Christmas Concert Magic

I typically am not a huge fan of school concerts! i know, that makes me public enemy number 1 in good parent circles, but I always find they are overdone, stressful, and more about the performance than about the fun of singing and sharing the holiday spirit. Bah Humbug!

But of course, my children are always fabulous!!! And this year they really had a good time getting ready for the concert, and performing for family and friends. I think it was the fact that Josh got to sing about underwear, Emily got to wear her PJ's, and Ben got to dance to a rockin' Christmas tune, but I could be wrong!

Actually, I think it has to do with teachers letting the kids be kids and not making it such a production!!! Because let's face it - there is simply nothing cuter than a little person laughing through a song, or a bigger kid elbowing the kid next to him to make him smile for the audience. And of course, my kids were fabulous - maybe we should think about show business. . . I am definitely stage mother material!!!

More December Dailies

How are your pages coming along??? I am now caught up and enjoying getting into the spirit of the season with a whole bunch of fun activities. My favourite photos so far have been of the kids making gingerfriends - they had so much fun and really did a fantastic job on the cookies - too good really - they are just too tempting!!!!! How are your December Dailies coming along????

Always Playing Catch Up!

Well, after a week of computer issues, time issues and general chaos, I am playing catch up with my December dailies!!!! I have posted day 3- 7 and will post the rest of my pages tomorrow!!

I have been keeping up with a photo ( or 20) a day and making notes on journaling so putting the pages together hasn't been too tough!!!

Hopefully you have been able to be a bit more diligent than I have been - I promise to keep up with it from now on - after all there are only 11 more days til Christmas!!!!!

December 1st and 2nd

How is your album going? Here are my first two pages - I have so far managed to keep up - but we will see how it goes when I travel home to Calgary for the weekend!!! Remember - the most important thing is to take a few photos, and jot down some journaling points on a post it or in a little notebook - that way you can fill in the blanks even if you get behind!!! Have fun - leave a comment and post a link to your pages - I would love to check them out!!!

DAILY DECEMBER IS HERE!

It is time to get started on your Daily December Album! If you haven`t been following along at weScrap, click the image above to go to the December Dailies forum for all the info - there is still time to get started and join the fun!!! remember to take your photo today - here are some tips and links to help you!!!

I wanted to give you a few photo tips and some links for more "professional" advice for improving your holiday photos! Many of these will be familiar to you, as I know scrappers are often some of the best photographers around!!!

MY TIPS:

TAKE LOTS OF PHOTOS:

Really. LOTS! And that doesn't mean 5. More like 50. If you have digital camera take as many as you can and delete the ones that you don't like - or better yet, print off collage of your worst, funniest, whatever holiday photos first - put it in your book, and then delete them! The more photos you take, the better your chances of getting a great one!!!

TURN YOUR CAMERA:

Make sure you get both horizontal and vertical shots! This seems obvious but sometime s we forget this and it makes your scrapping a ton easier if you have a variety of horizontal and vertical photos.

BE SNEAKY:

Take photos when people aren't looking - doing the everyday things that make life what it is. This album is all about the everyday, so catch people doing what they do!

GET CLOSE:

Close ups of things like a plate of cookies or your special ornament can be wonderful additions to your album. Check out the links below for tips on lighting and framing inanimate objects.

BACK UP:

I love close ups, and sometimes forget that the big picture is equally important. Don't just take close ups - sometimes the larger picture has a lot to say - for example your living room on Christmas morning!!

TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES:

Oh, did I say this already - then it must be important!!!

GIVE THE CAMERA AWAY:

Pass around the camera so others have an opportunity to share their point of view. This also means that YOU will be in some of the pictures!!! This is a good thing - you are part of the story, too and need to be included - I mean it - and I am the person who hates having my photo taken more than anybody!!!

RANDOM PHOTOS ROCK:

Take photos of random stuff like signs, funny perspectives, coffee cups. . . they really do add to your album and make it interesting. They also can tell the day's story from a fresh perspective. My kids always laugh at me about this, but it sure brings back memories when they see them in our albums!

