Poppylium

Bubble Bath and CT call

2012-01-26T19:43:00.003-05:00

Time flies! I cannot believe it's already Thursday (I can't believe January is almost over either...).

This post should have happened more around Monday, to show you danimoy designs new release... but here it is at last! It's a really cute kit called Bubble Bath (it's only 2$50 and the preview is linked...):

Here's my little man in his bubble bath (which we do fairly rarely as he eats the bubbles...

In other scrappy news, here's a great chance for anyone who likes fun versatile kits. Simple Girl Scraps is having a quick CT call!! Her products are really awesome and I can't wait to see who joins us in her CT!! Here's the add for the call below and you can go see her blog here and her store at ScrapDelicious here:

The call ends on the 31st, hurry to get your application in!!

New goodies

2012-01-22T17:04:00.004-05:00

There were a couple of CT releases this week-end and then, there's a very special kit I want to tell you about. Keep reading ;)

Friday, Artgal Style released Feel the Burn, a fun and bright exercise and healthy living themed kit (on sale for a few more days, preview linked to the store):

Yesterday was national hugging day, which is just a very cute occasion, isn't it? Simple Girl Scrap released an adorable, fresh kit to celebrate. It's called Hugs All Around:

Isn't it just adorable, with all those cute faces and fresh colours? I love it!
And I quite like the layout I made with it too, with my men hugging:

Simple Girl Scrap is also celebrating a year at ScrapDelicious and her whole store is 30% off (the discount shows up in the cart), so go do a little shopping ;)
And she has cute freebies to coordinate with Hugs All Around on her blog and on her Facebook page.

Last but definitely not least, I want to show you my favourite kit EVER while it's on sale :D
A few months ago, I won a contest on Captivated Visions' blog. She asked for ideas, colours schemes, etc. for a kit and picked a winner who would win their own custom kit. I submitted my ideas and colours for a kit about yoga, which is my way of feeling better, both in body and mind, and to stay centered and healthy. I was sooooo lucky to find out that she picked me and now the kit is out! YAY!!!
It's an absolute beauty, with gorgeous colours, amazing papers and elements and great versatility. It's much more than about yoga, it's about balance, about being focused, about serenity. It's on sale and really affordable, especially considering all the goodies you get, trust me!! It's called A Way of Life:

All the previews are linked to her store at Scrap Orchard, don't miss the sale price!!
Her CT made amazing layouts with the kit, and my sad attempts at scrapping don't come close, but I started using it right away. First, I used it for the insert to my water bottle (I know it's a funny use, but it's my brand new bottle for the gym and yoga class and I thought it made sense):

And in the bottle it looks like this:

I am also working with it for a custom purse, but I think I'll wait until I have the final product (the purse itself) to show you!

Well, that's it for tonight. Thanks for looking!

Happy New Year, scrappy bloggers!!

2012-01-17T19:32:00.002-05:00

I know it's late-ish to say Happy New Year, but I hope it brings all good things to everyone!!

I can't possibly show you all I've done since I last blogged, but here's an update for the beginning of 2012. In RL we came back from France, my son Cédric caught a virus, so not much happened and I can't believe it's already the 17th... In scrappy life, that gave me time to scrap a bit more (as I couldn't clean or go anywhere with him at home) and the designers I scrap for have been designing lots, so I have lots to show.

Artgal Style will have a new kit this Friday, but in the meantime, here's what came out last Friday. The kit is absolutely gorgeous and a must-have for scrappers with boys or man to scrap. For me, it matched my son's new hat so well it's like the kit was made for it. It's called Chronograph and still on sale for a few days (preview linked):

She also released Say It Ain't So (which I missed as I was still on holidays :( ):

danimoy designs was busy too! First was Easy Living, a really nice countryside type of kit:

I used it for a pic of a little walk in the French countryside on January 1st!

Then she released Heaven Sent, a gorgeous collab with A+ Designs:

I used it for the photos of my first Mother's day as a Mom. They were taken with a video camera rather than a camera and came out a little greenish, especially with the green wall behind, and somehow it works pretty well with this kit :D

Simple Girl Scraps came out with a really fun kit for New Year's Day appropriately called Happy New Year:

I used it for my January desktop:

Then she released a fun kit to get people started on a healthier year. It's called Make It Happen, as is the challenge she's hosting at ScrapDelicious:

I used this one for my "design your own" water bottle:

And finally, I used Colie's Corner's Let Renovate, to participate in her Sunday Brunch Crunch (template) challenge. Here are the kit and my layout with our 2011 improvements to our house:

So, I know lots of you scrap this much all the time, but for me it had been a while since I scrapped this much in 10 days (and I did two more I can't show you yet...).
Thanks for looking, leave me a little hello if you have time ;)

Thanksgiving photos?

2011-11-26T19:40:00.003-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving week-end to all my American friends!!
If you took lots of photos of family, food, or anything else, I have the kit for you!!
It's called Turkey Day, by Colie's Corner, and it's awesome, take a look:

I'm directing you to Colie's store (image linked) where you will also find some page starters, some quickpages, and some awesome templates to coordinate with the kit. I used one of the templates myself:

Hope you had a good Thanksgiving, black Friday and week-end.
Thanks for looking!

Black Friday at ScrapDelicous

2011-11-22T19:49:00.003-05:00

ScrapDelicious has a very cute freebie for anyone who spends $8 or more in the store, from any designer and Simple Girl Scraps sells all her awesome kits there!! AND they are still 30% off, so you get them dicsounted and you get a freebie... Can't miss it!
Take a look at the add, mark your calendars, and go update your whishlist to be ready for Friday!!

Happy shopping!

New in Artgal Style's store

2011-11-21T18:26:00.002-05:00

Last Friday, Artgal Style re-released a couple of beautiful kits.
The first one is called De La Roche, it has very rich colours and a bit of a French touch. Oddly enough, I didn's scrap with this one, but there's lots of inspiration in the store ;)
The preview is linked:

The second one is perfect for late fall and Thanksgiving, the colours are rich and gorgeous and it was perfect for the photos of my frosted pumpkin:

Thanks for looking ;)

I'm back!!

2011-11-15T16:16:00.002-05:00

I'm back from Jamaica and I have quite a bit to show!
But I'm going to start with the recent new releases.
Simple Girl Scraps, despite being on hiatus, has an awesome new kit in store. And she updated the store with lots of previous ones that were in other stores (she's now exclusive to ScrapDelicious).
The new kit is Happy Fall and it's awesome!!

And I love the result of my layout with it :D

She's also having a sale so you can't go wrong with a little shopping at her store:

Here's another kit that made it to the store and my layout (for all your summer photos or swimming lessons):

Let's move on to danimoy designs, who despite having a hard time with her place after floods, manage to release a beauty for the Grab A Byte at ScrapBookBytes, called Cozy Winter. Each part is only $1 and coordinates to a lot of other goodies in the store:

And my layout:

As it seems I'm going through the designers in reverse alphabetical order, here's what kind of new with Colie's Corner. The kit came out before I left and I only had time to scrap with it there. It's a beautiful, soft coloured, Halloween kit, called All Hallows Eve:

I used it to scrap my costume this past Halloween:

And finally, Artgal Style's latest kits. She just releases Bohemian, but I didn't have a chance to scrap with it... It's a very elegant kit and could easily be "Christmas-y"...

I did however have a chance to use the beautiful Meridian:

And my layout:

Phew, are you still there?
Hope you like what you saw ;)

DSD SALE!!

2011-11-05T15:38:00.004-04:00

A super quick note from my holiday in Jamaica, to let you all know about the awesome 30% off sale at Scrap Delicious.

That means all Simple Girl Scraps products are 30% off, things like this:

or this:

or this:

Go grab something, her kits are so fun and easy to scrap with ;)

Just so you know...

2011-10-22T09:27:00.005-04:00

A little post, just to let you know about a couple of cool things.

The first one is an awesome sale on all danimoy designs' products. She's celebrating Halloween by putting everything at 40% off!! (the ad is linked to the store, go get some goodies)

The second thing I wanted to let you know about is a great place in Scrapland, called MyMemories! I like it for a few reasons. First they have a metric ton of designers, so there is something for everyone, in every style and for every occasion. It is also the place where 3 of the former Scrap That Idea designers sell their awesome designs: Sara (Sweet Blossom Designs), Mel (Mel Hains designs) and Vicki (A Work In Progress). Finally, they have promotions, free kits, contests and challenges on the blog, and those are always fun for inspiration. And I have to say they are VERY generous there. I won a contest a few months ago, and my coupon was somehow forgotten. So I sent a few small reminders once in a while, to see if I could get my $10 coupon (because I really liked the designer whose store it was for: Ettes and company). A couple days ago, I finally got a reply and Lisa was VERY apologetic and super nice. Then the coupon didn't work for some reason... And her solution for me was to make me a new coupon for $50!!!!! How generous was that, I was blown away. So thanks Lisa and MyMemories and take a look at what I got:

A Sunshiny Day by Sweet Blossom Designs

A Touch of Fall (plus the Borders and the Frames) by Lindsay Jane

Ready for School (and Wordart 1 and the Extras) by Connie Prince

Time4Me (the kits, the Extras, the Flairs, the Wordart, the Alpha, the Clusters!!) by Ettes and Company

And finally It Happened This Year (and the matching Flairs) by Connie Prince

Can you believe the shopping spree?!?!?! The hardest part was choosing, but I'm so happy! Now I have to use them, lol. I'm planning on using this last one to make my 2012 calendar, so that should keep me busy a while!
Thanks for looking, check out the danimoy designs sale and MyMemories this week-end ;)

How do you like your eggs?

2011-10-21T20:32:00.003-04:00

I'm asking because Artgal Style likes them Over Easy, lol. It's the name of her new, breakfast themed, awesome kit!

I used it to scrap my little man starting the year with a yummy brunch:

Thanks for looking ;)

Haywire

2011-10-14T19:45:00.003-04:00

That might be how I feel, some if not most of the time, but it's mostly the name of Artgal Style's new awesome kit.
It has beautiful elements, some glitter, and some subtly fall colours. It's a fall kit with an awesome twist, I LOVE it!!

Take a look at this brand new kit:

And here's my layout with it. It's a recent photo I took myself of Cédric and me and I love it. And I also quite like how the layout turned out ;)

Thanks for looking, say hi if you'd like ;)

October

2011-10-10T08:59:00.003-04:00

Well, there's no denying it, it's October! It's crazy that it's already the 10th... I feel like the month just started, and that's why I just just made my desktop (I guess I have two thirds of the month left to enjoy it...).
I still have to prepare my house for our trip to Jamaica in 3 weeks (my in-laws are staying over to watch our son, so it has to be CLEAN), figure out how to make Halloween treats with no dairy and no gluten, and plan our costumes.

For now, let me show you the super cute kit I used for my desktop. It's a kit by Colie's Corner called In The Woods. It's nicely "fally" and the colours are very rich, and there is a bunch of adorable animals, so cute I had to use them all.

That's the cute kit, but I recommend grabbing the bundle where you get awesome clusters, wordart, QPs and templates for only $7!!

If you look on the bundle preview, you'll notice I started with one of the clusters, but I wanted to put all the animals, and the mushrooms, so I built on it :D

I made if for the challenge at Scrapable of course, come play with us in the challenges ;)
I'm off to enjoy a family day off on this gorgeous Canadian Thanksgiving Monday!!
Thanks for looking!

