ScrapFest Shopping List

A couple of items that I MUST find this weekend at ScrapFest!

Melissa Frances Crepe Paper

I saw this tutorial of Danielle Flanders making crepe flowers and must have it!!

Basics from Basic Grey

Ledger, grid, dots and pattered papers in cream, white and kraft.  By Basic Grey.  A perfect combination.

Are you looking for anything in particular?

Packed for a Party!!

Well, not yet, but thanks to everyone for your great suggestions!!

I'm such a procrastinator when it comes to packing!  I just shuffle things around and fondle all my stuff, and then end up throwing it in a big bag!  However, this year, I think I'm going to work on a mini album with photos of our last Thanksgiving dinner before my mom passed away.

Of course, that could change between now and tomorrow night... :)

Using www.randomizer.org, we have a winner!  Congratulations to:

Celia said...

I'm pretty new to scrapbooking and I've only been to one crop -- but I'm a planner through and through. I do a little chart for each project. I know the papers I'm going to use for each page and which photos will be featured. I also list for each page any special quotes/stories I want to include, and what the main embellishments/stamps are. So I take a while to plan but once begin work I'm pretty productive. And I change my plans as I go. : ) For the one crop I've attended -- I did buy goodies on site to add to my work.
April 09, 2010 4:09 PM

Ah, I long to be that organized, Celia!!

Please email me with your mailing address (unless you will be at ScrapFest this weekend??) and I will send your prize out to you!

Thanks again, everyone!!  Hopefully, I'll have at least ONE page done to share!

Bucket List

Have you ever...

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
2. Swam with dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
8. Said "I love you" and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states or all 13 provinces?
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie - no, but I've done a voice over for a commercial
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an expert
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Eaten fugu (pufferfish)
89. Had a one-night stand
90. Gone to Thailand
91. Bought a house92. Been in a combat zone
93. Buried one/both of your parents :(
94. Been on a cruise ship
95. Spoken more than one language fluently
96. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show
97. Raised children
98. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds (45.5 kgs)
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Ridden a bike
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states or Cdn provinces
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school 131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

This has me thinking about Lori's bucket list project that she did for the one of the Just Cre8 crops - it's inspired me to cre8 my own!

I've complete 81 (in red) of the 150 here and have others to add to my own Bucket List - how many have you done?

Talk about protection!

Thanks to Tara Whitney via Twitter for pointing out Jenny Jiminez to me!  Not only does she have mad photography skillz but she also posted an interesting tip on vimeo:


trade secrets with jenny jimenez: episode #1 from Patrick Richardson Wright on Vimeo.

This made me crack right up - but what a great tip!  I especially love the part when she says no one will ever steal your camera filter! :)

Thanks for watching - and don't forget to leave me a tip on my previous post HERE to help me pack (Nope, still haven't started!) and you'll be entered into a random draw for a RAK!

Show and Tell Time Again!

Rather than overwhelm you with my catch-up posts of layouts completed, I decided to split them up into a couple of posts.  Truth be told, I was debating on whether I wanted to share these just yet - I saw a couple of design team calls that peaked my interest, and they required never-seen-before layouts.  I was concerned that I wouldn't have time to create new layouts before the deadline, but I decided that this would be the kick in the pants that I need to actually come up with something at the ScrapFest crop! :)

A rare, two-pager from me.  This one looks simple but remember what your momma told you - looks can be deceiving!  All of the accent flowers are handcut from the American Crafts paper, and pop-dotted to the background. 

The flower stem is a Maya Road chipboard swirl, covered in Stix 2 Anything Magic Sheets and then sprinkled with glitter.

A favourite photo of Sarah, my niece, with one of my favourite kits.  Journaling is under the photo, on the pull-out title card and talks about how proud I am of her, working and traveling abroad.  More handcut flowers and pop dots...

I liked the way this one turned out - the mix of lime, turquoise and purple; the multiple photos... Of course I forgot to leave room for journaling so I'm going to have to tuck it behind the photo - need to remember this story!

Here's a few detail shots:

Another favourite one of mine - look at those chubby legs! :)  Playing in the sprinkler at Gran & Grandad's house...

Here's the most recent layout that I finished a month or so ago.  I used the Pioneer Woman's Soft & Faded action on the photo (you can download her actions for free HERE).

Butterflies are fussy cut from patterned paper, folded and attached by crease only, for dimension.

Whew!  Thanks for looking, if you've lasted this long!  Hopefully I'll come back next weekend with an armload of layouts to share!

Heck.  Who am I kidding?  I'll be lucky if I get one completed - I'm usually too busy, being social at crops, to actually get things done!

Help!!

