Scrapaholic

Yes, i sure am!  I'm completely addicted to scrapbooking and that certainly doesn't  come as a surprise to any of my friends and family.  Despite always appreciating what i do, my mom, when seeing all my stock, never misses an opportunity to point out 'That stuff must be expensive!' hehe But how can i resist when there's so many pretty flowers, ribbons, paints, stamps, jewels, papers (and i could go on...) out there to play with?! And speaking of papers, have you seen the We R Memory Keepers Family Keepsake collection yet? It is sooo fine! I made a layout this weekend with it which i want to share with you today.  This is the layout i have decided to submit to the Pencil Lines blog to try and be a part of their new 2011-2012 Design Team.  It is based on their sketch.

Scrapaholic

As previously mentioned, used here is mostly the Family Keepsake collection.  I even did all the flowers and leaves with the paper.  I crunched up each piece in my hand to give them a textured look.  The title is a ScrapFX wordlet which i love. Check them out on their website - there are over 200 kinds, and that's not counting all their other chipboard shapes!  Seen on the pictures are about 1% of my flower collection, some of my DA chipboard and my hand-held tote bag which i carry along with me to all my croppin' nights out. Hope you enjoy!

 

Creative Scrappers Sketch #142

If you haven't checked out the Creative Scrappers blog yet, you have to do so! Actually, they are looking for a few featured designers for the month of March, April and May and i'm thinking of trying out. You never know, you might be interested also. More information can be found here. They have lots of fabulous sketches for inspiration and great sponsors (like this month's Just Imagine Crafts).  Their sketch #142 (found here) inspired this layout of mine...

Happily Ever After

The sketch is a single-page layout, but as i prefer doing double-pages, i extended it to the left. The paper used is from My Mind's Eye So Sophie Clever collection, most flowers are from Prima and chipboard embellishments are from The Dusty Attic (title, swirly branch and birds) and KaiserCraft (bird cage). I hope you enjoy looking at it as much as i enjoyed doing it.  I am extremely happy with the end result (as happy as Yves makes me every single day of our lives together!) :)

KaiserCraft Saturday Sketch – February #3

I have been pretty productive lately and having such a fun time browsing all the wonderful blogs out there and participating in challenges and contests. Although for sure it takes a bit more of my time, it definitely has put a new spin on this favorite hobby of mine.  The only regret i have is not doing it any sooner! 

So as soon as i saw this sketch on the KaiserCraft blog as part of their Saturday Sketch challenge for February, i knew i wanted to scrapbook it. I have seen those decorative garlands on many layouts recently, found them super fun, but had never tried one on a page myself. 

 

And so i did!  At the same time, i have a chance to win KaiserCraft products so it's a win-win situation for me.  Whatever the outcome, i end up with a super nice and colorful layout of my niece Ella who is totally adorable on these pictures (and who, in her own silly way, is saying "Ok, Tante Nicole, enough with the camera already!" hehe)

Why Smile?!

Among other materials, I used KaiserCraft's Utopia collection, KaiserCraft rub-ons & KaiserCraft's chipboard alphabet.

Over The Moon Excited!

Just a quick post (*whisper* from work) to let you know that i'm the *WINNER* of a box of all new Bo Bunny paper from Ally Scraps!!!  My layout Shakespeare in the Park has been picked #1 in their February Sketch Contest.  Thank you so much!

Keep checking for new updates as i am working on a few more challenge entries due before the end of the month.  It can storm outside all it wants this weekend... it sure is going to be warm and crafty inside! :)

Ally Scraps - February Sketch Contest

Well, i decided to try my luck at another contest, this time, for Ally Scraps.  Check out the blog - you will find amazing sketches and ideas!!! You must know how much i love double-page layouts by now since that is mostly what you will find on this blog, so as soon as i saw this wonderful sketch from Debbie Gaydos, i just had to play! 

Debbie Gaydos' sketch at Ally Scraps

 

My layout:  Shakespeare in the Park

 These photos, dating from way back in 2005, have been waiting for a layout for a long time - hehe  It is our tradition, my friend Line and I, to attend the Shakespeare by the Sea festival in Halifax, NS every Summer (or every other Summer now if we can - life has unfortunately gotten in the way these last few years).  It is always an amazing time so it was so nice to reminisce on those precious moments while working on this layout.  I have used Basic Grey's Curio collection, some swirly bling from ZvaCreative, chipboard from The Dusty Attic, leaves by Petaloo, writing-theme 3-d embellishments from Jolee's Boutique, and the title was made with the Cricut cartridge Lyrical Letters.

 

As mentioned above, the ink bottle, the scroll and the tip of the pen are Jolee's stickers... but i added the feather to make a quill pen (as i had already used the quill pen from the Jolee's set for another layout).  The feather was originally red, but i painted it black using Tim Holtz' Adirondack alcohol ink.

 

As Shakespeare himself would say "Farewell, dear friends... and good luck go with thee!"

Bo Bunny Layout Challenge Friday

Do you love Bo Bunny as much as i do?!  I adore all their paper collections, one of my current favorites being Olivia which i absolutely had to use to participate in this challenge.  The goal was to do a layout based on the sketch below. For a couple years, i had been holding on to this one picture of my niece which i really loved, but had not a clue what to do with it. It ended up being a perfect match with the Olivia paper and although i normally do double page layouts, i had fun doing this single page.   

