New WeScrap blog!

WeScrap has a new blog, featuring their monthly kits!  

It will feature a new kit each month, along with layouts created from the kits by the design team.  It will also include design team challenges and inspiration.

Here's the yummy February kit:

It wasn't my month to design, but I loved the colours so much that I couldn't resist asking Sarah to send it to me with my March kit!!  Now to make time to sit down and scrap!

Go ahead, check the WeScrap blog out - you know you want to... ;P  And while you're at it, pop into the forum and introduce yourself - we'd love to have you around!

Seven Sunday Blessings

This week, I am thankful:

1. for snow.  Yep, you heard me right.  If it wasn't for the icky, cold, have-to-shovel stuff, I wouldn't get an extra day at home with my kids.  Love snow days!

2. for caring friends.  Thanks for all the kind words and well wishes that you've all sent - via email, Facebook, Skype, IM, BBM, snailmail, etc.  You all RAWK!

3. for yet another round of meds.  Not thankful that I need them, but thankful that I live in a country where medication is easily available to help treat infections and diseases.

4. for Ree Drummond and her awesome recipes.  Like the Creamy Chicken Spaghetti Casserole that I made on Saturday.  In a word:  YUM!

5. for opportunities.  I've been contacted by a library in the GTA to teach a teen group - how fun is that!?

6. for self-checkout lines at the grocery store.  'Nuff said.

7. for Starbucks Vanilla Bean Frappacinos.  Despite the calories.  Eep!

What are YOU thankful for this week? 

Webisode #14

A new webisode is up on the Canadian Scrapbooker website and this month, Jackie has teamed up with the amazingly talented (and wonderfully crazy) Cathie Allan!

Just watching this video made me miss those two!  Plus, it made me want to pick up one of Cathie's Position-It tools and start playing!

Wanna win one of your own?  Head over to Jackie's blog and leave a comment for a chance to win!

Leave Your Legacy: I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

Welcome to a new Leave Your Legacy challenge!

We all have friends.  (Or at least I hope we do!)  Friends that console us when our heart is breaking.   Friends that act as our "wing lady" and prevent us from doing anything silly (or in my case, encourage us! LOL!)   Friends that hold back our hair when we've had too much to drink.  And while maybe the last one is not something that you want to scrapbook for your children and future generations to see, we can't deny that our friends we've had throughout our life have all helped to shape who we are today. 

So, inspired by that, the challenge this week is as such: 

Create a layout about friends you've met along this journey we call Life.  Journal about the important lesson(s) that each one taught you.  

My example is: 
Coming Soon!

I'm sorry for the lack of layouts this month - this dental infection has really knocked it out of me and I just haven't had the energy or the inclination to scrap. I am hoping to work on this one this weekend though, as I'm feeling better and will share layouts for both this week's challenge and the previous one soon!

If you'd like to participate and be entered into a draw for a prize, please share your layout below, using LinkyTools, by 11:59 EST on March 7, 2011:

We Want YOU!!

Canadian Scrapbooker is looking for submissions for our Fall 2011 issue - do you have something that you'd like to share?

Here's what we're looking for:

Call for FALL 2011 issue:

We are currently looking for pages in the below themes:

• Layouts that use the colour BROWN
• Layouts that have the following themes or use products that reflect them: 1) Wrappers – candy wrappers, chocolate wrappers, etc. 2) Vegetables 
• Layouts that are inspired by playing cards, or that use cards, or have a playing card theme
• Gifts for teachers
• General Fall and Back to School 
• Projects or layouts that have a recipe on them for our Scrappin Snacks 
• Projects that use bleach on them 
• Layouts that use a form of canvas on them 

We are also looking for that perfect photo for our Fall 2011 cover. If you have a photo that you have taken and you feel it would look fantastic on our magazine cover, please send it to us! 

Deadline for the Fall 2011 page call: April 15, 2011

For more information on submitting your work, please click here or email me at sue *AT* canadianscrapbooker *DOT* ca.

Can't wait to see your work!!

Happy Mail Day!

