LINARstudio

A Week in the Life: Tuesday

Cardstock: Bazzill; Printed Paper: SEI: Flowers: Bazzill; Buttons: Stash; Floss: Bazzill; Ink: Ranger Industries Distress Ink; Stamp: Plaid Industries; Font: Euphemia UCAS, Edwardian Script, Cambria

A Week in the Life: Monday

Cardstock: Bazzill; Printed Paper: SEI; Flowers: Bazzill, Prima; Brad: Stash; Ink: Ranger Distress Ink (thanks Jayne); Stamp: Plaid Enterprises; Font: Euphemia UCAS, Edwardian Script, Cambria, Verdana

A Week in the Life: Cover and Close

What a fun project. I really enjoyed taking photos throughout the day ... every day ... with a purpose, a project requiring timely completion. The project is the best kind: DONE! It was such a quick process and really captures a week in the Life of Lee and all the craziness that accompanies me daily.

Here is the Cover Page (click to enlarge). It is me getting into my trusty Toyota Highlander, which is where I seem to spend a great deal of my time!

Cardstock: Bazzill; Flowers: Bazzill; Acrylic Button: Creative Imaginations; Brad: Queen & Co.; Font: Euphemia UCAS, Edwardian Script, Cambria, Verdana

And, here is the closing page: the story of EVERYday

Cardstock: Bazzill; Printed Paper: SEI; Flowers: Bazzill and Prima; Brads: Stash; Font: Euphemia UCAS, Edwardian Script, Cambria

Some detail shots for fun:

I think this will be so fun for the our family to look back in a year, two years, five years to see what a typical week in October was like in our house in 2008.

Years ago, when Louis was working out of town and I was home with my kids at ages 5, 4, 2 and 1, I have almost no recollection of my time with them. That makes me sad. I wish I had some specific memories, but everything was such a whirlwind. When I'm asked how I survived those years, that is the right word: survived. I can't give an answer, I simply cannot remember. I'm now moving onto the point where, if only for a short time, I am simply enjoying. It feels wonderful.

I'm off to buy pumpkins (about time, eh?) for our annual "Night Before Jack-O-Lantern Making Extravaganza" of pumpkin guts, crazy faces and failed attempts at roasting seeds. Enjoy your day!

Jessica Sprague: Stories In Hand

In the Spring of 2007, I went down to CKC in Buffalo with my good friends Lindy and Lorraine. During that trip I took a number of classes taught by Jessica Sprague. It was her first CK Convention where she was teaching and she was lovely: nervous, charming and hugely talented. I learned so much in those two days! I have been a tremendous fan ever since.

I have always been an advocate of JOURNALING on your album pages. I am far more a writer than I am a photographer and have always found the stories of the photos far more interesting than the photos themselves. After all, most scrapbook photos used by most scrapbookers are simple snapshots capturing events and not too terribly focused on balance and composition.

What feels like a long time ago, when I was a Creative Memories Consultant, I would implore my clients to please take the time to record their stories. I would ply these women with wine and questions and sometimes some journaling got done: more times we just told stories and laughed a lot! Lately, I've found a number of the "celebrity" scrappers are emphasizing the importance of the stories that go with the pretty pictures, page design and embellishments. I was thrilled to see on Jessica Sprague's website that she was offering a FREE course, for EVERYONE - not just scrappers - a course in capturing the stories that matter most.

I found reference to the course on quite a few blogs (thanks Kim and Cathy!) and thought I'd do my part to pass along information on what should be a fabulous course. Originally it was developed to be a one-week offering but it has now been changed to two-weeks. I registered last week and I can't wait to start!

Are you going to join me?

A Week in the Life

I spent last week participating in Ali Edward's "A Week in the Life" project. What a fun undertaking! Just this morning I finalized the design, typing up all of the stories of each day and just about everything - photos and pages - is printed! I'll be posting the days as I finish them. Should be pretty quick as I have done a lot of the prep-work!

