Sharing more NSD productivity...

Here's another layout that I completed at Holly's on our JC8 girls NSD weekend.

I love these photos.  Aili has an obsession with cameras right now - I will hand over our little Nikon CoolPix and let her snap away. 

Journaling reads:
Aili - you love to use the little point & shoot camera and snap photos of your life.  It's refreshing to see your perspective of our world.  Thanks for a glimpse into your day! :)

Thanks for looking!

Caramel Apple Baked Brie

I made this hot appetizer at Holly's on Friday night - and while this photo certainly doesn't do it justice, it's a warm, gooey, sweet mess that will delight your senses and could quite possibly add 5 pounds in one sitting. 

But that's no reason to not try it.

But first, a disclaimer:  These photos were taken at about 7:30pm with barely any natural light, no flash, and only my overhead potlights on.  I had to use a very small aperture (f/1.8) which resulted in a very small depth of field.  I mean to say that only a small area of each photo is in focus.  So don't blame my poor focussing skills! :)

What you'll need:

Granny Smith or Gala apple, sweetened dried cranberries, pecans (unless allergic), brown sugar, butter, apple juice (or brandy), baguette and a wheel of Brie cheese.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Peel and chop apple into fairly small pieces.

Chop pecans finely, if using. (And unless you have allergies, I'd recommend using them - they add a wonderful complement to the sweet cranberries and brown sugar!)

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Do not burn! (and I speak from experience...)

Measure out brown sugar and pack loosely.  Add to melted butter and stir well, until melted.

Add apple, pecans and cranberries to butter/sugar mixture, along with 2 tablespoons of apple juice.  You can also use brandy, if you're having a "grown-up" appetizer party.

Lucky dog, you.

Cook mixture for a few minutes until apples are soft.

Meanwhile, slice baguette into thin 1/4" slices, making sure to keep them in order.

Wrap entire cut loaf in foil.

Unwrap Brie cheese and slice in half, horizontally.  Be sure to use a sharp knife.  It may help to run the knife through hot water first so it doesn't stick to the cheese as much.

Place wheel half in ungreased pie pan.  Spoon half of the apple mixture on top of the cheese.

Cover with remaining wheel half, secure with toothpicks.

Pour remaining sauce over top.

Place Brie and baguette in oven and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until cheese is gooey and sugar mixture is bubbling.

The Brie's rind keeps the soft cheese contained but it spoons out easily for serving.  If you prefer it to melt more, increase your heat to 400 degrees Fahrenheit when baking.  Keep on eye on it, though, because it can burn quickly!

If you are having a grown-up party and don't want to serve from your pie plate (or cake pan, as I have here, because I think my pie plate may be in the garage - don't ask), you can dress this appetizer up.

Using a spatula, carefully move the cheese to a pretty plate.  Make sure it has a lip to catch juices.  Pour juices from pie plate over cheese. 

Place plate on larger serving dish.  Remove bread from foil and arrange around plate.

Be sure to sneak a few bites before bringing this out to your guests or you may not get any!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped and peeled Granny Smith apple
1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1 tablespoon pecans (optional)
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons brandy or apple juice
1 small wheel Brie cheese

Happy Mother's Day

Since my mom's passing, this day has always been rough on me.  It's a day of appreciation for your mother - the woman who bore you, raised you, made you into the person you are today (for the most part). 

My mom was a huge influence in our lives, growing up.  I can see bits and pieces of her in my sisters and I:  the way my eldest sister can never sit still and always has to have something on the go; the gentle quietness that she passed down to my middle sister; her sense of adventure, tempered with sensibility that I inherited (okay, maybe not the sensible part, so much...)

I think, as with all things, we sometimes take things for granted and never truly appreciate them until they are gone from our lives.  It makes me so very sad to think of my children's future, bereft of their loving, kind and generous maternal grandmother.  That my daughter will never know her Nonna (grandmother in Italian) is simply heartbreaking.

So, on this Mother's Day, I wish you the happiest of Mother's Days.  And while you should delight in your role of Mom (if applicable), also take the time to reflect and be thankful for your mother.  Call her and tell her you love her, appreciate her and am so very grateful for her.  Because one day, you may not have the chance.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom - I love you.

Gina Puglia

1930 - 2004

A Little Piece of Ann

I have been waiting patiently for Ann to post the layout that she completed at Holly's, using my photos of Aili.  I didnt' want to jump the gun and post them first, since it was her talent and therefore, her right to blog about the layout first.

It then occurred to me yesterday that since I had taken the layout home with me, she COULDN'T blog about it.  Because she didn't have a photo of it...

