HAPPY BIRTHDAY CA-NA-DA!

Wow - where did June go? It was more like Junuary here! Hopefully July will mark the start of summer!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA!!
145 Years Old - that`s a lot of candles! I remember being in 7th grade and celebrating Canada`s Centennial (1867-1967). Remember Expo 67 in Montreal, the maple leaf logo consisting of 11 triangles - one for each province - and the popular CA-NA-DA song that we so proudly sang and loved? It somehow doesn't seem that long ago.
Hats off to Canada - she's looking and doing pretty good for an ol' girl! (still a youngin' in country years).
We managed to get over family birthdays for now - until August at least. That's when our little grandson will celebrate his 1st birthday. Plans are under way for his birthday and I finished his invitations this week.

They were pretty simple but picked up on the polka-dot theme of his party. I used a polka-dot embossing folder on core-dinations cardstock then sanded and punched out
various sized circles. His photo was adhered with foam tape to give it some dimension
and the who, what and where was added to the back.
I also finished an album for my daughter for her friends wedding shower. She asked for a little vintage style album that could be passed around at the shower for everyone to put advice or words of wisdom in. (I made one in 2010 for daughters wedding shower).
I had just got the Ladies Diary paper from G45 so with that and G45's Le Romantique  paper it was perfect.

The album is only 4x4 but contains 12 pages - 6 with pockets and tags and 6 with envelope style pages with flaps for journalling or whatever.

                                

Yesterday while shopping I went to buy a Martha Stewart Butterfly punch (the lacey one - I love it) but I have a MS lace scallop edge punch (used on the top of pockets) when I saw this deep edge punch that goes perfect with it. So you know how it goes - I had to have it - I wanted it - I NEEDED it! It had the same scalloped lace edge but also had a flower and leaves below. I used it along the top of the 'vintage' cards then inked them to give them an aged look. Love it!!

Sorry Martha but your butterfly punch will have to wait.

Well now that I have all my 'obligations' caught up I need to get busy and start creating for my Etsy shop.

I have Hallowe'en paper in the mail but besides that and Christmas what other suggestions do you have - School Days? Book of Thanks? Recipe Books?

???

Let me know - I'm always looking for suggestions.

Don't forget to wave your Canada Flag tomorrow  and wear your red and white with pride.

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!!!!

Birthdays, Life and Scrapping

Well here it is - summertime! At least the calendar says so. I just wish that the lunar gods and mother nature would get on the same page.
It started to look promising but now we're back to dull, cool, rainy days again!
There's a saying that summer officially starts on July 1st on the west coast. I'm okay with that as long as an umbrella is not required.
This week was what should have been a busy week. It was Fathers Day on Sunday, our sons birthday on Thursday and hubbys birthday today (Friday). But seeing how the  'kids' had plans with their in-laws last weekend we decided to have a combo pack this Sunday. A family barbecue to celebrate all 3. Better late than never!!
I started designing invites for our grandsons 1st birthday in August. Boy that year went fast! That little guy just brings sunshine into our lives.
Hey!! Did I tell you?? Our daughter is expecting her 1st baby in December!!!!!!!!!
Actually due on Dec. 1st. We're so excited. Our little grandson will be 16 mos. old when his cousin is born. We don't know yet if it's a girl or boy - but hey - who cares!
I've also been busy with my Etsy shop. After redoing all my photos last week I had another big job looming over me. I needed to photograph and list the remaining stickpins I had made. So, another job done and man it feels good.
I decided to go on shoptimizer.com for my Etsy shop to see how I was doing with my SEO's, descriptipns, policies, photo's, etc. and was pleasantly surprised when I got a report card of straight A's!! Wow - there's a first for everything. I was also listed in 2 treasuries this week and was on the Front Page!! Oh yeah, and I  made another sale - this time to New Jersey. So things were off to a slow start but are looking up. I really need to concentrate on making some Back to School, Halloween and Christmas albums now though. Before we know it they'll be upon us.
I was also busy making a project for my guest designer spot at The Paper Passion.
If you haven't shopped there or visited their blog, forum or gallery then I suggest you check it out. Lots and lots of items are going on sale now to make room for the new Summer CHA releases. And the girls in the forum are a friendly bunch all headed by the friendly and charming Lacintha. Anyways, on to my project.
I received the beautiful 'Linen' paper from the Fascination line fromTheresa Collins. I love her elegant and sophisticated papers. I chose to alter a Graphic 45 art box and 'album' Well, they call it an album  but I call it an accordian folder. Whatever it's called it fits neatly into the box and was a lot of fun to do.
This box has so much potential and could be used for so many things depending on the paper used. I stuck with the simple yet elegant designs of TC and used Tim Holtz, G45 and Prima to finish my box and album off. Here is a couple peeks of it but to see lots more pictures and read the details of it go to the Paper Passion Blog.

I really enjoyed working with TPP and had a blast as guest designer. I hope they enjoyed me just as much as I did them and that they call me again in the future.
Well, it's past midnight and off to bed for me - I have shopping to do tomorrow and planning for our family barbecue (rain or shine) on Sunday.

Have a Great Week!

Week 3 on The Paper Passion

I was happy and honoured again this week to design for The Paper Passion - an on-line scrapbooking store located in Edmonton, Alberta. If you like all the latest and greatest at low prices and exceptional, friendly service then you need to pay them a visit.
This week I made a Tag with the Graphic 45 Little Darlings collection.

I love making tags - they could be added to a gift or displayed on their own. They are a great way to use up leftover bits of paper, ribbon or embellies.

