September Winner #3!

What a fantastic month it has been!!! My first TWO yummy giveaway winners have already been announced (although I have yet to hear from one of them.... be sure to check my past "Winner" posts y'all!) and one more winner to announce today!!

And her name is....

Kristine Berc !

Kristine Berc said...

My goodness, Tara, as if your fabulous inspiration isn't gift enough... you're giving away such wonderful goodies, too?! This really is a big one... I'm sure I'm not alone when I say those dies have been on my wish list for quite some time :)
September 21, 2011 9:31 PM

Congratulations my dear! Please fire me off an email (torrjorr[at]shaw[dot]ca) with your mailing address and I'll send you off some wonderful Spellbinders goodies!

Thank you again everyone for all your sweet comments, encouraging words and daily visits!! I love sharing my projects with you all and am so glad you enjoy seeing them.
 
I have some exciting projects to share with you next week - stay tuned!

ZVA Creative Design Team Call!!

Do you have a thing for bling? Do you love Crystals and Pearls? Do flowers, flourishes, and brads tickle your fancy? Zva Creative has all of that and more. Another term has almost passed and we are looking for designers to add to our talented Zva Creative Design Team!

Designers will serve a 12 month term. We compensate generously with our products and we compensate well for published work. Open to all US and International designers who are at least 18 years of age.

To apply, here's what you need to do:

Create either 3 layouts -or- 3 cards -or- 3 of any combination. If you are diverse and dabble in more than one category, that is wonderful, but not necessary, please feel free to show us your other talents. You can submit up to 6 projects, but 3 are required. Projects can be previously published and/or posted online.

We prefer that you use Zva Creative products on your entry, but that is not a requirement. Our latest Summer CHA products are in stores now. Please visit HERE to see where you can find Zva Creative products.

Please e-mail your entry to: ZVA Creative by midnight (Pacific time) Sunday, October 16. Please put "Zva DT Submission" in the subject line of your e-mail. Submissions accepted immediately. New designers will receive a phone call or email on or around Thursday, October 20th and the announcement will be made as soon as all designers have been notified. New term is from November 1st 2011 – October 31st 2012.

Please include the following information in your submission email:
* Your name, address, phone number and e-mail address
* Your blog link
* Your online gallery link(s)
* Message board(s) where you participate
* Link to your resume
* Attach images of your projects. Please keep each image under 500 pixels (100k)
* A list of design teams you are currently serving on (includes manufacturers/wholesalers , stores, challenge blogs, kit clubs, etc.)

Monthly Zva DT requirement:
3 layouts -or- 5 cards -or- 2 layouts/2 cards -or- 1 layout/3 cards. Altered items can be substituted for layouts.

We hope this will be a positive experience for everyone and we appreciate your sharing your talent with us. Thanks so much... we can't wait to see your work!

September Zva Blog Hop Winners Announced!

We'd like to congratulate the FIVE June Zva Creative Blog Hop winners! Their names will be found on the following blogs:

Nancy Doren
Windy Robinson
Camilla Ekman
Jillian Deiling Cassity
Susan Lui

One winner from each of the 5 blogs will receive a Zva Creative prize package worth $30.00.

I'd like to share one last project with you for this month.  My husband and I attended a wedding this past weekend and I made this card and tag for the newlyweds using some of ZVA's beautiful newly released pearl flourishes and flowers.

The 'postage stamp' was created by using a mini circle punch where I punched a half circle around all four edges of my card. I then added multiple layers of My Mind's Eye patterned papers mixed in with some of ZVA's gorgeous blooms and flourishes.

The beautiful chipboard sentiment and butterfly are from Imaginarium Designs and the ribbon is from May Arts.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!! HUGE congrats to this month's winners!!

ZVA Creative Supplies:
Leaves: FL04CA111
Flowers: FL04CA124
Self Adhesive Pearls: CR04CB121
Bulk 3D Roses in Soft Pink and White

Graphic 45 Trick or Treat Blog Hop!

Welcome to Day two of Graphic 45's Trick or Treat Blog Hop!!  The blog hop starts at the Graphic 45 blog so if you are arriving here and want to participate, head on over for some fantastic projects and your chance to win some amazing prizes!

Each day you'll see a sneak peek of a fantastic Graphic 45 trick-or-treat bag designed by our design team members. Just click on the link to their blog and you'll be transported to a magical world of craft bliss! See the full unveil of the trick-or-treat bags on our featured design team member's blog each day and get inspired by their amazing projects!

This is actually my SECOND Trick or Treat Bag as I had so much fun creating the FIRST that I just had to do another!!

