18 x 18 Martha Stewart album

okay, this is my new passion!!!! besides using my favourite paper. Check out the size of this layout. anyone guess? it kind of just looks like a 12 x 12 hey? but if you look here, the black sheet is an actual 12 x 12, the layout I did is an 18 x 18. It is Martha Stewart's new line of albums. Her stuff is fantastic, and so different than supplies out there. It has some class to it. She sells 18 x 18 paper in different patterns too but I like just being able to build a page with anything. I am going to get a shadow box frame made to fit this size so I can rotate layouts in and out throughout the year. I do this with 2 other size shadow boxes and it is so much fun!!!! This was almost like working with a canvas,

Challenge #6

Let's use multiple patterned paper! Do you always resort to cardstock and then work from there? This time let's build a layout around a favourite patterned paper. Right now my favourite is Scenic Route. The colours just are working so well with my layouts. I did a few a couple of weeks ago and then last night I had to pull out my Scenic Route again and do a super cool layout. It's drying right now, but I'll post it tonight. So combine different patterns, colours, whatever. Remember that quite a few companies out there make this quite easy for you. They create a entire line that coordinates with itself so the thinking process is done for you. Give it a shot, and remember only use cardstock as an accent. Tomorrow I'll give hints on how to combine patterned papers easily. Can't wait to see what you guys come up with. Remember email me and I'll post them. scrap-mommy@hotmail.com Have a great day!!!! okay, the following I love this paper line, and it goes so well with melina's pics. of us.

this page is har dto see but the right hand side is only a zig zag pattern, but my kitchen floor makes it look like a full 12 x 12 square.

Super long post, so many pics to show!

Okay, I have over 1GB pics from this weekend but I'll show you only my faves. Here are 2 of Jag that I find amusing. This kid is always dirty when he eats. And yes we are in the vehicle and he is eating his special treat...chocolate covered donuts. Now I've already been told I'm nuts, but no one seems to understand how long you actually get of peace and quiet when travelling by yourself with 2 kids. It actually is almost like work for kids to eat a donut. here I was tickling Jager, and I just love his sweet giggles. He is always so pleasant.

Now here is what you've been waiting for. HUNTER!!!!! and yes, it is the best feeling to finally be an auntie. I love him so much. I realized once I put these up that I didn't get a single pic of Jenn. Mind you she was really, really sore so she didn't feel much like getting dolled up. So next time when she is on the mend I'll have to take some of her & Hunter. But here is Darryl and his son. He loves this little boy so much, he was always holding him and playing and singing to him. It was adorable.

This is the best, this little guy can totally wrinkle up his whole forehead. I found it really cute!!! He can lift his head too, he is so strong!!!!

okay, how proud am I?????

now our boys & Hunter. They were in love with "baby Hunter" Even Jager was saying what sounded like his name. Although we pretty much only heard "baby & nice" from Jager every single waking moment. It was almost like the child was a broken record. If the baby was up, Jager had to be right there trying to hold or touch him, and mind you Jager is very aggressive. Riley was so gentle, exact opposites.. It was so funny, Riley told me, "mom, Hunter can't walk, Hunter can't talk Hunter can't crawl, mom, Hunter can't do anything." too funny.

isn't this cute??

I had such a great time. I love babies and it was so beautiful to see how happy Jenn & Darryl are, and how it's like this little guy was always with them. He fits so right. Oh and did I tell you the cool part, he's named after my dad. Hunter William. My dad is Terence William. Cool hey, my dad is such a phenomenal father & role model so it's pretty cool that they used his name too.

Can't wait to see them again.

Found a few cool Parks in Edmonton

Here are a few pics from some awesome parks we found in Edmonton. There playground equipment is really great. The kids were in heaven. Check out this teeter totter, like how safe is this. I was on one end and they sat together. no chance of being bucked off. Even if no on else was on my end they could still bounce to get a ride. somehow it is weighted to work either way. neat!!! Jager's first attempt down a curvy, enclosed slide. Not quite sure his reaction was "loving it".

Here is my daredevil, keep in mind he is only 3. But since the big kids do it, obviously he can too.

Cheese monster.

Jager totally loves the swing. It is really his favourite thing.

another adventurous climb.

okay, has anyone ever seen a child's swing like this??? someone was smart out there.

A quick note!

Okay, I've decided to scratch my giveaway day as I didn't have too many people responding. Crazy hey? I think I'll just randomly give stuff away throughout the year. Maybe even to those who participate in my layout challenges. I'll do something. Anyways won't post for a few days because I am going to spend some quality time with my nephew. When I get back look out... Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. and guess what??? I think Spring is actually here to stay, so get outside and enjoy it. Remember kids grow up so fast! There will actually be a time when they don't want us to go to the park with them anymore.

Here's little Hunter!!!!!

mom came to the Saskatoon today and gave me a CD of pics. Here's one of my favourites. Isn't he cute??? Especially since he is like very fresh! I love him already. I don't know if I will be able to sleep tonight, & waiting till Riley is done school tomorrow to go to Edmonton is going to kill me. But I will definitely take so many pics of this little guy. I can now absolutely understand why Pam has so many layouts of Brooke. I need my own album for my own layouts I'm going to do of this little guy. So I probably won't post till I get back but I had a serious creative streak happen this week. I scrapbooked up a storm, I think like 14 or so layouts. Some I am really, really proud of, so I'll take pics of those when I return and post them.

First of all Happy Birthday to my brother Shane!!!He turns 25 today. So today's recipe is my ultimate favourite thing in the world!!!!! Cheesecake! This recipe is a little complicated but it is so well worth it.(If you like a true baked cheesecake) My mom makes it all the time and I think she got the recipe from my cousin Lis.

• crust: 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp grated lemon peel
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup margarine

In a small bowl mix all of the above at low speed. Put 1/3 of the mix on the bottom of a 10" spring form pan. Bake at 400 F for 8 min. Cool completely.

• filling: 5- 8oz pkgs cream cheese
• 1 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tbsp flour
• 3/4 tbsp grated lemon peel
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 5 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

(if you want flavour don't use whipping cream instead use Kahlua, Bailey's etc...)

In a large bowl mix on medium speed cream cheese until creamy. (don't over whip!) Then beat in sugar, flour and the rest of the ingredients. Eggs 1 at a time. Beat. At the very end beat at high speed for 5 min.

Press the rest of the crust mixture around the sides. Pour cheese mixture into pan. Turn oven to 475 F. Bake for 10 min. only at that heat then turn oven down to 300F for 35 minutes. Turn oven off and leave for 1/2 hr in oven.

This is unbelievably rich, so make sure you have lot's of company to share with. I personally like it plain with a hint of fresh fruit on, but jazz it up however you like. One Christmas I drizzled chocolate and made a raspberry drizzle too and put my own homemade choclates on it. It was pretty scrumptious. Enjoy.

okay, okay!!! here are some pics!

so, recently I've been given a hard time (in a joking way). I always talk about my sister and not my brothers. I do love my brothers, it's just that Jenn's pregnancy has kind of been the excitement. So I made a little call to Melina of course and asked her for the pics she took of my brothers last year. (The boys, Melina & I stole Jim's superbee so that she could take awesome pics of the car and I made him an 8x8 album for our anniversary). Meanwhile, she did take a few great shots of my hottie brothers while we were doing this heist.

• so this is my brother Shane. sorry ladies , he is not available. He is dating Andrea who is unbelievably good looking and driven. She has her act together and I really really really like her. get the hint Shane... Just kidding. Anyways, my 3 yr old son tells us so frequently that Andrea is beautiful and she is going to marry him.

