Scrapbookers need thumbs...

who knew? Well let me tell you, spraining the thumb of your "useful" hand whilst trying to catch Thing 2 launching himself off of the top of the stairs can really hamper the production factor!!

These are "pre-sprain", from a crop weekend a couple of weeks ago. Yes, I'm late...it's because I had no thumb!! ;-) I'm hoping to get out again this weekend to work on some DT stuff for Tina's Scrapbooking Creations (http://www.tinascrapbooking.com/) and am SO excited!!! Could also do some xmas cards and...NO!! Wait!! That's right...I'm all DONE!! :-) Oh, the sweetness of it.

Nav-Can!!!

Posting a little late on this one, seeing as how my life fits into the "they can't make this stuff up even for a B-movie" kinda thing......

So. I went to my second retreat with some close gal-pals the weekend of the 17th, and WOW. Seriously. Fun times!!!!!!! The laugh till you pee kinda fun :-) It was crazy!!! I had a ton 'o things I'd wanted to get done, and most of which I really did!!!

I also time warped ahead to thinking about Christmas, and taught my Close To My Heart Christmas card workshop with some of my best students EVER in attendance...and even included my mom!! :-) It was a riot. These ladies ROCKED the class!!!

I have a few others things on the go, a hostess club on Wednesday night, and planning for Design Team schwing.....life is never boring in these parts of the world! ;-)

Chipboard Album

Okay, so here's a challenge I hosted on Lovebug this past weekend (http://www.lovebugscrapbooking.com/) where I wanted to use up all those bits and pieces of chipboard I have laying around...which is a TON ;-)

So I took a handful of odds and ends...and put together a mini-album!!! I particularly liked that I could use some less-than-perfect photos because they would be cropped small...not enough to fit a layout, but perfect for this!!

The gals hosted a TON of challenges for you to "scrap your stash"...so go check out the forum and try them!!! :-)

Pull-out Scrapbook

Whoaaaaaaaaa Nelly!!!!!!!!! Seriously, I managed to pop this off whilst shaking Thing 1 off my chair and Thing 2 grabbin my arm. Oh, the sacrifices for the art ;-)

This is a project I'm doing for my hostess club, called a "Pull-out Scrapbook". This, in one word, is AWESOME. Why? Because it suits any level of scrapbooker. You can make it just with your papers, or you can add stamps. You can add eyelets, embossing and fibres. The list, really, is endless. This is pretty simple, consisting of papers, CTMH "Stickease" stickers (seriously, I used stickers) and two stamps (on the cover).

Think a quick birthday gift (you don't have to add the pics, they can!!), a hostess gift, teacher gifts and XMAS gifts!!! You could put some pics in it that cover the past year!! :-)

Dahlia Fold Cards

I love them. End of story.

Dahlia fold cards are the BEST way to get that "my card is better than your card." Period. ;-) LOL!!!

These little beauties I will be teaching at Tina's Scrapbooking Creations (http://www.tinascrapbooking.com/) on October 4th, 2008 at 1 p.m. Check out her website for some new products and such, too!!! THEN....head on over to her design team gallery where you'll find....ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am SOOOOOOO excited to have been selected as part of her design team for the 2008-2009 season!!!! :-) Thanks, Tina...I'm honoured!!!

These cards feature the "Love You" line by Daisy Bucket...by far my most favourite paper line company for doing dahlia fold cards!! First, because they're THIN papers. This makes it so much easier to fold the little pieces (what pieces, you ask? come take the class!!) Second, because they're double sided. I'm always looking for "more bang for your buck". And for these particular folds, it just makes sense. THIRD? I love the colours.

Hope you find inspiration today!!

Time away!

Finally this weekend I was able to get out and about and spend some quality time scrappin'!! :-) It's been far too long, and it feels GREAT to be back in the saddle again!!!



So I was out Friday night and Saturday at the Scrapbox (http://www.thescrapbox.ca/) and had a blast!! Finally picked up some new goodies (Bo Bunny "Beau Jardin" line!) to play with and FINALLY worked on the Mother's Day picture I've been waiting to scrap!

