Practical Scrappers: 10 Ways to Use Embossing Powder

Today, over at Practical Scrappers, we're sharing 10 ways to use Embossing Powder. Make sure you head over to the site to check out all the great ideas our Design Team is sharing with you!

I decided to create my own background paper with it. Here is my layout.

I took a Stampin' Up! stamp (Flowering Flourishes) and created the pattern by alternating the orientation of the stamp. Once I'd stamped the whole page, I sprinkled the embossing powder over all the stamped images  and that way was able to emboss the entire page at once. 

Here you can see the shine the embossing powder gives the paper. If you have flocking powder, this would be a really fantastic technique to try!

And this is a better shot of the detail of the stamped images. I meant to take a picture of the paper before I added everything else on top but ... ah well. At least you can get an idea of how the whole page looks!

I decided to take the embossing theme and really run with it by creating these blocks of dry embossed card stock to my layout. I used 4 different folders - lattice, woodgrain, chevron and vintage wallpaper. 

The stamp set is a really old Martha Stewart set that I found in my stash.

Thanks for stopping by today. Don't forget to check out the other Design Team projects on the Practical Scrappers blog today!

Hallowe'en Mini Album for Practical Scrappers

I posted a lot of pictures of this Hallowe'en Mini over at Practical Scrappers - I hope you are following us over there! We've got our spook on lately - did you see Kerri's wreath from yesterday? ROCKING!!! Check it out here.

As I said in my other post, I got the original idea for this mini from a self-paced workshop called The Boo! Book over at Big Picture Classes. This was over 2 years ago and the instructions and materials have sat untouched in my stash since then! Yikes, eh? As a part of my One Little Word (there's another project that hasn't had it's proper attention!) I have been focusing on my Scrapbooking this year. I've done a pile of layouts that I am really proud of! So many memories and stories put down on paper which makes me so happy!! Well, now there are a few more memories in the can!!

Without further ado, here is my All Hallows Eve Memories mini.

The letter stickers are Jenny Bowlin (from 2 years ago!!), the washi tape is new (Teresa Collins) and the buttons are from my stash.

The metal frame was in my stash and I wasn't sure how I was going to use it. I really like the added vintage feel it gives to this album. The orange letter tiles are new Studio Calico.

Okay, now to the inside spreads. I used Jenni Bowlin large Bingo cards (also 2 years old) and backed them with patterned paper (old MME - Spider's Web).

2004 

"Marley's 1st Hallowe'en. Greg took her "trick or treating" to a few neighbours in the townhouse complex on 57th. Marley used an old black handbag as a loot bag. We ate her candy!"

Wasn't she just the cutest little lady bug you've ever seen? Hard to remember her that small!

2005 

"We made the Ladybug costume fit for another year, got a real loot bag, put up some decorations and generally got "into" Hallowe'en a but more. Marley may look nervous (on the left) but she quickly got the hang of things!"

2006 

I was attempting to give the impression of a full moon with the circle of card stock and all the gems. 

"We added Paige to the fun this year. She also made a cute ladybug! Marley decided to be a cowgirl with her pink (Mark's Work Wearhouse) cowboy hat! Marley was very into the treat getting this year. Paige not so much!"

2007 

More old Jenni Bowlin products - this time the black buttons. 

Below I took a piece of black card stock and ripped one edge before attaching the tag to it. The orange arrow is a Studio Calico sticky note that I doodled on.

"The Princess and the Ladybug - First year in our new house. We had over a hundred kids come by and Marley got her first "real" taste of what a trick-or-treating haul can be!"

2008 

I also got the mini Hallowe'en Bingo cards! I was keen!! The black tile letters are Jenni Bowlin mini chalkboard alphas - also 2 years old. Not sure why I'm telling all this but hey, I'm a sharer! Similar products are still available if you are keen to make something like this for your own family memories!

