Faffing About with the Girls.....

You know, I was really wanting to post last night, but by the time I pulled out the ol' laptop I was way to tired to fiddle around. It was 11:30pm. I got caught up in playing with new scrap goodies! My friend Trisha gave me some Stix 2 adhesives and foils. I love this stuff! It stick like crazy, which being the lumpy scrapper that I am, you need stuff to stay.

I am particularly lovin' those Stix 2 foils too. I am using them for a clear mini album in progress. They are so easy to use. Just press it on the adhesive and voila the foil comes off the plastic. I will definitely be using it on more projects in the future.

Anyhow, I gotta say that I try to pop up to Edmonton about once a month now. Not only do I go to discuss Canada's Scrapbooking Crop for Kids with Trisha, I have got to be friends with her and many of the wonderful and talented scrappers in Edmonton. They really are a fun bunch and I am lucky to have found them!

This past Saturday, I drove up for a night that was just all about relaxing and being with the girls. I started the tour by stopping at Ikea for yet another Goliat drawer set (amongst other treasures). They are cheap and attractive and are some of the few drawer sets that will hold scrapbook paper.

So there I am in one of the aisles wheeling my cart full of stuff, when a lady approached holding out a gift card with areceipt tucked neatly underneath. She gave me a spiel. She said that she had this gift card that had $160 left on it. She was leaving the country and had no more of a need for it. And just to get it off her hands, I could have it for the low, rock-bottom price of $100!

Now, at first I think, what a smokin' deal, but quite honestly, I never arry cash, getting some cash was a hassle, I was kinda in a hurry and I wasn't done shopping. So, I declined. I got a weird look, but I simply couldn't be bothered.

And I thought about it afterwards and questioned the logic of the whole scenario. This woman was from the Far East - Asia, Sinapore, India, doesn't matter where really, but it has a point. So I think, you are shopping for stuff at Ikea to bring it home with you. Heavy furniture. Extra stuff you have to pay to ship? Why? With air travel as tight as it is and even if it wasn't, why would you do that? Well, because she wasn't! Scam.

And I can thank lack of motivation for that one. Who says being lazy is all that bad!

Onward and forward, I met Trisha and Tracy at Treasured Memories. Went a little crazy on the Hambly Studios overlays and papers but I have a hard tome finding it anywhere else and it was a "treat yourself" kind of a day. So I did.

Then off to pick up Anam, with a trip directly to Urban Scrapbook and a pitstop at Fabricland. Lots of goodies.

When we got to Trisha's house, we met up with yeat another friend, Lea. We ate. We scrapped and we geeked out on our computers. It was a fun night of talking, laughing and enjoying ourselves!

We ate thanks to Tracy!

That girl can come cook for me anytime!

Lea played with Kota.

Anam snapped pictures.

Trisha played with Anam's new 'do.

That Anam broad is a real smart ass too! LOL
That new do of hers looks great!

And Trisha played with her Picture It Pageframes goodies. Cool stuff, she made us drool!

While we're on the subject of Trisha and Picture It Pageframes, I'll mention that she is teaching some way cool classes at CKC in Florida in July. If you are there, I'd check it out. I think it is going to be all the rage!

And a special THANK YOU to Trisha for being the hostess with the mostest and letting me crash on her comfy couch!!!!

Summer is Arriving In Sylvan....

I love the emergence of summer in Sylvan Lake. Now that the weather has been sunny and warm, it is like this town suddenly awakens. People begin to walk the streets and enjoy the beach and shops, the trees bloom and explodes in greenery. It almost seems like Sylvan Lake emerges from a mass hibernation, townfolk included!

And for our family it means that this red beast emerges from our garage.....

The big bad boat. And the whole family itches to get it on the water. But frist, Trevor must go through the ritual of prepping it for its first run and I know that it is one of his absolute favorite things to do. Well, besides getting pulled behind it.

This past weekend our boat made its 2007 debut. It couldn't have been a better weekend to get it started and get it on the water. And Sunday we did just that.

Off we went to the busy marina with our neighbours Mark, Dayna and their son Caden. We went and just had a burn around the lake and enjoyed the warm weather. And I also know that as much as Trevor and Mark would love to enjoy the "art" of wakeboarding, the water was still a little too cold to bother with out a wet suit.

A few more weeks of this kind of weather and we'll out there tubing, wakeboarding and dodging other boats that have the same notion as us.

This has now been Jacob's 2nd year enjoying racing along the waters of Sylvan and this year he was happy to be spending some time with his little neighbour buddy, Caden. The two of them loved wind rushing past furiously as they giggled and yelled as loud as they could, "This is FUN! WEEEE!!!!"

