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!

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!

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!

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!