Touch of Autumn

2011-10-07T19:02:00.002-04:00

Colie's Corner and her CT lead have asked me to stay on the CT, yay!!!
So today I get to show you Touch of Autumn, a beautiful fall kit, with the cutest fally elements and a gorgeous colour scheme.
I used it to scrap a photo of a single birch leaf that fell on my deck and was full of little rain drops. I love that pic!!

Here's the kit, linked to the store ;)

And here's my layout:

Thanks for looking!

A quick challenge

2011-10-04T22:00:00.003-04:00

Today I was inspired by the theme of the MyMemories blog challenge, and I knew I wanted to use danimoy designs' See You Latte for it. I actually LOVE the kit, the colours are so soothing, and the elements just gorgeous.
As it was super last minute and I'm off to bed, I'm keeping this short, so here's the layout:

Thanks for looking ;)

Lucky Me!!!

2011-09-28T18:55:00.004-04:00

Today, I'm showing you the result of my being lucky!!

The first two layouts I made with the kits I chose with my coupon at Scrapable. I won a $5 GC for winning layout of the month, and I got this beauty called Animal Magic by Milly Dee Designs:

I had been looking for a camel and a kangaroo for EVER (well, for a year...) to scrap the little petting zoo pics from our last Fall Fair:

The journaling means: There's always a zoo at the fall fair. That year, the zoo was bigger and really varied with exotic animals rather than just farm animals. The alpaca was all soft and we went back a few times to pet him. The camel was impressive and Daddy wanted to feed him, but he wasn't very delicate and drooled a lot when he ate. I think what you liked the most was feeding the pigs. You asked for more seeds for them a few times. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we went back in the afternoon to see and feed the animals again!

My other news are bigger!! A little while ago, Rachel of Captivated Visions decided to switch her Build A Kit a bit as it was turning 1 and to ask fans to submit ideas (themes, colour schemes, ...) for a kit. She would then choose an idea to win a huge prize: working with her to make the kit of your dreams, getting that kit free AND $20 to her store.
I submitted 2 ideas, one I knew was a really long shot and one I thought might work... and she picked it to win!!!!
I won't say too much about it, but you can see her post here and you'll see that the theme will be YOGA.
But I'm already enjoying part of my gift. After a long hard time trying to decide what I wanted from her store (I pretty much wanted everything), I picked these two beauties:

I'm going to use them together to make an album about my doggie girl Schatzie (which was the other kit idea by the way, so I'm really getting both my "dream" kits).
Here's the first layout I made with it, for a Scrapable challenge, about her CKC name:

I'm really happy with it! I'm adding some of my own doodles, like the wings on this one.
I love the colour schemes of both kits and I quite like them together!! Check out her store, you will love everything!!

Thanks for looking, leave me a little hello if you have time ;)

Danimoy's latest

2011-09-24T18:13:00.002-04:00

Danimoy Designs released a very delicate collab with A+ Designs called Shine On You. The colours are very soft and it's full of pretty elements:

I used it to scrap the first time I met my nephew Alexis:

The preview is linked if you like it ;)

Now Playing...

2011-09-23T14:19:00.003-04:00

...Harry Potter?
Colie's Corner new release today is a movie themed beauty and I used it to show off the one and only pic I have of me going to see a Harry Potter movie. Incidentally, it's the last HP movie ever but I was lucky enough to have gotten a Gryffindor scarf from the them park for xmas, so I was wearing it in the photo and looking like the geeky fan that I am ;)

Take a look at the kit "Now Playing" and her cool new "Candy Coated" alpha:

I should mention I used one of Colie's awesome templates for the Sunday Brunch Crunch at Gotta Pixel:

Thanks for looking!!

Lots of gorgeousness!

2011-09-17T10:15:00.003-04:00

I'm referring to the kits I used of course, not the layouts I made (I'll let you be the judge of how those look).

I'll do my CTs alphabetically today ('cause why not, lol).
Artgal has released two new kits since I last posted. The first is a moon/sleep themed beauty with calm colours called Georgia Moon:

I scrapped an old pic I love of my son sleeping on my shoulder:

The second one is quite the opposite. A very versatile, everyday kit with bright fun colour called Sarasota, which I used to scrap my furry girl:

And she also took part in the September collab at Plain Digital Wrapper. It's called Garden Grows and it's full of gardening tools, fruits and veggies and many versatile items as well:

I used it for a speed scrap at Scrapable (one of the funnest places in Scrapland!!) with a pic whose colours match the kit really well (and I have to say I'm quite happy with the result):

Next is my guest CT spot for Colie's Corner. She released a great kit with a weather theme called Rainy Days:

I used it to journal about one of the craziest weather experiences I've ever had... a wicked storm. I also used one of her awesome templates:

Sadly, Dani from danimoy designs hasn't had a new release, and that's because her house flooded really badly. Her entire area is quite devastated, she still does not have heat or hot water and lost a lot. She's a single mom and just started a new full time job, so she needs all the support she can get... So I'm going to remind you of how gorgeous her kits are and if you're in need of new scrapping goodies, I suggest you visit her store, you won't be disappointed!!

There's something for everyone, check it out!!

And last but not least, Simple Girl Scraps is really busy right now, but she's letting us use some of her older kits, and that's awesome!! The one I asked for was perfect for my little man starting school. It's a fall-y kit with the cutest owls and some really fun patterns. Take a look at Owl Be Home:

And here's my owl leaving the nest (that's what the title means ;) ):

DONE!! All the kit previews are linked to stores for your shopping pleasure ;)
Thanks for looking, I'll be back with exciting news!!

On the bus!

2011-09-07T20:36:00.003-04:00

Here's my first layout as a guest for Colie's Corner. I was thrilled to get a gorgeous back to school kit with really soft colours and a bus element! The colours are perfect for young kids starting pre-k, or a more girly back to school layout, or any child with a sweet, gentle personality!
Take a look at the kit:

And if you get the kit, I highly recommend the bundle which gets you some gorgeous clusters, word-art and stacked papers:

I also used her Trendy Template set:

And the result is really cute if I do say so myself:

The school organized a day to review the safety rules of taking the school bus, with a video, a bus tour and a cute certificate, and there was an empty bus you could just get on and hang out at the end. My son LOVES school buses, so he was thrilled!!
I'm pretty proud too, my layout won LOTD at Gotta Pixel!!
Hubby is gone out of town and coming back late tonight, so I'm off to watch TV by myself, and I just might multitask and scrap ;)

Dandelion Dream

2011-09-04T21:57:00.003-04:00

This week, Artgal Style has a GORGEOUS new kit. I love the colours, the elements, the papers, the alpha, I just really love it!! And it matched one of my recent photos perfectly...
The kit is called Dandelion Dreams, take a look:

I think the colours can work great for both summer and fall layouts, don't you think?
We've been spending some time in the backyard and sometimes Cédric is barefoot. Most of the time he doesn't seem to mind, but once in a while it seems to bother his little feet and he walks on his tippy-toes, it's adorable. And I'm quite proud of myself for managing to get a cute photo of said little feet:

Isn't the pic cute? And the kit gorgeous? Check out her blog for a coordinated freebie (the paper and some of the elements in my layout are from the freebie).

I'm also very happy to announce that Theresa has reconsidered her schedule and found a flexible store and won't be taking a break after all, woohoo! You will therefore see some more Simple Girl Scraps layouts around here, and I know you'll love them! Go check out her store!

And finally, today I officially joined the Guest CT for Colie's Corner for the month of September, yay!!

Time Flies

2011-09-01T13:12:00.004-04:00

I've been enjoying the summery weather while it lasts and the days before my little man starts school, which does not allow for much blogging, it seems...
As he started school today, I'll try to keep it a tad more regular (but I'm pretty sure I've said that before...).

I've done 7 challenges at Scrapable this month, so sit back and relax while I show you!!

The font challenge, done with Cook with Me by danimoy designs, font is veggie burger:

The template challenge, done with Banana Berry by danimoy designs and a template by Millydee (I LOVE this kit!!) to scrap Cédric first lunch box ever:

The scraplift challenge, done with Book Worm by Artgal Style scraplift of a LO by Amy!:

The mystery challenge, done with All Frogged Out by Modern June (we were supposed to use a themed kit for an unrelated layout, I used a frog themed kit for a food layout!):

The list it Up challenge, done with Tazza Di Cafe by Os Designs and the Green Day alpha by Digiscrap.ch:

The desktop challenge,done with Minnie's House by Eledhwen Designs and the Ink and Water alpha by Honey Designs :

And the 1,2,3 follow me challenge, which I already showed but really love, Done with A Little Buggy by Ziggle Designs by Kami, A Whole Lotta Papers by Mel Hains Designs, Happy Go Lucky by Artgal Style, Garden Friends by the Scrap That Idea team and the Skip papers by Digitreats:

In other news, if you're still with me, I lost one of my CTs again as Theresa of Simple Girl Scraps is taking some needed time off to focus on her non-scrappy life. I wish her luck and hope she comes back with a revenge in the future ;)
I'll be back tomorrow for Artgal Style's new and re-releases.

Snuggle bug

2011-08-19T09:24:00.003-04:00

Just a quick post to show a layout I made with a mish-mash of papers and an adorable kit for a challenge at Scrapable.
I used A Little Buggy by Ziggle Designs by Kami for all the elements, but it was a freebie offered over a month and I had missed the papers when I started collecting it, so I also used A Whole Lotta Papers by Mel Hains Designs, Happy Go Lucky by Artgal Style, Garden Friends by the Scrap That Idea team and the Skip papers by Digitreats for my background and paper strips.
It was a recipe challenge and we had to use 3 bugs, so the kit was perfect ;) and I love the result:

I highly recommend joining the challenges at Scrapable. They are super fun, you can use any kit you want (you get more points with Scrapable new releases, though...) and you get points towards GCs. Win-win-win!!
Other than that, the weather is gorgeous and we're probably off to the pool again (3rd time this week).
Thanks for looking!

Pirates and pool parties!!

2011-08-17T10:06:00.003-04:00

Simple Girl Scraps has been busy!! She has two really cute kits out this week.
The first is a must for summer pool pics. It's called Pool Party and it's an amazing deal (plus it's part of the Soda Shoppe Colour Pop, so there are lots of coordinating goodies in the store if you like the colours!):

The second one is called Pirate Party and I love it!! The colours are very "pirate-y" and were perfect for my photos of our last Halloween: we were all pirates!! Take a look at the kit and my layout (I'm quite proud of my cluster, I tried to make it look like water under the boat with all the ribbons and ric-racs...):

Thanks for looking!!

Blabla and danimoy beauties

2011-08-14T20:21:00.004-04:00

A little blabla to start. The past few weeks have been a rollercoaster. Cédric had intestinal problems for a long time, and we suspected celiac. We went through trying a gluten free diet, talking to our doctor and dietician, having to give him more gluten for a test, putting him through a blood test, then after stopping gluten again being told the hospital forgot to do that test and we had to start over, giving more gluten, and another needle, and finally we're gluten free for good and waiting for the results, but we're pretty sure of the results. So we went through frustration and sadness for him (soooo many things have gluten) and now starts the challenge of figuring out a gluten free life (though it's much easier these days).

Enough about that, on to scrappy things. Danimoy designs has released a couple of beauties I need to show you!
Last Monday, she released Summer Treats, a fun bright collection with lots of summer desserts.