Duh.

So today, I'd like to share the layout that Ann completed, using my photos of Aili that I shared in an earlier post.  Ann joined my Just Cre8 design team back in April 2008 and has always impressed me with her clean, simple style, full of journaling and beautiful photos.

So when, at our Just Cre8 NSD crop at Holly's, Ann commented that our paper scrapping was inspiring her to turn off the laptop, I practically THREW my folder of photos at her! :)  I took out a selection of photos for her to choose from and then offered over my supplies and let her work her magic.

She was done in less than 30 minutes, I think (which puts me to shame, considering I worked most of Saturday on ONE layout...) and the result is no less beautiful than I expected:

And I now have a little piece of Ann artwork for my albums - thank you, Ann!!

Weekend Aftermath

About to go to bed (early for a change!) and realized that I haven't shared any layouts from our scrapping weekend!  I guess I should prove that the 5am nights were validated! :)  I'll share them over the next few days...

I have been working on a mini album for over a year now.  I started it with the intention of giving it to Gary for Valentine's Day... last year!  I just wasn't feeling the love - I got around to covering the pages and added a few photos, but every time I brought it out at a crop, I sat and stared at it, not sure how to proceed.

I'm happy to say that I finished it on Friday night!  Must have been all of the wonderful mojo that was flying around the room from my talented friends.  You can see a peek at Lori's projects here and Ann's layouts here and here!  I will share links to Jennifer's and Holly's work when they post it on their blogs!)

I used the papers from the Just Cre8 February 2008 kit.  Once I had all the placement for the photos, trying to work them so that they were visible when the album was closed, I just started layering embellishments.

Wedding photos by Due South Photography. 

Thanks for looking!

Webisode #5: Stencil It!

Webisode #5 is now live!

Be sure to check it out HERE for a quick and fun way to use templates to jazz up your layouts!

I'm baa-aaackkkk! (again)

I just got in about an hour ago from my Girls' Scrapping Weekend at Holly's and had such a wonderful weekend with these talented ladies that I couldn't wait to share it all with you!  That, and I wanted to beat Lori to the punch!  Although I think Ann beat me... she posted that very same day! :D

I got away later than I  had hoped on Friday, only because I didn't have much time for packing this week, with Aili being ill.  I'm happy to report that her fever is gone and she's been feeling much better, although still weak and tired.  It makes me wonder if she didn't contract mono, as she had all the symptoms!  Only way to tell for sure, though, is a blood test and now that she's well, we don't want to put her through that.

I arrived at Holly's around 7:30pm, making good time and only running into a traffic snarl around Kitchener.  Lori and Jennifer had already arrived so once I arrived, we started making our appetizers and then settled into a night of scrapping.  One of the girls brought a wonderful tray full of fresh veggies and I made a yummy hot appetizer, which I'll share later this week.

We scrapped into the wee hours of the morning, on both nights (I think Holly and I won, with two straight 5am nights! :))  Ann joined us early on Saturday morning and worked on some digital scrapping while we got sticky and inky! :)  She finally broke down and wanted to paper scrap but had no photos.  Well, if it's one thing I have, it's plenty of photos (although Lori certainly put me to shame with her stack of printed photos!!)  I gave her a few to choose from and she chose these two from 2005 that I recently had printed by Green Pixel Printing (LOVE her prints! :)):

Don't you just love the line of drool...? :)

And please ignore the horrid shadows, caused by the flash - I think my hubby may have snapped these and he LOVES to use the flash! :)

The layout turned out beautifully, of course.  I will photograph it tomorrow, with the other three projects I completed and will share - Thanks, Ann!!  It was so great to see you again this weekend and I love that I have a "little piece of Ann" in my scrapbook albums now!

Seeing as I didn't take my camera out all weekend (sometimes it's nice NOT to be the one that everyone assumes will take the photos!! LOL!), I will wait for copies of all of Holly's photos and share them later!

Quite honestly, I was surprised at how productive we all were, considering how chatty we all are when we get together!  In fact, we had so much fun that we discussed the possibility of making it a more regular event!

Ahhh, I miss my Just Cre8 girls...

Peggy Lee Knew It All Along

You give me fever

When you kiss me

Fever when you hold me tight

Fever in the morning

Fever all through the night

~ You Give Me Fever - by Peggy Lee

Wouldn't you know it?

Just as the weather gets nicer, and I'm set to head out for a girls' weekend away with several of my Just Cre8 design team members, Aili comes down with a fever.

And not just any fever.

