Welcome!!!

Welcome !!!!!
We welcome entries that are not traditional scrapbooking - such as art journalling, painting, cards, mixed media, off-the-page work. However you like to create - we welcome your work!



Monday, December 12, 2011

monday's mentions 12 december 2011

Sarah Groen was a winner over at Stuck Sketches this month - congratulations Sarah!!!

Nadia Cannizzo and Patrice were faves at Sketchy Thursdays.

My friend Lee Schertzing received this amazing package of ribbon from 217 Creations a couple of weeks ago.  I just had to share the photos:




Friday, December 9, 2011

Something uplifting ...

I have always loved this - I think it is the same one I posted on my personal blog last year.  Enjoy it ladies!! It will put a smile on your face for sure!! And no, I get no kickbacks from Scrapbook.com, lol.  They don't even supply me with their gift certificates for the blog ... it is simply uplifting, especially if you love to scrap like we do!




fave fridays 9 december 2011

My friend Lee Schertzing sent me a couple of links to share today with you all.  Here are a couple of her favourite scrapbooking links this week:

How to make a 3D Pinecone (217 Creations)


Freebies to download at Jack and Cat Studio


The freebies are Christmas ephemera at a high resolution - very useful indeed and GORGEOUS!!

Thanks so much Lee!! You are a doll!!

... and speaking of 217 Creations and gorgeous - stay tuned on Monday when we post Monday's mentions and show you some photos of some GORGEOUS ribbon that they sent to Lee one day a few weeks ago.  What a freaking bonanza!! You've got to see it.

Have a great weekend - never be shy to post links you like in the comments section on Fridays, or send me fave links at anne.pennington@xplornet.com - just mention fave fridays in your subject line.  Even if your fave link is your own blog - post away!! We love to share here, and we'd love to see your stuff.






Wednesday, December 7, 2011

shining stars on the seventh - 7 december 11

Julie Jeavon's daughter Siobhan is just as artistic and crafty as her Mom!! Here is a recent example of her work:


Loving the tags and the card!!!  You have used great colours and embellishments, Siobhan.  The Christmas pressies and tree ornaments are making me in the mood for Christmas!!! Awesome work - I really hope that I see more of it!! Thanks so much for sharing!



Thursday, December 1, 2011

1 december 2011 prompt challenge

Wow - the 1st of December - Christmas is coming ....

Our challenge this time around is to scrap a treasured Thanksgiving memory for you, DO NOT USE THE COLOUR ORANGE anywhere in the layout. Ha ha!! If you do not celebrate Thanksgiving – how about scrapping what you are thankful for, or why not scrap a family reunion or gathering????

Here are some contributions from some members of our lovely design team - and no, that is not orange in my layout - it is a salmony pink and yellow from Sassafrass!:



and me :)




Monday, November 28, 2011

monday's mentions 28 november 11

Our awesome designer Donna O'Leary has been selected for another design team!! So happy to see that others have brains out there!! We don't know which one yet, as she is not at liberty to divulge, but we sure are proud and happy for her!!!!

Have you or anyone else who hangs out here been mentioned this week?  Please leave a link in the comments to lead us to the mention!!


Friday, November 25, 2011

fave fridays 25 november 11 ...

Here is a cute little card technique.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1Zj4XY/www.youtube.com/watch%253Fv%253D00LS67zJY_8

Have you had anything to share in your internet travels this week??



Monday, November 21, 2011

monday's mentions 21 november 11 ...

Georgia was a winner over at Bird is the Word for her layout entitled "Together" - and what a wonderful layout it was!!!

Mieke Nagtegaal was featured in Issue 59 of Scrapbook magazine - love the layout Mieke! Congratulations!!

Have you been mentioned anywhere this week????

Friday, November 18, 2011

fave fridays 18 november 11 ...

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/8Ca2BA/theclothspring.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/john-lennon-quote-happy.jpg

This is not about scrapbooking, but it is about life - what else matters really but that you help others to be happy and are happy yourself ...

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

15 november sketch challenge

Here is our sketch this month to play along with!!



Scrap your favourite book – you can use a scan of the cover, a picture that represents  the book’s theme, you can journal why it is a favourite of yours.  You have until the 30th of the month to play along!!!

 Our prize to play for this month is a $25.00 gift certificate from Scrapbooking.com!!





Monday, November 14, 2011

monday's mentions ... 14 november 2011

Donna O'Leary was a winner of the RAK over at Carol's Paper Pantry!! You have been so lucky lately chickie!!!

Have you been mentioned anywhere this week?  Let us know!!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

fave fridays 11 11 11 ...

My friend Lee Schertzing sent me the link to this website where they feature challenges and sketches from all over.  You can use their website to see a lot of the challenges out there, what their requirements are and deadlines all at a glance.  Looks pretty cool:

http://felineplayful.blogspot.com/

Where have you been this week????