I also picked up some of the new felt from Prima...similar to the Queen & Co. "felt fusion"...but even more awesome ;-) I'm also addicted to the ColorCore cardstock..this one is "Cauldron" and I sanded it to reveal the matching teal colour of the pp. Of course, being a page just for MOI...I wanted some flowers, but they were a little too stark for my liking. So I stamped on them using the Autumn Leaves "Stampology" flourishes to match the paper :-) How friggin novel!! Also, the AC Thickers were a little stark..so I stamped on them, too!!

Anyhoooo....keep posted as I'll be posting some pics of the dahlia fold cards I'll be teaching in October shortly :-) They ROCK!!

Another nice addendum to the weekend was the number of Close To My Heart business cards I passed around...check them out if you have the chance (www.closetomyheart.com) I'll be doing a couple of Christmas card classes in the coming months!!!

Speedy Gonzales....

NOT! I've been working on about 3 different layouts and not one is the way I want it >:-(

But I digress....looking forward to fall in the worst way!!! ;-) I have the potential to be doing some really great and exciting things.....but....well, I have no control over any of it and that's very hard for me ;-) Just sitting here waiting....tapping fingers...and planning....it's the power of positive thinking, and I tell you...I'm just givin' 'er!!! LOL

Anyhoooooooo...the latest: Kids are spawn, life is good :-) Thing 1 and Thing 2 are a year and a half now, I can't believe it!!! I just bought them Dr. Seuss Thing 1 and Thing 2 Halloween costumes!!! *BEAMING*

Drama queen has recovered from her surgery and is in tip-top shape, I'm happy to report!! Still full of drama, but that I can deal with (or at least lead people to believe I can!!)

Oldest is full of pre-teen laziness...right on track ;-) I did this layout of him because I could. Seriously. Getting a decent picture of him NOT playing video games is a feat of gargantuan proportions!!!

AND....I scanned it :-) This is a big deal for me. NOW I will submit like wildfire...they may not ever use any of mine, but I tell you this...they will eat, sleep and breathe my name...baby steps. ;-)

Also, I used Photoshop CS3 to alter the main photo of him...see if you can pick out what I did!!!

Back at it....PHEW!!!

I was seriously getting behind....who would think?? But I have two less daycare kids this week, and I can bribe the one I have left with craft time :-) Life is good.

So, for the first....I don't like it. It didn't turn out the way I'd wanted, and of COURSE because I haven't figured out how to $#@ scan...it looks too dark. Whatever. There were two things I wanted to pull off...one, the Autumn Leaves "Stampology" edges acrylic stamp (say that 10 times fast) and two, the photo...the "selective colouring" in Photoshop. LOVE it.

The second I had SO much fun with....the "Frenzy" line by Whiteout...used Photoshop to do the half circle journalling for the first time. COOL.

Cheers to new-found mojo ;-)

Reconnected...

A day without phone, internet AND cable makes me lose my mind. Period. Not the insanity of raising kids, but the feeling of being disconnected from the outer ring of my "adult" life...from who's doing what and when...the weather (who'da thunk you could just walk outside and see?)...the news.

I am now reconnected and life is good. Apparently there was an "issue" at the company. The company doesn't have five kids. The company doesn't understand why playing Dora-babies on Treehouse.com is a GOOD thing for mommy, kids be damned. Internet = QUIET. Phone = adult conversation. Cable = "connection" to all things gloriously vegetative...a state of which I would like to have a few more minutes during the day.

This layout features a pic taken by my friend at a Christmas party...I remember the moment, not just because I had no prior "vogue" time (y'know...to fix up hair, reduce the shine?)...but because it was such a quick, blink and you miss it, kind of moment. But for that one, fleeting moment, my son and I "connected" with a bond stronger than even the best tape-runners...

Mission (Im)Possible

I have FINALLY done it!!!












I found EXACTLY 12.2 minutes to figure out, in Photoshop, how do to this effect! :-) This, by gawd, is THE most exciting thing that's happened in the last, oh, two days....only to be topped by the fascinating way my twins can fandangle their little chicken butts up onto my dining room TABLE....but that's another story....

