Saturday, January 22, 2011

Getting.....

scrappy today. I've been really inspired by colour lately, and the challenge boards over at Color Combos Galore have really helped push me creatively.

Like this page made for Combo #176


I took these pictures on my Halifax trip 2 summers ago, but working on layouts related to it has stalled for the last year and a half. The challenge to use clouds on a layout combined with the colours swatch really helped this one come together.

This one made for Combo #174


I loved this pic of my youngest on the first day of school this year.

And this one made for Combo #175


I love every picture that Stacy took for us last April for our 12.5 anniversary. This colour combo was hard for me, but the challenge to use the word comfort in the journaling or title made it easier to put the page together.

I'm also determined to use up more my stash this year instead of buying more. This has come about for a few reasons :
  1. The LSS in my city closed. I now have to drive to the closest one.
  2. My kit club closed up shop too. I have so much left over to use up, I don't need to shop right now.
  3. I don't have the funds to shop as much as I used to.

If you've never checked out Color Combos Galore, I encourage you to go & have a peek! With 176 different combos, I'm sure you'll find one that will inspire you!!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

2010 Top Ten.....

layouts. I did this last year thanks to Stephanie. I loved the idea last year and so I'm going to steal it again. So when I looked in my computer to make my favorite picks, I was shocked to see how little I actually created this year in comparison to 2009. It was really hard to pick ten!

There were big changes for me in 2010 it seems. Like working more outside the home and thereby having less creative time. Like being without a creative space for the entire summer - the time of year when I had more time to devote to crafty-ness. Like a change in my creative style & being even more fussy about the product I use. Like being even more choosy about WHAT I document - I noticed less celebratory pages and more everyday and historical pages. Like using this passion for paper to bless others with, rather than just myself and my family.

And so, in no particular order, here's my top ten projects of 2010 :

#1) Well Loved - I found myself using more sketches this year; both directly and being inspired by parts of a sketch. For this LO I used a sketch created by Aphra Boyler. Love how soft it turned out & documenting the love affair between my youngest daughter and her favorite friend was a fun page to make. Also, I noticed that this page happened to be on the background home page advertisement over at 2 Peas in a Bucket - that was exciting for me!


#2) Perfectly You - My husband bought me these figurines from Willow Tree for Christmas 2009 - they perfectly represent all three of my kids. This 24x12 was to document why each figurine suits them so well. For this LO I used my favorite pictures of my children as well, making it more special.


3) Adoration - 2010 also brought sadness to our family as my husband lost his maternal Grandmother this year. My mother-in-law brought back a ton of heritage photos when she came back from the funeral. When I saw this one of her sister Mary with her Dad, I just HAD to document it. It's so beautiful!


#4) A New Ride - I used another sketch for this LO; one from Scrapbook and Cards today. When each of our oldest kids turned ten, we went to Canadian Tire and "bought" them a new bike using our Canadian Tire money. This was our sons bike that he picked. His birthday is not until late summer, but we got the bike in the spring so he could enjoy it all year long. I used a lot of older product here, but I love the colours.


#5) Solitary - I snapped this picture of our youngest daughter at our annual family camping trip this past summer during one of her solo colouring sessions. I love the way the light is filtering through the trees. I made this LO for Combo #168 over at Colour Combos Galore. Love these colours together and the extra challenge of using a bird allowed me to use up some supplies that have been in my stash for awhile.



#6) Beppe (love you) - This one is my newest LO, also made for a Colour Combo (#172). I found this picture of my paternal Grandmother and just wanted to journal a few things that I remember about her. She passed away almost 12 years ago & I still miss her. To my surprise, this LO was chosen as Debbi's gallery fave on Dec 31, 2010 - that totally made my day!!


#7) Inner struggle - This LO documents my ongoing inner struggle with my faith, my purpose and my roles as wife and mother. I wanted to keep the journaling private so it's in a pocket on the back of the LO. This was also made for another colour combo - #164.


#8) Just Breathe - This past year my husband and I celebrated 12.5 years of marriage with a quick getaway to Niagara on the Lake and a photo shoot with the fabulous Stacy. Later on, he told me that whenever he hears the song Just Breathe by Pearl Jam, he thinks of me. So I made this LO using the lyrics of the song and a picture from the shoot. I used another colour combo (#145) and another sketch by Aphra Boyler for this LO. You can hear the song in the video link in my side bar.



#9) Adjust - this was my Word for the year 2010. I wish that I could say that I kept it in mind all year long, but there were many times that "adjusting" was the last thing on my list. I do, however, still having it hanging in my scrap space as I haven't chosen a new word yet. I still love to look at it though, I think my scrappin' style started to change with this LO.


#10) Remember Mini - this year I also found a new kit club to replace Sweet Pea Scraps. However, the owner of the club Aphra, decided to focus on her family and other commitments, and so Paper Poppy is now closed. During the time that it was running, Aphra asked me to be the guest blogger for the month of May. So, I used my May kit and pictures from our anniversary photo shoot to make this mini album for my husband. This project made me realize that I really miss being part of a DT, so maybe sometime in the future, I'll try out for another one.


So that's my top 10 for this year! If you've stayed with me this far, thanks for stopping by! I hope that 2011 is good to you! I myself am looking forward to whatever this new year is going to bring. Have a good one!