I used it to scrap my dude drinking grenadine on the beach:

And yesterday, she released an absolutely gorgeous, refreshing collection with lots of leafy elements called Fresh Start:

I really love this one, how fresh it feels. And I used it to scrap Cédric meeting an adorable mini horse:

That's it for tonight!
Hope you had a good week-end, thanks for looking.

A freebie from Simple Girl Scraps, and one from me!!

2011-08-09T13:48:00.005-04:00

Today you won't be sorry you came!
Simple Girl Scraps is being featured at 5 Star Digital Scrapbooking and for the occasion, she's made you a GORGEOUS full kit freebie called Important to Me:
The preview and title are linked so you can go read the interview (it's short and sweet) and of course download the kit ;)
*The kit is no longer a freebie but available here at ScrapDelicious for $4*

And here's what I made with it (the colours and theme were perfect for my son's baptism):

Theresa was nice enough to let me give you a little extra gift! I thought you might be able to use the stacked papers from my layout and I included a version with the tree and one without ;)
You can find them here at 4shared (the preview is linked as well):

Enjoy!!

Wild!

2011-08-07T08:48:00.002-04:00

Here's a cute layout with my little wild one!!

Fun, right? I made it with Simple Girl Scraps' part of the new Zoo Crew collab at Scrap Delicious.
It's full of really cute animals and great papers in a really lovely colour scheme, take a look at her part (linked so you can go see and buy the collab ;) ):

TFL!

A gorgeous kit for a sad layout...

2011-08-06T14:54:00.002-04:00

I still need to show you danimoy designs' latest collab with Ivory Keys Digital Dreams. It's called Strike a Pose and it's all about cameras and photos, the perfect kit for any digiscrapper!! The colour scheme is to die for, take a look:

And here's my layout about how I lost my camera :(

I'm really happy with the layout, but I was rather unimpressed about losing my camera, that is until hubby surprised me with a new one of superior quality. It's apparently quite high end and really good for a point and shoot, plus it's blue :D

Artgal Style CT stuff

2011-08-05T09:36:00.002-04:00

Okay, time to catch you up with all things Artgal Style. Laramie has re-released a lot of kits in her new store at Plain Digital Wrapper.
Last week, she re-released Technographic to scrap all our toys. I love the colours in this one, it would make some great layouts for the guys in our lives!

I've seen a lot of xmas kits around in July for some reason, and Artgal Style has one for you too. It's called Winter Blessings and again the colours are amazing. Very classy and festive! And it's full of beautiful branches and natural elements:

This week, she's re-releasing a gorgeous kit with awesome colours again, in purples, oranges, and blues, called Moody Retro. I used it to rant about late snow storms around April or May, so the layout will be refreshing for anyone who has weather as hot as we're having here:

And finally, last week, she had a beautiful new release for all your beach and lake photos. It's a very peaceful, soothing colour scheme and it's called Ocean Mist:

That's it for Artgal Style news. I hope you enjoyed the layout and I know there's a kit in her store for you ;)

Sooo behind...

2011-08-04T16:59:00.005-04:00

I'm so behind on showing you all my latest scraps.
The weather is just gorgeous here this summer. We focused on getting a fence to play more in the yard, and it's done. We're also really enjoying my in-laws' pool, going at least a couple times a week.
We also had a long week-end and hubby and I spent it cottage camping with some of our best friends who live too far... No Internet or cell reception, and to be honest, no time to want to turn on any device, we were too busy catching up and having fun. Great food, great talk and great fun!

Now that I'm back in the swing of things, I have time to let you know what's going on in Scrapland.
Laina is leading a great challenge for danimoy designs. It's a super fun template and you have the chance to win $5 to danimoy's store!!
Here's the ad (linked to the blog for instructions), the template and the layout I made with Dani's Slow Poke and her alpha from Fresh Start (coming out soon):

Bahama Mama and a speed scrap!!

2011-07-28T15:46:00.004-04:00

The title says it all!
First let me show you danimoy designs' latest kit (a collab with A+ Designs) called Bahama Mama. A gorgeous summery, islandy kit:

And here's my layout of hubby and I going to a Hawaiian Luau party last year!

Now, do you like challenges, inspiration and gifts?? Then I suggest joining the Simple Girl Scraps for a speed scrap on Saturday:

I won't be able to join, as I'll be at a cottage with friends for a relaxing, kids-free week-end!! But put on your PJs, grab a snack or beverage and have fun. Theresa is awesome and the little yellow birdie told me there was a gift for participants...
Off to scrap!!

Who likes a great coupon?!?

2011-07-23T16:43:00.002-04:00

Check this out, danimoy designs has a great sale at GottaPixel:

The coupon is linked to her store. It's also a fun preview of her upcoming kit... And these are really awesome, because the more goodies you get the more you save, how can you go wrong?
Here's a sample of some of the beauties you could grab:

Just a few of the most summery gorgeous ones she has in store, but there are some many beautiful kits for all occasions !!

Don't miss this great sale, happy shopping ;)

Lazy Days of Summer

2011-07-18T09:22:00.002-04:00

Today is the release of DaniMoy Designs' new kit Lazy Days of Summer.
It's a beautiful summer kit with warm colours and it worked so well for one of my fave Punta Cana photos: my two guys cuddling and being lazy!

Here's the kit (linked):

And my layout:

The kit is on sale for only $3, go pick it up ;)

Lots of layouts!!

2011-07-16T10:00:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was release day but I had a very busy day!!
We spent most of the day at the lake for a 50th anniversary celebration in my hubby's family. Then after putting my little man to bed, we went to the movies to see.... Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2, of course!! It was really epic and very good!!

Now I'm home and I can show you all the awesome new goodies in store this week-end.
Simple Girl Scraps had quite the release day, and each kit is more beautiful than the next.
First, and probably my favourite, is Twitterpated. The colours are gorgeous and the patterns are amazing, I LOVE it and I'm really happy with my layout with it too!!
The preview is linked to the store (ScrapDelicious), hurry to get it, it's only $2 !?!?!

Next she has a sweet, soft, sleep themed kit at Digiscrap Drive-In, called Goodnight and this one is only $1 right now, an amazing deal!

And finally, she's re-releasing her kit Love My Dog, from Scrap Delicious, at Digiscrap Drive-In, so I got to play with it, yay! (both store names are linked ;) )
I really like it and it worked so well with my puppy's colours and personnality!

Are you still with me?
Let's move on to Artgal Style then, shall we?
This week, she has a great 4th of July kit to scrap all those pics you took a couple weeks ago (or past years). The colour palette is awesome, she added a great pink and a paler blue, which makes the kit original and versatile. As I'm from France and in Canada, I used it for something else altogether! Just a cute pic of my little dude!

She's also re-releasing two older kits at Plain Digital Wrapper, her new store. Penny For Your Thoughts is money themed, for all the piggy banks, new bank account, or allowance photos. This one had a great versatile colour scheme too:

And there's a great add-on:

And finally, Fly Lady Bug, a very cute, fresh kit, for any photo:

All done!! Thanks for staying with me, now go shopping!!

And some more Woohoo!!

2011-07-14T09:30:00.004-04:00

I'm so happy, I was accepted to a second CT in the past few days!!
I will proudly be scrapping for DaniMoy Designs. She sells at Scrapbookbytes, at Scrapbooks Gone Digital, and at Gotta Pixel.
Her designs are pretty, fun and funky, and she makes the most amazing "splats" or stamps or whatever you want to call them (here's an example):

Now all I have to do is learn to use those well to make them justice...

I've scrapped for both my other CTs yesterday and I'm off to scrap for her, and I literally CANNOT wait to show you all these kits, they're all more beautiful than the next!!

Woohoo!!

2011-07-12T08:54:00.004-04:00

Hello scrapland!!

As you may know, I've recently lost some of my CT gigs. I've been applying for some, but only when I really like the kits and think I can do something decent with them (kits need to inspire me to some degree at least, otherwise, my LO are NOT pretty...).
After quite a few "no" answers, I got accepted on a new CT, woohoo.

I am now a proud CT member for Simple Girl Scraps! Her kits are bright, fun and cute and I can't wait to start scrapping with them (just waiting for all the access links...). She sells at Digiscrap Drive-In and Delicious Scraps, go check out her stuff, you're bound to find something you like!!

And here's a layout I made on the week-end for the food album I'm trying to piece together:

Happy Scrapping!!

Artgal Style has a new store!!

2011-07-08T15:08:00.002-04:00

Artgal Style's new store is up and running, and she's filling it with some of her previous kits and some new stuff too!! Go check out her new home at Plain Digital Wrapper!!

Two of her previous kits are out this week, Graduate and the gorgeous Lavish Green, and the new kit is called The Eyes Have It. It's full of all things glasses, lenses and optometrist. Take a look:

And made a layout about Cédric obsession with other people's glasses. He notices them and wants to touch yet he rarely lets us put some on him and if he does he doesn't keep them on more than a few seconds. Here's him taking them off as I try to take a picture, lol:

Thanks for looking, enjoy your week-end and happy scrapping!

One more song and a couple of layouts!

2011-07-02T09:48:00.003-04:00

Well, I missed a few days of the challenge, due mostly to gorgeous weather.
The last 3 categories do not inspire me much and I think I'll skip them, but I wanted to do the one for day 27, as I knew which song I wanted to put. The theme is a song that you wish you could play. As I said, I don't play an instrument, and therefore there are many, but I did think for a while about trying to learn to play guitar as my hubby has a few and is a good guitar player. I can (probably as anyone else on the planet) play the first few notes of the song in question and it would be fun to be able to keep going (at least the rest of the verse and chorus, if not the solo...). You'll notice the first few notes are single notes not chords and they are played with the open strings, not need to use your left hand, which is the only reason I can play them... lol.
The song is beautiful and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. It's Nothing Else Matters by Metallica:

And now, onto scrapping!
Here are a couple of layouts I've done in the past week. My CT duties will soon resume as Artgal Style's newest kit is coming out in her new store very soon, but until then, I'm trying to get inspired by challenges, for which I did this layout of me and Cédric at the park:

And I'm also trying to scrap some photos of Cédric eating, as I'm planning a book of layouts of him with food. The little man is a very good eater and loves food in general and it's a pleasure to see him eat most of the time.
In particular, he loves fruit and here's a layout of him eating watermelon:

Thanks for looking, happy scrapping!!

A song you can play

2011-06-26T14:50:00.002-04:00

Day 26th is a song you can play on an instrument. I never learned to play anything. I did one short year of piano and learned the recorder in school. And so the only thing I can play is Do a Deer from the Sound of Music. But I can play it on the piano, the recorder and the xylophone!! lol

LOL

2011-06-25T15:01:00.003-04:00

Today's music category is a song that makes you laugh and I knew, from the minute I read the list of themes for the music challenge, what I would do on day 25!
I love the lyrics, they truly make me laugh out loud, the guitar playing is awesome, the voices and harmonies are fun and I love that Dave Grohl is the shiny demon!!
So without further ado I give you Tribute by Tenacious D:

And how could I forget ... the dancing!!! Jack Black may not be the most versatile, but he does what he does really well!!
Hope you enjoyed it and laughed a bit!

The final song...

2011-06-24T09:28:00.002-04:00

... not of the challenge, there are still 6 more. But today's category is a song that you want to play at your funeral!
I had a couple of ideas for this one, but one or two were too depressing , others only applied to certain types of death (wow this is a cheerful category!).
In the end, after browsing a website and finding nothing, it hit me. I think I'd like Live and Let Die by Paul McCartney and the Wings. I like the song a lot, plus it's a Bond theme, how cool would that be ?!?

