Thursday, July 29, 2010

It's My 44th Birthday!

{Me with my Grandfather and Aunt Robyn this week when we celebrated his 92nd and my 44th}

 Yeah, I know I shouldn't be shouting it from the rooftops. But it is all good, being 44 has its advantages. There are a lot of things that just don't make my priority list because I know better. I am okay with my stretch marks because wearing a bikini isn't as important as enjoying time with my delightful kids. I am comfortable in my life and what you see with me is what you get. Being authentic is more important to me than how people perceive me. I won't lie, steal or cheat to get ahead. Yes their are wrinkles on my face, but in all the right places; worry lines in my forehead because I have children I want the best for, crows feet on my eyes from genuine smiles and a few starting around my mouth from deep grins. My feet are trashed and not pedicure worthy from years in ski  boots, tennis shoes and even running a few marathons. Wouldn't trade pretty feet for all of those amazing experiences. I have been married to the same man for 23 years, he drives me crazy so I return the favor. He gets me and I get him. We aren't perfect, never will be nor do we want to be, perfect would be to boring for us. I am not super tidy but still functionally organized, not going to worry too much if my house is presentable because I know it isn't. But that doesn't matter, I want to have people around me who accept me for all of my warts, and I have plenty of them. The good news is that if you do that for me, I am there for you through thick and thin and loyal to the end. To arrive at this point relatively intact has been a really humbling process. I will be the first to admit when I am wrong and will do everything in my power to make something right when I have made mistakes. I haven't always been like this, but I really like who I am right now and hope to continue on the journey of becoming a better person everyday. Milestones like these are good to stop at for a minute and assess where you are and how you got there. So thanks for letting me do that today, and if you are looking for something more interesting to read, head over to the sweet Rachel Carlson's blog, she had a few guest bloggers this week, and while I was one of them, the others are far more interesting.

Anyway, off to finish the first day of 44 ;o)

B-

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Easy Paper Rose!

Loving that Olivia line of paper so much! Isn't that little critter peeking out from behind the flowers the cutest?!!
I have the tutorial for how to make this flower over at the CLASS room, hopefully it inspires a few of you to play along in our blog parade next Monday!

B-

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Basic Grey's Olivia and some Brads

No surprise that I have a crafting crush on Basic Grey products, pretty much everyone does. And every once in a while they have a line that makes me hear angels singing, and usually this line (or lines) is designed by my dear friend Celeste. I don't know if it is appropriate for me to mention my crafty girl crush on Celeste, so let's just keep that between us. And if she isn't amazing enough as a product designer, she is one of the coolest, kindest and most down to earth people that I have the privilege of calling friend (that will call me back, hmmm.) I'm not technically a stalker yet (but I am flirting with that line) and someday I am going to get her back out onto the tennis court so we can torture each other. Anyway, back to Basic Grey, this card is made from the Olivia product line and was really quick and easy! And to kick up the texture, I added tiny brads to the pattern of the paper, love it! More details can be seen about this card at the CLASS room blog if you are interested. And don't forget Olivia's darling twin, designed with the boys of all ages in your life, Oliver! (So adorable and super usable!)
Also if you head over to the CLASS room, be sure to check out the details for Ellen's first ever blog parade! All the information is in the same post that I linked for the card, so you don't have to stray far to find out more.
Carter's 15th birthday is tomorrow, so we are going to do something special for him, and Chloe finished her University of Utah Chemistry 1060 class with an "A" today!!! Not bad for a cute girl who is going to be a senior in high school this fall! Needless to say, we are so proud of her and all the hard work she put into that class this summer, YAY Chloe!!!
B-

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Card Style Love!

Paper Crafts has released a new special issue called Card Style that I was fortunate to contribute a few projects to. Most of them were in the Shabby & Vintage section, and I thought it would be fun to share one of them with you! This style is so fun to make, each of the layers adds something visually stunning and makes for a large serving of eye candy!

I have already read through this issue twice and have referred to it a couple of times as well. The way it is organized and designed is incredible, and makes finding inspiration a snap! I am hoping that this becomes a yearly release for them, wouldn't that be fantastic?

Looking at a busy week, but kind of sad that I am not getting ready to go to CHA in Chicago. I can't wait to hear about and see all of the new product that is going to be released!

