Catching Up On Family Events

I won't even attempt to try and catch up with everything all in one post but I need to make a start so here goes ...

When last I wrote it was early March and we'd just celebrated Marley's birthday party and Marley and Paige had their 15 minutes of fame as escorts for the Vancouver Whitecaps. Feel free to refresh your memory here.

The day after enjoying the highs of walking out onto the pitch in front of thousands of Whitecaps fans, Marley, Paige and Greg had a soccer adventure of a very different sort. End of Season Fun Day! In good Lower Mainland fashion, it was a cold and cloudy day!!

Lining up for pre-Fun Day instructions.

Greg had coached both teams without any conflicts all season but having to split his time between both teams on the same field was a bit more tricky. He enlisted the help of his assistant coach for Marley's team and spent the day with Paige's team. 

All sorts of fun things were planned including a Flash Mob dance routine. Even Greg got into it!

And then it was time to get to playing some soccer. 

Or, in Christine's case - time to have some fun with her "soccer boyfriend", otherwise known as the younger brother of one of Marley's team mates. Christine manages to have a boyfriend in just about every aspect of her life. Not sure it bodes well for her teen years!!

I had to put in some volunteering time in the tattoo tent so I got Christine a hot chocolate and a hot dog to keep her happy. Actually, she was pretty happy helping put the tattoos on and playing with the sponges we used to apply them.

I did get to watch Paige play for a bit too. She's quite the aggressive soccer player now!

"Take a picture of me, Mommy!"

How could I refuse?

Once all the games, tattoos, bouncy obstacle course and hot dogs were all done, it was time to hand out participation medals. Greg handed them out to Paige's Aqua Thunders first and then had to run over to hand them out to ...

... Marley's Wizards team. Ah, the trials and tribulations of double coaching! 

One of the parents on Paige's team bought bags of candy for all the players too. Sigh. More sugar highs!!

A few days later it was time for another sport wrap up night. This time it was the Basketball Awards Night. Marley started playing with the Steve Nash Youth Basketball program last year and this year Greg helped out as an assistant coach. Not that he knows a ton about basketball, but coaching comes naturally to him!

Marley sitting with her BFF, waiting for things to get started.

The Grade 2/3's accepting their participation medals.

Marley and Amanda comparing medals. (That's Greg handing out the medals on the left.

And one final picture showing Greg and another coach, Taka Katsube - the father of another friend and classmate of Marley's.

Okay, I think that's enough for this post. Plus my laptop battery is about to die so I'd better call it a night. I promise I'll be back with more. I just won't promise when! Until then, thanks for stopping by. 

Don't forget about my new website where you'll find all my latest crafty endeavours (well, okay, I might be a bit behind over there too!) come and check me out at http://alisondaydesigns.com/.

New Home for my Scrapbooking

Hi everyone! It's been awhile since I posted anything (and I know I am seriously behind on my family updates!) but I wanted to let you know why. I've hinted that I have been developing a new web site where I can share my Scrapbooking projects, tips, tutorials and so much more. Well ... IT'S LIVE!!

Actually it's been live for a couple weeks but since no one was aware of it I was able to keep working on things on the DL! 

I'd love for you to come and visit me at http://alisondaydesigns.com. I am planning some fun "Grand Opening" type freebies so be sure to sign up for my newsletter and add my new address to your Blog Feed so you won't miss out on anything!!

This is a very exciting step for me and has only been made possible because of my loyal followers. Hey, I'm talking to YOU!! :) Thank you so much! I hope you'll continue to pop by for visits at my new home!

Practical Scrappers March Sketch

Today on the Practical Scrappers blog we have a sketch to share. It's by our very own Liz Chidester (VERY talented lady!!) and as you can see, we've taken it in very different directions. Here's the sketch and my interpretation of it.

These are photos of Greg and my two younger daughters as they played in the pool during Marley's recent 9th birthday party. I was too far away to get pictures of Marley and her friends playing but liked the idea of recording this story as a bit of an aside to the main party story. 

The blue and yellow colour scheme is a bit of a departure for me but the pictures just seemed to call for it. I fussy cut all those doily images from a sheet of Echo Park paper. The addition of hits of black and green keep the layout interesting by helping move your eye around the page.

My title is a long one (I'm really liking creating long titles right now - they're fun) and is made up of 4 different letter stickers. Partly because I didn't necessarily have all the letters I needed in one font, partly for space considerations but mostly because it is more interesting to break up a long title like this rather than have it all in the same lettering.

