Mystery Box Hop!

Welcome to the myStamp BOX “Mystery Box Hop”!

If you have just happened upon our event today, please begin your journey on the myStamp BOX blog here.

All of our wonderful myStamp BOX designers are joining us today to show off some inspirational BOX creativity!

Bettina Von Gross
Jill Hildebrand
Sue Sykes  <--- You are Here (and I'm glad!)
Jaine Drake
Janet Zeppa
Birgit Koopsen
Linda Abadie
Jolene Johnston
Agata Pfister
Rebecca Keppel
Marsha Valk
Allison Cope
myStamp BOX blog

We are giving away an amazing prize package from the myStamp BOX shop for our event this weekend and all you have to do is COMMENT along your journey to WIN.

We have given three of our lovely designers a mystery prize box and you could WIN the prize inside just by leaving a COMMENT on EVERY designer’s blog. Our Mystery Box Hop winner will be announced on the myStamp BOX blog on Monday so all comments are due by Sunday, June 26th at 11:59pm EST. Good Luck!

And here is what I did with my MYSTERY BOX…

Supplies:  Kraft box; myStamp BOX stamps (Repeat After Me, Seal It); Tsukineko and ColorBox inks, Ranger embossing powder; Glue Dots; miscellaneous handmade paper, button, felt, denim, embroidery floss, twill ribbon, jute and twine from my stash.

I began by stamping around the bottom edge of the box with the zipper stamp from the Repeat After Me stamp set.  Then, using the Seal It stamp set, I stamped circles along all four sides, replacing one of the solid circles with the "You're a Star!" stamp.

Of course, since I was stamping on the box when it was opened flat, I goofed and stamped along the upper edge of the box by mistake!  So I covered it in twill ribbon that matched.  You can see it peeking out from under the ribbon here:

Just keepin' it real, people.  I kinda LIKE making mistakes because it really forces me to think outside the box (no pun intended) and be more creative.

Yeah, that's my reason and I'm sticking to it!

Anyhow... back to the box!  Using felt and denim, I fashioned some big flowers and leaves (using a tutorial by Cheri of I am Momma - Hear Me Roar) and hot glued them to the top of the box.  I covered some Super Stock from Canadian Scrapbooker with denim and cut out a tag and little pocket shape.  I frayed the edges by sanding it lightly with my sanding block, and added stitching detail to the pocket with embroidery floss.

Using the handmade paper, I stamped the sentiment and cut it out.  With dimensional adhesive, I attached it to the tag, with a button for good measure!  I wrapped the box with a long length of both twine and jute and attached the tag, after punching a hole through the denim and Super Stock with my Crop-o-dile.

Now it’s time to HOP along and find out what the next talented designer has created with their MYSTERY BOX. Your next designer is Jaine Drake. Don’t forget to leave a comment below for a chance to WIN one of our MYSTERY BOX giveaways!

Leave Your Legacy: Creative Spaces

Welcome to a new Leave Your Legacy challenge! If you're new to my blog, welcome! You can learn more about my Leave Your Legacy challenge here.

As you work on your Book Of Me, it slowly begins to take shape as the very tool it's supposed to be - a sort of guide to future generations to the person that you were.

A very significant part of our lives is our scrapbooking - it's the reason that future generations will have detailed memories of our generation and prior.  So let's share our surroundings with them!

Here's your challenge this week:
Photograph your scrapbook workspace.  It may be an entire room, or just the corner of your dining room table, but share an image of it.  Include a photo of yourself working, if you can!  Journal about why you chose this area and how it works for you.

I have YET to get photos of my finished scrapbook (still needing to get to IKEA to pick up my kitchen rods for my punches!) but I am hoping to have it photographed by the time our guests arrive at the end of the month!  I'll share my layout then!

If you'd like to participate in this year long challenge, please share your layout below, using Linky Tools, by 11:59pm EST on December 31st, 2011. Please see the Leave Your Legacy page for guidelines, before linking here. Winners will be announced on January 1st, 2012.

