Final CSI for 2017!

So this week we're revealing the last case for 2017 over at CSI : Color, Stories, Inspiration.

It's been another wonderful year of creativity & documentation. I hope that if you've never tried a case with us before, you'll give this one a go! It's perfect for Christmas!

Here's the Case :

And here's what I made with it :

This Christmas will be the first one without Dad, so I thought that I'd document it. My sister, who is also a scrapbooker and I collaborated on this page a bit, since she was visiting while I was trying to make it. I may or may not have cried while doing so. But, in the end, it proved therapeutic for me. I promise that not every blog post will be about my Dad, but I needed to get this out. When I started scrapbooking I told myself that I would be real with my documentation, happy times and sad times and this is a big part of my life right now.

Here's how I solved this case :

COLOURS

All the colours are there. This time I added no accent colours, I just stuck with the palette.

EVIDENCE

Christmas elements (tree)
Architectural elements (house)
Wood (house)
Bricks (my white background paper is a brick pattern)
Tree
Ribbon
Vintage elements (my red paper is a vintage-y print)

TESTIMONY

For this page, I chose the "Document something about Christmas" prompt, as well as the inspiration word "together"

Journaling

For my journalling, I chose to use some of the lyrics to the Vince Gill song "It Won't be the Same This Year". You can go HERE if you'd like to read and hear the song in it's entirety.

It's helped me learn what Christmas really means
There's nothing more important than your family
We'll all the children of the King of Kings
So when the stockings are hung
"Silent Night" has been sung
And Christmas is finally here
It won't be the same this year

Here's a couple of closeups of my page :

This is my title work. I used WordArt to make the "Christmas" and then fussy-cut it out. The words {without you} are harder to see since they match the grey paper just about perfectly, but I wanted to use them as a subtitle. As per usual for me, a little bit of folded and ripped paper to add a little interest to my layers. I added a red pearl to the "I" in Christmas and also to the centre of the flower pin. The middle photo of my Dad is popped up.

And, just a quick closeup of the tree. I kept the chipboard raw as most of the time, I like the way it looks on my page. The star in the middle is a brad and I added another red pearl to the middle of it.

This page is pretty simple & clean, even for me. I really couldn't figure out what to add to it to make it "more", if you know what I mean. I think for a page like this one it's best if the focus can be on the pictures and the subject than the things.

Thanks for popping by and checking out my page today!

You Are My Forever Love (Always)

I'm back with another BEAUTIFUL case from CSI : Color, Stories, Inspiration!!

Here's the Case File :

I just have to say how much I LOVED this combo! While not colours I would normally put together, they are beautiful together.

And here's what I made with it :

Recently, my husband and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. We didn't really have any photos done together at that time that I really liked, but we did have photos taken together when my parents were celebrating their 45th anniversary. This is one of them and it's definitely one of my favorites.

Here's how I solved this case:

COLOURS

All the colours are there with the addition of a little bit of black & gold to accent.

EVIDENCE

Text Pattern - leaf
Clips - green at the end of the brown ruler strip
Clothespins
Leaves & Flowers
Stamps
Buttons
Tags
String
Ruler
Clipboard

TESTIMONY

I chose the presentation prompt "Write on a tag" for this page, and THIS pin inspired the actual journaling.

Journaling

To find out how many days we have been a couple, I entered the date we started dating & the day I did the journaling into an online days calculator. Then I typed my sentence into Word, printed it out on a 8.5x11 sheet of paper, then held it up to my window and attached my tag to the paper over top of the print out. I then put the paper BACK into the printer and printed it out again, removing the tag from the paper after it was done to use on my page.

The inspiration for the tag journaling treatment with the bows came from page #32 of the Fall 2017 Scrapbook and Cards Today magazine.

Here's some closeups of my page :

This shows my title work a little closer. The first part of my title was created using part of a Heidi Swapp stamp. The stamp itself is the phrase "You Are My Sunshine" but I chose to just use the first three words. The "Forever" word was part of a set I bought from Micheals and the "Love" word was from a Bible Journaling die cut pack. I love it when I find small things in my stash that fit with my page, and the tiny clothespin with the word 'Always' on it was one of them this time. To finish it off, and because I'm loving using gold right now, I faux-sewed the self-adhesive chipboard heart to the "Love" word die cut. The leaf very handily satisfied 2 separate clues, plus I really liked how it curls at the end. At the last minute I added the gold ball trim using a thin line of Gorilla Glue.

