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?