Happy Birthday, Canadian Scrapbooker!!!

Look what arrived in my mailbox yesterday:

I can't believe it. 

The fact that the magazine has lasted five years is not surprising at all.  If you've never picked up a copy, shame on you you can see that this is not an ordinary scrapbooking magazine!  As my talented friend, Cathie Allan, always says, "I refuse to call it a magazine, it's too beautiful!  It's an idea book!"

High quality, glossy pages.  Design team that oozes talent.  Only 30% advertising.  Includes ONLY products that are available in Canada - and features Canadian companies in each issue. 

Then there's the whole added appeal of featuring only Canadian artists.  What a coup for our talented sisters across the nation!  Not that we can't hold our own with our American cousins ('cuz we have! :)), but how wonderful is it to pick up each issue and be delighted in seeing your friends' names, or discovering new talent, especially in our Passport To Creativity section?

Sigh.  I {heart} so many things about this magazine.  Most of all, the fact that I am lucky enough to be a part of it.

What I find hard to believe is that we are celebrating FIVE years!  It has been so much fun and I thank my lucky stars each and every day that I met Jackie, just over five years ago, in an online forum.  I remember the shock, disbelief and then pleasure that washed over me when she invited me to join the team and write a regular column. 

I have had the chance to meet so many wonderful new friends.  And sharing my passion for photography is the best part of all. When I approached Jackie with the idea for the Hands On! photography article and blog, I was so happy that she loved it!  It's been so great, maintaining the blog and seeing our readers' photos that they submit each month for the photo assignment. 

(Psst...Have you sent me yours yet?  November's deadline is approaching... :D)

Anyhow, the whole point of this reminiscing is this:  I don't believe in coincidences.  I think that everything happens for a reason.  And the fact that two copies of this super magazine showed up in my mailbox yesterday, on the Thanksgiving Day (albeit American)..?  Well, that's just telling me that I am supposed to be grateful for what I have and share the love.

So, I am going to be giving away one 5th Anniversary Collector's Edition of the Winter 2010/11 issue!  This issue cannot be found in stores - it is for subscribers only.

AND... this weekend, I will be seeing one, maybe two, of the ladies who are featured in the Passport to Creativity section:  Jennifer Hottinger-Sloan and hopefully, Lee Currie, so I may be able to finagle their signatures on the copy, along with my own.

AND... I'll also throw in a 30 minute pre-paid calling card so you can call me to chat, if you win.  Or you can call someone else.  I guess that would be okay, too. :)

AND... I'll include a few of the mini-stamps sets from Just Cre8, too, for good measure.

So, what do you have to do to qualify to win this RAK? 

Nuthin'.

'Cept maybe leave me a comment here (so I can enter you!).  And if you want, you can click on the Follow button on the right and join the other Kewl Friends that I have. 

But you don't have to.  It won't do anything to give you an edge up on your non-clicking adversaries. 

Except that it would make me happy.  Very happy. :)

I leave it open for comments until 11:59 pm EST on December 4th, 2010.  A winner will be announced shortly afterwards!

So go ahead.  Leave me a comment - I dare you. :D 

And don't forget to leave your name if you are posting anonymously!

Blog Hop!

Our blog hop is OVER!  Thanks so much to everyone who participated - I hope you had as much fun as I did!

The winners have been announced on the  Hands On! photography blog - click HERE to see if you've won!

Adn don't forget to check out our 1st blog-iversary contest - click HERE for more details on how you can win a chance to be published in Canadian Scrapbooker AND take home a Cinch!!

Good Luck!

Welcome to the CS Hands On! Photography Blog Hop!

Welcome to my blog and thanks for participating in our Hands On! photography blog hop!  I'm excited to have you here!

I'm proud to be the first host on your blog hop!  If you want to read more about the hop, or see a list of your blog destinations, please visit the blog HERE.

We are celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Canadian Scrapbooker Hands On! Photography blog (also referred to as the HOP blog!)  Last September, we launched the HOP blog as an added feature to the Hands On! Photography article in each issue, to offer more in-depth tutorials for the topics that I discussed in my articles.

Each month, I post a new tutorial on the HOP blog, with photo examples and helpful links. Our magazine and blog readers are encouraged to submit their photos, which are then shared on the HOP blog and entitle them to a chance to win a randomly drawn prize each month!