I took the girls to The Great Big Boo this year so these pictures were taken just before we went into the show. They were not taken on Hallowe'en night but are the cutest shots of my kids in their costumes from that year!

2009 

A Panda, a Fairy and Hannah Montana!

"This year Christine (a.k.a LC) joined the Trick or Treating fun. The Ladybug costume had been donated so LC got to be a Panda Bear. Griffin's birthday is Oct 28 so we had a pre-trick or treating party for him. Going out with the cousins made the experience super fun for all!"

2010 

Another pre-trick or treating birthday party for Griffin. Greg's sister and their cousin both lived in neighbourhoods that were not super family friendly so coming to our candy rich subdivision was a good deal for them. They've since moved to better neighbourhoods so we don't do these parties any more. Kind of miss them!

"This year we had a Chicken, a Princess and Hannah Montana came back again. So cute!"

2011

"The Good Fairy. Kitty Cat. Wicked Witch."

I didn't do any journalling but did include pictures from a new activity the girls got to do last year. Friends nearby had a fire pit going with marshmallows and sparklers. It made for a late night (and a school night to boot!) but the girls are already asking if we are going to do it again this year!

Well there you have it. My new Hallowe'en mini. I've got plenty more Bingo cards and papers etc so I can add to it over the next few years. I finished it off with some ribbon strands - not something I normally do but I quite like it on this!

Thanks for coming by today. Hope you are enjoying your weekend. I've got more scrapping plans for the rest of this weekend - hope I can get to them! 

Hallowe'en 2010

For the second year in a row we have hosted "Hallowe'en Chez Day". This is a combination of celebrating Griffin's birthday (Oct 28th) and then letting the cousins loose on our candy centric neighbourhood! Suffice it to say that no birthday cake was required this year as the kids were overly primed to get out Trick or Treating!! (Read: bouncing off the walls by 5PM.) Here are a few pictures that capture the scene.

Dinner - the kids table from centre going counter clockwise; Kieran, Griffin, Jasper, Paige, LC, and Marley.

The Birthday Boy. Not so impressed with turning 2 I think. Or maybe it was being forced to drink from the Princess cup - LOL! We're a little short on boy themed stuff in this house!

The birthday present opening chaos. To be honest, I"m not sure how many of Griffins presents he actually got to open himself. He had a lot of "help" from his bigger cousins! Marley was the official card reader - now that she's mastered reading she grabs every opportunity to  practice. Awesome!

The cousins all set to fill their bags with candy!

From the top: Buzz Lightyear (a.k.a. Jasper), Hannah Montana (a.k.a. Marley), The Cutest Chicken on the Planet (a.k.a. LC), Princess Ballerina (a.k.a. Paige), Monkey #1 (in darker costume - a.k.a. Kieran), Monkey #2 (a.k.a. Griffin) and last but definitely not least, The Cutest Bumble Bee on the Planet (a.k.a. Zoe).

It's not the greatest picture but this is what our house looked like. The girls made a lot of pumkins, bats, cats and ghosts for the windows and Marley made a really good witch (in the window just above the jack'o'lanterns). I know that Hallowe'en is starting to take over from Christmas in popularity but I refuse to go crazy with decorations (so far). We threw these up earlier in the day and took them down the next day. Call me a Hallowe'en Scrooge but seriously, it's a holiday based on pagan rituals. NOT going there!!

At a neighbours waiting to yell out "Trick or Treat!"

LC figured things out REALLY quickly! She insisted on holding one of our hands (good girl) but fairly tore up and down the drives to get her fair share of the loot. And of course because she is so darn cute, she tended to get extra!!

I spied this at a house and had to take a picture.

Hope you all had a safe and happy Hallowe'en!

Too Sweet For Treats

Just a quick post to get my latest scrapping creation submitted before the deadline. I'll come back after dinner and add details. It's for Sketchy Thursday's latest sketch which I instantly fell in love with and can see myself using over and over! This was Marley's first Hallowe'en party with her baby group. It was quite the experience!! Enjoy!

