Just Like a Fish - Scrapbook Circle June Kit

As you may or may not know, I am part of the Scrapbook Circle design team, but I alternate months with another designer. Which means I got to play with the June kit, but not the July one. That's not a problem, however, because the kits are soooo generous that I can still make multiple layouts with the June kit.

In the following layout, the following things are from the kit (the rest is from my personal stash):
-Cosmo Cricket papers "Snorkel" line;
-Sassafras Lass Chipboard Numbers;
-Bazzill Basics "Just the Edge" paper frills;

And if you think this Cosmo Cricket line only works for summer, think again:


If you want to subscribe to the awesome Scrapbook Circle kits, click here.

Thanks for stopping by♥

The Family Who Adopted Ours - Basic Grey.

I made this in 2008. The story of the birds who "lived" with us for a while.


Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics
Patterned paper: Basic Grey Offbeat collection
Letter stickers: Basic Grey (Sweet Pea Jack)
Chipboard: American Crafts Chipboard Thicker Accents (Chipboard Shape Stickers)
Rub-ons: Kaiser Scrapbook in Enchanted
Sticker: Peel-Off’s Outline Stickers in Bird
Pen: American Crafts
Other: Stickles by Ranger in Baby Blue

Noonight, à demain - Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker

Here is my first layout as part of the design team for a new manufacturer called Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker. I got my box of goodies on the 25th and didn't have time to play with them until yesterday went I went to crop at Bella's place. I did two layouts (this one with the "Victoria's Street" collection and another with the "My Sweet Cherry Pie" collection) and one card.It's quite an achievement that I managed to do that in my day (and I made another non-NikkiS layout, and we made jam!) because we chat so much, I rarely get anything done (and I love it that way!)

All papers are Nikki Sivils, some from the 12x12 sheets, others come from the 6x6 paper pack. I must say, I absolutely LOVE the 6x6 papers. That's mostly all I used here except for the scalopped paper with the cute little house (oh, the brown/beige pied-de poule paper comes from "My Sweet Cherry Pie" collection.)

The title refers to what Kira used to say before going to bed a few months ago. Her version of "Goodnight, à demain, see you later". I'm glad I got this down on paper, she didn't say it for very long... *sigh*

Supplies:
Papers, stamps and die-cuts: Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker;
Bazzill Basics cardstock;
American Crafts letters;
EK Success punch;
Fiskars punch;
Autumn Leaves MOD buttons;
Unknown ribbon;
Zig Writer pen;

Thanks for stopping by♥

All Smiles - Cosmo Cricket Early Bird

If you read my previous post, you saw this layout already. However, I like to show them off in their own posts, so here it is again. My friend JJ won some Cosmo Cricket goodies a few weeks ago and she knew I was dying to get my hands on the Early Bird collection. So she shared with me, isn't that sweet?!

That yellow piece of paper with the red writing is actually part of the tab at the bottom of the paper with the SKU number and such. I thought it fit well there, love the punch of yellow! :)


Supplies:
Patterned paper: Cosmo Cricket Early Bird collection;
Letter stickers: American Crafts; My little Shoebox;
Brads: {} Around the Block;
Chipboard heart: American Crafts;
Journaling spot: My Mind's Eye;
Ribbon: Bazzill Basics pompoms;
Gems: Kaiser Crafts pearls;
Pen: Zig Writer;
Other: Pop-dots;

Thanks for stopping by♥

Cosmo Cricket Design Team Call

Hello Cosmo Cricket people! Julie? Lindsay? Jon the Warehouse Guy? Well, whoever you are, I am thrilled to welcome you to my words and work's humble abode!

Here is some of my Cosmo Cricket work so you can get an idea of what I can do.





I am definitely a layout girl! My strength is layouts. I hope you can find goodness in the rest too, however!

Acrylic sheet:

Mini chipboard album:

Altered shadow box:

I hope you enjoy what you see! To see more of my work, feel free to follow this link: My Best Work.

