Thursday, April 29, 2010

Busy, Busy, Busy

This past week has certainly been a busy one. I have so much on my TO DO list, and I have been working hard at getting things done. It seems with each and every thing that I get done on my list, there is something else being added to that list. I guess that it seems there will always be something to get done, but that is certainly better than having so much time on my hands that I would be bored.

There are challenges to be done, classes to prep for, classes to design (yes, I am already thinking of what to do in June), Scraptures DT stuff to be done, and oh yes, of course, thinking of National Scrapbook Day too!

This Saturday, as many of you already know, is National Scrapbook Day. At Scraptures, it will be my first official day as a member of their team, and we are having a Members Choice Day. It should be a lot of fun and I am really looking forward to seeing what our members will have in store for all of us! I am also hoping that I will have a couple things to offer to help make the day fun, but I still have my thinking cap on for that! With the crowd of girls over there, I am sure the day will be full of fun stuff and lots of great creations!

There is also a lot of NSD stuff happening all over the net, so I am sure there will be no lack of inspiration floating around. I am hoping to be able to spend the day in my room, creating away and having fun! There is suppose to be rain here on Saturday, so that shouldn't be a problem. I have layouts in my head, cards that need to be created, and a couple of mini albums I am looking forward to getting planned and started. We shall see how much time is available for the actual creating, but I am positive that there will definitely be some new things to share by the days end.

Hope everyone has a great time on Saturday and I do hope that you all will find some way to spend creating and playing along to celebrate our hobby!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Love me some Bo Bunny Inspiration


Anyone that knows me, knows how much I love Bo Bunny products and I love visiting their blog for all the wonderful inspiration that the team creates! This past Friday, they had posted on their blog, Layout Challenge Friday. When I saw this sketch, I just knew that I would have to try and play with it and see what I could come up with! They posted this sketch for inspiration and have asked us to play along and share our creations with them. Of course, I love a good challenge, and therefore got working on this immediately.


For my layout I used the Bo Bunny Flutter Butter papers, rub-ons, stickers and buttons and bling. I did a lot of slicing of the original pattern papers to get the most out of it. I didn't have the flowers that went with this collection, and therefore I cut them out from the pattern papers and pop dotted them on my layout for added dimension. My inspiration for this layout came from the quote on the Bo Bunny sticker: Whatever you are, be a good one!


I used this photo of me, that was taken at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Niagara Falls, Ontario in 2007. We frequently visit there and my husband thought that I needed to scrap more photos of me. So here we have it, another layout of me for our albums.
In addition to my Bo Bunny products I used bling swirls from Dollar Giant, Bazzill Cardstock and American Crafts Thickers for my title.


April Project 12/Buddy Guy


As many of you know, I have been playing along with the gals over at Scrapbook & Cards Today, with their Project 12 program. This sketch was designed by Becky Fleck for the April Project 12 and was absolutely perfect for the photos from the Buddy Guy concert I attended on April 8, 2010.

I love participating in this project and have chosen to do it based on concerts that I have been to this year! It is a great project and is going to really help me get this album done. I can't wait to have this finished album at the end of the year!

Now I will have to patiently wait for May to arrive so that I can get my photos for the May Project 12 sketch. Stay tuned!

Organizing and purging


Spring has arrived and with Spring, comes cleaning! Spring cleaning is something that happens every year at my house (sometimes even twice), and my scrap room is no different. As I get into my room more often to create just for me, I have found that I need to purge and organize everything again. It truly seems that it is a never ending story, but that is what happens in a world where there are so many goodies to temp us and we fall weak in the knees over all of the new fun stuff that comes out. With CHA being held twice a year, it is so hard to keep up with things and that just means twice as much trouble when trying to store everything!

Although I have gotten a good start on things, it is a very long process. There is so much in my little room, that I don't want to leave any nook or cranny unturned. One of the biggest jobs for me is card stock and pattern paper. I decided that it was time to tackle the card stock first, so that I could find out what colours I was in need of and see what I already had at a glimpse.



My file box is the perfect place for card stock. It allows me to have everything divided into folders by colour families, and then indivdually by colour tones. It is amazing how much of certain colours we find we have, once we start to sort it all out! I can't even move the folders in the drawer, so I know that I had better get a good move on things and get some of those projects created that are in my head.