B-

Supplies for card: Webster's Pages Vellum note cards, October Afternoon, Maya Road, Zva crystals and flowers. Most of this can be found at Ellen's shop!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Enjoy the Ride


















Last week Cornish Heritage Farms announced that they have decided to shift gears and get out of the rubber stamp business and jump with both feet into the farming business. With this news, Ellen Hutson has put all of the CHF stamps on sale for 40% off! The selection is getting slimmer, but there are still some great finds there! I made this little card as a tribute to my time working with Richard and Liz and all of the fantastic Creative Chicks that I got to meet from this wonderful experience. I took the time to Enjoy the Ride, and I hope that you find the time to do the same!

B-

For this project I used Cosmo Cricket's Joy Ride mini deck, Jenni Bowlin note card, Ranger embossing ink and black detail embossing powder, and CHF GM Beach Party stamp. All of which can be found in Ellen's shop!

Thursday, July 08, 2010

My Other Obsession


I have just a few things in my life that I am completely obsessed with. I don't think I am very high maintenance (my husband may not always agree with that assessment, lol!) and I don't get caught up in what the latest and greatest fashion trend is or who is going where and doing what. But when it comes to tennis and crafting, I am completely obsessed! If I am not on the court hitting the fuzz off the ball chances are I am in my studio making a creative mess, or vice versa.
So it only seemed fitting that I do a layout about the team that I went to districts with a few years ago, as the team that I am on this year has also made it to that level of competition. When you have a group of people who love something just as much as you do it is important to document the moments and treasure that time as it is very hard to come by! It is going to be a month of preparing for the competition that will occur in early August, with the winner from that tournament moving onto sectionals. Our team (along with the other five that we will be competing against) desperately wants to go on to the next level of play and it will take lots of cooperation, sacrifice, patience and lots of luck as well, to make that happen. I feel very lucky to have such fulfilling activities in my life, and appreciate how it all gives me perspective on what is important and what can fall to the side.
So if you don't mind wishing us a little luck, we sure could use it!!

B-

Friday, July 02, 2010

I forgot to share the layout I made for the trend post on "Frames" I had written two weeks ago for the CLASS room.
The Webster's Pages "Life's Portrait" papers are so beautiful and so on this trend it was a snap to make this project!

It was a pretty disappointing day on Wednesday, my sweet hairdresser had forgotten to write in my appointment and so she had over scheduled her day. We have a plan (and she promised that she has it written in ink!) for Monday afternoon for my cut. I am so grateful for all of your thoughts on this, and I am leaning toward keeping it short for at least the rest of the summer. She gives great advice, so it will be interesting to hear what she has to say about it as well. Really looking forward to celebrating the 4th of July!! We have plans to head to the farmer's market tomorrow with some fun friends and then Sunday evening we are hoping to be enjoying the finds from our adventure at the market. Of course there will be some fireworks in the evening on Sunday as well ;o)

I hope your celebrations are fun, safe and maybe hold a little adventure as well!!
B-

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Making the Cut



It has been about six weeks since I had eleven inches of hair cut off of my head. I can honestly say that I am so glad that I did it, but I am also still not used to the change. I started thinking about this last week when I was scheduling my appointment for getting it cut again and will be faced with the decision of keeping it shorter or starting the process of growing it back out to the length that I had become accustomed to. The interesting thing about having it short is that it reminds me of how lucky I am that I was able to have this experience and how it isn't something that is for everybody to do.

So I need some advice and opinions on what you think I should do when I am in the chair for my trim tomorrow. Do I enjoy the short while in the summer months and then think about going a little longer in the fall and winter or do I start the process of growing it out now? Maybe I should continue to get used to the change and embrace it and keep it this short for a long time...

thoughts?

Also wanted to share one of the projects that I did with my pics from that day, this one is with the Queen Bee line of products from Pink Paislee, these colors spoke to me from the second I saw them at CHA and I knew then I would be using them to do a page for myself. It was such a fun layout to do, a little whimsy, a little elegant and a little worn, just like me ;o)

Anyway, hope everyone is having a wonderful summer day (if you are in the northern hemisphere, lol!)

B-

Friday, June 25, 2010

Hambly Happiness has me on Cloud Nine!!