Still struggling with what to bring to the ScrapFest Crop this weekend!!

Could still use your ideas and tips on how to pack lightly - I have a list of items to bring with me for my class but that's about as far as I got...  Leave me your ideas on the previous post here for a chance to win an All My Memories Tote-ally Cool mini-Tote!

At least I have photos printed and ready to go - That's one less thing to do!

The Power of Advertising

I came across this video by Bill Leavens on Facebook a few days ago, via one of my friends, Carla.

It is one of the most powerful advertisements that I have seen in a long time - it literally moved me to tears.  We have always worn our seatbelts - in fact, I feel "naked" if I put the car into gear without it on, as if I'm forgetting something.

If you don't wear your seatbelt, maybe this video will move to you to do the right thing.  If you don't do it for yourself, do it for those that love you.

Friday Funny

This made me laugh.  Probably 'cause it's so true.

Creative Time

I am finally getting around to sharing some layouts that I've completed a while ago.  Nothing has really been done since earlier this year, as my scrap stuff is still all in boxes, but the good news is that we picked out the french doors for my studio/office this week!  Once our deck is stripped and stained, we're starting on my office! 

I also picked up paint swatches.  I love love LOVE the colour of my office now and may just repaint it the same colour, but I'd love some input from you, my lovely readers...  I think I am going to get the Expedit bookcases from Ikea in the black-brown colour:

What paint colours do you suggest?  As much as I love a neutral palette, I want to stay away from taupe - our entire house is all practically that colour as it is, aside from the bedrooms, toy room and office.  I think I would like to mix the dark woods with white and another colour - maybe red?  But I don't have an OTT light (YET!) and need a colour that won't cast onto my working area.

I came up with two palettes that I like:

Classic

Colourful:

I'm leaning towards the Classic - my thoughts are that the bookcases would be the dark brown, the walls would be pale apple green and the boxes, accents, etc. would be red & white.

Not quite sure about the second palette but the colours made me happy! :)

Can't wait to just get it done so I can get scrapping again!  For now, here are the ones completed but not yet shared:

I love this photo of Connor, taken on his birthday.  Journaling reads:  "Sure... I could have taken a traditional photo of you on your 8th birthday - one with a cake or blowing out your candles...  But, I chose this one - which is just so typically you at this stage in your life - something I want to remember!"

I'm not crazy about this one but it's another one done, I suppose...  Top photo flips open to reveal journaling about how the subdivision around my parents' house has changed since the late 70's when this photo was taken.

Connor went through this phase of giving "raspberries" - these photos were taken when my entire family went to Mexico - my parents, sisters & their families, included.

A favourite photo of mine, this layout is transparent - that's my deck you can see through it!  Now you can see why we have to refinish our deck...  I coloured the Luxe transparency with Stickles for some sparkle.

Thanks for reading!

Black Bean Salsa

Well, the quiche was a big hit at Easter, but my family is now officially quiched out so I won't be making another for a few weeks, for fear of mutiny.  When I do, I will definitely take step-by-step photos and share the recipe with you.

For now, I will leave you with one of my favourite quick-n-easy recipes to bring to a potluck or party.  Heck, it's even good to have in your fridge for a snack!  Or serve it over chicken for a bit of zing!

Black Bean Salsa

2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped (can adjust to suit taste)
2 - 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 - 17 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 large avocado, peeled and chopped
1 red onion, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
3 T olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1 tsp minced garlic

Mix all ingredients, except avocado. Chill until ready to serve. Add avocado just before serving, to avoid browning.

Enjoy!

Help Required - Please Apply Within

Only FOUR spots left in my Hands On! photography workshop at ScrapFest in Kitchener on April 17th!!  How exciting!

I have been concentrating on getting the workshop materials together and just realized that there are only 10 days before the crop!  I was hoping to PRE-PLAN all of my scrapbooking layouts for the crop so I wouldn't overpack, as I'm not quite sure how Nancy and I are going to get our luggage, all of our scrapbooking stuff AND my course materials into Lola - we may have to put the roof down and bungee cord everything into the back seat!

I'm sure that the next two weeks will see a few late nights for me, trying to pack my scrapbooking supplies!

So I need your help!!

How do you pack for overnight/all day crops?  Do you pack everything but the kitchen sink?  Do you pre-plan your layouts?  Please leave me your tips, techniques and trade secrets and I'll enter your name into a draw for April's RAK:

An All My Memories Tote-ally Cool mini tote!

This draw is open until April 14th, because I have to be packed for the 16th!  So let's have at it - give me your best tips!  Leave several comments with different tips and I'll enter a ballot for each valid entry!  Please remember to leave your first name if you are posting anonymously.

