Productive day/evening at a crop

I went to a crop at Auntie Em's Scrapbooking in Cornwall yesterday and got productive with 7 layouts completed. 

This is me as a kid riding a tricycle, I used  the Carta Bella collection called Fall Blessings. And Prima flowers. 

This is me and my Grandfather on my Dad's side. Again using the Crta Bella Fall Blessings collection and Prima flowers.  

These are my kiddos on their way back to school in 2014! I used the Echo Park collecrion School Days. I hand folded a paper airplane. 

Very little patterned paper used here. I used watercolouring through a doily and Prima flowers, glitter and microbeeds. 

The is me and my hubby back when we first started dating! And used the Authentique paper line caked Durable. Prima flowers and a Kaisercraft wood embellishment for the title with Prima glitter. 

This is me taking a selfie after getting a 'new do'! The papers are a mixture of Bo Bunny, Prima and Echo Park. Flowers are Prima and so are the letters, and embellishments. 

Ringing in 2014

I thought for sure I would be watching the ball drop alone on New Year's Eve 2014, my husband went to bed shortly after the kids did on December 31st.  I watched the amazing musical entertainment on the television going on at Times Square.  Well at 11:45 he woke up - so I popped the bubbly and we rang in the new year with a kiss, as we always have.

I have used the Beautiful Life collection from Echo Park as well as some Prima flowers and Say It In Crystals. 

 

Yup, that's me there kissin' the hubby with the bubbly!  I have mastered the art of the Selfie!

Let me know what you think!  Be kind and leave me some blog lovin'!!

Echo Park - This & That cards

Hello all ... long time no blog, I'm sorry.  The holiday season really got the better of me.  Watch for some new things coming up in the New Year - including some new card classes at Auntie Em's Scrapbooking in Cornwall, as well as I plan to start doing some video tutorials! 

I created 5 cards from the This & That line from Echo Park for a class on January 25th at Auntie Em's.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, call the store if you want to get in on this class - I have only 9 spots available, and they will go quick, so reserve your spot today!

 

 

Planes Trains and Automobiles - TP - mini album

Yup - you read that right! This album is made from up-cycled toilet paper rolls!  These rolls are perfect to create little pockets for tags and just the right size for wallet sized photos.  

Planes Trains and Automobiles - perfect for the summer vacation, or the little man in your life this mini-album is the right size for wallet photos and boasts 8 full colour pages of handmade embellishments and journaling spots for you to customize.  As well as 4 pull out tags for hidden stories or extra photos.

I will be teaching this class on May 22nd at Auntie Em's Scrapbooking in Cornwall at 6:30.  Seats are limited so contact Emma today to reserve your spot!

Adorable Mini Album

Join Lorena on Wednesday May 22nd and create this adorable Mini Album.  Perfect for the special little man in your life or a new mother - or for Father's day or to record some of your adventures in.  Full of bright primary colours, airplanes, and boats.  This album boasts an incredible 8 pages and 4 double-sided tags for your wallet photos or journaling. You will never guess what this is made from - great upcycle project. You and your little ones can make these together - all summer long!! Please bring your tool kit including pop-dots. The class starts at 6:30pm and the cost is $25+HST. Please call to reserve your spot.

Crop & Create Ottawa 2012

I had the absolute pleasure of attending Crop & Create Ottawa 2012 a few weeks ago.  Crop & Create is an annual scrapbooking even hosted by Scrapbook & Cards Today.  They travel across Canada hitting up major cities and this year Ottawa was on their scrapbooking radar.  It is a weekend of cropping, fun challenges, classes,  and make n' takes.  During the weekend I took in one class by the ever amazing Kelly Goree, I was super happy with the results (but have yet to put photos on those layouts that I completed).  I took part in most of the challenges they had going on. Here are a few of the layouts that I entered.

The first layout is called Little Squirt - this was a sketch challenge, and I stretched the sketch over two pages.  I used the For The Record collection by Echo Park for both of these layouts.

 

The second layout, I titled Youthful, was a colour palette challenge and I decided to do a photo of my mother in her youth.  She is going through a very tough time right now, and I might just give her this layout to brighten her day.

