May 22, 2015 | scrapbooking, Uncategorized
I did go away for the beginning of May – but worked hard to get some blog posts scheduled ahead of time so hopefully you didn’t notice (well, maybe you noticed how consistent I was in posting for a change?! LOL). One of the joys of having a business like a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator-ship is that you can step back at times but often the business can keep going with a little maintenance.
Anyway – I am privileged to be one of the photographers for the Burlington Teen Tour Band. I get to travel with these talented teenagers and take photos of them doing their thing – socializing, having fun, entertaining people and making parents and citizens of the city (and country!) proud. The band recently completed a tour of the Netherlands, after being invited to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of the country – in which Canadian forces played a major role. It was such a fantastic experience! The BTTB played in front of mayors of Burlington & Apeldoorn (Burlington’s twin city in the Netherlands), the Canadian Prime Minister, and Dutch royalty (Princess Margriet of the Netherlands), as well as thousands of appreciative Canadians and Dutch citizens along the parade routes. Most significant of all, they played for Canadian and Dutch veterans, and had an opportunity to speak with vets who shared stories of their service. It was such an honour to be there with them. This is one of my favourite photos, taken from the Silent March in Apeldoorn – band members lined the route where dignitaries and citizens walked from the church to the park.
This is a photo from the parade in Apeldoorn that was televised on CBC – big crowds (this is actually one of the less crowded sections!) and people rushing into the street in front of the band to take photos and get a better look.
Now that we’re home again, getting over the jet lag and caught up on laundry (though I realize it’s a never-ending process), I’m looking forward to getting some of my favourite shots printed and into a scrapbook. I think I’ll likely end up doing mostly pocket scrapbook pages (Project Life by Stampin’ Up!) because it’s less “thinking” than traditional layouts – though I may throw a few of those in as well for good measure! For me, it’s the importance of getting the photos printed and stories shared that motivates my scrapbooking attempts, and so pocket pages are a good fit. Come to my next Memory Keeping free intro night (Weds July 15th) to see how I’m progressing!!
Apr 9, 2015 | organizing, scrapbooking
I was recently asked to prepare and submit some projects, for which I was inspired to do a scrapbook page featuring mothers. I went through my hard drive and photos, and found a photo of my mother and I (oh my goodness, look at my cheeks?!), and also a photo of my son and I (also the cute cheeks. and the diverted gaze because he’s watching something on TV, I’m pretty sure). I loved the symmetry in these shots and decided to use them on a page, which you’ll get to see in May (sorry, conditions of the project!!). It did strike me, though, that if I am surprised by the photos I find on my computer (and how hard I have to look to find what I want), that means there are many of my loved ones who have no idea that these images even exist. I read that due to digital photos, the current generation is the most photographed generation but likely to have no actual photographs in 10 years. This is fairly true for my son. I used to shoot on film, so had photos to share and frame, but these days, not so much… SO. This needs to change! GOAL: Photos printed, stories and names written down, and memories shared! I am going to be using the Project Life by Stampin’ Up! pocket pages and dedicating one hour a week to getting the photos out and the stories down. I figure that one hour is a do-able thing, and it is important. Will you join in my crusade? Who will be strong and stand with me…? (first one in gets to wave the big red flag…sorry, too many Les Mis references?)
If you want to give it a go, I can use the support!! LOL. I’m having a Photo Organizing and Memory Keeping Class one week today, on Thursday, April 16th. There’s no charge for this brief event, but you do need to register via RSVP. I’ll share my results to date at that class, and you can see how easy this system can be.
May 3, 2014 | scrapbooking, Stampin' Up!
I’m in the process of playing with my new Project Life by Stampin’ Up! products! This is my first almost completed page…and as you can see by some of the smaller, slightly askew photos, I haven’t stuck anything down yet…but I think that’s part of what I like about this system so far. If you are following me on Instagram you will have seen the “before” version of this page, where I basically was just putting all the different components into the pockets to get a combination that I liked or found inspiring. In this version of the page, I’ve included some photos that I printed myself (so obviously need to work on the sizing of the photos when I print them if I want them to fill the whole pocket). I still have a spot for journalling, I have a spot that is just fun, and I have lots of shots. The die cut “life is an adventure” is backed with another small card to make the words colourful. All the Stampin’ Up! Project Life pieces are double sided (except for the die cuts…) so when you flip your page over, there’s something else to look at.