I also featured my G45 Baby Album. I just love this little book and enjoyed making it so much - of course the beautiful G45 paper and embellies helped!

Not only was I excited to share these on The Paper Passion blog but I received an awesome comment from G45 itself! WOW - how exciting!

It was also featured on their facebook page (as well as The Paper Passion) and I was asked by G45 if they could pin it on their Pinterest page - ummm - YES PLEASE!!

To see more pics and details of each please read my post on The Paper Passion Blog.

I am loving this guest designer spot and will hate to see the month come to an end!

                                                                               

oh yes - did I mention? The baby book is available for sale in my Etsy shop - www.sapphirenoteables.etsy.com

Week 2 Project as Guest Designer at The Paper Passion

This is week 2 designing for the Paper  Passion. They have been a real pleasure to work with.
This week, I'm back with an idea that I hope inspires you.
Here is my project and my blog post:

Recently, I heard a saying that went something like this,
'Always think outside the box but be sure to keep the box to make something out of it'
LOL - this couldn't be truer!
Just like us scrapbookers have learned to look at clothing tags, metal washers and all trinkets differently I also look at boxes differently.
There seems to be fewer and fewer boxes going into the  recycle bin and more and more going into my scrap room. Cereal boxes, cracker boxes, pop cases, beer cases - none of them are safe from the guillotine!
So, this week I took this saying to heart.
I had this wonderful paper from The Paper Passion for my guest designer spot.
It was the Studio Calico 'Documentary' line featured in the 'Continental Breakfast' kit.
Again, a paper that I would not normally buy. I thought of what I could do and it was obvious from the paper design that it'd have something to do with travel. Since I am not a world traveller and have no photos of exotic places then a layout was ruled out. I thought of a mini file folder with pockets to hold itineraries, documents, etc. But where would the photos go?  As the wheels were turning I noticed a disc containing photos sitting on hubby's desk.
BINGO!!
I could cover a CD case to hold a photo disc and attach an accordian pocket style album to the front of it! That way everything could be kept together in one compact little package.
So now with an idea in mind the hunt for the right size box began.
A CD cover is 5x5 1/2 and I wanted the accordian abum to sit on top. So I cut a piece of cardboard (chipboard) 5 1/2 inches wide and 19" long and scored it at 4 3/4 " intervals to give me 4 accordian pages.
I covered the CD case with paper (tip: disassemble the case so it opens/closes properly) as well as the 'album'.cover. I wanted it to look like the front and back of a book when closed so I covered them both with the same paper. I covered the remaining pages (execpt the back page) and added pockets. I then added 2-sided tape to both the uncovered CD front case and  the back album cover. Then  I stuck them together and voila - I was ready to embellish!

I kept the cover simple by adding Studio Calico stickers and I wanted it to close securely to hold important documents so I used a leather fastener with closure from Zutter Products.
On the inside pockets I used Elle's Studio journalling cards and rounded the edges with my Corner Chomper. A few misc. brads and some Making Memory travel rub-ons were all it needed to finish it off.

When taking photos for this post I discovered that when reversed the back side for photos opens and can be displayed as a photo frame - bonus!

So there  you have it - my CD  holder/travel log/photo frame project.
So remember to think outside of the box but to keep the box and make something out of it.
Have a good week.

Nothing Exciting Here!

I have heard from more than one person that the way to get lots of blog followers is to have interesting and informative posts. Well, that's fine if you're a world traveler or famous celebrity. But just where does that leave the everyday person with a normal life of chores and things only important (and exciting) to them? Do I make small talk - like today is a dull, rainy day, I have a load of washing in, I just cleaned the house, I have ribs  marinating for dinner ...? When there is no exciting, show stopping news how does one keep it interesting?
Lets see. Hmmm... I had a brainwave on the weekend and designed a new project for my guest designer spot this month... I was asked to design and make invites for our grandson's 1st birthday this summer... I am purging my scrapbooking supplies and planning a sale... I went to my cardiologist last week and got a good report... we are getting ready to dogsit our daughters dog while they go away to celebrate their 2nd anniversary... I am busy planning for the BC Ataxia Society AGM on Saturday... interested yet?
That's what I thought.
Guess I'll go shower now then put another load of laundry in.
So, how was your day?

Guest Designer Projects

As I mentioned in my previous post I have been asked to be a Guest Designer at The Paper Passion for the month of June. I received my box of goodies on Monday and I must admit that some of it I loved and some, not so much. Not that they weren't nice papers but they were bright and fun - not usually my style. Some were right up my alley and I have projects in mind for them. But the brights presented a challenge.
So, I put on my thinking cap and set out to tackle the brights.

Today was my first blog post and it featured some of the projects I made. The 2 paper lines used in todays post are from My Minds Eye. One was a kit from the Lime Twist collection in the Happy Days - Cute line. I made a layout of my niece's beautiful 8 month old daughter.
The photo was perfect and she certainly is as Cute as a Button.

I had paper and embellies left so decided than rather do another layout that I would make a photo frame. It was fun and a bit whimsical and although so different from my normal style, I had so much fun making it.

The next paper was also a MME kit. Again from the Lime Twist collection it was from the Life is a Party line.

My niece's adorable daughter just had a photo shoot done so a photo of her in a tutu, necklace and headband in b/w and colour was the perfect shot!

Last but not least I made a card with the leftover paper and embellies.

I've shared the projects and basic info with you but for details on each and closeup photos please click

The Paper Passion Blog

I had a blast this week making these projects and look forward to my next TPP Blog post next Friday.