Everything Happens for a Reason

JANUARY TAG CHALLENGE

2012-01-10T13:17:00.000-07:00

Well its that time of month again and I finished my tag challenge early! I thought this was going to be an easy challenge and then as I started to plan out what I wanted to do and it wasn't as easy as I thought. Our challenge this month was to create a tag with our favorite winter activity as our theme. Well easy enough, my favorite winter activity is scrapbooking but that somehow seemed to be too easy or obvious. So I thought about when I was a kid and we used to have this big long toboggan that my three sisters and I used to ride. So with that being said, here is my toboggan tag!!!

So I searched the web for pictures of toboggans and used that as my inspiration. Iused corrugated cardstock as my base. The wooden slats are from the Maya Road mini rulers which I cut in half and inked. I then cut out a bunch of snowflakes from vellum, silver pow paper and white glitter paper and then mixed that with snow chunks and silver glitter glass! I made clumps of the mixture with diamond glaze on parts of the toboggan to look like snow. The pinecones are of course Tim Holtz pinecone die.

Thanks for looking!

Pat

2012 ALREADY!

2011-12-31T19:49:00.000-07:00

Yikes, where has the year gone? I could go on and on about how the time has flown by but all I can say is it just has! Resolutions? Hmmm, not sure about that one. I know there are many I would like to make but do I always keep them, no! So I think just to go day by day and enjoy every moment life has to offer is a better way to go about it. I would like to get better organized, but somehow the age things plays a huge factor in that my memory seems to suck lately which would greatly help with the organization thing if I could remember what it was I wanted to get organized with? Make sense? So with all that being said, I wish everyone a very Happy New Year and hope 2012 brings good health, wealth and happiness to everyone!

Now on another note, my January layout for The Urban Scrapbook. I was actually done early, which is usually a better choice for me as I always seem to get super busy when its due. Each year Jan chooses a different theme for our challenges and this year we are using a sketch! Wow!!!!! I love sketches!!!! You know there are times when you just sit for days staring at the paper and nothing comes, well, that's when a sketch comes in handy. This just made my life a whole lot better. However, there is a little twist in that each month the photos multiply by one so that by the time we get to December we will have to do a layout with 12 photos! That should be a challenge! So using the Bonjour Collection by Kaiser and a lovely sketch here is my layout!

Thanks for looking!

Pat

Gift Bag Idea

2011-12-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

With literally only days until Christmas its time to get all your gifts wrapped and under the tree! I love fancy wrapping, however, time is not on my si but this year I came across this amazing little gift bag idea and thought it would be perfect for gift cards or something small.

It's so easy to make as you will see from the link below. I used music paper as my base and stitched and gathered crate paper to make the ruffled trim around the top. I then decorated it with some handmade flowers that were given to me in a gift and added a few other festive details.

Here is the link and instructions on how to make your own by Hello Sandwich!

Thanks for looking!

Pat

Unconditional Love

2011-12-18T11:31:00.000-07:00

If you are a dog person then you know exactly what I mean by unconditional love. And this little fur ball gives us exactly that and so much more!

When I brought home the new Kaiser Sweet Nothings I knew I would most likely not be using it for Valentines as its such a versatile line. The colors are soft, sweet and angelic which was perfect for this layout of my daughter and dog. I also used some of the embellishments from the Glitz line and threw in a little Prima as well.

Thanks for looking!

Pat

Merry Christmas

2011-12-16T21:14:00.000-07:00

Its been so long since I have had the chance to just sit down and scrapbook for myself. Between card classes, challenges and kits time seems to just fly by. But tonight I was in the mood to just scrapbook. One of my favourite lines this season was the Fancy Pants St. Nick and seeing that my DD won't pose for pictures anymore I had to revert to my other two daughters! The four legged type! Great models but they don't sit still for long!

Thanks for looking!

Pat

December Tag Challenge

2011-12-16T09:11:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Well another tag challenge completed! When we get our challenge every month they always seem so easy and I am always excited to start creating and then I sit down and ..... nothing! It's actually kind of funny, and I am sure its that whole thing with getting the creative juices flowing.

