LOAD213 Day 27 - Learn Something New

I can hardly believe it is the second to last day of LOAD213 today! My prompt for today was to "learn something new". My techniques and my story are both about learning something new!

When Marley was 4 we signed her up for Blast Ball - a pre T-ball type sport that Ladner was running for 4 year olds. One of the parents at her preschool was heading up the program and a lot of her preschool friends were signing up so we thought " what the heck". Neither Greg nor I particularly like baseball (except for that period in first and second year university I alluded to here :)) but we felt it was important for our outgoing, active little girl to try a variety of things to see if any of them "stuck". Thankfully, Blast Ball did not stick! She had fun and sort of asked about it the following year but that was also her first year of soccer so she never really bugged us about it to the point of us caving!

So that was the "try something new" in the story. As far as the layout goes, I was going through a phase of trying out new multimedia techniques and threw several at this layout to see what would happen. I have several sheets of super bright card stock in my stash (no doubt purchased on sale or something!) and one technique I discovered in LOAD1012 was covering them in white paint to mute the intensity. For this one I used gesso as I wanted to be able to easily add other mediums on top without getting any sort of reaction from the base coat. 

When the gesso was still wet I laid a piece of bubble wrap onto it. This happened to be super sized bubble wrap so the result was a back ground of dots that almost look like soft balls. How serendipitous!

Next I wanted to see if I could create a look of grass along the bottom of my page. I took several shades of green Gelatos and coloured the bottom edge of the card stock. Then I flipped it over and sprayed it liberally with water until the Gelatos dripped down the page. I stopped the drips when I had reached the effect I wanted and dried them with my heat gun. I love the way it looks!

I'll leave you with a couple of close up shots of my title clusters. 

This first one shows you the different layers - paper, journaling tags, stickers on pop dots ... it all adds up to interest and texture.

Here you can see that I added a couple of cute pennants from Pebbles. They seemed to fit the theme!

Well, there you have it. My last layout for LOAD213 (unless by some miracle I find time tomorrow to scrap something other than a DT assignment!!) It has been such a blast creating these layouts for Lain, then seeing them on the videos and hearing my words coming out of Lain's mouth. I did not think she was going to read them verbatim and if I am ever asked to contribute to a future LOAD will definitely chose my words more carefully!! I'd proof read better too!! LOL!

Thank you Lain for giving me this opportunity to showcase my work. It means more to me than words can say! Thank you to all who have stopped by to view my work and were kind enough to leave comments. I appreciate every one of you!!

And now off to figure out Marley's goody bags!! Her birthday party is on Saturday and  am trying to make owls out of paper bags. Yikes!

LOAD213 Day 20 - Hidden Elements

For today's prompt, Lain asked me to make a page with a hidden element. I don't do this ALL the time but often enough that I was ready with several options at hand. And then we celebrated Christmas (I was doing these layouts for Lain in December) and each of us was given a special gift from Greg's Mom. They all came in pretty unique gift card envelopes which I immediately hoarded away for future use! Don't we all do this? No? It's just me then? Okay, I can live with that!!

Here's my layout. Can you spot where the hidden journaling is?

Ta da!!

Here's a closer look at that journaling card.

The gift card envelope had this great silver ribbon around it but I didn't have anything quite like it in my stash so I improvised. I laid down a piece of double sided tape in approximately the same width as the ribbon then, after exposing the sticky side, sprinkled it with silver glitter. To make sure it was stuck good and strong and I wasn't going to get glitter falling off into my page protector, I laid a piece of scrap paper over top and burnished the glitter with my bone folder. I swear to you, I can rub my finger over it and nothing comes off!

Additional silver accents and some contrasting dark blue pieces finish off this layout. 

What will you do with a hidden element today? 

Thanks for stopping by - have a great Wednesday.

LOAD213 Day 17 - Love Letters

This is not your average love letter! LOL!

