live colorfully

Kids grow up fast.  The days may sometimes feel long but the years certainly fly by so fast.  I want to start doing a page that captures my feelings and perceptions of my DD at a specific point in time.  It will be fun to see how this will evolve over time. 

Here is the first layout I made...  I thought the journal cards really captured my DD's personality.  She has gone from her "pink" phase to her "rainbow" phase, lol.

I used Papertrey's Countdown Detail banner die and various cardstocks, Simple Stories' journal cards and a Stampin' Up heart punch.   Here is a close up of the journaling... 

   
I am linking this to Leigh Penner's Pages with Papertrey Sketch challenge here. This is one of my favourite sketches and I never seem to get tired using it.


Thanks for stopping by!  

monthly moments

Papertrey Ink recently introduced their own line of pocket scrapbooking called Monthly Moments.  I have yet to receive my order but I am so excited as that will be a great addition to the supplies I use for my monthly highlights layouts.  I don't do pocket scrapbooking (just not my thing) but I love using journal cards for my traditional layouts.

I have been diligent in putting together a page per month to document the things we did.  I realized that the last one I posted was in May last year!  So here are the rest of the pages.  I try to do them as soon as the month is over so that I could still remember what happened.  These pages had been really helpful as I sometimes find myself going back to them to recall what we did on specific months of the year.

I am linking my Sept page to Leigh Penner's Pages with Papertrey challenge here which is to use a ribbon on your layout.  I used Papertrey's Smokey Shadow ribbon for this.

I am linking my November page to Leigh's Pages with Papertrey challenge here which is to use 3 dies in your layout.  Here, I used Papertrey's Headline Alphabet, Journal Tab and Half & Half dies.  

I am linking my Decemer page to Leigh's Pages with Papertrey challenge here which is to add a sparkle to your page.  Here, I used glitter paper for my title.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

papertrey feb blog hop: sweet spring

 

It's time for Papertrey's blog hop again. This month is all about spring (or the anticipation of spring!). We are challenged to create a spring-themed project.

 When I think of spring, I think of flowers.  So I pulled out my Garden Variety and Year of Flowers sets and my picket fence die to create a set of cards.  Here they are...

I ran the fence through my woodgrain impression plate to give it some texture

And here they are  together...

    
I have been obssessed with the envelope punch lately.  And I came across a tutorial here on how to use it to make a card box.  I used that to package my card set like this...

 
Since the envelope punch board is out, I also tried making smaller sized envelopes which make cute little note holders.  I first die cut my note cards using Lil Inkers' Stitched Rectangle die and stamped them with the little flowers from Tag Its #3.

 Then I created about 20 little envelopes using some double sided patterned papers from my stash.  Such spring-y colours!

The 2.5 x 3.5 note card fits perfectly inside the tiny envelopes.

I used a medium glassine bag to package them up, ready for gift giving.  I used Tag Sale #5 and various blooms and leaves from Rosie Posie, Beautiful Blooms, Embroidered Blooms, Turning a New Leaf and Sending You.

Here they are together...

  Thanks for stopping by and happy hopping!

fabulous frames card

I love the colours white, aqua and black for my layouts.  So as I was cleaning up my scraps for a layout I just completed, I thought I’d make a quick card in that colour scheme as well.  Here is what I came up with…

 

I used Papertrey’s Pretty Peonies and Beautiful Butterflies stamp sets,  Fabulous Frames die and aqua mist patterned paper.

Thanks for stopping by!

silly face

Ever had those moments when you snapped a really funny photo of your child that you want to capture it forever?  I have had a lot of those lately with my DD.  I have been frantically trying to keep up and make scrapbook pages of those before she grows up and decides it is no longer cool to do them.

Monday is library day.  She gets to pick a book to bring home and the only criteria she uses on choosing which book to get is how silly the pictures look.  Apparently, that is important because she gets a kick out if imitating said pictures.  And needless to say, the sillier, the better. 

Here my layout…

I used the heart border and Headline Alphabet dies from Papertrey and journaling card from Simple Stories.  I love that card from their SNAP Love collection.  

This page came together very quickly.  Focus on the photos and journaling and lots of white space… my kind of layout style.   Easy peasy!  

I am also linking this to Leigh Penner’s Pages with Papertrey challenge here which is to include a heart on a layout without using pink or red. 

Thanks for stopping by!

A Lovely Package

I love sending and receiving packages in the mail. Nothing beats receiving some really nice parcel in the post. This afternoon, I was so excited to find a package that came from the UK. It was sent by my friend, Marion, of My Two Girls. I met Marion through blogging and found that we share common interests like sewing, crafting, and vintage shopping. 

I tore open the envelope and found some nicely wrapped packages within the package and a box of Tunnock's Tea Cakes which is my absolute fave! 

 

When I opened the first bag, I squealed with glee when I found these Cath Kidston buttons and ribbon! Marion knows that I am a big fan of Cath Kidston so she shared some goodies with me. 

 The next bag contained a set of crocheted coasters that Marion made herself, a gorgeous piece of Tilda fabric, and a set of sewing themed stickers. I can't wait to use all of them.

Here's everything that Marion sent me. Please disregard the open Tunnock's box as  I couldn't stop myself from eating one before I took the photo : ) 

After the holidays, I also received a separate package from Marion that I forgot to blog about. It contained these super cute cherry brooches that she crocheted for me. 

Absolutely adorable!!!

Marion is such a wonderful, sweet, and generous lady and I am so very lucky to have met her in blogland. 

Please do visit Marion's blog to see her various crafty makes and bits of everyday life that makes her happy. She is very talented and I wish I had her skills in crocheting, knitting, and sewing. 

Thank you very much Marion for making my day!

Until next time...

winter fun

One of the things we love about living in Toronto is being able to experience different seasons. There is always something exciting to look forward to with each change. Among the seasons, summer is our favourite but winter is a very close second (in fact right now, it is tied at first place with summer!). We love it because there are a lot of fun outdoor activities to do.

One of the recent ones we picked up is skiing.  We are not (yet) good at it but just getting to spend time outdoors in the snow practising is something we look forward to these days. I made a couple of layouts to document this.

The first one is our first family ski outing last January where we took our beginner lessons...

I used different Project Life journal cards and Papertrey's Get  A Handle on It and Label Basics dies.  The Proud of You stamp is from Simon Says.

Close up of my journaling... 

 And here is a recent one this Feb... It was a glorious, sunny winter day, just perfect for skiing.

Thanks for stopping by!  Keep warm!
 

 

valentine treats

I am taking a break from Papertrey's challenges (no time to create today!) but instead sharing with you some Valentine treats I created last weekend. 

First up is this cute treat slider box from My Creative Time.  It fits 4 Hershey nuggets perfectly and is a breeze to die cut and assemble... just a few adhesives and ribbons and done.  I made these for my DD's teachers in ballet, gymnastics and piano.

 Here they are all together...

I also made a special gift for her teachers in school.  I made a set of handmade cards and I put together a tea and biscuit pack for them to enjoy.

Some close ups...

 

I used Tea for Two Addition set for this

And here is how I packaged them... I used Papertrey's Get a Handle On It and Limitless Layers: Heart dies.

And here they are sitting prettily on my desk...

I also managed to bake some heart-shaped cookies while my DD wrote on her Valentine treat boxes for her classmates.

Happy Valentine's Day, friends!  Thanks for stopping by!