Monday, November 7, 2011

shining stars on the seventh - 7 november 11

This is an area for you to feature your children's scrapbooking, cardmaking or other artwork if you wish!

monday's mentions ... 7 november 2011

Roxy Rolla was a fave last month at Scrapbookers Anonymous!! That's not all - she won a Golden Globe from From Screen 2 Scrap!!  Congratulations Roxy!! Great work!! You really are rolling!

And speaking of Scrapbookers Anonymous -Yvonne Yam and Karen Wray were faves there as well last month. Karen was also the lucky winner of their random prize!!

Friday, November 4, 2011

fave fridays 4 nov 11 ...

Here's a tutorial I ran across this week to make flowers:  http://jonesdesigncompany.com/flowers/rolled-paper-flowers-tutorial/

What have you run across this week online???

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

some freaking faves for october 2011's challenges

Wow - the DT and I have picked some awesome faves for this week, but before we tell you who they are - I want to announce the winner of our gift certificate - Karen Williams!!! Yay!! E-mail me at anne.pennington@xplornet.com Karen giving me your e-mail address so that I can arrange the gift certificate being sent to you!

Now for the winners of our faves:

30 September challenge:






15 October challenge:





Yay!!!! Congratulations ladies for your awesome work - we thank you so much for participating.  If it was not for you all, well, we would have no reason to be here!!



Tuesday, November 1, 2011

1 november 2011 prompt challenge

Wow - another month has passed - hard to believe!!! Time for another prompt challenge - you have until the 30th of November to play along with this challenge and the next challenge that we will post on the 15th of this month.  This month's challenge is to scrap about a belief, or philosophy you have – it can be something deep or something silly. It might be a religious or other philosophy, or something as light as your theory on how you can put two socks into the washing machine and only one ever comes back to you. Take this challenge as seriously or not as you would like to!!

Our prize to play for this month is a $25.00 gift certificate from Scrapbooking.com!!

Monday, October 31, 2011

monday's mentions 31 october 2011

Both Sarah and Cherubs are favourites at Sketchy Thursdays from last week's challenge.  Always love the work those two ladies produce!!!!

Has your work been mentioned or featured anywhere recently??? Let us know in the comments below - or, let me know at anne.pennington@xplornet.com anytime you want to share your news!!

Friday, October 28, 2011

fave fridays 28 oct 11 ...

Well, I joined Stumbled Upon at the suggestion of my daughter and guess what they suggested I  might be interested in this morning??? Check out Leigh Ann's tutorial on hand stitching here!!! Very informative and inspiring!! Think I'll check out their suggestions more often!!

Of course, joining a website like Stumble Upon has it's own risks - some websites might record a lot of information about the websites you follow.  Always read the terms and privacy policies of any area you visit on the website before joining!!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

november's guest design team member




My name is Anne and I am French. I live in a small rural village in the UK with my two children and my husband Andrew. I run my own company, teaching French to young children and adults.


I come from a very crafty family, starting with a grandmother who knitted and crocheted anything she could, including fruit bowls !!.  My mum used to knit and sew most of my clothes and I have lots of embarrassing pictures to prove it! She then tried her hands at framing and quilting and she is very good at it too. My sister started knitting at a very young age and designed a whole new wardrobe for my dolls and teddies. She has since become an expert quilter and a fantastic artist.

And then, there was me !! I have, unfortunately, not inherited any sewing or knitting skills, but I have always enjoyed making cards and just messing around with crafty things. I only came across scrapbooking , a year and a bit ago, after meeting the lovely Lisa (http://scrappyfairies.blogspot.com/ ) at swimming. She and I just started chatting one day instead of watching the progress of our darling cherubs! (As you do !! ). She was the first person who showed me a mini book and pictures of some lay outs she had done. I can honestly say I had never seen any pieces of art as beautiful and meaningful as these.  Lisa has since then become a good friend and remains my inspiration and role model.

I would like to describe my style as clean and simple but in reality I am a very messy scrapper and my style often reflects my personality! I love to scrap moments in time more than big events and I hope that future generations will look at my work and understand where they come from. I love pretty papers and ribbons, anything girly and lacy. I love working with masking tapes and stickers but I struggle using mists and paints.

 Anne's blog can be found at hobby d'un jour!!