Lain challenged us today to write a love letter to one of our possessions as a way of feeling greater connection to them. I can definitely say I feel a greater connection to my laptop now! Since creating this layout - inspired by a total hard drive failure which left my laptop languishing in the tech room at Future Shop until just the other day - I have gained an appreciation for it which I hope never to lose.

This is an 8.5x11 layout turned landscape. It may be a challenge to fit into my albums but sometimes when you're working on something and conventional sizing or orientation isn't working, you just need to shake it up. Then it can literally turn things around for you! 

As I said to Lain, I kept the colours light and fun in an effort to keep the mood light and fun. Believe me when I say this was not a fun time in my life. Being told my data was gone and knowing that my last back up was 8 months prior made me feel quite sick inside. THEN being told I could recover said data for a mere $1600 was more than a little gut wrenching! $1600?! Seriously?! 

After some serious thought and a fair bit of "head in the sand" ignoring the problem in a vain attempt to make it go away, the tech guys and I came up with the solution that I'd buy a new hard drive for my laptop, they'd install it under warranty and then I could start fresh. $160 vs $1600. SOLD!! So now, if I ever find someone or something that can recover my data for significantly less than $1600, I have my old hard drive in my hot little hands. It's not being sent back to some manufacturer in a far away land where I'll never see it (or my data) again!!

Lesson well and truly learned!!

And now some detail shots for you.

I love this clock washi tape. The colours worked for my layout and the time motif reinforces the idea that I lost those 8 months as well as works as a reminder to set up a regular back up schedule from now on!

My title ended up having to be a little bit crazy because I didn't have all the uppercase letters I needed, but in the end I think it also helps with the lighthearted feel I was going for.

I don't do this a lot, but when I was looking at this layout once it was 'finished' I felt like this corner needed a little something extra. Instead of adding more embellishments, I roughed up the edges of the paper and then added a little rip. This is one of those design techniques that I generally don't go for because I like a cleaner look but it really works here.

One last embellishment.

Thanks for coming by today. I appreciate you taking the time to check out my work! I hope you have a fantastic Sunday. If you have the time today - BACK UP YOUR COMPUTER!! Preferably to an external source! Consider yourself told!! :)

LOAD213 Day 12 - Someone Else's Interests

Today Lain is featuring another layout by me in her LOAD video. The prompt was to scrap a time when you got "into" another person's interest. I think we've all done it. The new boyfriend really likes baseball so we start watching all the games with him and actually learning players and stats. I may have been guilty of that exact thing in Universtity!! But this layout is not about baseball (or soccer ironically, even though that would be considered Greg's one true passion!) It's about my short Ultimate career. For those who are now shaking their heads and wondering what Ultimate is, it's the game you play with a Frisbee (disk to the hard core 'cus "Frisbee" is a trademarked name!)

Enough blabbing, here's my layout.

I found these pictures of me on Greg's computer. Action shots! This was my last season playing the game. As the journaling says, I started playing in 2000 at the urging of my brother and because I was looking for ways to get fit and meet boys. Well, mission accomplished! I met Greg on the Ultimate field in the summer of 2001 and with him started playing upwards of 3 times a week plus tournaments. So yes, I was in pretty great shape there for a bit! I even played through the early stages of my pregnancies - here I am possibly VERY early in Christine's pregnancy. But the nausea soon put an end to any sort of physical activity!

Some detail shots for you.

Here's a trick that I like to do. Use a work sticker as part of your title. It adds interest and is a great way of using up those word stickers!

Can't seem to make a layout these days without some sort of paint, mists or other "messy" element!

A couple of shots to show you the layers I like to create. Using pop dots to raise part of the title is a good way to highlight that element.

Thanks for stopping by today. Are you participating in LOAD? If so, I'll see you on the galleries! If not, why not try to use a word sticker in your title today or follow along with the prompt and scrap a time you immersed yourself in someone else's interests? If you do either of these things, please leave me a comment so I can come and check out your work.

Have a wonderful, creative day!

