Bring some photos and make some beautiful keepsake ornaments for your tree, for a gift or to use as a gift tag.  You'll learn 3 different techniques for using chipboard.  This workshop will be lots of fun and you can really let your creativity loose! 


Workshop Details:
Make 5 ornaments with photos, plus 1 tiny one

Saturday, December 4
1:30 – 4:30 pm
$15 per person

Please register with payment by Monday, November 15.
Email justscrapit@sympatico.ca

I am in love with CTMH's new colours, especially Pear and Pacifica. So I've designed my card workshop using these colours.  Take a look!

OR Sunday, November 14 1:30 – 4:30 pm
$30 per person

REGISTER BY WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10
Email me at justscrapit@sympatico.ca 

More Kelly Panacci paper, and such a cute snowman from PB -- I LOVE Snowmen.  :)

Love the sketch!  Used Kelly Panacci papers leftover from a class, and some CTMH too.  And of course, a great Penny Black stamp set and my copics.

The Sweet Spot Challenge with a Spin -- a great sketch with a little sparkle sprinkled in.  I got this adorable House Mouse stamp and thought it would work perfectly with CTMH's Cherry-O paper.  What do you think?  Stampin' Up rhinestone brads add the necessary bling.

I am officially now a Great-Aunt (besides being a great auntie). My neice Hailey's little boy Vaughn has been welcomed into our family.  And here's the card I'm sending, along with some pjs and a cute Mickey Mouse outfit.

Cupcake Craft asked us to showcase Boys and their toys -- and what boy doesn't love baseball?  Sweet Stop had a great sketch that worked wonderfully.  A little added sparkle to the buttons completes the challenge.

I'm back and it feels good to be creative again.  A little something for me, my mind and my heart.

Mojo Monday had a great sketch, and I combined it with H2H's "embossing" challenge.  I love CTMH's new Magnifique papers and it went really well with one of my new fave stamps: Ice Crystals.  The snowflake and the bow are embossed.

12 cards (2 each of 6 designs)

Sunday, September 19
1:30 – 4:30 pm
$25 per person



Come and learn how to use the same design template to make 6 different cards for various occasions. We’ll talk about the use of colour, stamps, embellishments and techniques can change the look of a card, even when it has the same basic elements.
Please register with payment by Friday, September 10. Email me at justscrapit@sympatico.ca

Once upon a time ... what a great thought-starter! This traditional story-telling technique allows you to create a wonderful story, maybe even incorporating details you might not have otherwise noticed or thought to share.  You can also choose an interesting point of view: yours, the subjects of your photos, or a third-person narrator.


I CAN FLY!
Once upon a time, over the hill and down the winding road into the valley, there was a pond.  It wasn't large, but it had clean, crisp water and on bright, sunny days, it sparkled like diamonds, reflecting and refracting the light in a thousand different directions.  And this pond was MAGICAL.  If you simply dipped your toe into the cool water, it gave you the power to FLY!  Fly sideways, fly forwards, fly high, fly low, ending with a fanciful SPLASH!  And along with flight came laughter. Tinkling, babbling, giggling laughter.  The more you laugh, the higher you can fly.  It's no wonder that this magical pond is a favourite playground for the two princes of the Kingdom of Ballantyne.

And now I will turn the storytelling over to you.  What's your "Once upon a time"?

I didn't get as much hands-on crafting done over my vacation, and it was hard keeping up with my favourite challenges when I only had 1 bar of internet reception on my BlackBerry LOL.  But I read A LOT of scrapbooking and card-making magazines and was really inspired.  The result is this adorable thank-you card using a tag, for the Heart2Heart challenge.  And naturally, since I was working on demo cards for my Splendor Workshop on the Go, I used Splendor paper -- LOVE those clouds. They really kept me in the vacation mood.

Need some inspiration? Try playing music while you're scrapbooking or journaling.  Doing Christmas layouts? Play holiday music, even if it's in July.  Doing a party layout?  Play up-beat, dance-to-it music.  Scrapping a trip?  Listen to some music from that destination.  This can help you get "in the mood".  AND, it can help you with the words too.  A song title could be a layout title.  Lyrics may be just what you need for that journaling block.

Give it a try the next time you scrap.

