A Whole Lotta Classes Goin On!.. AND A GIVEAWAY!!!!

Yep, classes are going crazy....  T'is the season I suppose but yikes, it is hard to keep up sometimes!  I spent two hours cleaning off the top... JUST the top... of my scrap table because it was  getting to the point where I could only see the two front corners of it!  If you live close, I have the following classes at Creative Scrapbooks coming up:

Monday Oct 17th - Glitter Christmas Card Class - FULL

Sunday Oct 23rd - Mistables Frame Class

Thursday Oct 27th - Baby Mini Album

(picture to come soon!)

Tuesday Nov 1 - Advanced Copics

Sunday Nov 6th - Cardinal Christmas Watercolour Card Class

Monday November 21st - Star Wreath Class

Tuesday November 22nd - Beginner Copics

Tuesday November 29th - Advanced Copics 

Yowza huh?

Oh... and if you live in Lloydminster,   I am there this weekend to teach Copics and Alcohol inks at a retreat with Scrapbook Studio!  I feel very honoured to have been ask to come join Jackie, Shauna and the rest of the gals ... and I hear there are very few spots left open if you are looking for some fun!

Last month, we did monochromatic colouring with Advanced Copics and I have to admit that they are some of my favourite cards to date.  They look easy but it is a bit tricky colouring with unusual colours!  I realized that I have 2 of the same stamp so... tell me which card is your favourite and one lucky commenter will win that stamp (and maybe some other goodies from the stuff that I cleared of my scrap table)! 

SEPIA - (warm grays)

BLACK AND WHITE

SEPIA (brown tones)

Contest will close on October 28th!

FEBRUARY DESIGN TEAM REVEAL AT APOS!

Well nothing like leaving everything to the last minute.... It has been a crazy busy hectic time around here, thank goodness for scrapbooking to take my mind off of things!

This month, the Design Team at A PILE OF SCRAP! all got some different Valentine's lines and decided we wanted to do our reveal a bit early to send out some inspiration for those looking to create a unique gift for the big day. I was thrilled to receive My Mind's Eye's "Irresistable" line - a great mix of classic and funky! I will apologize in advance for some of the pics as my camera batteries were dying and the lighting is not the best in my scrap area - I am hoping to retake some of the pics at some point. I ended up with 2 cards and 4 layouts and still have some paper left to create more if I can squeeze it in.

First up, I decided to play with my new Spellbinder's dies and some glimmer mist/stamps to alter a white flower.
I adore this stamp! And although it looks like holes around the scallop in the picture it is actually black bling. I ended up giving this card away to my son's little friend who is moving next week.


Then I did a little card that was inspired by a layout at LOAD that I absolutely adored. This is a great card for scraps that are left sitting in your scrap area!
This is her layout (her name is Errlee on LOAD but she doesn't have a blog as of yet)


And here is my card:

This layout came together very quickly
BLISS IS FOUND
Oh those Jenny Bowlin bingo cards.... LOVE THEM! And the little Maya Road pins too! I added a wee bit of Basic Grey's Indian Summer line to change it up a little and a little bit of the Kaisercraft tiny alphabets always add a nice touch.

My next layout came together thanks to a LOAD challenge to use our stash.
SURPRISE
these were 2 scraps in to top of the scrap box and I opened an embelly drawer and found a box of old Making Memories flowers...so I used the whole box in one shot!


My next layout took quite a while for me...
LOVE STORY
This is one of the photos that I inherited from my Grandparents and they have sat there for a while as I was feeling quite intimidated by them...but am finally starting to scrap them. I have noticed however that I put the wrong year in the journal tag as it is actually 1940 - this is my Grandma and Grandpa and my Dad the day that my Grandpa left for the war. I have only put the photo down lightly as I want to scan it and save the original. This also has some 7 Gypsies paper and Jenny Bowlin C'oredinations cardstock on it. The flower was originally a newsprint beigey Prima one....a few different shades of Glimmer Mist and some ink to change it up a bit.