LOAD213 Day 7 - Get Outside

Another day, another LOAD layout to share. I am the featured artist again today (aside: seeing my layouts on Lain's videos gives me goosebumps, you know, the happy kind!) and my prompt was to scrap a nature photo. I don't have a shortage of nature photos, but I was looking for one without the usual people in it (you know, the girls, Greg, etc) and those seemed a little bit harder to come by. Then I saw this one and I knew it was The One!

This was taken from the deck of the Boat House (UBC Rowing Club's facility on the Fraser Slough in Richmond) when we were attending one of Greg's friends' weddings in the summer of '09. It was SUCH a hot day that we spent most of that reception outside trying to get some sort of breeze to keep the kids cool (I think the AC had broken or something). Anyway, it led to some great sunset photos including this one. I love that you can see the moon too.

To play up on the colours of the sunset I created the piece of patterned paper you see here (the ripped one) by messily colouring lines of Gelatos, spritzing the paper liberally with water and then using my finger to blend the colours together. The rip came once the paper was dry. The original piece was too large and when I was  cutting it down to size it just seemed wrong to have a straight line. So ... rrrrriiiip ... and voila!

The wavy texture happened as the paper dried and I love it!

I found these flowers a while back in the $1 bin at Michael's. Their colours were perfect for this!

Well, thanks for popping by today. Would love it if you left a comment telling me what you think or, if you're registered in LOAD maybe I'll see you on the message boards. I haven't had a chance to hop on there yet as we have been in Mexico on a family holiday but I'm hoping that I'll get on there today. I spent all day Wednesday dealing with my over flowing inbox(es) so maybe (after I do a mountain of laundry, figure out what we're eating this week, shop for it, verify my work schedule ...) I'll be able to play a little bit now. Scrap even! Gasp!! I haven't touched a single scrappy item in over a week and I'm starting to have withdrawal symptoms!!

LOAD213 - Day 6 Do It Now!

What page have you been putting off? Your wedding? Your child's 1st birthday? Your own birthday - maybe a big one like your 30th or 40th?
That was the prompt that Lain gave me for today's LOAD213 page.

At first I wasn't sure that I had been putting off any pages. I've been pretty good at scrapping current photos lately as well as digging into that pile of "memories to be scrapped". But ... there's always a 'but' isn't there? ... I have yet to start Christine's baby album so that's where this prompt led me.

And I came up with this.

My sister-in-law Christine threw me a surprise baby shower. What do you get a 3rd time Mom who knows she's expecting her 3rd girl and therefore already has everything? Frozen meals!! I'm telling you, this was THE BEST gift anyone could have given me!!

I have used these papers in Marley and Paige's baby albums so am keeping consistent and using them on Christine's album too. Here are some detail shots.

Found some old Dear Lizzy chipboard stickers in my stash that were perfect for this soft colour palette.

Like the colour of an embellishment but the wording is wrong? No sweat! Just change it!!

Added this one to show you how some of the elements have been attached with pop dots.

Thanks for stopping by. If you're participating in LOAD213 then I'll see you on the message boards!

LOAD213 Starts Today!

I can finally tell you a secret that I've been keeping since November ... Lain asked me to contribute 7 layouts for LOAD213!! I know, right? Me?! How cool is that?! Love that lady!!

As you read this I am relaxing in an all-inclusive resort in Mexico so at time of publication (doesn't that sound posh!) I don't know exactly what Lain's prompt for today will be. The prompt I was given was to create a page with no words.

Huh?

I gave it some thought and finally came up with the idea of using symbols to communicate rather than words. While searching for pictures to use I realized that the easiest symbol for me would be hearts. Most of my pictures are of my girls and (as much as they drive me crazy!) I love them to death! So, this is what I did.

Can you feel the love? 

