Happy weekend!

 It has been a very LONG week. We were dealing with a gastro outbreak at work,  where all hell kind of broke loose. It was crazy. I'm very happy to report that I didn't catch the bug, so I dodged a big bullet there! Here's what I'm doing this weekend: ( not barfing, lol!)

-dealing with the aftermath of a scrapping frenzy last week for reveal. I basically left everything laying in a HUGE mess in my dining room, just working on things after work and into the evening until I was too exhausted to care about cleaning it up. I'm bad about that, but I seem to work well amid the chaos. ;p I hate the cleanup part. Wish I could hire someone to come in every month and do that for me.

-Laundry. Piles and piles of laundry. It's never ending, isn't it?

-Getting my nose pierced tomorrow. Maybe it's a midlife crisis, but I have decided why not? It will be a small, tiny stud. I figure if it looks bad, I'll just take it out and let it grow over- what the hell, right? You only live once. ;)

-Sunday bootcamp. Gearing up for April when I'll be on the attack and at the gym 4-5 times a week in addition to these 2 classes/week. I'm gunning to see a six pack by June.

-Finishing up a few more layouts I had started with the Bluegrass Farm kits. There is never enough time between when I get the kits and reveal day. There is so much more I can do, they're packed this month!

I'll leave you with a layout I did a while back and never posted here. It is one of my favourites in a while, using a old photo of my son that I printed eons ago. We're talking years ago. I have big love for these gorgeous graphic number cards from SC's Lemon Lush line, and the stars- ( presently sold out, but hit that 'notify me' button) that goes without saying. :)

Have a safe and happy weekend, all.

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Bluegrass Farm reveal!

Today is reveal day at Studio Calico and I'm quickly sharing my pages before I head off to work this morning.  Pip is sure to be a hot commodity, and although I didn't use a lot of it in my layouts this month, it's one of my favourite add-ons. Those puffy hearts from Twine and Ink get me everytime, and the colours of these ones are stunning. I ran out of time for the deadline, but I have 2 other layouts started and will post them in the gallery in a few days, hopefully by the weekend when things are a little less crazy here!

This is one of my main kit layouts. I LOVED the wood tag, and knew as soon as I saw it that I'd use it with these camping pics. This is a double page 8x11 spread. I got some of my photos printed at Costco this month as I had run out of ink, so the right side of this spread uses 2 4x6 pics, very simply. Love how this one turned out, love this memory.

This is an all digital layout, using one of the digi stamps from this month.

It's a very basic page, given my very basic digi skills, LOL, but I like how it came out, and most importantly, I love that I have documented a very momentous occasion in my life! 

This layout, Mother, came together super fast, about 10 minutes start to finish- rare for me, but it feels so great when that happens!  I used the beautiful vellum from Clover ( which, on first sight, wasn't really my style, but it works so good here) and the hearts and badge from Pip. I love the simplicity of this page- the photo of my beautiful Mom carrying me in her arms combined with the text is really all this layout needs. My sewing machine needle broke as I was sewing through the hearts, so it needs some added stitching once I get around to replacing it.

This is my other main kit layout. ( editing my blog on my phone from work, so I cannot change the order of the photos, sorry!)

Another camping page, surprise! ;) I used that fabulous eat stamp, stamped in deja blue , and it was perfect to document my obsession with photographing our meals. ;)

I'll post a few more over the weekend- thanks for looking!! 

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Wecome to the Studio Calico bloghop!

Hello, hello!

I'm assuming you're here from following the link from Suzy's blog, and that you already know about the great promotion happening at Studio Calico right now. If  somehow you stumbled upon my blog, and don't know what I'm talking about, then you're in the right place at the right time! I have several scrapbook friends who I know are on the fence about subscribing, and I'm hoping that this will be the push they need. I'm thinking of this promo as a wonderful way to welcome Spring ( although it seems to be a long way off,  by the terrible cold we're still experiencing here. UGH) and getting a 2 great gifts at the same time, one is monetary of course, but the other is more precious. It's the camaraderie and inspiration you will get every month as an SC subscriber. I'm not even kidding. This is completely true.

