Scrapbook Challenges Sketch #280

Brr - Sketch #280

Today is the posting of Scrapbook Challenges Sketch #280.

It is a versatile sketch and there were options to use a one page layout sketch or a two page layout sketch.  Two page layouts are a challenge to me because I usually am a one page, one photo layout gal, but it is good to be challenged to break out of that comfort zone.

Come play along and challenge yourself and make some new scrappy friends while you are at it.  We are a friendly bunch from all over the world.

You will find the sketch here.

Have an awesome day!

Some "Me" Layouts

This weekend I got two layouts done and although I don't usually scrapbook about myself, I know that it is good to document what a person was like at a particular time.  This way, my kids and grandkids can see what made me tick and what I was like.  Both of these layouts were made from some challenges over at Wescrap this weekend.  It was their online crop and they have some great prizes and it inspires me to get some scrapping done other than design team assignments.

It's funny because the above layout that has the mask that is a show is actually a die cut from my Cricut and I cut it too big as I am new to the Cricut Expression 2.  I didn't want to waste it so I decided to get my mists out and use it as a mask.  I think it turned out good.  In most of my layouts, I seem to go for bright colours.  Colour challenges usually inspire me and I am really liking turquoise with yellow, black and grey at the moment.

Have a wonderful scrappy day!

Pieces Of Me

I don't usually get personal on my blog and usually keep it strictly to scrapbooking, and other artsy projects, but I just had to share.

It is a sad day for me today and I know that scrapbooking is so therapeutic for me.  Today would have been my kid brother's 44th birthday.  He passed away almost 6 years ago from a fast and deadly infection.  He was only 38 and was a husband, father of a four year old and a two year old and was just starting out in a business that was his dream.  

Dean 

It has been really hard on my family and I and it always hits me hard on his birthday and the day he passed away.  It has forever changed my family and as much as I try to rise above, I still have a hard time on these particular days. 

Scrapbooking is about documenting the good times and the not so good times.  It has helped me so much in the past five years of working through these life trials.  I have scrapbooked some layouts of my brother, but haven't done any recently.  It is something I have to be in the right mood to do.  Today might  be that day as I usually scrapbook what is on my mind for that day.  So enough about that.

I did do a layout on myself today.  It is always weird to me to scrapbook myself, but it sometimes must be done as we need to document our lives for our children and grandchildren.  

Pieces of Me at 48

So that is a piece of my thoughts today and if this experience has taught me anything, it is to live each day to the fullest and try to do something fun everyday.  My brother was such a funny and amazing guy.  He really was passionate about life and did live his life to the fullest.  I am so glad that he did.

Scrapbooking is my passion and I really try to do something creative everyday.  Even if it's only ten minutes a day.  It feeds my soul and it heals my wounds.  It is in my blood and whether I am taking a photo, buying supplies, planning a layout or actually creating, it is part of my daily life.  Is it a part of yours?  Thanks for letting me share and hopefully you can carve out some time in your busy life to have fun!

A Sweet Blog Award

How nice to start the day with an award...thank you so much Kelly Klapstein who gave me the Liebster blog award today!

"Liebster” is a German word meaning dearest, beloved or favorite, and the Liebster Award is sort of a chain letter among bloggers that’s intended to showcase exceptional up-and-coming blogs (typically, those with 200 or fewer followers). There’s no evaluation committee or formal award process for the Liebster, but in a way it’s even nicer – it’s recognition that a peer has noticed and appreciated your hard work.

Here are the rules:

Choose 5 up and coming blogs of fewer than 200 followers to award the Liebster to.

Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.

Post the award on your blog. Link back to the blogs you have given the Liebster to so everyone else can pay them a visit.

And, now I am sharing and passing on the award to five wonderful blogs that I'm sure you will want to stop by for a visit...

Olivia Ashcraft                   http://livybugtheladybug.blogspot.com

Bev Code                           http://beeceecreativity.blogspot.com

Tabitha Jones                     http://zippity-do-dah-tabitha.blogspot.com

Chanell Rigterink               http://theinstinctivescrapper.blogspot.com
Misty Russell                      http://myscraptherapy.com

There are many many more fantastic scrapbooking blogs I follow that deserve an award, but alas, I must follow the rules!

And now I shall go shopping for a sparkly gown and tiara....to wear at the Liebster Award Ceremony :)  Look out red carpet...here I COME!

Scrapbook Challenges Sketch #279

Every Monday a new sketch to challenge you is posted on  the Scrapbook Challenges website.  Today is Sketch #279.  Here is the sketch:

Here was my take on the sketch:

I used Little Yellow Bicycle's "Wonder and Wishes" collection.  It is perfect for all those Christmas photos.

Play along with the sketch and have fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm The DT Spotlight For The Week!

Today I am featured as the DT Spotlight For The Week over at Scrapbook Challenges!  I am enjoying every minute of being on this team and I am honoured to have the opportunity to inspire others.

Have a beautiful Sunday!