Thank you to my sweet new friend, Bettina, of myStamp Box, who sent me these gorgeous stamp sets:

She also sent me the Mini Pennants, but I can't seem to get the image uploaded - you can view them here.


Aren't they awesome!?  I can't wait to dig in!!  Thank you so much, Bettina - can't wait to re-connect in Kitchener!!

It's Here!

Time to make a tea, and settle in for some good reading and awe-inspiring layouts!  You can see more details on Leica's and Christie's gorgeous birdhouse albums from Susan's article here.  


And I just realized how both of my photos in my article are of barns! Guess you can tell I live in farm country... :)

Seven Sunday Blessings

This week, I am thankful:

1. for antibiotics.  After nearly a week of having a swollen face from a dental infection, it's nice to be back to nearly normal and not like an unfortunate stroke victim.

2. for Family Day.  Any excuse to have a Monday off is fine with me, but a day off specifically to spend with the kids is awesome.

3. that our dear friends, the Murphys, were able to come down for the holiday weekend and spend four days with us.

4. that our kids, despite the long time in between visits, got along famously all weekend and had a blast.

5. for a day of shopping in the US with Katrina.

6. for my hubby.  While I was drugged up on painkillers, he was so helpful in preparing for our visit with the Murphys!

7. for my chicken pear salad.  So easy to make and full of good things like grilled chicken, diced pear, cranberries, toasted almonds and red onion.  Yum!

What are YOU thankful for?

Long Weekend, here we come!

So excited for this weekend!!

After months of planning and patiently waiting, we are finally going to reconnect with the Ms!!  Sadly, I am still disfigured from the swelling, so hopefully I don't scare her boys!

Although, knowing boys, they'll probably think it's cool...

Gary's been comparing me to the cover of Raging Bull - I have to say, I can see the resemblance! 

My left eye is almost swollen shut and has started to bruise.  I went in to see Dr. M for my follow-up appointment and she was floored!  She ended up removing the temporary filling, to allow the infection to drain down instead of up into my face, and she also prescribed a heavy duty antibiotic to take concurrently with the other one. 

Sad to say, though, that I will not be able to partake in any libations this weekend... :(  And I was looking forward to a few G&T's, too...

Oh, well, I'm excited to see them all - and Katrina's designed me this fantastic Skribblz Art for my new studio, based on one of my favourite quotes of all time!! I'm hoping to get video of her putting it up this weekend and I'll share it next week!

Have a wonderful Family Day weekend, all my Canadian friends and a good weekend to everyone else, too!

Elephant Man

or Woman, to be more precise:

Let's just put bad lighting and the lack of make-up aside.

Last night, I was watching TV and it felt like my face was swelling slightly.  I asked Gary and he said that he noticed it was a bit puffy at dinner.  I was still having shooting pains and lots of throbbing so I look a Tylenol #3 and went to bed around midnight.

Fast forward to a mere 3 hours later... I was awakened by throbbing pain and a stretching sensation on my cheekbone.  I stumbled through the dark to the medicine cabinet and took a 400mg ibuprofen and went back to bed, not bothering to check in the mirror.

I slept off and on until 7am, when I heard the kids getting ready for school.  By this time, I knew that my face was swollen, since I could barely open my left eye.  I stayed in bed until the kids were gone, not wanting to alarm them.  Then I shuffled out to the kitchen in my slippers.

"Feeling better?" Gary asked, typing away on the laptop.

"Uh... not really." I replied.

He looked up then and did a double take.  I felt like the Elephant Man, with the entire left side of my face swollen from eye brow to neck.  I was so swollen that my eyelids (upper and lower) had disappeared!

I waited until 8:45am when I knew the dentist office was open and popped in.  One look from the receptionist and she said, "Oh, that looks painful.  Let me check your file."

Turned out that Dr. M had written a prescription, on the off chance that I would need it before she was back in the office, and had left it in my file.  The other dentist in residence took one look at me and suggested that I start the meds by doubling the first dose.