I LOVE adding dimension to my projects! Here you can see how've I've layered Graphic 45's Chipboard Tags with their patterned papers as well as some doilies, butterflies, wooden tags and twine!

Gotta love those metal staples!! I'm totally in love with Graphic 45's metal buttons, hinges, tags, door knobs and plates! For this bag, I simply painted the metal buttons with the same acrylic paint that I used to paint the Trick or Treat bag and finished by inking with a distress ink.

Of course, what would a Trick or Treat Bag be without a matching card??  I also created this Gate Card using Graphic 45's The Magic of Oz Collection.

We are offering two awesome Magic of Oz gift packs as prizes this week!  Want the opportunity to win? Just click on over to our featured design team member's blog each day and leave a comment. We will choose two random winners from our design team member's blog comments and announce them on Friday, September 30th! Sound like fun!? You bet it does!

Check out this amazing prize! A Magic of Oz 12x12 paper pad, Chipboard Button Staples, 3 chipboards from Imaginarium Designs, and some beautiful bling by Want2Scrap! Remember, there's two chances to win this week! Wow!

In case you can't make it every single day this week, here is the schedule for our featured design team member blogs. This shows you who will be featured on what day so you can check out all the fun! Don't forget to leave comments for your chance to win!

Monday
Lynette Carrol: http://lynettecarrolldesigns.typepad.com/
Jane Tregenza: http://janetregenza.blogspot.com/
Tuesday
Laura Denison: http://www.followingthepapertrail.blogspot.com/
Robin Shakoor: http://robinshakoor.blogspot.com/
Tara Orr: http://eachmoment-onlyonce.blogspot.com/

Wednesday
Sherry Cheever: http://sherrycheever.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Jack & Cat Curio: http://jackandcatcurio.blogspot.com/
Nicole Eccles: http://nicoleeccles.blogspot.com/

Thursday
Nancy Wethington: http://art-from-the-heart.typepad.com/
Hilde Janbroers: http://hildejanbroers.blogspot.com/
Yuka Hino: http://nsnlso.blogspot.com/

Friday
Melanie Forbes: http://melanie-forbes.blogspot.com/
Gloria Stengel: http://gloriascraps.blogspot.com/

Thank you so much for joining us!

Zva Creative September DT Blog Hop!

Zva Creative and our talented Design Team welcomes you to join us this month for a blog hop that we feel is always extra special! We thought it would be more fun to add even more chances to win our blog hop prize! See details below.

The summer trade show was in July, which means brand new Zva Creative products. So please keep an eye out for them at your local craft stores.

As you know, Zva offers so many beautiful color groupings for pearls, flowers and crystals. We want to make sure that they shine bright for you, so each designer was asked to share a creation using a specific color or color combination on their blog hop project.

The Blog Hop begins at Kim Hughes' blog. She will have the complete list of all blogs that are participating in case there is a glitch along the way. If you would like to play along, just follow along the blog path. I am linking to one of the Zva designers and that designer is linking to the next and so on. Be prepared to be inspired along the way. Hidden on FIVE of the blogs is a Zva Creative prize package...YAY! Winners will be randomly chosen after the hop is over, so it's important to leave a comment on as many blogs as you can along the way.

The Blog Hop starts today, September 26th and runs through midnight US Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, September 27h and the 5 winners will be announced on Wednesday, September 28th on each of the five winning blogs. The full list will be found on Kim Hughes‘s blog as well (linked above). We will do our best to notify each winner, but it's best if you can pop in to all of the blogs once again on Wednesday...plus, you never know what kind of inspirational creation that you may find there. All you need to do is leave a comment on this Zva Blog Hop post...you do not need to leave a comment on each and every designer's blog post to qualify. The more times you leave a comment along the blog hop path though, the more chances you will have to be one of the lucky winners.

To increase your chances of winning:

Comment to let us know that you posted on your Facebook page about our hop (link to any of the blog hop posts)

Comment to let us know that you "tweeted" about our hop (link to any of the blog hop posts)

Comment to let us know that you asked your local store to carry Zva creative products. If they already do, that's fantastic, maybe you can suggest other products that they don't carry

Sooo, you have FOUR chances on each blog to win one of our FIVE prizes! That's technically OVER 50 chances :)

The project I would like to share with you today features some beautiful blue crystals from ZVA as well as some of their new elegant flowers and leaves! The papers are from Bo Bunny's newest Welcome Home Collection. I thought it was perfectly matched for this photo of my brother in law and his wife on their wedding day.

