My Underground layouts

Hey everyone! Life has been (let's face it-is, in general) crazy here and I haven't had time to get on my computer to get these uploaded. Add to that 2 boys who totally hog my desktop with homework and video games. I literally have to peel them off the computer to get access. Early mornings seem to be the only time I can get on here as they're safely snoring in their beds. ;)

Here are my two 'main only' layouts for this month:

Classic grid is my favourite layout to make. I extended this one into a two-pager simply because after fiddling forever to fit my title onto one page, I gave up. ;) I had printed out the title font and really wanted to use that size but couldn't make it work, so I simply added it onto a second ( which became first) page and printed out another photo in a larger size to balance out my page. I tried a few techniques with the gold paint from the Picadilly add-on, but ended up painting my photo mat several coats with it. I love how the burnished gold picks up the tones in my photo and adds a little pop.

These pics are precious to me- taken 12 or so years ago when my son and our friends' daughter ( two weeks age diff) were playing together during a birthday party. I really wanted to emphasize the littleness of them here, so I added a few of the sequins to highlight them in the 2nd pic. I remember watching them from afar and loving how engrossed they were-toddlers are so fun to observe, aren't they? Super simple page with some added hand journaling.

This layout, (again using Picadilly and that great stamp from Notting Hill)  about my son's blanket is something I really wanted to document again. I had made a layout years ago about it when I first started scrapbooking. He still sleeps with it which makes me so happy. Super happy with this page.

This super simple layout was totally inspired by the  rub-on phrase, which are included in the King's Cross add-on ( still available!). Honestly, this page took me about 10 minutes to do once I realized that it would be a perfect match with this photo of Noah and I this summer in Lake Placid-  it makes me laugh every time I look at it. Awkward phase, anyone? Ha. 

Thanks for having a look!

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Shanna's blog hop

Happy September! ( a little late...)

I was graciously tagged by Pam Baldwin  & Barbara Pichnich (aka Babz- doncha love that nickname?!) to take part in Shanna's bloghop that is currently making the rounds.
They asked me to choose 3 of my favourite scrappers, and let me tell ya, that's not an easy task. I have MANY- and it so happens that the 2 ladies who tagged me are among my current faves. More about that down below.

Here's the Q&A I was sent:

 1. What am I working on right now?

I'm presently working on finishing up my layouts for 2 Studio Calico classes that are happening this month: Pen and Paper, taught by the incredible Laura Kurz, and 30 Days of Me, with Maggie Holmes. And trying to get a grip on my workspace and the seemingly endless purge.

2. How long does it take me to create a project?

Ugh. This is something I struggle with. Most of the time, I am content to take a VERRRRRY long time to make a page. I like to let things sit, look at them, move stuff around. The word putzing comes to mind.It annoys me, but that's how I am. On the other hand, I am super efficient when it comes to deadlines ( aka NO CHOICE BUT TO GLUE IT DOWN) and I have made some of my favourite pages because I haven't had the time option. ;

 3. What are my favorite things to create with at the moment?

I'm loving sequins, the SC kit stamps & always wood veneer. I still really adore gold,( the Poet Society kit this month has an INCREDIBLE gold letterpressed one) paired with navy or grey for fall,  or any colour really. Big photos, hipster text overlays on photos, and vsco inspired photography. Think Kinfolk style. Getting into deeper, richer colour schemes for fall.

4. How does my creative process work?
I don't really have any set way of creating. I don't sketch. I am very visual for sure. I love Pinterest and magazines for inspiration.  Canadian decor mags are a great source of colour inspo for me. Often it's something like a font or a quote or an emotion. I just go with my gut. I never have a plan when I sit down, so I never know what will come out of it. Sometimes something good, sometimes nothing. 

        
5. How do I become inspired and stay inspired?
It comes and goes in waves for me. Right now, I'm not feeling too terribly creative, so when that happens, I get rid of stuff. I become easily overwhelmed with too much ( my minimalist nature rearing it's head) and I need to pare down. Doing a big purge seems to help inspire me and get's me excited about supplies I find when I clean up.  I'm a great believer in paying it forward and go through my things on a regular basis to give away. 