Anyhooooooo....I've seen it, I've been sent instructions to do it, I've even attempted the impossible and tried to do it myself (apparently I missed the "impossible" part...I never "got it")...but today my friend told me about the instructional area on the Scrapbooks Etc. site...under the "Digital Scrapbooking" area :-) Seriously, it is SO user-friendly.

I've done a couple more that I'm hoping to scrap this weekend (in the alter-reality of my mind I have a TON of free time)...fingers crossed!!! I picked up some of the Black Magic and Vintage ColorCore Cardstock I'm also hoping to play with!!

Loooooooooong week!!!

Well, I've FINALLY made a few things!! phew! I was starting to suffer some serious withdrawals, I tell you!! Between the new daycare girls (the hell was I thinking??) and Hannah's surgery, well....you know. I'm too tired to even type!!!

So. I got me just a bitty of the new Basic Grey Euphoria line...just a teaser, mind you...I'm off to the Scrapbox (http://www.thescrapbox.ca/) to get momma some more ;-) Anyhooooooooo....I've been wanting to do up some cards FOREVER...and I've finally done it!! LOL ya, five...I understand the irony...considering the "whole stack" I really want to get to!!!

I'm STILL trying to figure out what kind of a scanner to buy :-( bloody hell...I hate taking pics of all the stuff!! You never get the "true" colours and texture of anything!!! ARGH!! So if you have one you love, lemme know!!

A Mother's Touch...

I'm behind in the scrappin' factor...and for good reason, believe me!!! Hannah had her surgery to have her adenoids and tonsils removed for "obstructive sleep apnea" on Friday. Not only was it the longest day of my life, it was the hardest...and with that evening still to come (we'd had to stay overnight at CHEO).

Nothing in the world makes me feel as powerless as I did when I saw my daughter in the recovery room. I like to think I am a woman of eloquence...but words fail me to describe the sight I beheld my little girl going through. Even as I held her crying in my arms, not knowing her surroundings, with her pain, her disorientation...I couldn't even muster up a small prayer for anything...anything at all. I was at a total loss. The only thing I could think to do was sing...so I did. And she settled. I sang....and it was the worst singing I've ever done as I tried to choke back my own tears. But still, she settled. I cupped her head in my hands and wished with all my might that I could somehow transfer her pain to me...

So I sat up all night watching her. I was on the clock before the nurses asking for her pain meds. But truth be known, she is a little fighter and I wish I had half the pain tolerance she must have!!! Little bugger fought off not only the morphine, but the codeine as well!!! She didn't fall asleep until HOURS after her surgery!! Meanwhile, I'm looking like a woodpecker knocking on trees, my head was so heavy from fatigue!! Good God, did they slip me some as well??? Hook me the hell up!!! ;-)

Anyways, she's doing just fine. I, however, am still traumatized. Although I know this will all be, at best, a figment of her imagination, I toil in the realization that even though I may feel like I can't do anything for my child in times of need, I am, indeed, the most powerful person in the world.

I am their mother.

"Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children." William Makepeace Thackeray

I'm lacking...

in the photo department!!! I have almost scrapped all my recently updated pics, and I have a rule that I don't touch older photographs, unless I know and have EXACTLY the right papers and such to go with it. Bizarre, I know, but you should be accustomed to that by now ;-)

So, the weather is HOT, the kids are grouchy...but I'm scrappin' tonight :-) All's good.

This is my first attempt at the Prima Paintables!!! I really did enjoy playing with the Twinkling H2O's ;-)

Legacy and Losses

Well, these two recent pages reflect both past AND future, ironically enough. And I love them both, for their significance to ME. That got me thinking. Lately I've been doing a lot of scrapbooking to impress other people, and that's NOT what it's about. But it wasn't until I completed these two pages that I realized I am giving these gifts of remembrance not only to my children, but to enable myself to feel emotion AND have the outlet to capture it on "paper". Set in stone, if you will.

The first is with my daughter, who just turned 3 last week. I see in her myself, obviously, but also of that typical "I want the best for her" - thingy ;-) Watching her grow up, being all girlie-girl, I realize that she is totally NOT me, having been a tomboy, and growing up an avid hockey and football fan!!! I see in her the potential to have a daughter of her own...and thus, my legacy.

