

I've had many people asking me these past months what the hell is happening with my blog, and why don't I post layouts anymore? ( Helen from Toronto, if you're reading this, you have to leave me a comment, got it? :D) I'm totally assuming here that someone is actually still reading here amongst the tumbleweeds, lol..

 So here's my confession.

A while back, in January or so, I thought long and hard about shutting down this blog. I was exhausted from the holidays, feeling burnt out, and at the same time, feeling a huge sense of  excitement about starting the 365 project on Flickr. I wasn't at all into blogging, mainly because I had so much other stuff going on in my life, and couldn't find any left over energy to post. I had nothing to say. Call it the winter blahs, I don't know. But what I really wanted to say was that I was becoming a little bit jaded about the whole scrapbooking world in general. If I can be completely honest here (and I will be, because it's my blog, and I can say what I want, lol) all the tweeting, status updates, horn tooting, and Facebook fan pages really got under my skin, and I decided to distance myself from it all for a while, and just do what was making me feel good, which was taking photos. I'm a fairly humble person, and I don't feel comfortable crowing about everything I do. It's just the way I am. So I stopped reading blogs all together, ( even Cathy Z got the boot)  kicked my Facebook habit, did some mental housecleaning, and pared down my online consumption/web surfing to a reasonable amount of time /day.
With the exception of Flickr, which I became addicted to in about 5 minutes after starting the 365. Ha.
Uh, yeah...
Anyway, I took a brief, but much needed break from scrapbooking & blogging, and now that spring is here, and the birds are singing, I actually feel like I want to do both again.
(That statement elicited a huge sigh of relief from the hubby, who was freaking out over the thought that all the paper I've amassed over the past 5 years would eventually have to be used as fire starter for our charcoal BBQ.)

So to ease back into it, here's a page I did this week that combines my 2 loves... scrapbooking and photography. It's sort of a lift of an old page I did a while back, and while there is nothing innovative or trendy about it, I really like it. It's simple, it's who I am, and it makes me very happy to be able to combine the 2.
As always, this page was done mostly with my one true product love, American Crafts. My deep affection for them is undying. :) That cool negative ribbon is from Tim Holtz... I knew I'd need that.
Have a great Thursday... I'm off in search of some Easter goodies for Sunday. They're calling for 23C+ weather this weekend, how awesome is that?

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