Another bonus of using long titles is that is act as a jump start to your journaling. Here, my journaling basically starts where my title leaves off.

Just a random close up of some of my embellishments. Layers of border stickers and washi in the corner with a grouping of a gem, enamel dot and coloured pearl. The large doily is popped up on foam adhesive to give more dimension to the page.

Thanks for stopping by today. At time of publication the corresponding post has not gone live yet on the Practical Scrappers site but keep checking back as there are some truly lovely layouts being shared by our designers. Meanwhile you can have fun seeing how our Technique Team finds new ways to show off their stamps.

On a personal note, I am in the middle of setting up a new on line home for my design work. It's still pretty messy right now but once the dust settles I'll post a link here and on Facebook. I hope all my followers will make the move with me and to help entice you across I will be giving away a free 12 week class. Hope to see you all there .... eventually!!! Thanks for your support over the years. It's because of you that I have the courage to make this leap from free Blog to hosted web site!! You rock!!

Looking for a Few Good Sketchers!

Thought I'd share this post with my followers. Brenshevia of Let's Get Sketchy is looking for new sketch artists. If this sounds like you I highly recommend joining the team. We are a fun loving, chatty, supportive group of  creative women!

Good luck to all!!

Design Team Call - Sketch Designers
I am looking for at least 2 new Sketch Designers to supplement our Design Team.

Requirements:

·                     create a minimum of 1-2 sketches per month

·                     create 2 layouts a month for Lets Get Sketchy

·                     you must have a blog

·                     promote Lets Get Sketchy through your blog

·                     must commit to a 3 month term

Compensation:

At this time I am unable to compensate you with product or any form of financial payment.  This will be for the fun and love of the hobby!

How to Apply:

Please send me an email to letsgetsketchy@gmail.com containing the following information:

·                     Your full name and email address

·                     A link to your blog

·                     A list of any design teams you may belong to.

·                     3 sketches that best displays your sketching style

·                     A little intro telling me why you would like to be a part of Lets Get Sketchy Sketch Team.

Please send your application to: letsgetsketchy@gmail.com

Please put: "Sketch DT" in the subject line.

Applications due: April 9, 2013

Playing Along With LGS Team B

Actually got my layout and post ready on time this week! Shocking, I know!! The girls are on Spring Break so I've taken full advantage of the extra free time to get slightly ahead with my DT commitments. We have another week to go so I hope to make a serious dent in April's assignments too!!

But back to today's challenge at Let's Get Sketchy. Here is the sketch Team B was given as well as their Colour Combo Twist.

If it looks familiar to this one, it is. Slight changes but ideal for more Christmas memories. As I did with the last colour combination twist we were given, I chose not to take it in a holiday direction and instead scrap some photos from our recent trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Here's my layout this week.

I have decided to keep Kraft as a common element on all my layouts for this trip. It's a great way to keep some continuity through an entire album or story within an album. You can vary the embellishments and other papers all you want, but ensuring that all of your layouts about a certain trip/event/story have some bit of Kraft on it (or whatever uniting element you choose) keeps the album cohesive. That way, even if you add a forgotten story many months or years after the original ones were completed, it will still flow nicely because it shares a common element with all the earlier layouts.

This particular layout is about Greg and my trip into Puerto Vallarta (sans children - thanks Grandma and Grandpa!) for a date at Pipi's. The sketch was great as it gave me a lot of room to journal (once I flipped it) and I was able to tell the back story to our pilgrimage to Pipi's. 

I also dug deep into my stash and found these glitter chipboard letters for my title. They are popped up with foam adhesive and layered over strips of washi tape. When I laid them down initially (without the washi tape) they seemed to float a bit. Adding the tape behind grounded them and gave me another opportunity to introduce the colours from the inspiration picture. The flowers were also found in my stash during a recent sort/reorganization and I'd pulled them out knowing they would be perfect for this colour scheme too. 

And finally my journaling. I know that as long as we continue to visit Puerto Vallarta (as often as we can afford to take the family - so every 5 years or so!! LOL!) we will seek out Pipi's. I hope it stays in business long enough for us to take the girls there one day!

Thanks for stopping by today. Make sure you head over to the Let's Get Sketchy blog to see the beautiful layouts Team B has created for your inspiration. This is the last sketch for March which means that if you are interested in the prize this month you've got until Sunday to get your submissions linked up. You are playing for a $10 Gift Certificate to The Paper Bakery so get those layouts in! Good luck to you all!!

