Girl (Creative Scrappers #241 DT Reveal)

I can't believe that this is my last post of 2012!  Where has the year gone?

Well, anyhow, I wish you all a fabulous start to 2013!!!

It's a very special reveal for Creative Scrappers today since this sketch (#241) is actually the CS blog's new logo, designed by none other than blog owner herself, Kristine!

So much fun!

Visit Creative Scrappers now to see the full reveal and link up your take on the sketch!

And now, here's my take!

I went all out on the bright bold colors (using Echo Park's This & That 'Graceful' collection) and loads of blooms, brads and bling (BBB!!!)

That picture of Ella is so precious!  I have never seen a little girl so excited at losing her front teeth!  She was all smiles for a few days and loved getting her picture taken (which is not normally the case - hehe).

Thank you for stopping by!  Come back in 2013!

Celebrate Card (PageMaps Flourishes Card Contest)

Hello!  Hope you all had an amazing Christmas full of happy gatherings, wrapping paper ball fights and mistletoe kisses! :)

I'm still celebrating so i will make this post very quick!  NOT!  I've been sick as a dog these past couple days, not to say weeks, actually!  Just when i was seemingly getting over one cold, here came another one!

But let's not talk about the flu and maybe it'll go away!

Did you see PageMaps' latest giveaway?!  To celebrate with Scrapbook & Cards Today's 12 Days of Holiday Giving the past couple weeks, Becky Fleck had been sharing with us her amazing talents at ornament making!  She created 12 in total and she is now giving away the complete ornament crate to one of her followers.  You have until December 31st to enter HERE!

I want to share with you a card i created using this beautiful PageMaps' sketch for the Flourishes Card Sketch Contest:

 How adorable is that sketch?!! 
(Turns out the contest ended December 23rd - hehehe)

The paper used is Simple Stories' Summer Fresh collection!

You can never go wrong with a PageMaps sketch and Simple Stories paper! :)

A Very Special Christmas Publication!

Hello and welcome to all of you!  

Happy Holidays!!!

It is a time to love and be grateful for all the blessings that life gives us every single day.  I don't know if i have told you before how much i appreciate you visiting my blog and leaving comments and feedback on the creations i share with you.  I am truly blessed to have met all of you, even if only virtually, and i really value all the friendships that this wonderful hobby has brought me.

I am very close to 200 followers!  I never would have believed it!  I think that the start of 2013 will be a perfect time to celebrate each and every one of you.  When i reach the big 200, i will have a giveaway!  Are you curious to know what you could win?!  Maybe you can help me reach 200 a bit faster! :)

I was so happy this week when i received a much anticipated package from Scrapbook & Cards Today!

Their Winter 2012 issue is out and you can view it HERE for free.  On page 61, you will be able to see a little Christmas card created by none other than yours truly!

 Now, isn't that something to be grateful about?!  I am beyond happy!

Speaking of SCT, if you haven't entered their 12 Days of Holiday Giving contests yet, what are you waiting for?  There are TONS of amazing prizes up for grabs!  Click HERE for details. And the magazine's Spring Call for Submissions is now open.  I know that i am planning to get Spring crafty as soon as the hustle and bustle of Christmas is over!

Thank you again for dropping by!  Hope you all have a very joyous and safe festive time!  

I will be back later this week.

Happy Christmas (SIWAS DT Reveal & Cardabilities)

This week at Scrap It with a Song, we are asked to get inspired by our favorite Christmas carol or song.

I had to think hard about this one before i could pick one Christmas song that stands out for me.  Although it can be quite sad, John Lennon's Happy Xmas (War is Over) is my favorite.  It touches me to the core every time i hear it and brings tears to my eyes.  With all the needless wars and the senseless violence going on now, i think the message in these lyrics is one to be heard and felt by everyone.

I know that it is foolish and somewhat naive to hope that everyone has a Happy Christmas this year... but i do hope that one day, in near or distant future, it will happen.

My card was also inspired by this lovely sketch on the Cardabilities blog.  As i mentioned in a recent post, bracket shapes are definitely a favorite of mine so this sketch challenge, i absolutely had to play along with!

I am also entering this card in this week's Simon Says Stamp Challenge which is 'Merry Christmas'!

I'm giving this card to my lovely fiance for Christmas.  He brings me happiness all year through! :)

Visit Scrap It with a Song now and play along with us this month to win a nice Carta Bella paper collection, Paris Girl, (donated by none other than yours truly!) :)

Vrai Amour (ScrapThat! December Sketch)

We all know a very special couple who are the true emblem of love, whose bond to each other has endured so much but yet remained so strong throughout the years.  Last year, a very dear family friend, Jeannine, whom I have known all my life and who has always been like a mother to me, lost her husband and father to their 14 children, Gerard, to a long battle with cancer.  We were all heart-broken as Gerard was an exemplary man, husband, father, grand-father, friend.  Jeannine was heartbroken as she had to say goodbye to her soulmate after almost 50 years of wedded bliss.

I decided to honor their love by creating a layout of this special couple and frame it for Jeannine for Christmas.

The Carta Bella collection, Beautiful Moments, seemed perfect for this layout, and this beautiful sketch from ScrapThat!'s December Kit Sketch inspired me right away to create this design:

Let's take a closer look.

 The title is in french.  "Le Vrai Amour" translates to "True Love".

 How sweet are all these birdies from the Beautiful Moments papers!  I had fun fussy cutting them!

