Canada Day 2013 Layout

Hello friends! Happy Sunday! Today I am up on the A Flair For Buttons Blog and I am excited to share a layout I created of a special day in Canada.  Annually on July 1, Canada celebrates Canada Day to honor my country's birthday.  There are parades, festivals and fireworks across the country to mark this special occasion.

I wanted to add lots and lots of needlework to my layout so I traced the outline of my card stock background with a piece of card stock in the same shape.  For the title "Canada" and the maple leaf flourish, I began with two Silhouette designs found in the Silhouette Online Store and used a red sketch pen in my Silhouette Cameo to sketch the design.  This provided a template for my stitching.  I then took my paper piercer and pierced holes evenly along the sketch lines and then used 3 strands of red embroidery floss and stitched the designs.  This definitely requires some patience and although it is time consuming, it is worth it in the end.  It definitely brings back memories of my cross-stitch days when I stitched many projects before I discovered scrapbooking.

Here are more closeup photos of my layout:

I also cut some maple leaf die cut shapes on vellum and red cardstock with my Silhoutte Cameo to give some interest and dimension.  I also added some red sequins to embellish the layout as well as some flair buttons from A Flair For Buttons. 

Here are the flair that I used to create this layout:

Canada Flair

Let Freedom Ring Flair

Thanks for stopping  by and be sure to check out these flair buttons  as well as hundreds more in the A Flair For Buttons Store.  Have a great day!

Happy Canada Day!

Canada -- Published In Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine Summer 2013 Issue

After a very difficult two weeks in my area with all the devastating floods, I wanted to take a moment and reflect about my country Canada.  I am so blessed and thankful to live in a free country and enjoy a beautiful life.  Today is Canada Day and every year on July 1, Canadians celebrates their country.  Usually there is fireworks and sometimes festivities to mark the occasion.  I love my country!

I wanted to share a video that Tom Brokaw, an American journalist, narrates.  It explains our country perfectly:

There are so many Canadian celebrities that I made a list of a few of them.  Some are musicians, actors, actresses, singers and athletes:

Ryan Reynolds

Avril Lavigne

Elisha Cuthbert

Justin Bieber

Howie Mandel

Jim Carrey

Keanu Reaves

Kim Cattrall

Mario Lemeiux

Michael Buble

Mike Myers

Nathon Fillion 

Nelly Furtado

Neve Campbell

Chad Kroeger

Ryan Gosling

Rachel McAdams

Sandra Oh

Shania Twain

Wayne Gretzky

William Shatner

Celine Dion

Donald Sutherland

John Candy

Leslie Nielsen

Eugene Levy

Paul Gross

Michael J. Fox

Bryan Adams

Drake

Alanis Morisette

Jann Arden

Diana Krall

Carly Rae Jepsen

Anne Murray

Sarah McLachlin 

K.D. Lang

Paul Anka

Gordon Lightfoot

Dave Thomas

Pamela Anderson

Dan Akroyd

Thanks for stopping by!

Flower Photos

I love to do some gardening.  In Canada, our growing season is very short so I like to go outside as much as possible and enjoy my flowers with my camera in hand.  Enjoy!  Take time to smell the flowers!

Lobelia

Lobelia

Salvia

Pansies

Viola

Marigolds

Million Bells

Pansies

Pansies and Lobelia

Pansies

Pansies

Not sure what these are.  Anyone know?

Million Bells

Pansies

Gerbera Daisies

Reiger Begonias

More Pansies

Pansies

Pansies

Canada Rocks!

Today is Canada Day and I am so proud to be a Canadian.  I love everything about my country and I feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful, free country.

Rail Car

Store Window For Canada Day

Tonight there are Canada Day fireworks that are going to be happening at 10 p.m. local time so I have been getting the batteries charged up and all the equipment ready.  My husband and son are going to join in the fun and it will be great to compare photos.

My Fireworks Photo From July 1, 2010

Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians!