Five for Friday

Five things I've made lately...


1. This layout for MSS's featured product challenge on Monday: mists.


I actually don't own any mists and the couple of times that I have misted on layouts was using some homemade mists (using ink refills and rubbing alcohol.) For this layout, I decided to use my SU! spritzer with my soft suede SU! marker. I also used a bunch of Cosmo Cricket papers & a JB journaling card.



2. This layout that I made using a sketch on the Crate Paper blog (which I have posted on the MSS blog as this week's Spring Sketch):





3. Sage wanted to paint some canvases last week, so I made this:



I used lyrics from Hillsong's From the Inside Out, as well as some acrylic paint, two SU! stamps (that I used paint on-- a first for me!), Scenic Route chipboard and some Heidi Swapp rub-ons.



And #4 & #5 were both made for the Papertrey Ink Make It Monday challenge: blending ink techniques:


This first one was very much inspired by Betsy Veldman's card on the PTI blog. I used some PTI cardstock, Fillable Frame die and sentiment stamp.



This one was created using a sketch from the new Cardmaps magazine that I picked up this week. (It's sketch #1.) Again, I used some PTI cardstock, Fillable Frame die and sentiment stamp.

Thanks for looking!

Something new...

Last Saturday, my kids got to participate in a jam-can curling competition through our local schools. Austin had curled in this tournament years ago (grade 2 maybe?? Hmmm, will have to go and check the scrapbooks. Ha!) but this was the first time for Jonah & Sage.

Jonah is wearing a blue jacket with the hood up and Sage is in all pink with a Gap hoodie. They were on separate teams but played at the same time, thankfully!









Austin hadn't signed up to play, but when we returned for the second game, another team was missing their skip, so Austin filled in for two games (& their team ended up coming in third place!)



When I went out on the ice to take some pictures of Austin, Sage asked me to take some of her, too. She was done playing, but she posed for me in these shots. What a sweetheart!







Thanks for looking!

Five for Friday

1. I'm very excited that tomorrow is the beginning of Spring Break! Soooo looking forward to a week off with the kids. We have a couple of things planned (including an overnight at my mom's) but I'm just looking forward to hanging out at home, too. I think going back to work has made me even more of a homebody! Ha!

2. The kids will be participating in the Morden Festival of the Arts next month. The boys are playing piano and all three are performing poems (in French & English) for the Speech Arts. We've started practising the poems, but will definitely be focusing on that more over Spring Break.

3. I got to do some refereeing at taekwondo this week. I like it (much more than acutally sparring!) The biggest challenge for me right now if remembering all the words in Korean that I'm suppose to say.

4. Jonah & Sage have had spirit week this week, which has meant dressing up each day to go to school. On Monday, it was pyjama day (always a hit!) On Tuesday, black & white day. Wednesday was beach day-- Jonah was thrilled to wear his shark swimming trunks & shark tooth necklace; Sage looked so cool in white capris and a purple floral tank-- (I sooooo can't wait for summer!) Yesterday was cowboy/cowgirl day and the kids wore the costumes my mom made for my brother and I when we were little (I love this!) And today is sports/hat day.

5. While I haven't done much scrapbooking this week, I do have a layout to share that I made on the weekend. I used a sketch from Davinie Fiero's blog & some Crate Paper goodies.



Thanks for looking!
Enjoy your weekend!

MSS inspiration challenge

Marcy posted this photo for us to use as inspiration for a layout:



Here's the layout I made using it.



To make this layout, I also used the February sketch posted on the Crate Paper blog (which explains why I used mostly Crate Paper products on my page!) I enjoyed using a darker background colour and that top photo of Jonah & Sage is one of my favourites!

Thanks for looking!

Five for Friday

1. Pencil Lines, a sketch site I love, had a DT call several weeks ago and, while I unfortunately didn't get chosen for their team, was happy with the layout I made with their sketch.



I used some My Mind's Eye goodies, as well as a KI scribble for my title, a new SU! butterfly stamp and my Martha Stewart butterfly punches.

2. I uploaded photos to Walmart to pick up last night. This was the first time I'd done this in over a month! I'm not sure if it's a combination of working, or what, but I just haven't been taking as many pictures in 2011 as I usually do. Although, honestly, January & February are pretty low for photos generally. I blame it on the weather and how tired I get of inside photos. Can anyone else relate?

