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!

SOTW Sept 20-26 and a few other things...

Hello!!!! Is this thing on??.....

I think I almost forgot how to log on to my poor old blog. Last week, I made a new best friend - his name is Buckley... if you haven't met him, be thankful....but when you need a friend, let me tell you that you won't find a better one... he looks just like this:

And let me also tell you that the pillow that my Momma sent home with me in the summer was also well loved last week - but the good news is, I am back and raring to go!!

I did a quick sketch this week after a bunch of girls were chatting over on the forum about using your well-intended saved up scraps....


You know that big box that we all fill with leftovers and then somehow never use?? It's kind of like leftovers in my fridge - I can't bear to throw it out but then getting around to using it just seems like it's never what I'm wanting... but my new rule is that I must use scraps to create cards so I will see how well it works for me. In the meantime, I am gonna do this sketch three times over this week (one for each of the kids) and see how different I can make each one look.
APOS has also started carrying a new brand of chipboard embellishments so Alissa decided to offer up a contest on both Facebook and the Forum - they aren't in the online store just yet but if you're lucky enough to be able to get some in your hands, be sure to enter!!
I am off to teach another Copic class tonight - this time it is a nice little class so it should go a lot quicker than normal! I have some more exciting Copic news to share.... as soon as I get all the details!!
Have a great week!!

Sketch of the Week June 28-July 4

So I decided to do up a sketch this week mixing up old and new - vintage with funky.... I found a link to some amazingly beautiful vintage papers that are printable and I am feeling inspired by them - check them out here VINTAGE PAPERS aren't they beautiful?!!!
I am only doing a quick post today as we have a grade 1 year end party to attend today, a playgroup party to attend tomorrow and then our own little "It's the beginning of summer" party on Wednesday!!! I think I am more excited than my kids that school is out for the summer!!!
I am really hoping to get back to some scrapping as it feels like it has been way too long - let's hope this sketch inspires me too!! Have a marvelous Monday! Check back tomorrow for some cool links that I have been meaning to share!

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!

Whew.....

An appropriate title for a crazy last week or so!

I had a little ... okay...kinda big... birthday.
This was the first time that I was not really happy about aging...but I am learning to embrace it.
And the weekend of my birthday, I ended up working about 20 hours in 2 days - just in case I didn't feel old with the birthday, I thought I would add some exhaustion in the mix and see how that felt too!
And then there were a few deadlines thrown in for good measure......
but all turned out well.

And then last night, I read a blog post. Sometimes those bloggers out there really know how to capture every emotion they are feeling and put it into words. And she did....
and made me feel - really feel - her tremendous heartache and overwhelming sadness.
And I didn't sleep very well because I was also feeling kind of overwhelmed by it.
So this morning, I went to send her a message, but she already had a new post up...and the title of it?

Chasing Happiness.

wow.

If that isn't a kick in the pants? A reminder that tragedy is all around us but to pick yourself back up and carry on.

And I felt ridiculous for caring about things like turning 40 or
searching forever to find the right blog background
or about all the other ridiculous things too.
And so today, I am going to chase happiness and see where it takes me (maybe Vancouver?!)

and onto lighter things - here is the SOTW...
The challenge this week is to cut up your die-cut paper but still use all of it - a new favourite thing for me to do! I will post my layout later today :)




Please note that I am not sharing the link for the blog post - if you want it, please send me a message and I will send it privately to you.

SOTW April 5-11, 2010

What a fabulous week it was......... I love holidays!! I had a fantastic Spring Break with my kids with a few kid playdates and even an adult playdate thrown in for fun!

I had a fantastic all-day crop with some really fun ladies and even managed to get a few layouts done (a first for me!)
And...I finished up my Design Team reveal for A PILE OF SCRAP! and am quite pleased with it. I will take pics out in the beautiful sunshine and post tomorrow. We had a fabulous Easter - the Easter bunny was crazy enough to leave hockey sticks for the kids but so far so good!
And without further ado, here is the SOTW - happy creating!

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!

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!

SOTW Feb 23-March 1, 2010 and an update!

I cannot believe how much scrapping one can squish into 3 (technically 4) days!

I spent the weekend with Alissa and Luanna from A PILE OF SCRAP! and Jane (a coworker from Creative Scrapbooks) at a retailer's event at Memories Wholesale here in Edmonton.
I was thrilled to be able to see and play with some amazing new products from Bo Bunny, American Crafts, 7 Gypsies, Ranger, Tattered Angels and many, many many more!! There were some incredible instructors there - Liz Hicks from Tattered Angels, Jen Starr from Ranger, Vicki Boutin who did the most beautiful 7 Gypsies mini album with us and many more - I will post some photos as soon as I get them!
It was an extremely fun weekend where I learned a lot and can't wait to share it in some upcoming classes!
I was super tired from the weekend but it was well worth it - and then last night had an alcohol inks class and even had more fun! A great group of ladies who made it fun to teach! And I am really looking forward to teaching a canvas class next month...the good news being it is already up in the store! (I am usually a bit behind in getting up my classes so I think this made my boss even happier than it made me!)
I am also happy to say that I am still playing along over at LOAD - where the inspiration is the best part of it all! I am already looking forward to the next one where I am vowing to do NO DIGI LAYOUTS!!!! However, I did do a digi today.......so that I could use it as SOTW too - and here it is!
And my layout...
And if last weekend wasn't enough....Creative is having an all weekend event this weekend and I am working the Saturday - thank goodness the kids have no school on Thursday and Friday because I am really looking forward to some Mommy/kidlet time!
Have yourselves a great week!

SOTW Feb 1 - 7 2010

Well I had a rather productive weekend .... I LOVE ONLINE CROPS!
Over at A PILE OF SCRAP! we had a lot of fun - we went a little crazy and had an 80s theme which is always good for a laugh :) I managed to get 3 layouts, a card and a headband done (yep, a handband is considered a scrappy creation when you glimmer mist and glue flowers on it!!)
I have really been having difficulties getting a good shot of my work but I think that is because it is so late and I am in my dark room. A friend suggested a light from Costco so I am hoping I can pick one up and see if my results improve.
The SOTW is a super quick one (and I will prove it to you!) - just using your scraps and pulling out some rubons! I used to be rubon crazy but haven't used them in a while so decided this would be the week. That and a little suggestion from Lain to use my stash - because I was crazy enough to join LOAD again!
I have to tell you how much I enjoy LOAD - yesterday I was really not feeling well at all. I put the kids to bed and was going to crawl in bed myself but remembered that it was day 1 of LOAD and I wasn't giving up that easy. As I sat down at my scrap table, I remembered Lain's LOAD prompt about using our stash...so I pulled out the top 5 pieces in my scrap box, pulled up the SOTW on the puter and TADA...a layout in about 20 minutes which is a MAJOR miracle for me!
So day 1 down, 27 more to go!! If you are looking for a fun and really inspirational way to scrap, LOAD is where you should be!
Well I need to go and pack up some stuff as I pulled the kids out of school today so that we could use up our waterpark passes before they expire - have a great day!
And now, the SOTW:

And my quick and painless layout:

Sorry for the picture quality...but if you were skimming, I did explain it earlier ;)
Have a terrific Tuesday!

How Does it Happen?

How on earth does a whole month go by in the blink of an eye?! I got a gentle reminder yesterday that I haven't updated in a while...and I honestly thought it was maybe 2 weeks at the most...OOPS!
Life continues on here - haven't done a lot of scrapping for myself but still getting some stuff done. My boss at the LSS is down at CHA and will be back tomorrow - I am excited to hear about all the good stuff to come! I like to look online but find it just isn't the same as seeing it in real life. I am pretty excited about Tim Holtz's new paper to come out as I love the look of it! There is a new cutter from Craftwell that looks mighty interesting and last night discovered that Slice has some pretty cool tricks up their sleeve too!
In other news, I took my middle son to see a specialist about a concern with his foot and am waiting to get some tests and results back so trying to stay positive about it all. It is amazing how supportive online friends can be - prayers and hugs are always a nice thing!
I am off this weekend so we decided to do an online crop over at A PILE OF SCRAP! - come on over and join in the fun!
And a few sketches for the week - a SOTW and new this year, a card sketch of the week as well! Hope you are having a great week!

The SOTW has very limited patterned paper in it...something I am trying to do more of this year - what do you think?
And the COTW, a quick little sketch....would love to see more layers addedto this plain old sketch tho! I think I may actually do this one tonight as it would give me a good reason to clean up the scrap area in preparation for the online crop this weekend!

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!!

Yep. BUSY. No other excuses, no big story, just busy!

Tonight is my Christmas Party with the gals at the LSS - I am really looking forward to a nice night out, some good laughs and some great food! I left everything to the last minute as far as gifts go but I managed to get them done today so at least I won't go empty-handed! I am off this Saturday and am contemplating decorating....will let you know if I actually get it done! While I was avoiding gift-making last night, I did manage to get a Sketch of the Week done so I will share that with you as well as the gifts that I made for tonight - have a great week everyone!

First up, the SOTW:
And then the gifts... For those of you that don't know, I do a little candle and coaster business (check out my website that I finally updated a bit! ) so I decided to make a little penguin candle (I collect penguins so I thought I would share the love!)

I made a little coaster for the candles to sit on with one of my new stamp sets that I love!

And finally, a Hanukkah candle for my boss - I hope she likes it!

I am old...and a SOTW!

Howdy ho scrappy friends!
So I have finally recovered from my fabulous trip to Fredericton... and have discovered that I am discovering that I am old...yep. old. dang it.

5 days. 24 hours of sleep. tired. tired. tired.

But SUPER FUN! Those APOS girls really know how to have a fun time! The canvas class was fabulous and the retreat was fantastic! Thanks so much to Alissa @ APOS - what a treat to join in your fun! And if anyone in Edmonton (and Fort Saskatchewan doesn't count) can tell me where in this city I can find a donair panzerotti like the one I had in Fredericton, I would be grateful FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been super busy since I got back - my baby turned 3, the LSS had a weekend crop, and I had a Glimmer Mist class tonight. So I am hoping to wind down a bit as November is looking just as busy! My son's playschool has an all weekend crop on November 20 and 21st and then I have one at Creative Scrapbooks on November 27 and 28! Send me an email if you want any details!

