Trick or TREAT?!

Let's go for TREAT shall we????

The winner of my October Blog Giveaway is.......

VALERIA

Valeria said...I am already a follower and love to see your projects. Thanks for the opportunity for the wonderful giveaway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
October 18, 2011 5:20 PM
 
Huge congrats to you Valeria! If you could please send me off an email (torrjorr[at]shaw[dot]ca) with your mailing address, I'll get these goodies off to you ASAP!!

Hope you all had a safe and fruitful Hallowe'en night!

Happy Hallowe'en!

Tonight is the night!! All the wee ones are so excited to get dressed up and make their way down the street for oodles and oodles of CANDY!!  We've got Stormtrooper Captain Rex, Bobafet and a cute little Mouse this year.  Here's what I had them do with their pumpkins this year - had a blast (and saved mommy from having to carve all 4!)

Will be back later today to post the winner of my October Blog Giveaway!

My True Love

I am so excited to share the first layout I've created for 7 Dots Studio! I used the beautiful Dreamer collection which has the most lovely contrasting soft and dark sides.

My daughter has this favourite dress of hers – its peach with white lace and I would never tell her, but almost too small for her now. We were at my parents one afternoon, playing in their backyard, so I dedicided to take a few shots of her in her most treasured outfit. She was a total ham for the camera which ended up working wonderfully for the photos.

For this project, I wanted to capture the pure innocence of her whole three year old self. I chose to keep the layout very soft and romantic with little bits of soft rose in the embellishments, to hilight the dress. The Dreamer collection worked wonderfully for my layout as each of the papers has a ‘soft’ side which complimented my photos perfectly.

The coordinating stickers and elements with the Dreamer collection tucked in so perfectly here and there and added just the right touches.

The beautiful flowers and pearl flourishes are from ZVA Creative.  They add just the right touch of romantic elegance without taking away from the photos or other elements on the page.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Supplies:
6×12 Stickers: Dreamer Collection - 7Dots Studio
12×12 Stickers: Dreamer Collection - 7Dots Studio
12×12 Elements: Dreamer Collection - 7Dots Studio
Patterned Paper: Daydreaming, Sweet Dreams: Dreamer Collection – 7Dots Studio

Others:
Flowers & Bling: ZVA Creative
Smooch Spritz: Clearsnap
Edge Scraper: Making Memories
Border Punch: Martha Stewart
MyStik Adhesive Roller: Scrapbook Adhesives
3D Foam Dots: Scrapbook Adhesives
Misc: Doilies

Metal Rose Tutorial

Hi Gang!  As promised, here is the super easy tutorial for you to create your own metal rose blossoms!

Step 1: To make your shabby, metal roses you will need Tacky Glue, needlenose plyers, acrylic paint (optional) and Graphic 45 Metal Flowers

Step 2: Each rose requires 3 Graphic 45 metal flowers

Step 3: Begin by taking one of the petals and bending it tightly

Step 4: Bend your petal upwards towards the centre of your flower

Step 5: Take another petal, opposite the one you just bent and bend it in the same way

Step 6: Continue bending each of your flower petals - each slightly less than the other so that they fit snugly around one another

Step 7: Almost done! Notice how each petal is wrapped around the other?

Step 8: Once each of the petals have been bend and folded upwards, use your plyers to squish the flower tightly together

Step 9: To finish, take the othermost tips of each petal and bend each slightly downwards. You have now completed the centre of your rose

Step 10: Take another flower and bend each of the petals just slightly

Step 11: Apply a generous amount of tacky glue to the centre of your flower

Step 12: Next, place your centre flower on top of your 2nd flower layer.

Step 13: Begin folding each of the new petals towards the centre of your rose - you can actually do this by hand

Step 14: Each petal wraps itself around the other - hugging the centre flower

Step 15: All your petals are now folded upwards. Once again, use your plyers to squish the entire flower together tightly

Step 16: Take the outermost tips of your second flower and slightly bend each one downwards as you did to the first flower. You have now completed the second layer of your rose. If you like - you can keep your rose like this. A little smaller but it most definately looks like a rose at this point.