Right Now > June 15

Right now (at 8:23 am), I am...

listening: to the silence
eating:  nothing
drinking:  my morning smoothie
wearing:  purple/blue/grey top, black pants
feeling:  rushed
wanting:  to go back to bed
needing:  a jolt of caffeine, instead
thinking:  that life would be so much easier with a nanny and a maid
enjoying:  the peace and quiet now that the rush of the morning is over
learning:  to let some things slide, without the guilt
creating:  a list of things still left to do prior to our guests' arrival
wondering:  how much my new tires will set me back...
procrastinating:  cleaning the bathroom counter.  where did I get all this makeup/skin care stuff??
loving:  my new camera!
anticipating:  my new commitment to taking bi-weekly photo walks with my neighbour.  hoping to get more photo time in!

What's happening in your life RIGHT NOW?

Stay Tuned....

There's a hop around the corner.....

Thursday's Thoughts

Gonna need to get me one of these...

Source: clickinmoms.com via Melissa on Pinterest

Right Now > Jun 8

Right now, I am...

listening: to the quiet... ahhhhhh

eating:  nothing - it's 11pm!

drinking:  water - trying to get my 12 glasses a day in

wearing: pyjamas.  with a grey turtleneck sweater, because it's freezing in the basement and I'm too lazy to go upstairs and grab my hoodie and this was the first thing I found that was warm and clean in the laundry room!

feeling:  bummed.  received some sad news today...

wanting: to stop time for a little while

needing: 48 hour days

thinking:  about my honey, who's away for a few days for business.  

enjoying:  life, despite its' ups and downs.  because it could always be worse, right?

learning:  to make the most of each day

creating:  a list of things to do in the next few weeks before our guests arrive!

wondering:  if we are moving.  maybe.

procrastinating:  ironing.  despise it.

loving:  my new myStamp BOX stamps:  Repeat After Me and Seal It!  Just wish I could find time to play with them... :(

anticipating:  the fundraiser tea party this weekend that my sister is hosting - I'm the "official" photographer so stay tuned for photos soon!

For more details on this list of Right Nows, click here.

iTeam Challenge

Another month and time for another challenge for WeScrap!

This month, my challenge is a colour challenge:

I love this mix of colours - the red with the dark brown is my favourite pairing lately and the neutral taupe and cream are perfect background colours - with a splash of green for good measure!

Here's my layout from which I drew the inspiration:

Supplies used:  Scenic Route and JilliBean Soup patterned papers; Crate Paper rub-ons; Maya Road sheer journaling spot and velvet ric rac; KI Memories (I think?!) fabric tag; Making Memories brad; EK Success chipboard alphas, Doodlebug Designs letter stickers; Tsukineko ink; ClearSnap embossing powder; Glue Dots; Heidi Swapp distressing tool, ghost letters and chipboard heart, unknown wire flowers.  Photo edited with Pioneer Woman's Boost and Faded actions for PhotoShop.

Here are some detailed shots:

If you play along with my challenge this month, upload your image to the gallery and add a link to the June iTeam challenges post here for a chance to win!

Wescrap June Kit...

is finally revealed on the WeScrap Blog!  Check out projects by the talented Ally, Beverly and Victoria for loads of inspiration!

And remember the summer sale - receive a free Limited Edition kit, valued at $27.99, with each purchase from the WeScrap Etsy store!

Seven Sunday Blessings

[source]

Into the first week of June already and so much for which to be thankful!  This week, I'm thankful...

1.  That my new D300s and flash finally arrived!  Not so thankful that it was a crazy busy week and they only finally made it out of their boxes on Saturday night... :(

2.  That the rainy season is behind us (fingers crossed!).  And here comes the humidity! :s

3.  That in just 25 more sleeps, my bestie from the mid-Westie and her family are coming to visit!!!!!!!  So much fun stuff planned - now to get my house in order and find a spot for everyone to sleep!