Next I will have to tackle the pattern paper, but in order to do that I need a good couple of days. Right now, there is too much creating to be done, and I don't want to take the time to sort more paper. This is an on going project for me, so stay tuned in the weeks to come to see what progress I have made! Hopefully along the way I will get some purging done as well, and find a little extra room. (if there is such a thing)

Sunday, April 25, 2010

The Scrap Farm--giveaway!!!!!

Ok.....I bet that got your attention!!!

I am very excited to share this with all of my blog readers! If you like Imaginisce, you are going to LOVE this. Melinda has an amazing give away going on right now over on her blog and your chances of winning require very little on your behalf. She has a great package of Imaginisce products that certainly will inspire all your creative needs. Check it out!!

Where does the time go?

Well, as some of you may have known, my oldest son turned 25 yesterday. I honestly can't believe that so much time has passed by and that my boy is, well, no longer a boy!! He has grown up to be a fine young man with lots of desire and drive and some days I wonder where all of his imagination and energy comes from. He always has some kind of project on the go and he always manages to keep smiling and having fun through it all. I miss my little boy, but I am certainly enjoying my time with him as an adult.

I didn't get as much scrappy time in as I would have liked to this weekend, but I am hoping that this week will be a good creative week. I have so many things that I need to do and it seems that since the nice weather hit, it is getting harder to find good creative time. We shall see how the week goes, but I am sure I will get some things accomplished.

I have been working on the Project 12 challenge from Scrapbook and Cards Today and last week I managed to get my March layout done. When I started out working on this project, I was uncertain as to what I would do. I then decided that doing this project would be a great way for me to get concert photos done and stay current this year with those events. I find concert photos harder to work on, and this project is helping me get my pages done, and I am so pleased with my pages so far. For the past 3 years, we have practically been going to a concert a month (sometimes more) and working with these sketches have really given me the inspiration that I have needed to go back and start scrapping past concerts as well. Once this year is over and my 2010 concert album is completed, I will definitely be using this format for past years as well.




I have also finished my April Project 12 layout, but will be sharing that tomorrow once I get a good photo of it! Stay tuned!

Now this coming week I will be feeling a bit overwhelmed as I prepare for my Guest Design Team spot at Scraptures. Although I am very excited about taking on this position, I am testing the waters a bit to see how well I can balance everything that I have going on. I am really looking forward to the arrival of my first package of goodies to play with, and can't wait to dig in and start the creative process.

I also have a class this coming Thursday at The Memory Keeper that I have to prepare for. This is a fairly large class, so I already know what I will be doing on Wednesday evening. I am also looking forward to what is coming up in the month of May for classes, and hope to see a good turn out of gals. The first part of this year really has been extremely busy in classes, but it has been great fun! I hope that things will stay busy now that the weather is getting nicer.
I have some ideas already for what is going to be coming along in June, so have to start putting those plans into motion and get my papers picked and start creating those pages as well.

So life is busy, there is lots of creating to be done, now lets see how much time I can find to get all that creativity out on papers.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Imaginisce and Tombow


In March, Tombow and Imaginisce teamed up for a great week of creative inspiration on both of their blogs. On March 29, 2010, I received an email from Joanna Wallace @Tombow that I had been selected as a winner from their blog for a prize package from Imaginisce. I was so excited and have been waiting with great anticipation for my package to arrive.

Well, today was the day! OMG, let me just tell you that it always feels to good to get a package in the mail, but this package is extraordinary, to say the least. My package contains so many goodies and all of it from the Imaginisce To Love and Cherish collection. This stuff looks beautiful online, but it doesn't compare to actually seeing it first hand. This set is absolutely GORGEOUS!!! It is a stunning black and white collection with such a classy feel to it. The flowers are beautiful and some have patterns on them, the ribbon is elegant, the rub-ons have the most beautiful scroll writing on them and the stickers have such class appeal! Then there are the stamps!!! They have such a WOW factor to them and although they are simple designs, I can see them being used in so many ways, with so many colours!!! There are flowers, journal blocks and my favourite, the scroll work!

I can't wait to get creating with this stunning collection and have truly been inspired by the Design Team on the Imaginisce blog. They always do such beautiful work! Thanks ladies!