I started by applying pink paint over a laser-cut heart sheet (from my stash!) to create the back ground image of hearts. You can't tell but I knew I'd be placing my picture and everything in the middle so I only painted around the edges. While the paint was drying I used my Big Shot and my Heart Framelits (from Stampin' Up) to cut out a pile of hearts from scraps of pink patterned papers. All the papers were just from my scrap drawer - love that drawer! I purposefully made some hearts solid and some with cut out hearts inside them. That way I could mix and match them while laying them out on my page.

When it came time to lay everything out I kind of went a little heart crazy! I wanted to surround the picture with the hearts - over, under, beside, you name it. And I wanted to try not to have any hearts with the same pattern next to each other. 

Here are some detail shots for you.

I added some doodling around the heart stencil to further emphasize it.

I found heart shaped gems and sprinkled them around as well as filling this little heart cut out with red and pink sequins (an old Martha Stewart set).

I even embossed some of the card stock papers - this one has a wood grain pattern.

Well, there you have it. My first commissioned work! Hope this helps kick off LOAD213 with a bang! Thanks for stopping by today ... now back to the beach for me! I'll see you on the message boards when I get back!

Pre-LOAD213 - Scrap Happier Blog Hop

Hi everyone! Welcome to my little blog! Hopefully you are here for the Pre-LOAD213 Blog Hop and you have come from Heather's blog ... if not, head on back to her blog to start at the beginning. Although I suppose it doesn't really matter if you start from the beginning, middle or end, just as long as you're here and enjoy the Hop!

Some of my fellow Scrap Happy Sisters and I have decided to put on this Hop to get you in the mood for LOAD. Not familiar with LOAD? Well then, let me start by saying that LOAD stands for LayOut A Day and is run by our Scrap Happy Fearless Leader Lain Ehmann ... or should I say our Scrap Happy Super Hero Lain? :) (Little inside joke there!) She leads us through a month of creating one layout every day using (or not, whatever floats your boat) a different prompt each day. This will be my ... 5th (had to stop and think!) LOAD. I have had various degrees of "success" completing a full LOAD but I've ALWAYS had fun!

And that's what our theme is this time around ... indirectly. Check this out.

Isn't he a happy little guy? We are going to be Scrapping Happier next month!

How? Well, I'm glad you asked! When I said we will be creating one complete layout a day for 28 days some of you may have gasped and thought, how is that possible? I work full time, I have 6 kids, and a horse,  and a sick Auntie who I take daily meals to ... No worries Mate!

Insert gratuitous Hugh Jackman picture here.

(Another inside joke!)

There is NO PRESSURE to "finish". There are NO SCRAPBOOK POLICE patrolling the Flickr boards wondering where your layout for 2/13/13 is. There is NO WALL OF SHAME for those whose lives got "in the way" (gasp!) of scrapbooking (is that even possible?!) In short, THERE ARE NO RULES! 

Oh, I lied, there is one rule .... SCRAP HAPPY!

With that in mind, here are my top 5 tips on HOW TO SCRAP HAPPY DURING LOAD213.

1. Be prepared (see this post for my tips on getting prepped for LOAD). Short version, stock up on essentials.

2. Wake up every morning excited to watch a new video from Lain! Yay!! Is there a better way to greet the day than by hearing Lain's voice?

3. Don't forget to breathe. Once every few seconds should do the trick!

4. Put a small (or large, whatever makes you happier!) dish of your favourite candies next to your scrap table. If you need a pick me up, a shot of energy or just something that makes your tongue sing happy songs, then ingest one or two (handfuls) of the aforementioned candy and carry on scrapping.

5. DON'T PANIC! And if you are about to panic because your dog just ate the picture you were going to use that went perfectly with the prompt Lain gave and the piece of Authentique paper you smuggled home past your husband's watchful gaze, then STOP ... BREATHE ... and Google images of Hugh!

I hope I have got you to laugh today. Maybe while you're laughing you'll remember that in the end this is supposed to be an enjoyable hobby for us all. Don't take it or yourself too seriously and I know you will scrap happier!