Also, inspired by the clipboard in the photo, I tried to make my photo mat look a little bit like a piece of paper on a clipboard. The safety pin takes the place of the clip at the top, and the double framing in white representing the board & paper. I stamped the day I did the journaling at the bottom of the photo mat.

Here's a closer look at my journaling tag. Underneath it you can just see the red '20' that is highlighted by the green clip. That's a play on our anniversary year. The little gold heart in the corner is a small brad. Also, you can faintly see that my background paper is a subtle wood grain pattern.

Here's a quick look at the lower right hand corner. I found these 3 little stickers in my stash and felt like they belonged on this layout. I chose to place them there to make a visual triangle with my other black accents (the love die cut & the leaf). In fact, I've used a visual triangle in more than one place on this layout - the wood pieces (flower, word & clothespin), the gold accents in multiple places, and the three green things (solid cardstock photo mat, striped paper & clip) are some examples. Using this technique really helps your eye move around your page. I really like the texture that ripping your paper can add to a page, so I most often will do that on my pages at least once.

Thanks for popping by and checking out my page today!! I hope you'll join us in solving this beautiful case!!

#DIVINE - Color, Stories, Inspiration Case #241

It's November 1st and that means that a new case is open over at CSI : Color, Stories Inspiration!!!

Here's the newest case that's ready for you to solve :

Aren't these colours absolutely gorgeous?? I love them all AND I love the inspiration photo as well!! Here's what I made with it :

It took me a long time to get this page done - weeks, in fact. These past few months have been quite hard for me; more then I ever expected. I wasn't expecting the sudden loss of my Dad to affect every facet of my life but it has. Most definitely it's affected how creative I have been able to be. I'm starting to come out on the other side a bit now, and am finding more joy in creating again.

I found this quote on Pinterest, and really felt it suited me right where I am right now - taking time to learn about who I am and deepening my understanding of God and His plan for my life. It feels good.

Here's how I solved the case.

COLOURS AND SKETCH

All of the colours are there, however, it might be a bit hard to see the grey. It's quite subtle, and it's in the patterned paper that's under the floral pattern. I liked the sketch, and modified it just a little bit.

EVIDENCE

Leaves
Animals - bird
Hearts
Wood
White rub-ons I used a white sticker instead, under my 'love this' circle
Chevron Arrows - the layout background paper is a 12x12 diecut
Vellum - rolled polka dot, under the photos
Something fuzzy - the pom pom trim

TESTIMONY

I used the word "outside" as the inspiration for this page

Journaling

The quote I used is a follows :

Here's some closeups of my page :

This is my little embellishment cluster on the left hand side of the page. Some of those things there (like the little silver tag) I've had in my stash for ages. I'm happy to be able to use these things in a meaningful way.

This photo is showing my title work. I had a hard time figuring out how to get those wooden letters to stick. In the end, I stuck them to a piece of double sided tape, and then gorilla-glued the ends to the vellum. Needless to say, I don't think they're going anywhere!

This photo is showing the little circle die cut. I inked it red and added a small kraft heart to it. I also attached my wood bird here as well. Just under it you can kind of see my little white swirly sticker.

These last two photos I took while hanging the page outside of my home. I wanted to be able to show you that the background paper is a 12x12 diecut, and that there's no white in the background at all. I do enjoy using these kinds of papers but they are really hard to photograph.

Thanks for popping by and checking out my page today!

Taking a Break and (Waiting) At the Bus Stop

September has arrived and with it is back to school & a new case from CSI : Color, Stories Inspiration!

Back to school also means back to work for me - the only negative about this time of year. I LOVE fall!

Here's the new case from CSI :

And here's what I made with it :

When my siblings and I were in elementary and high school we took a bus to get there since we lived outside of town. We would wait at the end of our driveway right at the "garage" to be picked up every day. Last year during Mom and Dad's 45th wedding anniversary we had some photos taken together down at the end of the driveway, reminiscing the whole time.