Saturday, October 22, 2011

technique twenty-second - October 2011

I have added some instructions and with photos here to a cute little spinner album I made and taught a class with a while ago using double sided paper from Basic Gray.  Basically I told my students to look for natural embellishments that may be in their paper before they committed and cut the paper for use as background in their pages of the spinner album.  Some papers had some nice scallopped borders that students could cut out, some had beautiful flowers or other natural lines that could be used in borders. You will find suggestions I gave them for cutting their papers and some photos of the finished album here, as well I provide some photos of the finished album below. The whole album was made with less than 10 double-sided pages and some ribbon, flowers, a few tags, inks, embossing powder, and buttons. The pdf instructions I have attached to the post on my personal blog show some of the natural embellishments I cut from the papers.  As well, the next pages I included in the .pdf show some of the completed pages of the spinner album.

If you can get away with a beautiful economical project using paper wisely to make embellishments - why not do so????











Friday, October 21, 2011

fave fridays 21 oct 11 ...

I've been having fun on the Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine blog - I was published in their current issue (Fall 2011)! A lot of the ladies from the magazine were at Scrapfest this past weekend - I spent a wonderful weekend in Oshawa Ontario Canada with girlfriends at the event.  I even took a class with Becky Fleck there!!!

Where have you found inspiration on the web this week????

Monday, October 17, 2011

monday's mentions ... 17 october 11

Lee Schertzing made it to round 3 at Practical Scrappers' card making challenge.  Please click on the link to vote for her card every day this week!!!!

Also Donna O'Leary was a winner over at Scrapbookers Anonymous for their tag challenge!!!

Congratulations ladies!!! 


Saturday, October 15, 2011

15th sketch 15 october 2011

Wow - already time for another sketch challenge!  We are playing for the 25 dollar gift certificate from the scrapping bug for October's challenges.  Here is our sketch:




For this game we challenge you to feature yourself in costume, or a costume that you have made or inspired, incorporate the colour purple somewhere in the layout, place a surprise somewhere in the layout .  If you do not celebrate Hallowe’en where you are - scrap about dress-up – either for a formal affair, or for play!! Now - you are welcome to play along and post your layout even if you are stumped on any of these requirements - we encourage you to play along regardless!! We don't penalize - we like everyone to have some fun and play along in the spirit if they are able to!





and me :)

 


Just link your layout to Mr. Linky below!!!





Friday, October 14, 2011

fave fridays 14 october 2011 ...

I'd like to share a link to a fun and informative Canadian magazine that is offered online - Scrapbooks and Cards Today.  The hard copy magazines are available at Canadian scrapbook stores free of charge - usually the stores will offer them with purchases of $25 or more until supplies run out.  They also published each issue digitally on the website.  You can find the magazine at: Scapbooks and Cards Today

Where have you been online this week?  If you have a link to share - add it to the comments below!!!




Thursday, October 13, 2011

more shake-ups

Due to popular demand we will now extend the playing time for the challenge on the 1st and the 15th of the month through to the last date of the playing month.  So any of October's challenges are now due by the 31st of October to  be considered as a fave or as the winner of this month's prize.  We hope you'll take advantage of the extra play time to play along with us!!! The more the merrier!!


Monday, October 10, 2011

freaking HUGE shake-up and change here ...

I know, I know, we are creatures of habit and we all hate changes - but ...

... i have a really good reason for this assault to your senses -  i am getting confused sometimes ...

It seemed like a good idea at the time when I started this blog - but because our 30th prompt challenge is, in fact a challenge for the next month, and not for the month that the 30th falls on, well, it is confusing me and some other people.  It is hard to remember that you are playing for the next month`s prize along with the 15th sketch challenge of that month - so we are going to do something pretty radical here - yes, the 30th prompt challenge will now be the 1st prompt challenge ... yes, i am serious, we are going to do something that radical ...

not only are we changing the date of the prompt challenge - we are not even going to give you some time to get used to it - we will start on the 1st of November - yes, of this year ...

i`m sorry - but you will like it eventually - and I will not change the date of Christmas ... or your birthday ...

monday's mentions 10 october 11

Yay - our awesome designer Donna O'Leary was a winner over the Little Shop of Sketches for her interpretation of one of their sketches!  Way to go Donna!!

Anne was a winner at Sketches in Thyme for her work - loving what you did for their challenge Anne!! But then again, I love all your work ...


Lee Schertzing has made it to round two in the card competition at Practical Scrappers!!!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

some freaking faves for 30 aug and 15 sep challenges and a winner for September's prize!!!

Oh my gosh - I am so very late with this posting - my sincerest apologies to all.  But I have a really good excuse for this rudeness ... I forgot.  This blog is so new that I haven't got the rhythm yet.  I have a new list of TO DOs for all my blog deadlines - and, well, I forgot to put this on the list. I am so very sorry!!!!

Faves for 30 August challenge were:










Faves for 15 September challenge were:








And the winner of our 25 dollar prize to Scrapbook.com is no other than Jennifer R. Jennifer - please contact me at anne.pennington@xplornet.com to give me your e-mail address so I can send your gift certificate to you.