If anyone wants to come and help me pack, please feel free... we have lots of room! :)

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!

Getting to know me... 2010 edition

This was sent to me, via email, by my lovely friend.  I met Julie through an online forum about 5 years ago, and was lucky enough to meet her during a layover in Calgary while en route to Saskatchewan.

I know what you're thinking... What?  You flew to Calgary on the way home from Saskatchewan??

WestJet, for some reason, backtracks to Alberta and then crosses OVER Saskatchewan when flying from Saskatoon to London!

And they wonder why flights are so expensive...

Anyhoo.... Julie drove into Calgary and met me for lunch at the airport during my two hour layover.  We got on famously, and talked the whole time... in fact, I was almost late for my connecting flight! :)  I'm hoping to meet up again the next time I fly into Calgary!

In the meantime, she sent me this little Getting to Know You quiz - 2010 Edition.  I normally don't partake in mass emails, but this one looked fun, and good for a little procrastination!

1. What is your occupation right now? Accountant.  Writer.  Photographer.  Teacher.  Mom.  Take your pick.

2. What colour are your socks right now? Pink

3. What are you listening to right now? Beautiful Day by U2

4. What was the last thing that you ate? Marshmallow egg

5. Can you drive a stick shift?  But of course!

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Gary, via BlackBerry Messenger

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Absolutely!

8. How old are you today? 42.  And holding.

9. What is your favourite sport to watch on TV?  Hockey, with soccer and football tied for second place.

10. What is your favourite drink? Lime Margharitas and Bailey's on ice.

11. Have you ever dyed your hair?  Ever since I was 19 - heck, I can't even REMEMBER my original shade!

12. Favourite food?  King crab legs

13. What is the last movie you watched? Up In The Air

14. Favorite day of the year? First day of school! :D

15. How do you vent anger? I'd say yoga... but there's nothing like a good cleansing scream.

16. What was your favourite toy as a child? Easy Bake oven.  Barbie Stylin' Head.

17. What is your favourite season? Fall

18. Cherries or Blueberries? Cherries

19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? I want them to post their answer on THEIR blog, with a link in my comments so I can see! :)

20. Who is the most likely to respond?  I dunno!

21. Who is least likely to respond? I dunno!

22. Living arrangements? Hubby, son, daughter.

23. When was the last time you cried? January

24. What is on the floor of your closet? Bag of clothes to donate.  Basket of shoes.  Laundry Basket.  Clothes that missed the aforementioned item.

25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? n/a

26. What did you do last night? Easter dinner with family, then played Wii.

27. What are you most afraid of?  Something terrible happening to any of my family members or friends.

28. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburger? Cheese, please - but make mine mozzarella and don't be afraid to add some sauteed onions and mushrooms, and a bit of bbq sauce, too!

29. Favourite dog breed? Golden Retrievers, of course.
30. Favourite day of the week? Friday.  The only day where we don't have swim practice or gymnastics or meetings... it's our Family night.

31. How many countries have you lived in? 1

32. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds - much less pretentious and a whole lot more sparkly!

33. What is your favourite flower? Gerbera Daisy, Stargazer Lily, Dahlia, Iris... I'm not particular, if you want to send them...
There you have it - 33 answers about me that you may not have know, or even cared about...  Will you share your answers on your blog??

Happy Easter!

LOL!  I remember seeing this on a card YEARS ago - yet, it still cracks me up every time!

Wishing everyone a very blessed and happy Easter today!

Houston, we have a WINNER!

Time's up!  Our March RAK has come to a close and I just realized what a HONKIN' prize that is!!  Must have been all that drinking I did while the kids were gone...

I'm KIDDING!  All I'm gonna say is that April will probably not be as exciting... ;)

But let's get to the point!  Thanks to http://www.randomizer.org/, my most favourite winner-picker, aside from my kids (who'd better be sound asleep at this ungodly hour... yes, it's 2:40am...), WE HAVE A WINNER!

And the 11th person to comment is...

Laurie (Wally) said...

I am following.. as of last night... love your blog
March 14, 2010 8:19 PM

Congratulations, Laurie!!  Please email me your mailing info to justinfo{at}justcre8{dot}com and I will send your package out to you!

On another note, as you may have noticed, no Thursday meatball recipe today!! :(  But meatballs just seem so... winterish and I'm all about spring now!  I've had the roof off on Lola for 2 days running now and spring fever is running rampant!

I will hopefully be sharing a recipe with you Saturday night though, depending on how it tastes!  I made it to bring to our Easter brunch with my family tomorrow - if it's a hit, I'll make it again for our Easter Sunday dinner so I will have a chance to take pictures this time!