New Sketch up at Let's Get Sketchy!

It's Monday again and the Let's Get Sketchy team has got a new sketch for you. What do you think?

I liked the distressed background and figured it was a perfect chance to play with my new Heidi Swapp products. Um, yeah, I said new. I may have fallen off the wagon a tiny bit. I got a bug in my head about her Color Shine products and so when I was in Michael's looking for yellow gems (didn't find any I liked) and saw an entire display of Heidi Swapp ... well ... I just wasn't strong enough to pass them by!

(Insert sheepish grin here.)

Have you ever tried Heidi's Color Shine products? They are white with black patterns printed on them and if you twist them in the light you can see areas of gloss as well as matte that create a pattern. When you applied the spray to it, the matte parts soak up the colour and you can use a cloth (I used a baby wipe) to remove the spray from the glossy parts. When you're done you have the original pattern plus a new pattern of colour and gloss. Pretty cool, eh?

I had chosen the photos long before I got the paper and just knew the Tropical Teal mist would be perfect. As my daughter Paige pointed out, the arched pattern in the paper mimics the arches in the picture. Huh. Totally unintentional but I guess somewhere in my brain I knew that too!

Okay, here are your detail shots. 

I am a tiny bit addicted to these little rose buds Michael's sells too. (Yes, this may have been a part of my falling off the wagon thing too!) If you find yourself with little flowers but you need to create more presence on your page, try layering them over larger flat flowers. Either punched flowers or the type you can buy intended for layers. These brown ones are of that latter type - old Making Memories ones from my stash.

Using up my letter stickers still (managed to win THAT temptation battle yesterday) - these glossy ones are fun and the perfect hot pink!

A journaling tag tucked into the pictures keeps the design cohesive.

The bottom of the larger photo needed a larger cluster so I mixed in one larger rose from my stash and some pearls. Using the same washi tape and word stickers keeps the two embellishment clusters cohesive.

I also purchased a package of Color Shine arrows and used 3 on this layout. Two I sprayed in the same blue as the background paper, the third I sprayed in pink. They have a very subtle grid pattern on them that becomes visible once you spray them. Not sure if you can totally see that in this picture though.

I was trying to show off the shine quality of the spray. Can you see it on this arrow? Again, not sure!

Well, that's all for this week's sketch. Can't wait to see what you do with it!

Have a great week everyone!

A New Challenge at S.W.A.T - Colour Combo!

There is a new challenge up at S.W.A.T today and it's put me in a Spring-like mood! Intrigued? I won't keep you in suspense. It's a colour combo ... check it out.

The yummy looking cupcakes aside, doesn't that just scream "Spring" to you? 

Unfortunately, it's not quite spring around here. Almost. But not quite. My crocuses are blooming and I have seen some cherry blossoms in the village but the rains continue and with it some stiff winds and cool temperatures. I know, I know, there are blizzards raging across the continent but it was 19 degrees in Osoyoos the other day! Maybe Aunt Moira would like a room mate for a bit? Just kidding!!

I used the colour combo plus a recent layout idea by Shimelle's alter ego Glitter Girl to create this.

Glitter Girl used papers  from 6x6 paper pads to make her patterned paper quadrants but I used my scraps. I found several in the colours from the inspiration picture that were large enough for my purposes and got to work. 

The top was feeling a little barren to me and I wasn't too sure how to fill it but then I got the idea of a banner and made one with lots of different shapes, papers and layers. It was a fair bit of work and took many times of moving things around but in the end I really like it! You may see more fun banners like this from me!!

Fun was the order of the day so I had fun with the title too. Wrapping it around the photo block and using two different letter stickers. 

Usually I plan where my journaling is going to go before I get too far into the process but this time I got sort of carried away and forgot. Whoops! I am not totally in love with how it looks but the more important thing is that it got on the page! This is one of those types of pages that I'll make a new one of each year - the annual measuring of the birthday girl - so I don't anticipate what I say will change too much over the years. "Oh, how you've grown!" can only be said so many ways before you start repeating yourself!!

Thought I'd leave you with another look at my banner. Love the little washi tape pennants!

Okay, now it's your turn. What will you come up with in response to this colour challenge? Can't wait to see your projects posted on the S.W.A.T. site! Have a great weekend everyone!