I hope you will say YES! Yes to a weekend away. Yes to an uninterrupted weekend of Scrapbooking. Yes to the next Mansfield 48-Hour Scrapathon.








Spots are available on a first come, first served basis -- and they go fast! Reserve your spot right now and you could win accommodations in the Counsellor's Room, which has its own private bathroom!  Simply send me an email to justscrapit@sympatico.ca and I will send you the registration form and payment instructions.

I’m already looking forward to September’s retreat – I hope I can add your name to the list of friends who will be there. Register now.

Cute little card for my niece Teagan's first birthday.  Love the MM sketch cuz I love circles, and I got to use some very cute CTMH paper (Topstitch) and the birthday cake stamp set.  And it was a fun challenge to try and incorporate a recipe for the Heart 2 Heart Challenge -- a great place to be inspired by CTMH artists.

One more thing: it's hard to tell from the photo, but the Liquid Glass on the cherries looks AWESOME in real life.  :)

Take a look:

Sometimes, the reason why we have so much trouble with our journaling is that we are overthinking.  In our desire to be meaningful and memorable, we get bogged down in being GREAT.  But not all journaling needs to be an inspiring epic.  Instead, key words, gut reactions, thoughts from the heart (and not the head) are better at capturing the true spirit of the photo or layout.  So put aside your paragraphs and grab your watch.  Take 30 seconds and just write down the first 10 things (or 8 or 11) that come to your mind.  Don't think -- just feel and spit it out.

I’ve heard it many times, and experienced myself often: once I get started, the story just flows from my pen. But the key is “once I get started”. Sometimes those first words are absolutely the hardest. The blank page (or journaling block) can be so scary. But don’t let that stop you. When you need help getting started, pull out one of these Sentence Starters to kickstart your thinking and your journaling.
I think…

I feel…

I remember…

I believe…

I hope…

My favourite part is…

I want you to know…

I love it when you…

I like it when…

I laugh when…

And if you’re still a little scared about writing in permanent pen on that journaling block you’ve already glued to your layout, grab a piece of scrap paper instead. Try out a few different Sentence Starters, get your story the way you want it, and then copy it onto your layout.

Here's my example.  Take this picture of my Charlie playing soccer:

And here's the journaling that could go with it:

I laugh when I see some of the exercises that Coach Nigel makes you guys do.  No, this is not a rendition of Beyonce's "Single Ladies", but just a reminder of which way you're going on the soccer field.  From putting your ears on the ball, to "Chickens vs Coyotes", to relay races, Coach really has you engaged.  I love that you love playing soccer, and if you still don't get a goal this year, I don't care.  I just want you to have fun.  GO RED ROCKETS!


Now it's your turn.  Choose a photo or a layout, choose a Sentence Starter and just get started.

My friend Melanie is moving into a new home, so I wanted to send a little something to let her know I was thinking of her. We don't see each other as often as we would like, but I don't think that's hurt our friendship. We think a lot alike, and have a lot in common. I wish we lived closer but try to make the most of the times we do get together.

This tulip ladybug card is for her. I love the tulip patterned paper from the Perfect Day paper pack, and experimented a bit with folds on this card (hard to tell in the picture). I love love LOVE the ladybug stamp from A Little Buzz. Add some buttons and brads, and a little marker action, and here we go. Simple and classy.

For this card, I combined inspirations from 3 different challenges:
Heart2Heart: colour challenge Tulip, Black and Buttercup (plus a little Colonial White)
Spoonful of Sugar: Best Wishes card
Hidden Treasures: Ribbon (I love ribbon, so will hopefully have time to do another card or two for this challenge!)
The blogs for these challenges are all in the right sidebar here on my blog.

Please leave a comment -- I'd love to know what you think.

This card is for Sam and Charlie's Daycare teachers. They do so much for my boys, the least I can do is say thanks at the end of a great year.

I used Mojo Monday's 144 sketch, turned 90 degrees counterclockwise.  And the paper is CTMH's Twitterpated -- which I didn't think I liked much at first, but it's really grown on me.  Add in the adorable hedgehog (from the July SOTM and coloured with my Copics), some SU ribbon, some marker dots and a prima flower (which really finishes the card, in my opinion) and it's good to go.  Oops! Can't forget the Liquid Glass on the butterfly!  I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

                                  Here it is:

I had trouble uploading the photo but still wanted to share this Father's Day card for last week's Sweet Spot sketch. I'm really happy with it. Might add some sparkles to the star though.

