Challenge YOUrself: Challenge #13 - Traditions

Hello, everyone! I am SO excited to be part of the Challenge YOUrself design team!! Like so many of you out there, I am often the one behind the camera, taking pictures of my family's everyday lives. But with this scrappy blog, it's all about including myself in the photos so that I can tell MY story. LOVE IT!

So, for my first design team challenge with the Challenge YOUrself team, we were asked us to think of the traditions in our lives. And with Christmas right around the corner, I instantly thought of the Christmas ornaments my Papape made for me, my four siblings and our Maman, while he was recuperating from his first 'bout of cancer way back in 1988. Little did I know at the time that taking out those ornaments would be the one thing I most look forward to when we decorate the tree in our own home, year after year. It's like having a piece of not only my childhood with me (as I remember him making them!), but also like having him right there with me. And I find it especially endearing that I am writing this little blurp of my life as he sleeping just a few feet from me while he and my Maman are visiting us for a few days before the holidays... :)

Without any further adieu, here is my layout, dedicated to my dear Papape, AKA the drum maker:

Used lots and lots and lots of Basic Grey's Jovial on this one (patterned papers, buttons, chipboard elements, felt flowers, journalling pieces, and stitched tabs), along with a piece of patterned paper of its Aspen Frost collection. Also splattered my go-to Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze, and used some American Crafts and October Afternoon alphas with some Making Memories staples, Stampin' Up washi tape and those beautiful stitched snowflakes using an old Bazzill Basics stitching template I've had for years with some DMC floss. Oh! And a HUGE shout out to my dear scrappy pal Pam who so graciously gave me that gold-foiled vellum. Can you say swoon? ;)

Would you like to see what the other Challenge YOUrself gals came up with this month? Head on right over here and see for yourselves how important and neat it is to scrapbook about YOU! Furthermore, if you link your own design using this month's theme (and including yourself in the scrapped photo, of course!) and link it to today's reveal over at Challenge YOUrself, you'll get a chance to win an awesome prize - a $15 e-gift card over at Peachy Cheap! WOO!HOO!

Happy scrapping!

Stuck?! Sketches: December 1st Sketch and Reveal

Hello, everyone! Another month has come and gone, and here we are in DECEMBER! Holy schnitzels! And you know what that means - a new sketch release over at Stuck?! Sketches!! Here is the wonderful sketch by the over-the-moon talented Laura Whitaker:

And here is what I came up with:

Fun pics of Louis-Olivier with some of his cousins during a great afternoon at my sister's pool during our Summer vacation in 2011. Used tons of Basic Grey's Oliver collection on this one (patterned papers, brads, chipboard elements and chipboard alphas), set on a Basic Grey Hopscotch background patterned paper. Also dashed some Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze on there with some old Dollarama rubons I inherited from one of my sisters, some Making Memories staples, and some stitching using my Tim Holtz ruler and some good ol' DMC floss.

Wanna see what the other Stuck?! Sketches girls came up with? Head on right over here and be prepared to be amazed! Submit a design for this sketch on the Stuck?! Sketches blog and get a chance to win some cool prizes - a $15 gift certificate from Linnie Blooms and two large pieces of chipboard from Scrapmatts!! Woo!Hoo!

Don't forget, Stuck?! Sketches is hosting a Guest Designer call! If you are interested in applying for the call, please link up a layout with us and include GDT after your name. It is that simple! The team will be choosing the guest designer, possibly with some help from random.org if there is a tie. The winner will be contacted at the end of November and will be playing along with our January 1st sketch!!! (Blog owners will be given preference.) Watch for another GDT call during our December 15th challenge!
Happy scrapping!

Stuck?! Sketches: November 15th Sketch and Reveal

Hello, everyone! Mid-month already!! WOW! I really don't know where the days are going. However, I do know that I've had the chance to scrap with some awesome Laura Whitaker sketches as of late and today's the day for another reveal over at Stuck?! Sketches. Ready? Here's the sketch:

And here's my design:

Tons and tons and tons of Basic Grey's Hey You! collection on this one along with some of its Hey Boy! and Hello! collections (patterned paper, button, brad, clips, stickers, labels - and my personal favourite: the plane I cut out from packaging!). I also added BG, Tim Holtz and American Crafts alphas along with a Fancy Pants cork star, Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze, Prima washi tape (if memory serves me well!), Stampin' Up cardstock (for my journalling strips) and stitching. Yes, hand-stitching done using my Tim Holtz ruler and some DMC floss, as always. Oh! And who could forget my ever-so-faithful Making Memories black staples? Love those little boogers! Ah! And that scalloped border was made using my Stampin' Up basic scallop border punch - a MUST in any scrapbooker's stash, if I do say so myself. ;)