I though I'd share one of the suggestions on the website too, because it made me laugh. They suggested Another One Bites the Dust by Queen, and while I think it's a tad inappropriate, I do find it funny!!

Today's playlist and a layout

2011-06-23T19:06:00.003-04:00

Today will have a few song. First because I skipped yesterday and because I chose a few songs for today's category ;)

Yesterday was day 22: a song that you listen to when you’re sad. I guess if I'm sad I tend to listen to some melancholic music and for some reason, I turn to French music more in those occasion, maybe because it's what I grew up with... So the song I chose is Daniel Balavoine's "La vie ne m'apprend rien":

Today's song selection is "a song that you want to play at your wedding". I am already married, so there are multiple answers to this, more than you'd think.
Our wedding ceremony was a traditional church wedding in a 12th century church, so the music was instrumental and traditional (in on the Here comes the bride, out on the wedding march).
The first one is the song that we played for our first dance. We chose something from an artist Dave likes, "She" by Elvis Costello:

However, the DJ put in the wrong CD and for maybe 30 seconds (before one of my bridesmaids made him switch) we danced to "Angels" by Robbie Williams (I love the song and people were staring, so we stood there a while, than just went with it and started dancing, than my friend made the DJ switch and "She" started):

Wait, there's more, lol. If Dave had known how to waltz, I actually wanted to dance to "Ces diamants-là" from the musical Notre Dame de Paris (a pretty song about a wedding):

And finally, if I were to get married now, rather than 7 years ago, I might try to incorporate a fun song I discovered in an episode of Glee, Bruno Mars' Marry You:

...or maybe even the Glee version ;)

Wow, all done for today!
Now onto a little scrappy stuff. Today I participated in a challenge at Scrapable, hosted by my digi-friend La'Shawn. It was a "redo" challenge, so I took an old layout with a photo and title I loved but room for improvement... It was the photo of a family ring I got from my Mom for my 30th birthday and I scrapped it with "Diamonds are a girl's best friend" as a title, using inspiration from the colours and patterns in the scene from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes with Marylin Monroe of course. I also tried to give it a vintage look as the ring is from the late 20s. Here are the inspiration, the old layout and the revamped version.

If you're still here, thanks for reading, hope you like the music and the bling!!

Ukulele apparently!

2011-06-21T16:21:00.002-04:00

Day 21 is a song you listen to when you're happy. Two songs came to mind right away and they're both fun ukulele happy songs! The first one is Jason Mraz's I'm Yours and the second is Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow (and for a little bit of fun, try saying his name out loud!). Enjoy!

Catching up...

2011-06-20T19:13:00.004-04:00

Okay, so it was really nice weather, and Father's Day, so we were busy and I missed a few days of the challenge!!

I'll try to catch up here...
The first one I skipped was day 16, a song you used to love but now hate. I had to browse my iTunes collection to find one of those. It's a song by a French artist called Renaud. I don't like all of his music, I love some songs and hate others. There is one song called l'Hexagone that used to be my neighbour's favourite as a young teenager and I had learned to like it a lot, I thought the lyrics were clever and funny. They are actually very political (which is not surprising coming from him) and I've grown and learned to actually dislike the lyrics which I find a bit too drastic and rude and as the music was never actually good, too repetitive, I'm now to the point where if I listen to his Best Of album, I'm likely to skip the song:

Categories 17 and 18 ask a song you hear often on the radio and a song you wish you heard on the radio. As I don't listen to the radio at all, it's kind of hard to answer. Instead, I'll share an anecdote about the difference between countries. In France, one of the songs I used to hear all the time on the radio was one of my favourite U2 songs, Sunday Bloody Sunday. It played very often. When I moved to Canada, I was really surprised to hear quite a bit of U2 on the radio, but rarely if ever Sunday. So it'll be my answer for category 17 in France and category 18 in Canada ;)

And speaking about U2, day 19 asks for a song from your favourite album. That would have to be Achtung Baby. I love it from beginning to end. Choosing one song is tough, it's a really close call between three songs: One was a real contender, Mysterious Ways is awesome but I think my favourite has to be The Fly. I love the riff and the sound of The Edge's guitar and the high pitch back up in the chorus is too much fun!! Enjoy: (the actual song starts at 0:25)

And finally, today's category was a song that you listen to when you're angry. I don't specifically turn to music when I'm angry. But here are a couple of songs for a couple of occasions. The first one is by The All American Rejects. The lyrics suggest a break-up and as I've been happily married 7 years, I don't have any occasions to sing it to anyone, but I really like the first line of the chorus and I 'd love to sing it to anyone that gets me mad. Plus it's the music is fun and happy and I like the contrast. So if you annoy me at all "when you see my face hope it gives you hell"!!

The other song would be for anyone who gets me angry when I'm driving. The Offspring's discography is awesome to vent out some frustration as they allow you to swear guilt free, and Bad Habit is perfect to express what I think of some drivers out there (although I swear I have no gun in the glove box):

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the music!

A song that defines you

2011-06-16T12:53:00.002-04:00

That's today's music challenge category of course.
I'm not in an overly introspective mood but ever since I read the category I've thought of one song and I think it works well.
It represents the fact that I accept myself the way I am, that I can be a leader and make things happen and that I have a good and funky sense of humour ;)

Unexpected

2011-06-14T20:05:00.002-04:00

Today's category: a song that no one would expect you to love.
I have very varied taste and I don't think people who know me would be shocked by much. But here's a song I really LOVE that is probably heavier than people might expect. I love the riff, the harmonies and the poetic (if creepy) lyrics. Take the time to listen to Devil at a Midnight Mass by Billy Talent:

Hope you liked it ;)

Guilty pleasure

2011-06-14T09:39:00.004-04:00

That's today's category (or rather yesterday's which I missed...): a song that is a guilty pleasure.
I thought about that one for a while and realized it's not really one song but a full category that's a guilty pleasure for me. And that category is kid's music!!
Parents have to listen to a lot of kiddie music. Usually it's repetitive, the lyrics are less than inspiring and a lot of it out there is just really bad. But there are some really fun songs for children. Most parents complain and say they can't wait for the day when they don't have to endure it anymore... well I sometimes think I'm really going to miss some of it.
Things like Annie Brocoli, a great children's singer and performer from Québec.

Or Bobs and Lolo, whose job I actually wouldn't mind having. I love the harmonies. This song is my favourite because the lyrics are so cute (it's a live version, only one I could find...):

Tragically bad and a new layout

2011-06-12T20:12:00.004-04:00

Well, today's category is another one that might get people mad...
The category is a song from a band you hate!
There's a lot of music I don't like but "hate" is a strong word. The only band I could think of that I consistently dislike, and whose music tends to make me change the station is The Tragically Hip. I really do hate their music, it rubs me the wrong way and I hate the singer's voice. The sadest part is that I lived for a while in their hometown and they played A LOT on most radio stations.
I don't know any of their songs by name, so I literally went on YouTube and picked the first one there. It's a live version of one of their most famous songs (I think), called New Orleans is Sinking (apparently).

Now let's move on to scrapping!! I did a layout about my little charity contribution. It doesn't change the world, but I'm happy to do it and it might change at least one life.

Done with Beth's Belief, a freebie by the ever-so-talented Kate Hadfield (I absolutely love her doodles).
Happy scrapping!

Don't stop me now...

2011-06-11T15:29:00.003-04:00

...'cause I'm having a good time!
It's true, I'm really enjoying this challenge. But these are also lyrics from the song I chose today.
The category is a song by your favourite band. So first I had to select the band. I wouldn't say I have one absolute favourite, but if I had to pick a top 10, Queen would definitely be in it. I've loved their music since I was a little girl (my parents listened to them) and still love it all to this day. There will be a movie soon about their career and I can't wait to see it.
Then I selected one of my favourite songs in the Queen repertoire, Don't Stop Me Now, which is also in my 3-year-old son's top choices (he like this one and We Will Rock You the most). And as he himself could easily be called Mr Fahrenheit, judging by the energy level, I think it's quite appropriate ;)

Comfortably numb...

2011-06-10T19:14:00.002-04:00

The category is a song that makes you fall asleep.
I chose Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb, not because it's pleasant and relaxing but because it is BORING. I almost chose it as the song I hate the most, but there it is as the most boring.
So if you know the song, you don't have to listen, and if you don't just listen a little and if you feel the urge to stop ASAP, I won't blame you!!

A song you can dance to...

2011-06-10T08:52:00.005-04:00

That's a hard one too, there are many options here. I love to waltz, and I took some ballroom and some swing lessons at different points in my life.
Of course, I also just enjoy shaking my bum on anything with a good rhythm (be it dance, pop or hip hop).
So I'll pick a song for which I know the official choreography, to which I've danced many many times when it first came out (especially at the aforementioned Fêtes de la Madeleine) and to my surprise as recently as last January at a Beach Party in Punta Cana: La Macarena by Los Del Rio!!

It's not a music masterpiece, I think we can all agree, but it's a lot of fun to dance to ;)

PS: I skipped yesterday, so I'll be back later today for the next category

I fixed the word verification!!

2011-06-09T09:14:00.001-04:00

My sister let me know that the word verification was buggy and that she wasn't able to leave comments. I checked and it did the same for me, so I assume it's my blog that was at fault. Until I can figure out how to fix it, I've removed the word verification step, so comment away people!! (I love to get comments ;) )

June desktop and more song challenge

2011-06-08T22:05:00.003-04:00

A little scrapping finally got done today! I have my June desktop, done with Cutie Pie by A Work In Progress Designs by Vicki. Take a look:

And now , onto today's 30 day song challenge category: a song you know all the words to. If I started listing the songs of which I know all the lyrics, I would die doing it, lol.
What I love most when listening to music is singing along. To my Dad's great disappointment, my Mom, sister and I spent all our family road trips singing along to the music on the radio or sound system. We did it at home too. We just like singing (and he likes to actually listen to the music and enjoy it...).
So both in the French repertoire and, as soon as I knew enough English to learn the lyrics, in the anglophone one, I know a LOT of song lyrics.
But the first time I remember making the conscious effort to learn all the lyrics to a song was when I was about 15. It was a song in English and I absolutely wanted to be able to sing along and asked a friend who had them to copy the lyrics for me. The song was Hotel California by The Eagles. To this day I still absolutely love the song, sing along knowing the lyrics and I even have a lot of fun "singing" the never-ending guitar solo at the end!

Quite an event!

2011-06-07T21:42:00.002-04:00

Today's song must be one that reminds you of an event.
When my son was born, after a couple days hooked up to machines, he was transferred to my room for the night. I was left alone with this little man and wanted to sing him something soothing, but no lullaby came to mind. I drew a blank, and out of nowhere I started singing Good Riddance by Green Day (incidentally my hubby's favourite band). I soon brushed up on kiddie songs but to this day, when I hear the song, it reminds me of singing it over and over that one night...
And here it is for your listening pleasure!