So to finish this page off, I’ll add some journalling, and may or may not stick those smaller photos permanently onto their mats. For future, I might just get regular sized photos and use my Project Life Framelits to die cut them to exactly the right size. Stampin’ Up!’s Project Life products are also available as digital downloads, so I’ll be able to create a totally digital layout or print extras of my favourite cards.
Jan 24, 2014 | MDS, scrapbooking, Stampin' Up!
Over the Christmas holidays I had the chance to travel to London, England with my family, and visit some longtime friends. It was a WONDERFUL trip and we had a lot of fun. Something my son & I started doing on this trip was to take “selfies” of the two of us in front of various landmarks. The photos, while definitely not the most technically perfect shots, were still so perfect to capture fun moments and memories. Now that we’ve been home a bit I threw some of these selfies into a scrapbook page layout. I used Stampin’ Up!’s World Traveler Photobook Template and MDS (My Digital Software) software to whip up this layout. Love the drag and drop ease; added a bit of text, got fancy and changed out some embellishments and added some drop shadows, but was done in an instant.
How fun is this? Shots are: in front of the iconic red phone booth; in front of the model of Hogwarts at the Harry Potter Studio tour; with the Paddington Bear statue in Paddington Station; in front of Big Ben; under the dome of a cathedral which will remain unnamed because I don’t think we were actually supposed to do that….;at the Globe Theatre; at the Tower of London; with the Christmas tree in the Georgian Tea Room at Harrods. These pages are a great way to recall the fun moments of our trip! Digital scrapbooking is a great way to use those digital photos. I am working on doing an entire book with this template and will get it printed to have as a share-able memento of our trip. Want to try something like this? The MDS software is available to try for FREE for 30 days – once you try it, I’m sure you’ll love it! Don’t forget to contact me if you have any questions about it!
Oct 10, 2013 | Announcements, scrapbooking, specials
Once you’ve finished the sob-fest that I’m sure tonight’s Glee episode will be (shhh don’t tell me yet, I’ve got it PVR’d), you might want to grab these deals while they’re still in effect… Today’s one day special is on these Designer Series Papers – you’ve got a few hours left before the discounted price disappears!
Sep 2, 2013 | Announcements, Events, scrapbooking
Stampin’ Up!’s latest “best of” set is Best of Autumn
– featuring some seasonal images (and one saying) that will evoke that fall feeling….like the back to school rush isn’t enough to do that?! Anyway – a variety of styles is sure to suit your autumnal crafting needs! See the flyer here. Remember that each “Best of” set comes with a sticker, and once you’ve got six of them, you get to pick a free stamp set worth up to $17.95!
I personally always loved back to school time. I always loved (still do) shopping for back to school supplies! I think that’s part of my fascination with crafting – all those blank pieces of paper and tools waiting to be used….*sigh* If you’re also ready to get back to classes, come to one of my upcoming card making classes! This Wednesday is the monthly card class featuring 4 designs, and this Friday is the first of my Christmas Card Classes – featuring four different holiday cards each time. This way, you’ll have a number of unique cards to give to those special people, or discover a design that you like and get supplies to create a number of them, for your bulk card needs! Please contact me to register or use the paypal links on the events page for ease. Don’t forget if you register and pay for your Christmas classes before the first class, you’ll be able to make an extra card at each of the upcoming monthly classes!!
Also – I’m adding a few different classes to my slate of offerings – Wednesday, October 2nd I’m offering a Thankful mini-scrapbook using the Thankful Tablescape Simply Created Kit. Class fee will be $35 and you MUST register and pay by September 16th as I need to pre-order all the supplies. This class runs the same time as the monthly card class, and you CAN register for both classes (and you WILL NOT be here all evening! LOL) Friday, October 4th, I’m offering a Hallowe’en banner class. We’ll create a fun banner to decorate your door or mantel for Hallowe’en. Cost for the banner class will be $40, again, registration and payment required by September 16th. So – LOTS of different opportunities for you to get crafty in the upcoming while! As always – if you aren’t able to make it on the class date, get a group of friends together and I can bring the class to you! Visit the events page or contact me if you have questions or prefer to register via email!