 6. What is my signature style?
Minimal, clean, white space, no fuss. I'm happy with a page with almost nothing on it. I like to create a mood with text and or images, I'm not a fan of over-embellishing for my own pages, although I envy others who do it well.

I'm tagging these 3 lovely women, who I think are phenomenal.

Erica

Jamaica

Laura

And thanks Pam and Babz!!

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Sandlot layouts

I really adored this month's kits.Sandlot is my fave kit since I joined Studio Calico last December, and that's saying a lot since there have been some gorgeous ones this year. Unfortunately, they didn't arrive in time for me to do more than 2 layouts due to time constraints  but I'm really happy with the 2 I managed to eke out.  I believe most of the add-on kits are sold out, but the main Sandlot kit is still available, and it is one I think you should definitely consider getting if you're still not a subber. Those acrylic red letters, the stamp, and the wood veneer numbers are just so good! Here's a main only page, using those 3 faves from the kit:

The CT decided to do a member lift for August, and I knew right off the bat that I wanted to lift Ginny. I LOVE her work. She's innovative, always inspiring, and just an amazing scrapbooker, not to mention a super sweet gal. I lifted her page Shhhh, which has so much impact with that adorable photo printed big. I envy her talent of embellishing a page so effortlessly- it always looks just right! I remember being obsessed with the dangling tag detail when I saw this layout, so I used that as my jumping off point along with the large photo, and just took it from there. Love how this one turned out, even though it doesn't much look like Ginny's page... that's the beauty of a scraplift, isn't it? Thank you Ginny for the inspiration and for sharing your talent at Studio Calico. :)

Ginny's layout:

And my layout, which I turned into a 2 pager, to accommodate more journaling:

Things I bought this month:

 I sub to the Project Life kit  even though I don't do PL, I love, love that kit for all the beautiful embellishments and exclusives. I see this month's kit has another design of the dot washi that I was so crazy about from last month's kits. So good.

Ali Edwards Summer journal cards: I love the beautiful simplicity of these cards, and envision using them on a layout or 2.

Maggie Alpha : A 2 in one stamp set. Similar to the font of last month's main kit veneer alpha, and super cool. Sold out now, but will hopefully be restocked.


Ok, off to clean up, my new housekeeper is coming in the am, hooray!

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Penny Arcade Reveal..

I can't even wrap my brain around the fact that it's already time for reveal. June actually whizzed by me so fast it made my head spin. I'm leaving for a camping weekend early tomorrow, so I won't be around when the gallery goes live, but believe me when I say the SC team has once again knocked my socks off. I honestly don't know how I'm even included in that group of talent.

Anyway, here are my layouts for July!

This is a main only layout, and hopefully the title page to a  Europe album that I would like to make with all of my old photos that are either stuck in boxes in the basement, or worse, a few magnetic albums.  I LOVED the graphic pp with the city script and didn't want to cover it up,, so I just highlighted the words of a few of the cities I visited during my trip and  on the second page, I used a photo of myself and my Grandmother, who I stayed with for a few months while in Holland. It was just so amazing to spend time with her, what a wonderful woman. So glad I did this.

Another main only layout.  Kept it uber simple with a vintage pic of my Mom and Dad the day they got engaged, and added some text at the bottom. I don't usually re-do layouts, but this one may get a do-over, as I'm not quite happy with it. 

This is my favourite layout this month.A really simple page but I think it has a lot of impact.  LOVED the die cut veneer from Skeeball and those amazing washi dots from the Spun Sugar embellishment add-on. I think this is my favourite embellie kit to date. 

Here's another one for my 'little me' album. I saw the woodgrain paper and the retro OA stickers with the turquoise from  Fortune Teller and automatically knew I would scrap this photo of my Dad and I. As usual, kept it ultra simple with the stickers, text and my fave down the middle of the page design. I adore this page, probably because the photo is one of my favourites ever- classic 60's!