And you can see my resume here: Resume

Give me a call, wontcha? :)

Québec's Birthday!

Yesterday was our National Holiday here in the province of Québec, Canada. We explained to Sean the reason for the celebration and he kept saying it was "Québec's Birthday!" Very, very cute!

I love my province, I love to celebrate it. Unfortunately, I sometimes go into this holiday backwards because I know some french extremists will turn it into a "language" thing. There was a bit of trouble this year, as anticipated. Don't get me wrong, I love the french language, which is actually my first language. But those extremists basically believe that the english language has no place whatsoever in our beautiful province. They actually wanted to stop english-music groups from playing in the festivities! Anywayyyyyyy...

Our day started at Jarry park, where the kids and I went to see Keith play a softball game. We came home and got in the pool, which was at 80 degrees. Niiice!

My mom, brother, BIL and FIL came by around 2 and we went in the pool again. My mom had to leave around 5 because she volunteers at the Mondial Choral going on right now in Laval. The rest of us enjoyed pork chops on the BBQ, sangria and some more swimming. We had a great day!

Thanks for stopping by♥

"I Wove Canada!!" - Basic Grey

I love the things my son says. I also love how he says them! He still can't pronounce the letter "L" properly, so it makes for real cute words!

Journaling: You've recently been asking questions about where you live. You came to me the other day and asked: "What country do we live in?" I said: "We live in Canada." You answered: "I wove Canada!" It's the best country in the world, Dude!




Supplies:
Patterned paper: Basic Grey Offbeat collection;
Letter stickers: American Crafts Prancer chipboard Thickers; My Little Shoebox mini alphas in Red Lipstick;
Stamp: Doddlebug Designs Christmas clear stamps;
Sticker:Hambly Kraft cardstock stickers;
Glitter glue: Stickles in Cinnamon;
Pearls: Kaiser Crafts;
Flower Template: The Crafter's Workshop Sunflower (used as a mask);
Punch: Fiskars border punch;
Pen: Zig Writer in Chocolate;
Ink: Nick Bantock in Van Dyke Brown; Memento in Tuxedo Black;

Thanks for stopping by♥

I miss Star Trek on TV

When I was little, I used to watch a little Star Trek on TV.
Nothing on a regular basis, just once in a while.
I remember one time when I asked a friend of mine what she was doing that evening.
She said: "I'm going to be watching a new incarnation of Star Trek, it's going to be called Star Trek: The Next Generation."
Why I still remember that, I don't know.
Maybe it was a sign of things to come.
Back then, the only connection I had with Star Trek was that I had a crush on William Shatner (aka Jim Kirk in the original Trek) as he was seen on the show Rescue 911.


Don't laugh at me.
He was sexy to me.
I would watch the show with my mom and she totally knew I had a crush on him.
I must've been 10 years-old.
I've always had a thing for older men.
Older.
And bald.
Patrick Stewart (aka Jean-Luc Picard from TNG)?
Totally sexy.


In 1995, I started dating Keith (who's now my husband) and the rest is history.
By then, Next Gen was finished, but Deep Space Nine was in full swing, in its second season.
Keith has always been a fan.
A big fan.
Not one to walk around in full Klingon gear (there is nothing wrong with that, I'm just saying!), but a big fan nonetheless.
Voyager was starting its first season.
I started watching both because it was something Keith loved.
Little did I know it would take over my life!
I watched reruns of TNG (I have seen them all more than once since) and some of the original series.
I absolutely loved DS9.
But Voyager is my favourite.
I know, I know.
A lot of Trekkies will say only ST or Next Gen can be considered favourites.
But you know what?
Voyager is the first one I saw live from the very beginning.
No need to catch up, no need to get history lessons.
I absolutely loved it and I still do.
So I fell in love with this crew stranded 70 000 light years from home.
I beamed when Naomi Wildman was born on the ship; I was in shock when Kes dissapeared; I cried and cried when Neelix left...
I absolutely loved it and I still do.
I had all the episodes on tape.
When Sean was a newborn and I spent hours on the couch just nursing or lying down, I watched Voyager.
It marked his first months.
I know Voyager better than Keith does, and that's quite something!
I enjoyed Enterprise too.
Scott Bakula turned out to be a good captain, and I really enjoyed Malcom.
It only lasted 3 years.
I wish it had been more.
But it's okay.
The movie franchise has gotten another wind; we'll be seeing more of Star Trek.
And in the meantime, I can be happy watching the shows on DVD.