Happy Saturday.

Thanks MM for another great sketch! I used it to make a baseball-themed Father's Day card. Check it out. Inside, it says "You're an All Star Dad".

I've really enjoyed making cards lately, being creative and getting inspired by the many awesome card challenge blogs I follow. But once the card is done, it just goes into a pile or a drawer. UNTIL NOW! I've tacked up a long piece of ribbon and got some cute rubber clothes pins from the dollar store, so I can display the cards I make. And I face it every time I work at my craft desk, so all I have to do is look up and see the great work I've done. It's a small thing, but an important one. At least for me. Here's what it looks like (pls don't mind my messy closet!):

I have wanted to join a Cupcake Inspiration challenge for some time, but always seem to run OUT of time before I can get it done. So this week, it's the first challenge I did. It used some of my favourite colours: Citrus Leaf and Breeze, and I played with circles to try and capture the "swirls" of the icing. Add in some doodling and faux stitching and I've ended up with a sweet card for my niece's 2nd birthday. Love you Ryley-Pie! The card: Close up of the center, including large "2", circle swirls and hand-drawn stitching: Thanks for letting me play!

Thanks to the Sweet Stop once again for a great sketch. Here's a Father's Day card I made using some older CTMH papers, and one of my all-time fave stamps: Lazy Days. I also got to add my new SU corduroy button -- love 'em! I didn't have time to really embellish and overfuss, and I think that's a good thing. Sometimes less is more. The card: A close up of the frog (and you can see my "signature" doodling -- dots and dashes):

When you write, you want to capture everything that’s going on and take your reader right into the story or the memory. One of the best ways to do that is to use your senses. Don’t tell just what you see, but share what you smell, what you hear, what you taste, what you can touch. Use this technique as your journaling, either in sentence form or as a list, or just as a tool to organize your thoughts and think about your photos in a different way. Here's my son Sam with his Millenium Falcon birthday cake I made him (and his Auntie Wren): And here's how I can use my senses to start my journaling: AS A LIST SIGHT: The awe and excitement on Sam's face SMELL: The fiery smell of the candles burning SOUND: The laughter and the Happy Birthday song TOUCH: DON'T TOUCH until it's time to cut! TASTE: Sweet tastes for my sweet boy AS A STORY Here it comes, Sam, your birthday cake. SEE how excited you were -- what a look on your face. I knew you'd like it. SMELL the fiery flame of the candles, you're 9 years old today. Your laughter SOUNDS so happy as we SING the birthday song. WAIT! Don't TOUCH that icing just yet -- it's almost time to cut your piece. Mmmm. Your favourite icing and super-moist cake TASTES so good. Happy Birthday Sam! Now it's your turn! Take a photo you haven't scrapped yet and a piece of paper. Write down the five senses: Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste and Touch. Then write down something about your photo that goes with each sense. Don't take too much time -- 5 minutes should do it. Just go with your instinct. And don't worry if you can't get all five senses (some can be tricky, depending on the photo) but do as much as you can. Happy Writing!

Here's my card using the Sweet Spot Sketch. I rotated it counterclockwise 90 degrees. What inspired me most was the little tab at the side -- don't know why but it was a fun element. Paper and Markers: CTMH Breeze, Kiwi, Bamboo, Cocoa, Bubblegum, Spring Iris, Dutch Blue and White Daisy Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black Stamp: CTMH Flower Pot Ribbon and Sparkles: CTMH Pewter Accents: Sorry but don't know. Found them in my "stash" in a jar. This will make a great card for my friend Joy when I go see her in July.