Here's another photo - it's out of focus and dark, but it was taken from head on, so you can see the difference better:

The photos above was taken about six hours after the first doubled dose - and some of the swelling has already disappeared!  Let's hope it works its' magic through the night tonight - Katrina and her family are coming to spend the weekend with us!

Cocaine, anyone?

I'm wishing I had some of these right now...

Last month, I cracked a previously filled (poorly done by my previous dentist) tooth and had to go in for an emergency repairs.  Of course, this happened a week after Gary's benefits from his previous job expired... {sigh}

At any rate, Dr. M was gracious enough to squeeze me in before her Superbowl trip (lucky duck!).  While she was repairing the tooth, she hinted that there was a good chance that I'd need a root canal.

Fast forward a few days, and sure enough, the tooth begins to throb and pulsate like it has a life of its' own - all the while shooting piercing streaks of pain from the tooth to my temple.  Of course, this happened just as soon as Dr. M left for her trip.  Knowing Murphy's Law, it was probably the moment she stepped foot on the plane...

I dealt with the pain for a week by ingesting Advil by the truckload, thinking that it was just the aftereffects of the previous work.  Then I finally broke down and made an appointment.  I love my dentist office - they're all so wonderful!  The receptionist, L, squeezed me in for today. 

Now, going to the dentist has never bothered me.  In fact, I've had several root canals and they weren't overly painful - not as much as the pain leading up to it, for sure!  I'm not a big baby when it comes to needles and the anesthetic (sp?) usually wears off fairly quickly for me.  So I wasn't worried about it.

Sure enough, as soon as Dr. M tapped on the offensive tooth with the end of one of the dental tools - and I nearly leapt out of my chair! - she announced that yes, indeed, I would need a root canal.  Of course, it was late in the day and she only had time to start it.

So here I sit, with a temporary filling in place, and my tooth aching from all of the digging and stripping of nerves...  Is it sad that I can't WAIT to get to the dentist on Friday to finish this off?

Off to raid the medicine cabinet for the Tylenol 3's...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hee hee... gotta love Calvin...

Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day today!  I was treated to a lovely dinner of bacon-wrapped filet mignon with all the fixings and then my family surprised me with a Pandora bracelet, two charms and a gorgeous ivory leather travel case!  I'll take pictures this week and share!

What did you do to celebrate this lovey-dovey holiday?

Leave Your Legacy: How Well Do You Know Me?

Welcome to a new Leave Your Legacy challenge!

Remember the old Newlywed Game that ran from 1966 to present day?  (I know - hard to believe it's still running!)  Anyhow, I remember sitting in our family room with my parents, watching this movie, thinking how sad it was that these couples were so ignorant about basic facts about their spouses.

So, inspired by that, the challenge this week is as such:

Ask your partner to complete the quiz below about you (or one of your own choosing).  Then incorporate his/her answers, along with yours into a layout.  

My example is:
Coming Soon!

A year or so ago, I had 5x7 photos printed of Gary and I, thinking that I would use one of the awesome quizzes found in one of my idea books.  I unearthed while organizing and purging my scrap supplies back in January, but sadly, I now can't find it! :(

So, left to my own devices, I made up my own questionnaire that my hubby and I will both complete (without consulting each other to confirm answers!)  I have a layout done, but will photograph it once the journaling is complete and add it here!

Here's the quiz:

1. Where did you first meet {your name}?

2. What would you say is {your name}'s best feature?

3. What would {your name} say is his/her best feature?

4. What is {your name}'s favourite colour?

5. If {your name} could change jobs, what would be his/her dream job?

6. Who takes longer to get ready in the morning - you or {your name}?

7. How old was {your name} when he/she was first kissed?

8. What is {your name}'s favourite movie genre?

9. If {your name} could only bring three foods onto a deserted island, what would they be?

10. If {your name} won the lottery tomorrow, what would be the first thing he/she purchased?

If you'd like to participate and be entered into a draw for a prize, please share your layout below, using LinkyTools, by 11:59 EST on March 7, 2011:

Saturday Funnies

Click image to view larger size

Gnothing Like a Gnice Family Day

The kids were off on a PA day today, so after haircuts (photos to follow!) we had lunch and went shopping.  Connor has recently discovered fashion and talked us into the Aeropostale store.  We came out $100 poorer but ultimately richer, warmed by the big grin on his face.

