How many days till crop?

Not enough!

I'm excited but freaked all at the same time.

My list of last minute things to do seems to keep getting longer instead of shorter.

I've been working on my class projects which even though they've been planned for weeks now, I haven't been able to put together until now because I was waiting for product to be delivered. It finally arrived last night so I've been assembling things today. For the most part it's been going well ---- except for the fact that one key item for one class seems to be awol. I cannot find my 4 boxes of chalks anywhere. I know I had them a few months ago but I must have taken them out of my tote while packing for a crop one day (in an effort to pack lightly and not take everything but the kitchen sink with me). Can't find them anywhere and this little glitch has forced me to rework the sample layout I was working on.

Here' s a peek at one layout that will be used as a sample for a class on titles and journalling. The title is done with a technique called "Chalk Board" (it doesn't look much like chalkboard on the sample because of the colour of cardstock I used but when done on black cardstock it does look like someone smacked a dusty eraser on a chalk board). To accomplish this effect I've placed chipboard letters on my versamat with a piece of white core cardstock overtop the chipboard letters and then sanded the paper. The raised letters underneath the cardstock act like an embossing plate and their images appear as if by magic. Cool! The journalling is another focus of this class - and since I've misplaced my chalk which I'd intended to use to highlight certain words in the journalling, I improvised and cut out corresponding cardstock pieces and printed the words I wanted to highlight on them.


This is my friends little guy. He's so darn cute I can't resist scrapbooking pictures of him.

~K

Final Sunday Sneak-Peak

The last paper pack to make it's debut later this week when the Summer Idea Book goes live on May 1st is called Tinkerin and you will want to check out this pack in full detail if you have a little guy or big guy who is into robots and mechanical gizmos with gears and wheels and cogs. The paper pack, with it's basic geometric shapes, won't just be limited to the Tinkerin crowd though. The possibilities are endless.

And that brings us to the end of our Sneak-Peak Series for the Summer Idea Book. Stop by my website www.kdann.myctmh.com starting May 1st to view these and all the new products using the live catalogue feature in the Products section or browse through the products while you Shop Online.

~K

Count Down To Crop - 8 Days!

Another day closer to crop and one day away from our 3-day weekend away.

I'm still focussing on packing today - for this weekend.

Costumes are packed (except one slip that needs a slight alteration....so glad I made her try it on) and almost all laundry is done and I'm soon ready to pack the suitcase(s). I'm making my last minute shopping list which mostly consists of groceries. Snack foods and picnic lunch/finger food type things to keep hunger at bay on the road, in the hotel and at the competion to hopefully help avoid high priced gas station & consession stand purchases.

I keep getting sidetracked by our road-trip food requirements with thoughs of crop food requirements and I've realized they are much the same. Scrapping snacks are similar to road trip snacks. Simple munchies that provide hunger relief but are quick and easy to eat.....because you are 'in the zone' for scrapping and don't want to stop for too long and loose your mojo. Some of my fav scrapping yummies are chineese appetizers - bite sized pork, potstickers, spring rolls, chicken nuggets etc with dipping sauces. Cheese & crackers and fruit and dip are also good.

What are your fav scrapping snacks?

Sorry....I know I said no questions today but again....I'm curious about your scrapping habbits and couldn't help myself.

~K

9 days!

Only 9 days till the crop.


Besides all the goodies, prizes, food and such I'll be hauling over to the hall for the weekend of fun, I've been thinking of what else I need to pack for a weekend of scrapbooking. The last time I was away from home for an entire weekend of scrapbooking I had to pack all my necessities into two suitcases (clothes included) with airline weight restrictions in mind. I went away to Calgary with my sister-in-law for a consultants weekend --- that was 2 years ago. I overpacked because I was so sure I would leave something behind that I'd need. I'm also a last minute packer and I will probably still be thinking of things to bring along on Friday morning.

I was talking to my mother-in-law this morning and she's all excited for next weekend. She sent in a batch of pictures for printing and picked them up yesterday so now that she has new photos to scrapbook she says she is all packed and ready to go.

I've got packing on my mind today and now I'm curious about everyone's packing and scrapping habbits.

When you head out to scrapbook, whether it is for the evening, a day or a whole weekend are you like me and overpack and aren't really sure what you are going to work on so you bring everything but the kitchen sink or are you like my mother-in-law, packed and ready to go ahead of time and know exactly what you are going to work on.