Here's how I solved the case :

COLOURS AND SKETCH

All the colours are there. I liked the sketch but I just couldn't get this layout to come together using it. So, I chose to set it aside and just scrap. I will say that I'm not really in love with this layout, but after two weeks of staring at it I couldn't figure out what to add to make it better, so I decided to leave it.

EVIDENCE

Grid pattern - small piece blue patterned paper on the right hand side
Stripes
Book pages
Eyeglasses - the little fox on the right is wearing them!
Label - the bee on the right
Animals
People images - silver man figure at the picture
School themed stuff
Frame

TESTIMONY

I chose the school Topic clue for my journaling this time.

Journaling
For thirteen years of my life this is where we waited for the school bus - at the end of the driveway, right outside the big red garage. When it rained or snowed we waited inside the garage, watching out of the side windows for the bus, only running out as the bus was picking up our neighbours.
When we were younger, the bus driver used to drive right by, forgetting to pick us up, so my Dad painted our last name in huge red letters on the doors of the garage. There was never any doubt as to where we lived for many years after that!
The only bus driver that I remember driving us was Mr. Hansen, who was a retired OPP officer and minister. He was also REALLY tall, so tall in fact, that he had to crouch to avoid hitting his head. We knew that we were in trouble if he stood up and walked to the back of the bus. He was my favorite bus driver!
While I don’t remember much about riding on the bus, now that I actually know how to drive one, I feel much differently about those who drove me. There’s so much more to the job than I ever knew then.
Thanks, Mr. Hansen, for getting us all to and from school safely for so many years!!


And here's some closeups of my page:

So I looked through some older scrap supplies and this dictionary page came with a kit YEARS ago. I giggled when I saw that it was from the "W" section and also happened to be at the words "wait" and "waiting" were on it. I had to add it to the page after that!

Here also is a little piece from my stash that was fitting for this layout. The yellow isn't quite right, but I couldn't resist adding it for the "remember when?" part of it. Also, I used my mini stapler again here and added some texture with my cork circle. The cork kind of reminds me of the bulletin boards at school.

And finally, this is a closeup of my little embellishment cluster at the right hand side of my page. I just loved that little fox and I'm so glad that the colours worked out to be able to use him!

Thanks for popping by to check out my page today!



On a more personal note, I will be taking the month of October off from CSI. While summers are usually full of fun, sun and good times, three weeks ago we suddenly and unexpectedly lost my Dad. While we are slowly adjusting to our new normal, I just need to be able to be with my Mom. So, I will be back blogging in November.

Genesis 28 : 15a - "I am with you and will
watch over you wherever you go."

#ruach

Zipline!!

Well, we're halfway through August and thst means that the newest CSI : Color, Stories, Inspiration case is up and ready for you to solve!!

Here's a look at this fun case:

And here's the layout that I made with it!




In 2015, my husband and I planned a short getaway to this great place : Long Point Eco Adventures. Originally, I just wanted to go glamping, and that was it. But my husband, although he didn't come out and say it at the time really wanted to go ziplining. This girl?? Is terrified of heights. Like, pee your pants terrified. After much consideration and changing my mind about 5 times, I agreed to go with him and we booked our time. They offered a photo package, and we took them up on it if only to be able to prove to everyone that I actually did it!!

Here's how I solved the case :

COLOURS

All the colours are there, and they are the perfect combo for these photos!!

EVIDENCE

Stripes
Wood
Clouds - on one of my wood circles, upper right hand side
Trees
Twine, Jute, String

TESTIMONY

I chose the "Document an Adventure" clue and also used the presentation "hang your journaling from string" clue as inspiration for my photo treatment on this layout.