A little bit country (way too much in fact)

2011-06-06T19:14:00.002-04:00

Today's song challenge category is a song that reminds you of somewhere. Again there are lots of song that remind me of one or more places. I decided to go with a song that reminds me not only of a town, but of the good times to be had there. I lived 4 years in a town called Mont de Marsan in the South-West of France (grades 7 to 10) and then visited for a few summers after that as I had a really close group of friends still living there (I was an air force brat!). In this town, every summer, a major one-week-long street party called Les Fêtes de la Madeleine takes place with music, dancing and lots of drinking all over the streets (along with corridas during the day). The few times I participated in this party, one song was always played, year after year. This song I can still hear at parties here in North America and it always makes me think of how we dance to it: everybody joined both hands with someone and created a sort of arch and two by two, crouching, we would dance down the middle under the arms of others (does that make sense...?). As it was in the streets, there were hundreds of people involved. Lots of fun!!
Without further ado, I give you the song in question: Cotton High Joe!!

Kicking it old school

2011-06-05T22:44:00.004-04:00

Today's category in the song challenge is a song that reminds you of someone.
A lot of songs remind me of people, like my Cédric's favourites, or something I danced to with Dave, but never has anyone been associated to music to me more than Philippe, my friend and neighbour when I was in university in Lyon. He was into rap and to this day has kept it his passion and made it his job. He used to sing one particular song, all the time! So today's song is dedicated to Philippe, wherever he is, and it's Rapper's Delight by Sugarhill Gang:

Enjoy!

30 Day Song Challenge!

2011-06-04T15:03:00.004-04:00

I thought this seemed like a fun one to do!
The challenge, if you haven't seen it around, asks to select a song for a specific connotation each day for 30 days.
As I'm starting it on the 4th, I'll do the first four today and then try to do one per day (or if I can't be that consistent, I'll do clusters ;P ).
So here it goes, I'm going to fight my personality and try NOT to overthink every choice...

day 01 - your favorite song
That's almost impossible to answer as there are so many in so many styles... I think it would be easier for me to give my husband's favourite than mine... (at this point I'm doing what I said I wouldn't and way overthinking it, lol). I'll pick Kings Horses by Jet a little randomly. There's something really cool about a rock waltz!

day 02 - your least favorite song
That's almost as hard, I can't think of much that I actually hate right now! There is one that annoys me to no end, because I find the lyrics make no sense, the distortion on the voice gets on my nerves and mostly because despite all that, it's kind of catchy :( It's Fireflies by Owl City (apparently, I didn't even know who sings it...).

day 03 - a song that makes you happy
Somehow this one is easy, the first song that came to mind is I Want You Bad by The Offspring. I LOVE that song, it gives me energy and puts me in a good mood and the lyrics are really fun, as always with The Offspring which is one my favourite bands!

day 04 - a song that makes you sad
This one is French. It's a beautiful song by one of my favourite artists who writes great music and even better lyrics. For those who don't speak French, it's about leaving (can be interpreted as separation or as death) and it's a very sweet message saying that despite the separation, all that was done together was worth it and will live on. I have some strong memories associated with it too... It's called Confidentiel by Jean-Jacques Goldman.

That's it for today, hope you enjoyed my choices!

Store closing sales!!

2011-06-01T15:10:00.003-04:00

I'm bringing you very sad news today, yet there's a silver lining!
Scrap That Idea is closing at the end of June!! Stacey of Stacey's Scraps is retiring altogether, Vicki of A Work In Progress, Mel of Mel Hains Designs and Sara of Sweet Blossom Designs are moving to My Memories and Laramie of Artgal Style is looking for a new store.
The happy news is that there a massive sale. Most products are 50% off (Artgal Style products are 40% off).
Here are the flyers for Vicki and Stacey's sales:

Enjoy the sale as I mourn my favourite store and the loss of my CT job (although I will CT for Laramie when she finds another home).
If anyone knows another fun designer looking for a CT member, I'm open to suggestions...

my love bug!

2011-05-29T11:28:00.003-04:00

Laramie of Artgal Style has an adorable new kit out this week-end. It's called Fly Lady Bug and it's full of super cute elements and a great colour scheme. Take a look at her kit (linked to the store):

And my layout:

Go grab the kit ;)
Happy Scrapping!

Hurry and a layout

2011-05-26T09:49:00.002-04:00

A quick not to let you know to hurry for Stacey's Scraps' sale as it ends tonight!!
Here are a couple more kits you could get for only $1:

And here's a layout I made of the first time my son told me his dream (something about Santa Claus coming to play with him, too cute!!):

Happy scrapping!!

A great sale

2011-05-24T15:49:00.002-04:00

Today I bring fun news!!
Stacey's Scraps is having an awesome sale across her entire store at Scrap That Idea. Everything is under $2 with most kits at only $1 and even some at $0.50!!!!
She has some adorable ones, some bright fnuky ones and some beautiful ones, take a look at what you could get (some of my faves):

I could keep going, but it would get crazy, there's too much awesome stuff in her store. Go check it out, you won't be sorry!!
Happy shopping!

A very 'mom' moment

2011-05-18T20:58:00.002-04:00

Hello scrappers!

Not much is happening scrapwise around here. I'm working on a book about our Dominican holiday in January and appart from that I just have one or two layouts (I'll show them later).

Today I wanted to share one of those weird guilt moments I have as a Mom. There are many instances where I think I could do better, be more patient, provide more, ... you know. But I had this one kind of funny one.
I was watching Grey's anatomy last week and Meredith and Derek, the main characters (for anyone who doesn't watch) are thinking of adopting a baby. Meredith expresses her doubts and wonders if she's ready for all "mommy" things like preparing meals, and Halloween costumes. Derek cuts her off there and says "the good moms, they make the Halloween costumes". I realized right then that I have bought all of Cédric's costumes so far, and I felt inadequate, like a bad mom... Anyone else having those?
Oh well, at least we've made the effort of dressing up as a family (vampires, devils and pirates so far as hubby has a policy it has to be something scary).

Happy scrapping!

May

2011-05-09T14:01:00.005-04:00

I've been getting busier with the weather improving and some activities starting.
But I wanted to show you my May desktop, done with various parts of the Calendar Collection by A Work In Progress Designs By Vicki, especially the May Bundle:

I always do it for the desktop challenge at Scrapable.
That's it for now!

New collab: Fun of the Fair

2011-05-02T19:09:00.002-04:00

It's already May (crazy!) and therefore there's a new collab at Scrap That Idea.
This one is called Fun of the Fair and it's bright and funky, I loved playing with it!
Take a look:

It's linked to the store and only $4!!
And here's my layout:

Happy scrapping!

Penny for you Thoughts

2011-04-30T16:16:00.002-04:00

It's the name of Artgal Style's latest kit and its really really cute. Full of fun elements for any layout about piggy bank, allowance, first bank account, retirement fund, ...
The colours are fresh and versatile and I love the piggy:

My layout is a pic of my son at Easter because, as the journaling explains, he got a lot of chocolate but we also opened his first bank account for him and his grand-parents put some money in it:

The kits is on sale for $3 until next Friday here and Artgal Style has a freebie add-on for you on her blog!!
Today is the first day of spring for us, we're having sun and warm temps after a week with 3 days of snow and freezing temperatures, so I'm off to enjoy it and get my little man outside some more.
Happy scrapping!

Little bunny

2011-04-28T14:05:00.003-04:00

Take a look at the FREE collab you get at Scrap That Idea for any purchase of $5 or more:

I used to scrap my little bunny on Easter. He had a sip of water in his mouth and it makes his cheeks look so much like a bunny's!
It's a scraplift of a page by Photoqueen for a lift challenge at Scrapable.

The colours are more pastel than I'm used to using, but I love the result.
I had a really hard time finding a cute bunny in my stash and I was glad to find them in this gift kit. So go spend a few bucks on goodies before the end of April and you'll get this one for free with the cute bunnies and other cute Easter elements! (as of May 1st it'll be a new gift collab and this one won't be available for sale for a while...)
Happy Scrapping

I've been scrapping!

2011-04-22T14:00:00.002-04:00

Woohoo!
I guess I was pretty inspired this week and I have 4 layouts to show!

The first one is done with the latest kit by Artgal Style. It's the Add-On to the one I showed you in my previous post. It's called Artist in the House Add-On (logically) and it's great on its own but makes an amazing kit combined with the original!
Take a look at the Add-On and my layout:

Next, I used another gorgeous kit by Artgal Style called Moody Retro to rant about mid-April snow storms, lol. It was also done for a font challenge at Scrapable and it got Layout of the Day there yesterday, which made me pretty happy. I did enjoy making the cluster and spreading the words all around!

I also got around to using a couple of kits by A Work In Progress Designs by Vicki that I've been wanting to use for a while.
The first documents a game we used to play with Cédric when he made a serious eyebrows face. We'd say "gros sourcils" (big eyebrows) and then make him smile by saying "gros sourire" (big smile). It was almost impossible to get photos of as he'd just do it whenever and it went fast and these are the only two pictures I have as a combo showing the little game. The kit worked well with the colours and the silliness of the subject. It's called Happy Days:

And finally I scrapped Cédric's first carousel ride with the gorgeous template by Aimee from the challenge at Scrapable and another beauty by Vicki called Village Fair:

That's it! Have a good Easter week-end if you celebrate it.
Happy scrapping!

Blooming artist

2011-04-19T09:24:00.003-04:00

The title combines the names of the two new releases I should have shown you on the week-end (stupid addictive Angry Birds...).
I'm showing them now though!

The first one is called Blooming Beauty, it's Stacey's Scraps latest kit and as usual is full of the funnest most original doodles!
Take a look at the kit and my layout:

The layout is of my little dude with his 90-years-old great-grand-mother!! Doesn't she look good?

The second kit is called Artist in the House, by Artgal Style. It's a gorgeous kit with amazing colours for all your art themed layouts. And she was so inspire that there will be a second part to the kit coming out this Friday! Take a look:

Check out Laramie's blog for a freebie with the most beautiful wordarts (like the one I used on my layout: "art and soul").
That's it for today, off to play Angry Birds, lol.
Happy Scrapping!

So little time!

2011-04-10T20:02:00.003-04:00

The past 10 days have been crazy. I've joined a gym and started exercising. There seems to have been more to do all around and the weather is getting a bit nicer, so I try to take my little one outside now and then.
This week-end, hubby also surprised me with a little gift: Angry Birds on my computer, and that game is so addicting that I haven't scrapped at all...

But tonight, I want to show you Artgal Style's gorgeous new kit, My Shabby Garden:

The colours are beautiful, there are lots of gorgeous elements and I LOVE the grass alpha!
Here's my layout:

And I also want to show you A Work In Progress Designs by Vicki's new kit called Fresh Outdoors. Here again I love the colours!

I don't have a layout to show, but go buy the kit and you can show me yours ;)
And Vicki has a freebie on her blog for you (preview linked):

Happy scrapping!

Another freebie!

2011-04-01T10:31:00.005-04:00

Yay, it's fun to give stuff away :)

Stacey's Scraps new kit today is called Hopping Down the Bunny Trail and it's an adorable Easter themed kit, with awesome doodles! I made my page and turned into a quickpage for you again!
Take a look at the kit (linked to the store):

Check out the hairy chicks, I LOVE them!
I used the kit to scrap my son's Easter basket. We bought it last year and will be using it again this year and maybe more.

Isn't it the cutest basket?
And as the layout was a pretty versatile Easter layout (once I took out the title), I turned it into a QP for you (with Stacey's permission of course):

The page is linked to 4shared for you to grab it! And I'd love a little love if you download ;)
Happy Scrapping!