Thank you to Tombow and Imaginisce for such a wonderful prize package! You certainly do know how to make it a happy mail day!!!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Imaginisce Blog April Sketch Challenge


When I saw this sketch posted on the Imaginisce blog, I was so inspired! I have been trying hard to use up some older supplies, and this was the perfect opportunity for me to participate in this month's challenge on their blog and use up some of my Twitterpated Collection.
In order to make the sketch work for me, I had to turn it, but I am really pleased with the end result. I left off the title though, because I just couldn't think of anything!





I love the Twitterpated Collection. The colours are so much fun and the patterns are great. I just love the little critters from this collection.

Materials used:

Imaginisce Twitterpated pattern paper: Mushroom fancy, Colorfall and Critter Chatter
Imaginisce Studded Stickers: Foxy and Blooms
Imaginisce Bling Brads
Prima flowers
Bazzill Cardstock

I also used Martha Stewart border punch and EK Success Scallop circle punch

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Guest Design Team

In the past two years, I have let my scrapping take a back seat and I have been putting my efforts into teaching my classes, making kits, and scrapping for others. This year, I had decided that it was time to take back 'the hobby' and get doing it for fun again. It was my goal to set at least one day aside a month for personal scrapping and for just working on projects that I have wanted to do for a long time. Of course, that meant revamping my scrap room and organizing everything, which all happened back in January. Once that was done, I just knew I had to keep to my goal and get to working on projects for me, and to have a reason to really come in here to update my blog (which also lapsed, big time)

Now back the end of January, I joined Scraptures, an online community that has a message board, gallery and an online store. What makes Scraptures different is that it is a KIT CLUB. Denise, the owner of the site, puts together kits each month which are pretty awesome. There are so many goodies in there and the best part is that everything coordinates. You really should come and check it out. Now you don't have to be a member of the kit club in order to register on the boards and the gallery. There is so much to be offered on this site, and since it is smaller, you get to know the friendly gals there and participate in the wonderful challenges they offer. You may even find that you could win a prize. There is lots of great inspiration, and if you need a little support to get some of your own personal scrapping done, come on by and join the boards. You won't be disappointed! If you stop by, don't forget to check out the store as well. There are scrapbook kits and new card kits that are being offered, along with many other products. There is even a sale happening right now, so you just never know what you might find. Also, remember to sign up for the newsletter while you are there so that you can keep tabs of all that is happening on the site. You won't want to miss all the fun challenges and fun that is happening on the boards. So keep in touch!

While only being a member there for the past few months, I have been approached and asked, by Denise, to join her team as a Guest Designer. I am both excited and honoured to have this position and I can't wait to officially start! My term will be for May-July, but I am really looking forward to working with her and her team and to work with her kits. I hope to do the site proud with my creations and now I have the opportunity to challenge you all to work on something too! It is going to be a great journey, so why not come with me and join in the fun! If you stop by, don't forget to tell them that Sassette sent you!!!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

In honour of Spring's arrival


It has been so beautiful this week, with the sun shining and the temperatures in the double digits and I can't help but think of flowers. I think of flowers in my garden, flowers on my cards and flowers on my layouts.


Now so many times when talking with fellow scrapper's I find out how many only use flowers on girl pages. I, for one, only have boys, but I still love flowers. I don't have any problem using flowers on boy/men pages, and have even been able to use softer, pastel type colours too. I don't think that there is anything wrong with it, and I don't really understand why in this day and age, we still have gender specific colours and items. It just doesn't seem proper, to me. I guess that is what makes us all different, and make us who we are.


I thought that I would share a couple of the layouts I have done in the past that I have used softer colours on and flowers too. I hope that these will inspire you to step out of your comfort zone and try something a little different. Use those soft papers and flowers and let your imagination go. You just may like your end result! Enjoy!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Look what's popping up


Well the weather is absolutely beautiful and the sun is shining and my garden is quite happy about that. I love this time of year, when the birds are singing, busy making their nests, squirrels are scampering through the yard, and the flowers are popping up all over the place. It is a nice time to reflect about all of the new and wonderful things the new year holds in store for us.