So this month our challenge was from Jan and we had to use a line, verse or inspiration from the song "Believe" from the Polar Express! How magical can that be. I had a hard time at first, I actually scrapped my first tag and then came up with this!

I actually tried two new techniques that were posted on The Urban Scrapbook blog and am excited to try them again. The first was by Tammy Tuturrow, where she embossed her tag and then covered it with the Rock Candy Crackle and the second technique was the faux porcelain. I loved this technique and will be using this one in one of my card classes for sure! I also used the new Tim Holtz holiday inks and have to say I LOVE THEM!!!!

Thanks for looking!

Pat

Happy Holidays

2011-12-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

It has been such a crazy busy month I really struggled with my December page challenge for The Urban Scrapbook. I think the hardest part and the part I spend hours on is looking for pictures! However, I came across these old photos from when I was around ten. So I scanned them added a texture and they worked out not too bad.

This month our challenge was using different textures such as chipboard, metal, lace, etc. So using all these textures this is what I came up with. Hope you enjoy!

Oh and if your wondering this is my favorite punch I used on the top and bottom. It is an EK Punch and I LOVE it!!! I also added some old sheet music at the top behind the punched area.

Thanks for looking!

Pat

More Card Kits!!!

2011-11-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a great response to my first two card kits! I thank everyone who snapped them up! So I am getting kits ready for round two! Two more kits one with a mixture of Jillibean Soup and Fancy Pants, and the other with Simple Stories Generations! Both are all occasion cards. They will be available at The Urban Scrapbook (in store only) in the next day or so. Hope you enjoy!

Thanks for looking!

Pat

A Collection of Love

2011-11-21T08:56:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago my husband bought me this beautiful cabinet from my favourite gift and garden store, Wellington! It is the perfect piece that stores all sorts of scrapbooking supplies, everything from paints, to inks, to stains and so much more!

However, don't know how this came about but I was in Anthropology one day and saw their beautiful knobs that they sold and decided to buy a few. That started my mission to change out all the wooden knobs and replace them with unique and different knobs for each of the drawers. So throughout out my travels I have picked up knobs from here and there and I can finally say I am done!

Hope you enjoy!

Pat

November Tag Swap

2011-11-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

Well the tags are all in and they are all so amazing this month! The girls really went all out and our next months challenge is Christmas again but with a little twist!

Hope you enjoy!

Pat

Piccadilly Cards

2011-11-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

It seems like all I have been doing is creating Christmas cards, so I thought I would take a break and create some everyday cards using the new Piccadilly line by Basicgrey. I also used dies by Cheery Lynn, Memory Box and Tim Holtz! I love my dies!

Hope you enjoy!

Pat

ADVENT HOUSE BY WE R MEMORY KEEPERS!

2011-11-13T21:15:00.000-07:00

So a couple of weeks ago we posted on The Urban Scrapbook blog the new advent calendar kit by We R Memory Keepers. So I decided to try and make one for a display and I must say for a value of $16.89 this is an amazing kit! All the boxes are pre-scored and easy to punch out. You literally get hundreds of diecuts and you can pretty much make any configuration you can come up with. I found on their website some houses that they built so I decided to do something similar but one big house. Each side of my house has 12 boxes with the 25th being the chimney! I made the roof from scratch and add some snow with glitter to give it a more wintery feel.

Hope you enjoy!

Thanks for looking!

Pat

Paper Flower Kits

2011-11-07T19:28:00.001-07:00

Little Yellow Bicycle came out with these great paper flower kits a few collections ago and their Christmas ones are adorable. They resemble poinsettias mixed with accordion flowers and leaves. They definitely make flower making simple and easy.

Along with one of the dies from Memory Box I created this simple little Christmas card to add to my collection!

Thanks for looking!

Pat

November Tag Challenge

2011-11-07T12:17:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Well rather than always being last minute I decided to get my November tags done early! This month's challenge was my choice and after last months challenge I decided to make it easy! So the challenge this month is Christmas! And with all the wonderful Christmas papers that have been coming out I wanted to use some of the great finds I have brought home!