Now, on the other hand...

• Steven is ... single. Isn't he hot??? I cannot wait to see the woman that steals his heart.

Tips & Hints- I will now refer to these as "Ask Leica"

Hetty here's my tips & hints for you. Thanks for asking me to do a specific topic. If anyone else wants to know how to do something very specific ask. I will demonstrate to the best of my abilities. So today I am going to introduce the very basics of Doodling!

• First, get a good pencil, the finer the tip the better. Practise drawing lines. Some straight, some curvy. Do this till you have fluent lines with no breaks in them. Surprisingly people don't understand how important it is that you can be consistent with making lines.

• second, try drawing circles. DO NOT make those perfect little round circles. They are so hard to work with. Instead make a close to perfect circle and then go over the line 2 or 3 times. This is called "gesture lines" They give you room to work with. Doodles are not meant to look flawless. Instead we want them to look effortless. Vary the darkness of each line to. Have a prominent line and then a softer one. This gives depth!!! Do this same technique with stars, squares, hearts, etc...

Swirls are the most common part of making doodles. They are definitely the prettiest to look at and the most feminine. This is where your practising circles comes in. Try drawing curvy lines that vary in height and thickness.

I always fill in the "curves" of the swirls. There is the most room to colour, or decorate with other designs.Start narrow, get wider than come back narrow. I tend to create my line within the curve but if you made your curves a little too tight then draw your second line on the outside of the curve. It doesn't matter. It might even work better for you. So try both ways until you are comfortable.

Here is where you can add colour if you like. Colour in the lines. Sometimes I leave these open too. I like to vary colouring, not colouring within the same curve design. It gives a cool look.

absolutely no matter what, DO NOT make your curvy lines equal height & width. It will just look like a row of u's.

This is much easier to work with.

Don't draw the curve lines in all the bumps. Leave some blank, otherwise it will be too much.

Practise drawing "infinity" symbols. Try equal sides, then make some larger and the other side smaller, etc...

Colour in the full parts of the curves. add slashes in the middle. Vary the designs that you do.

Sometimes you can just do plain doodles that make a big effect. Like a line around the photo that has a little loop on each corner. Sometimes I go over these lines because I really like the "messy/gesture" lines better. Quite often I add these little dots on edges of photos, layouts, anywhere that I want to make a small emphasis on.

I really try to make sure that when working with doodles I have strong & weak areas. The reason for this is you want to create focal points within your design. The photo should be the most important spot, so plan your doodles so they enhance your photo. If you want to large doodles, then they should absolutely mirror each other. Below is just an suggestion.

This is a little clearer what I mean.Have strong parts to a doodle and then weak (smaller) parts.

I really use many different tones in my doodles. Thick lines, thin lines, medium lines. dark lines, light lines. Have fun with it. I always, always draw my doodles in pencil first and then go over them. That way I don't wreck the page. Remember practise, practise, practise!!!!!!!

Hope this gives you a start, if you want to know more I teach lot's of classes on doodling. Below are a few dates. Come on down and have some fun!

• May 8th 7-9pm Doodling Basics
• May 15th 7-9pm Doodling Letters & Numbers
• May 29th 7-9pm Extreme Doodling
• June 6th 7-9pm Doodling Basics
• June 12th 7-9pm Multimedia Doodling

Challenge #5

Okay, short post today, I have an unbelievable amount of stuff to get done. Sorry. so much exciting stuff has been happening in my life this week so my blogging has taken a hit. so this weeks' challenge is a specific request from a cool lady I met at Camp Croppin. She asked if I could give some tips on doodling, well of course!!!!! It is my favourite thing. So tomorrow I will give step by step directions on how to do a few of my favourite doodles. Today I am going to challenge you to use your own doodles on the page or if that freaks you out. Create a page using doodle stamps or products. Have fun. Remember, email me and I will post them. scrap-mommy@hotmail.com Did I mention, I'm an Auntie!!!!!! I'm so pumped!!!! I've always wanted to be an auntie! I love kids. My sister is doing well. Got the call from mom today, she said Jenn's just exhausted but doing good. Sweet!!!! And Hunter is really doing good and they can go home tomorrow!!!!! Awesome.

giving credit

Okay, I always believe in giving credit where credit is due, so I recently saw on Julie & Brittany's site this cool little snap shots thing where you can just glide over the links and it will show you automatically if someone has updated there site. So thanks! I thought it was a great idea and had to copy you guys.

guess what...

I'M AN AUNTIE!!!!!!!!!! Last night Jenn gave birth. She had a pretty rough time though so when mom phoned I only heard brief details because they were a little more worried about Jenn. SO I haven't heard anything this morning but the new little guy's name is.... Hunter William Fontaine. so welcome to the world little guy!!

a few more preggo pics & Darryl playing guitar

here is a few more shots Melina took. Darryl was playing guitar while I was prepping Jenn so these are pretty cool. So Jenn & Darryl I hope you love looking at these shots. (and everyone else too!!!)

this is my absolute favourite picture. It is so beautiful.

well, a little wardrobe malfunction.

did you see this one before?? I can't remember what I posted awhile ago. I just love this pic too. They just love each other.

what is so funny??

I talked to Jenn only a few minutes ago and she said that she was having a few uncomfortable pains, so maybe tonight is the night. who knows?? I can't wait!

just a little eye candy!!!

Aren't these shots beautiful??? I had to post a few more. Melina dropped off the entire works tonight and I've only been through one disk. I really want Jenn & Darryl to see these. They won't see all the pics until she has their baby so I'll post a few here today & tomorrow. Sorry for the lack of blogging today, tomorrow will probably be a little slow too. Riley has a birthday party tomorrow and I've been helping gramma at her garage sale, & will tomorrow too. Jenn is ready for the baby to come out right now!!!! So I am awaiting the day when I become an auntie. So pumped!!!! I'm going to spoil little ______ so much!!!!

giveaway day!!!!

Since I only had 2 responses this time I am sending you both prizes. Tracy & Michelle please email me your addresses since I don't think I have either of yours. Thanks girls!!!! This weeks giveaway contest is... I am looking for the funkiest place with a lot of bright colour to take some great pictures in front of. (in saskatoon or close to please!!!) I really want to do some "personality" type shots with my family this summer.If anyone ever looks at Tara Whitney's blog (photographer) or "The image is found" site(AWESOME photographers!!!!!) or even Elsie Flannigan's site. they always seem to find cool painted doors in such vivid colours. Or really neat walls. or cool abandoned places with lot's of character. Does Saskatoon have anything funky??? I'm looking for DIFFERENT!!!!! Please help! I think the winner of this prize will win something "Funky!!!!"

a day at the park

I didn't get time yesterday to post these, but we had such an awesome time at the park. The funniest thing is I decided to take the boys to a park we've never played at. So we walked forever to it only to find it completely flooded. So we turned around and walked all the way back to our "home" park across from our house. I have to definitely say a huge thanks to Jim for working so hard to allow me to stay home with these guys. I am so blessed. I LOVE being a Stay At Home Mom! I really noticed a huge difference in JAger this year. He is so "brave" now, as you will see in the following pics. Has to be just like Riley.below, see mom I am just showing you I could step off the edge if I wanted to. (this is his freak mom out maneuver!) Riley showed him how he can swing onto the slide and go faster down the slide, but Jager hasn't figured out he has to let go in order to slide, so he just swings.