Journaling

In August of 2015, Richard and I decided to go on a little getaway. I’d been wanting to try glamping and so we settled on a little place called Long Point Eco Adventures near Turkey Point, Ontario.
What a beautiful place - so many things to do like kayaking, fishing, hiking, sailing, ziplining and they also have an observatory. Plus, a bonus for me, right across the road from the Burning Kiln Winery!
Now, some of those things appeal more to me than others, but a fear of heights makes the idea of ziplining scare me silly! At first I didn’t even want to try, but felt bad that Richard wouldn’t go without me. So, I bit the bullet, swallowed my fear and we booked our ziplining adventure.
Not going to lie, I was petrified to start. The worst zip was the one at the very beginning - that first step off the very safe, sturdy tower was huge for me! Richard was so much braver than I, and at one point he zipped across while laying down!!
Each time we zipped from platform to platform it got a little easier…and then we came to the first bridge. Which, unbeknownst to me, they rock a bit as you are going across. I just about lost it there. At the next bridge, they very kindly asked first if anyone wanted to cross instead of lean. I crossed.
The longest zipline was the one I liked the best. Not only because it was close to the end, but it also had the most beautiful view! I finally managed to convince myself to look around while zipping instead of just staring straight ahead.
The last platform could only be left by a 40 foot rappel - another fear that I had no choice but to face. A moment to be proud of for myself, as I did it, without too much hesitation. It helped that Richard went first and was waiting for me below.
Would I go again? Maybe…


Here's some closeups of my page:

I'm highlighting this photo because I think it's hilarious that they START your adventure taking your picture near this sign. See me hanging on for dear life there??? Also, to the left of the photo, you can just see how I looped my string through a tiny needle hole to hold it secure on the layout.

This is showing the embellishment cluster on the top right hand side of the page. I ended up keeping the embellishments to a minimum, since there were so many pictures to help tell the story.

And, finally a closeup of the title work. I love these foam letters from American Crafts - they look like a typewriter font but are also a bit swirly and fun.

One thing that I didn't take a photo of and should have, was the little tab at the top of the journaling block. I stamped it with my Studio Calico date stamp and it says "Kind of a Big Deal" - Fitting no?? I also used this stamp on the lower right hand side of the page to help document the date of the pictures.

Thanks for popping by and checking out my page today! I hope you'll join us in solving this fun case!!

New Month, New CSI

It's August!!!

And, if it's August that means that the first of 2 new challenges from CSI : Color, Stories, Inspiration is ready to go!! I hope you'll come and play along with us this month - we have lots of great sponsors and some great prizes to be won!!

Here's the casefile for this challenge :

And, here's what I made with it!

So, if you've followed me at all, you know that I rate purple right up there with pink. They are my favorites. No, no they are not. But since this is supposed to challenge us, I took purple on!!


Here's how I solved this case:

COLOURS AND SKETCH

All the colours are there. I liked the sketch and tried to follow it as much as possible. An extra challenge for me was making the colours go with my pictures - my dojos colours are red, yellow and green. Changing the photos to black and white solved this problem quite well. I also had the challenge with the number of photos I wanted to use - too many for a 12x12 page, but too few for a 12x24. You'll see my solution in a minute if you keep reading!

EVIDENCE

Solid white cardstock background
Polka dots - hard to see but I used a polka dot vellum over the white background
People icons - chipboard karate figure
Something shaped like floaties - my eyelets at the bottom of the page

TESTIMONY

I chose the prompt clue, and then chose #3 on the list - "Your Most Prized Moments"

Journaling

In total I have been studying Okinawan (Goju Ryu) Karate for about a year and a half. I started training as a way of being able to connect more with my husband and kids as well as for the physical benefits of working out. The program offered at my dojo includes body conditioning. I also am challenged mentally - thinking differently about how my body moves and remembering the series of movements in a kata (both open hand and in weapons) is something that is really hard for me.

About 8 weeks before the date of this tournament, I started learning how to use the Sai. I didn’t learn them specifically for the tournament, I learned how to use them just for the fun of learning something new.

Admittedly, I didn’t really feel nervous about the tournament until the day. And even then, I didn’t feel very nervous until our class was called. I’ve never competed in a formal setting for anything before. My friend Janna who studies karate with me was beside me competing as well. I was so happy to have her there because without her I would have been lost & EVEN MORE nervous than I already was. Of course, it didn’t help that we had to wait literally all day long for our class to be called. And then, everyone that was still there from our dojo and all of our Senseis were watching while we performed our katas. AND we had to perform in front of 3 other Senseis that we did not know as well as all the other participants in our class. So, with all that against me, it seemed inevitable that I would make a mistake at some point. And I did, both within the kata and afterwards as well. Thankfully, they were all overlooked by the Senseis to some degree, although I did not place for my open hand kata.