Enjoy reveal, happy shopping, and a very HAPPY CANADA DAY to my Canuck friends!

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Letterpress 2.0

I'm looking very forward to doing another Studio Calico Letterpress class.  I took Tina's class last year, and got hooked in a big way.This time around it's the talented Geralyn Sy who's the teacher, and I can't wait to see what she's got in store for us. Letterpress is addictive and the results are fun, fun,  if you're prepared to play around and experiment. It takes a bit of patience,but once you get the hang of it, you can't stop. If you have a BigShot and the adapter platform, then you can jump right in.  Right now, Studio Calico has some gorgeous new letterpress plates for sale in the shop, and there may or may not be more on the horizon... ;)
 I bought this gorgeous script-y one as well as this one ( sadly sold out now, but I'm thinking they will be re-stocked) and a few of the coasters to experiment with. I have several packs of Letterpress cards as well in different sizes and thickness, but I do tend to prefer the thicker ones, as I like a deeper impression.

Here's a sample of a few cards I've made:

And the class description:

LETTERPRESS 2.0

Join Geralyn Sy for Letterpress 2.0. This new workshop will give you an in depth look at how Geralyn incorporates Letterpress into her creative process, and show you five fun techniques for printing with Studio Calico letterpress plates for your layouts, cards and pocket pages.

Letterpress 2.0 is enrolling now through May 31st at 11:59pm EST, and the all of the class content will be live on June 1st.

NEW TO LETTERPRESS?

Enroll in the Letterpress Bundle and you'll receive access to Letterpress 2.0 AND our introductory Letterpress class with Tina Aszmus from September 2013. The introductory class includes 8 full tutorials, 6 videos and 30 great projects to get you started & is available only through the bundle purchase.

Hope you'll be inspired to sign up and join in the fun- you only have a few more days to think about it, deadline is May 31st! See you in class. :)

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My Hello, Hello layouts

There never seems to be enough time to sit down and create with the kits I get on a monthly basis. They're so jam packed with all kinds of lovely things, so believe me when I say that if I had the time, I could probably create another 25 pages easily.I do try during the month to get a few done after reveal, and I'll post those as the month goes on. There are those deliciously colourful  KI alphas and striped paper in Hola that I haven't even touched, but dying to use. I'm thrilled they've brought back one of my all time fave papers.Back in the day, KI was my favourite company, and I basically bought EVERYTHING they put out.

Here are my pages this month, starting with the 3 main kit only layouts I made:

Perfect pairing of this pinky blush paper with my photos, and the gold labels just made it come together. I think I could happily scrapbook camping photos for the rest of my life. :)

This is a 2 page 8x11 page, and it came together accidentally after the photo printed out in b&w instead of colour. I didn't want to necessarily waste another entire sheet of photo paper, so I took it in another direction and paired it with the gorgeously bright striped pp for the main kit, then just embellished very minimally from there. I still haven't cut those words down the middle of the page, so I'm not sure how this one will fit into my album, lol. 

Also using the main only, a super simple one of my son and his bff from a few years back. He hates this pic, but I think it's hilarious and SO them! Cute, cute boys. I decided to go monochromatic by using just greens and blues to compliment the photo instead of adding in another colour.

This one uses the main, Bonjour ( love those Kal Barteski stickers!) and the stamp from Hola.

I stamped on the wood piece for my title and subtitle, and adhered with glossy accents so it would hold.

This page about my son ( looking a tad disheveled after the ceremony, but whatever!)

uses  Hola, the main kit, and a few bits of Bonjour.

As you can probably tell,  Hola was my fave add-on this month, and I'm sure it will be sold out super fast- hope you all get the goodies you want!

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And a few sneaks of tomorrow night's reveal...