3. I was super excited about this earlier this week! I just love winning stuff! Thanks, again, Elizabeth!

4. I also noticed this on Elizabeth's blog:

Thanks so much, Elizabeth!
So, to accept this award, I'm suppose to blog eight things about myself... so here goes nothing...

1. I am the only girl in my family. I have two brothers, one is two years older and the other is my twin, but I'm older by 17 minutes.
2. I have been a follower of Jesus since I was 16 years old, so that's 22.5 years now. I've loved Jesus since I started following him and that love has only grown stronger over the years. He means everything to me!
3. After Jesus, my family is the love of my life! I am just crazy about them!
4. My kids would love a pet-- they ask almost daily for a dog! Unfortunately, I have allergies. However, even if I didn't, Cameron wouldn't want a pet in the house and I don't think it's fair to get a dog and leave it outside. So we are pet-less.
5. I started scrapbooking on May 1, 2003, when Jonah was 9 months old and I am still crazy about this hobby.
6. I really enjoy travelling and wish we could do it often.
7. I took tae taekwondo do when I was a teenager and enjoyed it. I started again in the fall of 2008 with Austin. Jonah & Sage started joining us in July and I love that we do it together.
8. I love to read. Christian fiction is my favourite genre.

Thanks again for the award, Elizabeth!

5. On Saturday, I'll be attending my first Black Belt Development Day through my taekwondo club (they include black striped in the training day.) I'm a little nervous about the sparring aspect (I dislike sparring!) but am excited about learning new things, including some refereeing and judging. It should be good!

Thanks for looking!

Happy Birthday, Dar!

It's my wonderful friend, Darlene's, birthday today -- she's a St. Patty's Day baby! It's a crazy day for her, too. She teaches grade 2, has parent-teacher conferences tonight and is also going to sing at a choir concert between interviews! She amazes me!

Here's the card I made for her:



I used some Bo Bunny patterned paper from my scraps stash, a Bo Bunny decorative brad, my Papertrey ink fillable frame die and my Tim Holtz tattered florals die, as well as a Hero Arts stamp (on the flower) and a Papertrey ink stamp (the greeting). Oh and I embossed the background with my Stampin' Up! embossing folder-- isn't it cool?

Thanks for looking!

March Triple Threat challenge

One of the monthly challenges at MSS is the Triple Threat challenge. This is where each person on the design team chooses an element that needs to be included in a layout.

Flo chose hearts.
Jen picked felt.
And I picked a border punch.

Here's the layout I made with it:



Cameron & signed up for a fusion group at our church called 8 great dates. On the first date, we were suppose to take a photo at the restaurant we went to, but we hadn't brought our camera along, so we set up the tripod at home later and took these with the timer.

I used Bazzill cardstock and some Cosmo Cricket patterned paper, an American Crafts thicker "8", my new SU! heart punch and the little heart punch I picked up at Walmart before Christmas. I cut the letters out with my Cuttlebug, using my Cotton Candy font and black felt.

Thanks for looking!

A photo shoot...

... of me!

On Wednesday evening, at tae kwon do, I received my application for my black belt test! I am so excited! The test is 9 weeks from today. (Yes, the countdown is on!)

For the application, I need to submit four 1"x1" photos of myself, so I asked Sage to take them for me. Yes, my 6 year old daughter, Sage.

And then I figured, hey, why not get some nice photos to scrapbook as well? So I put on my new cardigan from Reitmans over a George top that I picked up last week at Walmart and set Sage up with my camera.

Here are the best ones she took:







And here's the one I'll use for the application:



It's definitely different to be on the other side of the camera! And while I am glad to be the one editing (& deleting the bad ones! LOL!) I know that my kids will appreciate having photos of me later in life.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend!
Thanks for looking!

Five for Friday: the white edition

My friend, Elizabeth posted her love for the colour white on her blog and asked what we loved about it. I thought I'd respond in a post.

Five things I love about white:

1. It's crisp.
2. It's clean.
3. When paired with other colours, it really makes them pop.
4. It works well for cards, like this one that I made for Sage's teacher who recently had a baby boy:



5. It also works really well for layouts. When I first started scrapping, I did so with CM albums, so more than 95% of the first eight albums in my collection have white background pages. And even though I no longer use those albums, I still often find myself reaching for white cardstock as a "go-to" background.