CHECK OUT THE ARTICLES FROM THE PROS:

The links below all have really great tips for improving your holiday photography - be sure to check them out!!!

MOST IMPORTANT TIP OF ALL:

Don't stress about getting the "perfect" shot! While we all know that getting a great shot is cool and makes for fabulous pages, don't let getting the shot take over the moment - remember we are about creating memories and enjoying the moments - not just documenting them!

Fa-la-la-la-la! May your pictures be jolly and your holidays filled with joy.

http://www.usa.canon.com/app/html/Scrapbooking/tutorials_holiday_photos.html

http://www.snapfish.com/holidaycardphoto

http://www.digitalphotoacademy.com/Home/Instructors/Tips_And_Tricks/params/page/11/menu/12/default.aspx

Happy ADVENT!

Welcome Advent! It is time to prepare for Christmas and Advent is the season of preparation! Check out this great you tube video about making your Advent mean something!

Numbers game

OK, today is all about the numbers - numbers for your December Dailies Album, that is! You need to make 31 (yup, one for each day!!) little number tags! These can be random sizes, shapes and numbers, or they can be fairly uniform!
Here are a link to the Kaisercraft site - which has some great number downloads that match their Christmas Paper lines! Check it out HERE!

And here is a free pdf download for you of numbers in different fonts - you can punch these out and adhere to chipboard or cardstock tags - all ready for your pages!

HERE it is!! It looks better after download, as it uses a bunch of different fonts! Give any of these a try!

Tomorrow I will have some tips for supplies and construction!!

Welcome to December Dailies!!

Today is the day!!! If you haven't heard already - I am hosting an online class at weScrap called December Dailies! Based on those great daily albums of Ali Edwards, I will help YOU complete your daily December album with ideas, hints and general enthusiaastic motivation!!!

If you have always wanted to do this, but never quite seem to get it done - this is YOUR year!!!

Join me for all the fun and creativity at weScrap!

Here is the link to the forum which has all the info DECEMBER DAILIES FORUM !!!

This week is Prep Week - we will build the bones of our album and get ready to start doing a page a day in December!!! This can be a mini album, or a full size album with any page size you like. It is up to you! I like a random style mini book, so that is what I will do, but you can do what you like! How great is that? And you can use up all those bits and pieces of Christmas scrap supplies that I KNOW you have kicking around!!

Be sure to check back here daily for all the details, links and inspiration!!

Ho Ho Hope you'll join me!!

December Kit Sneak Peek , Photoshop and NEW MOON!!!!

I cannot WAIT for this kit to arrive - it is in the mail as we speak and some of the other Design Team member have it already! It is called RUBY SOHO, which sounds lush and rich and apparently the kit is, too. I know it has some of Basic Grey's Indian Summer Line, as well as lots of other goodies! I am super excited to get it and hope it comes today so I can play with it this weekend!

It continues to be rainy and miserable here in Victoria - the good news being that I have no choice but to scrap in this weather (well, I could clean, but you know how I feel about THAT!!!).

It seems that there is a never ending source of photos that need to be scrapped! I finally put 40( yes 40!!) layouts into an album . The pile has been steadily growing since September!! I found a great little site that has lots of great tutorials and actions (ALL FREE) for Photoshop, so I have been workin on that, too! I really want to make use of the program for improving the quality of my photos. There is a blinkie link in the right sidebar - it is here for you as well - lots of fun stuff to try out, whether you are a beginner or more advanced user!!!

Now for some fun news - I am very excited that I get to take Hannah and her friend Madi too see New Moon on Friday afternoon!! yes, we are skipping school - we did for Twilight, too!!! Gotta make it an event!!!! Hannah is now officially a Team Jacob girl, but I am still hanging with the vampires!!! If only I was 5 years ( OK 15????) younger, sigh. I actually am more of a Team Carlyle woman!!! LOL!!!! Check it out here:



Happy Day everyone!!!