Long have I had an appreciation and crush on Allison's clever designs and Hambly's exceptional quality and beauty. They have always had design teams that are witty, artistic, innovative and inspirational. So when the call went out for their latest team I sent in an application and tried not to obsess about how amazing it would be to have the opportunity to work with these products and with the caliber of talent that they select to carry the Hambly brand forward. I knew that my chances were slim and that who ever they selected would be fantastic, I might mope and pout for a day or two but would most certainly be impressed and inspired by the projects that would soon be gracing the blogs and galleries. This being the case, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I got a call from THE FAB Allison!!! I think I might have even told her to shut up...
Of course I didn't mean it in the rude and absurd way that I am sure it came out, but I did have a wonderful visit with her, and I hope that she doesn't think that I am complete idiot from the babbling that she had to deal with!
It is going to be so fun to create and share my passion for this product line, and work with an incredible team of American and International superstars!!!

US Team:
Amy Tangerine (Culver City, California)
Laurie Cinotto (Tacoma, Washington)
Ann-Marie Norris (Simi Valley, California)
Tiffany Johnson (Fort Rucker, Alabama)
Becky Olsen (Cottonwood Heights, Utah)

International Team:
Jennifer Johner (Sexsmith AB, Canada)
Larissa Albernaz (Sao Jose dos Campos SP, Brazil)
Yukari Takanashi (Kanagawa, Japan)
Kim Jeffress (Australia)
Leena Loh (Singapore)
Stepanie Baxter (Surrey, United Kingdom)

Design Team Coordinators:
Kerry Lynn Yeary
Dina Wakley


I will soon have these links in my sidebar as well, if you are interested in visiting their blogs and seeing their work, please head over to the Hambly Screen Prints Blog and hop around, I think you will be impressed as well!

Wishing you all Hambly Happiness!!!
B-

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Vintage Groove Prettiness!!

















It has been so fun playing with the Vintage Groove jewelry pieces that Ellen has in her shop!
I wrote a fun tutorial on putting this elegant piece together over at the CLASS room this week.

It has been a wonderful week full of tennis and sunshine for me, so grateful that summer has finally arrived! I am trying to enjoy the fantastic mid-range temperatures before they start sky-rocketing into the low 100's that we start to get this time of year.

Does it seem kinda quiet out there in crafty land right now? I think everyone is so happy to have summer here that the crafty stuff is taking a little bit of a back seat at the moment. So out of curiosity, when you do have a little time to spend creating, what will you be working on? I think I will be making more soldering and jewelry pieces, some cards and a have a few scrapbook layouts in my mind that I want to try to get done.

happy summer time friends!!

B-

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining


Card group was last Saturday night, and I love the card that I made for everyone! Our theme for the month was encouragement and using suns, clouds or rainbows. I just adore this Hero Arts stamp called "Clouds" so it of course was the first thing I thought of when we were informed of the theme for our exchange. I did need to make 12 of whatever I designed, so it had to be something that was realistic to get put together without breaking the bank. Stamping is a great way to do that! To get the look of the silver in the cloud lining I mixed up a mini mister with water, a few drops of Faded Jeans re-inker, a few drops of Broken China re-inker and a scoop of Perfect Pearl from my Perfect Pearls collection. Gave it some shaking for a minute and then spritzed it onto my craft mat, then dipped my stamp into it and stamped it onto some Neenah Solar White cardstock and set aside to air dry while I made some kites.
The body of the kite is made with paper from Cosmo Cricket's Girl Friday collection (although any cute paper would work!) and the twine is by Jenni Bowlin.
The sentiment is from a Cornish Heritage Farms set called Encouragement Expressions. I know there will be the right time to give this to someone, but this week was a bit of a challenge for me, so I kept it up where I could see it and let it keep me lifted up with its sweet message.

Hope you are having a happy Thursday!
B-

Monday, June 14, 2010

Are Your Teens Talented, Creative and Needing a Summer Project?
























Creating Keepsakes might have the solution to your teens needs!
This summer they are holding a Teen Talent Search to find the next generation of scrapbooking talent! Is your teen between the age of 13 -18? Then this fun contest could hold the key to finding them something to do this summer that could be rewarding in many ways. by creating projects to send in for the contest they will not only be keeping their memories but will also be expanding their creative talents, a side bonus is that they might be the big winner!
The participants can submit as many projects as they want from June 15th to August 31st. The Creating Keepsakes team will choose the finalists. Click here for a complete look at the rules.
This is something that I would have loved to do as a kid, how about you? What a fantastic opportunity Creating Keepsakes is providing for our next generation of memory keepers!
Even if you don't have a teen, if you know one that would maybe interested in something fun like this, be sure to pass the information along!
B-

Friday, June 11, 2010

Happy Birthday Laura!!!