ABCs of me

2011-03-29T08:59:00.003-04:00

Today, a completely non-digiscrap post, just for fun!
I was reading my digi friend La'Shawn's blog and she did her ABCs and I thought I'd give it a go too.
Here it goes:

A. Age: 32

B. Bed size: queen (shared with my hubby who's 6'6" and sometimes our doggie)

C. Chore you dislike: I don't like doing the dishes too much, it hurts my back and I hate touching wet food

D. Dogs: love them, I'm a huge dog person, and we have an adorable long-haired dachshund (which we call a mouldy wiener) named Schatzie (which means sweetheart in German)

E. Essential start to your day: it used to be music to wake me up, now I"d say a good shower, a good breakfast and a big hug from my son Cédric

F. Favourite colour: teal (with dark shades of purple very close second)

G. Gold or silver: gold

H. Height: 5'9" (and a bit)

I. Instruments you play(ed): none really, I took a year of piano lessons and played the recorder in school, I do love to sing though

J. Job title: technically I'm qualified as a French as a Second Language teacher, practically my job title is Mom

K. Kids: one adorable little boy

L. Live: I live in Timmins, Ontario (Canada), but I've lived in 10 cities (and even more houses), I was born in Saskatchewan to French parents, raised all over France and I moved to Ottawa at 20 on my own and have lived there 7 year, then a short 8 months in Kingston, On, and then moved to Timmins (hubby's home town)

M. Mom's name: Danielle

N. Nicknames: this is kind of a sore subject for me, my full name is Marie-France and everyone wants to shorten it to Marie, which I hate, my cousin nicknamed me Marif which is my pseudonym all over scrapland and I like, but most people don't want to use it for some reason, hubby calls me Bub (pronounced like "tub" I guess, it's a weird derivation on Baby, and it's what I call him too), my son calls me Maman (this one I love) and my SIL and BIL (and their son) call me Marf which I do NOT love, my SIL doesn't speak French and tried to find a nickname for me, I would have prefered MF but she thought Marf was funny and sadly it stuck

O. Overnight hospital stays: only the few days after Cédric was born (4 nights)

P. Pet peeves: hearing the noise it makes when people eat, toys or pencils that are not in proper "rainbow" order (I re-order everything so the colours are in the right order), and many more

Q. Quote from a movie: the first one that comes to mind is "you shut your mouth when you're talking to me" (from Wedding Crashers), but there are many others

R. (this one was blank, I chose my own) Recreational activities: digiscrap of course, yoga, long hot baths, reading, and watching TV and movies

S. Siblings: one older sister Anne-Laure (coucou Nenaure ;) )

T. Time you wake up: between 6:30 and 7am on week days and around 8am on week-ends

U. Underwear: that's a funny one, first I always wear some (no going commando for me) and they are simple cotton ones

V. Vegetables you don't like: cooked cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and any other fart smelling cabbage (I like them raw though)

W. What makes you run late: not much, I tend to be really early, now that I have a son to get ready too, I am just about right on time

X. X-rays: I've had sooooo many when I was a teenager (my knees, my hands mostly, my back...) because my ligaments are too long and loose, and also lungs, throat, teeth of course, but never for anything serious (like because of an accident)

Y. Yummy food you make: I bake pretty decently so chocolate chip cookies, pear pie with marzipan, pina-colada-banana cake, ...

Z. Zoo animal favourites: that's a hard one, I love animals in general, anything furry and cuddly looking, I'll go with polar bear cubs, and La'Shawn, if you're reading, you didn't answer this one, but I know... pandas, right?

Well, there you go, hope you enjoyed reading!

New releases and a FREEBIE, woohoo!

2011-03-25T09:08:00.003-04:00

Happy Friday everyone!
I have two gorgeous kits to show you today and a gift for you, yay!

First, take a look at Technographic by Artgal Style. It's a beautiful technology themed kit with a beautiful colour scheme:

I scrapped my new laptop with it:

Now take a look at the happiest spring kit around. Welcome Spring by Stacey's Scraps is full of gorgeous elements, lots of them are unique doodles, you won't see anywhere else. Check out the doodled flowers, I LOVE them:

And I scrapped Cédric playing house in his uncle's backyard:

And then I thought my page was pretty cute and maybe you'd want it, sooooo ... I asked Stacey if I could make it a free quickpage for you and she said yes! Here's the QP preview, linked to 4shared for you to download:

Please leave me a little love if you grab it ;)
Happy Scrapping!

Layouts, new releases and then some...

2011-03-18T20:28:00.003-04:00

I'll start with the blabla, scroll down for scrappy stuff ;)
Hubby is at the ultimate redneck course to get his hunting license. He wants to be able to join his dad and brother once in a while when they go (mostly for birds I think, I really don't think he could kill a deer or a moose...). I'm not thrilled as he's gone for the evening and all day tomorrow, and I don't really love the concept...
I'm also really tired as we had to cut Cédric's hair today and that's emotionally and physically draining. He hates it, he moves, screams and cries, so it's a long and painful process and I ended cutting myself twice (but thank goodness I didn't cut him). The last two times we tried to take him to a hairdresser, they refused to do it because he moved too much, so I guess I'm adding hairdresser to my resume...
The only thing that makes it better is that tomorrow is the cheat day of our diet, so I'm having chocolate filled pastries for breakfast, McDonald's for lunch, an Indian mango curry for supper (with naans, mmmm) and Haagen Dazs cookie dough ice-cream for our tv-time snack! Can't wait!!

Now scrappy stuff. I have two layouts from challenges to show.
The first one was for a challenge Vicki hosted, to scrap something weather related. I had this gorgeous pic of the sun peaking through the clouds (kind of like the front of a religious pamphlet, don't you think, a glimpse at the presence of God...). I scrapped it with her kit Coming Home:

Then I did the mystery challenge at Scrapable, for which we had to journal about someone else than our kids (I'm afraid I'm guilty of that, scrapping mostly about my little man...). So I did one about my aunt:

Journaling says: since I was young, people tell me that I'm like my aunt, as much in looks as in facial expressions and personality. I couldn't be more proud. Full of life and humour, sweet with the ones she loves, bright and so much more... I can only hope to keep being like her and age as gracefully.

New releases today? Of course!
Artgal Style has a beautiful music themed kit out:

And A Work In Progress Designs by Vicki released a new Calendar Collection installment, the April Bundle (take a look at these flairs!!):

Thanks for reading and looking, and I'd love a little comment if you have time :)
Happy scrapping!

10 years!! (and layouts)

2011-03-11T13:34:00.004-05:00

Today is the 10th anniversary of the day my hubby and I started dating.
Since then:
- I've gotten 3 university degrees (a bachelor of arts with double concentration in second language teaching and linguistics, a bachelor in education to teach French as a second language in high school and a masters of arts in education),
- he's changes jobs 3 times including a major career change (from network administrator to financial advisor),
- we've moved 3 times (Ottawa, Kingston and Timmins),
- we got engaged and then married (in the south of France),
- we had a son who's now 3,
- and we've traveled quite a bit too (we've been 5 times to France, 3 times to Florida and twice to the Dominican Republic)!

Ten years go by sooooo fast! Here's a recent enough pic of the two of us (at our friends' wedding in the Dominican Republic):

Dave, if you're reading this, I love you!

Now, let's move on to scrappy stuff!
Today is Friday, so there are new releases at Scrap That Idea.
Artgal Style has a great new kit called Happy Go Lucky. Such a fun kit!

Vicki has a new kit out too, called Happy Days. Such an original colour scheme, gorgeous!

And I used Vicki's kit Boys Will Be Boys for a Scrapable lift challenge. I scraplifted my talented scrappy friend Amy! with it:

Thanks for looking, happy scrapping!

Four Leaf Clover - a freebie collab

2011-03-06T08:54:00.003-05:00

As usual, the Scrap That Idea designers are offering an exclusive collab for any $5 purchase. This month, it's called Four Leaf Clover and the colours are soft hues of green, brown and beige:

I used it to participate in the template challenge at Scrapable (template by Meagan's creations) with old photos of my son when he was itty bitty:

Remember that a $5 purchase will also put your name in the running for a $100 gift certificate until Monday night.
Thanks for looking and happy scrapping.

New movie themed kit

2011-03-04T13:34:00.002-05:00

Artgal Style has a new kit out today with really gorgeous rich colours and a movie theme. It's called In 3d!
Take a look at the preview (linked to the store):

I didn't really have any photo that worked for it (which is weird because I LOVE movies). So I thought I'd do something about my favourite movie... only to realize that I cannot choose a favourite! So I narrowed it down to my favourite Disney movie, which is Aladdin hands down. So here's my layout with this fun kit:

Happy Scrapping!

New desktop

2011-03-03T15:21:00.002-05:00

As always, I completed the desktop challenge at Scrapable as quickly as possible. I love that challenge and can't understand how I ever lived without a new desktop every month, lol.
For this one I used Vicki's new kit Cloudy Day. It weather themed and the weather here is depressing, but the colours of the kit cheer me up!
Take a look at the kit preview (linked to the store) and my desktop:

Fun kit, right?
Happy scrapping!

Gorgeous new Scrap That Idea collab

2011-03-02T21:04:00.003-05:00

There's a new collab at Scrap That Idea and it's gorgeous! It has a spring theme to bring hope to those like me who are still freezing under a few feet of snow, lol. The collab is called What Spring Brings, take a look:

The preview is beautiful and yet doesn't do justice to the gorgeous papers and elements.
Take a look at my layout:

The preview is linked and it's only $4, go get it!
And while I'm here, I didn't take time to show you the releases from last Friday, so I'll show you now while they are still on sale!
First, Stacey's Scraps has a new set of CU templates called Boo Boo. It has everything you need to scrap photos of your children's booboos, colds, casts, stitches, hospital visits,... Take a look at the preview (linked to the store):

And my layouts:

As you can see, the best part is that the files are .psd (and separate pngs) so you can recolour to match any other kit you want to use! I used her kit Dreaming of a White Christmas in the first layout, about my son sticking his tongue on the metal of the bus window by -30 and staying stuck, and her kit Doodled for the second layout of my two men with a big bad cold.

And finally, here's Artgal Style's latest kit. It's called Glamour Girl, take a look (linked to the kit in store):

And here's my layout:

That's it for tonight. Happy scrapping!

Life...

2011-02-28T19:38:00.005-05:00

...is crazy right now, lol!

I'm just passing by really quick to let everyone know about an awesome sale coming at Scrap That Idea. Take a look at the ad:

Crazy, right? You spend $5 on something fun you wanted anyway and you enter the chance to win big!!
Happy shopping!

Not much...

2011-02-23T22:13:00.002-05:00

I haven't been scrapping much and the few layouts I have done, I have to wait for release to show you.
But I just thought I'd say hi.
It's warming up a tad here and we're getting close to 0 Celsius (32 Fahrenheit) which is a nice break from the cold. Hopefully spring is coming soon because I'm getting really tired of the cold and most of all of the coat/mittens/hat/boots dance with Cédric, my 3-year-old, every time we go out!
Cédric does not nap anymore, which is part of the reason for my scrapping less. He gets really tired at night, but we've managed to make his bedtime earlier and ensure he gets enough sleep.
My hubby and I are starting a new diet to lose a few pounds and get in better shape. We're also considering joining the new gym in town. Wish us luck!
Well, that's enough blabla for tonight, thanks for reading (and I would love for any of you to say hi, if you have time ;) ).
Happy scrapping!