When you scrapbook whether it is at home or at a friends or at a crop are you a pre-planner or do you just wing it and see where your creativity takes you? I know some people who pre-plan their pages ahead of time, gathering together paper, photos, journalling, sketches etc and then assemble them. Others know what pictures they are going to use and have an idea in mind before they start. Then there are others (like me) who will flip through pictures until something jumps out and says 'scrap me!'

What inspires you most. Do you start with photos first or a layout idea first? If you use sketch books, idea books or magazines as your inspiration do you find a sketch or sample and then find your own photos to go with that idea or are you the scrapper who chooses a sketch or sample layout to go with the photos you want to use.


Bet you weren't expecting the third degree were ya. No pressure to answer but if you'd like to share with the rest of the class, leave a comment.

Come back tomorrow.....as the count down to crop continues. I promise, I won't ask a whole bunch of questions.


~K

Officially in panic mode - Less than 2 weeks!

National Scrapbook Celebration Weekend Crop is in less than 2 weeks. Oh My !

The past few months have flown by. Even with all brainstorming and planning I still feel like I won't be ready. Yikes!

My dining room is looking like a storm blew through as I sort through product and prepare goodie bags and prize packs and prep items for projects and demos. Added to the scrapbook related chaos in the dining room are dance costumes and suitcases and various other 'weekend away, living in a hotel with 4 kids' related items.....including a portable DVD player we won at a fundraiser last night. Whooo hooo - 3hour car trip just got a whole lot easier! I can't find the bathing suits that were put away for the winter and one kid has lost their dance shoes.....I wonder if I included them in a goodie bag by mistake.

Tacked to my kitchen wall are large sheets of paper with "To Do" lists for both dance competition weekend and scrapbook weekend. Yikes!

And I look at my dining room and think.....geee it's too bad I can't see my table because I'd so love to sit and scrapbook for a couple hours tonight. Actually what I need to do (other than prep stuff for crop) is make birthday cards because even though I thought of this a week - or probably two weeks ago, I forgot that I have a massive pile of birthdays in May and I have NINE birthday cards to make. At the very least I think I should make cards for 3 of my 4 kids......one of them has their birthday on the Sunday of crop weekend too so maybe I should start with an 'I'm sorry I went scrapbooking on your birthday....again' card.

One of the new items in the Summer '09 Idea Book is the next How-To book by Jeanette Lynton. "Wishes" contains 109 new card patterns and Jeanette has posted a more detailed description of this book on her blog at jeanettelynton.com She even provides the pdf link to one of those new patterns and I can't wait to use it for one (or two) of the many cards I need to make then next couple week. Why don't you check out the pattern and share with me what you create. I'd love to see your cards.



~K

Another Sunday Sneak-Peak

Drumroll Please


Presenting the fouth paper pack from the Summer Idea Book.


A fun little summer number named Moon Doggie.

Surf's Up! Now bring on Summer.

~K

TGIF - Weekend Challenge #7

I am forever looking for inspiration not only for scrapbook pages but as part of life in general. This scrapbook page was done quite a few years ago (no ctmh product on it....except maybe the ink around the edges) but I wanted to share it because it is of a couple of women who inspire me. The metal tile in the bottom left corner says Sisters by Chance Friends by Choice and that couldn't be more true. I love these women!

For this Weekend Challenge, use this layout as your inspiration - the colours, the design, the elements (three sets of ribbon, three strips of paper) or the theme of someone who inspires you. As an added challenge print your photo(s) on cardstock. I love the effect a photo printed on cardstock gives rather than on photo paper.


Need more inspiration. Click on the button. Close To My Heart has set up a special website especially for National Scrapbooking Month in May. They are hosting a layout contest with wonderful prizes. Check out the catagories and start planning your layouts.

Happy Scrapbooking & have a wonderful weekend!

Ready For Another Sunday Sneak-Peak

Here's the third paper pack making it's debut in the Summer Idea Book.

I give to you a small taste of Animal Cookies.

I'm loving this pack. The subtle patterns and the funky animals. Too cute. Now, if I could only get this silly Animal Crackers song out of my head.

~K

THREE WEEKS

Three weeks! Only three weeks till the weekend crop!

Are you getting excited?

The National Scrapbook Weekend Celebration Crop is going to be so much fun - not as well attended as I'd hoped but that won't stop us from scrapbooking the weekend away!

Friday night is open crop night - nothing much planned. Perfect starter for a weekend of scrapbooking, card making and fun.