YOU MAKE MY HEART SING
And my last layout - Is this not the freakin cutest paper ever?!!!!!!!!
I only got one sheet so I cut out a heart from behind the photo in order to pop it up. I also used some Jenny Bowlin notebook cards and my ever favourite Heidi Swapp alphabets (who says I don't like stickers?!)

Hope you liked my projects - make sure you head on over to see

• Cheryl's stunning "Smiles" layout (along with her other goodies!)
• the gorgeous stuff Candace did with Little Yellow Bicycle!
• Jen's magical memories with Making Memories!
• and Valerie's adorable Bo Bunny creations!
  

Latest Creations and Some Blog Candy!

Well I have been a scrapping machine lately! LOAD definitely helps as did the online crop at A PILE OF SCRAP! - I finally got the chance to take some pics in better lighting so I thought I would share today....and...

I think it's time for a little
Blog Candy!
So here are the details - for your chance to win a $20 gift certificate at the A PILE OF SCRAP! online store and some extra goodies from my stash you can have your name entered by
- Telling me which of these is your favourite and why
- Follow my blog
- Send a friend (make sure they tell me that you sent them!)
Simple as that ! I will leave this contest open until Sunday at Midnight :)
And without further ado, the creations!

We have a cool game on our forum that we play every month called Crop Circle where the winner from the previous month picks 5 elements you must have on a layout - this month we had to use punches, stitching, die cut paper, bling and ink. I am using up old pictures as I seriously need to get some pictures developed and my printer is out of coloured ink...
Next is the online crop stuff - we had an all 80s theme and some pretty cool challenges came out of it.
The Barbie Girl (remember the song by Aqua)- use some plastic on a layout
The white wedding challenge- use white cardstock as your base
The AIDS challenge - use red ribbon on your project
The Dirty Dancing Challenge (nobody puts baby in a corner so no corners on the base cardstock)
And the last challenge that I was able to get done was a Strawberry Shortcake cupcake card - this was a template that I found somewhere and forgot to take note - so if it yours, please let me know and I will make sure to let others know! I seriously need to take another pic of this as the background paper and my "mist box" are a little distracting!!

And this one was one that I played with at the LSS, experimenting with embossing powders and the Clearsnap design adhesives (that is the words under what is supposed to be the photos - I freaking love these!!) Scrapping without pictures is a rarity for me but I like how this one turned out.
And lastly are my LOAD creations - awesome prompts from Lain to use my stash has motivated me, now let's just see if I can make it through a shift at the LSS tonight without buying anything!

LOAD 1 -No Title Needed (all scraps)

LOAD2 - Vintage (me as a baby!) (old photo)
LOAD3 - Two (old stickers that I used as a mask with Glimmer Mist)

LOAD4 - Field Trip
Whew! And that is it! Hope you are having scrappy week too! Don't forget to leave a comment!

HAPPY BLOGHOP!!

Welcome to A PILE OF SCRAP'S! first ever bloghop! You are almost at the end of the hop, I hope you have enjoyed all the girls' creations.

Hopefully you have made your way along the path and linked here from Vicki's blog... if not, make sure you go back to Valerie's blog and follow your way through the links! If you have left a comment on everyone's blog and follow the instructions at the end of the post, your name will be entered for a scrappy prize!

First up, the card sketch:
I asked all the girls to stick with this colour combo - but they were welcome to use any shade of the colours... I opted to make my own coloured paper with 4 different shades of Glimmer Mist as none of the cardstock I had on hand matched! And since I was sparkly already, I figured stamping with a little glitter wouldn't hurt! And this was the perfect opportunity to use my new Spellbinder's die that I picked up...
And the second sketch was for a layout - this is a pretty plain sketch for me but I really wanted the girls to show their styles!
And so.......I scrapped!!! Yep, I did! For me!!!!! I haven't had a chance to do that in way too long and it really felt good! And to top it off, my scrap area is now cleaned up so I may get to do a little more over the holidays! Not only did I scrap, but I actually scrapped holiday pictures!!!! It's a Christmas Miracle!!!!! (I honestly tend to avoid all holiday pictures as I feel there is too much pressure...but I am happy with how this turned out). We had a little scrappy swap on the forum and I received my parcel today...so I had to use my new Starfish Glimmer Mist and the pretty red bling from Bazzill - thanks so much Cheryl for my goodies :)

I hope you all enjoyed our very first blog hop! Make sure you head on over to the forum and look for a post called "Blog Hop Finish Line" and leave your final comment there for a chance at the prize!

