What would you do with $22,100?

Thanks to Mary and Sandra for putting on the BC Crop for Kids. Because of their efforts and the 180 women who attended the crop, we raised $22,100 to donate to the BC Children's Hospital. 

The crop was at the Ramada Plaza Conference Centre in Abbotsford. There were classes all weekend and the money for class registrations was donated to the charity. I learned a few new things in the classes I took which was great. I also was a wall flower for the class by Nadene and Karen, two fellow Close To My Heart consultants. I was so excited to see how they teach and to support them.

In addition to the classes, I got lots of work done. I decided to focus on projects from 2008. I brought pictures for 10 events that have happened this year so far and I got 4 done. That's really good for me, considering I even had time to nap on Saturday. I was so tired!

Here are my pages.

In case you're interested, the BC Crop For Kids is happening again next year. Mark your calendar for:

October 23-25, 2009

Ramada Plaza Conference Centre

Abbotsford, BC (again)

www.bccropforkids.ca

Crafty Retreats - Christmas in July

This past July was the first retreat I’ve organized! It was a Christmas in July theme and it was a blast. Scrapbookers came to Lougheed Lodge to work on a variety of projects. We even had someone who completed her first layout ever!! It was a very happy moment!

The weekend was filled with surprises and treats along the way. It started when the overnighters woke up on Saturday morning (Christmas Day) and found Santa had come to visit during the night! There were gifts under the tree for everyone.

Here are a few early morning scrapbookers checking out what Santa had left in their goodie bags.

Without wasting much time, everyone got into their projects as well as a few make and takes that got the creative juices flowing. Everyone was in deep concentration doing the make and takes!

The day progressed quickly and after dinner there was a short break from the scrapbooking for a mini-spa treatment from Linda at PartyLite. It was a late night for most of the group with another interlude as Diane pointed out, as though it was from a credit card commercial:

1:22am + 6 scrapbookers + 1 card = Priceless

(sorry the picture is blurry, but you get the point!)

The next day was our “Boxing Day” and there were bargains galore! Thanks to Diane for contributing so much to make this an extra special weekend, including the prizes for our “Pass the Hat” game with the Santa hat! It was a fun weekend. Thanks to everyone for coming out! Keep making it crafty!

It's time for babies...
Is it just me or are there a lot of babies born this year? Well, in case you need some inspiration, here are a few things I've done for mothers-to-be, or mothers who have just become a proud parent. The first two are two versions of cards I've created. You'll notice they have a similar layout which just shows how you can take the same layout and create a very different look!


And this is a baby canvas below. I was inspired by Anne S. who gave me the idea. I love this because it's such a personal gift for a new parent and they can attach any photo they want of their new family! You can't see it from this picture but I even put some liquid glue on the soother in the bottom right corner to make it look a little more real. I gave this to a friend of mine and it was a big hit!

Something Special for Dad
I had the pleasure of teaching a Father's Day folio album in Richmond with a group of ladies. I had a lot of fun teaching this class. They were such a great group! It seems like all the dads were at the playground with the kids while the ladies got together to do the class. What a great idea!

The folio class used the Close To My Heart paper pack called Rustic Trail. We perfected techniques like sponge daubing, distressing and stamping. Plus, each page has a pocket for a tag that can be used for journaling or photos. You could even put quotes of things that your child has said to you. This album is a great way to write it down and preserve that memory. It was an intense class and they all got through it with smiles on their faces. By the end they had a fabulous folio album to take home!

Reaching new heights!
I had the wonderful opportunity to join 52 other ladies in Whistler, BC on Friday, May 2nd. It was a whirlwind trip for me, driving up the Sea To Sky Highway after work. The ladies I met were fantastic and some were experiencing their first scrapbooking retreat. I love meeting scrapbook virgins! They are so much fun!

I taught a make and take class that focused on sanding and stamping to make a scrapbook border. It was a great hit! Some ladies even knew what they were going to use the border for already!
But I also showed another option for the card makers in the audience. Here I used one border to make two cards just by cutting the border in half.



Here's a pic of me by my brand new display board. I just finished it in time for the retreat, phewph! It shows what you start with in a paper pack (level one or two) and a small sampling of what you finish with once you use the paper in the paper pack.


It was great to meet all of you. I had a blast!

Talk about Precious!
Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Precious Memories retreat. OMG! Totally amazing. It was jam packed with five classes over the whole weekend, tons of games and lots of make & takes.

The entire ballroom was filled with Hawaiian decorations - the theme of the weekend. It was amazing to see everyone get into it. Some of the costumes were tremendous! Making Memories had two fabulous representatives who gave us a sneak peak of a new product coming out this summer called Slice. Imagine the cricut but more portable and smaller! You're bound to love it. There was also a Deal or No Deal Game show hosted by Making Memories where the grand prize was a tote full of Making Memories products. Sadly, I didn't win it :(

One of the more memorable classes for me was by A Muse and the instructor was Julie Ebersole. She is such a cutie patootie! Julie was kind enough to pose for a photo with me.

Some of my friends think Julie and I are kindred spirits because of the stamp she designed that says "Celebrate your inner princess," which we used in the class to make a card. Check it out!

You should also visit Julie's blog to see all of her amazing work. She is just something else, let me tell ya!

Hatzic Retreat Card and Layout

This weekend I went to Hatzic Lake for a scrapbooking retreat. I had a blast meeting new scrapbookers. I was only there for a half day to teach a make and take. What do you think?


Plus, in preparation for the retreat I created a sample layout using the Close To My Heart paper called Silhouette Creative Basics. I thought I'd try out the Simple Contrast layout from the Cherish Book. It took no time at all, I love it when scrapbooking is so easy!

Let the cards do the talking...

I don't have much to say, but here are a few cards I've been doing lately. I hope it provides some inspiration for you!

The first two are done with the Caprice paper from Close To My Heart. Love that paper!!


I love these colours on the left side. I made that paper by stamping different colours on white cardstock then adding the navy blue strip down the centre.


This last card was done at a Stampin' UP Party I went to this week. I like how it's such a simple card with such a classic look. It was designed by Susan Farrant. She also has a blog. Thanks for a great party Susan!

Heart Month
It's February and you know what that means, it's heart month - both for the heart and stroke foundation and for Valentine's Day. It's a good time to tell people you care. In case that person is a guy or you just aren't big on flowery hearts and love all over a card (there is Hallmark for that kind of cheese, right?), here's a card to get your ideas flowing. It's got four hearts I'll admit, but I think the "wow" factor is that it's a little unusual being on acetate. I put it on a blue/turquoise pillow so the acetate shows through. What do you think?

Tidbits
I went to a scrapbooking open house this weekend out in White Rock. There were lots of women and several demonstrations. One of the best parts was seeing a demo on the many many ways you can use a card kit. Thanks for all the great ideas Carrie! She was brilliant with using scraps to make goody bags, add to scrapbook layouts and a mini flip album. Plus, I made a few projects too. Take a look below at some of the fun things. Isn't the lollipop a great idea?