I'm back - Happy Canada Day!! I don't normally add which materials I used but I think it's something I'm going to start doing so ....

Paper: yellow & green - Jillibean Soup chicken broth & sliced bacon; black - from Recollections Hallow'en pad

Pumkin candy bowl sticker - Jolee's by You dimensional stickers.

Cordouroy flowers - MyHouse Corduroy Craft Fair by American Crafts

White Alphas - Recollections (they weren't really showing up too well so I added the black marker with my Copic marker.)

Journalling sticker - Remarks journalling stickers book by American Crafts (Journalling Veggies in Chestnut & Leaf)

Pumpkins and Candy!

I know Hallowe'en has been over for a week but somehow I just didn't make the time to Blog about it until now. And of course I'm also working on Marley's Baby Scrapbook and entertaining LC who just got up from a nap at the same time!! Really, it's a miracle anything gets accomplished around here!

The picture above was taken at Westham Island Herb Farm when we were out there for Paige's Preschool Pumpkin Patch Field Trip a couple weeks ago. The sight of the orange pumpkins against the purple lavender was too pretty not to photograph. I'm betting it'll find it's way into a Fall themed layout some day!!

Marley's Kindergarten field trip was the same morning but to a different pumpkin patch so she went with her best friend and her mom and I took Paige, HER best friend (who happens to be the sister of Marley's best friend - very convenient!!) and LC to Westham Island. The tour of the farm was manageable with LC in the Baby Bjorn but I realized two things as we headed out to pick the pumpkins. One, I forgot to bring bags for the pumpkins, which led to two, how was I supposed to carry three pumpkins?! Because of COURSE LC had to have her very first Hallowe'en pumpkin!! This next pic was taken by one of our teachers as I was heading back in from the patch. They may be small, but my arms were pretty sore by the time I got to the van!! The little one in pink with her back turned is Paige. She was particularly uncooperative when it came to getting a picture of her on her first Preschool field trip!! Grr!!

Somehow I fogot to get a picture of the Jack -o- Lanterns that we carved out of the girls pumpkins. Double grr!! If anyone out there has one please send me a copy!!

The next big event was of course Hallowe'en. Greg's nephew Griffin was 1 on the 28th so we did a combined 1st Birthday party/Trick or Treating Extravaganza on the 31st. Because you know, it's essential to send the kids out the door to procure their yearly sugar fix already buzzed on sugar!! We had our two nephews (Jasper, 3 and Griffin, 1) and Greg's cousin's little guy Kieran who will be 2 in December. He was hilarious! I'm not sure he totally grasped the concept of ringing the bell, saying "Trick or Treat" and waiting until they put candy in his pillowcase, but he sure had fun running from house to house!!  He's the tiger in the picture below. Clutching his pillowcase. Not sure if he thought someone was going to steal it or not! LO!!

Paige did really well this year and only came home after hitting the haunted house at the end of 63rd! She was a Ballerina. A Pink Ballerina. Natch! Marley was Hannah Montana. Sigh. Let's hope this love affair ends soon!! Her costume was darn good, if I do say so myself. The pic I took of her "in action" is barely recognizable as Marley!

And then there was wee LC - the Panda. She got given this bag of Cheezies at our neighbours and spent the next 20 odd minutes in heaven chewing the crinkly package! So cute!!

Last but not least ... the posse!

Our kids were probably the safest ones out there that night as they were VERY closely followed by 6 adults - I only managed to catch 4 in this shot. I think we had about as much fun laughing at the kids exuberance as the kids did actually Trick or Treating!

It was a totally fun and crazy night. Thanks to all for making it so much fun!

Next holiday to get through ... Christmas. Marley is already making her list for Santa. Sigh! Heck, Marley is already making a guest list for her birthday party in February!! Stupid Day Planner Genes!!! :)