 

 

This & That - A Fuzzy Friend

Echo Park papers have really started to grow on me over the last year.  I loved the This & That line in the boy theme, and I'm also loving this girl themed one too!  I had some amazing shots of my daughter playing with a caterpillar that was wandering in our yard, so I put the This & That to good use.  Using an abundance of Prima flowers and embellishments; some paint splatter (some not very successful I may add); some Glimmer Glaze drips; and finally using some Bazzil Paper Tape.  I'm not sure I'm all into the Washi tape craze yet ... I understand it's versatility, however I have doubts that it is going to withstand the test of time, I think it is going to dry out and peel off when all my photos and flowers remain stuck.  We shall see, I guess.

 

 

 

Let me know what you think!  If you would like to see this layout in person it is on display at Auntie Em's Scrapbooking in Cornwall.

 

 

Beautiful Moments with Carta Bella

I stopped at Marchant Paper Memories in Kingston on one of my multiple trips back home in the last month.  I picked up some Carta Bella papers - this is a spin off company from Echo Park.  Since Auntie Em's Scrapbooking doesn't carry Carta Bella (however after this review Emma just might consider it *wink wink*) I must say, I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of Carta Bella - the texture is amazing, and it is ultra thick paper.  I love the Beautiful Moments collection.  I'm always drawn to any collection that pairs red and pink together (successfully). 

I have done two layouts with this line already, and have enough left overs for at least two more or a hockey sack full of cards, which I may do ... I think this paper would be perfect for valentines cards, and if any of you remember I have a tone of Magnolia valentines stamps ... and now that my daughter is in school, I might end up making valentines - such a sorry excuse of a holiday - bring on Christmas!!

 

 

I used some paper clay on a chipboard bird as and embellishment, coloured with Copics.


Five at Four

 

 

The title for this layout was inspired by a layout I saw years ago on Scrapbook.com ... I wish I had a link to it, but it was titled "7 at seven" and was 7 things about her daughter, I believe it was a digital layout ... whoever you are - I would love to give you credit for this, but alas I did not keep record of your amazing layout :o(  Thank you for the inspiration!

Well there you go folks - and Emma - just a hint - you would like the Carta Bella papers too!!

 

Its all Fun & Games .... until?

Page Maps - June featuring Echo Park - This & That
Wow, I loved this collection from Echo Park - This & That.  I'm not one to usually fawn over Echo Park, but they have really come a long way in the last two years from their infancy stages, very impressed I was with this collection.  I loved the colour collection of the browns, yellows and teal green.  I loved the boy theme to it, and all the wood grain!

So, this is me at Casino Rama in Orillia Ontario - my friend got tickets to see Sheryl Crow and we decided to 'make a donation' at the casino afterwards - great times!  The arms raised in the air was from a commercial that Casino Rama was re-running over and over - I guess you had to see it to understand.

The theme to this month was sewing - I've employed 3 different types of stitching - I used my machine to stitch down the middle, I hand sewed in a blanket stitch  the pocket and I did some faux stitching on the arrow and again across the middle.  I layered some Prima flowers and coloured the naked chipboard arrow with the new Spring Distress ink in Peacock Feather - love that colour!!  I had alot of story to tell with this layout, so I decided to tuck a journaling card into the pocket.

Leave me a comment about your favorite time at a Casino - did you win big?  Or just leave $60 richer like I did?

~Lorena~



Prize winning entries into Newington Fair

I entered a few layouts and cards into our County Fair, five entries to be exact - and every entry placed!  This was the first year I've exhibited in the fair.  I think this was a good debut if I do say so myself. 

The first category was "Enjoying the 2010 county fair" so I did a photo of my daughter standing next to the sign that dictates if you are tall enough to ride on the ride.  She is a shorty, and well, she never did get to go on any rides that year.  I took the idea for the title from a Beatles tune "Ticket To Ride"

Journaling reads:

You are not quite tall enough to ride the rides yet at the Newington Fair.  Maybe next year you will get your "Ticket To Ride"  Vanessa Sept 2010

Supplies:
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey (Cappella), Echo Park (Sweet Summertime - yellow polka dot), Little Yellow Bicycle (measuring tape), Echo Park (Walk In The Park - letters), Bazzil Basics - cardstock
Embelishments: Girls Paperie (brads), Basic Grey - Opaline (bling), Prima (rub-on & flowers) Dollar Store (flowers and doily), seam binding ribbon, October Afternoon (twine)
Machine stiching and typewriter.


The Second layout I'm calling School Days. The category for this exhibit was photos earlier than 1960. This is a photo of my late father, taken around 1956.  