Fun CU Wedding templates

2011-02-18T13:54:00.003-05:00

Today, I want to show you Stacey's Scraps latest product. Last week she released a wedding kit, today she's releasing some of the adorable doodled elements from it in a CU template pack.
Take a look at the preview:

The templates are fully coloured in case you want to use them as is, but each one come as a .psd layered template and with all the seperate png files in case you can't open .psd files. So as you'll see in my layout, you can recolour to your heart's content!
I used her kit Autumn and matched the cake and bouquet from the Wedding CU templates to the colours of my wedding. Take a look at my cake topper:

Cute, eh? If you have been procrastinating on your wedding album or want to make one as a gift, this CU pack could allow you to use any kit that matches the wedding and easily add and match the wedding doodles, because let's face it, it's nearly impossible to find a wedding kit in the colours of a specific wedding. I know I never did.
Happy scrapping!

A Valentine's Day layout and an album!

2011-02-17T14:02:00.003-05:00

Cédric got some heart glasses as a gift on Valentine's Day and he kept them on long enough for me to take a couple of pics, yay!
So I did a layout with the Scrap That Idea collab Summer of Love:

Cute glasses on a cute little man!
I also finally finished a mini album I had started a while ago. I chose a theme for my album based on the title of the kit I used: Live Laugh Love by A Work In Progress Designs by Vicki. I thought it was a nice concept and there were a few challenges around the time I started that worked well together, so I kept making layouts with the kit for different challenges and ended up with most of an album. I did two pages for "live", two pages for "laugh" and two pages for "love". I also made a layout with just text around the "theme" and thought it would work well for the back cover. I decided to use the leaf to represent "live", the sun to represent "laugh" and the heart to represent "love" as you can see in that back cover layout and therefore used them more specifically on the appropriate pages. And I finally found a challenge at Scrapable to make my front page with a cool template that said "love" really big, so I added "live" and "laugh" and voilà!
First let me show you this gorgeous kit "Live, Laugh, Love":

And here are the layouts in the order I'll place them in the album:

Now I have to decide how to print it... I'm hesitating between gluing the pages on cardboard, to make a chunky album, buying a hard cover album and inserting the pages or buying some album refills, inserting in them and binding them with ribbons... Any insight would be appreciated!!
Thanks for looking and happy scrapping!

2011-02-13T16:47:00.002-05:00

Today, I'll show you a layout I made for the 1, 2, 3, Follow Me challenge at Scrapable. My digi friend Amy! always hosts it and always has awesome steps to follow.
And as tomorrow is Valentine's day, if you haven't found the perfect love kit yet, you'll love I {heart} You by A Work In Progress Designs by Vicki (which came out last week).

Take a look at my layout which features my son and his love for chocolate:

Can you see the love all over his face (right under the chocolate, lol)?
Hope you like it...
Happy scrapping!

Boys Will Be Boys

2011-02-12T19:56:00.004-05:00

That's the name of Vicki's new kit, which I wanted to show you. It's perfect for boys and more, the alpha comes in 3 colours and the colours are so fresh!
Take a look (pics are linked to the store and it's only $3 this week):

On top of all that, as usual, Vicki has a freebie for you! It's a fun wordart (preview linked to Vicki's blog):

Gorgeous right? Enjoy the freebie and if you like it, go get the kit!
Happy scrapping!

Too much?

2011-02-11T20:56:00.003-05:00

So I skipped a week and now 3 posts in a day? Am I boring you yet? LOL

The thing is, Friday is new releases in digiland, and more specifically at Scrap That Idea, so I have new kits to show you!

First up is a super cute wedding kit by Stacey's Scraps called Always and Forever. It's got some adorable doodles and very nice colours which were perfect for my in-laws' wedding. Take a look at the kit and my layout:

The second kit is called A Day In The Life and it's a nice versatile kit in a very nice colour palette by Artgal Style. I used it to scrap the alphabet I made for my son as a sort of advent calendar. I hand-drew a picture for each letter and I gave him the binder. Then each day of the advent he picked a sticker of a letter, got the sheet with the picture, placed the sticker and we sang the alphabet. It was great fun! Take a look at the kit and layout:

Tomorrow I'll show Vicki's new kit. It's a gorgeous boy kit, don't miss it!
Happy Scrapping!

Yay

2011-02-11T10:23:00.004-05:00

I'm super proud of myself!! I had this new look ready last week for Chinese New Year, but hubby and I couldn't figure out how to make the background the right size... And now I have figured it out, all by myself (woohoo).
Hope you like the zen look :)

(I still have to get rid of the little white corners on the header, but for now, it'll do)

Of course...

2011-02-11T09:49:00.004-05:00

Of course, I make a good decision to blog more often, I try to get organized, I start out okay, and... everybody in the house gets sick! All three of us have been feeling really sick since Sunday. Cédric had high fevers and hubby and I got some too (mostly at night). The little man woke up about twice a night most of the week and we're all exhausted. Right now it's 10am and he's not even up yet?!?! I guess he's catching up and his system is working hard against the infection...

I'm not scrapping as much as I'd like, but let me show you a layout I made for a font challenge at Scrapable. The font we had to use is called Love Letter TW, so I decided to use Vicki's gorgeous Love Letters kit (which you can get at Scrap That Idea by clicking on the name) and that led me to the theme of the layout. I scrapped about my mom's stamp collection! Take a look:

The journaling says this: I often think about my Mom who collects stamps... Communication between us in easier via gmail or Skype than through post. Even cards are often replaced by their digital equivalent or by a scrapped card. But with all that the stamp collection must suffer! I try to keep all the ones I receive and I make sure to choose nice ones when I send something in the mail and I hope it makes her happy!

I'll be back later with some new releases.
Happy scrapping!

911 Rescue!!

2011-02-04T19:07:00.003-05:00

No fire at my house... It's the name of Vicki's latest kit! She made this one based on a blog reader's request and anyone with a little boy or a firefighter in their life is going to love it!
It's full of bright colours and fun elements for only $3 (until next release).
Take a look at 911 Rescue (linked to the store):

Happy scrapping!

Happy Chinese New Year

2011-02-03T18:52:00.006-05:00

I wish everyone a happy Chinese New Year (as I didn't do the Western calendar New Year...). I believe we're starting the year of the rabbit and if I find the time, I'll try to redecorate my blog some time soon with my Chinese Zodiac kit (still available as a freebie).
For this Chinese New Year, I'm wishing for my 3-year-old son to go back to falling asleep easily. He used to be great at it and it was both quick and pleasant to put him down, but since we came back from vacation last week-end, he's been screaming hysterically for 30 minutes to over an hour and we have to stay in his room with him until he's fully asleep. So tonight we're moving him to his big boy room and bed hoping the change might be positive, or at least that we won't have to go through it again later (getting him used to his current room now and his new room later doesn't make much sense). Plus he's been throwing himself out of bed and could get hurt, whereas his new bed his lower to the ground. Wish us luck!!

On to scrappy news. I haven't had much time to scrap but today I did my desktop for the month. I used the Calendar Collection by A Work In Progress Designs by Vicki. The paper and leaves are from the January bundle and the elements and alphas are from the February bundle.

And here's my desktop, using a photo of us leaving the Dominican Republic a few days ago where we spent two weeks with my parents:

PS: I couldn't finish my post before Cédric's bedtime, so I went up, brushed his teeth, sat him in his new bed (no screaming), read him a story twice (no screaming), told him to lie down and started singing (no screaming), switched the light off and kept singing (no screaming), moved to the side of the bed and sang some more (no screaming) and he fell asleep and I left the room, closed the door and came down to finish my post ... YAY!!! So keep your fingers crossed for him to keep this trend and our evening to be peaceful once more ;)

Is it too late for resolutions?

2011-02-01T14:42:00.002-05:00

I didn't make any resolutions in January, I don't really ever do and I don't think they are for me (I never follow through...).
But I realize now how much I have neglected my blog lately and I think I'll try things differently this year (or as of now anyways).
I used to wait to do a post and end up with massive ones which most of the time lead me to give up on them and not do a post at all. Now I'm going to try to make shorter ones more often and see how that works.
Here's the first one to show you the brand new Scrap That Idea collaboration for February 2011. It's a love theme but with fun colours! Take a look at Funky Love:

And here's my layout, in which you can see me getting a big mushy kiss from a Sea Lion (at a park in the Dominican Republic). The layout is called Mwah, each kiss was punctuated by a big kiss sound effect :)

The kit is only $4 and well worth it and the preview is linked for easy access to the store ;)
Happy Scrapping!

One more time ;)

2010-11-06T11:59:00.002-04:00

Once again, a week has gone by, and it was busy partly because it was the last week of Battle of the CTs!
Once more Vicki's Working Girls need your votes...
This time we had to use 10 kits (2 in common accross the team), make a list of 10 and scrap with no photo and no frame! My layout is a bright, funky, material list of the THINGS I like. Take a look:

And if you want an idea of what all our layouts look like as a team, here they are:

Now please, please, go vote for A WORK IN PROGRESS, right HERE (we're almost at the bottom)!
Thanks, and enjoy Digital Scrapbook Day!

Help please

2010-10-29T21:56:00.004-04:00

Well, it's Saturday morning and me and Vicki's Working Girls need your votes again...
This challenge was a monochromatic layout (we all needed to pick the same colour). We picked brown and I have to say I love all the layouts my teammates made... and I'm pretty happy with mine too ;)
Take a look at it:

As usual these are all Vicki's gorgeous creations (credits in my Picasa gallery, in the sidebar). The sleeping angel is Kapri, my teammate Kim H's daughter (we had to swap photos).
You can see all of my team's layouts here.
And if you like my layout and theirs and feel like helping, please vote HERE for A Work In Progress (we're around the middle again).

Thanks in advance XX

My Baby, Sprinkling Mist and Feel the Sunshine

2010-10-27T19:07:00.003-04:00

Those are the names of the kits I'll show you today!

The first is by Stacey's Scraps, it's called My Baby and it has gorgeous colours and sweet elements. As usual it's a full kit and some gorgeous clusters, take a look:

And my layout (with a template by Tasha):

The next kit is by Artgal Style and is called Sprinkling Mist. It celebrates rain and rainy days with beautiful colours and elements. Take a look at the kit and the add-on:

And my layout (template by Nibbles Skribbles):

This last one wasn't CT related, it was a challenge for fun, but I'm really happy to show it because I actually won the kit in a RAK, and Nathan is an AMAZING young designer. Take a look at Feel the Sunshine and my layout:

That's it from me tonight! I should be back Saturday to show you my Battle of the CTs layout and ask you to vote again. We made the top 3 last turn, so thank you if you voted, and please do it again this week-end!!

Tit for Tat (freebie post)

2010-10-22T23:06:00.004-04:00

Well obviously the freebie is the "tit". I've just started my 2011 calendar, and I decided to make myself a template and keep a similar format for all pages. As I was completing my January page, I thought you might want the template too!
It can be used as a calendar page of course, but I think it would work well as a layout too if you remove the calendar grid... Here's what it looks like (and my layout to give you inspiration):

I used Funky Retro (retired kit) by A Work In Progress Designs by Vicki and a couple elements from Jack Frost by AWP Vicki as well. The calendar grid is all from Date Me Stitching by VW Designs (that actually was bought with a RAK gift certificate from a very nice scrappy friend of mine who knows who she is, thanks again girl ;) ).

