Puerto Plata Mangroves

First layout completed. This Emporium paper was used as a full sheet without any layout design, since I simply have so many photos of the beautiful trees lining the beach at Playa Dorada. Mangrove trees are the first woody ecosystem when a low lying coastal area is approached from the ocean .I really like the preprinted floral chipboard I purchased in London so I am including it in the picture for you to see.

how i Lay it all Out

Yay! WOW i am caught up finally for 2008 and i am about to scrapbook our Dominican trip from March break... the big trip I took with my daughter age 17 and my son age 16.

i laid out all the photos that might go together in the 10 page album, and am putting the papers with them from Emporium.http://www.closetomyheart.com/Ideabooks/Spring09CANMyCTMH.aspx I am thinking I am going to have to order some Moon Doggie Level 2 from the new Idea Book. It has tropical leaves, florals, reds, blues, greens, yellows....and would be perfect. I can always use the Emporium for other projects.

Anyways... here is what the two 8 foot tables in the Studio/Atelier look like at the moment, as things start to come together in preparation. There are 6 2-page layouts, starting at the top left of the photo.

The grounds, the beach, a walk on the water, parasailing, snorkelling. Dining out and time with my brother are the other 2 themes. It wasnt easy getting good pictures all of the time.. remember, I went with my two teens.

I dont use layout plans much, since I usually end up working around the photos I want to include. but I saw some cute ideas with circles that I am going to try. Maybe the key will be in using less pics, and smaller prints (not my free 4x6 HP paper that I have 1000s of sheets of )

This weekend is supposed to be warm for the first time in six long months so dont expect anything to be posted before next week. LOL.

cheers to you!

in the CREASE... teen HERO or teen GOAT

To begin this layout story, I have to explain the context for the title teen hero.. or teen Goat.

The lead singer from the Tragically Hip, Gord Downie, played as a goaltender in his teen years . He is a big fan of the Bruins and the Leafs . He understands what a goaltender goes through, all alone, in the crease.

Q: Is it true you drive a minivan, you rock star?
A: Well, on occasion, yes. I own a minivan. We call it the Black Potato or Stinkmobile.
Q: Many of us know you as singer, a poet, and even an actor. But a championship hockey goalie?
A: When I was a kid, Bantam age, our team, Ernestown, went all the way to the provincial “B” championship. We had to beat four teams in four series to get there. The crowds were huge, the stakes brutal and crushing. I was the goalie. Teen hero or teen goat. It teaches you things.

Macleans..The Interview - Written by Joseph Boyden on Monday, April 13, 2009

Yes , we know hockey is a team game, but from our point of view, everything comes down to the goalie... and he is given limited direction from the coach, who is usually at a loss when it comes to motivating him. That is why we felt so lucky to have former Canuck Steve McKichan as our goaltender coach at Future Pro goalie school each summer. Steve has worked for the Leafs as Belfour's goalie coach and has run an elite goaltending school out of Strathroy that we have attended for 7 years. It is always a thrill to see 20 goaltenders, formidable in their armour, skate hard and heavy at top speed on the ice together, doing their drills. Learning from each other. Some people have a lot to say about Steve and his ego... I think it comes naturally to some people to promote themselves and it has never bothered me that Steve is also out there to make money. I am certain he knows what he is doing.

I also have to mention that we drive a black minivan, like Gord, called the HKY LMO.. or hockey limo... the original version was a rusted green caravan with 130 km on it. It was named more in jest than anything since it was an absolute embarassment to drive in its last year. I upgraded to the black one 2 years ago. It already has almost 120 km on it .. 90 km in 2 years. thats Travel Hockey.

A friend of Rick's in Listowel drives the HKY BUS. We are the only two HKY license plates I have seen at AAA arenas.

Colton went through a lot this year emotionally. I am proud of him, for hanging in there when it got rough. For standing up for himself at times. For perservering. For enduring. For sacrificing. For supporting his teammates . For continuing to believe in himself. For not quitting.

No one ever said AAA hockey was going to be easy or fun . No one.

Competitive hockey is not for the weak of heart.

This 2 page layout was done with ctmh GAME ON level one papers and stickease. I love the black and bamboo colours because they work with more than one sport. See also, R U a pool shark for more Game On layouts.

BE BAD on your Birthday

For my son Colton's 16th birthday, he recieved a huge card that read... be bad ... on your birthday... very bad! When you open the card , it plays Bad to the Bone by George Thoroughgood. It just happened to go with the ridiculous expressions I caught on camera from Colton and his sister posing on the day of his birthday. Can I have just one "nice" , "normal" picture please guys?

It is getting worse the older they get, because they know I scrapbook they have a perverse pleasure in "ruining" their photos with hideous grimaces and foolish poses. Sigh.

Teenagers are a mixed blessing. For those of you with younger kids, take your pictures while you can!!