Oh, and my favourite character on Voyager?
The Doctor, of course!



See a theme going on here? ;)


Thanks for stopping by♥

A Father Is a Home

Happy Day to all bruised-knee-kisser, ball-thrower, gruffy-faced father out there!

Supplies:

Patterned paper: KI Memories Holiday collection in Christmas Greeting (reverse side -> pink); MME Penny Lane collection; Prima Mommy and Me collection; My Little Shoebox My Neighborhood collection;
Die-cuts: My Little Shoebox My Neighborhood collection;
Letters: American Crafts Lullaby Thickers in Blush; Forever in Time;
Ink: Nick Bantock in Van Dyke Brown;
Pop-dots;

Scrapbook Trends 2009

I know, I know, why am I talking about the May issue of Scrapbook Trends when the current issue is July?
Well, because I need to toot my own horn a little bit.
You can find my first pub in ST on page 104, how cool is that?!
I had been submitting to them for years.
Years.
And finally they found something of mine they liked, lol!
I'll also have a layout in the August issue and one in the September issue.
I got my box of goodies as well as my 2 copies of the mag on Friday.
Which is why I am talking about this now.
I don't look at mags in the store, so I never see my stuff until the mailman comes.
Speaking of the goodie box, I got a lot of great stuff.
But I had to chuckle when I saw that I got a pack of papers and letters from Scrap Within Reach.
Considering that I have about 6 sheets of everything because I'm on the design team, I sure didn't need more.
So I spread the love and gave it to Bella.
I hope to see a great layout soon, my friend!

How do you like the new blog look?
I found the template here and my dear friend JJ set it all up for me. She rocks! Thanks JJ!

Thanks for stopping by♥

Wanna Win Some Blog Candy?

If you are looking for my Photoshop post, go down one post!

Here are a few links if you want the chance to win some niiiiiice blog candy!

Cards, Cards & More Cards

I Heart Crafting (ends June 27th)

Donkey Smiles (ends June 24th)

The Craft Table

Going Buggy (ends June 30th)

Linanna Designs (ends June 27th)

Bonibleaux Designs (ends June 25th)

Paper Craft Pleasures (ends July 1st)

Here are a few more!

Sending a Little Smile (ends June 21st)

Mad4Creations (ends June 30th)

And more!

Daydreams by Michelle (ends June 30th)

Abby's Garden (ends July 5th)

Studio 313 (ends June 20th)

Want some more?

My Paper Adventures (ends June 23rd)

Handmade Treasure (ends June 30th)

Wind Walker Altered Arts (ends June 28th)

The Artistic Stamper (ends June 20th)

My Crafty Outlook

Have fun!

The wonders of a friend who knows Photoshop!

My friend Bella has been taking classes to learn how to work with Photoshop better.
You know, how to use the different tools and stuff?
Stuff I know nothing about.
Sure, I dabble.
I try things out.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
And in the times we live in, it's easy to find an online tutorial for pretty much anything, really.
But nothing beats someone telling you/showing you how something works.