Step 17: Continue with the above steps 10 - 16 for your last flower and you will have the completed shabby metal rose. Allow the glue to dry completely. Should you wish to adhere to your projects, a generous amount of tacky glue does the job wonderfully

Step 18: As a final step, you may chose to paint the outer tips of your rose a cream colour for that shabby chic look. Again, this is an optional step if you like the rose the way it is.

Thanks for your visit today!

Altered Steampunk Box & Coaster Set

Phew - what a horrid past week.  Another trip to the doc today and will spare you all the details, but am now on Prednisone and Ventalin and hope these meds work. It only took 4 different doctors and a lot of persistence from me saying something just isn't right... I can't BREATHE!  UGH.  Anyhow, hate to clutter my blog with all this yucky stuff but wanted you to know just in case I don't post for awhile, this is why.

Okay, onto some scrappy goodness with a little Steampunk and a lot of metal!

I really wanted to do something a bit out of my shabby chic comfort zone - something a little more grungy/masculine. I had purchased a wooden tea box from my local thrift store and knew I wanted to alter it with something metal!

The Steampunk Debutante papers were perfect for this project as were the metal doorplates, hinges and buttons from Graphic 45's Metal Staples collection.

I couldn't resist adding some flowers to the project but felt they looked out of place with so much metal. Solution - create shabby chic roses from the metal flowers!

They are actually SUPER easy to make if you have long nosed plyers!  I'll post a tutorial on how to make these tomorrow okay!?

Of course I had to add something to the inside of the box so I decided to alter some cork coasters.

These were also super easy to create.  Just trace your shape onto your patterned paper, cut out and apply to your cork.  I finished mine with a few coats of Mod Podge so they would stand up to moisture.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and so sorry for the lack of content as of late... Fingers crossed today is the last of the bad days.

Graphic 45 Papers:
Steampunk Debutante Collection: Time Warp, Tags, Nouveau Artistry, Steampunk Debutante, Eclectic Emporium
Graphic 45 Staples: Metal Flowers
Graphic 45 Staples: Metal Hinges
Graphic 45 Staples: Metal Buttons
Graphic 45 Staples: Ornate Metal Door Knob
Graphic 45 Staples: Geometric Metal Door Plate
Graphic 45 Staples: Metal Tags
Graphic 45 Staples: Stickers, No. 1 Sheet
Tombo: Permanent Adhesive Roller
Decoart: Acrylic Paint in Buttercream
Aleene's: Tacky Glue
Ranger: Distress Ink in Vintage Photo

Another Year of Bling!

Hi everyone! Well, good news and bad news on the 'me' front... I spent 5 hrs in the ER yesterday as I had difficulty breathing in the morning and after numerous tests, X-Rays, EKGs, blood work, etc... I'm apparantly 'fine'. The bad news is that I still feel like I have a tonne of bricks on my chest when I breathe. They've given me some bronchial dialators, steroid inhalers, etc. so I am hopeful these will help me through the worst part. Scary feeling though.

On to much happier news - I'm very excited and proud to say that I will be staying on with ZVA Creative for another year! Here is the full list of new 2012 Design Team members if you'd like to have a peek at their blogs. Cannot wait for another wonderful year of bling and blooms :>

Andrea Ewen - US
Carole Maurin - France
Christin Grönnslett - Sweden
Fabi Ormerod - Brazil
Jolanda Meurs - Netherlands
Karen Shady - Australia
Lisa Gregory - US
Lisa Johnson - US
Lisa Somerville - US
Nicole Martel - US
Robin Shakoor - US
Sarah Gough - New Zealand
Susan Lui - Singapore
Tara Orr (ME!!) - Canada
Windy Robinson - US (DT Coordinator)

Yukiko Ochi - Japan

Take Care!

Quick Update...

Hi everyone - so sorry for the lack of blog posts as of late.  I've been feeling quite nasty the past few weeks and have somehow come down with a pretty icky lung infection at the moment.  Most likely pneumonia and its not fun let me tell ya. :<  I know, poor me, blah, blah... I am on a broncial dialator and antibiotics now so hope that these will kick in sooner than later (not being able to breathe isn't very fun...)