I also finally compelled myself to compose a layout remembering my grandparents...but not how they used to be, how they used to look or how they used to "live". I chose, rather, to honour the fact that they are "GONE"...and my emotions attached to said fact. The photo in the layout are the corner pieces of each of their caskets, of their final resting places. I ache that my grandmother, who so verily believed I was a boy, in utero, that she'd bought all blue baby stuff, never saw that I had a daughter of my own, after two boys. I ache that neither were able to drop a jaw to learn that I was carrying not one, but TWO little lives in my womb...my grandfather was supposed to have met the twins but two weeks after his passing. I miss them terribly, I still grieve at their loss...but know in my heart that their blood runs through the legacy they've left FORWARD, not behind.

Challenge me this.....

PHEW. Seriously, working under pressure can have it's advantages, but after the week 'o' snafu I've just gotten over...well...MAN!! I was up for a "game" of sorts at Lovebug, but when you've got a deadline and it's the final hour....I'm pretty stoked with what I came up with!! LOL

Actually, these are the two of my better ones...the last I just DON'T accept...I'll fix it later ;-)

Dirt and divas....

I friggin LOVE taking pictures of my kids!!! :-) seriously, to do a layout of, say, a flower? unheard of!! LOL one day I'll surprise you, I promise!!!

So another all-day crop yielded wonderful results...I was ON the game, I tell ya!! Finally dug out my BG "Archaic" and actually USED it...I love this stuff....fibres, chipboard stickers....PERFECT with having two littles "Things" that highlight it's FUN!!!

And I took a trip outside the box and played with my new Heidi Swapp goodies...pink and black? I think it turned out well!! I layered the birds in the bottom left-hand corner...hand cut the largest, the second is a transparency and the last is a little PINK mirror bird!!! I also layered the title, I've never done that before...I could be addicted already ;-) The "sassy" is Heidi Swapp bling over her foam alphas that co-ordinate with the paper line...

Lastly, I got to do a couple of single pages....one of Thing 2 lookin' all devious...little cutie!!!

And of Hannah stopping to "smell the roses"....which, in this case is a weed...dandelion ;-)

Looking forward to this week...I'm going to try to learn how to scan my images, instead of almost tossing my camera out the door!! :-)

Conspiracy Theory

One of the best things about having twins, I'm finding, is the amount of trouble they get into. Well, maybe "trouble" is the wrong word...how about "conspiracies"? or "kunundrums"...or....

I swear, they plan this stuff, I'm certain of it!! Got your eye off your Diet Coke for ONE second, and Thing 2 has given himself a bath in it. Got a chair? Thing 2 is up on the dining room table. I have no more chairs in my dining room, and my computer tower is blocked by a baby gate...just waiting for them to figure out their fingers can poke through and STILL turn it off!!!

I just noticed Thing 2 can reach the doorknobs.

Perfect.

It's ON!!!

Officially a guest designer for the month of June for Lovebug Scrapbooking....this forum ROCKS!!! http://www.lovebugscrapbooking.com/ You need to check it out! The best part? They have a store AND forum AND gallery!!

Anyhoooooo...got my kit on Friday...The Little Yellow Bicycle "Delightful" series...YUMMY!! :-) Still have some on the go with some wicked Maya Road goodies...but of course...OF COURSE...I dislocated my finger yesterday dealing with offspring chaos....but that's another story.

For this layout, I had Stephane write the journalling himself!!! Although it seems a more "girly" line, it works just fine for the lads!!!

I wish my camera would take better pictures!!! LOL...or, of course, if I could ;-) but you get the idea, I hope!!!

I have a ton more stuff to get done....off I go, and hopefully the offspring will comply....otherwise perhaps some duct tape and brandy? ;-)

Sassy...

My daughter is QUITE the little miss, full of sass and cheeky comments. I snapped this pic as she was pointing to me "no scrapbooking!!"

Hmmmm...wonder if I snap too many pictures to scrapbook? Can't imagine ;-)

I cut the flowers from the Cricut machine...stamped over the die cuts with the Baroque wheel from Stampin' Up! (it was just plain pink), then layered them to give it texture.