I have to tell you something that is really important to me. It was a turning point for me when I dearly need one. Really. 
 I worked for almost 9 years in the scrapbook biz, at my local lss, selling product and occasionally teaching. It was a great store, and I could have anything I wanted there. But it got stale for me about 2 years ago, to the point where I was pretty sure I was done with scrapbooking. I was saturated, but I wanted something more. I don't know if it was that nobody in my circle scrapbooked like I did, or that I was selling LOTS of Jolees and mixed media stuff ( not my thing at all), and I was burnt out. Nothing seemed appealing to me anymore. And I was barely scrapbooking anymore at that point, which I fould really sad. I had done my time at 2 Peas,  and was looking for a new online home, really hoping to find something that could renew that spark. Because, god knows, I had invested a lot of money and love into this hobby.And I knew I still loved it, deep down. So after lurking for several months, I decided  to upload a few of my pages at Studio Calico, and the rest is history. Good stuff.

If you're looking for the same thing, feeling like you need that spark, or just want to try your hand at a great kit club with beautiful product, then here you are. I'm not one to try to sell stuff that isn't my cup of tea, so I hope you'll take me at my word. Whether you're a simple scrapbooker like me or not, this is something that everyone at every level can enjoy.

 Click here to get your scrapbook subscription going, starting with the gorgeous Office Hours kits, and get a 20$ gift card to the SC shop, which I can tell you quite frankly that you will not have any trouble spending. :) You can check out my layouts done with that kit in my post below.

If you're more into Project Life, ( which I also am a subscriber to) then here's the link. May I say that I have been getting the SC PL kits for a year now, ( while barely doing any form of PL, lol) and I completely adore them. Great value and packed withsome gorgeous, exclusive product. I love them. (And I make scrapbook pages with mine, for the most part, in case you're wondering!)

 Oh, and I was asked to post 5 of my most favourite things from the SC shop right now, so here you are:

This ink pad- because I NEED Spring to arrive, very, very soon. A beautiful, happy shade of yellow. 

These are completely luscious. And thanks to SC, I have a new found love & admiration for sequins.

These  albums, which I think should be a staple item for every scrapbooker. Great for PL or a travel album. Perfect size, perfect neutral colour.

Star die and stamp set. OMG.  I clicked 'buy' the second I saw them- I think this set is such great value.  I should get mine anyday now, and I'm sure I'll get a ton of use out of them. Stars are my favourite accent. ( Next to hearts, coming up next.. )

Chipboard hearts, in all colours of the rainbow. These make me very happy. 

Have fun shopping, and here's the next stop on your hop, the awesome Nicole Reaves. :)

And the rest of the hoppers, in case you want to cheat. ;)

Lisa Truesdell : http://www.gluestickgirl.com

Natalie Elphinstone : http://onescrappydoctor.blogspot.com

Marcy Penner : www.marcypenner.com

Kelly Noel : www.kellynoel.typepad.com

Suzy Plantamura : suzyplantamura.typepad.com

Melanie Louette : http://melanie-notesfromhome.blogspot.ca/

Nicole Reaves : http://reavespartyofthree.blogspot.com/

Lilin Fang : http://www.afterdinnertreats.blogspot.com/

Maggie Massey : http://www.midwesterngirldiy.com/

Jenn Picard : http://www.anewinkonlife.com/

Geralyn Sy : http://inacreativebubble.blogspot.com/

Stephanie Baxter : http://stephaniebaxter.blogspot.com/

Anna-Maria Wolniak : http://annamariawolniak.wordpress.com/

Nicole Samuels : http://www.nicole-samuels.com/

Dana Fleckenstein : http://www.pixelsandglue.blogspot.com/

Céline Navarro : http://www.celinenavarro.com/

Stephanie Washburn : http://www.sweetstephcardcreations.blogspot.com/

Leena Loh : http://findingnana.com/

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