Catch up Time and a fun December Project!

Well, after 10 miserable days of H1N1 ( all the kids got it - luckily I did not!!), I think we are finally well and back to living a normal life! Being stuck inside for over a week is NOT fun, and even the kids were getting sick of TV!!!



On a positive note, I was able to do a bit of scrapping while everyone was sleeping, and I managed to get a good start on my Christmas cards, as well as getting the planning done for my December Dailies Project over at weScrap!



What is the December Dailies Project, you ask??? Well, it is a terrific mini album project based on Ali Edwards' Daily December Album. Some of you will remember I did an album like this last year, and it really has become my favourite mini album ever!!! Basically, you create a page a day in December, documenting the big and small things about your life in this festive month!



If you want to join in, please check out the details at weScrap here, it will give you an idea of the project, which will officially start on November 23rd! I will be posting links to weScrap, photos ,and updates here as well, and I hope you will join in. It is a terrific opportunity to scrap a snapshot of your life this December!!!



Watch here for more details!!!

Lest We Forget

Today is a day to remember - to remember those who have died, those who serve, and those who continue to suffer under the burden of conflict all over the world. May we work for justice - which will ultimately bring peace.

H1N1 is no fun!!!

Well, despite my best attempts to ward off this miserable flu - poor Hannah has succumbed and so we are lying low and trying to keep everyone healthy!! With Mark and his mom away on a Mediterranean adventure, it has been a little hectic!! I never knew how much I could love hand sanitizer!!!!

I will be posting more tomorrow, but for today just wanted to remind you about weScrap's fabulous Christmas Kit - a limited edition kit featuring great Christmas lines from Making Memories and Bo Bunny!!! - For only $16.99 it could be an early Christmas gift from you to you!!!

More tomorrow - must go sanitize. . . .

A little bit of what I have been working on. . .

Fall is such a great time to take photos - I love the colours and the activities - so much fun! These layouts were all made at weScrap's Think Pink Crop - I have million fall photos still to scrap!! The above layout is made with mostly supplies form the new fall line from Pink Paislee.

The above layout is an experiment using both paint and glimmer mist - but really it is the photo I love - Josh's expression says it all!

I love this photo of Mark and Joshua, taken at the Historic Cannery just outside of Prince Rupert, BC. Supplies for this are from Bo Bunny's fall line!

What are you working on? Leave me a comment and let me know!!!!

Halloween Fun

We had a great Halloween - I went as a pirate ( above is me with my good friend Mandy!), and the kids were a variety of cool characters, spooky, mysterious and colourful!!! I hope you all had a fun Halloween - now to keep away from that darn candy!!!!

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!!!

Today is one of my favourite days of the year and I am looking forward to a spooky day and night! We will be carving up our pumpkins and getting ready to go trick or treating, and hoping the rain holds off until tomorrow!

We had fun last night at our church Halloween bash and I will post some pics from that and our other Halloween happenings tomorrow. For today, I have a special spooky story for everyone - written by my very talented 13 yr old daughter, Hannah! She has a great talent for writing, and apparently being 13 leads her down a rather dark train of thought!!! This a great story - and I would say that even if she wasn't my daughter!! You can click on the link to download and enjoy!!

Have a spooktacular Halloween!

Crisscross Card Tutorial & Blog Candy for You!!

Today's tutorial is a quick card that is fun and easy, and also makes a great gift card holder! Click below to download the instructions with photos, so you can make your own card! These are so fast, fun and easy - you will want to make a bunch!!!!

Enjoy the tutorial and I would love to see what you come up with! Make your own crisscross card and link your creation back here and I will pick a random winner on Friday October 30th!

Can't wait to see your cards!!!

Layout Inspiration

I had so much fun at the weScrap Think Pink crop this past weekend!! I got a lot accomplished and thought I would share a few things with you. The above was a card challenge.