Because these flowers are quite bulky (love that about them) they can sometimes be tricky to place 'under' photos or other papers.  Solution: Cut them in half! You get the same effect of a partially hidden flower without the bulk.  And, you can use the other half of the flower on another part of your layout.

I added a bunch of ZVA's Adhesive Dots to this banner to really make it pop off the page!

More layers of lace and punched papers.  I found the white lace at a flea market and its come in so handy for my scrappy projects! I then punched some coordinating paper and layered on top of the lace for an even more lucious look.

The blog hop begins here: Kim Hughes
Your next stop is here: Camilla Ekman

Thank you SO MUCH for joining us.

Focus on Stamping

Good afternoon everyone!  Hope your day has been wonderful so far.  I've managed to get the boys to school, attend my TBC class, pick them up for lunch, drive them back, pop a meatloaf in the oven and get my littlest one down for a nap.  Now its mommy time so I've got my coffee in hand and can play for the next hour. PHEW!

Today on the Bo Bunny Blog the focus is on Stamp Techniques. For those of you who aren't already aware, I'm TOTALLY NOT A STAMPER!  Like, at all.  I have SO MANY stamps and really have no clue what to do with them.

So, when I was presented with this challenge, I slightly freaked out, not knowing what I would do for my project.  Pinterest to the rescue!  Such a love/hate relationship with that site - LOL!  Anyhoooo I came across several super cute photos of (what seemed to be) these really quick and easy pillowcase dresses.  I HAD to try!

I don't stamp and I don't own a sewing machine so what would probably have been a super quick project (if I had any skills in either of the above), kind of turned into an all afternoon kind of project.  I took an old pillowcase and cut semi circles on both sides of the top to form the sleeves and neck. 

I then added a few strips of lace to the front and back where the neckline would be, folded over the top of the material and 'hand-stitched' across so that the lace was enclosed.  I then added some of my trim to the bottom of the 'dress'. 

I then took some white pigment ink and began stamping all over the dress! Super easy project!

It didn't look 'perfect' but it was cute and I could see how addicting these things could be if you had the correct tools and some super cute fabrics with which to work.  Enjoy the rest of your day!

September Blog Giveaway #3!

Hi Folkes! Hope your Wednesday is going well!!  I have one final giveaway this month and its pretty major.  Anyone interested in a few Spellbinders die templates?  I have TWO Nestabilities and THREE Impressabilities up for grabs!

Spellbinders Nestabilities are various die cut metal shapes at 1/4th and 1/8th inch increments that allow you to cut, emboss, and stencil all in one.
Impressabilities are customizable templates that can you can emboss with or deboss with and can also be used for embellishments or simply a stencil.

If you'd like to get your hands on these awesome little dies, all you need to do is: become a follower of my lovely blog (if you aren't already) and leave me a comment on this post by September 29th.  I'll draw a winner on September 30th!  Good luck everyone!! Be back tomorrow to share some more scrappy projects.

Drum Roll Please....

Hello again - I'm back to announce the winner of my Second Blog Giveaway for September.

The winner of all things lovely and all things Bo Bunny is..... AMBER!

Amber said...
I love Bo Bunny, but more important... I love your work! You are my new inspirational scrapper. I have so many of your layouts pinned on my pinterest account! =o)
September 11, 2011 10:37 PM

Amber - huge congrats to you my dear! If you could please send me off an email (torrjorr[at]shaw[dot]ca) with your shipping address, I'll get these lovely collections off to you ASAP! (I hope you live close by - this thing is heavy - LOL!)

Again - thank you everyone for coming to see my work, coming to view photos and videos of my little ones, for the comments you leave me - just everything. I truly appreciate all of you - thank you.

I'll be back tomorrow with my final giveaway for September.... Hint: it rhymes with 'smellsminders'...

Graphic 45 & Fiskars Team Up!

Yea... I know - its a little early to be posting Holiday projects but the Christmas Emporium collection from Graphic 45 is just too tempting to leave untouched.

I made these sweet little cards as part of a blog hop going on right now between Graphic 45 and Fiskars!  Be sure to stop by to see the rest of the Design Team's amazing creations.

Thanks so much for your visit today!! I'll be posting the winner of my SECOND September Blog Giveaway later today - stay tuned!!