Thanks for stopping by today. Now head on over to Dani's blog for some more ScrapHappier advice! If you're not signed up for LOAD yet (and why not, may I ask?!) you can go to Lain's site and see if there are any spots left. You won't be sorry!! See you in February!!

If you get lost along the way, here is a list of all the participants today. Have fun!!

Heather Dubarry: http://noexcusescrapbooking.com

Alison Day: http://adayinthelifeor5.blogspot.com/

Danielle Taylor: http://scrapperonthestreet.com

Alison Charlton: http://scrappinginsingapore.blogspot.com/

Christy Strickler: http://myscrapbookevolution.blogspot.com/

Lynnette Nagle: http://sassyscrapper2010.blogspot.com/

Julie Shepler: www.sheplerfamily.com

Joy McHargue: http://www.studiowowjoy.com/

Kelli Panique: http://scrapbookgirl71.com/

Cathy Holiday: pikespeakscrapper.blogspot.com

Leslie Smith: http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com/

Lori Martin: http://Www.chaosandcraziness.com/ 

Connie Hanks: http://ClickyChickCreates.wordpress.com

Betsye Erazo: betsyerose.blogspot.com

Marcia Fortunato: mfortunato.blogspot.com

Regina Huminski: http://ginabeth1.blogspot.com/

Beth Soler: http://www.scrappingwonders.com

Kristie Sloan: http://kristiesloan.com/blog/

Danielle Hunter: http://ecoscrapbook.blogspot.com/

Katrina Forman: http://k84mansramblings.blogspot.com

Jessica Baldwin: www.inkyaddict.com

Cheryl McCain: http://cherylmccainphotography.com

Briel Schmitz: http://scrappingwindow.blogspot.com/

Marygail Mello: www.marygailscorner.blogspot.com

Oh, and if you liked the tone of this blog post, or you just want to know why I keep showing you pictures of Hugh Jackman, you may like being a part of our ScrapHappy community. We are pretty much like this 24/7 on the message boards. Funny, irreverent, sassy and extremely helpful!

See you on the message boards!

S.H.O LOAD1012 - Day Two Prompt

I was totally floored to be asked by my pals over at ScrapHappy to come up with a prompt for this year's S.H.O (ScrapHappy Only) October LOAD (LayOut A Day challenge). It took me awhile to figure out what my prompt/challenge was going to be but I eventually decided to do a Starting Point layout like the one's I'm such a fan of over on Shimelle's Lain's site. Her last Starting Point challenge was on my "scrappy to do" list but life got away from me and it never happened. Anyway, here's what I came up with.

The opening credits of this month's LOAD had a very Theatre-esque vibe to them so my added challenge to everyone was to use this Starting Point AND scrap some live event photos plus memorabilia. I've had the programme and tickets from Marley and Paige's first dance recital in my "to be scrapped" pile for a while so this was the perfect opportunity for me to finally get them onto paper!

This is what I wanted to include on my layout.

Originally I went in a very sweet pink, purple and yellow direction but it wasn't feeling right. Then I found the MME Lost and Found collection that I won ages ago and it all fell into place. Gotta love that!!

Here's the layout I submitted.

As I was writing up my post for the group I realized that I'd forgotten to do any journalling. What?! I'd love to say that I have the revised version of my layout for you right now but that is just not the case. I will add it to my formidable list of things to do today and post it to Flickr.

Thanks for stopping by today. If you are new to my blog I'd love for you to poke around and perhaps become a follower. I just celebrated my birthday and am having a giveaway - read all about it here. If you are a ScrapHappy member and you win, I may even throw a little something extra into the mix!! Family perks so to speak!!

ScrapHappy Pre-LOAD Blog Hop

Welcome to the ScrapHappy Pre-LOAD Blog Hop!! I'm so glad you're here. You should have arrived here from Heather H's site but if not, why not start at the beginning and work your way back to me! If you get lost there is a list at the bottom of this post to set you straight.