Riley loves climbing up this wall all by himself.

isn't this cool how the slide "frames" in our neighborhood? totally by accident too.

Jager is going down this big slide all by himself. Wow! Look at the "stop taking my picture mom" look I'm getting.

do you see why I have so many scrapbook layouts. This kid is so cute & loves posing all the time!!!

in case you can't tell, this actually is about a 6ft drop that my 18 month old is checking out. Why do they have to go to the edge??? Heights isn't fearing Jager anymore. For awhile he was scared to "walk" down the stairs by himself, now last week he actually just "stepped" off our kitchen table, tumbled and didn't even cry. Oh your asking why he's standing on the table...isn't this normal in everyone's house???

We stopped to watch the girls play fastball. These kids were so intrigued and Riley is so excited that he gets to play this sport in 2 weeks. He's actually really good at hitting off the Tee. I swear baseball runs in the Elian family. It is our "family" game. My siblings & I loved it and all our extended family play it. I'm so excited to see the boys so fascinated with my favourite sport to play!!!! We actually just watched them play for most of their game.

Recipe Day!!! Let's make some Tarts

Raspberry Coconut Tarts - my grandma Vera Elliott's recipe in my family these tarts are legendary. They are always at evey event, and they are very easy to make and interchange ingredients!

• either make your own tarts or use premade ones (then follow guidelines on kg because in case you have to precook)
• put 1 tsp of raspberry jam in every tart (substitute any jam you love if desired.)seperate 2 eggs, beat whites till frothy and set aside.

mix together:

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 3 tsps lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups coconut

fold in egg whites, mix and then put 1 tsp to fill the tart, might need more depending on tart size. They will look really puffed up while baking but will fall.

****** edited**** I guess you need to know bake time is 30-40 min @ 350F.

Have fun. These are yummy!

Bryan's response to Challenge #4

Thanks so much! Talk about a fast response time hey??? Some people have all the connections. This is a really cool way to use a mask, in such a personal way too. Bryan said he used fabric paint. Great job!!!! Here is a layout that Bryan did using a mask HE created. Awesome!!!! What a beautiful girl too!

Dawn's response to Challenge

Check this out!! I am so inspired to go and do this to my album too!!!!! Dawn this is really beautiful! Thanks for sharing. Got any more objects you've used the masks on? For anyone who doesn't know Dawn, her scrapbook borders go well beyond the average "page" in fact most of the pages are 3D and amazing. When she is done her "bra" layout I am going to ask to put it on my site too. Please go check out her work. I have her as a link on the side!

Tips & Hints

Okay, there are so many ways to use Heidi Swapp masks. I came up with a brief list of how I use them. If you have more ways; share!

• acrylic paint
• watercolours
• chalk
• perfect pearls
• spray paint
• alcohol inks
• trace it & then colour it
• use them as a base to doodle with

So to begin; ALWAYS touch your brand new mask to your jeans. You need to take off some of the tackiness otherwise you have just laid down a sticker. They are so tacky that they sometimes will not come off. Once you've desensitized them they work great!

• Below I used multiple colours of acrylic paint and I dabbed it on. You can paint from side to side but I like to dab. you can use a sea sponge too, it works great!

• Below I inked the mask. DO NOT RUB your cat's eye ink. you'll just rip the sponge off and what a waste. DAB! It takes a while and you might have to go over it with different colours of ink to get the effect you want. It is a really beautiful effect.

remember peel slowly, sometimes the masks "stick" and will rip your bottom paper off. voila! C'est magnifique!

As you all know, I love alcohol inks and especially on transparencies (remember, take off your rings ladies, mine are platinum and I really do not want these colours to stain my rings, because alcohol inks stick to metal amazingly!!!!!) Either drop "drops" right on the area you are working with, or I just cut up pieces of felt and squirt them. I do both ways, it just depends on what look I am desiring!

• this is what the drops do. They start to create circles that run. You can add many different colour drops and it looks great! But, know when enough is enough. They can get murky.
• End result! Looks funky for a Hallowe'en page.

• If I want a softer look then I use chalk or perfect pearls. I really like the shimmer perfect pearls offers. use a Q-tip, works great! One dip really goes a long way!
• cool hey? Care for your masks: When I met Heidi she told me to just wipe them off, it doesn't matter if you clean them, they will dry. If they become not as tacky anymore, then completely wash them in soapy hot water, soak them even. Let them completely dry and they will be tacky again. Now make sure you store them flat, if any part gets bent, it pretty much is now useless. You can still use it but it won't stick down on its own and it will just cause you grief. I personally am obsessed with her alphabet masks. They are great! Remember you can always cut apart the masks, you don't have to use them how they come. And you can use them as stickers. Have fun. Email me if you create some cool stuff with masks. actually I had the pleasure of meeting a friend of Dawn's & Corrine's named "Bryan", (please correct me if I'm wrong) His work is really amazing that he does of his wife & kids. I actually heard his mom isn't doing well so I hope all is going well. But he spray painted "scrapbook him" on his crop bag using HS letters. It looked GREAT! Anyone have a picture of this???

scrap-mommy@hotmail.com

Challenge #4- use a mask

Hi! so did anyone enjoy today?? Can you believe the weather? I had a few appointments and then permed gramma's hair, but otherwise the kids , gramma & I were out the entire day until right now. (7pm) we did so much walking and playing at the park. Riley & I played tag. It was so much fun. The kids are so super tired now. So anyways, a big congratulations to Evan & Carla, Ethan ,Brooke Shoforost on the arrival of Jett Ryan Shoforost. I'm so happy Carla & Jett are doing well. So that's cool.

This challenge is for Jody. How do you use these Heidi Swapp masks? So I decided why not show a few ways to use these. So this weeks challenge is to use any mask and scrapbook with it. If you've done something pretty cool with one of these send me the pic and I'll post it. Remember you can always email me pics long after the challenge is up too. I've made an area that you can click on " challenges" that will lead you to see all the challenges together. Tomorrow I'll give you tips on how to use them. Below are just a few samples of masks. Heidi Swapp makes so many and they are unbelievably easy to use.

oh and by the way, go check out Jody's layout that she did for Melina's scrapbook your favourite things. www.scraptology-girls.blogspot.com

I'm so pumped. I've been telling Jody and her mom! that they should scrapbook, Jody's very creative so I knew she'd be great at it and she is!!!! Jody, I am so proud of you, and Pam, Melina & I had so much fun scrapbooking with you the other day. Can't wait to see you at Scraptology's Family Album Class on Wednesday. You are going to have so much fun because this class is totally filled with spectacular ladies who I have fun scrapbooking with. You'll have to bring your mom to the next one!!!!

more Scrap for Trina pics...

this is Lindsay from Munro's hair Design. She was cool and looked like she was having fun too! Eveyone looked awesome. Thanks Lindsay!

Trina's awesome family... They are standing in front of 4 silent auction tables. I have never seen an outpour like this of amazing donations and gifts!

smokin' Jen

I don't know if you can see behind these girls but there were I think 3 or 4 tables lined up full of raffle prizes.

If I receive any more pics I'll keep posting! hope you liked!!!

more Camp Croppin photos!

Here is a few photos from Camp Croppin that Kim had sent me weeks ago. I had such a problem opening them because some other program was trying to take over, but I was told tonight how to bypass this so guess what... I have to post a few more pics of our awesome time in Calgary!!! I think we had one of the best times going to the Cheesecake Cafe! We were all being pretty goofy to say the least. Enjoy.Emily Adams with a tasty treat. Nicole & her sister!