Supplies:
Graphic 45 Papers
Christmas Emporium: Toyland, Believe!, Santa Express, Merry and Bright, 'Tis the Season, Under the Mistletoe, Special Delivery
Fiskars Border Punch: Leave it to Weaver
Fiskars Border Punch: Postage Stamp
Fiskars X-Large Easy Squeeze Punch: Postage Stamp
Fiskars Non Stick Scissors No. 5
Fiskars 12 in Personal Paper Trimmer
Scrapbook Adhesives: My Stik Permanent Adhesive Roller, 3D Foam Squares
May Arts: Ribbon
Ranger: Glossy Accents

Swee(tart)

Good Monday morning to you all! Another week is upon us and we are right back into the swing of things. We've already been hit with those nasty 'back to school' germs - pooh! One of my little ones has a cold (nothing major) which means we should all be sniffling & sneezing within the next few days. Must pop those Vit. C chewables and keep up with the exercising right!? What can you do - c'est la vie, non?

Today I have a sweet project to share with you all using the most adorable collection from Bo Bunny's recent Summer CHA 2011 releases - Sweet Tooth! Don't you just love her sour face - LOL!

 The beautiful flowers, leaves and pink crystal flourishes are all from ZVA Creative.

Paint splatter that went a little out of control.  I don't think I got the consistency perfect this time around... oh well - adds character!

 Some more beautiful self adhesive crystals and glittered chipboard - just love layering!

The colours in this are to die for and paired with white or neutrals just makes them pop off the page.  Thanks so much for your visit today!! Hope your week is off to a good start.  I'm going to finish this cup of coffee and then get my butt outside for a run (before I change my mind!)

Bo Bunny Supplies:
Patterned Paper: Cut Outs, Just a Pinch, Delish, Die Cut/Sweet Tooth
Layered Chipboard Stickers: Sweet Tooth

ZVA Creative Supplies:
Self Adhesive Crystal: CR-03CA-113
Self Adhesive Crystal: CRB-03CB-103
Leaves: FL-04CA-112
Flower: FL-04CA-102
Flower: FL-04CA-103
Flower: FL-04CA-131
Bulk 3D Roses: Various sizes of soft pink and fusia

Le Cirque Tag

Happy Thursday everyone!! Hope you are all enjoying your week so far! Now that the boys are in school I'm trying my best to get everyone (myself included) adjusted to our new schedule.  It is busy - but we are doing it!! Between driving the kids to school and sports I have finally (after 7 years) started back at the gym!!  I know it sounds silly but I am so proud of myself for getting back into shape - or at least trying to!  I figured, the boys have their sports, my daughter is now in ballet (cutest thing EVER!), my husband works out at the gym - but what do I do?? SO.... I decided to do a 'new year's resolution' type thing in September and I have to say - I've stuck to it the whole month so far - yea me!!  LOL...

Okay, enough patting myself on the back.  I wanted to share a quick tag I made for the amazingly talented owner, desiger and mastermind behind Graphic 45 -  Diane Schultz who celebrated her birthday this past week.

I always enjoy your visits and comments so thank you so very much!! 

Garden Girl Love

Hi again! Today's feature over at the Bo Bunny Blog is all about Garden Girl! I fell completely in love with this collection's bright and warm colours and wonderful versatility. Whether you're creating a layout, a card or even an altered project, this line is perfect in every way!

Here is a wooden birdhouse I altered with some beautiful papers from Bo Bunny and perfectly matching flowers from Petaloo.

An otherwise simple card becomes an elegant project with the addition of border punches and ribbon.

 Beautiful, lush layers add dimension and texture to this colourful card.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I'll be back again tomorrow with some lovin' from Graphic 45!

An Extra Special Card Challenge

Today on the Bo Bunny Blog they are having an extra special Card Challenge. In addition to creating a card based on the fantastic sketch by Romy Veul, we are doing a blog hop with Operation Write Home. 

Operation Write Home Mission:  Supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them.

Here's the scoop from Operation Write Home.
Any theme is fine. The main requirement is to stay away from glitter. It's a safety hazard on the battlefield (night vision goggles can see glitter.) We don't want to put our troops in any more danger than they are already in so please visit this link for guidelines before creating your card. http://www.operationwritehome.org/guidelines.html

After creating your cards we would love to have you send them to Operation Write Home.  Please go to this link to get the correct address to send your cards in. http://operationwritehome.org/mailroom.html

Here is the sketch provided by Romy - isn't it the sweetest!?

And here is the card I created for this challenge using the beautiful Garden Girl collection.

Thanks so very much for stopping by today!! See you again tomorrow with some more scrappy goodness!

Bo Bunny Supplies:
Card Kit: Garden Girl
Noteworthy: Garden Girl
Cardstock Stickers: Friendship
Patterned Paper: Poppy, Cut Outs/Garden Girl

A Fruitful Day

We had a blast picking apples with my mom and dad a few days ago. Each of the kids had their turn on the ladder with Papa while I snapped some photos and videos and almost had a heart attack!  Not a very tall ladder but wee ones + any kind of unstable, metal, climby thing just isn't a good combination in my book.