Today we are sharing our words of wisdom (well, others may have wisdom, I pretty much just have words!!) about the LOAD (LayOut A Day) process and what we typically do to get ready. If you are not a member of ScrapHappy I'm sorry but you will not be able to participate in October's LOAD as it is only for ScrapHappy members. If you're interested in finding out about ScrapHappy please follow the link and listen to the message from our Fearless Leader Lain Ehmann.

Okay, so you're interested in participating in LOAD are you? Awesome! It is so much fun!! I have participated in some degree or other in 3 previous LOADs - May 2011, Feb 2012 and May 2012. You can see my layouts in my Flickr Gallery and there is a slide show in my side bar of my LOAD212 layouts you can watch. In May 2011 my husband and I took a week long trip away without the kids so LOAD got interrupted and then in May 2012 we all went to Disneyland so my participation was a bit hit and miss that month too. But I loved getting the daily prompts from Lain and checking out what the other LOADsters were adding to the gallery. I am pretty determined to get 31 layouts done this October though!! I'd like to be able to take more pictures like these ones.

This is the stack of layouts I created during LOAD212. Isn't it awesome?! SOOOO satisfying! Here are 29 stories that are now recorded thanks to Lain's prompts!

So, what can I tell you to help you prepare to create a stack like this of your own? Here are my 5 tips for a successful LOAD.

1 - Make the Commitment. This may sound silly. You may be thinking, "but I already committed when I signed up!" which is true but you really need to make it official. Tell yourself and those around you that you will be making a layout a day for 31 days and there are no ifs, ands or buts about it! :) Get your head 100% in the game. If you for one second allow the "well, it's just one day, I'll catch up tomorrow" attitude to creep in you won't make it. Now, before I go all Drill Sergeant on you, it is totally okay to only do 30 layouts this month. Or 3 for that matter!! But if you want to do all 31 then you need to make sure it happens in your head first. Now I'm sounding like a coach "visualize the finish line people!"

2 - Stock Up on Basic Supplies. In  my world, this means adhesive, card stock and letter stickers because that is what I use on every single layout. I never have to stock up on patterned paper because I frankly have too much of that! Whatever else you use all the time, make sure you have enough to last the month. there is nothing more frustrating than having to run to you LSS mid-layout because you ran out of your favourite colour mist! I have learned to stock up on adhesive whenever my LSS has a sale. They have a 40% sale 3 or 4 times a year so I buy in bulk on those occasions. Everyone has their favourite adhesive - I use Be Creative Tape (in both 12mm and 5mm size) to stick my larger pieces of paper down, Scrapbook Adhesives E-Z Runner tape for smaller bits and pieces and whatever glue dots are available for everything else. Oh, and for popping things off the page I LOVE my Stampin' Up Dimensionals but admit to being almost out of them right now so will be using some other Dollar Store variety this LOAD!

Here's a look at my current stash of adhesive ...

This is where they live (yes, I label stuff!)

This is my stash - the Be Creative tape is at the back.

And this is my drawer for my glue dots, pop dots and rolls of tape currently in use. 

3 - Prep Your Photos. This may mean printing off a stack of photos that you want to scrap (if you have a specific project in mind this is a great way to go) but if you want to follow along with the prompts where ever they may take you then this may mean familiarizing yourself with your photos so you can quickly and easily find ones to match the prompts. I like to follow the prompts. I find it can take me to places I never imagined going and telling stories I never thought I'd tell. Hard stories. Funny stories. Crazy stories. It doesn't seem to matter what the story, I always feel a HUGE sense of accomplishment once it is told! Take 30 minutes to scroll through your digital photos or flip through your already printed ones sometime over the next 4 days. You'll be so glad you did!

4. Prep Your Space. Do you have a dedicated scrap room? Do you pull out your supplies and sit at the dining room table every time you want to make a layout? Either way, tidy that space so it is ready for action! If you can, leave out your basic supplies for the entire month so making your layouts will be easy every day. If you have a dedicated scrap space, why not pull out a piece of your favourite neutral card stock and lay it on your scrapping table in preparation. You may not end up using it for prompt #1 but the fact that it's there will spur you to action when the time is right! I am lucky and share a little home office with my husband and his computer (although I would really like to boot him out!!) This is what I hope to get my desk to look like by the 30th!! ( I will NOT be showing you what it looks like right now!!)