It is a very special girl's birthday today and a few of us have gotten together to help her celebrate in a way that she will always remember!

Happy 40th Birthday Laura Vegas!!!



Laura is a wonderfully talented scrapper whose delightful work has graced many pages of magazines. But in my opinion, this isn't what makes her amazing. What I think sets Laura apart as an exceptional woman is that she is a person of substance, authenticity and genuine kindness.

To let Laura know how excited I am that she is joining the over 40 club, so she can hang out with me more ;o) I have made her a little card that reminds her what she is now that she has made it into this elite group...




















But of course the fun doesn't end with me, to keep the celebration going you need to hop on over to Doris Sander's blog and see what is going on there!!

If you have joined the party in the middle and would like to start at the beginning, Lynn Ghahary is the official center of this soiree!!

And if you want a very clever and informative read about Laura and her first Forty years, pop over to her blog and have some giggles! She has included pictures and stories that are very funny!!

Laura, I hope that your next forty are as much fun and as memorable as your first forty!!!
Best wishes for a wonderful day and an exciting year!!

B-

What a Quick Week!


Can't believe that it is Friday already (and half done at that!).
It has been beautiful temperate weather so I have spent most eveyday outside playing tennis and taking long walks with the dogs and hubbers. There has been a little crafting and scrapping in there, but not much of it can be shared right now. My dad called and made a date with me to give me soldering lessons! It is hard to explain how incredible that is given his last few years of metal health, but I am so grateful for the opportunity to spend some time with him while he is feeling well. We have always had an interesting relationship. It might be because we are very similar in some ways or because I have had the role of adult in the interactions with my parents for most of my life. Whatever the issues are, it is a treat for us to be doing something together that we both enjoy and I am very excited that he is taking some time to share his extensive knowledge with me.
If you get a chance, pop by tomorrow there is something fun happening that I am excited to be helping with!

Happy Friday friends!!
B-

Monday, June 07, 2010

Fabric Flower Tutorial from a Re-Purposed T-Shirt!

So Chloe has been a busy girl since summer started...

She decided to make a new handbag for herself using a re-purposed t-shirt! She also wanted to make adjustments to a tried and true pattern to make it "her own"!
Here she is modeling the finished bag that is filled with the items she needs for her summer chemistry course.
























The sleeves were left over from when she cut the t-shirt apart, so I thought it would be fun to make her a few flowers that she could pin onto the bag when she uses the reverse side of the bag. (yes, super coolness, it is reversible!!)

To make one of these flowers for yourself you will need the sleeves from a t-shirt, a pair of scissors, needle and thread, a hot glue gun, a button, a large rhinestone, and a pin.

















Cut the sleeve into appox 2" strips.

















Use the threaded needle to do a running stitch along the edge of a piece of the sleeve. For this flower I used the two hem pieces so it would have a finished edge. The flowers look just as cool with a raw edge though, or if you want you can fold the pieces in half and do a running stitch through the two edges that are folded together.

















When you have the pieces all gathered it will form a fun spiral shape!
























Lay the spiral down and arrange the layers the way that you like them, tie off the thread.

















Use the hot glue gun to adhere the layers the way that you had them laid out.

















Hot glue a large button into the middle of the flower to hide the gathers. Then hot glue a large gem into the center of the button to glam it up!

















Hot glue a pin onto the back of the flower.

















Then cover with a little more hot glue and a scrap of fabric from the sleeve.

















This is what it looks like when it is finished! I think I might be "borrowing" this little beauty from her if she doesn't have it pinned to her bag ;o)

















This tutorial was requested by Marilyn whom I met while at the CKC in Buffalo!

Let me know if you try it and then how addicted you get to making these and sporting them everywhere!

B-

Saturday, June 05, 2010


Wow, it has been a quick week! I don't have much to share, been really busy creating projects to submit and playing a lot of tennis in the other few hours in my day! So happy to finally be getting outside for a few hours a day, makes me so happy!
So my question is, how is it hanging?
My afternoon is going to be spent working on a post for the CLASS room blog and hopefully playing with my soldering stuff, loving that jewelry mess right now!

Hope everyone has a very happy weekend!
B-

Monday, May 31, 2010

Solder...