Journaling reads:

Dad, I know you weren't very scholarly. But you were one of the wisest men I have ever known.  You use to know the answer to every question we asked as kids, and when you didn't know the answer you would make something so farfetched up that we had no choice but to laugh!  I miss your wisecracks, your smart ass remarks and your tough lessons that you taught me.  Life isn't the same without you here.  Frederick Paul Rice Sept 19 1948 - Nov 23 2008, photo taken 1956

Supplies:
Patterned Paper: background paper - unknown, Bazzil Basics - cardstock, Bo Bunny - Timepiece collection (subtitles and watches)
Embellishments: 7Gypsies - key, Ranger -Ultra Thick embossing powder, twine
Other: Cricut, and old typewriter font for journaling
The other layouts you should recognize from previous posts Avonmore Berry Farm, and Baby's First Halloween. I've added links to the previous posts so you can see close up's of those two layouts.

 

Echo Park - Little Boy collection - layout "Siblings"

Another layout for Auntie Em's Scrapbooking and Beading. 

Again using the Echo Park - Little Boy collection.  I combined some Bo Bunny Double Dot as well.  The background is Basic Grey - The Basics - I love that paper for backgrounds!  I simply did a basket weave of several pieces of the patterned papers.  I Glimmer Misted the corner of the page.  I tried something new, cork!  I'd never worked with cork before, but when I had been rummaging around in my Mother's basement last time I was home, I came across a stash of several sheets of cork in varying thicknesses that my Father had acquired probably 30 years ago!  My title took me the longest to do on this, I first cut the letters out of both paper and chipboard.  I stamped a floral image onto the paper letters in a Stampin' Up ink - Cherry Cobbler.  Then I ran the paper letters through my Big Shot with the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder.  Then I distressed the letters in Antique Photo ink by T!m Holtz which brought the swiss dots to life!

The journaling is a poem that I came across; untitled and anonymous, so I can't take credit for this piece of creativity; it reads:

"Two little eyes, discovering what's new, two little hands, touching everything in view, a sweet little voice, asking you why, a mischievous smile, a whimpering cry, two little feet, jumping on the floor, a toddler's mission is to explore."

I hope you enjoyed this layout!  Of course this one too can be viewed in person at Auntie Em's Scrapbooking in Cornwall.

New Design Team Member for Auntie Em's Scrapbooking ...

I was over the moon when Emma asked me to be a part of her new Design Team for Auntie Em's Scrapbooking in Cornwall.  Honored and anxious all in one big ball of excitedness!  The Design Team had our first meeting today, and I got the opportunity to meet Mellisa Ross, the other DT member. 

I've already done a few layouts for Emma and I will reveal them here, as well as they will be hung in the store for viewing.

Emma gave me Echo Park's Little Boy line to work with.  And if you are a follower of my blog (or just a rouge lurker who reads my posts) you will know that EP is not one of my favorite lines to work with.  I find it too bright and cheery for my style.  So, it was a challenge right off the start for me.  So, here is what I came up with.

I call my first layout;  Mama's Little Boy

I loved the grid pattern for this background, that was almost a given for me.  I wanted to pull in the yellow in my son's shirt, but this line didn't have any yellow in it (in a solid colour, there was lots of it in polka dots and buttons etc.) So I used a piece from the Fly A Kite collection from EP as well.  I did a cut a heart on my Cricut with the George font and shadowed it in that horrible red stripe, man that was hard to look at, mesmerizing!  I tied some Baker's Twine around it and a button. A half dozen brads from Basic Grey and some T!m Holtz distress ink, a couple of stamps here and there, and there you go ... it was quite a quick layout.  But then again, Echo Park usually is for me, I can't seem to get too detailed with that company's papers.

My second Layout I'm calling - All Boy

I really like the look of those little banners that seem to be all the rage right now, and my friend Candace did a layout with ribbons tied between the banners and it looked so great I thought I would scraplift that idea.  I got the basis for this layout from the Lets Scrap website and just did the left side of that particular layout. I cut the letters and the tag with the Plantain Schoolbook cartridge on my Cricut.  The wire flowers are simply wire that I looped several times to make the floral shape.  I used the over-embossing technique to give them a shine. The journaling reads

"You sure are a happy boy Nigel. And so tough! Summer 2010"

I hope you enjoy these layouts... there will be many more to come.  Stay tuned for challenges between the two designers - we have plans to utilize the Page Maps calendar from Becky Fleck.  You can participate too - drop into Auntie Em's Scrapbooking for details.

Thanks for looking!