Ready to see what the rest of the Stuck?! Sketches team came up with for this sketch? There is LOTS of inspiration for sure. Hop on over here and be prepared to be amazed! And guess what!? If you link your own design based on today's sketch on the link over at today's Stuck?! Sketches reveal, you'll get a few chances to win some fabulous prizes by some amazing sponsors - a $25 gift card from Creative Embellishments and a $15 gift card from Freckled Fawn. WOO!HOO!

And now for some super exciting news! Stuck?! Sketches is hosting another Guest Designer call! If you are interested in applying for the call, please link up a layout ocwe on the Stuck?! Sketches blog, and include GDT after your name. It's that simple! The team will be choosing the guest designer, possibly with some help from random.org if there is a tie. The winner will be contacted at the end of November and will be playing along with our January 15th sketch!!! (Blog owners will be given preference.) Watch for more GDT calls during December!
Happy scrapping!

Stuck?! Sketches: November 1st Sketch and Reveal

November is here already! Can you believe it? BUT... that means that today is reveal day over at Stuck?! Sketches!! WOO!HOO! Here is the beautiful sketch by the ever-so-talented Laura Whitaker we got to play with time around:

And here's my layout:

A mix and match type of deal with this one, I went hunting for some scrappy fabulousness in my Scrapbook & Cards Today's Crop & Create goodie bags I've collected over the years. We've got some Basic Grey, Fancy Pants, and Jillibean Soup patterned papers, with some My Mind's Eye die-cuts, Tim Holtz rubons, Simple Stories tags, American Crafts, Basic Grey, and Pink Paislee alphas, Cosmo Cricket tiny text, American Crafts brad, Stampin' Up clip, Prima flower, Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze, Elizabeth Craft Designs Peel-offs, and some stitching, using an awesome Bazzill Basics circle template and some DMC floss.

Want to see what the other design team members created? Hop on right over here. Once again, be prepared to be floored! Oodles of scrappy talent on the Stuck?! Sketches team I tell ya! With awesome sketches like Laura produces, no wonder! ;) And of course, if you yourself submit your own designs over on the Stuck?! Sketches blog using today's sketch, you'll get a chance to win some scrappy fabulousness - a paper stack from DCWV Inc. and two large pieces of chipboard from Scrapmatts.

Oh! And I almost forgot! Stuck?! Sketches is hosting a Guest Designer call!  If you are interested in applying for the call, please link up a layout on the Stuck?! Sketches blog and include GDT after your name.  It's that simple!  The team will be choosing the guest designer, possibly with some help from random.org if there is a tie.  The winner will be contacted at the end of November and will be playing along with our January 1st sketch!!!  Please note - blog owners will be given preference. Watch for more GDT calls during November and December!

Happy scrapping!

Stuck?! Sketches: October 15th Sketch and Reveal

Hello, everyone! Just a quick post to let you in on what I designed for today's release over at Stuck?! Sketches. Here's the sketch by the great Laura Whitaker:

And here is my design:

A beautiful pic of my scrappy friend, Annik - one of those that I met at a crop and instantly connected with! The beautiful background piece is one of the patterned papers in Jillibean Soup's newest collection, Soup Staples III. The rest of the patterned papers are from my very first Scrapbook & Cards Today's Crop & Create bag I received in March 2012 - Basic Grey's Konnichiwa and Pink Paislee's Prairie Hill. Also used some Stampin' Up silver foil paper and paper clip, as well as some Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze, Dina Wakley black gesso by Ranger, Studio Calico cork hearts, Maya Road heart banner clip, and stitching using some DMC floss and some Bazzill Basics and Tim Holtz stitching templates. And yes, that's a plain Jane run of the mill paper clip you also see on there. ;)

Wanna see what the rest of the design team came up with? Hop on over right here and be prepared to be inspired - BIGTIME! And yes, prizes are up for grabs for those of you who participate over on today's Stuck?! Sketches reveal. Just link your designs using today's sketch over on the Stuck?! Sketches blog and get a chance to win two fabulous prizes - a $20 gift certificate from 7 Dots Studio and a prize from Wycinanka. Woo!Hoo!

Happy scrapping!