Bella calls me often on her way back home from work.
If you know me, you know I'm not a phone person.
That is, I wont pick up the phone to call you.
Unless you are my mom.
It's just not something I do.
But if you call me, I'll be more than happy to chat with you.
So we've been talking about this and that.
The other day, when she called, I happened to be going through my recent pictures, deleting and/or editing as I went along.
I said "I need to learn how to use the clone tool."
She says "Oh, I learned about that, it's super easy!"
And she proceeded to talk me through it.
Then she says "The healing tool is also very good."
And she told me how that worked, too.
Um.
How did I not know about this?!
Love it!

I used it on the following picture.
To remove Kira's Orange Crush mustache.
Okay.
Don't tell me "Why remove it, it's part of her!"
You see, Kira always has a dirty face.
No matter how many times I wash her face, it's still dirty.
So you see a lot of pictures of her filthy and that's fine with me.
But once in a while, I see a picture that makes me wish she was clean.
Like this one.


I "cleaned up" all around her mouth using the healing tool.
The change is subtle, and you may have to click on the picture to see it better.
But I love it!


Next time I see her, Bella's gonna show me how to turn my pictures into awesome black and whites.
I'm never satisfied with mine, even when I use actions.
It'll be nice to know how to finally do it properly!

Thanks for dropping by♥

We ♥ You **Scrap Within Reach & Clear Scraps**

One of the many perks of being on the Scrap Within Reach design team is that I get to work with some Clear Scraps products. A deal has been made between the two manufacturers where both DTs get some products from the other. I got to chose the Clear Scraps items I wanted to work with and this XL Deco shape was one of them.

This Clear Scraps acrylic shape was so much fun to work with! I wanted to keep the transparency of it, but I also wanted to give it a patterned paper look. I decided to stamp on half of the sheet. Since I didn't have Staz On ink, I took wax paper, put a thin coat of black paint on it and used that as my ink. The other half is covered with the reverse side of the Freckles paper from the Emerson collection. I added ribbon for the Industrial Park collection at the seam. I added a strip of the Dress Up paper under the black and white picture. I made a circle flower using the Dress Up paper from the Emerson collection and the Green Peony paper from the Afternoon Tea collection as well as a chipboard circle. I cut out butterflies from the Emerson collection and added them to the page, curving up their wings to add dimension. Finally, I added a few embellishments and the title.

In case you are wondering, yes, I hand-cut all those butterflies. I didn't use a punch. Perhaps I should invest in one??

Supplies:
Acrylic: Clear Scraps;
Patterned paper: Scrap Within Reach Emerson collection (Dress Up, Freckles, Summer Crush) and Scrap Within Reach Afternoon Tea collection (Green Peony);
Letter stickers: American Crafts;
Chipboard circles: Scenic Route;
Stamp: Prima;
Chipboard heart: Making Memories;
Plastic Flower: American Crafts;
Ribbon: Scrap Within Reach Industrial Park collection;
Pearls: Kaiser Crafts;
Punch: Fiskars border punch;
Ink: Nick Bantock in Lamp Black;
Paint: Delta;

Thanks for stopping by ♥

I Have Never Loved You As Much... - Scrapbook Circle Kit

I made this using the (sold out) May kit from Scrapbook Circle. I am telling you, these kits are awesome. Check out the sneak peek for July, it looks like so much fun!!!


Thanks for stopping by ♥

No! I don't want to be a boy!

This morning, I went up to Kira's bedroom to get her some clothes to wear.
I picked pink shorts and a Cinderella T-shirt, very girlie I must say!
What does she say to me?
"No, I don't want to be a boy!"
Okayyyyy. What do mean by that??
She looked in her drawer, found a pink skirt and said that's what she wanted to wear.
No shorts.
Because shorts are for boys.
No matter how pink they are.
Oh boy! (or girl!)
I'm in for a wild ride with this one!
For those of you who don't know, Kira is just 2 years old! ;)

*******

So earlier tonight, I got a message from JJ on my Facebook Wall.
She was asking me why I didn't tell my friends about the CK blog.
Um, what do you mean, the CK blog?
I haven't seen anything...
So I head over to the Creating Keepsakes blog and this is what I saw!
So nice to be noticed!
And I love that she finds Kira adorable! :)

Thanks for stopping by ♥

The Juicy Way? - Scrap Within Reach

It's official: the Market Street paper from Scrap Within Reach's Industrial Park collection is my favourite sheet of paper right now! I love the dots on the gorgeous blue, I love the distressing in yellow, I love how boyish it is!


Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics in Lily White;
Patterned paper: Scrap Within Reach Industrial Park collection (Market Street, Historic District, The Factory);
Letter stickers: Fancy Pants Kraft Kuts Stickers in Blues Alpha; Adornit mini alphas in Milk Chocolate;
Punch: Fiskars corner rounder;
Digital Element: Katie Pertiet at DesignerDigitals.com

Superhero - American Crafts

Here's a layout I made for the American Crafts blog challenge.


Supplies:

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics;

Patterned paper: American Crafts Metropolitan in Double Decker (brown); American Crafts Craft Fair collection;

Letter stickers: American Crafts Thickers in Subway red;

Chipboard Hearts: Fancy Pants Big Board in Phrases, Frames and Tags (frame); Heidi Swapp (red);

Journaling spot: Luxe;

Pen: Staedtler;

3 ans & 11 mois - Pebbles Inc.

I submit to magazine calls.
A lot.
You don't get pubbed if you don't submit, plain as that.
I rarely do layouts specifically for a call.
I'll submit layouts that are already finished.
However, once in a while, a magazine call will trigger a hint of inspiration.
In this case, I'd had these pictures in my stash for a looong time; after all, Sean just turned 5 and he wasn't yet 4 here.

Scrapbook and Cards Today has a call for pages that include children's artwork.
As soon as I saw that, I was reminded of these pics.
So I didn't scrap something I wouldn't have otherwise; I simply scrapped something that might've been forgotten otherwise.
Is it pub worthy?
I don't know.
But I'm glad it's done!

Now, I'd like to point out a few things on this layout.
First off, Sean's artwork and his name were drawn on construction paper, which is highly acidic and would fade after a while.
So I scanned them and printed them on photo paper.
Easy-peasy.
Second, see the "s" in the word "ans"?
I didn't have an "s" left in that alpha sheet, so I took the negative part, stuck it to my page, coloured inside with my Zig pen and removed the negative.
I think you can't tell, right? (other than the fact that it's not straight...)

Supplies
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics;
Patterned paper: Pebbles Inc So Tweet and Skipping Along collections;
Letter stickers: American Craft Remarks in Roosevelt jr brown;
Red Chipboard Embellishments: Rhonna Farrer for Autumn Leaves;
Chipboard Stars: Making Memories;
Buttons: MOD Whirligig;
Pen: Zig Writer in Chocolate;

Thanks for stopping by ♥

Victoria's Street collection - Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker

Okay, I don't have "official" pictures for you. But here's a link to Scrapbook Generation's blog where you can see "My Sweet Cherry Pie" and "Victoria's Street", papers and embellishments. Including acrylic stamps!! How cool is that????! Can't wait to get my hands on this stuff!

Here is Nikki's blog post talking about her first sale. Congrats Nikki!

The Dude's getting better!

This is what Sean (aka The Dude) looked like on Monday:


Severe conjunctivitis in both eyes. He woke up on Sunday screaming: "Help, help, my eyes are stuck!" When he opened his eyes, they were bright red, poor little thing! I didn't even ask him to make that sad face, that's how bad he felt! At least, it doesn't hurt him.

It started on Friday afternoon, he told me one of his eyes was red. Indeed, it was. But it got better. On Saturday, it was still slightly red. Then Sunday morning arrived... We went to the CLSC (Keith got in line at 6:45 AM to make sure we'd be first) and the doc gave him drops to put in both eyes twice a day. He doesn't like the drops, but it's working wonders! He's doing *much* better today.