SEI Lifestyle Inspiration

There are so many ways to be inspired in the world of Scrapbooking. I have said before that great photos are my source of inspiration here at home but when I am out in cyberspace waiting for inspiration to strike, I go the Manufacturer blogs and one of my favourites is the SEI Lifestyle blog. I love the SEI lines and their Design Team members are very talented and innovative. They also produce sketches every month. This month SEI sketch by Julie Bonner.

I used SEI's Chocolat line to create this design of my DD this past Canada Day.  I adore this photo and even though her shirt is actually white and red, the shading here lends itself to this line perfectly.

I centered the photo a bit more than what's in the sketch and omitted the journalling portion (I tried to add it here and wasn't satisfied with the results).

Let me know what you think and be sure to Head on over to SEI Lifestyle blog and play along in August!

I also wanted to be sure to tell about a giveaway from the wonderfully creative Gabrielle. Check out her blog and the pictures of her giveaway here. Here are some of the wonderful things she is paying forward from her own stash!

Keep doing what you love!

Christa

Have you ever been Stuck?!

Hello scrappy friends! I hope you are enjoying July and if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, Summer! I mentioned in my previous post that I enjoyed a full 12 hours of scrapbooking at Two Scrapbook Friends last Saturday. I had a wonderful time and I can't remember 12 hours going by so quickly. I was productive and managed to get 4 layouts completed! Three singles and one double (Safari So Good) which you may have seen in my last post. Here are two more.

The first is based on a sketch my friend Sharon and fellow DT member posted as our sketch challenge for July. There is a wonderful contest so check our our forum and play along. She got it from a super cool site called  Stuck?!.

I made this:

The final layout I made to play along with  the BINGO challenge at Two Scrapbook Friends. I used a wave, sunshine, stitching, a fish and the colour blue. It came together nicely!

I had the best time and I can hardly wait for the Fall Retreat in October. No one puts on a scrapbooking event like they do! Unless of course it's my friend Ann and I!  Don't forget to pop over to the Encore Dance Crop blog and see what donations and giveaways we have this week!
Til next time, keep doing what you love!
Christa

Safari So Good

I must say that I read that title and I chuckle to myself. I felt I was pretty clever with it and, much to my hubby's chagrin, I laugh myself silly everytime I say it. I think one reason this layout makes me feel so good  is that it was the title of a layout I did using Bo Bunny's Zoology line which is a personal favourite of mine this spring. I used it to create a layout of our Safari at Busch Gardens in Tampa this past May; a wonderful family vacation. I also have a soft spot for giraffes and they are such majestic and intelligent creatures. (They even have freckles like me!) Also, this layout was the first 2 page layout I have created in the past 6 months! I am very proud that I was able to break the creative block I had around the 12x24 space. In fact, I have included a 2 pager in my August Design Team work for the first time ever.  The final reason is that I even completed this layout at the All Day Summer Crop held at my favourite store, Two Scrapbook Friends. Such a super time and I was very productive.

I love the large diecut and the Punky Sprouts canvas tape that I frayed to give it a wild look. I also distressed with my sanding block some chunky chipboard letters in black. I then added brown ink. The effect matches the black outline on the diecut perfectly.


Please let me know what you think! I would also love to see if you have used Zoology to create any masterpieces too!

Keep doing what you love (and laugh a bit while you do!)
Christa xo

Cool Things for a Hot Summer Week!

Well we are into the thick of the summer heat here in Ontario, Canada. I can happily justify spending the hot evenings in my cool basement or living room making scrapbook layouts or cruising scrappy blogs for inspiration. CHA is around the corner and almost every manufacturer is getting ready for their Winter/Fall reveals. Some faves are from Glitz Design and of course, Bo Bunny.  I can hardly wait to see that at Two Scrapbook Friends! Do you have a fave release at CHA?

Summer also means summer dance camp at Encore Studios. Our new director Chrystal Mazzota has brought some very cool choreographers in to teach the kids. This week my DD is learning hip hop from the fabulous MsToya Robinson! We are so excited for the fall too and can't wait for our Encore Dance Fundraiser. This week we are offering a sampling of some twine from the Twinery for the first 5 paid registrations. Check this blog post out for more details.

Finally, I am in the thick of my summer class from BPC. I am taking it with Ann and Carla two of my bestest scrappy pals. We are receiving challenges via email from Elizabeth Dillow. The first was to use a familiar object as inspiration for our layout. I used a scrappy magazine cover from Scrapbooks etc.

I created this page by mimicing the tilted focal photo and the three other vertical photos. I also added rub on text to those vertical photos. I also added a small object in the upper left and an image or cluster iin the lower left to represent the barcode. Lots of other little tidbits. Let me know if you think I met the challenge!

The second challenge was to use a photo as the canvas for the layout. To be honest this felt very digi-scrappy and I know it got in the way of me being able to approach this task. I finally chose a photo of me taken this spring my by photographer friend Angela Smith. She is a genius (as I have said before) and it really did provide me with room to play. I didn't use any patterned paper her; only a square punch, a duplicate photo, some old rub-ons from MME and  cardstock from American Crafts. I am ultimately happy with the result but certainly didn't feel I had really CREATED here. HAve you done something like this before? Share your results in a link with me below. I'd love to see them!

Thanks for sharing your scrappy thoughts with me and I look forward to hearing about all your adventures too. Til then, keep doing what you love to do.

Christa

It's CHA sneak peeks!

I am stunned that is its CHA time once again. It means that Manufacturers are set to release sneak peeks of their new products and stores are ordering like crazy! I recently saw this new line on Glitz Design and I loved the colours (mauve and gold and aqua) and the fonts. Even the name Dance in the Sunshine, was a thrill! Of course the awesome bling and vintage-y feel didn't hurt either!
So, I encourage you to check it out for yourself and enter their contest to win the whole line!
Here's a sneak peek I'll share with you!

I also wanted to share you a personal triumph! My dear BFF Carey has admitted to being a scarpbook-aphobic, but this year when our DD's decided to dance competitively I convinced her that she should document this journey for her daughter. She said she would try if I designed the page and made them fairly simple; she would copy my page! I was so excited. So this past weekend we met for a few hours and here she is with her very first page! I am so proud of her and I LOVE the time we spend together. Congrats Carey!

I am also starting a new Challenge course at Big Picture Classes Today with my other BFF Ann. Stay tuned! I am still trying to do a LO EOD (LayOut Every Other Day!) and will post more of those soon too.

Until next time...keep doing what you love to do!
Christa

July 1st is more than just Canada's Birthday!

Happy Birthday to the best country in the world! Not only am I celebrating with fireworks and BBQ's, I am celebrating some scrapbooking thrills!

Today is the July release at Two Scrapbook Friends. I was given the really retro feeling Cosmo Cricket Upcycle line. Here are three layouts I put together as part of my LOAD process where I enjoyed working with some older photos, especially one of my mother when she was a young teen.

Please let me know what you think!

I also wanted to share with you a video I made for Two Scrapbook Friends using Cosmo's Glubers to make a Pleated Ribbon Flower.  I love making these videos, even though I need more practice! Keep watching for more in the future.

Finally, my friends at My Sketch World have released their July 1 sketch layouts. I made one of my daughter using Graphic 45 and a wonderful sketch by Lucy Chesna. I love this line and the sketch is so versatile.

For my Canadian Friends, I hope you are as proud to be Canadian as I am! I hope you are enjoying your families and friends on this special day.
Also, happy 4th of July to my American friends! Hope you all have a safe and happy weekend.
Keep doing what you love to do!
Christa