Wishing you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas!

APOS DESIGN TEAM REVEAL FOR AUGUST

What a crazy month this has been! This month, we were all given various Crate Papers from A PILE OF SCRAP! - some cute lines with really great rub-ons and die cuts that really add to your creations. I was in a bit of a time crunch and only got started 2 days before the deadline but did manage to complete 4 projects (with one more almost done!).
Some of the goodies given to me included:

We had a little staff meeting/going away party/staff crop at work on Friday night so I quickly printed off some Canada Day pictures to work with. The only problem was that as I was holding this beautiful little 7 month old, he managed to grab a hold of my wine glass and spill it....getting a little bit on each picture....but it worked out okay as I managed to create some embellishment clusters to cover it up!
The first layout I did is my new fave....can you tell where the wine got on the picture?!

The squirrel is part of the glitter die cuts, how cute is he?!
And the next layout also had some wine spillage...any guesses where?

The owl, the journaling tag, and the "hoo's the little cutie" are also from the die cuts....I don't think I have ever bought die cuts before but they sure can add to a page! The chipboard heart was coloured with my new obsession (Smooch ink) and then stamped, and the Prima flower was inked and glimmer misted....after I took out the middle of it because I wasn't crazy about it.

Next up were two birthday cards for a little birthday party (for my dayhome kiddies) we went to yesterday. The kids had a great time and it was actually quite a relaxing birthday party! The cards were made from the rubons and snippets of paper and even a bit of the packaging from the rubons - can you tell where I used that?!

And that is my reveal - hope you enjoyed it! Make sure you check out Candace's unique "Beach Days" layout, Cheryl's super-cute "Monsters Under the Bed" layout, Vicki's adorable "1 Cute Shirt" layout, Valerie's beautiful flower box, and Jen's "Just Ducky" layout!!

Can't wait to see what this month brings us.... will be back later tonight with the Sketch of the Week!

JULY DT REVEAL!

Oh how good it felt to create again! This is our first reveal with our brand new DT over at A PILE OF SCRAP! and what a job everyone did!!! Alissa gave half the team "Wisteria" by Basic Grey and the other half got "Early Bird" by Cosmo Cricket - I LOVE Cosmo Cricket so I was very excited to see it peeking out at me when I got my package. Each month, we are asked to create 4 pieces with our package but I ended up with 3 layouts, a mini project and 2 cards - the scraps are amazing for card-making! Here are my creations:

PLAYTIME - A little bit of everything on this layout! Even a little doodling...still hard to get my pen to do that! I liked the look of the naked Riff Raff dino so I let him be. Still lovin those Jenny Bowlin cards :)

BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED - A very simple yet fun layout. I got a new scalloped oval punch and thought it would make a nice flower...and then the layout just kind of grew from there! The inking is all done with Tea Dye distress ink (my fave!).

BE HAPPY - 7 different patterns on this one! Cosmo Cricket makes it so easy to mix up the patterns. I found that the Bazzill Swiss dot paper went so nicely with this line. I used a little bit of glossy accents on the Be Happy strip just to make it stand out a little more.

What is this you may ask? Well it was my Mom's birthday so I made a cd holder for her and then burned a cd with pictures of the kids. This is the front of the cover - I used my ScorePal to do a little embossing on the front cover (for a frame) and my ever handy pokey tool!

This is the inside of the case.

And the inside with the cd in it. I went to Cosmo Cricket's website to get a picture of the paper so that I could make the label on the cd with the matching paper. I didn't tell my mom what was on the cd so when they got home, it was a nice surprise for her :)

And to fullfill my birdie obsession, I made this cute little card with my new Slice cartridge "Big Kids". I think you may be seeing quite a bit of this birdie! The cream strip (that looks white) was embossed using the new Cuttlebug embossing strips, some ink and my brayer!