I've got two fabulous scrapbook page classes planned for Saturday

Emerging Colour Class - a stamping/heat embossing technique

Say it in Style Class - add some wow to your titles and journalling with a few easy ideas.

Sunday's class will focus on cards

One sketch - Three Ways Card Class - using the same card sketch we will create
three distinctly different cards with a variety of different stamping and embellishment techniques.

Scattered through out the weekend are a few challenges and games. I have some prizes to give away too.

Three days set aside for scrapbooking, spending time with family and friends and having a great time - what could be better.


I Can't Wait!!!!



~K

TGIF - Weekend Challenge #6 ***edited***

I hope you enjoyed the Sunday sneak-peek of some of the upcoming product. If you pop over to Jeanette's blog you might get another peek at some new things.

Blog posts have been few and far between lately because life has me spinning in a few uncomfortable directions lately and I'm getting a little dizzy. It's like being on an amusement park ride that you can't wait to get off of because it's just not what you thought it would be. The merri-go-round is more my speed these days.

For this weekends challenge

***edited to add the actual challenge --- Sorry about that ***

Apparently I didn't double check that the WHOLE post had saved and posted before I stepped away from my computer for a day of scrapbooking with my gals (I do not wish to discuss how many pages I finished. I blame the head cold entirely and that's my story and I'm sticking to it)

Since I mentioned amusement park rides let's use that as a starting point for this challenge and make a page about a fun activity or event that you enjoy or have memories of as a child. An additional challenge would be to combine the two and make a page about an activity/event you participate in now that you also have memories of as a child.

An example: We take our children each year to the midway rides & carnival games at an annual festival in our town and I have pictures of them riding the same rides year after year (it's cool to see how much they've grown over the years) and each year while we play a couple carnival games I remember, as a child, going to an annual community festival called Hi-Neighbour in our neighbourhood of the city I grew up in.

It doesn't necessarily have to be a summer activity, that's just where my frame of mind is right now. Wishful thinking for warmer weather.

Again - sorry for the half post this morning. At least I didn't manage to loose the entire thing (which I've done more than once lately).

Happy scrapping.

~K

Sunday Sneak-Peak

Since there are four Sundays between now and the actual release of the new Summer 2009 Idea Book and Catalogue and there are five new paper packs making their debut I'm going to share with you a sneak-peak of two of them today and one more each Sunday until the end of the month. I know. How evil of me not to just give em to you all at once.....but where would the fun be in that.


We'll start the viewing with Backcountry. Remember these are just quick samples and don't give you the full idea of what the complete paper pack is like but it will give you a peek at what the colour schemes & possible themes are.

Backcountry also happens to be the featured paper pack on the cover of the Summer Idea Book.

Next up we have what, at first glance (remember I haven't seen a book yet either), is shaping up to be one of my favs of the season. Here's a little look at Bella

As usual CTMH has done a brilliant job creating new paper packs, coordinating stamp sets and accents to make scrapbooking faster, simpler, easier and oh so much fun. I can't wait to share the remaining paper packs with you.


~K

TGIF - Weekend Challenge #5

We are cleaning the house today....actually it's more of a reorganizing & rearranging rooms project (and I'm bored with it already but am committed to it) which leads to deep cleaning of the corners as we move furniture.

All this cleaning is very uninspiring scrapbooking wise but in the process of moving furniture I've found a few treasures I'd forgotten I'd saved for the purpose of scrapbooking. One of the items found is a theatre ticket to a play, Munch on the Prairie, that my sister-in-law took the younger kids to during Christmas break.

My challenge for you this weekend is to create a scrapbook page using a momento - an invitiation, a letter or card from someone, a ticket stub, a play bill, a tourist map or attraction pamphlet, any little 'treasure' saved for the purpose of preserving the memory of that time or place.

Hopefully this little BIG project doesn't take all weekend and I can get some scrapping done too.

Stop by later this weekend. I may just have a sneak peak picture or two of what's coming in the new summer catalogue.


~K

More Tickled Pink

I just can't get enough of this kit and I have another picture to share.

Tickled Pink is available April 15th until May 31st *while supplies last*
Purchase at full price or you can get it at a discount or even free with minimum purchases.
Full details are available on the flyer posted here .

It's April 1st but this is no joke

With the massive amounts of snow falling today I find it hard to believe I'm thinking about summer but that's what is on my mind today.

Why? Because the Summer catalogues are on their way!

I should have them early next week unless the weather slows them down.

I can't wait to see them......can you?


~K