Well, something like this anyway. The wicker basket is no longer on my desk but everything else is there still. 

5. Have Fun!  Remember why you got into this scrapbooking thing in the first place? Was it to feel pressure to create beautiful, perfect layouts or was it to be creative, document your stories in a beautiful way and to have fun doing it? I'm going to guess the latter! If you find yourself getting stressed about finishing a layout, don't panic! Walk away. Take a break. Have a cup of tea. I promise you, the layout will still be there when your head is cleared and you can finish it then. If this means you don't get a layout done on Day 17, then you don't get a layout done on Day 17. No worries! 

All right ScrapHappy Sisters. Feeling motivated? Ready? Got the juices going? Keep on hopping for more wonderful words of wisdom from Cathy H!

Lynnette http://sassyscrapper2010.blogspot.com
Leslie http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com
Katrina http://k84mansramblings.blogspot.com
Kelli P. www.scrapbookgirl71.com
---YOU ARE HERE --- Alison D. http://adayinthelifeor5.blogspot.ca
--- GO HERE NEXT --- Cathy H. http://pikespeakscrapper.blogspot.com
Dani www.acoffeeaddict.com
Heather H. http://heathazscrapz.blogspot.com
Alison C. http://scrappinginsingapore.blogspot.com
Heather D. http://heathersdragonsden.blogspot.com
Danielle H. http://ecoscrapbook.blogspot.com

See you on the message boards!!

C'est Magnifique sketch challenge

A couple days ago I created the following layout for a "new to me" blog - C'est Magnifique. Here is the sketch they gave and my interpretation of it.

Lain's prompt for Day 21 was "My Hometown". Anyone who knows me knows that I moved around A LOT as a kid (literally all over the world!) so pinning down a hometown is a bit difficult. Before now, I probably spent the most time in Prince George but while there I lived in 3 different houses. Currently, Greg and I have lived in Ladner, BC for about 9 years - the longest stretch I've ever lived anywhere! So I could have scrapped about any of those places. But ... I had come across the picture at the top left of this page earlier this month and I knew this was the story to tell for this prompt. 

The journalling kind of tells it all so here it is: "The story goes that wen I was 2 weeks old my parents dragged me, my brother (3 1/2 at the time) and my Aunt Jean "house hunting" in a little village near Cambridge called Bar Hill. This was the house. We lived in this house whenever we were in the country - in between trips to Indonesia and Iran - up to the time we immigrated to Canada. I have many houses that I think of as "home" but this was the first and still holds the dearest spot on my heart. In 1985 we visited friends in Bar Hill and went to see the "old house". I took the picture above that has my Dad in it. In 2004 when Greg and I brought Marley to meet the British relatives, we again went to see the "old house". I hope that we can visit it again the next time we're in Britain - whenever that is!"

The title is the address of the house. The street, that is. When I figure out which number it was, I will add it on but right now I can't remember that detail.

This layout is also for my Apron Strings Bake Your Cake challenge - I used lots of stickers (fruit filling) on this layout, mostly of the word variety but the quilled butterfly - which is also my Twelve embellishment - is a sticker too. Here is a close up of that.

Another close up of the stickers. This time a journalling spot, a heart and an expression tab.

I had a lot of journalling and didn't want it to overtake the layout by being a huge white rectangle on the bottom of the page. So I cut it up into strips to lighten its visual weight.

Well that's it! Thanks for stopping by. I've got a birthday party to get ready for today so will probably get even further behind on my LOAD layouts! Oh well. I would dearly love to accomplish the 29 layouts in 29 days goal but since I am currently at 22 done so far this month, I think I'm doing pretty well! Have a great weekend everyone.