I'm excited to announce that the blog hop prize I have to give away to one lucky commenter is this lovely bunch of goodies:

Want a chance to win this yummy prize?  In celebrating our one-year anniversary, we'd like to invite you to review one of our past tutorials.  My choice is the August 2010 tutorial on natural lighting.  Just visit this tutorial and leave a comment THERE, and then come back and leave me a comment HERE with your favourite summer memory!  It's as easy as that!

Thanks for participating in our blog hop!! Now, onto the next blog... You'll be visiting none other than the Co-founder and Editor-In-Chief of Canadian Scrapbooker magazine, Jackie Ludlage!

Webisode #3: Spritz It!

Webisode #3 is now live!!

Be sure to check it out HERE... and then head over to the Hands On! photography blog for a chance to win a Colour Catcher and 2 bottles of Smooch Spritz!

Hands On! Photography

Since starting with Canadian Scrapbooker in 2005 (wow, time flies when you're having fun!), I've had alot of fun writing my articles.  And since approaching Jackie last year with my idea for the Hands On! Photography articles and blog, it's been busy, but even more fun - if that's possible!

I've had the opportunity to interact with some great people and see some new - and old! - talent.  The blog does take some time, but I honestly don't mind - in fact, I love it!  I love representing a magazine that is so inspiring to so many fellow Canadians - and people from other countries too - and sharing tips and techniques on how to take better photos.

I just posted the January tutorial and assignment a few days ago - I can't wait to see the submission we get for this one!  If you haven't checked it out already, please do so - and send me your submission!  There's an awesome prize to be won - to be revealed shortly - and it's a great way to get your photos "published"!  If you include a link to your blog or website, I'll even include it on our blog (provided it's appropriate content, of course! :))

I've also started a fan page on Facebook and am pleasantly surprised to see that in just a week, we have almost 200 members!  I love the support and close knit community of scrappers!  You can join our fan page too, and receive updates on assignment posts, contest etc.!  We're also having a contest on the blog, to help spread the word, so be sure to check it out here for a chance to win!

So if you received that new DSLR from Santa, and want to get the most out of it - READ YOUR MANUAL, with your camera in hand!!  It's the best way to learn your camera.  And then when you're comfortable with it, come and check out the blog and learn more about f/stops, bokeh and all sorts of fun techniques!

Here's one of my photos, recently taken for the January assignment, of these adorable personalized cups that my cousin, Mary, sent us - we love them, Mar!!

Thanks for reading!

Hands On! Photography Assignment - November

The November assignment is now up on the Hands On! Photography blog over at Canadian Scrapbooker!

This month, we discussed the creative technique of light painting or light graffitti. Try your hand at it (it's easy - just takes a few simple photography basics, some handheld lights and patience to experiment!

You can see examples here at http://www.toxel.com/.

Be sure to submit YOUR photos, using the submission form, for a chance to win a great prize!

Hands On!

I consider myself so very fortunate to have "met" Jackie Ludlage on a forum several years ago.  From our online friendship came a wonderful opportunity to work with her on her publication, Canadian Scrapbooker.  I started with CS when they first launched their Winter 2005 issue (goodness, was it that long ago??) with my first article, Photographing Your Layout, in the Let's Get Technical section.  I've had so much fun working with Jackie, Katharina and the CS crew in the ensuing years.

I am now excited to have started a new column for the magazine!

In the current Fall 2009 issue, we revealed the new Hands On! Photography section - a 7 part series in which I discuss various topics of photography in each issue.  The exciting news is that I will be posting a tutorial each month on related aspects, pertaining to the current article, on the new Canadian Scrapbooker Hands On! blog!!

I'm having alot of fun (and it's a great kick-in-the-pants to get me to blog more often on my personal blog, too!) and love seeing everyone's submissions for the tutorial each month.

In September, I talked about using fast shutter speeds to capture action and motion.  Sierra Heggie was randomly chosen as our September winner - you can see her submission HERE.  This month, we're offering a great Pink Paislee prize pack:

It's easy to win - all you have to do is read the tutorial, practice some of the tips and submit your photos to be showcased on the blog!  A winner will be randomly chosen within a week of the deadline and posted on our blog!

Have you read the October tutorial yet? :)