Sunday, June 30, 2013

Summer Fun Journal

Starting my first online class to capture all that is Summer! Join us for 8 weeks of prompts and inspiration to create your very own This and That book!
Class cost is just $50 and includes your Journal, sticker sheets, Washi Tape and Epic Day Designer paper.
I've been busy at work pulling together great ideas to enjoy summer,
to slow down the blur that these 2 months become,

reminders for us to pause and enjoy!



It's a class that's more than scrapbooking, I'll be giving prompts and ideas to actually make memories, too! And Ideas of how to quickly capture them in the simple This and That Jounral, no fuss, just done!
My Littlest is pretty excited by some of the ideas...although she double checked that we would be doing them, too!
Awareness is a wonderful thing. The night before I was writing up one of the day's prompts about capturing colour. As an example, I wrote about watching for a bright red barn in a green grassy field.
Yesterday, as I was travelling to Olds, what do you suppose?
A perfect, bright red barn atop a glorious green grassy hill just off the highway!
Gorgeous! what is it about this image that is so wonderful, do you think?

Gearing up for Canada Day and a wonderful sunny day today, too!

smiles,
Laurie

Monday, June 24, 2013

Shabby Chic 3 x 3

It has been a busy week! I had the pleasure of having 2 friends come visit for a few days. I've been asking them out from Calgary for months, so it was with happiness that I finally welcomed them to my place. We celebrated Brenda's birthday with a cake and meal she'd made herself!?!
 It seemed like things I had to do kept mounting as the week went on. I left them with the cards I had been working on for my swaps and while I was gone they set to work cutting out the layers and gluing things down!

One of my favourite swaps is a 3 x 3 swap which always seems to have the most wonderful little pieces of art submitted. I was very pleased with my own last year and pleased enough with how this one came together.


I started with the little piece of paper from This and That paper kit and layered the scallop circle on along with the heart. Then I had to do something for the background and when I decided on the Postage Due collage image, the stamp came from seeing it in the same set. A little butterfly, a pearl, a word and the little bow tied it all up.







On Saturday, my Oldest was up before 5:30am to head to a Triathalon in Red Deer put on by Woody's RV and a huge group of wonderful volunteers. She had a great race and felt great going across the finish line with 392 other young athletes. Her age bracket swam 500m, biked 10 km, and then ran 4 km. It's great event. There were 11 kids that went in from Rocky.

We finished off the weekend last night by going to see the new Monster's University movie. It had me laughing out loud in several spots. I love how they animated the campus and chose to use such beautifully colourful monsters as the students! It's great fun.
 
smiles,
Laurie

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Happy Father's Day

We are back from a wonderful weekend of camping. For the amount of grumbling I do leading up to our departure, you'd be sure that I really didn't like go camping...but once I'm out there, it gets alot better! There is a group of families that have been going for the past 14 years to various spots in the Mountains, usually about an hour away. The scenery is always stupendous and the company grand.
Amidst the packing on Friday, I did get my Dad's card completed. Pretty simple, but Dad isn't much for fussing.
The colour seems a bit off, maybe. I stamped the tractor from Harvest Blessings with Cajun Craze on Very Vanilla cardstock and matted it with a piece of Night of Navy and added a couple rows of border from the new set, Mosaic Madness with Night of Navy and Cajun Craze ink.

smiles,
Laurie

Friday, June 14, 2013

Masking Style ~ 2

Totally different look from yesterday, but using the same heart motif.
This time, using the negative from the die cut, I sponged the inside of the heart, stamped with a pretty image from Flowering Flourishes.


 I stamped the wonderful saying from __________ (can you tell me!)
I edged the panel with some Daffodil ink, layered it onto some Tempting Turquoise, twisted some Baker's twine around and then adhered it onto a white card base.
I should be working on a Father's Day card or 2 or 3 today, but I'm also busy packing up for a weekend of camping...okay, lets face it...I should have been making those cards at least a few days ago : /  That said though, I'll get one finished for my Dad and figure out Cary's over the weekend...stay tuned to see what I come up with!

Happy Father's Day Weekend!

smiles,
Laurie

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Happy Birthday Blossoms

I have been working on Swaps for Convention this week. Thought I'd share a slight variation of one that I made to mail off for a Girlfriend's birthday!

Using a post it note, I cut out the heart with one of SU's framelits. Placing that slightly askew on the card, I then stamped multiple images in bright Turquoise, Gumball Green, Calypso Coral, Daffodil and Melon Mambo. I masked some of the flowers as I stamped. I matted this on a piece of Turquoise and put that on a white card base. The flowers come from Betsy's Blossoms, and the one little flower punches out wonderfully with the 1/2 inch circle punch to layer along with the stamped greeting. A little rhinestone adds a bit of bling.

smiles,
Laurie

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Spec-tacular Service

We are a family of glasses-wearers, so I feel quite lucky that we have a wonderful Eye Care Centre in our little town. My Oldest is onto her 3rd year of wearing glasses and this last time, the choosing of the frames seemed to take the most deliberation. Luckily, this is because she has loved both her other pairs so much, she wants to choose 'new' but very similar style. Finally, one day, I took her in and exclaimed we just needed to get them ordered, and fast.  We had the decision finalized, them fitted and paid for in twenty minutes, thanks to efficient service.
Having bought the cute new single stamp Spec-tacular, recently, it was a perfect excuse to acknowledge the good service and play with my fun new stamp!
 I thought it might be nice to bake a little treat, too. Usually, I'm pretty handy in the baking department, but this day I burnt the first batch, botched the second, ran out of ingredients for the yummy Breton Bark I was trying to make and started fresh with a simple recipe I've been making since I was in high school called Oatsies,and even that didn't cut up very well, but I made up a small plate and headed in to deliver them. Fortunately, it was appreciated nonetheless.

I stamped the image 3 times along the edge, added the green along the other edge and bridge the meeting spot with a strip that I ran through the Big Shot with the little edgelit embossing folder. I love  this Needlepoint Border duo with the scallop stitched edge and the other option is little xxxx's (for kisses or stitches, depending on the card and your take!)

The single stamps are available till July 31 and there are a handful of cute ones available.

smiles,
Laurie

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Creativity at Work...

I've started the process of creating my swaps for Convention. Probably not a minute too soon... I signed up for so many organized ones ~ they all looked so good and I like the other ladies joining in them, too!
I've signed up for my favourite 3 x 3 swap and was working on that one last night. A little vintage image, believe it or not, from me. A Fancy Fold card that needs a colour combo idea still. A Technique card that is bogged down with the multiple ideas and variations of the masking technique I chose. A couple WOW swaps...I think I'm at 100 cards to be made : \
 I'm excited about and just finalized the decisions on a Pinterest Case Swap! As much as I love scrolling through the pages of beautiful images...all cards are even more beautiful in real life! So I'm really excited to have these samples brought to life with a Swap.
I've signed up for a Big Shot category and All New.
...so now, the Fun begins!
The card I chose for the All New, needs products...so what fun I had shopping through our our All New catalogue!


The card uses the new In-Colours Designer Series Paper stack, a new button, a new stamp and matching punch and even features one of the new Hostess Sets, Banner Greetings.
(although my favourite new Hostess set is Simply Sketched!)
Off to start stamping...

smiles,
Laurie