Happy New Year!

Hey everyone!
I assume everyone has come out of their food coma and survived another hectic Christmas season. I know our holiday season was crazy here. I don't even want to think about how much money we paid out for babysitting in the last 3 weeks, but it was worth every penny! We were so blessed to spend time with a lot of friends and family this December.
You'll recall December's challenge was a call for snow/winter pictures, and we have a winner! Lisa Lee sent in a fabulous layout of her girls sledding (which incidentally, is done with CTMH's Aspen paper pack - now retired but one of my faves!)
Here is a pic of her work:

Nice work Lis, you are now the proud owner of a set of CTMH's textured stickers!
So, for January. . . let's think Christmas for just a little while longer! I'd like to see your Christmas layouts. More specifically, let's see some layouts from Christmas 2010! Can any of us manage to get photos off the camera, uploaded, printed and laid out before Jan. 31? I can't wait to see!
Happy scrappin'!
Lisa

December Challenge!

Hey, has anyone noticed that it's beginning to look a lot like, well, winter out there? I've got the classic family front yard out front - clean white snow stomped to bits by little boots and tossed all over by mittened hands!
Sooooooo. . . let's see some layouts featuring the special people in YOUR life playing in the snow. Sledding? Outdoor skating? Snow angels in the backyard? Life-size snow sculptures of your husband watching tv in his underwear? Let's see them! E-mail me your submissions and I'll choose one layout to win a prize at the end of the month!
Happy Scrappin'!
Lisa

Happy December!

Well, we're a few short weeks away from Christmas. Scary! Although I've gotten a fabulous start on my usual holiday season gluttony, I should really start thinking about getting rolling on some shopping, wrapping, etc, etc!
And Christmas ties right in nicely with the vacation layout which wins November's challenge! Jana Siljak sent in a great page from her family's Christmas vacation to Disneyland last year. Her efforts have won her a set of CTMH's textured stickers!
Check out her creativity:

Well, you could check out her creativity if it wasn't incredibly pixelated! Seriously, does someone want to come over here and give me a blog tutorial?!
At any rate, congrats to Jana and don't forget to send me your pics. It might get you a prize!

Workshop follow-up

Hi everyone!
Thanks so much for attending yesterday's workshop! I had a GREAT time crafting with you all! Jana Siljak sent me photos of her finished Christmas ornaments, which I was so grateful for because I got so busy I forgot to get the camera out! Here's what she created, feel free to have a look and be inspired!
Thanks Jana!

Christmas workshop!

I am excited about this year's Christmas workshop featuring three different options for your crafting pleasure - Christmas cards, photo ornaments and home decor in the form of adorable paper trees!
Here are the details about each of the three crafting options:
1. Cards: you'll make 12 cards, six each of two designs. All card kits will be pre-cut and ready to stamp, assemble and embellish. Here's a picture of one of the cards:

(I gave away my design for the other card, so I'll have to make another one before you can see a picture of it!)

2. Photo ornaments: we'll be making these with CTMH's chipboard ornaments, inking them the colour of your choice and embellishing with stamps, bling and ribbon. For this project you will need to bring some photos you'd like displayed on your tree! Here's a photo from the catalogue showing the basic idea:

3: Trees: these little cuties start as a foam cone and end up as great Christmas decor for your home! You'll be making a 12" high tree with paper, a glue gun and some embellishments! Here's an example:

Sorry it's not a picture of the entire project, but I couldn't find one online!

Each project is $15 per person, or you can do all 3 for only $40. I have a limit of four spots available for each one, so please let me know right away if you'd like to attend. In order to have all the supplies arrive in time I need to order by Nov. 15, so please RSVP no later than Nov. 14.

The workshop will be held Nov. 27 from 1 - 4 p.m. at my place and includes drinks and snacks for the afternoon! I hope you're all as excited as I am about getting into the swing of the Christmas season with a little creativity!

Happy scrappin'!

Lisa

November Challenge

Happy November everyone!
It's that time of year again - the days are cooler, the mornings frosty and the trees bare. Know what this type of weather always makes me think of? No, not Christmas! There'll be time enough for that in December!!
Nope, these cool days of fall always make me think of airplanes - specifically getting on one and flying somewhere warm. We've been blessed with several warm-destination winter vacations over the years, so when I have to scrape my van's windshield for the first time, I instantly long to pack up and go somewhere warm for a while!
If you're wondering what on earth this all has to do with November's challenge, let me let you in on my random train of thought - vacation layouts! I want to see your favourite vacation layout! It could be a warm destination, a short jaunt up the highway, a recent trip or your favourite vacay from years ago. Let's see the cool places you've all been and the ways you've chosen to preserve your memories of the trip!
E-mail me a shot of your work and I'll post them on the blog so you can all inspire each other - and, of course, have a shot at winning a prize!
Happy scrappin'!
Lisa

Halloween challenge winner!

Hi everyone! Can you believe it's November already? I don't know about any of you, but the sunshine and warm temperatures are making it hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that the Christmas season will soon be in full swing! I am loving every minute of this spectacular fall weather!
Halloween was a nice day again this year - my kids were able to go trick-or-treating without coats! I let Daddy take them this year. That may have been a mistake, because instead of following my "once the bag is full we go home" method, he established his own "once the bucket is full, go home, empty it and head back out" tradition. How am I supposed to talk them out of that next year?! lol
I am ashamed to report that I did not get caught up on any of my Halloween pics this month! However, there were a couple followers who did. Melanie Gatzke sent in a super cute two-page layout of her niece Keely and that layout makes her the winner of October's challenge. Melanie wins a set of CTMH's textured stickers! Here's a pic of her work:











Honourable mention goes to Daina Ully, who put together a couple pages in traditional Halloween black and orange! I'd love to show you her pages, but my computer won't let me upload them for some reason. I'll try again later!
I'll be detailing November's challenge in a separate post, so stay tuned!
Happy scrappin'!