Cricut Expression 2

Yesterday I bought a Cricut Expression 2!  I can't wait to try it out and create lots of projects with it.  Five years ago, I bought the original Cricut with the 6X12 cutting mats and didn't really use it all that much and it just sat in a closet, but I think this new machine will get used a lot more.  I like the way it is compatible with a Mac as well as a PC now and that it is a 12X12 format.  I also like that it I can use my original Cricut cartridges as well as the newer cartridges.  The Cricut Expression 2 comes with a plethora of images already on the machine and it has wi-fi capability and the new Cricut Craft Room will be handy.  

I also have a Slice, which I like, but I think the Cricut will expand my creativity and be more time saving.  There are pros and cons to both, as I like the way the Slice has a glass cutting mat that you spray with Slice Adhesive and I also like the way it is very small and portable and that you can use it cordless if the machine  is fully charged for about 90 minutes which makes it handy to take to crops.  

The Cricut has it's pros and cons.  I can't say I am not crazy about the cutting mats and they are expensive to replace and are quite large and cumbersome to take to crops, but I like the way I can plan out my page and use different sized images on the same mat and plan up to 6 pages of images.  

So I am going to get familiar with my new toy, that I bought with my birthday money that I got in November and give it a go.  I know there are lots of possibilities to create with fabric, paper, velum, chipboard and vinyl so it should be fun!

Do you have a die cutting machine?  I would love to hear your comments and if you know of any good websites and blogs for the Cricut and Slice.

Happy Thursday!

Twisted Sketches Layout #135

In my Canadian neck of the woods, it is a very cold day.  Our temperatures are in the -30 degree celcius range.  As long as I don't have to drive in it or shovel snow, I couldn't be happier as I love to hunker down in the house with nice cup of hot coffee or tea, put on the cozy fireplace and create.  Why not take some time today and scrapbook a page?  Twisted Sketches #135 is posted today and you will find the sketch here:

Here was my take on the sketch:

Loading Your ATG Gun

I recently bought an ATG gun to use for all my scrapbooking projects and I must admit it takes a little getting used to especially when a person is used to the smaller tape runners.

The first roll that I loaded was difficult as I don't read instructions very well.  I am more of a visual learner. I found a great tutorial that I thought I would share and this made the process of loading my new ATG gun a lot easier:

http://www.karleekrafts.com/2010/08/loading-your-atg-gun.html

I tried a few, but I found Karlee's tutorial very easy to understand.  Now the next thing I want to do is paint my ATG gun.  I'm not a fan of the bright pink so maybe I'll make it turquoise or apple green.

Have a great day!

Scrapbook Challenges Sketch #278

Mondays are sketch reveal days at Scrapbook Challenges.  Today's sketch is here:

And here was my take:

Why don't you play along with the sketches and also try some of the challenges from the blog hop we had this weekend at Scrapbook Challenges.

Have fun creating!

Blog Hopping

Last weekend was great!  Scrapbook Challenges had a blog hop and there was lots of games, fun, challenges and prizes.  I had  one challenges for the blog hop.  The challenge was to create a love/valentine theme layout.  I created a layout on my parents who have been married for 53 years!  Can you say wowsers?

It was fun creating this layout as I cut out a heart from a Cheerios  cereal box and then cut many paper strips and adhered them to the heart.  I then turned the heart over and cut the strips down to the edge of the heart.  I also wanted to put some frilly lace around the heart just like the chocolate heart boxes that I used to get from my parents every year for Valentine's Day.

 Here is another challenge that Bev, another design team member of Scrapbook Challenges came up with.  She challenged everyone to create a layout with just the colours black and white.  Here is my take on this challenge:

This one I used bits and pieces of my stash.  I painted some Maya Road chipboard letters white and stamped them with a script roller stamp that I use for my mixed media projects.  I also punched the heart border, added some ribbon and flowers and for the buttons have black dimensional paint dabbed on them. I love the classic look that black and white give to any layout.

There are several more challenges that I plan on doing this week as the deadline to submit layouts for the challenges is January 22.  I love being challenged and it keeps me creating. 

Well thanks for stopping by and I challenge you to check out www.scrapbookchallenges.com and do some of the challenges. 

Have a scrappy day! 

SC Blop Hop

Hi everyone!  It's great to see you hanging out with us at Scrapbook Challenges for our blog hop. You should have arrived here from  Chanell's blog.  Here is the list of all the design team members in case you get lost along the way:

 SC Blog (http://www.scrapbookchallenges.com/blog)
Amanda (http://amandapace7.blogspot.com/)
Tabitha (http://zippity-do-dah-tabitha.blogspot.com/)
Carmen (http://kalahenscrapjoy.blogspot.com/)
Anna (http://madetoscrap.blogspot.com/)
Cheryl (http://craft-thing.blogspot.com/)
Livy (http://livybugtheladybug.blogspot.com/)
Cathy(http://whatsupwithcathy.blogspot.com/)
Dinah (http://dmaningat.blogspot.com/)
Jullene (http://studiojullene.blogspot.com/)
Nanette (http://scrap-4-kids.blogspot.com/)
Lauri (http://lacreations99.blogspot.com/)
Bev (http://beeceecreativity.blogspot.com/)
Devi (http://fortheloveofdigiscrap.blogspot.com/)
Jowilna (http://www.jowilnanolte.blogspot.com/)
Chanell (http://www.theinstinctivescrapper.blogspot.com/)
Lee Anne (http://lee-annelovethejourney.blogspot.com/)  You are here
Emmy (http://few-favourite-things.blogspot.com/)


My name is Lee-Anne Thornton and I am so excited to be a new design team member.   I have created a layout of a winter vacation that my husband, son and I went on to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in 2010.  It was my first tropical vacation and it was so beautiful and so fun.  Here is the sketch:

And here is my layout:

I thought these bright papers just screamed tropical.

