Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

Just some random layouts to share with you today!!!  Tomorrow I can share another with you, that was published in the October 2012 issue of Scrapbook Trends!  Happy Halloween!!

My Inspiration

Where do you draw inspiration from??  I just returned from an incredible week up in the Muskoka region, a lovely resort called Cedar Grove Lodge on Penninsula Lake, between Huntsville and Algonquin. Cedar Grove has been the home away from home for vacationers since 1927!  It has been our home away from home for the last 8 years. The view from our cabin:

 

It was a week filled with nature, kids, fun and relaxation.  A week to recharge and be inspired by my surroundings.  I love the area, the sunsets, the landscapes, the mix of rocks, water and trees.  Pure heaven in my opinion. 

I also had the opportunity to take in a watercolour and wool workshop, offered by a very talented artist, Pam.  Pam owns and operates the Morgan House Bed & Breakfast and Woolworks.  Pam raises her own sheep, shears them and then dies the wool.  My friend and I created a "watercolour" canvas using wool.  It was such a relaxing, remarkable morning.  Up in an old barn studio, surrounded by every shade of wool imaginable, letting the canvas take shape as it will;  here is my creation:

 

You can click on the picture and see that everything is died wool, we created the background first, then added layers on top.  I choose to do a landscape, my friend an abstract.  I cannot wait to try to incorporate some of the techniques I learned up in that barn studio into my scrapbooking and altered art/mixed media designs. 

Pencil Crayons or Distress Markers???

Pencil Crayons with odorless mineral spirits on the left, Distress Markers on the right.  Which do I prefer...hmmmmm.  This question will go unanswered today!! 

Cousin Time

Wow, almost a month has gone by without any creative time!!!  How sad is that!?  My family arrived this week from Manitoba, and they are staying with us for the week.  I have been frantically getting the house into a cleaner, more organized space.  Our spare bedroom had sadly turned into a "lets put it in here for now" room.  The bathrooms got spruced up with new paint etc., and the whole house got a good cleaning.  That took up a LOT of my spare time!  But my brother, sister in law, niece and nephew have arrived and the 4 kids are having a blast together!  Loving this week!! 

Let's hope September is a craftier month!!  Have a great day!

Wild Ones!

This is a kit I put together for Scrappin' Great Deals.  Perfect for those dinosaur lovers out there!!  Everything you need to complete the above layout, except adhesive, is included in the kit! It will be available soon over at Scrappin' Great Deals, both in store and online!! 

Real Boys Play with Trucks

It's true you know!  My boys love their trucks, and the bigger the better.  Monster Truck Big!  Here is a layout made with BoBunny's "On the Go" Line, perfect for my boys!

Nothing too technical about this page!  I used the 12 x 12 chipboard shapes, the brads and the paper, all from the one line. I also matched up some of the Double Dot Cardstock.  Some fussy cutting from the cut-outs paper, and the banner trend is still big right now so I layered some 1" strips, folded them and made the banner below the title.  Love the colours, so bright and happy!

 

My Sunshine

Good morning everyone!  Looks like we have another heat wave heading our way here in Southwestern Ontario!  I will enjoy today's temperatures while it lasts - hot but not as much humidity!

I have another layout to share today - created with Scrappin' Great Deals July Scrapbooking Kit.  Sadly, it is also the last of the monthly kit program.  Happily we are still creating kits - just in a new direction.  We are making DIVA kits.  Layouts, cards, altered items;  kits with full instructions to create one layout, or a group of cards or even an album.  I will post more details as we get them underway!!

Right now here is:  "MY SUNSHINE"

I had fun playing with a new Ranger stamp set, Dylusions - that is the flowers along the left side, stamped in Tattered Rose Distress ink, hilighted with my Distress Markers.  I used an EK Success border punch on the Authentique patterned paper, and then used a Prima flourish mask to add some dimension to the paper.  The rest of the embellishments are in the kit - the wood butterflies by Maya Road, a lovely little folder by Simple Stories, ZVA roses, pearls, ribbon, twine.  Loving the orange & pink colour combo!

Have a fabulous day!!

Sunshine Makes Me Happy!!

It is that time again!  The beginning of the month means it is time to present Scrappin' Great Deals July's Scrapbooking Kit!! Look at all that yummy paper and embellishments, and the theme this month is "Dreams Create the Future" courtesy of a Unity Stamp that is included in the kit!

Tons of summer colour; paper by Echo Park, American Crafts, BoBunny and Authentique; May Arts ribbon, Darcie twine, ZVA flowers, Favourite Findings Buttons, Maya Road Butterflies, Simple Stories Memo Pockets; etc, etc, etc!!!  STUNNING!!

I have one layout to share today:  "Sunshine Makes me Happy"

Tools and Media I used to create the layout not included in the kit:

Studio Calico Bubble Mask
Donna Salazar Bubble Wrap Stamp
October Afternoon Mist
Glimmer Mist
Sew Easy and Embroidery Cotton
Distress Ink and Stain
Dylusions by Ranger Stamp Set

I love building layers upon layers using my paper and media, love texture, fussy cutting, stamping and misting!  I just can't seem to keep it simple!!

Hope you have a fantastic day, keep cool and enjoy the sunshine!! 

Happy Father's Day T-Shirt

Hand prints on a t-shirt!!  Is there a better way for kids to show their love forever??  I don't thinks so!

Hope all the dads out there enjoyed their day! 

Playing with my Distress Markers

 So I will confess that I have had my Tim Holtz Distress Markers for some time now, played with them a bit and now have finally gotten around to taking a picture of my first efforts with them! Here is a flower from a Flourishes stamp set, that I coloured in with my lovely new markers; the image was stamped using Rangers Archival Ink on Rangers specialty stamping paper.

These markers are water based and are really different from any others that I have used.  I don't think I did too badly for my first attempt though!  Not only can you colour with these markers, you can stamp as well!  Simply colour directly onto your stamp, then give a "huff" of breath on it and stamp on your paper, like so:

This technique works really well for more solid image stamps like I used above.  You can take your time colouring the stamp, all you have to do is breath on the stamp and it moistens the ink and it is ready to stamp. 

I can't wait to play a bit more with these markers - I need more time in the day!!  See ya!

Art Journals

Art Journalling has become a very hot topic lately.  It has been around for awhile, but lately it seems to be everywhere!  Some of the SGD divas are trying to make an effort to get together once a month for some art journalling.  We met this past Friday and here is a page I added to my journal (my journal that I started March 2011 with Donna Downey and has remained closed since!!)

An art journal - also called an inspiration journal, a life journal - is a place to try new techniques, create new designs, record thoughts, experiences - no rules, anything goes.  Get out stamps you have never used, paints that you have never opened - experiment, get messy and have fun! 

 

A list of all the "STUFF" I used on my page can be found on today's blog post for Scrappin' Great Deals.