Now of course there's a link for the template, but before I give it to you, I want to tell you about the "tat". As you may know, I am participating on Battle of the Creative Teams at Digiscrapaddicts on Vicki's team: Vicki's Working Girls. Round 2 has just closed and it's time to vote. I truly believe that her gorgeous designs paired with my teammates' talent makes us very worthy competitors, but that means nothing if we don't any votes... and that's where you come in!
If you like the template, grab it, and if you feel like doing a little something to say thank you, click HERE to get to the voting page and vote for A Work In Progress (it only takes a few seconds, we're in the middle of the list)! Let me show you my layout so you can see some of what you're voting for (you can see all of my team's layouts here):

Now here's you link to 4shared: template 5
Thanks for reading and hopefully voting, and enjoy the template!

Time flies...

2010-10-16T13:37:00.004-04:00

...and no matter how much I think I should do a blog post, there's always something else that takes priority. But I'm back this afternoon to show you some really amazing new kits, my entry for Battle of the CTs and some challenge layouts from the past couple of weeks.

First off, new releases! Stacey's Scraps has a GORGEOUS kit out, I think it's a favourite of mine (not just from hers, overall, it's stunning!). Take a look at Doodled, the matching clusters and my layout:

Next, I want to show you A Work In Progress Designs by Vicki's new kit, for 3 reasons. First, it's gorgeous and the colour scheme is so different and warm and great for men (and much more). Second, it's named by her hubby (it's an inside joke between them), and I relate to the joke, and my hubby is called Dave! And third, I used it for challenge 7 on the STI forum (come join us, I'm challenging you to cluster ;) ). Take a look at Dave:

Next, let me show you my Battle of the CTs layout. But before I do, I want to let you know that my team "Vicki's Working Girls" got disqualified from this round on a small detail, so there's no voting for us this round (just don't vote for anyone else, lol). Here's my layout, and as the credits are quite long, you can see them in the DSA gallery if you're interested:

Finally, here are a few challenge layouts I made and haven't shown yet.
My latest desktop background, done with Patch Queen by Designs by Jen Yurko and title from Date Me Stitching by VW Designs:

Done with Live Laugh Love and the Bling Bling alpha, both by A Work In Progress Designs by Vicki (for a speed scrap):

Done with Love Is In The Air by A Work In Progress Designs by Vicki and the font SF Twelve Again for a font challenge (I scraplifted 3 Bears by Shawnbear):

Done with New Day by A Work In Progress Designs by Vicki (quote challenge):

Done with Modern June's gorgeous Soul Sister at Scrapable:

Done with Wise Old Owl by Redju designs and an alpha by A Work In Progress designs by Vicki (for a recipe challenge):

I hope a couple of you made it all the way down here... if yes, thanks for looking!

Lots of layouts!

2010-10-09T19:07:00.002-04:00

As usual, I neglected my blog and therefore have way too much to show...

Today, I'll stick to Scrap That Idea news and I'll post my challenge layouts in another post.

Last week, Stacey released a really fun Halloween kit called Halloween Town, and I knew I waited for a reason, this week she released an add-on pack with gorgeous clusters! So my slacking allows me to show you everything at once (kit, clusters and my layout):

And this week, she had a kit called Autumn, which is great for any fall themed photo, especially corn fields and pumpkin patches and Thanksgiving (which is perfect as it's this week-end here in Canada). It's a huge bundle with 4 alphas total (amazing, right?) and some fantastic clusters and wordarts. Take a look at the kit and my layout:

Believe it or not, you get the whole thing for only $5!?!?!
And it's like that accross the board at Scrap That Idea, as Vicki and Mel team up to bring you M&Verick Designs. They too have a HUGE bundle (kit, wordart, alphas and quickpages) called Wanderlust for only $5!
Look at the previews of this rich travel themed kit:

And they each have a freebie on their blog: Vicki's and Mel's.

And then of course, it's been October for a little while, and the STI collab is up, as is a bonus collab that you get for free all month if you spend $5 or more!
The collab is called Mystic Falls and I love the rich colours:

And my layout:

And the bonus collab is called October Kisses and is a super fresh take on a fall kit:

I'm pretty proud of this last one, not because the layout is amazing, but because I made the hat myself!!
And finally let me tell you what Laramie has in store. I haven't found time to make layouts for her past two kits, but they're really nice and I can show you the previews at the very least...
Last week she released Moody Retro (and cool clusters to match):

And this week, she has How Long, an adorable, soft kit full of bears and delicate elements:

Well, that's it, hope you made it, lol!
I'll be back more often hopefully, with challenge layouts.
And tomorrow sees the beginning of Battle of the CTs, so I'll show you my layouts and ask you to vote for us regularly!!

It's been crazy...

2010-09-24T15:39:00.003-04:00

It's been totally crazy around here! And from reading other people's blogs, I think it's a general thing. We're all settling into the new school year's routine I suppose.

To be honest I've also been scrapping and trying to stay active in the forum and the blog is the one place that gets neglected...
So I have A LOT to show you. Some CT layouts, some challenges, news about challenges you should join, and even my participation in a team for DSA's Battle of the CTs... So take a cup of your favourite warm beverage (coffee, tea, hot chocolate, ...) and maybe even a snack and sit comfortably!!

I'll start with the new kits from Stacey Scraps!
First she had Fang or Fur, which is Twilight inspired and really cool for those layouts, as well as True Blood or even, like mine, for Halloween:

Then she released Shabby Chic. Totally different from the previous kit, but beautiful soft colours. I scrapped some pics my Mom wanted me to scrap for her (her aunt and uncle's summer house in the West of France):

Scrap That Idea also has a brand new designer: Artgal Style. She's let us play with her designs and her style is so cool and fun, I've been having a blast with them.
First, she did Pizza Night. Great colours and super cute elements:

Then there was Comic Book, the title speaks for itself! Take a look:

Then today she released Got Milk, which has the cutest cows ever.

I've also been playing over at Scrapable, as usual. The challenges are so much fun and it's a great bunch of girls. So take a look at all the layouts I've done for Scrapable challenges:

Done with All Frogged Out by Modern June, lift of a page by 1luckymama (scraplift challenge):

Done with Artificial Spring by Nanine (mystery/recipe challenge):Done with Eat Your Veggies by Stacey's Scraps (speedscrap):

Done with Zodiac by A Work In Progress Designs by Vicki, template by HeideC (template challenge):
Done with Makulay by Nathan Design, lift of a page by Dislea (scraplift challenge):

Done with Tooth Cute by Modern June and a template by Aprilisa (featured designer challenge):
Done with Summer Cocktail by A Work In Porgress Designs by Vicki (colour challenge):

You may know that Vicki (A Work In Progress, at Scrap That Idea) has been having regular challenges. Her 5th and latest is currently running and she's asked me to host it, yay! So we're having fun in the STI forum, scrapping photos of food or drinks, or favourite recipes. Come see the thread, I would love for some of you to come join the challenges, and you might decide to play some more. You collect points by participating and leaving comments which all add up to GCs and there's always a lucky winner who gets to choose a kit. It's really fun and definitely worth it!! For inspiration, here's the layout I made for it (and I linked it to the gallery, so you'll see the other layouts if you click on it):

Hope to see some of you there!

And finally, a little announcement to say that I'll be participating in DSA's Battle of the CTs in Vicki's team. We're calling ourselves Vicki's Working Girls (lol, I love our name!). I'm really excited about it and hope some of you will take a look and vote for us (I'll remind you in due time of course ;) ).
In the meantime, take a look at our signature:

Well, I believe that's it for today. I probably lost most of you before the end, but if you made it here, thanks for reading and looking and happy scrapping to you!!

It's fall...

2010-09-07T13:56:00.004-04:00

We had an awesome week-end with lots of family visiting to celebrate my hubby's grandma who turns 90 in a couple of days! It was really fun to see a huge family (5 children and their spouses, 15 grand-children most of them with spouses and 32 great-grand-children...) gathered around her!
The weather however has decided that September means fall, so it's rainy and cold!
Oh well, I have to stay in and scrap then, right? Lol

I have a bunch of layouts to show, but first, here's a really exciting sneak peek from Stacey's Scraps. I'm pretty sure you can guess the theme, and I can tell you the kit is awesome...

It's coming out Friday!

Now here are a few layouts:
With Summer Party by A Work In Progress:

With Over the Moon by A Work In Progress:

With Blue Moon by A Work In Progress (this one is exclusive to the forum challenge, come join us!):

My September desktop with Boyish Charm by the Scrapable team:

And to finish, here's my page with the new collab at Matrioshki Scrap Designs called To Be a Boy (I used the template included in the kit ;) ):

That's it for today, happy scrapping!

Scrap that idea news!

2010-09-01T13:03:00.003-04:00

Today is the 1st of September and the summer holidays are definitely over at Scrap That Idea!
These girls are working really hard and the result is just awesome!!

The September collab is out! It's huge and absolutely gorgeous. It's called Summer of Love and looks like this:

And I made a layout with a picture of me and hubby "pseudo-camping" with some good friends:

And there is another collab for you, FREE as soon as you spend $5!!!
It's called Fallen:

And here's my layout:

But you can see all that and more in their new newsletter. Get it on the STI blog to get to know the designers better, get some news, see the upcoming products and get a newsletter exclusive freebie...

Bragging!!

2010-08-29T14:08:00.003-04:00

I've had a great week-end so far...
The weather is very summery again (30 celsius and sunny), we finished building my son's playcentre and he loves it: he plays in the water, climbs the ladder, slides down, uses the glider...
We also spent some time just on the deck trying to catch bubbles! It was windy and they were flying everywhere: pretty and lots of fun!

What made the week-end even better? Layout of the Day two days in a row at Scrapable!!!
Yesterday my layout "Unleash your inner wolf was picked" (the one done with My Jake by Angelle Designs and a template by Dream Big Designs). Here it is again:

And today a layout I just did called Magic Happens got picked too! I used a template by Amy! and the kit It's a Kind of Magic by Sweet Blossom Designs. Here it is:

I've been wanting to scrap with this kit for a while and when I saw Amy! template for a Scrapable challenge, I though of it right away for some reason. Then I chose my favourite picture of our wedding, thinking it would make my eyes pop, and I have to say I LOVE the end result...

Thanks for reading and happy scrapping everyone!

A couple of layouts

2010-08-28T10:01:00.005-04:00

I had a really crazy week, just running around....
The weather was not great lately and we started thinking fall was here, but today is really nice and warm, supposed to go to 30 celsius and stay like that for a week!

Here are a couple of layouts I made lately!

First another one with a kit by Angelle Design. For any Twilight fan, especially if you're leaning towards team Jacob, you need this kit called My Jake (title linked to the store). And here's my layout of my adorable puppy girl who is sweet and clumsy and couldn't survive in the wild, LOL (it was done with a template by Dream Big Designs):

Next is Stacey's new kit. It's called Yee-Haw and it's inspired by her move to Texas. The elements are soooo cute, and I love the colours. Take a look at the kit (linked to the store) and my layout:

And here's a layout done for a quote challenge with Happiness Is, by Modern June:

With A Work In Progress Designs by Vicki's latest kit called Stars and a template by Modern June:

With Soul Sister by Modern June:

With Let It be by Live Capture Create by Amy Stoffel:

And with King Pin by Dream Big Designs:

Have a good week-end and happy scrapping!