Here's an example of a layout I made this week with a white background. I made it for the MME challenge #21, with a sketch, on their blog.



The journaling is tucked in at the top.





How about you?
What do you like about white?

Things I'm loving....

My job. I enjoy my job. This is huge. And very good, indeed.

Second (& third & fourth...) chances.

Ever so gentle reminders from my kids that I need to be living out what I'm trying to teach them.

My new calendar that Cameron bought for me at the dollar store. It fits in my purse and doesn't make me feel as lost as I did immediately after my iPod touch broke.

That last week, when I was working, I was off earlier than usual before lunch, so I decided to go downstairs and see if I could catch Austin in the cafeteria (his school shares the cafeteria with the high school, but his school eats first.) Not only did he let me buy him a pizza bun, but when I had bought my lunch and was going to take it to the staff room to eat it, he waved me down and said: "Mom, eat here!" So, I ate lunch with my 11 year old in the cafeteria. And it was wonderful.
Hmmmm, wonder if he'll want to eat with me all the time when he's in grade 9.... ;)

Learning new things.

Opportunities for growth.

Connecting with friends.

Playtime in my scraproom.

My precious children.

That spring is coming. (Oh, please, let it be so!)

Sunday morning church services.

How much my kids enjoy R.O.X. & want me to be a part of it.

Listening to my boys play the piano.

When the kids go to bed nicely.

The sound of silence.

MSS DT challenge -- March 7th

As I posted earlier, the DT at My Scrap Shoppe are going to be posting more challenges and such.

And today we're starting with a challenge...

Use a number as your title.

Here's the layout I made:



For this layout, I used some Bazzill cardstock and Cosmo Cricket patterned paper (including some 6x6 sheets that my friend, Marlo, shared with me!) I cut the smaller tags and title with my Cuttlebug.



And I used two SU! build-a-brads.



You can check out the other layouts that the DT made here.
Thanks for looking!

Five for Friday

1. I'm so glad it's March! Sure, it's still really, really cold out, but hey, March means Spring is on the way, right? Right?

2. I worked every day this week. Great for the paycheque, but a little crazy for trying to get everything done. I'm so glad we have a three day weekend this weekend!

3. My iPod touch died. Last weekend I charged it, but when I went to unplug it, there was a strange rubber smell and it wouldn't turn on no matter what I did. To make matters worse, Cameron & I watched a tutorial on YouTube on how to change the battery. A few minutes later I heard: "That's not good." I guess he figured he'd open it up-- and ended up cracking the glass on the front. :(

It's not like it's vital that I replace it. I don't NEED an iPod touch. But it sure was handy.

4. It's Friday, which means that I posted a sketch today on the MSS blog for my Winter sketches. Only a couple left--- see, Spring is on the way! ;)

Here the layout I made using a March Page Maps sketch:



5. And MSS is hosting its monthly online crop this weekend. Click here to check out the challenges-- they're fabulous (as usual!) and guaranteed to get your mojo going. I promise.

Here are the challenges that I've posted (& the accompanying layouts):

a. Use four or more photos on your layout.



b. Use one (or more) sheet(s) of diecut patterned paper on your layout, but you cannot use a full sheet. (This one was really hard for me-- I have a hard time cutting up those beautiful sheets!)



c. Add something to your layout that you want to save forever.



For Valentine's Day, Sage had written me this poem at school (so sweet!) So of course, I want to save it for always. But the original was 8.5x11 and pretty crumpled, so I resized it smaller and printed it on to white cardstock.

Thanks for looking!

Good Day Sunshine

As I mentionned in an earlier post, Marcy has some new plans in store for the DT at MSS and this month, she's implementing them. One of them is to feature new product in the Shoppe.

I chose to highlight the MME Good Day Sunshine patterned paper that Marcy got in recently. Isn't it adorable?





I love the colours & designs and think it would work well for either boy or girl layouts (although I just checked on their website and it's considered the girl version of this line. Shh... don't tell Austin! ;) )

Here's one layout I made with it, so far:



For this layout, I pretty much just used the three sheets of patterned paper, as well as a Bo Bunny brad. The reddish background paper is also MME, but from an earlier line, that I had in my stash-- I was pleased how well they went together. The tags were cut out with my Papertrey Ink tag die and the title letters are cut with my Quickutz Reuse alphabet dies.

The layout documents a few of his favourite things right now.



Thanks for looking!