Not sure where the month of May went, and it's hard to believe that it's nearly June! I feel like I haven't seen the month go by, it's been a crazy whirlwind. Lots of big stuff coming up in June- the biggest being that my oldest is graduating high school. How the hell did that happen so quick?! A word to those with little ones... hang on to these days and breathe in every second, because you'll be where I am before you even know what hit you. It's THAT fast.

Anyway, here are a few sneaks of tonight's reveal using the beautiful 'Hello Hello' kits. I literally gasped when I saw the images of the kits before they arrived. I love the bolder, hotter colours, perfect to get you in the mood to kick off summer.

This is one of my 'main only' layouts ( I did 3 using the main only this month),

simple. simple. The paper I used here was THE perfect colour. Happy, happy when that happens.

Bold yellow alphas and a bit of black, this one is graphic and I like it. :)

Used mostly Hola here.

Be sure to check the CT gallery tomorrow night for the full reveal- can't wait to see what the others have done!

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Officially the world's worst blogger.

I was supposed to have blogged my Studio Calico Camelot kit layouts last month, but I failed miserably. In fact, I'm failing miserably at keeping up with the whole blogging thing in general. I know it's here,I know I need to update more than a few times a month, but I'm so incredibly busy right now that it's really low down on my priority list.I will try harder!
These are now a month old, as the new reveal is tonight, but here you are anyways. I'll put up my layouts from this month's "Hello, Hello" kits in a more timely manner, I promise!

Super into making layouts with old photos right now, specifically ones with my Mother.

This page uses a really fantastic cut file by Barbara Picinich, you can find it here. 

Using one of the digital brushes for a big title- love it!

My favourite page this month was the one I did about the gym. I love the quiet photo, and the fact that I actually did a page about a gym, where I have been spending a LOT of time the past 2 months- like 7 days a week lots. ;) Lots of white space, and I like how the numbers ( also a digi stamp) look so graphic on the photo. Happy with this page. :)

This one documents my love of flower photography, one of my passions. Doesn't get more simple than this, right?!

Thanks for looking!

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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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My Office Hour layouts

Studio Calico's Office Hours kits go on sale today, and they are gorgeous. If you're craving spring like I am, these kits are full of fresh, bright colours & beautiful embellishments. I am mad at myself for not getting more done, but I have a few layouts on the go and will share them here this month once they're finished. I have more ideas than time, and that is completely frustrating sometimes. ;)

Here's 2 pages I made with the main kit:

and my two layouts done with the add-ons:

I have a real soft spot for this page. I've hoarded this photo of myself for years, waiting for inspiration to strike. When I saw those MME stickers in the kit, that were a perfect colour match to my cute sailor outfit in the photo  I knew it was perfect timing. ;)   This one uses Coffee Break & To Do, and I really love how it turned out.

My son went on a big trip a few summers ago, and I knew when I saw the RAD die cut title that I was going to use this pic of him ( he's in the background in the photo) during his week at Scout Camp in Ontario, which was actually called ADVENTURE camp. I wanted to make this one colourful and fun to play up the youthfulness in the photo and I was inspired by SC member Ginny to get out my typewriter to journal. I have an old one that was given to me by a friend- the roller diesn't really work properly, and I have to turn it by had when I type, so this came out messy and spaced incorrectly. Also, major typos when I type! I decided I loved the look of the messy journaling, ( and was too lazy to retype, LOL) so I left it as is, and strangely enough, it doesn't bother me in the least! ( am I having a breakthrough?!)  I used bits from 2 add-ons here: Coffee break, & Rolodex. As I mentioned, I have much more I want to do with these kits and I need to carve out some time on the weekend to use up the leftovers.

If you're a subscriber, the BEST perk is being able to bundle your orders until tomorrow night ( end of the month). There are lots of pretty things in the shop to tempt!!

