September Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Hello Hoppers!

Unfortunately I am caught up in my sweet daughters 3rd birthday. I love her so much I just had to give her all the time she deserves so my project never got completed.

Hop on over to Traci and I will see you another day for LOTS of great stuff I do have planned out! AND be sure to tune in when I share the BIG party and all the cute decorations made with CTMH product!

Until we craft again, The Brae-er


Family Friday: Cardiac Kids BBQ

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Although being a Mom of a child with a congenital heart defect is never a ‘walk in the park’ it certainly can make for a really fun day at the park!  ESPECIALLY when we are invited to a family BBQ with Cardiac Kids- an organization that supports the cardiac kids and families at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. Austin was born with an aeortic stenosis- a valve defect that last year needed to be addressed through valve replacement surgery. He did great and ended up the proud owner of a ‘donor’ valve- he now considers himself part Zombie!!

My sweet boy does not like photos so at the beginning of this BBQ he would NOT pose for any photos- by the end of the afternoon all the fun was taking effect and I got a few in- of course his little sister was only too happy to smile for some photos- especially when with her favourite friends!

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Here is my cardiac kid climbing a volcano- he was determined to make it to the very top! The first try he was close. Second try he did it and was VERY proud!

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Some yummy cotton candy and a trip to the velcro wall! He even made a new friend – we had such a great time and cannot wait for next year!

Thanks Cardiac Kids!!

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Until we craft again, The Brae-er


Confetti Wishes

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Confetti Wishes is a bright, colourful and beautiful paper just bursting with life!  This layout comes from the Workshop on the Go for this paper- it is the layout that my club ladies will be creating when we do this kit.

Have you ever tried our Workshop on the Go kits? They changed slightly in this new book – now they all feature cuts using our cricut cartridges (although they also show you how you can create the layout not using the cartridges).

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Of course these papers are perfect for birthday photos they are also useful for a lot of other memories- I used mine for the Wishmaker walk photos from last fall. We do this every year as a family as a way to give back for the wonderful wish trip that my son had when he was four (they do an AMAZING job of their trips!).

Until we craft again, The Brae-er


Single Page Saturday: a layout about me!

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I have no idea what was going on with the light in this picture- I used a nice sunny day but it looks like it was overcast LOL!

Anyways… for this single page saturday I decided to focus on me. Rarely do we scrapbook ourselves so I took the opportunity of having a photo that my three year old had snapped of me  (she did a pretty good job).  My inspiration for this layout came from a picture I saw on pinterest of the title for a journal entry.  I thought it would make a really fun scrapbook title!

a bunch of things layout

 

To get the effect of different fonts I used a variety of alphabet stamps (all Close to my Heart) and some of the stickers that come in the My Crush assortment (do I have you convinced on them yet??)

My journaling I kept simple- just added a few things I am loving right now! It actually sums me up pretty well! I also did MY handwriting- it is a layout all about me after all!

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Until we craft again, The Brae-er


Shadow box LOVE!

If you have been following my blog for any amount of time you may be thinking, ‘Don’t you LOVE everything you tell us about?’

Well, you would be right LOL- and that my friends is why I became and REMAIN a consultant with Close to my Heart!

I have been hearing from my customers for a while now about shadow boxes- why don’t we carry any? especially when they show one in the idea book all the time?

Answer: cause CTMH hadn’t made one yet that was BETTER than what was already available! And now they have!!!

First of all, they are gorgeous and really well made- our shadow box frames come in black or colonial white (which is a cream colour).  The opening will fit a 12×12 page perfectly.  What is the best part? The frame lifts up so that you can fit in your page without damaging it- this feature makes it very easy to change up your frame time and time again! Closure stays closed with a magnet- seriously this is genius!

shadowbox frame

 I was lucky enough to receive one of these frames as my parting gift for my term on the Advisory Board- a bittersweet moment for sure.  This AB turned out to be the last for CTMH as they move in a new direction and strike policy committees as needed.  I have loved every moment of being part of the AB and am so happy that I had the opportunity at all.

(The art department created the layout- gorgeous!!! It features lots of our new product.)

If you want to order one of these beautiful frames then just click the photo below- you will NOT be disappointed!