Many people find journaling in their scrapbooks a challenge. Often, it's the last thing you do, and sometimes, it doesn't even get done. In these Writer's Corner entries, I will share some tips and inspiration to help make journaling your memories easier ... and fun! And I'll finish off with a challenge for you to try. What is a journal? It's a written record of your experiences, observations and emotions. It's that simple. It can be short or long. It can be written in first person (me), second person (you) or third person (they). It can be words, phrases, sentences or paragraphs. It can be hand-written or typed out. Stamped or diecut. It can be visible to all or hidden just for special view. Remember, there is no right or wrong way to journal. But for many of us, it's an important reason why we scrapbook at all -- to share the memories. So have fun with it. And don't think of it as "leaving a legacy". Just think of it as a one-to-one conversation with your loved ones. Write from your heart. THE 5 Ws When we were kids, we were taught to use the 5 Ws: Who, What, When, Where, Why. So why not use them in your scrapbooks? Use it to plan out what you want to say about a photo or a layout ... or use it as journaling itself! EXAMPLE: Sparklers WHO: Sam (8) and Charlie (4) WHAT: Playing with sparklers WHERE: Aunt Renee's cottage in Bala, down on the docks WHEN: August Long Weekend, 2009 WHY: Celebrating summer, family, and cottage fun! (Plus, Mommy was having fun experimenting with the camera settings, thanks to help from Uncle Tim!) See? Journaling can be simple and easy, and still show your personality. CHALLENGE: Take a photo or group of photos you are about to scrapbook. Before doing the layout, write down the 5 W's that apply to these pics. You never know -- you might have your journaling done before you know it!

I was inspired by the colours in this week's Colour Create #45 Challenge - Green and Aqua. And as I was playing around with the Mojo Monday #141 circle sketch, something kinda magical happened. I wouldn't say this is the best card I ever made, but it was really fun to play with ... and play UP ... some of the whimsical elements that go with the crescent moon. Thanks to both of the challenges for inspiring me. Time permitting, I will likely come back and do a separate card for each of these challenges, so stay tuned. CS is CTMH Citrus Leaf, Breeze, Watermelon, Black and White Daisy. Clear embellishment: Heidi Swap Exclamations Large Sparkle and Pearls: from the dollar store Small Sparkles and black brad: CTMH Flower: Prima

It's been a few weeks and it feels good to be back and be creative. This card is for the Hidden Treasures challenge. I've used a couple of my favourite techniques: random stamping and doodling. There's just so much you can do with a pen!! And I love circles too -- they're funky and fun yet still classic. Lastly, I tried to play with layers, popping up the circle and the dragonfly. I hope it comes through in the pictures. All in all, this card, both making it and the end result, make me Happy. (All supplies CTMH.)

Mojo Monday sketches always get my juices running. Pulled out one of my favourite stamp set and got to work on this card, which will make a GREAT Father's Day card or birthday card for my hubby's b-day later this month. Check it out: The card uses B&T paper from CTMH's Back Country paper pack, as well as Goldrush and Colonial White Cardstock. I added Outdoor Denim eyelets, Brown Bag Waxy Flax and Liquid Glass to the bear's nose. The stamp set is Beary Best and I coloured him with Copics. So happy with how it turned out.

Over at Heart2Heart, a blog for those of us who LOVE CTMH, their challenge this week is to use - and demonstrate - a technique. I've gone back to basics and back to my favourite technique of all time -- random stamping. And here's a close up of the stamping (sorry it's a bit blurry): With random stamping, you start with your largest stamp (pink butterfly) and stamp in triangles, filling your page. Change stamps and/or colours (green butterfly) and repeat. Continue until you have a pattern you like (purple ladybug). I love this technique because you can make your own patterned paper with any colours, any images, and it always turns out gorgeous. This card uses B&T Paper from CTMH's Splendor, Blush textured CS and Colonial White CS. Add in Sweet leaf ribbon, CW brads and some CTMH buttons. Colours used are Topiary, Sweet Leaf, Blush and Pansy Purple. Oh, and don't forget the Liquid Glass. I love the simplicity of this card.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge is celebrating 100 challenges. And I was so inspired, I did three cards! Check 'em out. Card #1: Paper: CTMH Topstitch B&T, Baby Pink and Colonial White CS Ribbon: Stampin' Up Stamps: Penny Black Critter Party and In the Garden Copic Markers (*This one's my favourite*) Card #2: Paper: CTMH Caboodle, Buttercup, Sorbet and Col. White CS Ribbon: CTMH Sorbet collection Stamps: Penny Black Critter Party, CTMH "Say it in Style" Copic Markers Card #3: Paper: CTMH Caboodle, Col. White CS Embellishments: CTMH Stamps: Penny Black Critter Party Copic Markers So my goal for this week was to enter one challenge -- and I've entered three. It was so much fun to sit and be creative.