Bo Bunny sketch

 

My layout

A Little Bird Told Me

As already mentioned, i used the Bo Bunny Olivia collection and Bo Bunny's Chunky Charms chipboard swirls.  Other products used are : birdhouse (Magenta), birds (The Dusty Attic), Audrey mini chipboard letters (Maya Road), orange flowers (Mulberry)

Hopefully soon a little bird will tell me that my layout has been picked the winner...  Either way, i couldn't be more proud of how it turned out! :)

Happy Heart Day!

Wow! My second post in one day! hehe  Well, i couldn't let this day pass before wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day and help spread a little more "HE-ART" in the world by sharing with you some old valentine-inspired layouts.  

Oh, and let me add that today, on top of being the luckiest and the most blessed woman on earth for having won Yves' heart almost 5 years ago... i am also the happiest scrapper on the web for having won the KaiserCraft Saturday Sketch Contest for January!!! I was simply ecstatic this morning when i read the news! Thanks Yves and KaiserCraft! <3

So now, with a huge smile on my face and a heart full of love, i share with you these...

The First Nivou Rose

This layout was not done for Valentine's Day but in November 2006, our fifth month together, when he gave me my first rose (which is in the little plastic pocket on the right page). And for those who might be wondering, 'Nivou' is our nickname. Yes, we are that cheesy! hehe

Your Love Completes Me

This layout dates back to 2007. As you can see, my scrapbooking style has changed quite a bit since then. But i still like this layout as it is dear to my heart.

 

 You Bring Colour Into My World

I still love the idea and theme behind this 2008 layout.  I actually want to someday try to make a complete album in only black and white with each page featuring one other colour.

 

Heart n' Soul

3 years and still going strong!

 

Love Buds

A 2010 layout on which i mixed and matched paper, notably Bo Bunny's Persuasion collection.

 Much love to everyone!

Courtesy of Scrap!That Blog

There are many blogs i follow on a regular basis and oh so many talented designers out there.  I only hope to follow into their footsteps and one day be as prominent as they are and see one of my layouts published in a famous magazine.  Deep down, that's everyone's dream, isn't it?  Fame!  hehe  

Anyhow, one of my favorite blogs out there is Simply Paper (and Creativity) owned by fellow Canadian Vicky Alberto who is also a member of the design team for the Scrap!That website (which is also one of my favorites) on which you can find many monthly challenges, beautiful projects and plenty of inspiration. Check out one of Vicky's latest layouts entitled Carefree. I'm sharing it with you here because i am sure it will inspire you as much as it did me... and also to try and help her win a little friendly competition she's having with her fellow team members.  Nothing like good friendly competition, right? (And at the same time, i have a chance to win some fabulous goodies from Tattered Angels and The Dusty Attic!!!)

Vicky's layout Carefree

Simply beautiful, isn't it?

 

Real Princess-Style Fun

I waited a long time before i found the perfect idea with the perfect pictures for the beautiful Imaginisce Fairest of Them All paper collection.  I mean, it's been so long that i can't even find a decent link to it anymore on the Imaginisce website. I tend to do that a lot... hold on to some materials forever, afraid to waste them on some second-rate layout only to find a better idea later on.  When i got these pictures of my niece Daphne having fun with her cousin Olivia, jumping on Grammy's bed, right away, i thought 'What a Princess!' and although this is not what i originally intended for this paper collection, i think it turned out perfect.

Since i couldn't find a princess coach anywhere, i decided to create my own, using this lazer-cut chipboard piece from The Dusty Attic.

The flowers were originally white.  I sprayed them with a couple different shades of Glimmer Mist to achieve the right kind of pink.

 

With some of the leftover paper, i decided to make a birthday card for my other niece Ella who will be turning 6 next month... a card fitting for a little Princess! The beautiful princess & frog stamp comes from The Greeting Farm. Check out their stock!

Me, Myself and I - Part 1

As much as i enjoy scrapbooking pictures of the people dearest to me, i also love scrapbooking pictures of myself.  As a child and a teenager, i have always been one to keep diaries and have spent many hours writing and drawing in them.  Now, apart from the occasional poem, i mainly choose to express myself through pretty papers and silk flowers, among so many other fabulous materials. This is only Part 1 of this post as i have lots more layouts of myself that i have to photograph again (for better quality pictures) so... more to come!

Life is Beautiful

The SEI Moravia collection is one of my all time favorites. I regret not buying a whole bunch of it to use for a future wedding album (yes, there is a wedding on the way!) or some other special project. I used a computer script font (i don't remember which one exactly) and WordArt in PowerPoint to create the title and a lot of patience to cut the outline by hand.  The layout was inspired by a design at Scrapbook Craze.

Once a Bridesmaid

I was very honoured to be my friend Denise's bridesmaid in 2008. The gold glittery stickers come from Dollarama which i wasn't sure i'd ever use, but i think they turned out great on this page. The big flowers were originally white, but i sprayed them with gold Glimmer Mist. Did i ever mention i LOVE Glimmer Mist!

Sublime

That is exactly the perfect word to describe the Bo Bunny Flutter Butter collection (another favorite of mine!)... SUBLIME!

Where Did the Time Go?

For this layout, i mix-matched different papers to go with some 3-D stickers i had found at the Dollarama (ah, Thank God for Dollarama! It keeps us scrapbookers from going completely "bankrupt"!). The word 'time' and the clock are chipboard that i painted, using Adirondack Paint Dabbers.

Life is Good

Another layout inspired by a design at Scrapbook Craze, this time, using the Basic Grey Origins collection.  The pictures were taken during a stroll at Daly Point, a nature reserve in my town, where little birdies come eat right out of your hand. It's a purely joyful experience, and has served as inspiration for my scrapbooking more than once!