This layout of Josh uses one of my favourite quotes ( on the photo), and one of my fave photos of Josh! Paper is from Sassafrass Lass and CosmoCricket. The letters are from Scenic Route.

This is my favourite layout of the weekend. My friend Donna came to visit us in September and brought this and a few other photos of Hannah's first few days. Donna is a special friend who was present at the birth of all of our kids as my a support for both Mark and I. Thanks Donna!

I really can't remember how small she was. . . so fun to scrap those baby pics again!!! Paper is from Basic Grey and the embellishments are a mish mash of stuff I found in my stash!!!

Thanks weScrap! I had a great time! And hey everyone - check my blog tomorrow for a tutorial on how to make a crisscross card!!!

WHOOOO LOVES FALL???

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Think Pink Crop Starts Today

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and weScrap is hosting a great crop this weekend with lots of challenges, games, prizes, and a grand prize giveaway - a brand new PINK SLICE!!!

The above layout is a little public service reminder to get yourself checked and to check yourself!!! It is also one of the challenges going on this weekend!!! Check out the link here:
THINK PINK CROP FORUM for all the details and lots of great inspiration!

Under the Sea

I promised last week I would put up some photos of our trip to the new Ocean Discovery Centre in Sidney, so here are a few! It is a really cool place, with lots of opportunity for hands on fun for the kiddos! Emily loves the whale skull (above), while Josh and Mark liked the touch tank!

I was fascinated watching the jellies, as was Josh! they really are the coolest thing - and I love this photo!!

Ben and Hannah voted for the very large ( and I would add, creepy) Giant Pacific Octopus. The thing actually swims over top of you, because of the tank design - freaky, but fun!!!

Another reminder that we live in a remarkable place. I loved how my kids could name all the creatures, and knew all about their habitat and how to protect it. I am definitely and Islander now - no going back to the prairies for me!!!

For more info, check it out here: Ocean Discovery Centre !!!

Happy Day everyone - check in tomorrow for more about the Think Pink Crop at weScrap and a fun little weekend project for you!!!!

Think Pink Crop and Halloween Kit

I hope you will join us at weScrap for the Think Pink Crop! Beginning Friday October 23rd, and running until Monday October 26th, it will be lots of fun, games, challenges and great prizes, including a PINK SLICE!

Here is a sneak peek from a challenge I am doing - it is gonna be a ton of fun!!!

And while you are over at weScrap, check out the new Limited Edition Halloween Kit - only $9.99 for a great bunch of Halloween treats for scrappy girls and ghouls!!!!

Kit Contents:

Patterned Paper

{1} Pink Paislee Twilight Diecut

{1} Basic Grey Mummy

{1} Basic Grey Tombstone

{1} Basic Grey Cauldron

{1} Basic Grey Dracula

{1} Basic Grey Evil EyeCardstock

{1} Bazzill - Raven

{1} Bazzill - Painted Desert

{1} Bazzill - WhiteEmbellishments

{1} Fancy Pants Ball Trim

{1} Fancy Pants Trick or Treat Black Cat Glitter Cut

{5} Assorted Buttons

{18} Basic Grey Erie Brads, Assorted

Hope you will join us at the crop!!!!

Fall at the Harbour

Happy Monday!!! Is it really Monday already???? Where did last week go? Yikes! I cannot believe it past the middle of October - time is really flying by! We had a lovely weekend, despite the rain on Saturday - Sunday was a glorious fall day!

With friends Deanna and Steve visiting from Calgary, we went down to the Harbour - fall is definitely here - the cool weather has finally turned the leaves into those vibrant red and golds that I love! Emily collected leaves, Josh was on the hunt for the eagle statues that are all around the downtown, and I was simply enjoying the sunny weather and time with friends! Some of the things we spotted. . .

Now that fall seems to have truly arrived, I can't wait to pick pumpkins this week!!!!!

Happy Day everyone!