Stuck?! Sketches: October 1st Sketch and Reveal

Good day to you all, dear scrappers! Another month has rolled around so it's time for another Stuck?! Sketches reveal! WOO!HOO! Here is Laura Whitaker's fabulous sketch we lucky gals designed with this week:

We also had a colour palette to work with, by the wonderful Color Me Scrappy crew:

And here is what I designed:

Had so, so, SO much fun creating this layout! That little cutie-pie bum you see is my sweet Éloïse last year, at Hallowe'en. She was a mere three weeks old, but as soon as I saw these pjs over at Carter's, I just had to get them for her. They barely fit her as she was in her three-week growth spurt! Big shout out to my friend, Isabelle, who took this photo for me.

Tons, tons, TONS of My Mind's Eye on this one. Recognize the collection? Or the collections, I shouls say? That's right! Boo to You! and Blackbird. Also added some Stampin' Up cardstock, Magic Mesh, Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze, Making Memories staples, Kaisercraft wood veneer, Doodlebug rubons, October Afternoon and American Crafts alphas. some stitching using my Bazzill Basics stitching template and some DMC floss, and that fence... mmm... I remember where I bought it, right Paper Tales? Hee!Hee!

Wanna see what the other girls on the design team came up with? Inspiration for the masses I tell ya! Hop on right over here and be prepared for your scrappy senses to start tingling! ;) And if you design something yourself using this sketch and link it to today's reveal over at Stuck?! Sketches, you'll get a chance to win a $20 gift certificate over at 7 Dots Studio or two large pieces of chipboard (a $20 value) over at Scrapmatts! Who doesn't like to scrap with a bit of incentive?! Hee!Hee!

Happy scrapping!

The Scrapbookers' Blog Tour!

Hello, everyone! So happy that you've found me today!! As you are read this, I am probably back at work, after an amazing getaway weekend to Cornwall, Ontario, where I spent a fabulous time with two of  my favourite scrappy peeps at Scrapbook & Cards Today's latest Crop & Create event! Tired, I'm sure, but on one of those natural scrappy highs - I know some of you, if not all of you, know exactly what I mean! Hee!Hee!

I was so happy when Michelle Arseneault Gallant recently asked me to hop on board the Scrapbookers' Blog Tour!! What IS the Scrapbookers' Blog Tour, you may ask yourselves? It's a way for scrapbooking enthusiasts to hop from one scrappy blog to another - like a neverending source of inspiration!! WOO!HOO! I've known Michelle for a few years, now, cropping with her from time to time at local crops. She is an amazing scrappy talent, currently designing for five different design teams (that's how good she is!). I always love to see her finished layouts as they always make her photos stand out in the most beautiful way. And really! She is as big of a scrapbooking maniac as I am!! Hee!Hee! Thanks, Michelle, for including me on this blog hop tour!

1. What am I working on right now?

I just finished a layout for Stuck?! Sketches with a sketch by the amazing Laura Whitaker and a colour combo from Color Me Scrappy. It will be revealed for you to see on October 1st! YAHOO! Hint? It's all about Hallowe'en and the sweetest little pumpkin bum you've ever seen!! Hee!Hee!

2. How long does it take me to create a project?

Besides the occasional one-hour challenge at local crops (I get heart palpitations just thinking about it - right, Michelle?), if all goes well, I'm typically able to design a layout in a few hours. But I have been known to scrap into the wee hours of the morning to get my product choice and placement just right... ;)

3. What are my favorite things to create with at the moment?

The first thing that comes to mind is metallic-based products - like foiled paper and die-cuts. I've also recently fallen in love with incorporating rubons on my backgrounds! Oh! And my homemade "stencils" with all kinds of Gesso - white, black, gold, etc.

4. How does my creating process work?
I usually see a sketch/design I love, then move on to pick a photo or two to work with, to finally go and "shop" in my stash for the perfect collection(s) and embellishments.

5. How do I become inspired and stay inspired?

I L-O-V-E looking at scrappy blogs and galleries to get some ideas. And there's nothing like cropping with friends to get my scrappy mojo going! Scrappy dates are the BEST!!

6. What is my signature style?

It's changed through the years, but I'd say stitching, staples, splats, layers and texture.

And here are a few of my favourite layouts:

Now, I get to make this hop a bit longer as I send you off visiting two of my scrappy peeps. Hope you enjoy their work as much as I do!

Gisèle Julien

Shirley Mascarina

Happy scrapping!