Happy Shopping. ;)

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A wee sneak, and Lisa's awesome colour theory class

I used to make layouts with a lot of colour , the brighter, the better. I was a big fan of matching different neon-ish shades of cardstock with little strips of patterned paper, like this:

 Then something switched in my brain and I started making pages with less colour, more white, and less STUFF. I think it was the result of DT overload, (even though these are technically "minimal", simple pages, they're much busier than the pages I tend to do now) and I needed to just make really simple layouts after my years of being on design teams and having to use said stuff. I still really love these pages, don't get me wrong. I've just gotten away from that look, and am now comfortably used to my white cardstock. If I had to pick only one product to scrapbook with for the rest of eternity, it would be white cardstock, hands down. So when I opened up this month's Studio Calico scrapbook kit, Office Hours, (available February 27th) and saw the luscious bright pink cardstock ( one that I already had several sheets of in my stash, go figure) I knew I had to use it on my layouts, if only in tinier quantities. Here's a sneak of a page I did for March's gallery, and I felt like I'd gone back to my roots. :) Had lots of fun with this page.

Anyways, this brings me to the Colour Studio class, coming up on March 1st at SC. If you're on the fence about using colour in your layouts, unsure of your colour choices when you scrapbook, or just want to jazz up your pages with a bit of pop, then this class should do it for you. Here's the details:

BY ENROLLING IN THIS CLASS YOU'LL RECEIVE :

• 4 videos from Lisa sharing color & design ideas
• 8 secrets for unlocking the color wheel and tips for using color effectively on your projects
• 56 perfect color schemes
• technique tutorials for adding color to your pages with ink, mist, watercolors, patterned paper and embellishments.
• PDF lessons posted each Tuesday & Thursday in March
• 40 all new projects, including layouts, Project Life® spreads and cards
• bonus color schemes in every PDF

WHAT YOU'LL NEED :

• Your favorite Studio Calico kits or products from your stash
• Ink,  Mister Huey's Color Mists and watercolors in your favorite hues
• Patterned paper, alphabets and embellishments in a rainbow of colors.
• Neutral papers in various styles that you can add color to - we recommend SC Grid paper, vellum and watercolour paper

 BONUS DIGITAL FILES:

• Printable journal cards, accents and labels from Hello Forever
• Cut Files from Hello Forever
• Color Studio planning sheet from Hello Forever
• Ink planning sheet from Hello Forever

This class is sure to kickstart your creativity, and colour = happy, which I think is very timely at this point in a VERY long, cold, and gray winter. I know I'm craving it bigtime. 

Hope to see you in class!

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Random. org stamp winner...

And taking into account the double posts. ;)  Becs, you are the winner of the 2 stamps. Please email me your address, (melaniedotlouetteatgmaildotcom) and I will pop these into the mail for you this week.
Thanks for all the great comments!

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A teeny give-away

I'm still sorting through my supplies, and it's been very rewarding and freeing to get rid of the things I've been holding on to for so long. A really, really great feeling. I'm going to try and keep it up on a monthly basis, and give away stuff I know I won't use from my kits. So, in the spirit of passing it on, one lucky person will receive these 2 Studio Calico stamps from this month's Sugar Rush kits, included the Gum Drop & Jelly Beans add ons.

 Both of these kits are now sold out, so if you missed out on them and wanted the stamp, then here's your chance! Just leave me a comment here telling me what kind of stamps you'd like to see in future kits- I think that would be a fun read. :) I'll draw a winner on Sunday evening.

Happy weekend!

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Another quick PSA about 'Life Scripted

 The deadline to sign up for Kal Barteski's class over at Studio Calico is tonight at midnight folks, time is almost up! This is a class that I think is going to be BIG. I've been seeing script titles turning up all over Pinterest, on scrapbook pages, and in print ads. It's hot, it's hip, and you'll be learning from the best. Have I mentioned the guest teachers? Awesome.  Don't be kicking yourself tomorrow, go enroll, now!

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This is it...

