Look - it's back!!

It sure feels good to be blogging again! I was sitting avoiding some other work last night and actually did up a SOTW! Yep, I really did!


See? A real sketch! And that pretty background paper is from Cosmo Cricket's new line Odds & Ends... it hasn't shipped yet but I will be watching for it as I love the look!
And...to thank those of you who nicely nudged me back into blogging.... a little RAK to give away! If you leave me a comment, you will get a ticket entered into a draw for a goody bag (I will take a pic later today and post) ! If you do the SOTW, leave me a comment where to find it (or send me an email at icecheeks@yahoo.com) and you can get another entry. And... if you're new to my blog and sign up as a follower, you will get another entry! Don't worry, if you're already a follower, I will give a ticket too! Deadline for entry is 11 pm, Sunday May 15th!

I WILL REWARD YOU!!!!!!! (oh and a SOTW)

Okay people out there in blogland, I NEED YOUR HELP!!!!

I stumbled across the most amazing song today and I NEED NEED NEED it on my Ipod!!! I have searched and searched and searched to no avail to find a download.... so I am offering up some sort of RAK for the first person to find me a download for this lovely song.... check out the video!!



Isn't it the greatest?! I am going to check with my son's music teacher tomorrow about teaching it to the kids - what a great message it is!!!

So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send me a link if you can find one!!! I promise to send you goodies in return!

Oh and... in honour of my friend Michelle, this week's SOTW is all about polka dots! I must admit I have more polka dotted patterned paper than anything else...so Michelle's obsession is not just her own apparently!!!



Have a great week!

I can't scrap - will you?!

First off, if you are having a hard time reading my blog...like you get a big long list of other blogs and have to scroll thru 2 pages before you see my post, it's because I went and installed this beautiful new template. But little problem with it, it only seems to work in Firefox :( So if you know how I fix that, I would love some help!!!!

And now back to regularly scheduled programming....

Alright ladies.... here's the scoop!
So I am going away and will probably not scrap while I am away...so I thought maybe you could all scrap for me! I did up 3 SOTW (to catch up for the last bit!) and decided to throw them all to you at the same time.

The rules - simple - complete all three sketches by midnight (in whatever time zone you live in) Tuesday June 1st.
If you play along on the A PILE OF SCRAP! forum, upload them there.
If you aren't playing along there, YOU SHOULD BE!! but if not, please email them to me at icecheeks@yahoo.com
And then wait to see who the winner is!


Winner, you say? Yup, a winner!
There will be one of these


and some goodies from the scrap store that I get to visit while in Vancouver - but the rule for me is that I can only buy something that I can't buy at APOS or at my LSS that I work at!! And if for some reason, that scrap store hasn't yet opened in Vancouver, you will have to be satisfied with some kinda cool thing I find while I am roaming about (did I mention ALL BY MYSELF??!!!!).

And without further ado, here are the sketches!

Try out some doodles on your page!




And then use some of that notebook paper that I love.



And then ink it up for me!

Happy Scrapping - can't wait to see everyone's creations!

And the winner is.....

Sorry for the delay folks! Thanks everyone for your kind words about the publication call - you really made my day a lot better :)
My daughter was too happy to help draw the winner - check her out!


So congrats Jenny! Lemme know your wish list...you never know what I might find you!

We are off tonight for Christmas concert #1 - the playschool one. You know... where all the kids start singing a song...in all kinds of keys.... and all kinds of songs... and someone misses singing the song because they are too busy looking for Mom/Dad/Grandma/baby sister (who has decided to sing her own version of "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to" ...the kind where families tend to win America's Funniest Videos with... Should be fun!

Check back tomorrow for the video!

SKETCH OF THE WEEK.......(or AW MAN, I FORGOT AGAIN!)

HAPPY CANADA DAY! I hope you are all getting to spend a great day with your family - I slept in this morning and am happily drinking a Tim Hortons...not sure what the day will bring us but hoping the weather stays nice so I can take the kids to the fireworks tonight!

So school finally ended.... I had my last day with my regular dayhome kids yesterday (I will miss them but hopefully we manage to make more playdates with them than we did last year!) and the new summer dayhome kids have started. I have been doing a lot of work over on the forum to get our newly chosen Design Team girls ready for the adventure - be sure to come back tomorrow and check out my post with all their links!

It has seemed a lot less chaotic but somehow my brain is still not working at top speed! I posted the Sketch of the Week on the forum a day early but somehow forgot all about posting it here until right now! Actually I did remember last night but I got a new printer (YIPPEE!!!) and spent last night playing with it! That and I did some blog surfing that I haven't done in a while...be sure to head over to Pinky's blog for a look at a funny layout and a chance at a some great goodies! (If you tell her I sent you, I get even more chances!). And while you're over there, I think you should also tell her that she should run a contest and make the prize be a layout made by her for ME! I just love her work - her style is truly her own and absolutely beautiful!