Anyways, he enjoyed the cake I baked... and did give me a good shot or two for the record.

I used ctmh Free Spirit Level 1 pages... preprinted... with some stickease... they capture the essence of teen boy without being overdone. Colours are cocoa, indian corn blue, and a touch of honey. http://www.closetomyheart.com/Ideabooks/Spring09CANMyCTMH.aspx

Cross Country

Colton ran for St Christophers Cyclones Cross Country team this past fall and competed in both SWOSSA and WOSSA, as did his partner in net, Sean Parker. I was so proud of him for training and competing in all of his events. He tried so hard and showed so much dedication. Through X-country we also got to know his coach Mr. Reid (call me Billy) who ended up coaching the high school hockey team. On the day of the event, the team was excited and felt they had a good chance to place in the top 5 in Ontario. Unfortuneately , a team member fell down and lost consciousness during the race , which obviously affected the team's time. Colton went to the runner after the race had ended, with tears in his eyes, to hug and console him.

These are great pictures, from a great fall day. There were SO many runners from all over Ontario at Canatara Park. The picture we have of Colton finishing the race is from behind, since the first picture we took didnt turn out, in all the excitement of the big finish. I circled around him with mini brads to focus on him , since he is almost disappearing from sight.

The patterned paper and matching stickease letters are from Game On by Close to My Heart.

my new look

Yes I know pretty shocking for a teacher to post a bathing suit picture on her blog. Oh well!
I needed some cheering up after all the cruddy slush and snow that has been flailing down on us the past 2 days. Looking ahead to posting all of my Dominican Layouts!

r u a Pool Shark?

another productive night in the studio!

Well

I gotta tell ya. this layout barely took me about 30 minutes and most of that time was in cropping the pictures! I knew what the title was going to be, so I placed it in the middle of the photos and voila!

instant success story.

The pattern paper is from Game On by Close to my Heart, which happens to also be my paper of choice for my son's hockey layouts . The clips are also CTMH.

and of course, the lettering has been in my stash for some time... do ya think it's time to use it??

I got the journalling "library card" from Lasting Memories last week. Wow. I actually bought and used something for scrapbooking right away! No more squirrelling away, I promise!

My dad had fun taking the teens and I over to the Retirement Rec Center for a few games at Christmas. Of course, I played terrible and sunk a total of about one ball. It was still fun.

circular elements

For this layout I had 6 pictures I wanted to use, all vertical .
I starting out by using a simple background of 4 by 12 pieces and just laid them out side by side.
I wasnt going to add much, just keep it plain and simple and clean, green on green.
Then I started tracing different size circles with a pencil over parts of the layout
I added the brads onto the circles and pre-pierced the paper to make it easier to insert the brads. That looked great so then some
stickers and some stamping were added, and gone was the "Simple Clean " layout.
as if ... lol . when have i ever done a really simple layout?

Evergreen Trees

the preprinted background paper for this layout was in my stash. i added the stamped trees, from Evergreen by ctmh in sweet leaf and ponderosa pine.

Chloe looked so cute in her new yummy pajamas and matching sockettes holding Lana. I actually got a real smile out of her too (not Lana, Chloe)

we visited my aunt and uncle after boxing day while Colton played in the Toronto Jr Marlies Holiday Classic.

sometime layouts have to be uncomplicated. and that's okay with me.

Nestled among the Decorations

I have wanted to do a "decorations showcase" for a while since I love my eclectic collection of odds and ends.

I collect glass, angels, babies, butterflies, shiny baubles and anything unique. I try to get one new decoration each year. I really delight in decorating the tree . Colton helped this year with stringing up lights and ornaments.

so this layout combines that idea, with the even more important idea that my two children are the biggest blessing in my life.

Nestled among the decorations are my very best ornaments.

Their happiness means more to me than any Christmas gifts, pretty baubles and trinkets.

I cut out and mounted a few decorations with foam squares to give the page dimension.

I stamped the title and subtitle using ctmh acrylics. It took me a while to think of the right words for the title but once i hit on it I was rocking and rolling.

Christmas in the Air 08

you can click on the image to see details close up.

Long time no see , yes I know.

there were no posts in March.

I just kept piling up more and more little groups of projects to do on the big table downstairs.

The inspiration hit me last week, after coming back from a vacation, to get caught up so I can scrap the holiday layouts! (does that make sense to anyone else?)

I will post these in the order they were created.

I used a ton of buttons on this one from the ctmh Holiday collection and a paper pack I bought at the Town Scrapper in Petrolia from my friend Phebe M. I couldnt resist the quaint designs on it!

Ialso used it in the Noel layout (next post) I made the tags with an oval punch and scallop scissors. The layout just falls into place around the sled and large cirlce on the background paper.

I can never bear to cover up the pretty artwork on fancy papers!