 I used different inks as well as crackle paint on all the chipboard pieces.

 

I wish you lots of creativity today and to, one day, be blessed enough to know eternal TRUE LOVE as the one Jeannine and Gerard shared and still share! :)

Retirement Card (Artful Delight #27)

Amidst all the preparations for the upcoming Holidays, i am here today for a very quick post to share with you a card i made this weekend for a coworker who is retiring soon.  Lucky her!!

I based my card on Sketch 27 at Artful Delight:

 

 

 This card makes me happy with its bright colors, the chic embossed background and of course the gorgeous Dusty Attic bird cage!  I used a mixture of papers from Teresa Collins and Echo Park.

Along with the Artful Delight sketch, i was inspired by this week's challenge at Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog.  

Simon Says....  What's your favorite?  

The Cuttlebug with which i did the background embossing is my favorite tool and laser-cut chipboard is my favorite product.  Also, i LOVE bracket shapes as the one i used on this card!  I could easily use them on every paper project i create. 

Thank you for joining me today!

I'll be back tomorrow for the last December reveal for Scrap It with a Song!

All I Want For Christmas (My Creative Sketches GDT Reveal))

If you fell in love (as i did!) with the Limited Edition kit from My Creative Scrapbook which i had the pleasure of creating with this month as a Guest Designer (see my post HERE), well, you will be happy to know that the MCS kits are so jam-filled with goodies that i had scraps enough to create a 5th layout that was inspired by the December sketch at My Creative Sketches.

Click HERE for more information on how to play along with this sketch challenge.  You'll see the fab creations of the sketch blog DT and some of MCS' DT too.  And as like every month, there's a fabulous prize to be won if you decide to get inspired!

At first, i thought for sure that i would have to use other products from my stash to complete this layout as i had very little left over from my kit, barely enough to make a few cards.  But looking at the sketch and looking at my scraps, i thought 'Hey, maybe, just maybe, i can make this work!'  And i did!  I'm quite pleased with the result too.  I did add a few chipboard pieces and some bling that were not included in the kit, but everything else comes from gorgeous MCS LE kit!

Let's look at some details:

 This wreath was a picture on the KaiserCraft Turtle Dove paper and it was a bluish-grey, and very pretty as is, but it didn't quite go with the colors of my layout so i used a little Snow-Tex and markers to rev it up a bit.  I used the same technique on the big tree on the left.

  The quality of the pictures is awful i know, but Winter in Atlantic Canada is awful too!  hehehe

I know, i know, that's no excuse!  I'll have to go in search of the perfect lighted area in my house to take pictures of my projects.  Seriously, though, it doesn't help that when i leave in the morning to go to work, it's dark outside and by the time i come home, 8 hours later, it's just as dark.  I can't wait for the days to start getting longer again in a week or so!

A Taste of Winter (CS#239 DT Reveal)

It's Sunday already and time for another DT reveal for Creative Scrappers!  You will agree with me that Sketch#239 is just darling.  Heather has done a fabulous job with this multi-photo design!

I decided to flip the sketch horizontally and added 2 pictures instead of 3 to my layout.  That's what's so awesome when creating with sketches - the possibilities are endless!

Fabulous Winter pictures of little Tristan, gorgeous BoBunny collection and beautiful bare DA chipboard - i just LOVE this layout!

You might remember this other layout seen below from a few weeks back on which i used the same BoBunny collection and a matching picture of Tristan.  I created them both together to make a double-page spread in my friend Nathalie's album (Tristan's mom).

You can see more details about the Snow Adorable layout HERE.

Thank you for joining me in another Creative Scrappers DT reveal today!  Visit the CS blog now to see what the rest of the DT have created and to link up your layout inspired by Sketch#239!

Magic (OUAS & Zeus and Zoe Challenges)

We're only half way into December and i can't believe how many Christmas layouts i've shared already!  And i'm not done! hehehe  I normally don't scrapbook Christmas this much, but i have to say that i have been enjoying myself with the bright reds and the sparkling golds and the festive gems and the shiny ribbons!

My layout today is no exception!

I have been inspired by 2 different challenges.

First, on the Zeus and Zoe blog, the December challenge is to use at least 3 elements that sparkle and shine.  I think i might have overdone myself just a little :) 

- Gold and red bling

- Paper from My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Christmas collection has red glitter on it

- Chipboard covered with shimmery gold Perfect Pearls

- Chipboard sprinkled with red glitter

- Gold snowflake metal trinkets

- Shiny white ribbon

Second, i based my layout design on the December sketch at Once Upon A ...Sketch. 

 The OUAS journaling criteria this month is to interpret the theme 'It's December...' however we like.  I decided to make a list of what December means to me.

I wrapped my journaling around the edges of my layout.

It reads:

December means many things to me,

all leading to one special feeling in my heart...

the Magic of Christmas:

- Sugar the cat's fascination with the tree decorations -

- Going off my diet with almost no guilt -

- Glittery paper and shimmery flowers on my craft table -

- The twinkle in Ella & Daphne's eyes at the mere mention of Santa -

- Cooking meat pies while chit-chatting with my Mom -

- Hot cocoa with marshmallows on cold nights -

- Finding myself surprisingly wishing for snow -

- Parties, food, drinks and quality company -

- Extra cuddles and kisses by the fireplace with Yves -

 

Are you blinded from all the sparkle and shine?!

Thank you for dropping by!  Hopefully i put a little shimmer in your day! :)