She hit about 103 degrees F on Saturday night and since then, has fluctuated between 99 and 103 degrees F.  We've been alternating the acetominaphen and ibuprofen, as directed by our pharmacist and doctor, to keep her fever (and possible febrile seizures, as she's prone to them) at bay.  But she's having a hard time kicking this virus!

I took her into the clinic on Monday morning.  Not only because her fever was so high and came on so quickly, but she was complaining of nausea, headache and a sore neck.  Meningitis came to mind so quickly that we wanted to rule it out for our own peace of mind.  Her fever had abated to about 99*F by the time we got to the doctor's so she suggested that it was viral and to call her if it worsens.

She was still warm on Tuesday so we kept her home another day.  She slept from around 1pm to almost 4pm, and still went to bed at her regular bedtime!  She seemed better on Wednesday so we sent her to school, but by 3pm, the latchkey supervisor called to tell me that she was complaining of nausea and a headache.  She commented that she just didn't "look herself".  Gary picked her up around 5pm and she promptly fell asleep, waking briefly to take some medication and go potty.

She seemed fine this morning (an at-home day for her and I), but fell asleep on the couch around 1pm and woke up with a fever of 103*F again.  I called the doctor's office but had just missed her - she left at 2pm today!  However, after telling the receptionist that Dr. Johnston had advised me to contact her if her fever persisted, she called the doctor and then phoned me back to say that Dr. Johnston would be contacting me to check up on her.

I do love our family doctor!!

So, please keep her in your thoughts - hopefully it's just a virus she's trying to work out of her system!

ETA:  I just checked on her (she's sleeping - again!) and she's a bit sweaty so I think the fever's broken! YAY!

Rain delay

Ok so it was partly sunny and 11 degrees here today.  Still, I have an excuse for not blogging about Connor's Provincials meet yet... The photos haven't been uploaded from our point and shoot to my computer yet!  And what fun is a blog post, without photos??

So, until I have photos, this photo from my camera will have to do for tonight:

How cool is that?  PROVINCIALS, baby!!

Catching up...

Wow, this week has FLOWN by!  So much for my updates being timely...

Quite honestly, I think I just needed a few days to be unplugged and to hang with my family.  After putting in so much computer time, writing and editing the 25+ page workshop handbook for my ScrapFest class, plus the Power Point presentation, it felt good!

But I've missed blogging - and I was on a roll there too!  I think I had 20 posts in 21 days! :)  Thanks for your comments and visits!

So here's my recap:

ScrapFest was incredible!  Sadly, I didn't not take out my camera once, except to use for demonstration purposes during my class (and in the Walper Hotel afterwards, to review camera settings with Holly and Jennifer!)  So if you attended ScrapFest and have photos of me or my class, I'd love copies for my scrapbooks!! Please email hi-res images to me at sue{AT}canadianscrapbooker{DOT}com.

My photography class went well, for my first one at ScrapFest.  I was nervous and I'm sure it showed, but once I got into a groove, it became second nature.  I ended up running out of time to cover it all, but in hindsight, I probably could have skipped the Camera Accessories section - even though some of the info was valuable in later sections.  Oh well - live and learn!  I hope that if you attended, you had a great time and that you now are more comfortable with the manual settings on your camera!  Don't forget to check out the Hands On! photography tutorial this month and send me your submissions for a chance to win one of two Colour Catchers from ClearSnap that we're giving away:

Although I didn't get much done at ScrapFest, aside from finishing the mini photo albums I made for the class goodie bags, I had a great time.  We were seated at the Sauvignon Blanc table, and met some lovely local ladies. 

And after finally meeting up with Lisa Furtney, event planner extraordinaire of ScrapFest, I sat back down, only to hear someone call my name from the table next to us... It was my online friend, Dorrie!!  I had met her years ago in an online forum and recognized her right away from her avatar.  She was surprised to discover that I was only 5'1" - which many people usually are - I think it throws everyone off! :)  We managed to have this photo snapped just before my class on Saturday night:

Isn't this a great picture, despite the bags under my eyes from 12 hours sleep in 4 days and why do my cheeks look like I've been into the Sauvignon Blanc?!?  Anyhow, it was wonderful to meet this incredible lady who has bounced back from a difficult year and keeps on smiling... Love ya, Dorrie!! *smooch*

I was also excited to meet up with a couple of fellow Canadian Scrapbooker teammates, Connie Nichol and Cathie Allan.  They flew in on a whirlwind trip so we didn't have much time together, but Connie managed to have the sense to ask Holly to snap a couple of photos of us together!