I have been trying a new twist on my crafty ways. It is called "Soldering" (this link will take you to Wikipedia for more information if you are interested) and is the art of integrating glass, found objects and metal working. I grew up in a house where my dad used this technique on a daily basis for his business of repairing all kind of electronic items. So the magic of it has always held fascination in my eyes. What finally got me started was a kit from Ellen Hutson called the Simply Swank "Creative Art Kit".
The first pendant is for the Trend Watch post that I wrote today on the vintage invasion we are experiencing right now and is made using Webster's Pages vellum. The second is one that I made using Hambly rub-ons and Pink Paislee patterned paper.
I am addicted! I am wanting to solder everything now, my mind is looking at bits and baubles and wondering how I could get them wrapped in foil and covered in solder!

I am not sure how these words are supposed to be pronounced either, so if anyone has an opinion please share! I grew up hearing it from my dad who was trained in the Navy as "saw-ter" (using a phonetic spelling, please excuse!) and my children who have both learned this skill in their tech classes at school use the same pronunciation with no exposure or influence from my dad, that is how their teacher pronounced it. What is even more exciting to me is that Chloe is intrigued to learn how to create art and jewelry using this skill set and we have talked about projects that we can work on together! So happy to have something that we can do together, teens time is a scarce commodity, so any that she has to share with me is greatly appreciated and anticipated!!!
We had a very relaxing and beautiful Memorial Day weekend, we all needed some downtime before this crazy last week of school! Hope you had an enjoyable weekend as well!
B-

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Ruffles!




Had a couple of fun posts go up in the CLASS room, one was a trend watch on ruffles and the other was using Maya Road's resist product.

Right now I am just trying to get caught up with the kids and the end of the school year events and happenings. This summer is going to be so much different for us, Laurel has a full-time job working at the Sports Mall as a day camp counselor, Chloe will be at the U of U all summer taking an eight credit university course with all of the corresponding homework and Tyler is enjoying the winter in Brazil. It will be Carter and I all day everyday and I am sure that he is going to get creative on finding ways to not be home too! Makes me kinda sad that our summers won't be about popsicles, trips to the pool and water gun fights any more.

I am of course very proud of all they are doing and while it does make me a little sad, they are my greatest source of joy!

B-

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

















Back from my grand adventures in the great state of New York!
After our red eye flight, Brady, Erin and I spent the morning getting settled at our hotel and then walked over to the Javitts convention center for the first day of the Stationary Show. Both Brady and I were so excited to walk by the Bryant Park along the way! Both of us are avid Project Runway fans, so this was a huge moment of wow!!
The Stationary Show was incredible and we enjoyed seeing many types of products.
During our stay at the Helmsley at 42nd and 2nd we made day trips to the Garment district, SoHo, Central Park and many wonderful eateries and fun shops in between all of that! There was still so much to see and do that another trip will need to be planned, and of course I would like to do that much sooner than later, LOL!
























On Thursday the 27th Megan and I made our way to Buffalo, where we had the pleasure of meeting the FAB Julia Stainton in person! CKC Buffalo was so fun to attend, and I enjoyed being Megan's teaching assistant for our time there.

















Our last day was spent adventuring around the great upstate area of New York, and an amazing trip to Niagara Falls where we rode the Maid of the Mist into the center of the falls and got drenched!



After an exciting afternoon at the falls, we had to eat at the originator of the "Buffalo Wing" the Anchor Bar in downtown Buffalo. Very delicious and full of interesting memorabilia from the years of serving that world famous dish. Had to bring a bottle of the original sauce home to Dave so he could experience the burn too ;o)
















It is so good to be home after an exciting week of adventures, Dave gave the bad babies a bath so they smelled good and Laurel made a chocolate layer cake that was delish! I feel so loved and it is a wonderful feeling for sure!!

B-

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Taking a Week Off!


The day is here! Tonight I take the red eye to New York to experience the joy Of the Stationary Show! I can't tell you how thrilled and excited I am that I have this opportunity, and how much fun I think it will be! My goal is to have my head explode with wonder from the show and New York City everyday! So in order to enjoy the whole situation, I am going dark. No computer, just a camera, my friends, some clean clothes and my phone to call home with.

Speaking of clothes, thought I would quickly share this super basic white T that I spruced up by turning two other white shirts that had seen their better days into ruffles! I just love how it turned out, and hope to share some of the tips I figured out on how to make it easy, with everyone here when I get back (if anyone is interested...)