So the sketch...I was trying to highlight some new paper lines so this is courtesy of Fancy Pants new Kraft Kuts line. A lot of my faves in this line - birdies, kraft paper and die cuts!!

Have a great day - if you are Canadian, I hope you shout it loud and proud!

SKETCH OF THE WEEK MAY 18-24

I almost forgot that it was Sketch Day today as it is a long weekend here and I have been on a cleaning spree! I have been avoiding scrapping a bit lately so I am feeling the need to get down and dirty and create a grunge page! I have had some requests for a 2 page sketch so if you are only into one pagers you can create 2 separate layouts or else choose a side and have a go!
Don't forget to leave a comment HERE and sign up as to follow my blog for some great Blog Candy!! I need one more follower to add to the goodies!!! Hope you all have a great week :)

SKETCH OF THE WEEK MAY 11-17

I feel the need for .... white! I rarely use white on my layouts and I am determined to do it this week! I am apparently also stuck in my browns though as I didn't avoid that this week! Do the colours that I put in the sketch influence your versions? Would it be better to just have them in black/white/grey? Always nice to hear constructive criticism! Make sure you check out the BLOG CANDY POSTS as you wouldn't want to miss anything (THIS ONE TOO) !

More Candy!

Wooohooo.... time to add more candy since I promised to add more for each 5 followers!! Make sure you check out my I'VE GOT CANDY post to read all the details. Adding into the basket today is this cool little embellishment (I used one in this layout) from Junkitz:


I have a pile of stuff to throw in so I hope to see the followers list grow!! Will be back later to post the Sketch of the Week - hope you are having a fabulous Monday!

I'VE GOT CANDY!!

Okay, so I am breaking down and adding the "FOLLOW ME" application.... We are having a little contest over on our forums and have asked for our members to invite their friends to follow the Design Team blogs. One of my favourite ways to blog surf is to click on the "Who's Following" people and find their blogs. I have found a lot of very neat blogs that way and am looking forward to some more. So to entice you to sign up, I have a little BLOG CANDY to give up!

• If you sign up to FOLLOW ME, your name will be entered for the draw.
• If you leave me a comment here, your name will be entered for the draw.
• If you refer a friend and they FOLLOW me, your name will be entered.
• IF YOU ARE THE FIRST PERSON TO TELL ME HOW TO MAKE THIS POST STAY AT THE TOP OF MY BLOG, YOU WILL EARN AN EXTRA DRAW!!
  

Just be sure to tell your friends to tell me that you referred them! So what kind of candy do I have??? Well.....I will start off with some goodies and then for every 5 followers I get, I will add something!! Right now in the goody basket, I have:

2 pieces of Riff Raff
1 package of Thickers
2 bottles of Stickles

These pretty bling by Me and My Big Idea This beautiful stamp by Daisy Bucket

AND MORE TO COME (hopefully!!) This contest will run until the end of the month!

And while we're on the subject of blogs, I have a request to put out there. I was thrilled to discover a lady who runs a blog that highlights scrappy Canadian Blogs called Canadian Blog Carnival. She has posted that she is in need of a bit of a break and is looking for someone to help run the site for a while and I thought I would post it here in case anyone is interested. Please check her out!

A Quick Post

Just to show you some of the layouts that I accomplished at the retreat last weekend. I have a couple more but they have to wait till tomorrow as part of the Design Team Reveal. Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Kissin' - a layout of my daughter tackling my son for a smooch! This ribbon technique is so fast and easy and really makes an impact on a page!

Best - a layout of my best friend Tanis and my daughter. Tanis was in the delivery room when Danika was born and has been there through everything - an amazing friend whom I cherish. This layout was done based on a challenge by a DT member Jerusha who left the sketch as a challenge for the girls on our forums who couldn't make it to the retreat. This is one of Beggahuna's sketches.

Dogpile - from the Sketch of the Week March 9 - 15. The gears are from Riff Raff...LOVE me some Riff Raff!

Ready 2 b 3 - My son just before his 3rd birthday. This wasn't supposed to be a grungy page but I touched somewhere with ink on my hands (or arms...cause I'm a very messy scrapper!) and went with it!

PS - I am on the lookout for Blog Candy to share...and maybe get some ideas about what I need to put in the giveaway basket! Go check out Catt's Scratching Post for a great giveaway!

And I recently found another Canadian Blogger (love finding those!) who is giving away a very unique prize...I would tell you about it but I want you to go read her blog On the Funny Side of Life

BLOG CANDY!

I am such a blog surfer and came across some really neat sites tonight...and to top it off, they are allhaving a giveaway! Please check out the following sites and make sure to enter! STARVINGARTISTAMPS
PAPERCRAFTSBYRACH
LESLIESLOFT
and my fellow design team member JERUSHA

Hmmmm...makes me think I should find some candy to share too!! So tell me what it is you would love to win!