And the fashion show we received once we finally got home! :)

We also stopped by Build-A-Bear so the kids could spend their mall gift cards.  Thanks, Uncle Bill!

After BAB, we surprised the kids by taking them to see Gnomeo and Juliet!

It was actually pretty cute, but who am I kidding?  I was just there to listen to Jason Statham voice the character, Tybalt... :)

January LYL Winner!

Time to announce the winner for our January Leave Your Legacy challenges!

I was hoping that we'd have more participation for this month, but I'm going to be positive and forge ahead - maybe you were all busy this month!?

Enormous thanks to Christa and Sue for their submissions:

Christa (click here for larger image):

Sue (click here for larger image):

And rather than pick one winner, I'm going to send each of you beautiful ladies something for participating! Please send me your addresses via email or FB message and I'll pop your RAKs in the mail next week!

On a related note, tomorrow's Leave Your Legacy challenge will be posted a bit late this week - not off to a good start, am I? 

However, I'm neck deep in year ends for three separate businesses and spent all day today in front of my computer, instead of my scrap studio or even spending time on my new hobby!  Tomorrow is a PA Day for the kids and we're surprising them with a matinee tomorrow afternoon, after haircuts, clothes shopping and Costco!

I'm aiming to post a new challenge on Sunday!

My New Adventure

I was happily surfing Etsy the other day, oblivious to its' charm, searching for some items for inspiration.

When all of a sudden, out of the blue, it hit me.

photo by Allison Wenger Peck via Etsy Seller, imomzi

Oh.  My.  Heck.

Not only does this image knock my socks off and start my aging uterus a-tickin', but that hat!!  Having just created several crocheted flowers this past weekend for my tutorial on WeScrap, I have come to realize how much I missed MAKING THINGS.

Yep.  You heard me.

I know, I know - I can hear all of the indignant scrapbookers saying, "What?!?  My scrapbook pages ARE creations - they are legacies that I leave my children and future generations!"

True.  But have you ever tried a scrapbook page on?  Or better yet, have you ever tried one on a brand spankin' new baby that you're photographing??

As lovely as this is, and I'm sure it's worth the $18 USD (plus shipping), I know that this is probably relatively easy for someone like me who grew up watching her mom crochet all of her daughters tablecloths, and beautiful queen size bedspreads for each of her six grandkids.  She taught me most of the stitches when I was younger but it wasn't until I was older that I had the patience to actually complete any projects.

So, I will admit, I spent more time than I care to admit, searching the web for a similar pattern.  I found a free one here at Alli Crafts and rushed out today after my meeting to purchase some yarn and crochet hooks!

Sadly, I have a lot of year end paperwork to catch up, but if all goes well with this teeny cap, I may spring for the pattern for this adorable one:

photo via Etsy seller, polkadotposh 

After all, it's all tax deductible since they are going to be props, right? :)

Tutorial: Crocheted Flowers

This weekend, I created a tutorial for the Love Songs crop at WeScrap.  Today I'm going to share it here with you. 

I'm going to show you how to crochet your own flowers to match your layouts. This is a quick and easy way to add customized embellishments to your layouts and cards for a fraction of the cost of those on the market today.

I borrowed a pattern from The Laughing Willow's blog and adapted it slightly to my liking. If you are unfamiliar with crocheting techniques, there are a lot of videos and tutorials out there on the various stitches. For our purposes, here's a legend of the pattern abbreviations used:

• ch = chain
• sl st = slip stitch
• sc = single crochet
• dc = double crochet

Okay, ready? Here we go!  To start, you'll need 1/2 skein of embroidery floss in any colour, a crochet hook (size US 2) and a pair of scissors.

