It's CHA in Vegas, Baby!!

I'm so excited to tell you that I am in Las Vegas right now at my first CHA (Craft and Hobby Tradeshow)!  I'll tell you all about my experiences here next week when I return home.

There are 2 reasons why I'm attending CHA this summer:  Canadian Scrapbooker magazine and Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L.

I'm the Social Media Correspondent for the magazine, so I will be updating everyone with CHA news and trends via Facebook, the blog, etc. Click HERE to visit Canadian Scrapbooker on Facebook or click HERE to stop by their blog and find my updates for Vegas.

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L invited me to work in their booth, so if you are also in Vegas, please come find me and say hi!  I will be doing demo's and make 'n takes all three days, Tuesday - Thursday.  So much fun!

Here is one of the projects I have on display in the booth:

I used the Simple Stories "Vintage Bliss" collection, and I really like how the house walls turned out....that paper looks so real, exactly like wood!

I cut all the pieces from a second identical piece of paper and popped them up with 3D foam squares for dimension.

The roof is made with a Fiskars scallop punch.  I designed a similar roof on another layout awhile ago, along with a tutorial.  Click HERE if you'd like to see that post about the scalloped roof.

There's more to come in future posts....plus, I will feature a few projects on the Crafty Power Blog too!

ScrapThat! July Kit Tutorials

Today I have two video tutorials posted on the ScrapThat! blog using the wonderful July kit.

The first technique I share is how to create a simple tulle flower that is on my vintage wedding layout.

On my second layout, I used the Prima stamp and Smooch ink from the kit to alter these scrabble tiles for my title:

So stop by the ScrapThat! blog by clicking HERE and enjoy the videos!

Butterfly Suncatchers

It finally seems that the rainy days are over and the sun is shining!

I thought I'd make some pretty suncatchers to make the most of the sunlight.  These can be placed in plant or flower pots either indoors or out, but they are partly paper, so they are not 'rain friendly' ! 

All the crafty instructions on how to make these are up on the Crafty Power blog today.  They are really easy to put together....even kids could make them!  There is also a video, so stop by there and take a look.  Click HERE to find the butterflies!

Hope you are enjoying the weekend and catching some sun wherever you are! 

Identity Crisis?

Recently, a scrappy friend of mine asked, "What is your signature style?"

Supplies:  Fancy Pants Designs

We have been discussing this off and on, and at first I was puzzled, but then I panicked...oh no! Who am I? Do I have a design style?

Sometimes I'm vintage and use heritage photos...

Supplies:  Bazzill

sometimes I'm graphic and simple....

Supplies:  Stampin' Up!

and sometimes I'm playful and cute...

Supplies:  Maggie Holmes for Crate Paper

Supplies:  Bo Bunny

I've now come to terms with the idea that I am a 'scrapbooking chameleon' of sorts...I change up my designs according to my moods, the papers and the photos.

And I've also decided that it's not necessarily a bad thing, especially because of the design work I do with Canadian Scrapbooker magazine.  I love experimenting with all trends, products and styles, so I am very very lucky I have that opportunity to just "be myself" and express my creativity with the magazine!  In the new Summer 2013 issue, you can see my changeable chameleon design style in all of these layouts and cards.

I'm also very fortunate to be on the Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Design Team because that means I can use whatever papers and products I like!

So the 'crisis' is averted...well, at least until next week!

Beauty and the Beast

Sometimes I design scrapbook pages for fun, but sometimes I have an idea or message I want to express.  

And this is one of those layouts where I wanted to say to girls of all ages, "Don't listen to the 'beast' inside. Be yourself and be beautiful!"

The story behind this photo and layout is posted on the Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Crafty Power Blog.  Click HERE if you would like to read more about this special girl in the photo and why I made a scrapbook page just for her.

For my design, I followed the July sketch by Sue Sykes for the Canadian Scrapbooker Sketchy gallery...

I used a combination of two Pink Paislee collections:  Cottage Farms and Luxe.  

Luxe has gorgeous metallic embellishments and papers.  I also posted a card made with Luxe on the Crafty Power blog last month.  Click HERE if you'd like to take a look.

Some close-ups...

The Luxe collection includes packages of metallic arrows, hearts and stars.  Fun!

The butterfly and circles are from a package of die cut ephemera in the Cottage Farms collection.

This circle chipboard element is actually flipped over from its metallic gold side.

I kept my design fairly simple, similar to the sketch, because I wanted the photo to take centre stage.  Hopefully, this 13-year-old will ignore the 'beast' and see herself as the 'beauty' she truly is.