In scrappy news, I promise to have lots 'n' lots to show you all very soon. So many projects are currently under wraps but I will be able to share them all with you within the next week.

October Blog GIVEAWAY!

Yes, its that time again!! Sheesh, it seems like it was only a few weeks ago that I had a blog giveaway - non? LOL!

I'm sure you know the drill by now.  If you would love to win this yummy prize pack pictured above (includes two stamp sets, adhesive dots and pen from Scrapbook Adhesives, flowers and leaves from Petaloo, ink, Bo Bunny Garden Girl mini album and paper pad, NEW ZVA Creative bling and blooms, Webster's Pages trim and embellies, Alphas from Pink Paislee, chipboard dressform from Dusty Attic as well as some vintage lace from my stash, please become a follower of my blog (if you aren't already) and leave me a comment on this post by October 30th. I'll draw a lucky winner on Hallowe'en Night - October 31st!  Easy Peasy right?  Good Luck!

The Tale of the Ladybug and the Spider

So we made it to our local pumpkin patch this weekend for our annual pick your own pumpkin event! The kids have so much fun riding in the wheelbarrow and searching forever for the 'perfect' pumpkin - 'THEIR' pumpkin.

It was on our way out that we came across the 'lone' ladybug. I'm so glad I captured a video of this adorable interaction between a ladybug, a spider and three very excitable wee ones. This was clearly the hilight of our afternoon!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I'll be back tomorrow with my October Blog Giveaway - stay tuned!!

A New Design Team

Oh goodness I am so excited to finally share this wonderful news with you all. I was contacted several months ago by my sweet friend Anna (most of you know her by the name Finnabair) to see if I would be interested in joining a new Design Team with her! Of course I said yes!

The name of this new venture is called 7 Dots Studio.  They have launched their first two collections and they are over the top gorgeous. Each line consists of six double-sided, high quality scrapbooking papers made of heavy weight cardstock. In each collection you will find stickers in two sizes – 12×12 and 6×12 and a sheet of die-cut stickers.
The first collection, designed by Finn herself, is called Dreamer:

The second collection beautifully contrasts the dark, grungy colours of the first with a soft and airy pallette as well as romantic designs and beautifully selected imagery. It is called Elise Rebel, designed by Anna Iwanowska-Pietkiewicz.

Interested in learning a little more about this fantastic new company, its talented team of designers and WINNING these TWO NEW collections??? Check out the 7 Dots Studio Blog for all the details. You have until October 22nd!!  GOOD LUCK!!

Be Thankful

Today over at the Bo Bunny Blog, the designers were asked to focus on their Noteworthy products.  I LOVE these little papers so much!! Each collection from Bo Bunny comes with coordinating, die cut shapes in various sizes and designs and they work wonderfully with your cards, altered items and layouts.

In addition, they can be tucked underneath your photos and other white spaces for added dimension and deapth.

The gorgeous orange crystal flourishes and rose blossoms are from ZVA Creative. You can see here how I've layered various pieces of Noteworthy papers under my photo.  There is a scallop piece directly under the photo and to the left, a long strip with flowers and on top of that strip, a smaller polka-dot piece.
LOVE the rustic feel to the Forever Fall Brads. The tiny key was from Bo Bunny's Welcome Home Collection. I've simply glued it to another Noteworthy piece which I've transformed into a tag.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!! Hope you're all having a wonderful week!

On This Day - Lifted

Happy Friday to you! I wanted to share a layout with you using some of ZVA Creative's new CHA releases. The cool thing about this layout is that its been lifted - from me!

Have you ever created a layout that you REALLY love? Or have you ever designed a project that you are super happy with but wish you had done this or that instead? If yes, I say give it another try! Lift one of your own designs!

I had created this project for ZVA Creative's last November and really liked the design. Simple, but still quite eye catching.

I decided to give it another go with a different photo and I love how its turned out (well, I had a pretty good idea of what it was going to look like from the get go of course...) Its pretty well copied to a "T" isn't it?? LOL!!

I hope the next time you're stuck on a layout you'll give yourself a scrappy break and 'lift' an old favourite!