Step 1  - Start with a slip stitch:

Step 2 - Ch 5:

Step 3 - Sl st in first ch to make a ring:

Step 4  - Ch 10 in ring:

Step 5 - Join with sl st in first sc:

Step 6 - To create a petal, (sc, 3dc, sc) all in first sc:

Step 7 - Create four more petals by repeating the following: (skip ch, sc, 3dc, sc):

Step 8 - Join by sl st in first sc in the first petal:

Step 9 - Now comes the tricky part. Flip your flower over and sc in the base of the first petal:

Step 10 - Ch 3 and sc in the base of the next petal:

Step 11 - Repeat 4 times until you have five loops. Sl st in first sc:

Step 12
To create a large petal, (sc, 5dc, sc) in first loop:

Step 13 - Create four more petals by repeating the following (sc, 5dc, sc in next loop) 4 times and sl st in first sc:

Step 14 - Finish off by snipping floss and drawing end through final loop to knot.

There are multiple variations on this: 

~ Experiment with different textures. I've used embroidery floss, but you can use yarn, cotton thread - even strips of thin fabric!

~ Lengthen your initial chain and begin with ch 14 (or more) to create bigger flowers.

~ Change your floss after Step 8 to create a two-toned flower. You can finish off your flower after Step 8, to create smaller flowers.

Have Fun!

Monday, Monday...

Does anyone have Super Bowl let-down?  After all the hype?  Were you a Steelers fan?

I was cheering for the Packers (only because I don't like Roethlisberger much...)  Truth be told, I was watching it more for the commercials!

Like this one:

Mostly because it is one of my dream cars..

And this one, because I LOVE all of the e-trade commercials:

And Enimem was awesome in the Brisk commercial and this one:

But of course, what I was REALLY waiting for was the Glee Super Bowl special!!

Yeah, I know... I'm a Gleek!

LOVED the mash-up of Michael Jackson's Thriller and the Yeah Yeah Yeah's song, Heads Will Roll - you can hear it here on You Tube.  Can't wait until Tuesday's episode!

And just a reminder - the deadline to link up your layouts for my Leave Your Legacy challenges (Jan 14 and Jan 28) is tonight at 11;59pm EST so don't forget!! I'll randomly choose a winner and announce it on Thursday.  A new challenge will be posted on Friday!

Seven Sunday Blessings

This week, I am thankful:

1) for meteorologists who never fail to predict the weather incorrectly.  On Tuesday, we only received about 20cm of snow, as opposed to the 30cm that were forecasted.  But then Saturday, out of the blue, surprising everyone, we had received 7 cm of snow by 8pm!

2) for our snow day on Tuesday.  For seeing the joy on the kids' faces when I announced that they could do whatever they wanted that day, as long as it included 7 different things and that they did each one for at least 30 minutes.  It was refreshing to see how they monitored their computer and TV time themselves and how they chose to spend 2.5 hours outside in the snow, instead!

3) for my daughter for this conversation on Thursday night, while I was tucking her into bed:
Aili (in an incredulous tone):  "Mom, did you know that God is real?!"
Me (smiling and nodding):  "Yep, I know - pretty cool, eh?"
Aili (matter-of-factly):  "Yeah.  He's kinda like Harry Potter..."

4) For an awesome Sunday in Etobicoke at the Dolphin meet with Connor - he bested all of his personal times and won 2-3rd place medals, and placed 5th in his three other races.

5) that I was given the opportunity to be a part of the CP4U design team over the last six months - thanks, Ally and Nicole!

6) for generous online friends.  Thanks, Sue, for my book!  Can't wait to start reading it (and to start brushing up on my French again!)

7) for my awesome photo shoot on Saturday - thanks, Miss S., for being my model!

What are YOU thankful for, today?

Crazy. Sexy. Cool.

Today, I did my first boudoir photo shoot.  Thanks to my beautiful gorgeous model, Miss S... We had so much fun, trying new poses and goofing around with some fun, sexy props.

I took over 200 photos in about an hour and a half, but here are some of my favourites:

Thanks to Lisa Malott of the Olive Tree Day Spa, in Leamington, ON (519-326-0409) for her expertise with make-up application!

Thanks for hangin' with me today, S!