And finally....the SOTW! Would love to see some play-alongs! Have a great week!

SOTW Sept 21-27 and a little update!

Okay okay....so I kind of fell off of the scrapping/blogging wagon....

Life just seemed to interfere with my social life......oh wait, I don't have one of those! I meant scrapping/blogging life!
School is finally getting us back into the routine of things, the online store is up and running, the job at the LSS is definitely keeping me busy and ........life goes on!
I had a techniques/card class at the LSS tonight - a lot of fun and a good group of ladies! I really do enjoy teaching as it gets me out there trying new things. I really forgot how much I missed of the adult conversation part of a job! I love having a dayhome but it is nice to be able to talk to other adults without children interrupting me 540 times a minute!! My next class will be on October 27th and it will be on Glimmer Mist - if you are interested, please send me an email or leave me a message here and I can give you more details.
And now for the long lost sketch! The paper this week is Basic Grey's new Indian Summer line. I am head over heels for this paper - the colours and the patterns are simply gorgeous!!! Enjoy the sketch and have a fabulous week!!

SKETCH OF THE WEEK AUG 17-23

Why is it that I seem to forget to post this darn thing on Monday? I seriously need to do that thing where you set it up to post on the right day.... Anyhow, how is your week going? We are finally in for a touch of nice weather so we are hoping to take advantage of it in the next couple of days.
I find that I have been doing a lot of layouts lately with one or two photos so thought I would change it up this week and see if I could fit 4 on there! The paper this week is courtesy of Bo Bunny's new Delilah line - great pinks and browns....can't wait to get my hands on it!!!
Have a fabulous week (or what is left of it!!)

SKETCH OF THE WEEK AUG 10-16

Thanks everyone for the congrats! I have been a busy beaver lately.....trying to get everything caught up before the kids go back to school and I feel like I am nowhere near there yet!

This week's sketch features the beautiful new Cosmo Cricket line called "Earth Love" - my friend Alissa is completely addicted to this line so I made this one just for her! I would link you to her blog but she hasn't ventured there yet! I signed up for a Jessica Sprague free online course about editing pictures but haven't had time to go through them yet, but did find time to download the free goodies that came with it, including a beautiful brush set from Heidi Swapp's House of 3....so that is where the "Celebrate" came from on the photo. If you aren't a picture editor, a rub-on right over your photo would work great! I did that on one of my last layouts so I will have to take a pic :)
Hope you are all having a great week!

SOTW Aug 3 -9

Sorry it is a day late, it was a holiday here yesterday and that always throws me off! We had a fairly uneventful weekend - spent some time at the big mall yesterday and decided to buy our first pet! Thought the kids could use it as a test pet in preparation for the big pet that will one day come (I promised my son we could get a dog when he turns 9!!).... While standing in line to pay for said fish, my 4 year old announces that he would like to name it Kitty - while everyone else laughed, my mind immediately flashed to a super-cute layout called "Hello Kitty!" but by the time we got home, he had changed it to Kit...so Kit it is.....until in the tub he tells me that really it is Kitten or Kitty but everyone laughed......so I am now convincing him that Kitty is a fabulous name!

Tonight I am being a real grown up and going to a real grown up movie at the theatre with 2 dear friends - one of which I haven't seen in a VERY long time! I honestly cannot remember the last time I went to the theatre and didn't see a kids movie! Very exciting life I lead huh?! The other friend (Karina) that I am going with is heading to Salt Lake City tomorrow for a Stampin Up convention and has generously offered to lend me her Big Shot dies while she is gone - Karina is the one that first got me into stamping and I just love seeing her creations! If you ever have the chance to take one of her classes, JUMP ON IT!!!
And without further adieu....the SOTW featuring Belle Blvd. paper!

Scrapping with the SOTW

I finally got the chance to play last night...although it really was a toss up between crawling into bed or scrapping but I am glad the scrapping won out!
Busy day yesterday as my ds had his birthday party - to the movies to watch Up (who knew it would be so sad/scary?) which I really enjoyed, then supper at Denny's (oooh...aaaahhhh..) and home for some cake and Wii.....ahhh the life of a 6 year old!
It was super hot yesterday and when we came out of the theatre, the skies were so dark and you could just tell something was in the air. We had to drive about half an hour to get to Denny's and you could feel the wind picking up and then the torrential rainstorms started......it got a bit scary but when we got home and turned on the news, it was much worse than I was expecting - the local country festival in Camrose was hit hard by the storm, causing a death and a lot of hurt and scared people - thoughts and prayers to all of those affected. Summer storms always seem so cool to me...until such things like this and tornadoes hit :(
So after getting all the munchkins wound down and into bed, I turned on all the fans and scrapped.......quite muggy but I did manage to get one layout done using the Sketch of the Week:
All this done using only scraps from my scrap box......I am working hard on not being so matchy-matchy and like how it came out! And did you notice more of my new felties? More on that to come soon.........
Oh and I wanted to thank Sarah for playing along - go check out her blog and see what she did with the sketch!