Grammy ended up making two apple pies (one of which we got to take home) and an apple/rubarb crisp! YUMMO!

Here are a few videos of the day. (there were a few more but too much nagging and freaking out on my part to post... LOL!) 



Thanks for your visit today.  Be back tomorrow with some Bo Bunny scrappy goodness!  A demain!

September Blog Giveaway No. 2!

Good morning everyone!! Today is going to be a good day - I can feel it! The sun is shining, the kids let me sleep in until 6:42am (yep... that's actually a sleep in) and I'm working on my second cup of coffee as we speak.  I think a little bunny visit is in order today and then to Grammy & Papa's to help them pick some of their apples.

Let's start your day off to a good start too!  As promised, here is the SECOND of my Blog Giveaways for September.  A little Bo Bunny love for you all.

If you would like to get your hands on all these delicious goodies, please leave me a comment on this blog post by September 19th, become a follower of my blog (if you aren't already) and I'll draw a winner on September 20th!  That's it.

I'll be posting my THIRD and final giveaway for September on September 21st.  See you tomorrow with some scrappy stuff to share!! (Finally eh?)

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Okay, its September 10th and time for me to announce the winner of my FIRST September Blog Giveaway! Thank you to everyone who left a comment and to all of my wonderful readers and followers!!

Without further adieu, the FIRST winner this month is... CHERRYTAT!

CherryTat said...
Wow, Tara, that is some giveaway!! Very generous of you! I was already a follower of your amazing work. I have looked to your work many times for inspiration. Thank you!!
September 2, 2011 5:01 AM

Congrats to you CherryTat! If you could pretty please send me an email (torrjorr[at]shaw[dot]ca) with your mailing address, I'll have your prize sent out to you ASAP!!

Don't forget to stop by here again tomorrow! I'll be posting the goods for my SECOND September Blog Giveaway!  (if you love Bo Bunny, you're gonna LOVE this prize!)

See you tomorrow!

Graphic 45 Halloween Rejuvenation Challenge

Graphic 45 is pleased to announce our Halloween Rejuvenation Challenge!

Fall and Halloween are definitely on the way and we thought it would be fun to have an altered art challenge that's inspired by this colorful season. We're asking you to take an old object and bring it back to life with Graphic 45! We've all got stuff around the house that could use a little dressing up. Maybe it's something you found at a garage sale, thrift store, or even an old item that's been sitting in the basement since forever. We want you to create a beautiful Halloween or Fall-themed altered art project from any old, random objects you might have using Graphic 45 products. It's the perfect craft challenge to jump-start your holiday crafting!

The submission deadline is September 25th. Email submissions to Charee. On September 26th all of the submissions will be uploaded to our Facebook photos and you will get to vote for your favorite submission by "Like"-ing it! Voting is from September 26th to 7am on Septmeber 30th. The TWO projects with the most likes win! Winners will be announced on Friday morning at 8am on our Facebook and on our blog.

The prize? You could win our entire Christmas Emporium collection! A 12x12 and 8x8 Paper Pad, both coordinating chipboard die-cuts and one of each cling stamp! That's a $76 value! Wow! We can't wait to see what you create!  We hope you are all excited about this great challenge!

Good luck and Happy Papercrafting!

Our Last Week of Summer Vacation in Photos

It's been way too long since my last blog post - so sorry for that!  We've been doing our best to enjoy the last few moments of our summer vacation while daddy has been home from work. 

We (daddy and the boys) attempted camping in our backyard which was a pretty neat experience.  Daddy had planned on a whole 'family' thing on a campground for a few nights but because the wee ones fell ill, we decided to have a backyard campout instead. It actually worked out even better because each of the boys felt a little more special with their one on one time with dad.

Yesterday we headed out to mommy's favourite spot to feed the bunnies and were treated to a whole family of little rabbits!!

They were super tame and loved the lettuce we fed them (bread and rice krispies...not so much).

We were also semi-attacked by geese.. true story! Man, those things are vicious and BIG and WILL bite!

I took a litte bit of a video but we decided to try our luck feeding the ducks before one of us had our hands bitten off!

I've also become a pro at taking self portraits - LOL! Seriously, most of the time there's only me with the kiddos and if I want a photo taken its either ask a total stranger, get my seven year old to do it (hit or miss) or do it myself... here are a few from this weekend.

That's all for now.  Tomorrow the boys start their first day of school - its a big day for everyone.  Better get some sleep.