Kim enjoying her cheescake!

great friends, who are always so innocent...

now a real picture... Jen did you just stick your arm in the Diamond Glaze, oh that's right we are not scrapbooking right now.

Jen, how's your cheescake?? At the table we were all discussing age because it was Kim & Nicole's birthday. I tell you this Jen definitely looks younger than her age. Anyone know it???

Jen G. wasn't able to scrap with us this weekend but she met us for supper, cool!

see everyone is totally digging the dessert!

the girls & Lisa Bearnson

Tracy hard at work

oh, I guess I didn't upload these in a very good order, oh well. Check out the cheesemeister...

what a great photo!

Kim, what are you thinking? hmmm...

Love our table sign or what?

nice smile!

this Emily is one cool chick! oh by the way, look at our plates, we actually haven't even started eating yet, we just did cheesecake swapping.

looking a little sappy Leica, imagine I was actually crying. But I was really really happy.

Jen G & Kim were making fun of the fact that Melina & I talk a lot with our hands. I don't think we do, what do you think?

Scrap for Trina!!!

First of all , a HUGE THANK YOU to Trina's Splurge & Scrap Club!!!!!!!!! This was so much fun! They worked their butts off and it was a huge success. So many ladies came and Trina's husband Ray, her sister Tracy, her mom Adele and her mother in law Peggy came too. So that was terrific! So much love & support everyone wanted to give and everyone was so excited to share, to bid, to scrap & get our hair done!. We were all here sharing stories, reminiscing about Trina, and it was a nice closure for us. Trina was such an amazing girl, she touched so many people's lives and you could tell today through EVERYONE that we all thought the world of Trina, and there was nothing someone wouldn't do to help out her family. I forgot to take pics until of course the very end, so I have very limited pics. So if you have some great shots, email them to me and I'll post them all week! To everyone who I haven't seen or scrapped with forever, I had the best time reuniting today.

Pam is holding one of the pages I did for her.

Jen just posing.

we had some of the cutest little princesses with us having fun too!

Melina working so hard

another princess

Kim looking pretty hot with her curly hair! The girl from Munro's Hair Salon did some great up do's & styles all day. It was pretty cool!

Trina's sister Tracy.

Our littlest scrapbooker who was absolutely charming all day! Stole the show!

Jody & Sam Cooper. isn't he cute?

Kim showing off items that she won from the Dove donation bag. doesn't she look like she's doing an add for Dove deodorant?

Barb, hard at work. By the way if anyone is looking to get any Arbonne products, she is a dealer. Jennifer Fast just recommended this product to me last night and Barb gave me a sample to try. I'm looking forward to seeing the results everyone is raving about!

us being goofballs,

We decided to some page swaps. It was so much fun!!!! The following is a layout that Pam did for me! Sweet hey??

the following is a page I did for Pam. I was so having fun because I rarely get to play with these fun girly colours. and of course I had great Melina photos to work with. (Pam will have to do the journaling though!)

here is Melina's little Mia page I did. Her hair colour is so rich so I was able to go with a little more extreme colour choice. Loved it!!!

another one I did for Pam. I do have to say that the Heidi Swapp clock transparency drove me nuts because it has a hole in the middle which kept landing directly on Rhys's eyeball. So eventually I had to improvise and cut it in half.

I'm tired, going to sleep. I'll talk more tomorrow! HAve a great night!!!

Super Cool!!!!

Hi Allison Orthner, just emailed me and told me to go to her site and look at the video. it is so cool... http://www.allisonorthner.com/index.html This was a segment aired on Calgary City TV!!!! Awesome so one more little toot for Melina, Dawn & I for doing well at Camp Croppin!!! A toot for Amy too, sorry I don't know her last name.

Should I cut it or not???

Okay, lately I've been given a hard time about how I should cut Jager's hair. I have only given him 1 cut. I love, love, love his curls. They are just like mine, unfortunately he also gets the lovely knots I get too! Sorry little buddy. But today I was playing around with him and ran my fingers through his hair. I laughed pretty hard because he reminds me of the pics where the "Grinch "is a little kid. anyone see Jim Carrey's show, The Grinch. okay, okay, I agree he should have a haircut. My brother Shane thinks I should let it grow and grow. I really agree, because at this age it is so cute.

oh and this cheese monkey just wanted his pic taken too!

More layouts for Scrap for Trina

these can be yours, but you have to be at Scrap for Trina tomorrow!!!

so much to say!!!!

okay tomorrow is the big day? only today left to register. Scrap for Trina is going to rock!!!! Hope to see everyone there. I will post more pics of my other layouts I am donating later today. but for right now I have to post these awesome pics Melina took at a shoot with my preggo sis! she took an amazing amount of photos, some risky too that are magazine worthy. Look out Demi Moore. I'm only going to show you a few Pg rated ones that ROCK!!!! My sister was so beautiful. I love that she is so proud to be preggo! you rock Jenn!!!! Jenn & Darryl, aren't they cute??

oh oh, think I feel the chemistry...

I love this "exotic" shot. Wind in her hair, tree in the background. too funny!

Love this shot!

sweet!!!

Darryl, always the comedian, stuck out his stomach for his sympathy preggo shoot.

you guys rock. great pics Melina!!!

scrap for Trina

hey have you registered for Scrap for Trina yet??? remember I am giving out 5 pattern papers (of your choice and I have some top name brands to choose from) to anyone that mentions my name and signs up today, email me when you sign up! You won't regret it. you only have tonight and tomorrow to sign up. And personally this is so far the biggest scrapbook event to hit Saskatoon, you'd be crazy to miss it. I've personally seen some of the prizes, door prizes and silent auction items. It's going to be super. Below is one of the premade boy layouts that I am donating? (I photographed this bad, I have stitched all around the edges but you can't see it, sorry)

Giveaway Day!!

and the winner is.... KELI KLASSEN we all agreed that this story made us laugh so hard. So Keli, email me your address and I'll send your prize out!

• So what should we do this week??? I think I will give out the prize to the person who gives the best unique idea for storing a scrapbook supply. It can be any supply from ribbon to paper to scissors. ANYTHING!!! Since I am in the middle of purging, I could definitely use all the tips I can get. Can't wait to read these results. ***** edited April 12th, Michelle emailed pictures of how she stores her rubber & foam stamps (and a few other things). She buys cork board and pins them to it so she can see them. Great idea Michelle!****

Life is never dull around here!

Okay, so I thought I'd post these too, because everyone needs a laugh! My little sweetheart is obsessed with Vaseline. He wants it on his bum bum all the time. Lately he puts it on his face and hair. So my husband would say," weren't you watching him?" to when my response would be... I just was putting the buns in the oven and taking the finished ones out." I was only a sec! That is all it takes. Only, today I had a camera handy. I think he believes Vaseline is the fountain of youthful looking skin.

anyone care to have a healthy glowing skin?

mommy, I am so cute.

funny photos from our baking day!

So today we did a lot of baking. It was a riot. A huge mess, but fun. I really make it a point to explain every little direction in the recipe. Maybe it is the teacher training I have or maybe me being particular. Riley always repeats after me. He wants to crack the eggs, now Jager does too. In fact Jager put another egg in the choc. chip batter instead of the double choc. chip cookie. So our cookies ran. Oh well. He squealed with delight. I did have to pick out the egg shells but oh well. I always have to make 2 different cookie batters when we make cookies because each boy needs his own. AND they never want my help. because they are BIG you know. isn't this kid cute??

okay, seriously, I think someone is testing the cookie batter. Trying to look innocent...