I hope everyone has a fantastic week!!
B-

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Technique Tag


A fun post in the CLASS room for using Scrap HD digital files from Jenni Bowlin, real wood from Creative Imaginations and Silver Adirondack paint from Ranger. If you love learning new techniques, I think you will enjoy this post!

I am busy chipping away on a long to do list, not sure it is all going to get done, so figuring out how to prioritize it all as well. There are definitely going to be some things that are left undone, but it will just have to be.

B-

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Happy Tuesday!

















I hope everyone is having a happy Tuesday! It is one of those days for me where nothing is going seriously wrong, and loads of things are on track. Taking time to appreciate those kind of days is what I am trying harder to do. That is definitely a qualification for a very happy Tuesday.























I was fortunate enough to share Mother's Day with my mom and sister, and I made a delish Tres Leches cake that was gobbled down in no time at all. For my mother's day gift from my mom I got some gourmet chocolates and help sewing a skirt and for her I made her a large pack of birthday cards that she can have on hand for those just in case moments. How was your day? I hope fantastic!





















And while we enjoyed the family time together, the highlight of my day was getting to call Tyler.
Still on cloud 9 from our hour long chat, and so were Dave and the other kids. He sounds fantastic and of course misses us but is having a great time in Campo Grande, Brazil. He even has a Portuguese accent when he speaks.

It is getting really cold down there right now and so he found himself a warm beanie and is wearing as many layers as he can when he is out and about. He has lost a lot of weight, He wasn't a huge guy when we sent him out, just about average, but he is thin as a rail now from walking about 35 kilometers a day. (I don't know the math on exactly how many miles that is, but it is probably close to about 20+) No wonder he is cold, he doesn't have any body fat left to keep him insulated. ;o)
























He has about 10 months left before he gets home and the next time we will get to speak to him will be on Christmas Day. He will turn 21 this October, and that is going to be hard for me to not be able to celebrate that milestone with him. But we will have a big shindig, with all his favorite foods, for him when he gets home.

Anyhoo, the rest of the week I am going to be spending getting prepared for a big adventure to New York City, I have a red eye flight Saturday night! Will spend a few days there and then the next Thursday will find me in Buffalo at the CKC event there. Will get to meet my dear friend Julia in real life!!!
If you have any advice on what I need to bring or where I need to go, would love to hear it!!!

B-

Thursday, May 06, 2010

Just a Couple More Days


Mother's Day is just a couple more days away, and I can I just say that I am so excited! We don't have any money, so there aren't any expensive gifts that are coming my way, but I will be getting one of my bests gifts ever anyway. Tyler will get to take a phone call from us for an hour, and we couldn't be more thrilled. The last time we talked to him was on Christmas for an hour and let me tell you that time flew by! We have a list of questions that we can't wait to ask, and I am sure that there are a few things that he will be asking us about as well.
After we visit with him, we will get in the car, drive for half an hour, and end up at my parents house for dinner with the family. I have plans to make a Tres Leches cake, and enjoy the company of my goofy family in spite of how much I will be missing my oldest son.
I feel so blessed.

B-

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Take Flight


A layout that I made for my Trend Talk Tuesday post today. Pearls were the trend that was identified and these Zva swirls were so fabulous that it made sense to put them center stage!
Some Green at Heart paper and Chloe looking gorgeous in her prom dress make for a fun project!

B-

Monday, May 03, 2010

Have You Heard of Harmonie?


It is always so fun to play with new toys, so when Harmonie contacted me to introduce themselves as a new Canadian manufacturer of scrapbooking products, then asked if I would have some time to try a few pieces, I was thrilled! They have quite a few extensive collections, each as beautiful as the last. The papers are well designed, the buttons are darling, the ribbon silky and perfectly matched and the other accessories are clever and easy to use. I took a little time on {inter}National Scrapbook Day (Saturday May 1st) while I was hosting a crop, to play with the wonderful things that they had sent to me, and I ended up with this really fun two page layout that I really like!! The die cut paper was a great place to start, and the other papers complimented it so perfectly, it literally fell into place. I am looking forward to making a few cards and another layout with the goodies I have left.

It was loads of fun to host a crop on {i}NSD too, we had loads of cupcakes thanks to Brenda and Sesil and lots of fun thanks to the ladies who all knew how to relax and enjoy the moment. I hope we don't wait another year to get together again ;o)

B-