I actually used an old Tim Holtz die and one of my favorites "Bird and Birdcage". I cut them out of chipboard, painted the birdcage silver and covered in Melissa Frances glass glitter. I love this stuff, its very vintage and chunky! I then used the new Poinsettia Spellbinder, which I find I have used over and over! Love this die. Some of the other bits and pieces are from my Christmas drawer!

Enjoy.

Pat

Rosette Topiary

2011-11-02T18:31:00.000-06:00

So I have had this idea for some time and I actually bought a wreath to start but for some reason changed my mind and decided to do a topiary! Well I must say unless I am completely caught up and have nothing to scrapbook I can't see myself doing that wreath any time soon and that will never happen, the caught up part. I must have made a hundred rosettes for the topiary so a wreath would take ten times that! But it was fun and I love the end results. I bought the container at the dollar store and added some pretty paper and ribbon to jazz it up.

Hope you enjoy and thanks for looking.

Pat

Picture Perfect Friends

2011-10-26T20:05:00.000-06:00

There is something to be said about not being caught up with your scrapbooking! You get to enough all those wonderful old photos of your children when they were young, innocent and loved having their picture taken! I had this photo of my daughter and her little friend in a frame for years and had never scrapbooked it. Now was the time, 12 years later!

I did this layout for a page challenge at The Urban Scrapbook, using the new Vintage Blue line by Glitz. I love Glitz. They just seem to get better and better each season. Our challenge this month was to use masks and we were given a Prima Mask (brick wall), so I decided to try something different instead of inking or misting I put my mask down on a piece of cardstock and used Gesso (Claudine Hellmuth). I actually used a finger dauber to apply it so that it would have that stipple effect. After I completed the whole mask I pulled it away and let it dry. Once dry I began inking. I used several layers to get the color that I wanted. Once finished I cut away several of the brick to give it a broken up effect.

The circle was made with 1/2 strips of paper that I soaked in water and gathered with my fingers. Once dry I adhered the pieces together with glue dots and stitched on the pattern paper in a circle.

Thanks for looking!

Pat

More Tags for October Tag Challenge

2011-10-22T11:39:00.000-06:00

Well let me say, this was one tough tag challenge this month but the girls did an amazing job! I just love the colors of Halloween because there not something we would usually use.

I will have them all at the store (The Urban Scrapbook) if you want to get a closer look!

Have a great weekend everyone. I'm hoping to finally get a little scrapp'n done!

Pat

October Tag Challenge

2011-10-17T08:21:00.000-06:00

Wow this month's tag just crept up on me from nowhere. I was totally inspired by Shelly Hickox so thought I would try her cool project she did some time ago. Our challenge this month was to do something fall/halloween, hinged, noisy or have feeling! Yikes Nicole what were you thinking!!!

Anyhow, here is Shelly's creation!

And here is what I came up with!

Enjoy and have a great day!

Pat

New Tim Holtz Seasonal Inks 3-Pack

2011-09-22T19:44:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone!

So the new Tim Holtz seasonal 3-packs came in yesterday at The Urban Scrapbook and I just couldn't wait to get my hands on them. And although I'm not a big stamper I love to ink, I've also been a little hooked on this tag thing. Love to be able to be a little more creative and they are so quick and easy and a great way to try out new techniques. So, with that came a Halloween tag totally inspired by the new inks. I love the colors. I am not a reall purple fan but this purple (Seedless Preserves) rocks!

I first ran my tag through the embossing machine and embossed the top right corner using one of Tim Holtz new Halloween embossing folders (spider web). I then covered the bottom half with dictionary paper. I used all three new inks. I cut out the purple doily with one of the Cheery Lynn doilies (also available at The Urban Scrapbook) and used the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Alpha Parts for the Boo! The fence is cut from the Slice cartridge "Spooky Alley" and crackled with the Ranger Rock Candy. The crow charm is from Girls Paperie last years Halloween line. And yes, I did do a big of stamping with the Tim Holtz Halloween stamp set. The orange flower is from the new Maya Road ribbon (love it!), and also added a small amount of the Tim Holtz film strip ribbon.

Have a great day everyone.