When it came time to for kobuto, it turned out that I was the only student in my class to present a kata. I thought that getting a first place for it at the end didn’t seem like much of an accomplishment since there wasn’t anyone to compete against, but Sensei John explained that the judges could have awarded a second or third, depending on my performance. I felt better about it after that.

It seems that this old dog CAN learn new tricks!!!



And, now for some closeups and the solution to my size problem!!

I opted to go for the middle of the road and make my page flip out to be 12x18!! Here you see how it opens up and where I journaled.

To keep the design cohesive, I kept the papers & ribbon on the top six-inch flap the same as the ones on the bottom 12x12 piece lining them up before attaching the flap to the layout. That way when the flap is closed, the patterned papers & ribbon looks the same all the way across.

To do this I attached a 4x12 piece of white cardstock which I scored down the middle to the BACK of the white cardstock, and the attached a 6x12 piece of cardstock to the BACK of that, lining it up with the 12x12 piece. Then I took another piece of 6x12 cardstock and attached it to the TOP of the 4x12 flap after I printed my journaling on it to complete the foldout. It sounds a little confusing, but it works!!

Adding the extra piece allowed me to expand the design of the page and store some more memories in the little pocket which you can see here.

Here you can see my little "karate girl", which is just a chipboard man shape that I chose to leave raw. There is no yellow in the combo, but that was the colour of my belt at the time of the competition, so I got sneaky and slipped it in.

This photo shows the photo of all the students and Senseis from my dojo who came to the competition. It's one of the extra pieces I have tucked in the pocket. I wouldn't be able to do this without all the support that my dojo family gives me, and I'm so proud to be a part of this great organization. Also in there I have one of the scorecards with my name and age on it. It was for part of the competition that I did not participate in, so I kept it for this layout.

Here's some closeups of my title work. In our dojo, we have the tradition of each student being given a nickname. My Sensei chose to give me the nickname Kamikaze which I gave the definition of, placing it on the pocket. The definition of Kamikaze is : Kamikaze (神風, [kamikaꜜ͜dze]; "divine wind" or "spirit wind"). It's really a beautiful definition, and the complete opposite of what the word is known for.

And finally, here's a few closeups showing photos that a friend took during my weapons kata and a photo from the plaque ceremony after. In the second photo you can see the seam of the 6x12 addition.

Thanks for popping by to check out my page today! I hope you'll come and join us over at CSI!!

Where has July gone???

We're already halfway through July???
How did that go so quick??

Halfway through July means that CSI has a new case up for you to solve!! Here's the case file :

I chose not to make a page for this one, but if you're interested in participating, you can grab more details here : Case #234. Don't forget that by participating, there's lots of great prizes to be won over at CSI, plus you'll be joining in with a really great community of crafty people! I hope you'll come play with us!


Even though I didn't create with Case #234, I do have a layout to share with you today.

A long time scrappy friend of mine has three small people in her house, a professional photography business to run, and no time to be crafty anymore. When we chatted over messenger about it, I offered to make some pages for her, and she sent me photos via email. This page is the third of three, and I think my very favorite of them all!!

Isn't she just beautiful?? I loved the quiet softness of these photos, and how girly they felt. The colour palette that I pulled from the photos are just so appealing to me right now and the papers all came from one of my favorite, now defunct companies, Basic Grey. The line that I used is called "Barista", and I think it is the best collection they've ever made. I used the 6x6 paper pad for this layout.

To create the background, I took pieces of some of the papers, matching cardstock and some washi tape from my stash; layering and piecing them together. In thinking about it afterwards, it probably would have been easier to adhere all those strips and pieces to a 12x12 piece of plain cardstock to start with, but I did not. Next time I will remember.

Here's some closeups :

Under the photo I used a 4x12 piece of polka dot velum with the end rolled and tied for an interesting design element. I love the softness that velum can bring to a layout and that's why I added it here.

The little badge that you see on the photos comes from this little Etsy shop : Accent Scrapbooking par kjkareen. I found her shop when she offered a prize over at CSI and I happened to win it before becoming a member of the DT. She has some really great badges and I would encourage you to check her shop out!!

