the big 40 in TO

My lovely Sister in Law turned 40 and we celebrated in Toronto with family.

First, I had to show off the acrylix I used to stamp and cut out the title.

Again, I used chocolate base pages and this time Caprice co-ordinating papers from CTMH , as well as some floral die cuts, and brads. The 40 was outlined with blue gel pen, then mounted on yellow CS and then brown pattern paper, and finally a coat of liquid glass was applied to the stamped image. I sprinkled prisma glitter over the liquid glass.

I realise some people dont want to take the time to stamp and cut out alphas, neither do I usually! but my stickease alphas and my chipboard were all out of the letters I wanted.. isnt that always the way it is?

My New Acrylix

Ctmh has this really cool incentive program called Rewards My Way.

Consultants can accumulate points over an entire year then redeem them for products.

I earned 3 new 2009 stamp sets from my 2008 sales so I picked my favorites.

The swirls I had wanted for the longest time.

I also wanted the adorning corners from the fall winter cattie but held off.

They kind of remind me of tatoos or rubons.

The birdie and hearts are brand spanking NEW and simply to die for. I can picture glitter on the tail feathers and a separate colour paper for the wing. Maybe I will get my metallic watercolours out to mix in with this birds plumage.

I cant wait to try these out.

Stay tuned!

Shower Layout for Baby Ella

this is actually page two..

followed by page one with title :

A baby shower took place October for Kelly and Baby Ella ( Inside )

I got to see lots of family from Kelly's side that I hadn't seen in YEARS so it was fun. Chloe enjoyed herself as well. It was her first baby shower ever.

One of the easiest ways to create a layout is using our 12 X 12 base pages.

I bought a pack of chocolate ones last year because I knew they would be versatile.

(ctmh makes them in 12 tone on tone colour choices.) I then simply added some background paper from Life Delights ( just LOVE those swirls and butterflies and florals ) along with some Chipboard and Stickease in easy going creams , pinks, and blues from the same paper pack, and ... voila! A lovely layout.

I am all about using up whatever I have around at the moment. So many stashes ( as my friend Julia calls them ) waiting to be discovered and utilised. I really have no excuse to buy any supplies. I am tempted to purchase some new Emporium papers.... thats about it!! oh, and cardstock.... On my last order, I got some Tombo adhesive and some page protectors ...

now the trick will be to fill them with finished pages!!

C C C C Cold

We have had our share of cold weather and snow lately as my friend Peggy will attest . (when is this going to end?)

It has been as cold as minus 23 during the daytime .

The snow today in particular was lovely. It snowed most of the morning and much of the afternoon and some of the evening. The air outside looked like someone was continuously shaking a snow globe . I had a bit of bus safety training outside with 2 classes at work so got to appreciate the stars and crystals on my coat sleeve.

After work I gave in to the beauty and walked the 2 dogs at 5 pm in the dusk , wearing a white fox fur hat and a furry black coat with a hood and a wooly black scarf wrapped double around my face. By the end of the walk I was surprisingly warm. The dogs were in their glory prancing along... we hadnt walked them for any length since November.

Here is a tribute to SNOW (not mine) from the terrific CTMH book Reflections...

along with a simple pattern.

The center piece is simply a 6x12 strip. very effective.

My Big Year ... all Year !

2009 will be the year that I turn 50.

I decided when I turned 49 last October that I would use turning 50 as a reason to celebrate all aspects of life all year long. A trip for myself and my 2 teens has already been booked . Life is short and I may not get a chance to do this with my kids for some time, so why not. I have also been thinking of going out west this summer to BC to visit my scrapping friend Julia and her little boy in Kelowna.

I finally got down to printing and organising the rest of my pictures from 2008. I scrapped my 49th birthday in deep barn red to match the fall bouquet Rick sent me. My kids really spoiled me this year. Colton bought me a set of matching amber pillar candles and then surprised me the morning of my birthdy by taping La Vida Loca by Coldplay to my steering wheel before work.

I have been playing it ever since. Chloe who is 17 took me to Snapdragon Tatoo parlour where we obtained matching mother and daughter star tatoos in a most unusual and hidden place. No one at work can see my stars, but they remind me of my daughter's special love for me . I was not a big fan of inking prior to this event . I felt really touched , despite all the ups and downs these past 3 years, she wanted to get a matching tatoo to symbolise our eternal bond.

The title was done using Chipboard letters and the E sized alpha from Septembers promo. It is the same as the Pharmacy font CTMH uses on their publications and I have always liked its simplicity.