Here is what is popping up today in my yard:


Monday, April 12, 2010

Pass It On

Today has been catch up day. I have been playing catch up with things around the house and the laundry. Will be doing some yard work later this afternoon, and I also need to get started on my May classes. Hopefully something will transpire and the ideas will start flowing once I get going.
The sun is shining, and it is making it hard to stay indoors and not want to get out in the yard, but patience is a virtue. Later on, I will get out there!

I was reading blogs and came across a post by Jen about Pass It On!
The post has a link that takes you to Jacque's blog. Take a look at her blog. She is very talented and has some amazingly sweet cards on her blog. Lots of great inspiration there in creating some amazing cards, as well as inspiration in life. She is celebrating her blog birthday with a prize give away.



Bo Bunny and Prima and Imaginisce



Well, my header for today's post really says it all! I love all of these companies on their own, and when creating, it is so easy to mix the bunch together. I just love the colour palette that Bo Bunny comes up with for their paper collections, the flowers and bling that Prima makes and what isn't there to love about Imaginisce?!

I love colour, I love florals, I love all things that sparkle and creating this layout, well, it has it all! I am so happy with the way that this one turned out! The colours are so fresh and fit this photo perfectly. The Prima and Imaginisce flowers were the perfect colour palette to add to this layout and I am really happy with the end result.


I used a lot of Prima flowers and bling on this layout, along with some Imaginisce Bling flowers. Lots of layering, and border punches (both Martha Stewart) and of course Bo Bunny pattern papers.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Today's creation

This layout was actually started last night, but I managed to finish it up tonight! This is so out of my comfort zone, but I am so pleased with the way this turned out. The colours are actually perfect for these photos.

At Scraptures, T, challenged us all to use a colour that we have a hard time using in scrapping and to also use eyelets on the page. Now, I don't really have a problem using any colour while scrapping, but GREEN is definitely my least favourite colour. If you read my post about my organizing my cardstock, you will have already known that. I also am not a big fan on NEON colours, so that is how I chose what I would base this layout on. I like to step out of the comfort zone from time to time, and this challenge was just perfect for this. Thanks T!

On this layout I used Bazzill cardstock, Daisy D pattern paper and monogram, Bazzill Scallop Edge Cardstock, Fiskars circle punch, EK Success flower punch, eyelets, Heidi Swapp ghost shape letters and flowers. (the colour was not quite right for this layout, so I altered them using Tim Holtz Cranberry Alcohol Ink) "pretty" is AC Thickers

Things are looking up

Well today is going to be a good day, and all I can say, is it is about time! The sun is shining, and the air is crisp, but it is a NO headache day, for me!

I have already had a productive day, so far. I have been busy cleaning through the house, getting some laundry done and soon will be off to the dentist for a cleaning. (to me, this is a good thing)
Then it will be off to Michael's and perhaps the LSS, as well. I am hoping to get a revolving organizer for my scrap room from Michael's, but we shall see if they have any in stock!

Then it will be home, do the dinner thing and with some luck it will be time to hit the scrap room for some creating. I have a layout on the go there, that I started last night and I just can't wait to see it finished. It is so out of my league different, but so far it has been fun doing it. I will share the final result with you, once it is done!

I did do a card yesterday, which I am quite pleased with. I used more of my scraps and Denise's Finally Friday challenge to help me get this one done.



I used Creative Imaginations Gin-X papers, Sakura white souffle pen, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Colorbok black cat's eye ink to create this card.

I always loved this collection of papers, and I am so glad that I was able to use up some scraps.

Keep watching for my newest layout to be shared later today!

Thursday, April 08, 2010

Birthday Cards

Well, as always there are some great challenges happening over at Scraptures, and I am definitely falling behind with them, but I did manage to get a couple of cards made.

One of the challenges was to make a masculine birthday card. Ellen posted her card with the inspiration of using buttons and ribbon for her card. The idea was to get us all thinking of doing cards without too much bling for the men in our lives. So many of use struggle with the masculine side of things, as in most cases, there is more for feminine projects, than for men.


For my card I used up some very old Basic Grey and Flair paper and some chipboard stars by Little Davis Designs. This is just a very simple, but effective card.


This second card was done to meet one of Wendy's challenges this month. Her challenge was to get a card done that we HAD to get done. For this challenge, I decided to create an easel card, for my Mother-in-law's birthday. I used old Sassafrass lass papers, Martha Stewart border punch. EK Success scalloped circle punches, EK Success leaf punch, Chatterbox ribbon, Stickles (waterfall) and a button that I had in my stash.