Pat

September Tag Swap

2011-09-15T15:10:00.000-06:00

Well it's that time again and this month my tag challenge was to create a tag out of something recycled! Yikes!!!! I have to be honest, when I first heard of the challenge I thought it was going to be fun, but as I sat down and began to plan my tag I kinda changed my mind! It was a lot harder than I thought and like others I really wanted to use some of the new products that I have been bringing home weekly!

However, I did move ahead and created my tag out of corrugated cardboard that I had from a packing box, old doilies, old keys, old thread and my roses are made from milk cartons!

Can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with!

Enjoy and TFL!

Pat

Its Been So Long

2011-09-11T19:41:00.000-06:00

I don't know where the time has gone! It's been so long since I've sat down and just scrapbooked. Not for a challenge or a swap, but just scrapbooked. I hear women day in and day out saying their lives have gotten so busy that they never get a chance to do what they love. It's sad actually, between driving, cooking, cleaning, working and so much more should we not be given a few precious moments each week to do something we love? I know our husbands do!

So today I decided to just scrapbook and believe it or not I actually finished a layout! I absolutely love the new Bo Bunny Etc. line and have been looking at it almost every day since I brought it home. It was the perfect match for some pictures of my daughters grade nine grad. I also decided to try the new sketch challenge at Canadian Scrapbooker and it definitely got my creative juices flowing.

I used papers, chipboard letters & swirls and diecuts from the new Bo Bunny Etc. line and the new alpha stickers by Prima. I tried to use at least one Canadian product and found an old laser cut by Riff Raff!

Hope you like it!

Now for a piece I did for The Urban Scrapbook September design challenge. This layout was also using one of the new Bo Bunny lines ... Forever Fall. I love the colors in this line and seeing that my favorite season is Fall and one of my favorite techniques is fussy cutting this challenge was right up my alley!

Have a great week everyone!

Pat

Tag Swap #5

2011-08-22T16:26:00.000-06:00

As I keep saying every month, I am really enjoying this tag swap! So if you know of a group of women that might enjoy something like this you really should try it out. It's actually quite quick and easy and the tags I have received each month have been nothing short of spectacular! So first of all I must apologize to Lynette as the tag she made me is still at the store! So it will get a showing all of its own.

This month Lynette chose our challenge and it was to make our tag using only one piece of white cardstock! We were allowed to use inks, stains etc. but this is what the gals came up with! Love, love, love what they all did!

Next month Roxanne picked our challenge and we must make our tag with recyclable items! This should be interesting, but I have an idea!

Enjoy the day.

Pat

The Dog Whisperer

2011-08-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

Ever since I can remember my dad has loved dogs! He would have ten if he could, but one is his limit at the age of 88! So each weekend when my sisters and I visit we often bring our dogs along and it creates quite the commotion. But as you can see from his face he was in dog heaven, loving every minute of them and their presence!

So when starting this layout I was so happy to use the new We R Memory Keepers pet line. It is so cute and offers has such great colors and patterns!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Pat

Hidden Journaling!

2011-08-02T08:26:00.000-06:00

Good morning everyone!

This month our page challenge at The Urban Scrapbook was hidden journaling! As I am not a big into journaling I found this challenge a little hard. I've said when passing along my scrapbooking wisdom, if your not into journaling at least date your layouts! Which is what I always do, at least that way I know the year and month of each picture. So, I sat for hours, maybe days trying to figure out what to do. Sometimes it just doesn't come as easy as others. But in the end I figured it out and even created a few spots for future journaling. These pictures were of two of my sisters and my mother while on a camping trip many years ago. Yes, these are all girls in the photos, I know you might think we all look like boys, it was the lovely haircuts! Anyhow, when we were kids we would spend two weeks at our favorite camp ground and have the time of our lives. Things were much more simpler back then!

Enjoy!

Pat

Having Fun with Shrink Art

2011-07-20T07:45:00.000-06:00

Shrink Art has been around for years! And every now and then I dig up my old shrink art and try something new. Years ago I used to stamp on it, color it in and create buttons. Yesterday I was playing around printing vintage pictures on it to make embellishments and voila! This stuff is still as fun as it used to be and the best part is watching it in the oven! I definitely need to get a life! Anyhow, this is what I came up with and I am sure they will look great adorning a card or too!

Have a great day everyone!

Pat