Also here you can see the round kraft journaling spot under the photo, which came from the Etsy shop of the friend I made the page for. She isn't operating the shop anymore, but I thought it fitting to try and get some of her product on the page, plus the design and colour totally suited the feel of the layout.

And here, a closeup of the floral cluster in the right hand top corner of the layout. In digging through my stash I found some florals that matched the colour of the ones in the photo almost perfectly, so, even though I don't usually work much with flowers, I felt the layout had to have some. The "leaves" here are actually just one - a maple leaf that I folded to make it look more like the leaf of a flower instead of the leaf of a tree. The flower itself is actually two, with the bottom one cut to layer it under the top one better. Here you can also see the lace tape that I added at the last minute - another girly touch that worked well with the photos.

Not going to lie, and maybe somewhat selfishly, I think this is the best work that I've ever produced! Truly, truly, truly, I love absolutely everything about this page. I may just have to try and scraplift myself!! Making these pages for my friend has also brought me such joy - it makes me happy to be able to create for others.

Thanks for popping by and checking out my page today!

Happy 150th and CSI #233

Happy Canada Day!!

Today marks Canada's 150th birthday. It also feels like it is about the 20th day in a row that there's been rain of some sort here in my part of Ontario. Seriously, I know people who are canoeing in their front yard today. I want to say that we as a family are participating in some event to mark Canada's birthday but we probably won't, just like every other year. We are so unpatriotic....

Today also marks the opening of a brand new case over at CSI : Color, Stories, Inspiration!!

Here's the case file :

And here's what I made with it :

Now, the first thing I thought when I saw this combo was "ugh, pink". I find working with pink to be difficult, but mostly because it is NOT my favorite colour. But the other colours in the combo are very pretty, so that helped a lot. The photo on this layout shows my "spot" on the couch. I'm afraid I'm a bit like Sheldon..... Every Saturday morning I'm up before everyone else in the house and that's where I sit and enjoy my 2 cups of coffee in my pjs. In the background you can see just a bit of my scrapbooking corner.

Here's how I solved this case :

COLOURS & SKETCH

All of the colours are there & I followed the sketch fairly closely. I chose to use one large picture rather than 2 smaller ones on top and made the 3rd picture at the bottom my journalling spot instead.

EVIDENCE

Stripes - pink patterned paper
V-Pattern - yellow patterned paper
Flowers, Leaves - crocheted flower and leaf stick pin
String - framing the photo
Cursive / brush font - title
Decorative border - white triangle border under the photo
Stack something - there's stacking going on all over this page!! =)
Wood
Triangles

TESTIMONY

I chose the "document a weekend ritual" AND the "handwrite on a journaling spot" prompts

JOURNALING

(starts with the title of the page) TAKING TIME TO BE STILL and enjoy the quiet before everyone else is up. Time to think and reflect gives me a clearer head for the coming week.

As always, here's some detail shots :

So this whole layout was was created on a 12 x 12 piece of Basic Grey patterned paper. I'm currently hoarding my Basic Grey, since that particular company is, sadly, no more. By chance I happened to lay a 12 x 12 piece of vellum over it and I really loved the result!! So the patterned paper and the photo are under the vellum and the embellishments and journaling is on top. I like the slightly cloudy appearance that the vellum gives the layout.

Here's a closeup of one of the "stacks" on my layout. The flower is at the bottom, then the frame and the pins, and finally the little chipboard girl on top.

This photo is showing the title work. The word "to" is taken from another wooden word ("today") and used here. My favorite wooden pieces have always been the little Tweets, but this one had lost a leg. I made the choice to take the other one off too, and there he sits. Here also you can see the washi tape that I used on the bottom and top sides of the layout. I've never really liked my handwriting that much, but once in awhile I try and add it to a layout.

And finally, this is a closer look at the string frame around the photo. I usually don't measure for anything on a layout, but found that for this frame I really HAD to! This is actually attempt #2 to get it right. The first time around I ruined a sheet of vellum and the patterned paper below. There's a lot of scotch tape holding the back of the layout together!!

Thanks for popping by to check out my page today! I hope you'll play along with us!