This was such a worthwhile project. If you have not taken this course at CKU or followed the "A Week In the Life" Outline on her blog, I encourage you to do it! It was so much fun to capture even the little moments of each day and my kids loved the idea of being the "stars" of my week (not like they aren't the stars of my life but to have it all concentrated in 7-days they were thrilled).

I did this project in preparation for taking the Stacy Julian "Have More Fun" project (which I've deferred from September) on Big Picture Scrapbooking. And now, just today while I was copying the link, I read on Ali Edwards blog her new project for December. Oh my. The choices I have to make!

DYL: Real World Design Assignment 3

We are learning that one of the basics of design is repetition. We were asked to go around the house and find examples of repetition and choose one to add to our ever expanding Design Your Life album. In my house I found plenty of examples, stair spindles, frames on the wall, a collection of vases, some Halloween decorations. In the end, I chose the tiles behind the stove.

Thickers: Love 'em!

Last Friday I was cranky. Very cranky. I vented on my Lemons2Lemonade blog about my inability to find Thickers and Heidi Swapp ghost letters anywhere locally and that the American Crafts and Heidi Swapp website shops did not ship to Canada (a fact I didn't find out until my shopping cart was full to overflowing! Grr.)

Can I just say A CHERRY ON TOP rocks. Really rocks.

I do not like the idea that I have to pay duty - on anything, ever - but their product costs are almost 1/3 off what we pay here and shipping costs aren't totally out of line. More to the point, they had exactly the Thickers I wanted ... and then some. I don't know why I didn't think of A Cherry On Top in the first place. I do a lot of on-line ordering as I find the stores in the area do not carry a full line or don't carry certain products at all.

I'd better get cracking and start making some pages. You'll be getting used to seeing "Thickers" on all of my upcoming layouts:

Go big or go home! :)

Got Sketch? Updates

I have really enjoyed my experience with and what I've learned through Valerie Salmon and her Got Sketch? classes. I received a note today that she has updated a ton of stuff:

• Her Got Sketch? blog is up-to-date with a brand new sketch #69
• Her Got Sketch? blog now includes a gallery and the layouts uploaded already are simply inspirational!
• Her Got Sketch? blog is offering a challenge with some prizes - plural, plenty to go around. All entries are due by Sunday, November 2nd, so lots of time to get a couple of entries in.
• Her Got Sketch? blog includes a freebie download which will be GREAT for anyone hesitant or new to using sketches. It is a step-by-step guide to mastering Sketch #69

I'll definitely be participating. Leave a comment here and let me know to look for your creations in her new gallery!

Office Furniture Available

I am looking for a new home for my former scrapbook work-station. You can find pictures of it here. If you are interested, or know someone who might be, just send me an e-mail and we can work out the details!

This Just In: Green Pixel Printing

I just got a note from ScrapScene which included very exciting information I just have to share:

"Calling all Canadian scrapbookers!! Have you heard?  There is a new digital scrapbook printer in Canada – Green Pixel Printing! Not only will you get incredible quality prints and great service, but you save on shipping!  No more waits at the border or crazy high shipping prices from US printers.

And it’s not just for digital scrapbookers – have you ever wanted a 4×12 print on your page?  Well, now you can get one printed!  We have TONS of sizes – you can even request custom sizes – at amazing prices!! We can even print art for your wall, up to 12×36 inches.  Now, that would make a great gift!

Come check us out and give us a try – you won’t be disappointed!  As a bonus, anyone who places an order before Sunday, November 2nd will be automatically put into a draw for a $10 gift certificate to the store!

For any digital scrapbookers in the US, check out our partner store Polka Dot Potato for the same incredible quality prints and awesome prices.  Free draw applies to Green Pixel Printing orders only, sorry!

For more information, visit www.greenpixelprinting.com."

I, for one, am THRILLED to have this option in Canada. Right now, I receive great service and tremendous prints from my local Fortino's and the ladies there take such good care of me. But the options are somewhat limited. For all of my "extra" need, I cannot wait to check out the quailty at this new site.

I'm off to upload ... now!