Riley is such a great teacher to Jager.

You know, if your not a Martha Stewart type person, you can still bake with your kids. Buy a Betty Crocker mix. Usually all you have to do is add an egg, or oil or water. It is worth the fun. I only showed you a few pics but I have so many more scrap worthy memories. Because, these are the memories that I want my kids to remember!!!!

Recipe Day!!! Let's make some BUNS!

Okay, so I am actually making this recipe as I speak.

BUNS -

this is actually a great recipe from my mother in law (Linda Forrest who is known for the best buns in town.)

• 3 cups warm water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp Fleishmann's quick rising yeast
• 2 eggs, beaten well!
• 7-9 cups flour
• Mix the first 4 ingredients. Then add one tbsp of flour to this mixture, stir. Now add the yeast and eggs. The flour will make sure if your water was too warm it won't spoil the yeast. A surefire trick! Add flour ONLY till the mixture is non sticky. I always add to much flour so now I keep mine a little tacky. Knead, put oil on top and let rise 15 min. Repeat this 3 times. Make them into balls. Let rise and bake at 350 for 20 min.

***** now, that was her recipe. Here are tricks I've learned. My entire house is covered in windows so it isn't generally on the warmer side. These buns turn out the best when your house is toasty!!!! So I do crank up my heat when I make buns. I also preheat my oven and let my buns rise on the stove above. I also found that your perfect bun size will take about 20-30 min to rise. Don't rush them or they are a little heavy. And don't forget gramma's trick. Always cover your dough & buns with a clean tea towel when rising. (keep all the warmth in) My last hint; my oven is a little too hot, so I lower by temp to 325 and I bake my buns for 30 min (or till a perfect golden brown) Get out the butter because they are sweet right out of the oven!! Bon appetit!

So I am a huge believer in kids helping out. Does it really matter if I know I could do it better without them? no. Do they get a huge amount of enjoyment???Yes. Do they become more familiar in the kitchen?yes. Do they learn new things?yes. The following are pics of the boys helping me this afternoon.Enjoy. By the way, they turned out GREAT!

it is so funny, they both put out their hands to get greased up to punch the bread.

see, turned out great!

The Event of the Year!!! Are you coming?

I thought that today I would tell you a little about how GREAT this Saturday is going to be. So far they have just a little over 50 ladies registered. (There is still room for more!) First off, all proceeds are going to a trustfund for Trina's sweethearts; Dawson & Nolan. To make money for these guys, they are having a silent auction, bake table, hair by Munroe's, a white elephant table and Door Prizes (galore!!!) There are so many prizes to be won during the event, just for coming!!! They have some extraordinary games lined up for your amusement & to try and win prizes. They have an actual restaurant sponsoring the meal, so we are in for a treat!!!Sweet hey? I think it is going to be one of the best scrapbook events I've been to because everyone is there for a fantastic cause. It doesn't matter if you knew Trina or not. It is a scrapbook event. Time for you and your friends to get away!!!! So my friends and I believe whole-heartedly in this cause so we have also sponsored some cool prizes; Melina is giving a photo shoot www.melinaperronphotography.blogspot.com . So if you look at Pam's & my site we can vouch that she is probably the best photographer around. Wouldn't that be a cool prize??? Pam is donating 3 HUGE prizes.(check her site out to see pics, she is posting later today www.pbjewels.blogspot.com ) but I'll give you a hint, altered kits, layout kits. Wow. Pam is a pretty impressive scrapbooker so I'd love this stuff! So what am I going to give? Baskets full of scrapbook supplies, premade layouts & 3 mini albums, 5 -12x12 albums, and a free class from Scraptology (only the best scrapbook classes around!!!). Are you interested yet??? Okay I'm stepping up my proposal a notch right now. For EVERY person that phones Jen 374-5368 or Kim 373-6919 from now to Fri that registers to come(when you do this email me to tell me you signed up), I will let you pick 5 pattern papers from my personal collection. (I will take approx.250 papers so you can have a huge choice.) I really believe that you won't regret it. A great time of scrapbooking, visiting, getting your hair done (if you like) eating and winning prizes. Do you know of anywhere else that offers this for only $35.00????? A full day from 10am-10pm of hard core fun. Hope to see you there. Below is just a few of my paper stash that you will be able to choose from.

The girls that are putting this event on are scrapbookers! They know how to make it a success, and they are truly wonderful people. Thanks for all the hard work you guys are doing for us to have a good time!!!

We found the Easter bunny!

(actually, this is just Uncle Darryl & Auntie Jenn's bunny) Below are a few secret pics I took of the boys searching the yard for Easter eggs. It was so cold. But we had fun and got some great video footage! Riley was way too fast and totally dug the idea of searching, but we already had a few days of this because I kept rehiding them for amusement. Jager just squealed, especially when he figured out how to open the eggs and get the treats!

scrap for Trina

only 4 days left, are you starting to pack your scrapbook supplies for this worthwhile event???

Tip #2- working with different sizes & shapes

Okay, so my challenge this week was to explore different sizes and or shapes. Has anyone started? If you are going to a smaller size , you should use a little less embellishments. You don't want to overcrowd the page UNLESS you are going for a total collage look. When you are going to a different shape altogether, keep your layout a little simpler in order to draw the most attention to your shape. In the brothers layout, I used a zigzag Bazzill shape. It is a very prominent shape, so I thought why not make the most of it? I accentuated the shape by sewing a border. Truthfully, I am nuts & addicted to sewing on my layouts. This was incredibly time consuming, and I had to go so slow! But I think it paid off in the end. I didn't ink the outer edges because I thought it would be too much for the page. I combined pattern papers that worked with the base colour to continue with the flow. I changed the pic to sepia in order to make it work. For all the accents (buttons & ribbon) I kept them the same colour as the layout to make sure I didn't detract from the shape. I think it flowed well. It also was a blast to do this page. If this type of layout scraes you, why not just try incorporating the shape onto a background but keep the background colour minimal and still make the shape your focus. Now what if you only scrapbook 8 1/2x11? Then remember you have 2 options; portrait & landscape. Now if you are going to a 6x6 or 8x8, it sometimes makes more impact if you have a larger accent/embellishment and make that your focal point. When you put too much on these smaller sizes you lose the picture in the elements. ( if you haven't worked with 8x8's before you have to sign up for a class Pam teaches at Scraptology called Fast n Fun. You get 10 layouts for $30.00 and you are done in the 2 hours. and they are kick butt layouts.) So let's give it new sizes or shapes a try. Send me your work if you want me to put it on my site: scrap-mommy@hotmail.com Oh, sorry for my lateness in blogging this, Riley found out he didn't have measles, felt better so we went with Jim to Edmonton yesterday for a quick trip to see my preggo sis. (who is so beautiful preggo!!!) we just got back. Have a great night!

sorry, my error!

Hi, Dawn & Keli I accidentally erased your comments. I saw that Keli sent 2 the same so I was trying just to post one and erase one but I ended up erasing both your comments. I did read them, thanks guys! Sorry. If you know how I can retrieve them let me know!~ Keli, I wish I was a purger like you, but I am sure garage sale-ing hard this week. Today we dropped off a load to the dump and now one to my gramma's. Purge!Purge!

Scrap for Trina

only 5 days left! are you in?