I also had the extreme pleasure to meet the very talented Miss Karen Ellis of Art House Studio in Kitchener.  This girl is a hoot!!  We didn't get a chance to chat much at ScrapFest but we all met up for dinner on Saturday night after it was all over and done with - we got on famously!  Later, my friends told me that they weren't surprised that we hit it off so well, as Karen reminded them so much of me!

I got a chance to meet up with my old friend, Vicki Boutin, too, in between her classes and contest judging.  There were many other online friends, new and old, that I got a chance to finally place a face to their name - so nice to meet you all! 

On Saturday night, Nancy and I cleaned up after my class (thanks, Nancy, for ALL your help this weekend!!), then we all packed up our scrapbooking stuff and piled into the car.  Nancy, Holly, Jennifer and I headed back to the hotel room and being beat, I intended to head to bed.  But then I realized that we hadn't eaten since noon that afternoon so we headed down to the Rum Runner's pub, located in the hotel.  We met up with Lisa, Lorna and Sandra of ScrapFest and Karen of Art House Studio.  I wondered initially why they sat us in a room to ourselves, but after about 20 minutes of conversation, I understood - we were laughing so hard!! I honestly had a headache and my stomach muscles hurt from laughing that hard!  Much of what we discussed are private jokes and ScrapFest related stories but we also covered the gamut of the following topics as well:

1. "fun" drinks - in all different colours
2.  ghost stories
3. Walt Disney World princess stories
4. Holly's spectacular dive across the floor
5. Her subsequent near-trampling
6. ugly babies
7. hotel policies and why you should always fight for a room at 1pm
8. Nancy's scalding from the shower
9. Nancy's near-fatality with the hotel hairdryer
10. the discussion of Nancy's curse
11. the mad dash for the after dinner mints

I'm sure there was tons more that we discussed but for the life of me, I can't remember!  This is why I should blog immediately!  I had brought my laptop for the express purpose of blogging each night, but the 4am mornings didn't leave much time for it!

That's ScrapFest in a nutshell - I can't wait to go to the fall event in October in Oshawa!!  Who's going to that one?!

Connor's weekend in Ottawa (not Nepean, as Dorrie pointed out, even though that's what the swim meet calendar says!) definitely deserves his own post so more on that tomorrow!

ScrapFest Update

... will have to wait!  It's too late already and I have to be up early tomorrow!

I also have great news from Connor's swim meet in Nepean, ON, this past weekend for the Provincial Team Championships...  I'll give you a hint - click HERE.

Proud mama moment.

Still.

Webisode #4: Scrap A Card

Webisode #4 is now live!!

Be sure to check it out HERE for a quick and fun way to use your scraps of patterned papers!

I'm back...

And I don't think I'll ever be the same again!!


I had the most incredible time at ScrapFest - and because of that, there was very little sleep involved.  The five successive days of 4am mornings are now catching up with me!


I will update tomorrow, but sadly, I did not take ONE photo... :(  I'm hoping that my fellow crop participants and my workshop participants will share some of their photos with me... hint... hint... hint... :)


But for now... *yawn*... G'night!

We're off!

Just finished loading the van and we're on our way to ScrapFest!  Later than I had hoped, but earlier than reasonably expected... :)

I ended up with just my Mimi tote and 2 Iris cases, along with my tools tote!!  Unheard of, around these parts!  Of course I have 2 boxes of stuff for my class, plus all my camera equipment...

Anyhow, if you're going to ScrapFest today, or tomorrow, come and say hi!!  I'm scrapping with Holly and Nancy and we'll be wandering around, spending our money, with Jennifer tomorrow!

Tea for Two....

Thousand!!!


Remember this post about my sister's tea party?

Well, she was featured on the "Off The Record" blog of Deborah Jones from Biz X magazine!  How nice to see her efforts applauded - she raised over $2000 in just a few hours!!  You can read the article here.


I can't wait until the formal garden tea next year - I'm on the hunt for my hat already!  Anyone have any suggestions? :)

I'm heading out shortly for ScrapFest in Kitchener for the weekend - I finally decided to stop stressing about the packing and only work on one or two projects while I'm there.  If past experience is any indication, I probably won't get much done anyways - I'm always too busy socializing!  When I went to SK last year, I took FOUR suitcases (only 1 was full of clothes & toiletries!) and I didn't even complete ONE page in two days!! 

So at about 4pm yesterday, I threw up my hands and figured that if I didn't have it and REALLY needed it, I would beg, borrow or buy it there!

If you are coming to the ScrapFest crop, be sure to come and say hi - I'll be the one talking while everyone else is busy scrapping...

I'll probably have a camera in my hand, too... :)