I am married to my best friend Rick and have three great kids.  My oldest son is 26 and married.  My daughter is 24 and married, and my youngest son is 12.  He is my baby and the only child still at home.

Creating something everyday, whether it is scrapbooking, crafts, photography, mixed media, cooking or baking is in my blood and I feel an emptiness if I don't create in some way every single day.  Here are some of the prizes:

Here is the Hop On Prize.  Such a great prize!  We will draw for completing a layout based on the Blog Hop Sketch and posting it to the Hop On Thread.

If you comment on all the design team blogs you could win this:

Also, there is a prize drawn for one random new member who joins Scrapbook Challenges between January 13 and January 15, 2012.

Thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog.  Now hop on over to see what the talented Emmy has created at:(http://few-favourite-things.blogspot.com/)

Color Challenge

Hi scrappy friends!  I posted my very first challenge at Scrapbook Challenges as their new design team member.

My challenge is to use the following palette to create a layout.

You can find the colour palette  here:

Here is my layout:

Come challenge yourself and play along at www.scrapbookchallenges.com

Have a scrappy day!

Scrapbook Challenges Blog Hop

I just got on the Scrapbook Challenges design team and we are having a blog hop to introduce the new design team.  We are also having some challenges, games and prizes.  Why don't you join me and the entire team all weekend from Friday, January 13 to Sunday, January 15, 2012 and get ready for some scrappy fun all weekend!

Hope to see you then!

Scrapbook Challenges Sketch #277

Here is the layout I designed for Scrapbook Challenges Design Team:

and here is the sketch:

Come get some inspiration and join us for the challenges.

Have a great day!

Valentine's Day Layout

Here is a a layout that I made for Valentine' Day.  I like using strips of patterned paper and the bright colors.  I used the Crush collection from Bo Bunny.  It is two years old, but it's nice to use up some stash.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Zentangle

Zentangle is a form of doodling that I discovered one day when I was looking at books at Michaels.  It looks like a great form of relaxation and I have heard that it is taught to children in some schools. 

Zentangle

Some designs are very intricate and others more simple.  I like to doodle and make flowers in my art journals, but they aren't really fancy.  Pinterest is another place that I have a board that I pin some beautiful creations that others have shared.  It looks so good for the soul.  

Creative Jumpstart

It sometimes happens to me when I sit down to do something creative whether it's scrapbooking, writing in my art journal, mixed media or photography and I just don't have any creative mojo.  Well there is a website that I want to share that will inspire you.  Check out Nathalie Kalbach's Creative Jumpstart Summit 2012.  It started up January 1 and it's just what a person needs to get the creative juices flowing again.  Here is the link:

It's going to be great year!

Sony Digital Frame and Printer

Woohoo!  It is shaping up to be a fabulous new year.  I won a Sony Digital Frame and Printer from Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine! There was a contest in December that I posted a comment on their blog for watching Webisode 24.  Here is the prize:

Sony Digital Frame and Printer Model DPP-F800

Canadian Scrapbooker is a fabulous Canadian scrapbooking magazine that I love and read regularly.  Check them out at www.canadianscrapbooker.ca

Have a fabulous day!

First Layout For 2012

As a new design team member for Scrapbook Challenges, I didn't waste any time getting down to business.  This is my first layout for 2012 and I know it's going to be a great year.

This is a layout of my oldest son when he was 10 years old.  He is now married and will be 27 years old next month.  Yikes!  Where does the time go?  I used Theresa Collins On The Edge Collection of papers, brads, and ribbon and used my Slice to cut out the paper stars.  I then used my Scor-Pal to score the stars to give them more dimension.  Finally I used some Making Memories letter stickers for the title and Kaisercraft rubons for the sentiment.

You can find the sketch here:

http://www.scrapbookchallenges.com/forum/showthread.php?235-Sketch-276

Come follow along with me and the other ladies on the team and get your scrapbooking inspiration for 2012 at Scrapbook Challenges.

Have a scrappy day!

Happy New Year!

Well now I can let you in on my little secret that I have been keeping for a week or so.  I am super excited and honored to announce that I was accepted on  the Scrapbook Challenges Design Team!  This is going to be a great opportunity to take my passion for scrapbooking to the next level!  I am looking forward to the next six months with all these ladies:

Come play along with us and enjoy the fun at www.scrapbookchallenges.com

Happy New Year to all my scrappy friends!