Challenge #3

Okay so last week we worked on improving our journaling. And boy some of you can journal! Let's move on to something different. Let's think outside the box. So what do I mean by that? Why don't we explore a different scrapbook size or shape to what we always do. Try to scrapbook on a Bazzill shape. Why not? We don't always have to do the standard square or rectangle. Be creative, make it that you will still be able to use it though. Cause we are always trying to reach that ultimate goal of getting "caught up" and I don't want to challenge you to a layout you will never use. Below is what I did for the challenge. I won't mount this on a background either. This will be my complete page. Go ahead, try it, and if you want email me and I will put it on my blog on Friday! scrap-mommy@hotmail.com Enjoy!

Scrap for Trina

only 6 days left, are you coming?? if you need more info look in the right hand column. Hope to see everyone there!

a few random thoughts

So I woke up this morning on a mission to Spring Clean! I love when your house feels totally refreshed! And I am on a mission to garage sale anything we don't use anymore. Last night I spent 2 hours reorganizing my albums so that they actually had a flow and the right layouts were in the right kids albums, etc. And I came across these funny ones. I love spring and I love making playdates with the boys friends. Here's a couple of the boys & Ethan. (they LOVE Ethan) It is cut off by the scan but the page is titled "2 little monkeys sitting on a trike..." (melina photo) Here they are just having a good time playing. (melina photo)

HEre's an oldie I did when Riley was 5 months old. Isn't it funny how I was using buttons back then too. and of course rub ons...

So I hope everyone has a great day today. When Jim gets home in a few hours, we are going to have another big Easter egg hunt. Too funny how that doesn't get old.

Easter Weekend!

I hope everyone is having a great Easter weekend. Unfortunately, we could not go to Edmonton Thursday as planned because Riley all of a sudden was covered neck to toe in a rash. Some of us thought German Measles, or maybe other things so we went to the doctor and he had to have blood work, so we are awaiting the results. I thought it was just hives, but we'll see. So, they have officially banned us from being around Jenn till after she has had her baby, just in case. So for this week we are a bit housebound, as not to infect anyone else. So I thought, let's do some cool things inside. So we have had fun baking, colouring, painting, finding & then hiding only to find again Easter eggs.(this has occupied us for hours, highly recommend the fun) the boys have watched all their favourite shows. especially the Backyardigans. I think this is such a good wholesome show that actually teaches morals and thought process. Jager just dances with this show all the time. Such good music!

The following are layouts I did last night while the boys were sleeping. The first one is my best friends' (of 30 years!!!) family. Aren't they cute! the girls are absolutely terrified of Jager, they always think he is going to bite them. too funny! (melina photo)

this one is the boys little cousin Zack! (melina photo)

this layout is of my friend Marlys, Chris & little Graysen. (melina photo)

here is one about me! I love this look away that I was doing because it allows me to ask this question... I have secret journaling that pulls out to say that I wouldn't change a thing. I want to be right here with my Superstars! (melina perron photo)

now, you are probably getting sick of seeing this photo, but I'll tell you why I have so many copies of the same photo. Every great photo goes in Jim's & my book, each of the boy's books, auntie Jenn's books and then grandparents books. So I try to always come up with lot's of different layouts. when you have great photos to work with , it is easy! (melina photos)

Hope you guys are having a great weekend. Remember, there's more to Easter than just chocolate!

Challenge Response

How's it going? Did everyone have a great week? So let's see some of the challenges. I'm going to create an area where you can continue throughout the year doing any of the challenges at your own pace. If you want to show me, I'll post them. Challenge #1: a layout about scrapbooking. I wrote:Why do I scrapbook? I want to realive the good & bad times. I want to remember moments that we would sure be likely to forget if not documented. I want to laugh again and cry again. I want the release, the joy I get from exploring my creative side. I want the feeling of anticipation I get when my family is about to look at my latest page. I want to document our life for our future, our family yet to come. But mostly, I scrapbook to remember. Challenge #2: Journal From the Heart (the following scrapbooker would like to remain anonymous, but let's give a shout out to her for entering. Way to go!!!)

Here is my layout about how I feel losing our third child:

journaling reads: the nightmare was over. I just returned from the hospital. I was empty now, a little lost, but mostly stunned. So where do we go from here? I was alone when I hemmoraged while talking on the phone to Jim, who felt helpless. I held my little being, so small just beginning to take shape, covered in the molecular tissue that was the death of my baby, somehow I still looked at the tissue as my beautiful baby, she was mine, our little one. I was so sad. I felt like I cried forever. I failed as a mom. I didn't understand what happened. I had 2 flawless pregnancies, now this. I was puzzled with no answers. I was excited to meet you, to love you. In the morning I phoned Jim to tell him I failed, I hadn't protected our little one. I sat on the floor of our pantry. Riley tried to console me, I had to be his mom, pull myself together. But I couldn't. Jager wanted attention, something that I couldn't give him right then. Jim & I did not know the words to say to each other. Days, weeks, months have gone by. I long for my little one. In children stores, I unconsciously go to the pink section. I feel that you would've been my little girl. Secretly, I have since bought a dress for you, excited & I somehow feel better.reality sinks in. I am a mother of 3, just God is helping me raise my little angel, till the day when we will meet. I miss you. I love you. you will always be the little hole in my heart. I will ache for you. Over time I will forget, but for those few months, I was already planning your 1st day of school.To my family, please let me have those faraway moments & tears because I am just spending time with my angel.

This layout I did last night for my friend Marlys. I gave her a photo shoot from Melina as a gift and when I do that I always like to give a few scrapbooked pages so I'm going to do a few more before I give them to her.

Want to see something cool? I've been one of the featured artist's for the last 2 weeks on Scrapbook.com. (this is a huge U.S. based site equivalent to 2peas. So it was like being a garden girl. SWEET! I took a picture of the screen so many times this week, because I am actually on for 5 different layouts. This is huge since they have a layout collection over 300 000 pages. Jim's been hearing me freak out with excitement that my work has been voted on as "favourite & innovational!! Last night my "beautiful friends" layout was picked up.

on the far top right hand side of this photo is my pic. Cool hey???

If you want to see my work on Scrapbook.com I'm called "scrappaleica". Everyone go submit pages. You get hundreds of truly motivating comments & help. If you become a member, send me an email. I love checking out other people's work!!

On the side is going to be a new place to click to be able to see all the layouts from the challenges. Have fun!

GIVEAWAY DAY!!!!

So, I am totally throwing out the random post #'s, so many people have given me better ideas, AND I think I am going to use them. Starting right now. MAKE ME LAUGH!!!! I want to know your latest most embarassing moment. I will read them and then I will announce the winner next Thursday. I was told that it isn't easy to always respond by the next day, so I was asked if I will carry it over. The answer is YES!!! So it goes for anything. If you would like to participate in a challenge, submit me your layout whenever. as for Giveaway Thursday I will announce the winner the following Thursday. So, since this week has totally been about journaling better, describing situations better, documenting more than just the pretty stuff. I will even particpate in this. So here it goes. Feel free to laugh, becuase those around me have died laughing at me. my embarassing moment: Last week Jim was coming to town, I got the bright idea that I'd go and pick up some condoms. (anyone that knows me, knows that this Jim's job because I get too embarassed and since we have to take every precaution not to get pregnant for these 6 months well, you know, these must be purchased.) so I thought I'd spice it up and get something a little fun. No one looked at me while I picked them out and then as well as when I bought them. So I thought I was in the clear. I was pushing Jager out of the Walmart when I saw 2 people I knew (one lady is my friend's prim & proper grandma and the other girl is an acquaintance through scrapbooking) I was excited to chat to both. But just as I was passing through the security alarms went off. 2 people came and made us pass through again to see whose bag it was. Yep, you guessed it. Mine. I did have a few bags so I was praying it was something else. They took everything out and tried running it through the scanner to see if that was what buzzed. Finally of course they got to the good old "rubbers" which was the problem. So as I tried to avoid the situation, the Walmart staff went and swiped them and I tried to pretend that it was just like a DVD or something minor, when I know they both knew what is was. Needless to say, everyone had things to do so we parted ways. I went out to the truck and called Jim and told him what happened.He laughed at me so badly. I swear to goodness I almost peed my pants I was so embarassed. So I'm 30, and I still feel like a kid trying to do something I know I shouldn't. So, someone out there add another story or I'm going to be even more embarassed. Can't wait to read them.