And last but not least,

A birthday card for my son who is turning 6 today! The lizard is courtesy of the Big Kids cartridge again - love him!
Hope you enjoyed my creations, make sure you head on over to Vicki and Jerusha's blogs to see what they also did with this line. Then check out Cheryl, Candace, Valerie and Jen's blogs to see they beautiful projects made using the Wisteria line.

Have a great week!!!!!!!!

TECHNIQUE TUESDAY -(aka NO MISTAKES, ONLY OPPORTUNITY!)

Woohoo....Technique Tuesday!!!
Today, I am showing a technique that is great for making your own patterned paper. This technique is called Emboss Resist. With it, you can create pretties like this:

You will need:
glossy cardstock
stamps
Versamark
clear embossing powder
heat gun
reinkers
paintbrush
paper towels
wax paper
water
cardstock (optional)
iron (optional)

STEP ONE:
Stamp designs with watermark (Versamark) ink on glossy cardstock. Sprinkle clear embossing powder and set with heat gun. I used holographic embossing powder so there is a bit of sparkle in it.

STEP TWO:
Squeeze a few drops of reinker onto wax paper - always go darkest to lightest. I used red, magenta, orange and yellow. Dip paintbrush in water; lightly blot on paper towel so your brush is wet but not dripping wet. Dab onto glossy cardstock, smooshing your brush around, going right over top of the embossed images. Notice that the ink resists the embossed areas; the ink will stain and bead up a little giving the look of a watercolor. Repeat in three or four areas on the cardstock as shown.

STEP THREE:
Clean brush very well and change your water - if you don't, your colour will bleed and you will end up with mud! You are now ready to apply the next colour. DO NOT apply ink right next to the first color - leave some space between colours as you will fill in with your final and lightest colour.

STEP FOUR:
Apply the last colour (yellow) in between the other colors, sort of like a bridge between two colours. Apply the yellow in the available white space and then overlap some of it into the other colors...the results are layered and blended and quite beautiful! You can let it dry or hit it with your heat gun. Rub a damp Q-tip or paper towel over areas of the embossed design that has ink spots on it to get rid of any ink there.

STEP FIVE: (OPTIONAL)
You could be done now if you like the shiny embossed images or if you want to make it look more like patterned paper, simply put the glossy cardstock in between two pieces of white or cream cardstock. WIth a hot iron, iron over cardstock until you can begin to see parts of the embossed images coming through. Keep ironing until you can lift the top sheet of cardstock off without it sticking. What you are doing is removing the embossing now, but it will still leave the white image behind.

You now have your own patterned paper! You can stamp on it or use it however you would regular paper... So what did I create? Well, I did a layout (with the Sketch of the Week) and a simple, yet elegant card.

Now you may have noticed that the second half of my title had something to do with mistakes... well I seem to have made quite a few in the last projects I was creating. My friend Alissa tells me that there are no mistakes in scrapbooking, only opportunity for embellishment....and let me tell you how true that is!
When I was creating this technique, I got it all done and went to stamp on it and the darn acrylic stamp fell of my block and right into the middle of the pretty butterflies! EEK! Well, I managed to salvage a small piece of it and that is how the card came to be! Then, on the layout, I had smudged some ink so that is how the pinkish smudgemarks came to be...yes they were in the sketch but I hadn't intended on putting them there but I am somewhat (did I just say somewhat? Okay, I TOTALLY am ) of a messy scrapbooker...so smudges are nothing out of the ordinary!
Some other mistakes this week...
I made this card for Vicki's colour challenge (brown, green, orange and cream)

I was happily creating....got almost done....went to stamp the "believe" and darn if I didn't do it totally crooked!!! Grrrrr.... but, it was a piece from my scrap box and the only one in there....so that is how the button and ribbon came to be! And in my opinion, it totally made the card!
And if you have made it all the way to the end of this long post, thanks!! If you would also be so kind as to show me any creations that you make using this technique, I would be so happy, I might even attempt a cartwheel! Annnnnnnnnnd... if you showed me some of your embellishments that were created from a mistake, I would definitely do a sommersault! Definitely!!!!!
Have a scrapfreakintastic week would ya?!