Tomorrow morning I've got my friend and master organizer Sandy coming over to help me  purge at least 5 years worth of scrapbooking product. I am a little sad that my excessive American Crafts collection is about to bite the dust, but since it's just sitting there collecting said dust, it's time for it to go. I have a somewhat( ok, a big) emotional attachment to all of their product seeing as I was on that team for so long, and I truly loved everything I kept- letting go of it is going to be really hard. I've already given SO much away, but I just don't have room to keep it. I'm ready to have a clean, organized space, and that means really being ruthless and truthful about why I'm keeping stuff I will probably never use. It's hard though!!!

Wish me luck-I"ll post a few pics of the process next week. There may be one of me frantically holding onto all that beautiful AC paper while Sandy tries to pry it from my hands. ;p

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Sugar Rush reveal!

 February's Sugar Rush kits are completely lovely- so pretty and girly.  Even though I was at first a little bit scared off by the pink, I figured out how to make them work for me, and I"m super happy with the layouts I did this month. As always, I push and push and push paper around until I have something I like. My slow scrapbooking process is one I've come to terms with, but not really conducive to having a deadline and a full time job! Add to that a hubby who left for a week in Mexico in business, (we will not discuss it!)  and I was a little behind the 8 ball in terms of time. ( ***Note*** The links won't work until midnight tonight unless you're a subscriber!)

Here are my 2 main only layouts:

This beautiful baby boy is my friend Erin's 4th baby, and her 4th BOY, hence the title of my page. ;) I had the immense honour of seeing this little guy being born, since Erin had asked me to photograph the birth, and I went back to her house 6 weeks later to take the photo above, among others. I knew I wanted to use the hearts as a focal point on the photo, and I chose 4 of them to signify her 4 children. I was originally going to print out my text directly on the patterned paper, but decided to soften it up, and printed it out on vellum instead. Love the effect. The poem is one by ee cummings, and  is one of my favourites. I think it's so beautiful and moving, which is how I feel when I look at this photo- the vulnerability of this little guy snuggled on his Mama's shoulder. So precious. 

I really wanted to sew those hearts down, and the vellum as well, so once my machine is going, I will do so, and repost an updated shot. 

This layout uses an older but beloved photo of my son that I've scrapped before, but I was never completely happy with that layout. I decided to print it out big, and love how it looks grainy and gritty.( bad camera settings!) and the contrast of the b&w pic with the colour. I love his face in this photo, how he is holding that pug ornament with such care, and the story behind it. It was the start of his love affair with pugs, and he still keeps 'Paul' on a shelf beside his bed to this day. :) For the background, I used this cut file by Geralyn, and somehow managed to size it so that the only small circle punch I own fit perfectly into the grid. Total fluke, but I was pretty thrilled! I typed out the journaling on my typewriter on plain printer paper, punched them out, and just popped them in with a dab of glue. Super simple.

The 'Bobby-ism" layout uses a combo of the 3 add-on kits, Gumdrop, Jellybeans,  & Rock Candy. I've started throwing everything all together once I'm done with the main only pages, and I like the free rein of just grabbing stuff. The paper, the stars, and the wood grain were all more masculine feeling ( yay!), and I made this page in under 30 minutes, just adding the words in the speech bubbles and stamping with the main kit stamp.

This is my lovely Mama as a teenager. I have held onto this photo for a long time, waiting to scrap it, and when I saw the gold dipped leaves in the Gum Drop add on, I knew right away it was perfect. I've been dying to try incorporating script onto my layouts, so I typed out the verse on Neenah ( no texture) and used gouache to paint my title. I practiced a few times on printer paper, and then just went for it. Sort of scary,  but I love how it turned out. And an FYI about the gouache versus acrylic: I've tried both, and am not really a fan of the acrylic. It didn't give the opaque, bold black I wanted,  and I was super happy to get that with the gouache. I'm also going to try India Ink and see how that works.

This last page is hybrid, and ultra simple, trying my hand with some of the digital stamps in the shop. 

I wanted to keep the focus on the photo and let it take center stage. I printed out the layout, and decided to back it with some cardstock for a bit of bulk, and a wee strip of the arrow paper from the Jelly Bean add on.

That's it for this month's kits- thanks for visiting!

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