Recipe Day!!!!

Today is RECIPE day! Welcome to the Martha Stewart segment of my blog. I just threw that in because those close to me always call me Martha because I tend to be like her. I do everything! but I am NOT a successful housekeeper!!! The only time my house looks great is when my hubbie is coming home, or when I'm hosting an event at my house. I should have more shame and keep it immaculate like my friends Natalie, Pam or Andrea, but hey I tend to scrapbook in my free time. But I'm so pumped to share recipes. In my family we all recipe swap. My cousin Bernice did a cool project with one of her daughters, create a family scrapbook and then market it. It has become my favourite book because I know everyone in it, I love to read the stories of how the recipe came to be, or where it came from. I love the sharing part. Slowly I am converting all my favourite recipes into scrapbooked recipe cards. Which gives me pleasure. So here's the deal. If you submit me a recipe in my comments or by email, I will scrapbook YOU a recipe card. make sure you state your desired card size. It could even be a 8 1/2 x 11 if you put them in a binder like my grandma. your choice, just let me know!!! I will make an effort to try each and every recipe people submit. So I am going to start with a very quick & easy cupcake recipe. (This recipe can also be made to be a cake if you don't want cupcakes) I have 2 awesome relatives that introduced me to this recipe; Nancy Elian & Cheryl Thompson. It is creamy & very delicious. A must for all chocolate & cream cheese fans. (just click on the photo and it will become big enough to read the recipe. )If anyone is having problems with this, then I can type it out. So leave me a comment if that would be better for you! (I pulled the photo off of this because it is not very good. Next time I make these I will try to get a better shot, Otherwise the r.h top would normally be a photo. )

Have Fun!!!

Oh, and you guys, the emails have been coming in regarding journaling from the heart. I think I have offically become emotional!!!! Some of you have made me laugh and others have made me cry, especially you T. W. I have definitely been inspired by you guys! Thanks! I have to be truthful. I haven't been successful this week at my own journaling. I've tried 3 times but after reading one friend's email, she kicked my butt into gear. I ended up pouring my heart out onto the paper till the wee hours and you know what. I feel better, like a weight has been lifted. It was something that I needed to do. Thanks!

more photos from Calgary

TIPS & HINTS- Let's continue exploring journaling! (p.s. thank you for all of you who have jumped on my bandwagon and are now exploring journaling on your blogs and through the emails you've sent. It is definitely the biggest COMPLIMENT that I could ever receive. I want to help you & myself grow in our scrapbooking. So this adventure is going to be fun!) Lisa Bearnson gave the best lecture I have ever heard in regards to journaling. She said "YOU HAVE TO BE HAPPY, to SCRAP HAPPY." So what does that mean, unhappy people can't scrapbook. Well no. She is just saying that we have to remember to make the most of every moment and each other. We have to value time spent as a family, or with friends or nature. Whatever your passion is. Sometimes we spend more time on scrapbooking the memories than the time we actually spent on making the memories. How true is that? How many of us are guilty of this fact?? Hello, any hands raising, because mine is fully raised! What is your family going to remember more, your scrapbook page or that awesome time where we all went toboganning together, making memories, having fun as a family? Where dad got thrown off the sled and ended up rolling all the way down the hill getting covered in snow. Well there's our answer. Lisa said that she journals about everything, and always has. She has many journals from over the years and sometimes shes rips a page out and uses it directly on her scrapbook layouts, to show where she was in life. Do any of you keep personal daily diaries or journals? I do, BUT they are only to remember my boys. Their first words, their reactions to new things, things they learn, what they do. You can relive their little lives through reading my journals. I always make them very attractive too, because I think they are my gift to them when they are older. (shown below) However, most of the stuff I write I have never made a scrapbook page of. So why not? It must have been important at one time if I thought I should write it down in their journals to tell Jim. So why would I not think it is important?or not scrap-worthy? I have many pages that have no journaling, so why don't I put some of these stories on? I'll tell you why, we are worried that people won't find the stories as funny or memorable as we do. We are always worried what others think. Now this is crazy! We should be making our scrapbooks for our families and those we cherish enough to show. I don't write lengthy details, sometimes it is one or two lines, sometimes longer. I actually truthfully started it to make sure that Jim never missed out on any part of the boys growing up, since we talk everyday I would tell him what I wrote. Now it has become more for the boys.

Everyone says that you should use your own handwriting. This is of course ideal. I am guilty of typing out stuff too! I love the different fonts. But there is such truth in this. Why? Look below...

This was written about my children by MY grandma (their great grandma) She always writes down little things that they do or say at her house. Stuff that is important to her. Now how valuable is this going to be when my boys grow up. They will be able to see exactly what she felt about them through her own handwriting. You begin to learn about people. My husband was given photocopies of letters from his great Uncle to his sister (Jim's grandma). They are unbelievable. One line in one of the letters talks about how he is away at war and has just met a girl. He said, " She sure is swell." No one talks like that anymore. So reading this in his own handwriting puts you back to understand the era he came from. Unfortunately Jim's great Uncle never returned from the war, so these letters have become the only way we know about him. Thank goodness he was faithful in writing to her.

So when we are going to journal, let's divulge more about the situation, our feelings, any relevant info. Maybe spontaneously interview your family members, get & use their input on your layouts. HAve them do their own writing if able. Remember, children go through so many language fads, seeing them write their own journaling will be hilarious to look back on in 20 years. Maybe we should journal more about fads, likes & dislikes. Because these things change. Our scrapbooks are actually mini time capsules. They contain everything important to us that year, or maybe that subject. So let's be more constructive when we write. Before we journal on the page, maybe make a web. When I was teaching we'd draw a circle and place lines away from the circle writing everything that describes the word in the circle. Then we were able to generate more thoughts about a subject. It always would help when it came time to write. Try it. Remember, to be successful at journaling you have to be comfortable in your niche. SO #1)journal from the heart #2) be more descriptive-how did people feel? what they experienced, heard, smelled? what were the stories behind the scenes? #3) why do you love this picture? what is so special about it? #4) whenever possible (and when you feel comfortable) use your own handwriting. (want to know a secret??? I still print my journaling out in pencil first and then go over it...EVERY TIME! but who cares, it allows me to position it or make changes where I want)

So good luck. Have fun, Remember this is for you, & your family. NOBODY else. So think of it in this harsh reality. If someone close to you was to suffer from amnesia how would you want them to remember their memories? 5 W's or maybe a bit more descriptive so that it could trigger a memory? Good luck, and email me with your successes. Remember, if you don't want to leave a comment, don't, I have received private emails regarding different subjects on my blog everyday. I read them all. So if you want to share with everyone, please do. or if you want to keep it private, I understand.

Guess what??? I already received my first challenge layout from a blogger. So check back on Friday to see all the layouts.