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Until we craft again, The Brae-er


Snowhaven Double Page Layout

Yesterday I showed you a single page layout using Snowhaven and today I want to show you a double page layout- I love this paper for the softer colours you can pull out (there are some darker as well)- it seemed so perfect for many of my outdoor winter photos!

Last winter we enjoyed a family sleigh ride at a local farm- it was SUPER cold that day but also EXTREMELY beautiful!  We had a fun time and the memories were a perfect accompaniment to this paper.  I also used the Snowhaven complements, Snowhaven assortment and the sequins to add to my page.

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Here are some closer photos of the detail on my page:

 

 

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I did use a good amount of 3D foam tape to help give my layout dimension (something that I like but you may not -easy to add the tape or leave it out).

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What would you create with this Snowhaven paper? Can you envision layouts that don’t involve snow and winter?

Until we craft again, The Brae-er


Single Page Saturday: Snowhaven

I love the thought of winter, I love it’s beauty and how pure and clean the world looks after a snowfall…. I HATE just about everything else about it LOL! It looks pretty, but this past winter especially, was super cold and full of LOTS of snow.

We made every attempt this year to enjoy it- on one occasion taking a family sleigh ride at a local farm.  Fun, beautiful and COLD!!  I did capture this pretty picture and it was perfect for a single page layout.

single snow haven layoutI used our new Snowhaven paper and complements for this layout- because of this it came together very quicky.  I added a few of the silver sequins and some of the snowhaven assortments (the little white triangles) and the slate diagonal striped ribbon.
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Here is a close up of the accessory cluster.

Until we craft again, The Brae-er


Cross Canada Blog Hop: Picture My Life

Welcome to the Cross Canada Blog Hop featuring the Picture my Life cards! If you have come from Lucy’s blog then you are on your way and already feeling inspired!!

If you haven’t heard these PML cards are AWESOME!! You can do so much with them- they were designed for pocket scrapbooking- a fast, simple and yet beautiful option to traditional scrapbooking that has gained in popularity the last few years.  But those little cards are so versatile! (If you SEARCH the Picture my Life on my blog you will see some other things I have done with them).

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What did I do with mine this time? I used them to create three adorable (and super easy) cards! My top card features 2 Wanderful PML cards – I matted it on some cardstock embossed with our honeycomb folder and some of our Wanderful paper.  I also added some stickers from the Wanderful complements- LOVE this series of products!

Below is another card- the sentiment on the card is a PML card that I trimmed down. I used the zip strip from the Wanderful paper to create my paper ribbon and held it down with mini-stapels (if you have NOT seen our mini-stapler you are missing out!)
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My third card is the simplest of all- just a card, some 3D foam tape and some Wanderful paper- so pretty!

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Now hop on over to Michelle’s blog and see what she has in store!

Until we craft again, The Brae-er


What can you create with our Designer Paper Bags??

I really enjoy (like obsessively so) decorating for a party or a gift giving occasion! Especially if it is for a close family member or friend.  The Annual Inspirations Idea Book has been the answer to so many things for me…. especially these designer creation paper bags!! Here I have used the slate collection to make a gift bag and a card (they are versatile after all) and I have so much more planned for them!!!

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This gift bag is ready to go for a special someone this holiday – I plan to pop in a CD of favourite christmas songs and then it is a perfect fit! You could also gift some fresh-baked cookie goodness in these- yummy!

paper bag card

This card I created using the paper bag as a piece of patterned paper.  I added some stickers from the Chalk it Up complements and a piece of our new arrow washi tape (backed with white paper).  Add a sentiment and card done!

These bags are so fun- and they come in a variety of colours! Check them out by clicking the photo below!

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Until we craft again, The Brae-er


Stamp of the Month: What a Hoot and ShinHan Markers

what a hoot treat bag

Earlier this month I shared a card that I created with the What a Hoot stamp of the month- now I want to share with you this cute treat bag! Wouldn’t you LOVE to receive some Halloween goodies in this!

I used the Designer Creations Buttoned Bag and our Scaredy Cat papers to create this bag.  Of course I coloured my images in our ShinHan Touch Twin markers- I really, really do LOVE these markers! Below I have a video I created that shows the simple colouring I did in creating this gift bag- if you have never used alcohol markers then you may find this very helpful!

Until we craft again, The Brae-er