Hurray for Holidays and a SOTW!

Oh holidays, how I have missed you....
It is Spring Break here and the weather couldn't be better!! We spent the day at the park today and running some errands and it felt so good to be in capri pants and sandals! (although, I do have to admit that this is Alberta and I could be pulling out the snow pants by next week). Since the summer of 2008, I haven't had more than a day or two off in a row and it feels really great to sleep in, eat at irregular times and just see where the day takes us. I do miss my dayhome kidlets though so we are setting up some playdates and planning some fun.

For the SOTW and COTW this week, I basically did one sketch and then used it to make a smaller version for a card. I have really been doing a lot of one photo layouts lately so need to challenge myself to try to use a few more photos on a layout...hence this week's sketch!

A little take off from SOTW, but your challenge is to make a SQUARE card - so make it 4 x 4 or 3 x 3 .... just make it square!


Tune in tomorrow for our Design Team Reveal for APOS. I created a cool new flower and liked it so much that I made another one and glued it to my daughter's headband - here is a sneak peek!

And now I am off to go play out in the sunshine a bit more - have a great week!!

Wednesday Words (and a SOTW)

A quick update and SOTW that I forgot to post on Monday.... I have no idea why I manage to do that so often?

Things are rolling along here - I have a canvas class next week at the LSS and a Glimmer and Distress class 2 weeks after that so all my deadlines have been met so far! I am working on a project for Mother's Day and finishing up my DT stuff for A PILE OF SCRAP! - look out for that one because we are really being challenged this month and I am going a little crazy!!! I even pulled out the sewing machine and the Crop-a-dile.... EEK!

Speaking of A PILE OF SCRAP!, the girls are having a retreat this weekend and it will be my first time not going :( I am surviving but sad to be missing out on the ridiculous amounts of fun that we all seem to have. They don't have internet access while they are at the retreat so I think I will have to liven up the forum a bit while a lot of them are away - come join in the fun!

And last but not least, 2 quick sketches using Cosmo Cricket's brand new "Garden Variety" line... use up your scraps!!

SKETCH OF THE WEEK:



CARD OF THE WEEK:
And that is my update - have yourselves a fabulous week!

I am not an artist... or am I?!

So after reading the title, you are probably wondering what on earth this picture has to do with it? Well.... it's a little something like this....

When I first started scrapping, I was a matchy-matchy/everything must be perfectly straight kinda girl. Looking back at those layouts, I still love them but boy are they different from my style now! I don't find that I have a dedicated style but I truly do enjoy pulling out the ink and the mist and playing with messy stuff until I am happy. Some people seem to think I am crazy when I do it.....but meeting Liz Hicks at a retailer's event made me realize that it is okay. Perfectly okay.

And thenI was scrapping last week with some ladies who love to cut stuff out - which I detest doing - and it made me think about it even more. I detest cutting out because it is meticulous and time-consuming....although I think it is pretty, I just don't like it....which is kind of funny as I will spend hours sanding and painting and misting and inking and love the process. The messier the better for me! I have always said that I am not an artist - I could not draw to save my life - but I think I am finding more and more that I love the artistic side of scrapbooking. The part where I long to create something that looks totally different every time and it excites me even more when it turns out how I pictured it in my head.

And then this morning I read Stephanie's post today and it hit home even more for me - how it won't matter 10 years from now if I used the same colour mist on projects, or if it was the latest and greatest punch or whatever....I am simply striving to preserve my memories. And maybe they aren't all happy memories either - like the few layouts that I did for LOAD that I am too afraid to share with others. But I am feeling that it is time for me to create MY album - one for me...one that has sad and happy memories. One that I keep for me. Because I sure feel like a weight has been lifted after doing one of those scarier layouts - it is an incredible release this scrapbooking thing. Then I read what Pinky posted this morning that is gut-wrenchingly honest layout ....... it brought me to tears - for her bravery for doing the layout, not only posting it. If that isn't a creative release, I don't know what is.

So tonight I am going to clean up the scrappy place and pull out the ink and the mist and the scraper and the sandpaper and whatever other messy stuff I can find and CREATE! And I am going to totally enjoy the process!

Oh ... and if you're wondering why Liz's hands look like that? It's because she so kindly let us paint her hands with Tattered Angel's new Glimmer Glam so that she could "autograph" this for me! YOU ROCK LIZ!

SOTW Mar 1 - 7, 2010

Sorry this is late this week - I did post it over on the forum but forgot to post here....

So......... I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!! I finished up LOAD with Lain - 28 days of layouts!! This time went a lot more smoothly than last time and I think next time will go even better! I tried super hard to scrap old pictures and use old products and I think I did pretty well! There will be another LOAD in May and I can't wait for it! This time around there were 147 of us and it was a great group - lots of inspiration and support and a whole lot of fun.
So this was my very last layout for LOAD - a digi one as my scrap table is in serious need of a cleanup. I did the layout first and then took off the photo, title and the journaling and used it for SOTW - hope you enjoy it!