Thanks to both Ellen and Wendy for these fabulous challenges and getting me more active in card making!!! It is such a great way to use up scraps, and anyone that knows me, knows I have tons of them to use!!!

Altered Art



Do you like to alter items? Have you ever looked at something and thought that you could do something pretty cool with that?


I love to alter things and find that I look at EVERYTHING with a different perspective. I love thinking outside the box and changing an item to freshen it up. I love seeing something new, in something that may be old or seem to be a piece of junk. I just love to create and there isn't anything that I wouldn't try at least once, I don't think.
Altered items make for some quick and easy projects and they make for great gifts. It is a great way to personalize an item and let your imagination flow. The possibilities are endless and only limited by your imagination.
It could be something as simple as a composition book, a paint can, a wooden box or even an empty box. The fun part is seeing what you can do with the item and with all of the wonderful papers on the market, you could alter the piece to fit any decor, or suit any personality.

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Lousy weather, sunny friendships

Well, the weather here has been quite lousy, and of course this means migraines for me! The past couple of days has not been enjoyable, but I am trying to still be productive. Since my head has been hurting so badly, and Advil will numb the pain for a small window of time, I have still been trying to get some things done that needed to be tended to. Creating is on the back burner for now, but tonight I did start the major task of sorting through card stock and getting my file cabinet in order. It has been going well, and I now can see what colours I have an abundance of and which ones I am lacking. It is funny too, because the one colour that is my least favourite is the one that I seem to have the most of. GREEN!!! There are so many different tones of green, from the lightest to the darkest and everything in between! It is unbelievable, and right now I can just hear Laura giggling at me. (so because I know you are reading this.....STOP IT!)

The task will wait until tomorrow now to be finished, but at least I got a good start on things. I feel good about the progress, but will feel much better once it is completed! Hopefully tomorrow will be a better weather day and I can get it done. I am so itching to get some creating in, and I know that with having all of my card stock organized better, I will be able to be more productive in the creating department. There are challenges to be met, photos to be printed, papers to be used, and I can't wait to feel better.
During this time, I have also been able to spend sometime chatting online with old friends and new friends alike. This always helps to make me feel a bit better and I am so grateful for my online friends. I love to meet new people and get to know them better, and tonight I had the great fun of chatting with my new friend T, from Scraptures. She is always a delight to chat with and I love that she likes to ask questions. She thinks she is being nosey, but to me, it just tells me that she is interested enough in trying to get to know me better and to develop the friendship that I believe we have started. T is also a very positive natured gal, and I LOVE her overall attitude on life. She is truly an inspiration in scrapping and every day living. Thanks T!

I also chatted with my friend, Peggy who is going through a rough time right now. Her poor puppy Daisy is sick and it has hit her heart very hard. It isn't looking good for Daisy right now, but I will be keeping her in my thoughts and prayers. My heart is aching for my friend and I wish that I lived closer so that I could be there with her while she goes through all of this.

So, as much as the weather has been crappy, friendships have been sunny and warm! I am just glad that there is some sort of balance here. Friendships always warm my heart and make even the gloomiest of days a little brighter!

Thanks to my friends!!!!

Friday, April 02, 2010

Post It Note Holder


Well, I have been looking for different projects that will help me use up scraps and this project is PERFECT! It doesn't take much to do this, and it looks awesome! Very functional and will help me keep all my notes in order when I jot down things in the midst of my scrapping!

I am going to be making more of these, as I think they will make a great addition to my Christmas baskets this year!!!

Not much scrapping time for me probably this weekend, but at least I got this done! Will be doing my best to have something else to share soon!

Bo Bunny HOP

Seems fitting to be hopping on this holiday weekend, and what fun it has been! Why should the BUNNY get all of the action and have all of the fun! You should check out the Bo Bunny hop if you haven't already! There is so much great talent on this team and they certainly have been quite busy preparing some amazing projects for our viewing pleasure. Such beautiful inspiration with the most stunning products. The new paper lines are so yummy and there is definitely something for everyone out there! If you like bright and bold, bold and beautiful, then Bo Bunny is the company for you! Check it out and while you are there, remember to do the HOP!!!