So a few more pics from Camp Croppin. The crazy girls at my table had this ready for me when I came back from a class. Silly beans!

Here's Melina, I think when she won best name tag. (this is Dawn's photo so correct me if I am wrong)

this photo is from Kim, we were taking a Heidi Swapp class and she was the tent mom. Great job she did too!!!

Here's a different photo Dawn took of Lisa Bearnson looking at my scrapbook.

So in closing, I would like to thank LISA BEARNSON for inspiring all of us to journal better! Also tomorrow I hope to post some more photos from Kim. I had a little problem getting them to download on the blog. I'll try tomorrow.

Julie's Challenge-1st scrapbook page ever!!!!

Here it is Julie!!!This is my very first layout ever. I took it as a class at Scrapbooker's Haven,(which is no longer around) by the owner. I am forgetting her name at the moment, but she gave me such good advice and was so patient in teaching me. As you can see, no journaling even back then but this is the month for change! (our engagement photo)

Hit A snag!

Okay, I have 2 winners for the 1000 post. Corrine & Jody. You guys both emailed me. So I will clear up why I have 2 winners. (and Jody I will send you a package as well.) I changed my site counter so that it only adds people if they are new, versus everytime you check in or change a page. For example, if you check my blog in the morning and then at night, it will not add you again at night. I did this because I wanted an accurate account of the traffic coming to my blog. and if I am actually having new & different people coming or are they the same people. Some sites have it so that it adds you everytime you come & go, check out a profile, open a layout, for everything. So that means one person could hit me like 10 or more times if they wanted to in a row. I thought for the contest it would eliminate people just constantly refreshing to become the 1000 person. I guess I didn't quite think it through. So I will give out 2 prizes!!! yeah!!! On Thursday though, I am going to change it so that you are a specific comment #, and you won't know this because it will be totally random because the emails are sent to me. So it will be a total surprise!!! Hopefully this cleared up any questions.

CHALLENGE #2

Today is the Day! CHALLENGE #2: Journal from the Heart! For those of you who don't know me, I am very independent, not a follower and never emotional. I tell it like it is, don't tolerate nonsense and I work like a son of a gun. I do have emotion, but it is kept so deep inside, no one ever sees it. I will stand up for a belief, fight for what's right and pretty much do not have any tolerance for lies or deceit. I am always up to date with my 5W's journaling (Who what when where and how) my interpretation of my children's thoughts & actions but very private about myself. I started blogging last October 2006 but stopped because I developed a form of cancer & consequently lost our third child. (I would have been due in 2 weeks) It really seemed like my world had ended. Nobody would ever have known it, because I continued to be strong, appear happy, so that no one else would be sad, or at a loss of what to say. In one week, I lost the baby, spent nights in the hospital, went for a crazy amount of dr. app'ts & ultrasounds, scheduled for a d&c, and a hysterectomy at the end of the week. Wow! I was filled with terror. Jim was thousands of miles away, feeling helpless and sad. I was distraught (hence the reason why I stopped blogging) Thankfully after numerous tests, I didn't have to get a hysterectomy. The cancer hadn't attached itself to any of my organs. Thank goodness. I still go for bloodwork every 2 weeks for 6 months, guess what ... I only have 2 app'ts left! Yeah!!! Still in the clear, no signs of cancer. Consequently, I have more appreciation for emotion because I think one has to share to heal. (so telling you guys was a huge step for me, I just exposed myself in a harsh reality.) This last month was hard. 2 awesome people I knew died. It wasn't their time. I think so many times that they didn't have the chance to say goodbye, to tell everything they needed to say. Wow. What if something were to happen to anyone of us today. Would we be able to say that those closest to us knew our most deepest thoughts, desires, trials & wishes? Would they be left satisfied or continue to wonder, wishing they had only a minute left to say something. So I blog, not because someone else is (even though I do love checking out my friends & icons sites) heck even I'm not simple enough to believe it started in Saskatoon, it has been going on for YEARS & YEARS in the world. And Why? because people have realized that it is healthy to document life, to share with others. Saskatoon has just been behind. For me, I can connect with family & Friends and express myself through words & pictures. So this is my challenge to you! Scrapbook a subject that is dear to you, that you have a hard time expressing. Maybe an issue you aren't dealing with very well, or a sadness you want to remember, or a happy time that you've never written about that you don't want to forget!!!Maybe it is about yourself,or a world issue like famine & poverty that pulls at your heart. Maybe it is everything you wanted to say to someone but never had the chance. You decide. Remember it is for YOU! Forget the pictures unless you really feel it will add to your story, but let's make a layout that focuses on journaling. Remember, just because you don't have pictures, you can still create a work of art. If you want email it to me scrap-mommy@hotmail.com and I'll post it on my blog. or keep it personal and just give me a comment that you did it & how you feel now that you have done it. Remember, I'm with you too. I am the worst at journaling, but I am starting a new leaf TODAY! Right now! I am going to put my emotions to paper about the loss of my third child. Can't wait till Friday. I may have to call Dawn for help. So I am going to leave you with a very simple layout that I did over a year ago. The journaling is true to my heart. ( a melina photo of course!) Now for something on the lighter note, Yesterday, I took a few snaps of Jager & Zackary (his cousin) playing. It was too funny. These little boys are only 3 months apart.

Oh, and I stole this from Dawn's site. THANKS!!!!! go and check her out. dawnhueser@blogspot.com

I just received a bunch more Camp Croppin photos from Kim, so I'll post tomorrow. I have to do a little red eye fixing. If anyone else has photos from this weekend, keep them coming, I'll keep posting.

WINNER IS...

CORRINE BRAUN & JODY KOWALENKO!!!!!!! (read April 2nd post why I have 2 winners) I am so excited. Thanks everyone for all the awesome comments, and for those that are emailing me private, leaving phone messages. I love all the kind words!!!!! Those of you who are having trouble with leaving me comments. I don't know why, sorry. maybe they are too long. Try shorter comments. If it still doesn't work, I will still read emails. No prob! I had so much fun with the anticipation of who the winner would be that I think I will randomly do this more often. Can't wait till Giveaway Thursdays! I'm probably more excited than you guys. So today Corrine & Jody are going to get a selection of my favourite stuff! I'll take a pic tonight and post it tomorrow! Right now I'll leave you with a few more older layouts. Check me out tomorrow. April 2nd is the beginning to my new and exciting schedule of scrapbooking events. See you tomorrow!!!! *****edited April 2nd, this is the prize package that Corrine & Jody have won. It is right from my personal favourite collection. I am so in love with Crate paper. It is the perfect weight to work and have fun with. I included a few sheets of my absolute favourite textured cardstock: made by Prism. Also included are rub ons (of course!!!)by Making Memories, a mask by Heidi Swapp , Prima flowers & buttons in coordinating colours and last but not least ribbon from American crafts! I hope you have fun with this stuff Corrine & Jody, I know I do! email me a pic of whatever project you do with it and I'll post it on my site!!! Thanks for checking me out***********

Here was a challenge that someone gave me last summer. They said I had to use more brighter springy colours. I had just got my Scraptivity kit and so thought why not use this. another Melina Perron photo.

I have so many farm pics, and I love them. Here is one of Jager watching us round up cattle for the very first time. He was intrigued but scared because the cows were sure bellowing. But hey, I was a farm girl and even though I live in the city, my boys will definitely grow up knowing everything about the farm. I made the barbed wire look by just twisting actual wire.

Here is a mini album in a box class I taught. It is a little book about my favourite thing...being a mom.

See you tomorrow!