I have to say that I am so excited because on Saturday, I am making my way up to Edmonton to meet up with Anam and Trisha! I'll make sure we all take pictures. It is going to be a day and night of scrapping and having Anam teach me and Trish some phunky schtuff with Adobe Photshop Elements 5.0. However, I am diligently reading Photoshop CS for Dummies and so far, I have learned the basics.

However, I have experimented with this new knowledge and thought that I might experiment a little bit. And this new found digital obsession has prompted me to go crazy finding some great digital downloads to play with. As you can see, I added a new catagory of links to some great resourse sites for digi scrappin', and more will be added. Take a peek at these sites, I think you will agree with me how wonderful they are.

So once I get alittle better at this digi thing, I'm going to play with some hybrid layouts. Yes, yes, no fear, I will never permanently move to digi. What fun would that be?

And now, like I promised, I'll tell you about another class that I am teaching for Canada's Scrapbooking Crop for Kids.

Memorabilia Matters

Scrapbooks are not always just about the pictures of life. It is also about memorabilia and reflections which rightfully belong on a page as well. In this class, you will construct a page with a couples theme that incorporates two different and unique techniques to add memorabilia and hidden journaling or a fun and exciting way to get people to interact and discover your pages in ways they never expected!

Sponsored by Serendipity Scrapbook & Gift Company, Sylvan Lake

Like I said, check it out at http://www.csc4k.com!

Parenting Gold, I Tell You... and a class debut for CSC4K

So this year, Alberta has been wet and thus we have been plagued by hoardes of mosquitos that are thirsty for every last drop of blood pulsing through your body. Seriously. Spend 5 minutes outside without bathing your body in Deet and you are toast. Mind you, Deet only seems to be doing so much too.
Now Jacob has learned the itchy truth about these horrible little beasts. Itches and welts and bein eaten alive. He's not overly fond of those darn mosquitos and is now fascinated with the thought of killing every single one that he possibly can. Good to see him make the attempt to do his part in the mass genoside of the mosquito population. Sadly, it will hardly make a dent.
Anyhow, being bitten. Nope hates it as we all do. But we learned a clever little game and for four nights in a row is has been heavenly putting him to bed. I found a piece of parenting gold.
We taught him to get away from those "skee-toes" is to go to bed, put the covers on you and shut your eyes. They can't find you that way. Really? It works that way? No kidding! I gotta tell you, I've never seen a kid go to bed so fast in my life. Not a peep not a word and off he goes to slumberland for a full evening of rest. And parental relaxation! Do try it, and I hope that it will work for you too....

And onto other things.....

So, I decided to become a volunteer for Canada's Scrapbooking Crop for Kids . I am completely excited about this ground breaking charitable event. It is being held in six cities (Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, London and St. John) October 12 14, 2007. I am going to be working the Edmonton venue being hosted at West Edmonton Mall for 1,000 scrappers and all proceeds we raise will be given to the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation .

It is going to be the coolest event ever! There is going to be great teachers like Creating Keepsakes 2007 Hall of Fame Kristina Contes, my friend and Pencil Lines design team member Anam Stubbington , One Little Word design team member Jessi Lute, Scrapbooks, Etc. editor in chief Melissa Inman, Basic Grey's Creative Director Kelly Goree, the fabulous Heidi Grace for Fiskars, Editor in Chief Jackie Ludlage for The Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine and me! That is just off the top of my head! Amazing line up, there are so many more to mention, however just go here for a complete list. I am utterly thrilled to be teaching alongside the best of the best.

So for the next three blog entries, I'll show you my projects that I got going on for Canada's Scrapbooking Crop for Kids.



First up........





Scrapbooking is meant to tell a story. As the one that is probably behind the camera, telling the story of others, it is important to take the time to tell the story of the storyteller. From the mundane, to symbolic, to deep thought, this class explores it all by creating a sweet little keepsake box using the technique of acetate transparancies for the most important person in your life - YOU.



- Sponsor: Serendipity Scrapbook & Gift Company












I can't Wait to do this class, it is going to be fun! Learning to alter boxes with a touch of making ATCs, working with tranparencies, painting and lots of flowers! I want this to be a project that you can refer to when you want to create a page about yourself. Yeppers, a nice little project that inspires you create some fun journaling and tell the world who you are.



So seriously, go check out the website and I hope to see you at the event in Edmonton. I think you should. Grab a group of girlfriends, and mix your love of scrapbooking with a worthy cause and throw in the World's largest shopping mall and you got yourself on fabulous weekend!!!!