I need another...

I need another retreat. Already. Only been to one, only 3 months ago...and it's time. Overdue, in fact. So I'm hoping a few of my gal pals will set one up for us the beginning of October!!!!!!!!

This page was inspired by my first EVER scrapbooking retreat, which had been hosted by Tomorrow's Treasures...and featured...VICKI BOUTIN!!!! Seriously, I know we all have our persons of inspiration, but she was one of the first (although in no way limited to) sources of scrapbooking inspiration for me when I first began. I scraplifted in secret (only cuz I thought that was a bad thing!!!), and I followed her blog religiously.

So. To meet her in person? Kid in a candy store, I tell you....S-W-E-E-T!!!!!!!!!!! She is so down to earth and funny!!! Anyways, that weekend was a highlight not only in my scrapbooking endeavours, but also on a personal front. I didn't have to clean. I didn't have to cook. I could go to bed when I wanted, and wake up when I wanted. A good friend of mine told me my voice tone dropped about 15 levels, I was so relaxed. It was the best sleep I'd had in EONS. I could shower without rushing!! Who knew that level of existing...well...existed?!?!? ;-)

Patience is a virtue...

...that I just don't have...I REALLY want to make a TON of paper pieced cards...but cutting out all those itty bitties??? argh!!! But I certainly am LOVING the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge for my Cricut machine...you can even make costumes!!!!!

I would like to get my hands on the "Once Upon a Time" dp and accessories and make an album for my daughter...these little add ons I could put in it would be SO much fun!! It can cut castles....even a dragon!!! Need to stock up on Michael's coupons!!! :-)

Out on a limb

I feel SO close to making it...I'm on the cusp, I think...or a really, REALLY long branch ;-) I'm reading through design books, learning colour theory...placement theory...you name it. I will be published SOME day!!!! It's a goal of mine that ticks in my brain daily...I'm always looking for ways to up the game, so to speak....

Just wishing...dreaming, really...

Contents under pressure!!!

I am SO sick :( ugh. And to know I could theoretically be able to at least function if it hadn't been that I was up until 4 a.m. coughing!! ACK! But I manage, like I always do...and got in a bit 'o scrappin' this morning...which ordinarily might NOT have happened except that I have class tomorrow night...and had NO layout!! The heck happened there??? ;-) oops. The one I thought we were doing is not until the very last class....minor detail. LOL!!!

Oh well...off to find more java...I wonder if I could start an I.V. drip?????

The eyes are the windows to the soul...

I never realized just how much my oldest son looks like me!! :-O It wasn't until I took this candid of the two of us, which actually turned out pretty well!!!, taken on Mother's Day, that I realized he has, without a doubt, my eyes. Out of five children, ONE of them has my eyes!!

He is going to be 13 years old this year...and I think I need to make more of an effort to find him amongst his video games to take more pictures of him...before he turns into a teenager and runs off with his friends!!! But I still get my hugs...and the best part? HE initiates them ;-) I love my son...it's a daily struggle sometimes, with all those tween hormones starting..but worth every second!!

Feet and "Me"...bizarre combo, eh?

Ordinarily I don't like feet, unless they're in socks. Or, unless you're under 2 years of age...then I'm some kind of freak...taking off baby socks and stuffing stinky little baby toes up my nose...gotta love it!!!! I took this pic of Logan's dirty little feet a couple of months ago...I take a lot of "feet" pictures...not sure why, really, but "just in case"...no idea, don't ask...but what if one becomes Prime Minister, or an Olympic athlete??? Gotta have that "where will these feet take you" pics ;-)

And then there's me....The one thing I hate worse than taking a self-pic, is actually having to scrap it!! Nope. Not on my fave list at ALL. But I can step up to the plate, so to speak, down a package of pre-selected chocolate and, voila!!! ART!!! LOL

I wish all of you mothers out there a very Happy Mother's Day!!! You deserve the standing ovation I'm giving all of you....um....I'm also standing to avoid booger-feeling oatmeal spilled by Thing 1 on the computer chair, but that's a story for another day ;-)