4.  For my hubby who spent most of Saturday on his knees in the baking sun, weeding my front garden while I was at work!  Love you!!

5.  For flexible hours and accomodating bosses.  Makes our lives so much easier.

6.  For impromptu neighbourly visits.  Some tea, a little Baileys, good conversation... ah, life is good.

7.  For my Blackberry.  Not only is a phone, but it keeps me on top of my email, tracks all of my appointments (and reminds me!) and contact info - and it's a great calculator for Grade 6 math when a certain boy can't find his in the mess on his desk! :)

What are YOU thankful for this week?

Sketchy Saturday > June 4

Another Sketchy Saturday at WeScrap and it was my turn to come up with a sketch - here it is:

And here's my layout:

Supplies used:  Bazzill Basics cardstock; JilliBean Soup and We R Memory Keepers patterned papers; Jenni Bowlin mini bingo card; JilliBean Soup Journaling Sprouts; Glue Dots; unknown ribbon.

You can see fellow teammate Beverly's layout here.  If you'd like to play along for a chance to win a prize, be sure to post your layout in the gallery and add a link here to the June challenges thread!

Leave Your Legacy: One Week

Welcome to a new Leave Your Legacy challenge! If you're new to my blog, welcome! You can learn more about my Leave Your Legacy challenge here.

This week, I was inspired by a layout by Ali Edwards that I saw in a magazine a LONG time ago.  Sadly, I wrote down the idea, but not the magazine name?!    Anyhow, she documented one area of her home, by photographing it every day for a week.  She then scrapbooked it.

I thought about this for a while, and there's always a lot of activity on our kitchen island.  It seems to be the dumping ground for a lot of stuff, but it also tells a story of our crazy hectic lives.  So I've decided to photograph it at some point each day, in the upcoming weeks and will share a layout a few days later!

Here's your challenge this week:
Photograph one section of your home (your kitchen table, your desk, your foyer, etc...) every day for a week. Create a layout and journal about how it describes your daily life.

My layout is coming...

If you'd like to participate in this year long challenge, please share your layout below, using Linky Tools, by 11:59pm EST on December 31st, 2011. Please see the Leave Your Legacy page for guidelines, before linking here. Winners will be announced on January 1st, 2012.

WeScrap Summer Sale!!

Looking for a good deal?

Oh no... I'd better get my butt in gear with my 100 page pledge so I can do some shopping! :)

Because I KNOW that I definitely want to get my hands on the WeScrap Bright Skies kit!!

Yum, yum, yum... Can't wait to see what Ally, Victoria and Bev do with the kit this month - watch the WeScrap blog for the reveal on the 5th!

Right Now > June 1

Thanks to my friends, Lee and Christa, for their inspiration for this new weekly list that I'll be including in my blogging every Wednesday.

The idea here is to capture a point in my life, every week, and to include them into a mini-album that will chronicle my life each week in a brief snapshot.

So here we go!  Right now, I am...

listening:  to Lady Gaga (Edge of Glory)
eating:  nothing
drinking:  ice cold water
wearing:  black yoga pants, pink T-shirt and zip up hoodie
feeling:  tired
wanting:  to scrapbook, but don't have the energy to clean off my desk
needing:  new tires for Lola
thinking:  about looking for a housekeeper
enjoying:  my new job, even though I didn't get home until 8:30pm tonight!
learning:  that often a hug can head off a tired, grumpy child's tantrum
creating:  nothing at the moment... but I want to!
wondering:  when I'll finally get into a routine with working full time.
procrastinating:  folding the laundry
loving:  this beautiful weather
anticipating:  summer holidays with Amanda and her family! 29 more sleeps!

I am going to attempt to use Photo Booth at the time of blogging (or at some point during that week) so that I will have a photo to go alongside each entry in my album.

As it turns out, today's photo in the photo challenge is a self portrait:

Ooooh, this is gonna be fun... :)